An Inner Fire (37 page)

“I never wanted to involve Davis. You’re the one who got him to scrutinize the department.”

Her stomach did flutters and flips, shooting straight to her knees making them rubbery, making it hard to stand.

“You know you should’ve stayed home. This wouldn’t have been necessary if you had stayed out of it.”

Grayce stepped back. Mitzi jerked on her leash, trying to get closer to Niles, to wedge herself between Grayce and the villain.

“If you hadn’t put Davis on to the Russians.” The desperation in Niles’ voice made Grayce want to race right out the door.

“If Davis isn’t taken into police custody, you’re staying until my son gets on his plane.”

“Davis didn’t do anything.” Grayce pulled Mitzi closer to her.

Backed against the wall, Grayce couldn’t move away from Niles’ menacing posture. Mitzi strained toward Niles.

“My son and his family leave Russia tomorrow morning. If they don’t take Davis into custody, then you’ll be my bargaining chip to convince Davis not to go to the feds until Nicholas escapes.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The Russian’s expect Davis to be taken into custody. If the Russians find out that Davis is free to bring in the Feds, they’ll never allow Nicholas to leave.”

“I won’t tell anyone until your son is free.”

“The Russians miss nothing. They’ll know. They have spies all over. I’m sure you were followed here.”

Niles stepped toward her, his hand outstretched. “Don’t make this hard on yourself.”

She inched away from his hand.

“We’ll wait for the outcome of the meeting in the annex. Davis has been with the chief for hours and should be finished soon.”

“The annex?” She needed to get outside and run.

“It’s where the firefighters used to sleep while the station was being remodeled.” Niles guided her, placing his hand on her back.

Grayce recoiled from his touch on her back. Walking next to her out to the street, Mitzi kept up her insistent rumble.

“Right there is the annex.” He pointed to a squat cinder-block structure, tucked between the red brick buildings of Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. The annex was dark and looked like a WWII bunker.

At the sight of the bleak building, her nervous system heightened to a fine pitch. She hoped the high-octane tremors going through her body would subside once she started to run.

“What’s the building used for now?”

“Administration and support staff.”

Hyper-vigilant, she became aware of the rain dripping down her neck, the sound of the trolley scraping the tracks, the horn blast of the Bainbridge Island Ferry. Her muscles clenched, ready for the run.

“Please. Don’t try to run. You won’t get far.”

As if Mitzi understood Niles’ threat, the poodle jumped and attacked Niles.

Dropping Mitzi’s leash, Grayce ran. She ran toward the trolley stop, but no one was there waiting. She changed direction, moving toward Occidental Square. Her flats couldn’t get traction on the uneven bricks. She slipped sideways. She cried out when the pain shot from her twisted ankle.

Grayce didn’t look back. With her leash dragging, Mitzi caught up to Grayce.

Niles was gasping for air behind her. She entered the square, usually crowded at this hour. The incessant rain had cleared the area. A homeless man, cocooned in a plastic tarp, slept on a park bench. No one else was out in the rain.

Niles was shouting, “Grayce…wait.” His voice was strained from his effort.

She had put a fair distance between them. Mitzi remained next to Grayce.

Grayce had to double back to get out of the isolated industrial waterfront. In her panic, she had over run. She had to get back to Jackson Street, where coffee shops abound. He couldn’t abduct her out of a Starbucks.

She turned to make for the alley that ran behind the department to Jackson Street. Niles was slow enough that he wouldn’t be able to cut her off at the far end of the alley. Revitalized, she sprinted toward the alley.

Suddenly, her foot caught between two bricks. She crashed to her hands and knees on the pavement.

Ignoring the flash of agony, she pulled herself up, wiped her hands on her coat and grabbed Mitzi’s leash. Niles was shouting something about Davis. Mitzi barked ferociously. She turned the corner into the alley. A lone dumpster sat in the long dark passage.

The smell of rotting garbage hit her in the face. Grayce hugged the wall, trying to put some space between herself and the putrid-smelling dumpster. The sounds of her footsteps and Mitzi’s clicking toenails reflected off the brick buildings.

Two Norway rats climbed among the bags of garbage. An involuntary shudder shook her body with the nearness of the giant rodents.

The alley was black with no street light. Niles’ footsteps echoed in the alley. His bulk didn’t slow him down. Davis had told her that Niles had been an amazing athlete, but his prospects as a football star had ended with an injury.

At the sound of Niles’ footsteps, she tried to increase her speed. Her lungs burned and the pain in her side throbbed relentlessly.

She could burst into the station and scream that Niles was chasing her. Would anyone believe her after her blunder on the Space Needle? She put her hand over Cassie’s necklace. A deep sense of awareness of her sister gave her an energy burst. She sprinted.

She crossed Washington Street. A black SUV careened down the street. Two men in the massive vehicle headed the wrong way down the one-way street. The driver accelerated when Grayce dashed toward the next alley. Niles shouted something.

A short block and she would be free.

Niles followed close behind, gaining. No rat-infested dumpsters in this alley. Mitzi ran next to Grayce.

Niles’ footsteps got louder. A woman with a red umbrella passed in front of the alley. Safety was close. The coffee shop filled with people was in her sight.

She heard an engine revving when she and Mitzi crossed Jackson Street. The black SUV accelerated, ran the red light, aimed to hit them.

Grayce and Mitzi sprinted the last fifty yards to the coffee shop.

Niles bolted across the street, maneuvering to avoid being hit by a taxi. The driver of the SUV gunned the engine, bearing down on Niles. Niles didn’t stand a chance against the 5,000-pound force. Niles flew into the air like a small bird in flight.

The chatter in the coffee shop stopped with the sickening sounds of Niles being struck, and the shattering of the windshield when he bounced on the hood. Motionless, Niles rolled off and crashed to the sidewalk.

An unnatural silence followed.

The SUV sped away.

Grayce ran out of the coffee shop to Niles. He lay face up with his eyes open. Blood poured from a deep laceration in his forehead. A pedestrian had bent over Niles, taking his pulse. He was barely conscious, his eyes were unfocused, his respirations shallow. The sirens started to howl. The fire station was next door to headquarters. Blood dribbled out of Niles’ mouth.

Grayce knelt by Niles’ head. Mitzi lay down next to Grayce. “I’m so sorry, Niles.” Grayce took his cold hand in hers. She prayed silently for him, not understanding how this moment had come to pass. His face had lost all color.

Niles tried to speak, “Tell Davis…”

Grayce bent her head closer to Niles’ white lips.

Niles closed his eyes. He gasped, “My son… I did it for my son.”

She squeezed his icy cold hand tight.

Niles rasped, “In my prayer book.”

Someone lifted her by the elbow. “Ma’am, I’ll need you to stand back. Let me attend to him.”

The medics bent down to attend to the chaplain. “Good Lord! It’s Niles Olsen.”

Chapter Fifty-Four

Davis sprinted toward Jackson Street. Niles was down.

He saw the ambulance—a good sign that they hadn’t taken Niles to the hospital yet. Davis pushed through the bystanders, reverting to his professional role, in control.

A crowd of blue uniforms huddled around Niles. At any minute, Davis expected to hear Niles’ reassuring voice, making light of the situation.

Davis heard a familiar bark. Mitzi and Grayce stood with a policeman away from the medic crew. He couldn’t take in all that was happening. Grayce was wrapped in a blanket, protecting her from the rain. Even at ten feet away, he could see her pallor. Mitzi yipped but didn’t move from Grayce’s side.

Davis could see above the heads to where Niles lay on the wet pavement. A full code was underway. Sean gave chest compressions, Lisa pumped the ambu-bag, and Ron stood back, paddles in hand, after defibrillation.

Sean slowly shook his head.

His giant friend lay still, his face ashen.

Davis’ vision narrowed. He fought to stay upright. He couldn’t breathe. He bent over, trying to suck air into his lungs. Niles was dead. He needed to stay in control. Take charge or he would shatter.

Silence filled the space around him, broken by Mitzi’s yipping. Davis began to move, his feet unsteady on the uneven bricks. He walked toward Grayce, who stared into space, oblivious to his presence.

“Grayce?” His voice sounded flat and hollow.

Grayce walked into his arms.

He could barely hear her whisper, “He’s dead.”

He tightened his hold on her. Mitzi whined, a pitiful sound.

The policeman waited.

“Do you have what you need, officer?” Davis asked.

“I’ve got it for now.”

Davis dug in his pants for his card. He handed the card to the policeman, appreciating the irony of the situation. If he and the brass had finished their meeting, he might not have retained his rank, and been able to pass out his FI card.

“I’m taking you back to the station.” He put his arm around her and steered her around the crowd. He avoided the medics and his fallen friend. He pulled Grayce closer, trying to warm her.

“Honey, I’m taking you to the annex where we can get you blankets and something hot to drink.” He didn’t want Maclean or the chief to know she had been present when Niles was hit. Neither had been pleased by her involvement on the Space Needle.

“Niles tried to take me there.” Her face was colorless, making her green eyes enormous.

“What?”

“He had the scar… If it weren’t for Mitzi….” She clenched her teeth in an attempt to stop the chattering. Her complexion was colorless; her lips were blue and pressed together as if in pain. “He was the one in the garden and my nightmare.”

“Grayce, I can carry you.”

She shook her head. “No, Davis, I can walk. I’m wet and cold.”

He quickened their pace, guiding her to the annex, to an on-call room. She must be in shock since she didn’t laugh when he handed her sweats, size XXL.

Sipping hot tea, her color gradually returned, first her face, then finally her hands and feet. Mitzi lay on top of Grayce’s feet as a foot warmer. Smart dog.

Grayce lifted the Styrofoam cup to her lips. “Why didn’t I suspect him? I’m thinking my intuition must not have worked since Niles wasn’t trying to hurt you. He was trying to protect his son.”

Davis bent down to be face-to-face with Grayce. “Honey, take a deep breath.”

“We’ve got to find his son.”

He took her hands in his and rubbed them together to warm them. “It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about that now.”

Grayce had implied that Niles was the dirty connection. She had to be wrong.

She closed her eyes. “I could’ve prevented his death… I should’ve known sooner, but I got distracted by Maclean’s scar and his gambling.”

“Grayce, breathe. It will help.”

She wiped her nose with the oversized sleeve. “If I had known sooner, I might have stopped his murder.”

“It was an accident. Niles was hit by a car.”

Her long hair, wrapped in a turban, gave her the look of an Egyptian goddess. She shook her head, the towel swayed back and forth.

“Mitzi and I made it into the coffee shop, but Niles was too slow.” A shudder racked her body. “They’re going to go after his son.”

“You almost got hit?” He asked.

“The men in the black SUV. They ran the red light and aimed for Niles.” Her voice shook. “He flew in the air…” She gulped for a breath.

“Men in a black SUV were chasing you and Niles?”

“I didn’t know if they were after me or Niles, since Niles was chasing me.”

He pulled over a chair and sat in front of Grayce, knee to knee. He couldn’t let his surge of fury that Niles had been pursuing her distract him.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I should’ve trusted you. I’m so sorry. Niles was the traitor.”

“Niles was dirty?”

She reached over and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry. I know he was a friend.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Agony turned and twisted in his gut.

“He’s the one, the connection in the department.”

“Niles set me up? He gave the chief the note that linked me with Benson and the Russian mob?” None of them had considered the possibility that Niles had authored the note. “Did Niles say why he accused me?” He coughed trying to hide the cracking emotion in his voice.