Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry Read online

  Next came the crash. Gina and Junior were thrown forward into the backs of the front seats as the SUV plowed into a tree trunk and came to an abrupt halt.

  Gina was semiconscious, at first unable to move. Every part of her body hurt. She saw Junior stir, lean forward, and reach for something on the floor. Lacking the strength to fight again, she struggled to open her door, almost falling out as she did so. She turned back to see Junior raising the gun toward her again. Then she felt a strong hand pull her from the vehicle and force his body between her and the backseat of the car.

  “Police! Don’t Move!” the patrolman screamed at Junior as he pointed his firearm at him.

  Gina staggered toward another cop who was running to the scene. She had her hands over her ears in an attempt to silence the ringing in them. I’m safe, she thought. Thank God I’m safe.

  Epilogue

  Four months later

  Gina and Ted held hands as they climbed off the trolley that had taken them through the mangroves to the bar on the beach in Pelican Bay. Marian waved and gestured them to the table she and Gina’s father had reserved.

  After hugs and handshakes Marian said, “I want to see that gorgeous ring your father told me about.”

  Gina held her hand forward, proudly displaying the engagement ring Ted had given her on Christmas Eve.

  After they were seated and had ordered cocktails, Gina’s father said, “We’ve been following some of it in the papers, but bring us up-to-date on what’s going on with those scoundrels at REL.”

  Gina laughed. “Where to begin. Of course you know Brad Matthews was fired the day the story broke. Losing his job is the least of his problems. Fourteen women have filed sexual abuse suits against him and REL.”

  “Frederick Carlyle, Jr., is in even bigger trouble,” Ted added. “He’s been indicted for three murders that he’s trying to blame on his chauffeur. And of course,” he looked at Gina, “for attempted murder.”

  “The chauffeur never made it to the hospital alive, so he’s not around to defend himself,” Gina said.

  “Dick Sherman, the CEO, got fired. He’s insisting he’s entitled to his huge severance package. REL disagrees. The lawyers are going to have a lot of fun with that one,” Ted said.

  “What’s going to happen to the one who was going around scaring the women into taking settlements?” Marian asked.

  “That was Michael Carter. From what I hear, he’s trying to cut as many deals as he can,” Gina responded. “He’s agreed to testify against Carlyle Jr. and a slew of others.”

  “The editor who tried to get you to stop investigating, I hope he got what he deserved,” Gina’s father said.

  “REL fired him as soon as they found out he had taken a bribe to kill the story. He’s suing and, of course, the lawyers are fighting,” Gina replied.

  “There it goes,” they heard a woman from a neighboring table say.

  Their attention turned toward the water. There was near silence as they and other patrons beheld the wonder of another magnificent sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. As the sun dipped below the horizon and the orange glow began spreading outward across the distant clouds, Gina glanced over and saw her father’s hand cover Marian’s. At the same instant she felt the warm caress of Ted’s hand on the back of her neck. The moment was punctuated by the words of a song that had been written almost one hundred years earlier:

  There’s a somebody I’m longin’ to see

  I hope that he turns out to be

  Someone who’ll watch over me

  More from the Author

  You Don't Own Me

  I've Got My Eyes on You

  Every Breath You Take

  All By Myself, Alone

  The Sleeping Beauty…

  As Time Goes By

  About the Author

  The #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark has written forty suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a historical novel, a memoir, and two children’s books. With Alafair Burke she writes the Under Suspicion series, including The Cinderella Murder, All Dressed in White, The Sleeping Beauty Killer, Every Breath You Take, and You Don’t Own Me. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she has coauthored five more suspense novels. More than one hundred million copies of her books are in print in the United States alone. Her books are international bestsellers.

  SimonandSchuster.com

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Mary-Higgins-Clark

  @simonbooks

  ALSO BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK

  I’ve Got My Eyes on You

  All By Myself, Alone

  As Time Goes By

  The Melody Lingers On

  Death Wears a Beauty Mask

  I’ve Got You Under My Skin

  Daddy’s Gone A Hunting

  The Lost Years

  The Magical Christmas Horse (Illustrated by Wendell Minor)

  I’ll Walk Alone

  The Shadow of Your Smile

  Just Take My Heart

  Where Are You Now?

  Ghost Ship (Illustrated by Wendell Minor)

  I Heard That Song Before

  Two Little Girls in Blue

  No Place Like Home

  Nighttime Is My Time

  The Second Time Around

  Kitchen Privileges

  Mount Vernon Love Story

  Daddy’s Little Girl

  On the Street Where You Live

  Before I Say Good-Bye

  We’ll Meet Again

  All Through the Night

  You Belong to Me

  Pretend You Don’t See Her

  My Gal Sunday

  Moonlight Becomes You

  Silent Night

  Let Me Call You Sweetheart

  The Lottery Winner

  Remember Me

  I’ll Be Seeing You

  All Around the Town

  Loves Music, Loves to Dance

  The Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories

  While My Pretty One Sleeps

  Weep No More, My Lady

  Stillwatch

  A Cry in the Night

  The Cradle Will Fall

  A Stranger Is Watching

  Where Are the Children?

  BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK AND CAROL HIGGINS CLARK

  Dashing Through the Snow

  Santa Cruise

  The Christmas Thief

  He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

  Deck the Halls

  BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK AND ALAFAIR BURKE

  You Don’t Own Me

  Every Breath You Take

  The Sleeping Beauty Killer

  All Dressed in White

  The Cinderella Murder

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Nora Durkin Enterprises, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition November 2019

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

  ISBN 978-1-5011-7170-3

  ISBN 978-1-5011-7171-0 (ebook)