I’LL BE WATCHING YOU Read online

  ‘I don’t care what they tell me to do. I just want to make sure Ella’s okay and that she knows … well, that she knows I don’t want her father to die.’

  ‘You actually care about her, don’t you?’ Judy stared at him.

  ‘I wouldn’t go that far … Okay. Yeah, I care about her, just like you used to care about Webb.’

  Gasping loudly, Judy glanced at Regina. ‘Perhaps we should all go to the hospital. Just drop by to let the family know that we care.’

  ‘You go with Reed,’ Regina said. ‘I’m not going.’

  ‘Come on, Mama.’ Reed grabbed her wrist. ‘Nobody is going to question your being there, and if anybody gets huffy about me being with you, we’ll tell them I’m there only because I drove you to the hospital.’

  Nodding agreement, Judy slipped her hand into his. Reed didn’t know if Webb was Regina’s father. But he knew one thing – his mother still loved the man.

  The surgery waiting area on the second floor at Bryant County Hospital was filled to capacity. And there had been a steady stream of concerned friends in and out for the past hour. Ella stood just outside the door, taking a breather in the hallway, which was itself fairly crowded. She could keep an eye on her mother from this vantage point and still give herself room to maneuver. She had begun to feel smothered. And every time someone new spoke to her and mentioned what a fine man her father was, she broke into fresh tears. People were already talking about him as if he were dead.

  She wouldn’t let these people count him out. Her father was a fighter. He was going to fight and win this battle. He had to. She couldn’t imagine her life without him.

  As always, she found herself astonished by her mother’s strength and composure. Carolyn sat in her wheelchair in the middle of the room, holding court, the composed, weepy wife of Senator Webb Porter. Ella never doubted her mother’s love for her father, and she realized that not knowing if her husband would live or die had to be excruciating for Carolyn. How did she do it? Ella wondered. How could her mother remain so calm when she herself was practically a basket case?

  Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her backward against another body. Glancing over her shoulder and seeing a face she dearly loved, Ella smiled.

  ‘He’s going to live, darling girl,’ Cybil said. ‘I don’t know a stronger, tougher man than Webb Porter.’

  Ella laid her hands over her aunt’s where they met at the front of her waist. ‘Why would anyone want to shoot Daddy?’

  ‘Before he became a senator, your father was a lawyer, a DA and a judge. A man in his line of business makes enemies.’

  ‘It wasn’t Reed,’ Ella said. She knew some people thought that Reed was the most likely suspect. Of course, she knew better.

  ‘Nobody said it was Reed.’ Cybil loosened her hold about Ella’s waist, then grabbed her hand and tugged. ‘Let’s go get some coffee.’

  ‘No, I can’t leave. Mother might need me, or there could be word on Daddy.’

  ‘Okay, I won’t press you to go to the coffee shop. But why don’t we take a walk, just up and down the corridor. We won’t get out of sight of the waiting room.’

  Ella nodded. They walked. When they passed the elevators several minutes later, the doors swung open and there stood Reed Conway and his mother. Ella’s breath caught in her throat. Her gaze connected instantly with Reed’s. He cupped his mother’s elbow and led her out of the elevator.

  ‘How is Webb?’ Judy asked, looking directly at Cybil.

  ‘He’s still in surgery,’ Cybil said. ‘They’re giving him a fifty-fifty chance.’

  Judy’s mouth rounded into an oval as she gasped silently. Tears glistened in her eyes. Cybil reached out and took Judy’s hand, then led her down the hall several feet away. Ella watched her aunt with her housekeeper, the two women huddled together, whispering. It didn’t seem at all odd that Aunt Cybil and Judy would comfort each other. Even though Uncle Jeff Henry was a bit of a snob and treated Judy like nothing more than a servant, Aunt Cybil had always considered her not only a valued employee, but also a friend.

  Ella glanced back at Reed. He was close. No more than a few feet away. She wished she could rush into his arms and seek comfort. She desperately needed his strength right now. He just stood there, looking at her, not saying anything. Ella felt like screaming.

  ‘My mother was concerned,’ Reed finally said. ‘I’m here because I drove her to the hospital.’

  Tears lodged in Ella’s throat and spilled over and out of her eyes. Suddenly she began trembling. Please, Reed, hold me. Even if for just a minute.

  ‘Ah, babe, don’t. Your father is going to be all right.’

  Reed instantly closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. She went without a thought of what anyone would think. Right this minute, she didn’t give a damn. Her father was in surgery and might be dying. She needed to be held and comforted by the man she loved. As Ella clung to Reed, she buried her face against his chest and wept as if her heart was breaking.

  He held her tight, stroking her back tenderly and whispering, ‘He’ll be all right’ over and over again.

  ‘What the hell is this!’ Jeff Henry demanded as he came storming down the hallway.

  ‘Lower your voice,’ Cybil told him as she hurried up the corridor.

  ‘Eleanor Porter, get away from that man.’ Jeff Henry headed toward Ella, his hand outstretched to grab her.

  Cybil ran in front of him, effectively cutting off his attack. ‘Don’t make a scene. People can see us from the waiting room. You wouldn’t want to upset Carolyn, would you?’

  ‘If she sees her daughter in that man’s arms, she’ll have a stroke,’ Jeff Henry said. ‘Hasn’t Carolyn been through enough tonight? What the hell is he doing here, anyway?’

  ‘My son drove me here to the hospital,’ Judy said as she approached her employers. ‘I was concerned about Senator Porter.’

  ‘Ella!’ Jeff Henry ignored both his wife and his housekeeper, shoving past both women, who had tried to block his path.

  Ella took a deep breath, eased out of Reed’s arms and turned to face her uncle’s wrath. Reed stood at her side. She longed to hang on to to him for support. But she didn’t.

  ‘What’s that man doing here? And how dare you allow him to touch you.’ Jeff Henry’s round, full face was splotched, and his eyes were wild with rage. ‘For all we know he’s the one who shot Webb.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Ella said. ‘Reed didn’t shoot Daddy.’

  ‘You seem mighty friendly with this ex-convict, a man your own daddy prosecuted for murder.’

  Jeff Henry glowered at Reed, as if he thought he could make the younger man back down. Ella could sense the tension in Reed’s big body, and she knew how much control he was exerting not to tell her uncle to go to hell. Didn’t Uncle Jeff Henry realize that Reed Conway was not the kind of man who would back down from a fight, that he couldn’t be bluffed or bullied?

  ‘I think you should know that just today, Daddy and I had a long talk and he agreed that he’s going to speak to Frank Nelson about reopening the Blalock murder case,’ Ella said.

  ‘You can’t be serious!’ Jeff Henry clutched his chest. ‘Good Lord, girl, have you lost your mind? I can’t imagine what you could have said to Webb to make him even consider that he and the jury were wrong about Reed.’

  ‘I told Daddy that I believed Reed was innocent.’

  Jeff Henry glanced at Ella, then at Reed, and then back to Ella. ‘He’s hoodooed you. You know that, don’t you? Reed always did have a way with the ladies, but I figured you were too smart to fall for his line of bull.’ Her uncle grasped her hands in his. ‘Don’t you see that he’s using you?’

  ‘Uncle Jeff Henry, you’re wrong about Reed. He’s not—’

  ‘Save your breath, Ella,’ Reed said. ‘Nobody can convince this pompous ass of anything. He’s just like the rest of his kind, only too willing to condemn the housekeeper’s son.’

  Before Jeff
Henry had a chance to reply, the elevator doors swung open and out stepped Frank Nelson. He glanced around the hallway, from Judy to Cybil to Jeff Henry to Ella and finally to Reed. He scratched his head, clearly puzzled by the assembly.

  ‘How’s Webb?’ Frank asked.

  ‘Fifty-fifty chance,’ Jeff Henry said. ‘He’s still in surgery.’

  Frank looked directly at Reed. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘He brought me.’ Judy moved toward the police chief.

  ‘Was Reed with you tonight?’ Frank directed his gaze at Judy.

  ‘Why do you ask?’ Judy glanced hurriedly at Reed and then back to Frank.

  ‘Your boy needs an alibi,’ Frank said.

  ‘Why does Reed need an alibi?’ Ella asked.

  ‘We found the murder weapon,’ Frank told her. ‘We got an anonymous call. Somebody said they saw a man throw a gun in the trash Dumpster over at Conway’s Garage.’

  ‘Damn,’ Reed cursed under his breath.

  ‘What does that prove?’ Cybil draped her arm around Judy’s shoulder.

  ‘The gun belongs to Briley Joe.’ Frank rubbed his chin. ‘I recognized it the minute I saw it. It’s either that old Sauer & Sohn .308 that Briley Joe’s daddy brought back from Germany or a gun just like it.’

  ‘That still doesn’t prove anything,’ Ella said.

  ‘It proves Webb was shot with Reed’s cousin’s gun, which he could have easily gotten hold of,’ Frank said. ‘And the whole town knows Reed’s got a motive, so if he doesn’t have an alibi—’

  ‘He does,’ Ella said.

  ‘If he does, then I want to hear it.’ Frank looked point-blank at Reed, who didn’t say a word.

  Ella reached down and took Reed’s hand in hers. ‘Reed was with me. We were in Spring Creek Park. I met him a little before eight-thirty and I didn’t leave him until about nine-thirty.’

  ‘What the devil were you doing alone in the park with—’ When the realization hit the police chief, he stopped talking mid-sentence. ‘Are you willing to swear to that, Miss Ella?’

  ‘Yes, Frank, I’m willing to swear on a bible in front of the whole world.’

  Reed squeezed Ella’s hand. She had never been prouder of herself than she was at that very minute.

  25

  For the past ten days, Spring Creek had been abuzz with rumors about who shot Webb Porter and why. Gossipmongers were having a heyday. Not only were they picking apart every detail they’d heard about Webb’s shooting, but they were reveling in speculation about an especially juicy tidbit – Reed Conway’s alibi. The socially prominent citizens were shocked and appalled by Eleanor Porter’s association with such a man, but even they were talking about the affair, albeit behind closed doors.

  How could such a thing have happened? The girl had been raised with high moral standards, taught her place in this world and shown by her mother’s example what a lady should be. To think that she had given herself to the likes of Reed Conway. The very thought was enough to turn a person’s stomach. It would be impossible to look at Ella without knowing she was now contaminated. Such disappointment. It broke one’s heart to think that someone so dear could turn out so badly. But of course, she was adopted, which meant her bloodlines might not be pure.

  The perfect plan to shoot Webb and frame Reed hadn’t been so perfect after all. But how could anyone have known that Reed would not only have an alibi, but his alibi would be that he’d been having sex with Webb’s daughter at the time. This kind of mistake couldn’t be made again. With Webb home from the hospital only today, he was already pushing Frank Nelson to reopen the Junior Blalock murder case. Finally the police were listening to Mark Leamon’s insistence that Junior’s real murderer was trying to frame Reed. Of course, most people didn’t believe a word in Reed’s defense, but most people weren’t the problem. The problem was that Webb now had serious doubts about Reed’s guilt.

  Before Frank reopened the Blalock case, another crime must be be committed – one in which Reed would be implicated. And there couldn’t be any mistakes. Everything had to be carefully planned down to the last detail. There was no time to waste. Spring Creek was about to have one of their most prominent, well-liked citizens murdered. Brutally killed by Reed Conway.

  ‘I won’t have that man in my house!’ Carolyn’s face contorted with rage. ‘I absolutely forbid it.’

  ‘Calm yourself,’ Webb said, his tone impatient. ‘If seeing Reed will upset you, then go upstairs to your room and stay there. I’ve invited him here, along with Mark and Frank Nelson. If I helped convict an innocent man fifteen years ago, then I think it’s high time I corrected that mistake.’

  ‘Just because Ella has forsaken everything for which this family stands, it doesn’t mean that you have to do an about-face when it comes to Reed Conway.’ Carolyn wheeled herself to her husband’s side, where he reclined on the sofa in his den. ‘Just because Reed didn’t shoot you doesn’t mean he didn’t kill Junior Blalock. And it certainly doesn’t mean there’s a conspiracy to frame Reed.’

  ‘Carolyn, I know that you’re upset about Ella’s involvement with Reed, but—’

  ‘I don’t want her name spoken. I can’t bear to think of how she has disgraced us. She’s as bad as Cybil. But at least my sister has had the decency not to publicly announce that she’s been sleeping with white trash.’ Carolyn sighed. ‘I shall never be able to forgive her.’

  ‘You don’t have a maternal bone in your body, do you?’ Webb glared at his wife. ‘I despise you for the way you’ve treated Ella since the night I was shot and you found out about her affair with Reed. He wouldn’t be my choice of a man for her either, but by God, there’s nothing that girl could ever do that would make me stop loving her.’

  ‘I’ve never understood why it has always been so easy for you to love her, a child that isn’t even ours, when you can’t love me, your own wife.’

  ‘Is that what this is really all about?’ Webb readjusted himself to a more comfortable position on the sofa. His wound was healing nicely, but he was still in some pain. ‘I’ve tried to convince myself for years now that even you couldn’t be jealous of your own child, but you are. You resent Ella because you know how much I love her.’

  ‘I’ve been a devoted mother to that child.’ Carolyn curled her hands into tight fists and held them in her lap. ‘And I have loved her. But now …’

  ‘Now what?’ Webb bellowed his question. ‘Now that she’s done something that displeases you, you’ve disowned her, kicked her out of our house, told her that unless she ends her relationship with Reed, you’ll never speak to her again.’

  Heat rose up Webb’s neck and suffused his face. There had been numerous times during the years he had been trapped in this farce of a marriage that he’d wanted to strangle Carolyn, but never more than at that precise moment.

  Webb leaned toward Carolyn, stared at her and grasped the arms of her wheelchair. ‘When Ella and Reed come here today, I want you to welcome our daughter with open arms.’

  ‘I can’t do that.’

  ‘Then get yourself upstairs and stay there until my guests have left.’ Webb glowered at his wife – his poor, pitiful, crippled wife. What had he ever done to deserve a life sentence, chained to Carolyn for as long as he lived? ‘And I’m warning you, woman, if my daughter isn’t welcome here, then neither am I. Is that what you want – to be left alone in this house, with only Viola to keep you company?’

  ‘What I want is a loving husband and a dutiful child,’ Carolyn said. ‘I thought at least I had the dutiful child, but it seems I was wrong on that count.’

  Carolyn met Webb’s stare, and the two gazes locked in mortal combat. Finally Carolyn glanced down at Webb’s hands, still clutching the arms of her wheelchair. ‘If you’d be so good as to release me, I’ll leave you to wait for you guests.’

  The minute Webb released his hold on the wheelchair, Carolyn glided toward the door, but stopped abruptly. Without glancing back, she said, ‘Please, tell Ella that I woul
d like for her to come home.’

  Webb cursed under his breath as he watched his wife disappear into the hallway. Damned infuriating woman. Why didn’t Carolyn appreciate how fortunate she was to have a daughter like Ella, who had been a dutiful child all her life? Until recently Ella had always bent over backward to please Carolyn, as well as to please him. And now he felt a bit guilty at having allowed Ella to devote so much of herself to Carolyn and him, as if she thought it her duty to repay them for having adopted her. If she knew the truth about her parentage, she would realize that he was the one who owed her. He had loved her the first moment he held her in his arms and, over the years, she had come to mean everything to him. She had been the joy of his life and had made him so proud when she decided to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer.

  There was nothing Ella could ever do that could make him stop loving her – not even having an affair with Reed Conway. As an elected official, the fact that his daughter was embroiled in a public scandal certainly created reelection problems. As a father, he worried that Ella would wind up hurt and disappointed. Webb felt certain that Reed was simply using Ella – using her to not only punish Webb, but to help himself by getting Ella to rally the local powers-that-be to prove he wasn’t Junior Blalock’s murderer. His baby girl was in danger of getting her heart broken and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. If he thought threatening Reed would do any good, then he’d have warned him off. But if there was one thing he’d learned about Reed Conway, it was that the man couldn’t be intimidated.

  ‘Will you please stand still?’ Ella said. ‘I’ll never get this thing tied right.’

  Reed pulled away, snatched off the silk tie and tossed it on the bed. ‘I’m not a suit-and-tie man. You’re wasting your time trying to make a silk purse out of this’ – he tapped his index finger on his chest – ‘sow’s ear.’

  ‘Today is very important. I think you should look your best.’

  ‘Babe, no matter what you do to improve my appearance, your daddy isn’t going to approve of me.’ Reed grasped Ella’s shoulders. He glanced down at the tan dress slacks and navy blue button-down shirt. ‘That’s what this makeover is all about, isn’t it? You want me to make a favorable impression on your old man.’