A Christmas Kiss (27 page)

"So where is Tio now?"

"They've sent him somewhere else. He's going to be reassigned. Given new duties."

"You need a place to stay?" Quinn reached in and pulled out his billfold. "The newspaper doesn't pay for stories, but I could personally see my way clear to helping you out with some cash for a decent hotel room."

Cori needed the money, but she didn't feel right taking it from a man she didn't know. "Just print the truth. At this point, I don't have anything to lose by telling it."

Quinn checked his watch. It was nearly five. He'd barely have time to write the story and make his deadline. "You sure you're going to be okay here alone?"

Cori wasn't sure that Jolene would show. But Quinn was not the protection she needed. "Thanks for coming."

She stood to shake his hand when the wall behind her exploded in cement chips.

"Oh, my God!" Farris grabbed her arm and tugged her down.

A loud voice echoed through the huge room. "Stay down, Brently."

Cori glanced up at the second level of the exhibit. The voice had come from there, and it was a voice she clearly remembered. Kit's voice. Her eyes searched the walkways until she saw a slight movement. Before she could determine who or what it was, a gunshot echoed and a wall on the second level exploded. There were two gunmen—one shooting at her, and one shooting at the other one.

"Who the hell is shooting?" Farris Quinn clutched his notebook and peered around the concrete barricade long enough to try to focus the camera. A bullet that came too close for comfort drove him back into hiding beside Cori.

"There are two of them." She could make no sense of any of it. How had they found her so easily?

And who was trying to protect her?

"Where's security?" Quinn asked. He could hear the sound of running feet and panicked voices calling for backup into walkie-talkies. There were also screams and crying. Security and tourists, if they had good sense, were headed straight for the exits.

Cori scanned the opposite side of the big room until she finally found what she was looking for, the barrel of a gun extending from behind a concrete pillar. The shooter. Or at least one of them.

And it wasn't Kit. His voice had come from the other side of the room. For a split second, she saw him, standing in the window of the cabin. Staring at her, capable of killing her, but walking away.

Dragging her through the swamp to be executed. It didn't make sense. Holding her breath, she stared at the upper landing.

The gun barrel extended, followed by a hand. Cori's heart was about to explode. "Kit, watch out!"

She called the words and then ducked, herself.

Instead of shooting the gunman stepped out from behind his cover. The gun was no longer pointed at Cori, but at Jolene's head. The man edged out so that Jolene was in clear view of Cori and Kit.

Cori recognized the city cop. "It's Jake Lewis!"

Lewis's grin was self-satisfied as he held a passive Jolene. "Wells, you're a dead man. And unless our irritating little witness wants to see her friend here spattered against the wall, I think she should stand up and come along with me. We only want to make certain she doesn't testify. If she cooperates, I'll release Red here and now. After DeCarlo is found innocent in the retrial, we'll release her."

Jolene struggled in his arms, finally biting his hand and freeing her mouth. "He'll kill me, anyway, Cori. Run! Don't listen to him."

The man jerked her viciously. "You'd better shut up, little Red, or I'll have to really hurt you." He nodded down at Cori. "Decide, Ms. Gleason. Or your buddy here is going to take a tumble." He pushed Jolene closer to the guard rail. The walkway he stood on was suspended over several of the larger aquatic exhibits and framed the background for the exotic bird aviary. It was a good thirty feet to the ground--to the unforgiving concrete floor.

"She's right, Brently, don't do it. He's going to kill the woman, anyway!" Kit's voice came out of the dark shadows.

Cori had estimated where he was, but she couldn't catch a glimpse of him. She only knew that he had no angle for a shot at Lewis. She hesitated. If she stood up, he'd shoot her on the spot, then probably push Jolene over the railing and make a dash for it. Kit might get him, but she and Jolene would likely be dead. She had to try to come up with an idea that would at least give Jolene her life. She had to think of something, and it had to be quick.

Joey herded the last of the tourists and employees out of the Aquarium. "Don't let anyone have a key," he ordered a frightened security guard, taking her set. "Not the city police, not anyone." He flipped his badge. "I'm a federal officer, and I'm in charge here. If you open this door to anyone but me you can go to prison for the rest of your life." The woman nodded so rapidly he heard her teeth click.

He felt a split-second's regret for his abuse of power, but there was no other way. He had no legal authority to commandeer the building, but he also had no choice. He had to make sure the building was secure.

The terrible truth was that he trusted no one else. Not the NOPD, not the marshals. He didn't know the source of corruption, but he was taking no chances with Cori's life.

He locked the door behind him, knowing as he turned the key that he'd possibly sentenced himself to death, but the gunman inside would never get out and escape. In another ten minutes television cameras would be out there, and the weight of the media attention would force the law enforcement officials to arrest the shooter, or to kill him on the spot. Joey grimly accepted the fact that the latter was the more likely scenario. He was a loose end that someone couldn't afford. Just like Cori.

At the sound of Kit's voice, shouting at Cori to stay down, Joey started jogging, softly, in that direction. With each word, his confusion grew. Wells seemed to be trying to keep Cori from getting killed. And they had Jolene in there. He'd suspected she'd been taken, but the solid fact sent a spurt of adrenaline to his already wired body.

At the wide doorway, he slowed. He couldn't afford to make a sound. His only hope was surprise, and the possibility that he could find a position before they knew he was in the Aquarium.

"Gleason, I'm going to count to ten. If you don't stand up, I'm going to push your little friend over the rail. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Don't do it, Cori! He'll push her and shoot you. Stay down."

Joey made a mental note of where the voices had come from. He thought he could locate all of them, except Cori, who'd remained silent. At last he heard Cori speak, and he placed her directly in front of him.

"Get out of here, Quinn," Cori whispered urgently. "Crawl over there and go, before you're killed, too."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Quinn didn't sound too certain, but he wasn't giving in to his fear.

Joey listened to the exchange with the newspaper reporter. He certainly hadn't expected an eyewitness from the media, but it was a smart move on Cori's part.

"I'm counting, Gleason. One, two, three..."

Joey sped around the building. Cori couldn't have picked a better place to stage a showdown, from his point of view. He'd always enjoyed strolling through the exhibits, and he knew the pathways that led to the second floor of exhibits. The area she'd chosen was his favorite. Especially the reptiles.

"Six, seven..."

He was on the second floor level, not far from the gunman. He stopped at the entrance, holding back in the shadows as he brought his gun up. He could just see the shooter's shoulder. Not the perfect target, but at least it was the gun arm. It was a risky shot, what with the point of the shooter's gun right against Jolene's head. His bullet could produce a reflex action that would kill Jolene.

"Eight, nine..."

Down on the lower floor, Cori started to stand. "Don't hurt her. I'm here."

Joey stepped forward and fired. There was no time for second guessing.

The explosion of the gun filled the vast room. Cori felt Farris drag her back down beside him, tucking her under him as if the Aquarium were going to fall apart in an earthquake.

There was a loud yelp of pain, and then a cry of terror.

Cori and Farris both peeked out, and Cori opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She watched in mute horror. Jake Lewis tottered on the walkway.

He grasped at his shoulder, then the railing, leaving a bloody print. As if he were performing a choreographed move, he toppled from the walkway and fell into one of the tanks.

"Incredible," Farris said as he lowered the camera. "I may have actually gotten that shot."

Before he could say more, the man in the tank rose to the surface screaming. He flailed in the water, his shrieks rising higher and higher.

"Oh, my God, it's the piranha tank!" Cori started forward until Farris pulled her back to safety.

"There's nothing you can do," he said, holding on to her. Cori struggled for release, but Farris held her tight. "I'm not going to let you kill yourself after that dramatic rescue. There could be other killers out there. Besides, I haven't gotten a really good photograph of you yet." He ignored her pummeling elbows and held on.

"Take it easy, Brently, the cavalry has arrived."

Kit's voice made Cori stop struggling. She turned to find him right behind her.

Kit looked at the newspaper man. "If you're a man who values his life, I suggest you take that film and your story and get back to the newspaper."

"Kit!" Cori realized instantly that he couldn't have shot Lewis. She turned back to the upper level to see a dark-haired man who bore a wonderful resemblance to Joey Tio rushing to try and pull the NOPD

officer out of the fish tank.

Farris lifted his camera, pointing it at Kit. Kit lifted his gun, pointing it at the camera. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said softly.

Farris lowered the camera. "It's a great story," he said.

"Yeah, it is. But so far, there's not a shred of evidence that I'm really alive. I'd like to keep it that way." He motioned toward the exit. "I think you should leave, Mr. Quinn. You'll miss your deadline if you don't go now."

Cori put her hand on the reporter's arm. "Thank you. You risked your life to help me. Now go." As he left, Cori turned her full attention to Joey, who'd at last pulled Lewis out of the tank. Even across the big room she could see that he was dead. But Joey was very much alive, and headed her way. He'd come after her! He hadn't given up on her.

"Cori, are you okay?" he called.

"I'm fine, Joey, see about Jolene." She could see the redhead clinging to the wall, obviously in shock.

"Where's Wells?"

"Right here," Kit answered.

Joey started toward them, his gun drawn. He didn't want Kit Wells anywhere close to Cori.

"It's okay, Joey, see about Jolene." Cori's fear of Kit was gone. She turned to face him. "Why?" she finally asked. "Why?"

"It wasn't ever intended to work out this way, Brently."

"Cori," she corrected him. "Brently is gone. She was used up."

"I don't have a lot of time." He looked toward the exit. "They'll be here, and it doesn't matter if it's the cops or the robbers. I'm not on anybody's side now. I want to tell you the truth."

"What happened?" She had once thought the answer to this question was the most important one in her life. Now she knew she could live without it, as long as she had Joey.

"It was a simple deal... Cori. Jake Lewis arranged it. Everyone in the department knew about your memory. I'd been bragging about you and how smart you were. So Lewis said if I could have you at Augustine's to witness an event, there would be a lot of money in it for me. A lot of money."

"And it didn't bother you that I would witness a double murder?"

"It wasn't supposed to be that. It was supposed to be an
attempted
murder. Ben DeCarlo didn't want to run for office. His father was pushing him hard. Lewis told me it was just a big press event, like a publicity stunt. Ben had set it up so that he would appear to try to nail his father. He'd get into big trouble, big headlines, and any political aspirations his father had for him would be destroyed. That would force his father to get off his back and leave him alone to run his wine business."

"He killed his parents, Kit. What I saw wasn't a staged press event. It was a double homicide."

"It wasn't supposed to be that. I swear to you, I would never have done that to you. It seemed like an easy way for us to get some money, a nest egg for a home, something to get started on. I had already begun to fall in love with you. I never intended for any of this to happen. It was supposed to be easy money for a harmless publicity stunt."

"At the price of my identity, my family, everything I cared about. I had to give all of that up, Kit.

However much they promised you, it wouldn't have been worth it."

"It was only supposed to be
attempted murder.
Don't you see? There wouldn't have been witness protection. Attempted murder isn't that big a crime! I was double-crossed. And then I had to figure out the best way to deal with it."

"Which was walking out on me. How noble."

His grip on her shoulders tightened. "You don't understand. They had their hooks into me, and I couldn't shake them loose. The only way to protect you was to let you go into the WP program. I had to say I didn't know anything about where they'd placed you. I did it to protect you, Cori.

Once Ben was convicted, once the trial was over, they wanted to kill you. They were afraid maybe I'd told you about the deal. The only way I knew to protect you was to disappear myself and then let the marshals look after you. It was working fine, too, until the retrial came up. Then I had to come back because I knew they'd kill you."

Cori jerked free of his hands. "You lured me back here! You set me up to be murdered!"

"That's not true."

"You put those candies in my studio, in my car. You made me determined to find you. I dare you to deny it!"

"I did use the chocolates." Kit's eyes were intense. "I was hoping to frighten you away. I told them I could convince you not to testify again. I said I could make you quit WP and go away. That's what I was trying to do. But you've changed, Cori. You're not the shy girl I... fell in love with. I thought I could scare you, and instead you came after me, which was the exact opposite of what I wanted."