Page 35 of The Perfect Deception (Jessie Hunt #40)

Jessie had Devery shut off the siren a half mile from Prager’s place. If Vanessa Winston was there, she didn’t want to give the woman any warning that they were close.

They came to a stop one house down from Prager’s Colonial Revival mansion, so as not to be seen through the front windows, then went the rest of the way on foot.

“Remember,”

Jessie said as they ran toward the house.

“our first priority is securing Elise Prager’s safety. Arresting Vanessa Winston is secondary. And if she is there, make every effort to capture her without using lethal force.”

Devery nodded and unfastened his holster, his nervous fingers fumbling slightly. As Jessie did the same, she heard her words and wondered if that last directive was directed more at herself than at Devery. She hadn’t truly tested how effective her violence-curbing strategies were under real duress. Now she might be about to have the chance. After everything she’d done to prepare herself for this moment, it had to go well. If it didn’t, she wasn’t sure that she could ever be helped.

They arrived at the same front door that Jessie brought coffee and muffins to twelve hours ago, which felt like an eternity. She immediately noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Considering that when she and Ryan came here this morning, Prager had multiple locks on the door, this was not a great sign.

“Remove your weapon,”

she instructed Devery.

“I’m going to push the door open and you go in first. I’ll be right behind you.”

Even though he was technically the law enforcement officer, she had way more experience than him in situations like this and felt no compunction about giving the orders. Based on his quick nod, he didn’t seem to mind either.

She pushed the door open slowly and Devery sidestepped into the foyer. She followed. They stood there for moment, listening for any voices or other sounds that might suggest an altercation. Hearing nothing, they eased forward.

“All the prior victims were found in the main bedroom, so I’m going to go upstairs to check that out,”

Jessie said quietly.

“You can continue to search the first floor.”

Devery, to her surprise, shook his head vigorously.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hunt, but Detective Hernandez texted me after your call. He specifically told me not to let you put yourself in harm’s way. If I permitted you to go up there, I’m pretty sure that he’d have me killed. Why don’t you search the downstairs and I’ll go up?”

“He had no right to put you in that situation!”

Jessie was furious.

“But he did. So please don’t make it worse. You stay down here. I’ll call you up once I’ve assessed the situation.”

There wasn’t time to argue anymore.

“Fine. But stay alert. I said that Prager’s safety was our top priority but that’s not entirely true. Yours is. Don’t put yourself at risk.”

“Got it.”

He was already starting up the stairs.

As she watched him go, Jessie knew in her heart that Ryan was right. She was rusty. She was exhausted. She’d had a head injury two months ago. And she had a proclivity to release her fury in unhealthy ways, to put it mildly. But it still didn’t feel great to have her husband pull rank.

Though she wasn’t happy about being relegated to downstairs duty, Jessie did her best to stay focused. She headed along the same long hallway as this morning until it opened into the giant living room where they’d questioned Prager. There was no one there.

She moved into the adjoining kitchen and breakfast room. Those, too, were empty. She was about to check out what looked like a banquet hall just off the kitchen when she noticed that the door from the breakfast room to the outside patio was open just a bit.

She glanced out, scanning the patio, the pool, and beyond that, the backyard guest house. Though she couldn’t be sure, she thought she saw movement behind a cream curtain in the front window.

She was tempted to shout out to Devery or call him. But she might just be seeing shifting shadows in the guest house. And if the young officer was trying to be stealthy as he approached the main bedroom and Winston was up there, she’d be putting him at risk. So she decided to check it out on her own.

She stepped outside and scurried along the edge of the yard, doing her best to make sure she couldn’t be seen if anyone was in the guest house and looked out. In the distance, she thought she heard the sound of multiple sirens approaching.

She briefly considered holding off, but feared that by the time the cavalry arrived, it might be too late, so she kept going. When she sidled up next to the door, she noted that it was closed. As carefully as she could, she turned the handle. It gave and she inched the door open.

As she did, she heard a voice