Evelyn David - Sullivan Investigations 01 - Murder Off the Books (28 page)

“Of course I killed him. I just hadn’t expected that getting that safe deposit key would take so much effort. Vince said he hid the key behind the photo. But then I figured out that Dan had taken the photo with him after his argument with Vince. Why he took that from his desk, but not his other things…. Ironic isn’t it?” Fieldstone walked over and made sure the door was securely bolted. “Since I’d prepared ahead of time and copied all of Dan’s keys, I was able to check out his apartment and his car. It wasn’t there. That’s when I realized he must have given it to you.”

“Yeah. So that’s what you were looking for when you broke into my house.”

Fieldstone waved Rachel ahead of her. “I think calling digging in your postage-sized garden a break-in a bit pretentious, don’t you? Enough chitchat. Let’s go get my key.” Just as they started out of the room, Carrie’s cell phone went off in her pocketbook.

Fieldstone reached into the cavernous bag, grabbed the shrieking instrument, and slammed it against the counter. The phone shattered.

“Guess it will go to voice mail,” Fieldstone said with a grim smile. With a nudge from the gun barrel, Rachel headed for the stairs.

Chapter 36

Mac winced as Tom carefully lifted JJ ‘s blouse, exposing the bloody gash running diagonally across the girl’s left rib cage–a rib cage that was a mosaic of blue and purple, covered with smears of clotted blood.

Tom took a large piece of gauze from his first aid kit and laid it gently over the gash.

“Well?” Mac remembered that the young detective had originally trained as a paramedic before joining the police department.

“The bullet grazed her. Caused a lot of bleeding and cracked some ribs. That’s why she’s having some trouble breathing.”

Mac knelt down beside Tom. “Why is she unconscious?”

“Shock, most likely. Maybe blood loss. She’ll probably be okay once the EMTs get an I.V. going.”

“Tom, I’ve got to leave. Will you stay with her?” Every minute counted now. Mac figured that Fieldstone must be looking for something–something she thought Rachel had. She’d probably been the one who had broken into Rachel’s house a few nights after Malwick was killed. If Rachel had what Fieldstone wanted, she’d give it to her. And once she did, she and Kathleen were dead.

“Mac, let
Greeley handle it. You don’t know where to look for them.”

Glancing at the clue Rachel had left, Mac knew where he was going to start. He got to his feet. “If I get close, I’ll call it in. I promise.”

Tom shrugged, as he taped down the bandage. “Okay. But be careful.” He looked up. “What are you using for transportation?”

Mac smiled and showed him a set of keys–keys that Tom had loaned Jeff earlier when he’d sent him to fetch the first aid bag from the trunk of the patrol car.

“No way.” Tom huffed. “I’ll lose my job. You don’t have a badge anymore.”

“Tell them I stole the car. You’ll be in the clear–you were busy saving JJ’s life.”

“Stealing a police car?” Tom shook his head. “Man, you don’t wanta do that. You’ll lose your P.I. license for sure even if Greeley doesn’t throw your ass in jail.”

“You’re right. Thanks.” Mac clapped a hand on the detective’s shoulder and smiled. “Tell them Jeff stole it.”

***

He counted the footsteps as they marched up the stairs. At ten, he slowly pushed open the pantry door and caught Carrie’s eyes, wide with fear, staring in his direction. A raised eyebrow asked if it was safe to come out.

Carrie nodded, silently urging him forward.

Ray crossed quickly to the bound women, flicking open the blade of his Swiss Army knife. He could hear Rachel and Fieldstone’s movements down the second floor hallway to the master bedroom.

“It’s somewhere in my bureau, I just have to….” Rachel’s voice carried down the stairs.

Carrie wriggled anxiously in her seat and Kathleen inched her chair forward.

“She did a good job with this tape. Give me a sec,” Ray whispered to the squirming teen, then froze at the sound of a creak from the back porch. “Shit.”

“
Mmmmph
?” Carrie mumbled, straining against her bonds to see who was there.

“I don’t know,” Ray hissed. He abandoned the women and crawled quickly to the backdoor, peeking through the gauzy curtains.

“Thank God.”

Lightning-fast, he snapped the deadbolt and held open the door for Mac and Jeff.

“Sweet Jesus.” Jeff cried, as he saw his wife, bound, gagged, bruised, and covered in JJ’s blood.

“Quiet,” Mac ordered, his voice low, but firm. “Where’s Rachel?”

Ray pointed towards the ceiling. “Upstairs getting some key for the crazy woman with the gun. I don’t know who she is but–”

“Okay, you and Jeff get Kathleen and Carrie out of here. Call the cops and wait next door until they arrive, then fill them in on what’s going on.” Mac moved towards the hall, gun drawn.

Jeff knelt beside Kathleen and pulled down her gag. “It’s okay Katie, my girl. I’ll have you out of here….” He froze as he heard voices on the steps.

“Okay, my departure date has been pushed up a little by your idiot brother’s interference
….”

“Dan doesn’t even know
….” Rachel’s voice projected into the kitchen.

Jeff immediately pushed the gag back over his wife’s protesting mouth, kissed the top of her head, and scrambled into the pantry with Ray. Mac ducked into the den.

***

“You have the key, let me call 9-1-1 for JJ.” Rachel stopped abruptly on the landing. The barrel of the gun pressed against her back.

“Keep moving.”

“You said that once you had the key, you’d let me call
….”

“And you believed me?”

The laugh sounded demonic to Rachel.

“You are a naïve little person.”

Rachel struggled to keep her voice calm. “She could bleed to death.”

“And I’m soooo worried about that possibility,” Fieldstone moved the gun to Rachel’s temple. “You know I’d hate to add murder to my list of sins. Oh wait, I already did.” She laughed again.

Rachel gulped and stepped back slightly from the gun barrel. She turned to face her captor. “What happens now?” She spoke loudly, hoping her voice carried to the kitchen.

“Don’t shout,” Fieldstone snapped.

“Sorry.” Rachel said more softly. “I’m…I’m just nervous.”

“Understandable.” Fieldstone nodded agreeably. “But get moving.”

“What are you going to do?” Rachel stayed in place.

“We’re going to take a little ride to the bank.” Fieldstone again moved the gun to Rachel’s head and this time the younger woman began to walk down the steps.

“You don’t need me at the bank. I’d just be in the way.”

“You’re not going into the bank.” Fieldstone explained patiently.

“Then why….”

Fieldstone smacked Rachel on the back of the head. “I’m not stupid, you know.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know that somebody is going to start looking for those two in the kitchen. I’m leaving them behind to make it clear that I have you and will kill you if anyone so much as makes me wait too long at a stoplight. Now get moving.”

“Mom.” Sam flung open the front door. “You home?”

Rachel froze on the bottom step. Fieldstone bumped into her, surprised by the sudden stop.

“There you are. I’ve been trying to get you on the phone. Did you leave your cell at the funeral home or did it run out of juice again?” Sam prattled on, oblivious to their company.

“Sam,” Rachel croaked. She cleared her throat. “What are you doing here?”

“I know you’re pissed at me.” He held up his hands in defense. “But first, can I have some money to pay the cabdriver and then I’ll–Who’s she?”

“Get out,” Rachel pleaded. “Turn around and leave now. If you won’t stay in school, you’ll have to go live with your father.”

Time slowed as she saw her son glance from his mother to the woman behind and she could literally see the lightbulb moment.

He opened his mouth and nothing came out. Then with a whoosh, “Holy shit. What the hell is going on?”

“Let’s test your cognitive skills. Do you know what I have in my hand?” Fieldstone pointed the gun at Sam.

He frowned, his eyes darting from the gun to the woman holding it. “Who are you?”

“That’s one miss.” Fieldstone shoved Rachel down the last step. “I expected more from you, Samuel. I thought Penn had higher entrance standards than Concordia. But then you’ve been spending most of your time playing boy detective. Let’s try an easier one. How many bullets do you think it would take to kill you at this distance?”

Sam paled. “Are you–”

“Answer her,” Rachel warned, remembering JJ’s fate.

“One.” His voice broke as his eyes flitted from his mother to the bizarre woman with the gun.

“Very good, young man. You bought yourself a little more breathing time. Or should that be breathing room?” Fieldstone smiled. “Never mind. Your mother and I have somewhere to be. I’m afraid you’re going to have to join the others in the kitchen.”

“You’re not going to get away with it,” Sam blurted out.

Fieldstone gestured towards the kitchen. “Rachel, we need more duct tape.”

The taxi horn sounded, the sudden noise filling the room.

Fieldstone jerked in alarm, convulsively pulling the trigger. The glass door on the nearby grandfather clock shattered, setting off the pendulum, causing the clock to chime repeatedly.

Rachel screamed as Sam dove for the floor.

“You okay, Mom? It’s just the cab. I told you I needed to pay….” Sam looked up and took a deep breath, his stunned expression mistaken by Rachel for pain.

“You
bitch
!” Rachel roared as she pulled from Fieldstone’s grasp. She threw herself towards her son, lying flat on the hardwood floor. “You shot him!”

“Get back here,” Fieldstone demanded, grabbing fruitlessly at the back of Rachel’s shirt, trying to restrain her.

“Go to hell.” Rachel scrambled to her feet, turned, and swung wildly at the woman. She didn’t care where she landed a punch. Fieldstone planned to kill them all; it was just a matter of when.

“Mom, don’t!” Sam tried to get up, but slipped on the broken glass.

Fieldstone easily dodged the blows by taking a step back, but Rachel charged ahead. The woman brandished her gun in Rachel’s face. “Do I really need to kill someone else to make you understand that I’m in charge here? Get the tape.”

Rachel ignored her, kneeling down beside her son. “Sam, where are you hurt?” She couldn’t see any blood but then again he was lying on his stomach. She needed to think, but the noise from the clock was making it impossible.

“Mom, please.” His voice shook as he watched the woman waving the gun.

Fieldstone yelled for both of them to shut up, nervously glancing around, her finger trembling on the trigger.

The grandfather clock continued to bang out its noisy death rattle.

“I’m warning both of you for the last time. Get into the kitchen or else.”

Sam glanced up and caught a glimpse of someone moving from the den along the side of the staircase. “Mom?”

“Are you all right?” Rachel urgently ran her fingers over every inch of his head, then his back and shoulders. “Baby, tell me where it hurts.”

“Mom,” he protested, shaking off her hands and stumbling to his feet. “I’m….” Sam saw Mac Sullivan appear behind Fieldstone.

The detective shook his head and mimicked grabbing his stomach.

Sam immediately wrapped both arms around his middle and let out a gasp much like a balloon with a puncture. “Mom, help me. She shot me.”

“Oh, my God,” Rachel got to her feet and tried to move his arms so she could see.

Sam jerked away, his thin frame hunched over, as he stumbled around the area near the front door.

Rachel followed, still frantically trying to get a look at her son’s wound. “Sam. Stop. You’re probably bleeding internally.”

Fieldstone waved her gun at the two, yelling, “You’re both crazy. I didn’t shoot him yet, I shot the clock.”

Moving up on her from behind, Mac grabbed the woman’s hand with both of his, crushing her fingers around the metal gun. “Drop it, Fieldstone. Your time’s up.”

Fieldstone shrieked and managed to squeeze the trigger again, putting the clock out of its misery.

***

The sound of yells, a struggle and breaking glass drove Jeff and Ray out of the pantry.

“Ray, cut Carrie loose and get her out of here. Now!” Jeff pointed the teen towards the young woman.

Ray set to work on Carrie’s bindings. She mumbled something behind her gag.

“What?” Ray asked, covering her body with his own as he sliced through the tape.

Carrie ripped off the gag with her free hands, while Ray worked on her bound ankles. “We should go out some time.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ray answered, yanking the freed young woman from the chair and hauling her towards the back door.

Jeff grabbed a butcher knife from the wooden block on the counter. With the sharp blade, he was able to slice quickly through the tape binding Kathleen’s arms. Kneeling on the floor, he could hear the grandfather clock clanging from somewhere in the front of the house as he sawed through the bunched tape holding her ankles to the chair legs. He needed to hurry.

With her hands free, Kathleen managed to tug off her gag just as he freed her legs. “Oh, God. Jeff!”

She fell into his arms. “Did you find JJ? She was–”

Jeff stood, bringing Kathleen to her feet also. He gave her a quick kiss and brushed the red curls out of her eyes. “We got her.” He looked at Ray who was dragging Carrie out the door. “Go with them.”

“Not without you.” Kathleen dug her nails into Jeff’s arm.

“I’ll be fine.” He spun her around and shoved her towards the back door. “Ray,” he yelled, “Call the cops.”