DEAD MAN'S JUSTICE - A Place of Evil (Stone & McLeish Thriller Series of Stories Book 2) by Gregory Stenson

wouldn’t want to hear.’
    Rachel burst into tears; she took a tissue from a box on the coffee table. Shadow realized just how much pain there was pent up in Rachel, best to let it all out, he thought.
    ‘There were threats and counter threats, Jack was going to go the papers, it would have ruined Nat’s career, Nat threatened to kill Jack but Alice was in love with him by this time and she knew she had to get out. There was a fight over custody of you, the children. At first Nat wanted her to leave and refused to listen to any talk about her taking you, Rebecca and Randy with her. They reached a compromise. Alice took Rebecca and had to leave you behind. She didn’t want to.’
    ‘What?’ Rachel said with moist eyes. ‘She didn’t?’
    ‘No. It broke her heart. But Nat, your Dad, was ruthless, he never wanted to see or talk to her again and that meant no contact, none whatsoever.’
    ‘So that’s why. I thought she didn’t love me. She never called or wrote to me, not once.’
    ‘That was your Dad’s doing, not hers. Don’t blame her for that.’
    Rachel was trying to take it all in. The news was breaking her heart after all these years. She sobbed uncontrollably into the tissue. After a few moments she realized she was close to knowing the whole truth and had to press him for everything.
    ‘So,’ she began. ‘How did she die? Was it in a car wreck?’
    Shadow knew this was coming, he’d come this far, he thought, she may as well know the whole story.
    ‘When she came up to me in the Bronx, she needed a job. She helped out at first, small stuff, nothing dangerous. A delivery here, a collection there but she got bored. She wanted in on the action.’ Shadow turned towards the window. This part was the painful part for him also.
    It still hurt.
    ‘We were out on a job, a kidnap job. Me, Chang and Alice. Alice had been looking after a hostage girl. We were nearly done. We’d got the money and Alice handed over the guy’s daughter.’
    Rachel was listening intently; she was hearing this for the first time. The tears had dried up. She could feel a weight lifting off of her shoulders. It was painful…but necessary to hear the truth at long last.
    ‘And?’ said Rachel.
    ‘And…the guy got angry, he pulled out a gun. He didn’t know what he was doing, obviously never held one before and pointed it straight at me. It all happened so fast. Alice saw the gun and told the guy to put it down, she thought she could talk him out of it but…he fired. Just as she was talking to him, she stepped out in front of me…and took the bullet.’
    ‘Did, did she suffer?’
    Shadow’s reply was instinctive, it was a long time ago and he remembered it as if it was yesterday but Rachel had now got the truth of how it happened. There was no need to hurt her any further. He blurted out his answer.
    ‘No no no. She died immediately; she wouldn’t have felt a thing. I promise you.’
    Shadow walked over to the drinks tray, which sat on a beautiful walnut bureau at the back of the couch.  He poured out brandy from a crystal decanter into two glasses and handed one to Rachel. She took it gingerly, her hands still trembling. The story put an end to all the years of speculation about her mother’s death.
    They sat in silence for several minutes. Shadow realized there was nothing more to say. He finished his drink and took out a business card. Well not so much a business card as an address card. He was branching out into more legit operations, some protection work here, some security work there. The card had the details of his new office and a voicemail service number. It was too dangerous to have his cell phone number on it and he thought it was wise to leave out the title ‘Gangster’ also.
    Rachel felt strangely calm. She picked up the card and watched as Shadow walked towards the door. Now that she was with Maloof she had no intention of getting involved again with Shadow. She decided to keep her options open though.