Reviewers:
Kath – Thanks again...Almost done!
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"Well?" Lucas demanded, still in that low, chilling voice. "I know you're behind what happened at City Hall today." He approached Ronilyn, who remained standing at the bottom of the stairs, clenching and unclenching her hands. "You're kin, so I'm givin' you an opportunity to explain yourself. Don't waste it."
Lucas stood inches away, seeming to tower over her. She felt as if his penetrating gaze could touch her very soul. Ronilyn balled her hands into fists, her fingernails embedding into her palms. She welcomed the distraction of the pain and crossed her arms over her chest.
"If I don't get an answer, things are goin' to get mighty unpleasant around here," Lucas warned her.
"You mean it's not now?" Ronilyn said with a slight hysterical edge to her voice. She cleared her throat. Focus, she thought, digging her fingernails deeper into her flesh.
"Well, well, well. So you can talk. For a minute I thought maybe you'd been struck mute as well as dumb."
"You killed that Councilman Stiles," Ronilyn blurted out. Lucas opened his mouth to speak, but she continued. "Or else you didn't actually kill him yourself, but you drove him to it."
"The only thing that drove him to his death was that car he was drivin' at the time. Now what do these crazy ideas of yours have to do with you meddlin' with things that don't concern you?"
"You're responsible for his death. You're responsible for a little girl who's going to have to grow up without one of her parents. And I know exactly how awful that is, Lucas. I couldn't stop it from happening to Stiles's daughter, but at least I could keep you from benefiting from it. Besides, Mrs. Broomley was thrilled with the idea of having a seat on the City Council again."
Ronilyn nearly flinched as Lucas leaned down. "You're too soft-hearted for your own good," he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. "You always were." He straightened and took a few steps away from her, shaking his head. "And it's goin' to cost you, darlin'. Followin' your heart just ain't a smart thing to do, 'specially if it interferes with me."
"Well, I guess I'd rather be dumb," Ronilyn declared. "At least I don't have anyone's blood on my hands."
"Think again," Lucas said, his eyes flicked down to her arms.
Ronilyn glanced down and uncrossed her arms as she slowly opened her hands. Blood flowed from deep grooves where her fingernails had pierced the flesh. The warm liquid slid down her fingers and dripped onto the carpeted floor. She stared down as blood continued to well up from the cuts.
"You'd better be able to make these bloodstains disappear," Ronilyn muttered, watching a dark pattern form on the carpet beneath her feet.
"Well, you have a mighty high opinion of me," Lucas said with a chuckle. "I mean, that's real tricky business, gettin' rid of bloodstains. But you ought to be worryin' about what I can get rid of."
Ronilyn's head snapped up and she glared at him. "Don't threaten me, Lucas."
"I'm not threatenin' you, darlin', I'm tellin' you." He tapped his wristwatch. "It's time for you to get on home."
"I am home."
"You pack up your stuff and be on your way back to Chicago." Lucas waved his index finger at her. "First thing in the mornin', you hear? We'll just go back to exchangin' cards and letters like it used to be."
Realizing she was being ordered out of her own house, Ronilyn felt something give way inside of her. "You want a letter? I'll give you a letter!" she yelled. Wiping her hands against her pants, she stomped over to where her purse lay and yanked out a sheet of paper. She thrust it at him, saying, "How about this one?"
"What the hell is this?" Lucas said, unfolding the paper and scanning the document.
"Read it and find out. You wanted to know why I came back." She gestured at the paper with her hand. "Well, there you go."