Earthbound : A gripping crime thriller full of twists and supernatural suspense by Fynn Perry (popular romance novels TXT) 📗

meal. The attack got a mention for a few seconds in the ‘Other News’ segment without any reference to an arrest having been made.

Eight

The next day, Hardwell’s arraignment took place, as scheduled, at 10:00 a.m. Just as Jennifer’s father had predicted, Robert Devereux had tried to submit a plea that his client was not competent to stand trial for reason of insanity. But Devereux lost the ensuing argument with the judge, who ruled the case would, despite the plea, go to a full trial. Hardwell was forced to amend his plea to Not Guilty.

Outside the courtroom, Jennifer waited in the wood-paneled corridor, deep in thought and tuned out from the sounds of whispered conversations, the rustle of papers, and hurried footfalls echoing off the polished marble floor. Her priority was to get back to John, who was still cooped up in her bedroom, but she couldn’t leave without first saying good-bye to her parents. They had not stopped bickering since the arraignment finished and were continuing to do so in hushed tones to her side. Her only reason for showing up had been to see if Devereux or Hardwell was still possessed. There was no sense in John coming along and risking an attack by the evil spirit she had seen in the precinct. As it turned out, neither man was possessed anymore. She had no doubt in her mind that the spirit had provoked the aggressive behavior in Hardwell—the desire to kill—but she wondered now whether the stabbing was some kind of random act of opportunistic evil on the spirit’s part or whether there was a motive. Was the entity out there now, somewhere in the city, looking for John’s spirit? How would they see him coming if he chose to hide within someone new?

She was forced to abandon her thoughts when two men approached. She recognized Jim Donovan but not the second man, whom she had seen earlier, at a distance, in the courtroom. Her parents stopped talking and after Jennifer had forced herself to smile and say a greeting to Donovan, they introduced the second man as Tom Logan, John’s father, explaining they had first met both men outside the ICU on the night of the stabbing. Up close, the resemblance was more than passing, his warm greeting giving her a brief reminder of John’s crooked smile before his face settled to a look of concern and exhaustion as he queried how she was feeling. Jim Donovan stood close by him, playing the supportive friend. Jennifer was glad John wasn’t there to see it.

As Tom Logan and her father compared what news they had on the case, Jennifer was pulled away by her mother until they were out of earshot of all three men. “I don’t want to appear insensitive, sweetheart…” Which meant she was about to be very insensitive. “… But now this Hardwell character has been caught, you can put it all behind you.” She paused and tried to speak more softly, but her words came out in the same, official-sounding tone. “You can’t wait forever for John to recover. He has no choice in putting his life on hold, but you do. You have to get on with your own life.”

A few years ago, Jennifer would have reacted differently––confused and angry at the callousness— but now she knew better. There was always an ulterior motive behind it.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I have a meeting at my hotel. It’s another art investor. I’ll be as quick as I can and I’ll meet you back at your father’s house later. Are you OK to go home?”

“I’m fine, Mom, as always,” Jennifer answered. As usual, her mother just wanted to get on with her own life and assume that all Jennifer’s problems were solved. She watched her say hurried good-byes to everyone and hail a cab.

“I have to get back to the office, honey. Are you OK to get back yourself?” her father asked.

Jennifer nodded and called an Uber.

Back home, Jennifer passed John lying on the couch as she headed straight to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Her love of tea had come from her mother. She couldn’t imagine her day without tea—six cups a day was her average. It was her addiction and her comfort, and she needed one now.

She told him first about meeting his father, about his smile, his charm, and how they’d reminded her of John.

Their eyes locked for a long minute after that, the division between them becoming almost unbearable. She broke the silence and told him about the arraignment. There wasn’t much to say. It was a brief process by the court, with a single but important takeaway––Hardwell would stand trial. “All we know for sure is that Hardwell attacked you. And now he’s in custody. Maybe it ends here, John. He was jealous of you because he thought I was my mother and you were dating me. I mean, my mother…Sheesh! How screwed up is that?” she commented.

“Very,” John shrugged. “But it doesn’t end with Hardwell being put away. Donovan is somehow connected. He threatened his employee, McGinty, to keep quiet about the attacker’s identity. And then there’s the manic-looking spirit you saw coming out of Hardwell. It’s somehow involved too.”

“Come upstairs. I might have something that could help explain the spirit part in all of this.”

In her room, Jennifer got out her phone after hearing she’d received a text message. “My mom’s not coming today after all. Apparently, her meeting with an art investor had been extended.”

“She buys art?”

“Yeah, she was big on art when we lived in Miami. She ran an art gallery for some investors my father introduced her to. Now her boyfriend, Phil, has invested a stack of money in it and they’ve opened a gallery together. She’s doing well, much better than Dad.”

Another ping, and yet another text from her mother. “Now she wrote that she has to fly back to Miami tomorrow. A meeting with another art investor.”

“So that’s it?