Secrets and Lies | ✔️

Chapter 35 - Jackson

Ch.35 - Jackson

Jackson paced back and forth along the large picture window like a caged animal. 

Every few seconds his eyes darted through the sycamore trees lining the country road in front of the property wondering when the Wilson's might return home. Each minute felt like an eternity as he watched, waiting...

No way could that woman survive an attack like the one she'd had, his gut told him that. He had seen the way her blue eyes glazed over as she lie gasping on the floor, struggling to fill her lungs with air. By the time he'd walked away her breaths were so shallow they were barely there. Whatever had happened inside of her had a quick effect. He'd never seen anything like it. He was mesmerized by the ghostly pallor that glided across her skin and it took him back to a time, many years ago now, when he had seen that same look before. The look of death. There was no mistaking it.

The sound of the baby crying in the next room brought him back to reality. Here he had the perfect opportunity for revenge. He could watch the woman's chest rise and fall for the last time and then leave town with the baby. Let Charlie and Talia Wilson choke on that terrible twist. Whatever would they do without their beloved matriarch and bouncing baby girl? Knowing how horribly they'd suffer had been tempting, very tempting indeed. So tempting he'd almost followed through.

But as he walked into the nursery he began to wonder what he'd do with the child once he had it? Where would he take her? Every Fed in North America would be hot on their trail and since Carter was a baby girl from a working class family who'd already been through so much--the media would devour that bit of information--the public would surely have a field day, all too anxious to play hero. 

And what if someone had seen him walk into The Ivy House? What if they watched as he drove away in his rented silver sedan with Louisiana plates and a screaming brat inside? How would he debate his way out of that one? Not that he'd given the rental car company his real name, but how long would it take for some badge-wearing enthusiast to work out the details? Besides, he didn't come all this way to babysit. And what was he going to do...kill the kid? That hadn't been part of the plan.

Getting his hands dirty wasn't the problem, he just had no intention of rotting in jail for it. However he decided to take care of the Wilson's he would not incriminate himself, that much he knew. He had a life back in Seattle, a life he needed to get back to, and even his lawyers would have trouble clearing him of a child's death. No one liked a baby murderer. And after Charlie's failed hunting "accident" he was certain eyebrows would be raised, at the very least Ryan's, and that was enough. Boy Wonder had it in for him, and he wouldn't put it past him to take matters into his own hands. He had that unhinged look in his eyes.

No, he needed to wait. Jackson had plans for Charlie and Talia. And while getting rid of the mother--with her watchful hawk eyes--had a certain appeal to it, this way wouldn't work.

But honestly, he didn't know how long he'd be able to stay in that house. There were times he didn't feel alone. The occasional hint of cologne would waft past him, so subtle he wondered if he imagined it.And at night while he lay in bed, he could hear faint noises moving from room to room, like a mouse searching for a stray morsel of food. Only it sounded much bigger than a mouse. And sometimes, when he was lingering on the verge of sleep, a whisper would jolt him awake, although he could never quite make out the words. He even had to rearrange his bed, turning it to face the Northeast corner of the room because for some reason it felt as if someone were watching him from the ceiling. Good thing he wasn't paranoid.

He needed a cigarette.

Jackson opened the front door and walked onto the porch, the mid-afternoon heat slapping him in the face. He hated Florida. Everything about it. From the towering palm trees he'd passed on the drive through to the heinous Everglades he was now stuck in the middle of. The smell of wet grass and rotten eggs permeated the air, so much so he could never take in a deep breath. It made him feel cranky.