Murderous Lies (22 page)

It was hard to release the gun from his service holster, since it was made especially to guard against a criminal stripping it away during an arrest, but Rose finally managed it, shoving the metal barrel between herself and the back cushion on the couch.

She expected Kelsey to shoot Calvin any second when she realized what was happening. Instead, Kelsey’s voice was raised, arguing with someone at the back door.

Calvin took a step sideways, looking through the arched entry. “It’s Bill,” he said softly. “And Kelsey doesn’t look happy.”

The door slammed and Kelsey’s voice became softer, though Rose could still hear that Bill argued with her.

“Fine. Have it your way,” Kelsey screamed after a few minutes, “but wear a goddamn condom. It has to look like Max did it.”

The pair of them walked into the living room, and Kelsey pointed her gun at Calvin again. “Back up to the doorway and don’t move.”

Calvin obeyed. “What are you going to do?”

Kelsey’s lips pressed together tightly, and Rose worried she might shoot Calvin just for asking. Finally, she jerked her head toward Bill. “Take her to the bedroom. Let me know when you’re done. You can be rough, but remember, just like with Julie, I get to land the killing blow.”

M
ax finally pulled into town, barely slowing when the limit changed to twenty-five. Calvin never called back. That could only mean one thing. Whatever was happening to Rose, Calvin couldn’t handle it alone.

Taking a quick inventory of what he had in his car, Max realized a screw driver would be the only weapon available to him. It didn’t matter. That was as good as a knife. He’d seen a man killed with one before.

If Bill had Rose, Max would stab first and ask questions later.

Just a few more blocks.

***

C
alvin nodded ever so slightly, and Rose sucked in a deep breath, trying to gather her courage. She’d never fired a gun before, but she wouldn’t let Bill take her to the bedroom.

She slipped the gun into her hand, putting her finger on the trigger. She hoped there wasn’t a safety or something, because she’d only have one chance to fire.

Bill came closer, though he stumbled slightly. His eyes were bleary and blood shot. Kelsey hadn’t been lying about drugging him. All these years, she kept his secret. Now she’d turned herself into a murderer to keep him from prison, and let him rape people. It was sick and twisted, but Rose was sure that Kelsey just saw it as true love.

The alcohol was heavy on Bill’s breath as he leaned down into her face, putting his arms beneath her shoulders and knees. “This will be fun.” He laughed and winked. “I promise.”

Suppressing a shudder, Rose knew she had to time this right.

When Bill hoisted her off the couch, his eyes were locked onto hers.

Rose used the momentum he created to swing her damaged arm across her stomach, squeezing the trigger as soon as she cleared her own body.

The gun jumped in her hand and the sound was deafening. For a moment, she thought she missed.

Bill’s eyebrows furrowed and he glanced at the gun in her hand.

“What happened?” Kelsey shrieked. “Are you okay, Bill?”

His eyes clouded with pain and he fell to the floor, moaning.

Rose landed on top of him, but the gun jerked from her weak grasp. She didn’t know exactly where the bullet hit him, but feared it was only the shoulder. He might get up to attack her again once he got the pain under control.

“No!” Kelsey seemed to understand what happened. Instead of opening fire on Rose, she turned the gun on Calvin, firing off three rounds in quick succession.

Calvin went down, slumping against the door and crying out before falling silent.

Kelsey twisted, pointing the gun at Rose. “You ruined everything, you bitch!”

Scrambling after the fallen weapon, Rose knew she didn’t have much of a chance. She could hardly crawl, let alone grab the gun and kill Kelsey. After all the fighting to stop this, Max would take the fall and Kelsey would get away with murder.

Kelsey walked close, pressing the barrel of the gun against Rose’s temple. “Goodbye, Rosie. I hope you enjoy hell.”

***

M
ax dug through the glove box, finding the large screwdriver. Opening the car door, Max sprinted for the house.

Inside he could hear a woman screaming, but the words were incoherent.

As silently as he could, Max tried the doorknob, hoping it would open and he could get in without announcing his presence to everyone inside. Though it opened, the door budged up against something heavy.

“Goodbye, Rosie. I hope you enjoy hell,” said the voice from inside.

Kelsey?

“No!” Max rammed his shoulder into the door, no longer caring if she heard him enter. Kelsey’s voice sounded gleeful and final. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but Kelsey was hurting Rose.

The door moved open enough for him to get through, and Max slipped inside, only to stumble over a set of legs.

Kelsey looked over her shoulder and laughed.

Max’s heart clenched down with fear. The gun in Kelsey’s hand was pressed against Rose’s temple. He tried to block out how bloody and battered her face was. He couldn’t get caught up on the details. Somehow, he needed to stop Kelsey from pulling that trigger.

“Don’t,” he ordered.

Kelsey laughed again. “Too late, lover boy. You’ve just killed your girlfriend and a cop, but I’m here to stop your murdering rampage.”

Max picked himself up of the floor, but Kelsey stopped laughing. A clicking sound vibrated through the room when she pulled the trigger.

For some reason, Rose didn’t fall. Instead, she started scrambling across the floor.

Max saw a gun a few inches away from her, but she looked too weak and shaky to even lift it. He lunged at Kelsey’s back. Using the momentum of his body, he swung the screwdriver over his head, driving it down into the back of her neck.

It slid in easier than Max expected.

Gurgling noises came up from Kelsey’s throat and she collapsed to the ground, falling on a body that must have been Bill’s.

Rose’s eyes met his, and Max wished he could erase the horror from them.

“I don’t know how you got here in time,” she said, her voice scratchy, “but thank you.”

Max stepped over Kelsey’s legs and bent to carefully lift Rose. “When I saw that gun pointed at your head, I thought I was too late.”

She nodded. “Me too. Luckily, she went crazy shooting so much before. Must have used the bullets. Put me on the couch and check Cal. I think he’s...” She bit her lip.

“I’ll check. Where’s your phone? We need to call an ambulance.”

Moving gingerly with apparent pain, she pulled it from her pocket. “I’ll call.”

Kelsey still made gurgling noises.

Max tried to tune her out. He should probably either finish her off or pull out the screwdriver and stop the bleeding, but Rose was firm about him checking on Super Cop.

Bending over the officer, relief flooded through Max when he felt a heartbeat at Calvin’s neck and the man breathed. Not dead. At least not yet. Blood pooled around his torso, and Max located a wound in Calvin’s arm.

He stripped off his belt, tying it in a tourniquet around Calvin’s biceps.

“Max?”

He looked up, meeting Rose’s scared eyes. “He’s alive,” Max confirmed.

“Okay. Can you check Bill? And maybe help Kelsey?”

The rattling wheeze was getting worse, and Max figured Kelsey didn’t have long left. He didn’t yet know what happened tonight, but he didn’t feel inclined to help her.

With a sigh, he looked at the pair. If Kelsey died, he really would be a murderer, even if it was self-defense.

“I’ll be right back.” He raced into the kitchen, grabbing some hand towels from the drawer before running back in.

Uncertain whether removing the screwdriver would be the best option or not, Max simply bunched a towel around it, trying to stop the blood flow without shifting the weapon.

Bill’s chest rose and fell with even breaths, even though the front of his shirt was covered in blood. He looked like he had passed out.

“Did I kill him?” Rose asked, sounding breathless.

She did this? Max shook his head. “He’s alive right now, but maybe not for long if the ambulance doesn’t get here soon.”

Rose closed her eyes and moisture leaked down her cheek. “He killed Sage, and everyone else,” she said softly. “Everyone except Jimmy. Kelsey killed him, hoping to frame you and protect Bill.”

Max stared down at his hands, which were quickly becoming coated in blood. He suddenly had the urge to drive the weapon in further, just to make sure Kelsey could never hurt another person. “Julie too?” he asked, his voice cracking.

Rose sighed. “They did Julie together, again hoping to frame you. They must have found out about the video somehow, but I swear I didn’t tell her.”

“I believe you.”

It seemed like a lot of time had passed, but Kelsey was still breathing when the sound of sirens filled the street. Within seconds, men swarmed the living room, tending to the wounded.

Seeing that Rose was awake and coherent, they ignored her, struggling to keep the other three alive.

Without asking permission, Max lifted Rose from the couch and took her to his car. Whether the others lived or died was no longer his concern. Right now, all that mattered was getting Rose to a hospital and getting her help.

“This all happened because I love you,” he said softly, tearing down the road as fast as he dared. Every jostle along the drive provoked a small cry from Rose, so Max had to go slower than he wanted.

The nearest hospital was back in Madras. After the night he’d had, Max could make it in ten minutes.

The question was, once everything was sorted out, would he and Rose both still be free?

The even bigger question for Max was, would she still want him if Kelsey died and he truly was a murderer?

R
ose woke up and stared at the lights overhead. It had been a long few days, and she still hurt terribly when the pain pills wore off.

Someone tapped on the door, and Rose looked over.

Veronica stood just outside.

Rose waved her in. “How’s Cal doing?”

Veronica crossed the room, perching in the chair next to the bed. “He’s tough. Hanging in there. The bulletproof vest stopped one of the bullets. One went through his arm, and the other hit his hip. It’ll be a long time before he’s fit for duty, but he’ll live.”

“Good. He saved my life, you know?” Rose still couldn’t believe it. The whole night felt like a dream—a nightmare. Never in a million years would she have suspected her best friend of being so psychotic.

“I know. He’s a hero.” Veronica flashed a smile. “We’ve decided to move in together. My house is bigger than his, so I’m going to get all his stuff transferred over and ready for him when he comes home.”

Rose tried to hide her surprise, quickly lowering her eyebrows from their raised position. It was fast, but good. “That’s really great. I hope you guys will be happy together.”

She nodded. “He still really cares for you, Rose, but I can make him happy. I love him.”

“I’m glad,” Rose said. “Cal deserves to be really happy.”

“What about you? What are your plans? The cops finished processing your house. Are you going back there when the doctors release you?”

Was she? Max had been busy with the police force the last few days, and every time he came to visit, she was too afraid to ask about the apartment in Beaverton. Especially now. It was like he was waiting to see what happened to Kelsey before making any plans. When he found out the news...

“Did you hear that Kelsey died this morning?” she asked Veronica.

The other woman nodded. “I can hardly believe it was her behind all this. And poor Max. He’s just devastated.”

“He knows already? Have you seen him?”

Veronica covered her mouth and compassion filled her eyes. “I thought he came to see you after he found out.”

Rose shook her head. “I haven’t seen him. Why didn’t he come to me?”

“Want me to go find him?”

“No, no. Don’t worry. Go back to Cal. I’m sure he misses you.”

“Cal says to give you his love. I’ll give him the same from you.” Without waiting for Rose’s response, she disappeared through the doorway.

Rose didn’t bother to wipe the tears that dampened her cheeks. It was so odd. Her very best friend for such a long time was dead, and the only thing Rose could think about was why Max hadn’t come to her.

If Bill passed away, the first thing Rose would want was Max’s arms around her. She’d want him to tell her it wasn’t her fault and that everything would be okay.

So far, Bill stayed strong and the doctors said he improved every day. That was good in Rose’s mind. Not that she would have mourned him had she killed him, but all those girls he raped and murdered—their families deserved closure. They deserved to see him behind bars.

Right now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was she was alone, without the man she loved.

Where the hell was Max? Why didn’t he come to her?

***

M
ax sat in the small chapel at the hospital, staring at the cross illuminated on the far wall. He didn’t really know why he ended up here, or what he hoped for. The news of Kelsey’s death hurt. Although she got him sent to prison for all that time and then tried to send him back, Max never imagined he would be responsible for someone’s death.

What would Rose think? He killed her best friend. Even though that last night had been horrifying for Rose, she still had lots of good memories. The same worry he’d had the night of the attack ran through his mind. Could Rose love a killer?

He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his face in his palms, covering his eyes. All the happiness he’d had upon getting the new job was snatched away, just like his happiness had been stolen the day Sage was killed.

Feeling the pressure of someone’s hand on his shoulder, Max looked up.

Veronica stared at him, pity in her gaze. “I thought I might find you here. Rose is asking for you.”