Killer Love (50 page)

Perry chuckled. “Calm down, Willie. I wasn’t gonna make her scream.”

Wil heard a shuffling movement, followed by Perry’s voice in the background, but he couldn’t understand the words. Then, he heard Lindsey say tearfully, “I’m okay, Daddy. I love you.”

Wil’s heart clenched painfully and his throat tightened with unshed tears. He wanted to murder the son of a bitch, but he held onto his rage when Perry came back to the phone.

“See, Daddy, she’s fine.”

“Thanks for letting me hear her voice.”

Perry erupted in laughter. “Oh, wow, you’re being awfully civilized. Downright charitable, in fact. Pretty soon, you’ll be offering me a reach-around.”

“I just want to work this out without anyone getting hurt. We can do that, you know. You haven’t killed anyone yet. If you release Lindsey, I can make them go easy on you. You won’t do any time.”

“Hmmm. You raise an interesting proposal. However, there’s a flaw in your plan. You know, about me not killing anyone yet. How closely did you look into your wife’s suicide?” he continued, amusement in his voice. “I know you can’t see me, but I did air quotes around the word ‘suicide’, get it?”

Wil scowled, trying to concentrate on Diane’s car and Perry’s words. No, he didn’t get it. What was...?

And then, suddenly, he did.

Oh, God. His body went cold and a loud buzzing started in his ears. “Did you...?” His voice was low, strained. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Did you kill my wife?”

“We have a winner! See, I’ve watched you for a long time, Teddy. Does that make you feel important? That I’ve been so interested in your life for so long?”

Wil swallowed painfully, his horrified mind digesting the information. Lindsey had said she’d heard a man that night. Wil thought it had been a dream. But it hadn’t. It had been a fucking nightmare. Tara hadn’t left them on purpose—she’d been taken from them by this monster.

Wil drew in a deep breath. He couldn’t think about that now. He had to get Lindsey back, safe and unharmed.

And then, the bastard would pay.

“Yes, I see,” Wil replied stonily.

“Now you understand how serious this is? How serious I am? Think you can play by my rules now?”

“Yes, whatever you want. I’ll trade myself for Lindsey. Then you can defuse the explosives inside Abby and it will be just between you and me, like it should be.”

“Sorry, wish it could be that simple, but it can’t. That’s not the plan I had in mind.”

“Then tell me,” Wil shouted, losing the hold he had on his counterfeit patience. “What the hell do I have to do to get my daughter back?”

“If you ever want to see Lindsey again,” Perry replied calmly. “You have to kill the mayor.”

Chapter Fourteen

Wil sat in stunned silence for a moment, not sure he’d heard correctly. Then he said, slowly, disbelievingly, “You want me to kill the mayor?”

“You got it.”

“You’re fucking deranged.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Perry said modestly, as if shrugging off a compliment. “But it’s good to know I have your endorsement in case I get caught and plead insanity.”

“Why do you want me to kill him?”

“Bingham was your captain when you killed my sister. He covered for you. Helped you get away with murder. I want him to die at the hands of his best friend. I want his family to suffer as I’ve suffered and I want you to live the rest of your miserable life knowing you murdered your best friend.”

“I didn’t murder your sister,” Wil said dully. “It was self-defense. They cleared me of any wrong-doing.”

“Of course they did. You pigs stick together.” His voice was low, but filled with rage, and Wil worried for Lindsey.

“What, exactly, is your plan?” Wil asked. Wanting to know, yet not wanting to.

“Now, that’s much better. This is what I wanted to hear. A spirit of cooperation, enthusiasm for the task at hand.” Perry went on, as if they were co-conspirators, “Here’s the plan. Mayor Bingham is speaking at the statehood celebration this weekend. Sometime during his speech, you kill him. The easy part is, I don’t care how you do it, or even if you get caught. It’s going to be out at the beach, so your options are limitless. You can do it with a long range rife, right up close with a handgun, or from a boat. In a house, with a mouse.” He chuckled at his Dr. Seuss reference. “It’s televised, so I’ll be watching every move. And, by the way, your girlfriend has to be there, too. The crowd will be shown, and I’d better see her there, at least catch a glimpse of her.”

“Why?”

“I want her there, just in case things go wrong and I decide to end it all then. She’ll be my little human grenade, all tucked in amongst the crowd. Other than that, all you have to do is make sure your friend is dead by the time the credits roll. Oh, yeah, and you can’t tell the authorities, or the mayor. If I see even a hint that he knows something is amiss, Lindsey dies. And, don’t think you can tell him and he’ll be able to play it off like he doesn’t know. That wouldn’t be very smart. I don’t think you want to gamble your daughter’s life on his acting abilities.”

“You really think I can do this? Kill my best friend?”

“You can if you want to save Lindsey.”

By now, Wil had followed Diane to her house where she parked in the driveway. Wil cruised by, abandoning his surveillance. He knew he wasn’t going to find Lindsey this way.

“What about Abby?” Wil asked tightly.

“Ah, Abby,” Perry sighed. “That is one handsome woman you got there, Willie boy. I mean, I’ve always thought she was hot, but it’s funny, because I never really had any sexual urges toward her. And there’s been nothing sexual about my plan, my intentions. But, when we were closed up in that steamy bathroom, and she had that tight T-shirt stretched over those pretty titties, those rosy nipples poking out at me...wow! I’m telling you, boner city.”

Wil ground his teeth. The air inside the cab became oppressive and so still, so silent, it seemed Wil could hear his heart pounding in his chest. But he didn’t react to Perry’s words. He knew the asshole was just taunting him, trying to goad a response out of him, and Wil wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

“What about the explosives?” Wil asked.

“Oh, that. Well, the device will have to stay in her for a while. That’s my guarantee of getting away. My assurance you won’t come after me. As soon as I’m out of your reach, out of the reach of the law, I’ll contact you and let you know how to defuse it.”

“Then?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it? I killed your sister and you’re going to let me live?”

“Let you live?” A loud burst of laughter sounded in Wil’s ear. “Oh God, you’re kidding, right? Let’s see... I killed your wife. I traumatized your daughter—twice. I’m forcing you to kill your best friend and maybe go to prison for it. The woman you love is walking around like a fucking package from the Unabomber. All the while, I’ll be living in paradise, on the coast of Australia. But, yeah, uhm, I’m letting you live.” Another burst of laughter, then, in a sing-song voice, he said, “You’re welcome!”

Wil didn’t respond but his jaw muscles ached with the effort to control his emotions. He’d never wanted to hurt someone so much. Never wanted so badly to end a life, to slowly, painfully, make another human being cease to exist.

“Hey, Teddy, what’s the matter? Not even a chuckle? Even you have to admit it’s a little amusing. Nothing to say?”

“Just one thing,” Wil ground out, his rage overriding his desire to placate Perry. “If you ever want to see the other side of the Pacific, you’d better kill me.”

“Yeah? Well, if you don’t want your one Abby to become a thousand tiny Abby’s, then you’d better not threaten me again.”

****

A stage had been erected on the beach with several hundred chairs sitting in the sand, facing it. Plastic red, white, and blue streamers snapped like sails in the breeze coming off the water.

Micah would arrive soon and, in the meantime, his staff made preparations.

Wil had also made preparations. He had a rifle in his pickup and a .38 in the back of his waistband.

The whole time he’d been loading ammo into the weapons, he’d kept a conversation running in his mind.

You can’t be serious. Are you really planning to do this?

Of course not, I’m just going through the motions while I figure out how to fix this.

But what if you don’t figure out how to fix it? What if killing Micah is the only way to save Lindsey and Abby?

He didn’t respond to that one. He didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to even think it. Didn’t want to admit, even to himself, what his choice would be.

The scene around him was surreal. It was as if he weren’t really there. That no one could see him. That he’d faded into obscurity.

People scurried back and forth between the food booths, the chairs, the portable toilets, the ocean. Children in brightly colored swimsuits splashed in the waves that washed over the sugar white sand.

Wil spotted Abby, standing near the edge of the water, looking out over the ocean. Even from this distance, he could tell her posture was one of longing and he wondered what she was thinking. Was she wishing herself far away from Blue Harbor, from him?

“Wil?”

He whirled to find Matt Bingham standing at his elbow.

“Any news on Lindsey?” Matt asked, his eyes showing concern and a hint of wariness.

Now that Wil knew Matt had nothing to do with Lindsey’s disappearance, his dislike for him seemed petty and inconsequential.

“No, nothing,” Wil told him.

“I’m sorry.” Matt shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “I’m surprised to see you here with all you’re dealing with. It’s really good of you to think of my brother at a time like this.”

Well, it’s the least I can do. After all, I’m about to assassinate him.

Wil shrugged off the morbid thought. “I’m not staying long. I just stopped by to offer my support.”

“I understand. If there’s anything I can do, anything at all, let me know.”

“Thank you. I’ll do that.” Wil’s phone chirped and he jumped, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, the instinctive reaction telling him who was calling. He looked at Matt, stretched his frozen lips into a smile, and said, “I need to take this, see you around.”

He turned his back on Matt, opened the phone, and walked away. “Yes?”

“How goes it, dude? The party’s about to begin. You excited?”

“Let me talk to Lindsey.” Wil felt as though everything in him, his heart, his brain, his very soul was expanding and retracting, back and forth, over and over, and at any moment his body would just collapse in upon itself.

“Is everything in place?” Perry asked, ignoring Wil’s request. “Have you figured out how you’re gonna do it?”

The weight at the small of Wil’s back seemed to warm and grow heavier, as if the gun’s metal were a living, breathing thing.

“Yes.” Wil’s jaw tensed and he said, “But I’m not going to do a goddamned thing unless you let me talk to Lindsey.”

Perry’s heavy sigh came over the line. “Okay, fine. Since you asked so nicely, I guess you can talk to her, but only for a few minutes.”

There was a brief silence, then, “Daddy?”

“Lindsey.” The word tore from Wil’s throat on a sob. His knees nearly bucked with relief at the same time an intense wave of sorrow swept through him. He wanted to say so much, but his mind was blank, he couldn’t form a coherent thought. “Lindsey,” he said again.

“Daddy, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her little girls’ voice ripping at his heartstrings.

“Oh, no, honey. I’m sorry. I should have protected you. I’m so very, very sorry.”

“But I shouldn’t have—” She stopped, took a breath. “Never mind. We don’t have much time and there’s something really important I want you to know. So, listen carefully, okay?”

“Sure, baby, what is it?” He seemed to have to force each word out from a throat locked tight with unshed tears. He wanted to drop to his knees in the sand and sob uncontrollably, holding her voice to him, never letting it go.

“You remember when it was raining and you told me about tears of the wounded?”

He frowned, confused. He almost said,
No, honey, remember? It was your mother who told you about that, because I wasn’t around, was hardly every around, wasn’t there for you, not nearly enough.

But before he could reply, she rushed on, “Well, I didn’t really understand what you meant then. But now I do. I mean, I’m there, Daddy, I’m finally there.”

I’m there
.

A rush of chills moved over his flesh, his blood turning to ice in his veins. She was giving him a clue.

I’m there.

“Okay, that was touching, but time’s up.” Perry was back on the phone and Wil jerked as if he’d been struck. The asshole’s voice was an abomination, a sacrilege, after hearing the sweet music of Lindsey’s. “Make it happen, dude. Her fate is in your hands.” And then the line went dead.

Wil realized belatedly he hadn’t told Lindsey he loved her, hadn’t told her that everything would be all right.

But that was okay. It didn’t matter, because now he knew where she was.

Hold on, baby girl, Daddy’s coming.

Wil quickly scanned the crowd for Matt. When he spotted him, he rushed over, taking him by the arm.

Matt turned to him in surprise but before he could speak, Wil said rapidly, “Still want to help?”

Chapter Fifteen

When Abby heard the announcement over the loudspeaker that the event was about to begin, she started back up the beach. She didn’t want to be here, didn’t want to be around people, a threatening, evil presence among unsuspecting innocents. She was here because Perry had insisted and they had to obey. Hers and Lindsey’s lives depended on it.

Perry. Diane. She still couldn’t believe two people she’d trusted, that she’d known and cared about, could do something like this.

Abby noticed a figure standing further up the path she was taking, and, as if Abby’s thoughts had conjured her, realized it was Diane. Abby whirled, changing directions. She’d only gone a few feet when she saw her mother standing between Abby and the seats, beaming a smile, waiting for her.