Ring Around the Rosy (31 page)

Later, while they cooked steaks on
an indoor grill, Dave told her he finally convinced the captain and Greenwood
to drop the investigation. “Now, if we can just catch this guy.”

“So why so tense?” Susan had seen
the tension
 
the minute he came in. She
hoped it wasn’t her.

Dave rubbed the back of his neck.
“My mother is scheduled for surgery tomorrow.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?
When did they come back?” Why would Dave hold back on something that important?
She had known since they left Florida that Mrs. Morgan had planned to have the
surgery here, at the Clinic.

“They came back last week. I only
found out on the way here. I mean, I knew she was scheduled for it. I didn’t
know when. They called her this morning and told her to come to the hospital in
the morning. She had her pre-op tests done a couple days ago.”

“Are you going to the hospital in
the morning?”

Dave nodded. Fear filled his eyes.
She wished she could say something. Open heart surgery wasn’t something to be
taken lightly.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s going to be a long day.”

“You’ll call me the minute you
know anything.” She stroked his hair. How difficult this was for him. She
couldn’t imagine if it were her mother going through this. No wonder he was so
quiet tonight.

After dinner, Dave kissed her
goodnight and promised to call her as soon as they knew something after the
surgery.

Susan tossed and turned most of
the night. Finally, the sun came up and she could get up. An uneasy feeling had
settled over her last night. Something else bothered Dave, not just his
mother’s illness. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something inside
told her Dave wouldn’t stick around after this case.

After breakfast, she decided to go
to the newspaper, see what was new there. She had been neglecting the office
lately. Maybe Ernie
 
would come up with a
decent assignment for her.

Gary and Ray came out as she
hurried into the building.

“Well, you finally decided to grace
us with your presence.” Ray’s voice held a sarcastic tone. “Or do you think
since you got the lead story on the big case, you don’t have to work anymore?”

Where was that coming from? Did
Ernie feel the same way? She didn’t think she gave the air of being too good
for them since she had gotten the big story. Ray had gotten some good pictures,
but hadn’t been able to sell them like he wanted, but that wasn’t her fault.
Figuring it was better to ignore him, she walked past him without answering.

“Hey, Susan, you got a minute?”
Gary’s voice stopped her.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I, uh, well, I was...” He
shuffled his feet, looked away, then back at her. “Um, there’s this big party
at my apartment complex next week. I uh, I was just wondering if you’d like to
go?”

Just great, she had already told
him she was seeing someone. And why did he have to ask in front of Ray? Ray
glared at her. What was his problem? She and Ray had always gotten along pretty
well. Unless, he was still ticked because she stiffed him for lunch that day.

“I’m sorry, Gary. I don’t think
so. I’m seeing someone, and well, we aren’t seeing other people. Thanks for
asking, though.” Susan hoped she sounded sincere. Even if she hadn’t been
seeing anyone, she wouldn’t go out with Gary. He wasn’t her type.

“Oh, uh, okay.” Gary turned and
went back to Ray, and Susan hurried inside.

“Told ya.” Ray said loud enough
for her to hear as they walked away.

Oh, great! Now they were
discussing her. Had Ray dared Gary to ask her out? Was that why he glared at her
like that, to see if she agreed to go out with Gary after she refused him? She
couldn’t be bothered with them right now.

She found Ernie, and they
discussed the Nursery Rhyme murders and then she spent some time straightening
her desk, but grew bored. Her phone rang twice, but both times, no one spoke.
The second time, she heard someone breathing. Was it him? What kind of game was
he playing now? Why hadn’t Dave called about his mother? Susan looked at the
clock. Mrs. Morgan should have been done with surgery by now. Susan prayed
everything was okay.

She finally left the office and
went to the mall. After a couple hours of window shopping and only purchasing a
book, it started getting dark. One of the things she disliked about this time
of year was the early nights. She hated walking into a dark apartment.
 

* * *

Dave leaned back in the waiting
room chair. He loved Susan, but he knew they had no future together. She had
her career, and he was a cop. Most of his friends on the force were divorced.
Cops didn’t make good husbands. How had his father done it? Probably, because
his mother was one of the rare, exceptional women who understood. Her father
and grandfather had been cops. She understood the life, but women like that
were few and far between. No, he’d stop seeing Susan. It was best for both of
them. He’d get over her somehow. Better now than later.

The long hours of surgery
exhausted Dave, and he forgot to call Susan. He went home and fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was dark, but
he decided to stop by Susan’s apartment. After all, he had promised to call.
Besides, he had to end their relationship now and best to do it in person. He
called her, but she didn’t answer.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

There was a little girl who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very, very
good. But when she was bad, she was horrid.

Everything was ready. The scene
was set. All he had to do now was wait for her. He was sorry it had to come to
this. But there wasn’t any other option. He’d given her every opportunity.
Every chance. And still she ignored him. Rejected him. Why? He’d give her one
more chance to make it up to him. If she didn’t…

It hurt him to think about it. Did
he have a choice? He didn’t think so. Not this time.

* * *

A fresh rose lay outside her door.
Susan kicked it aside and put her key in the lock, but the door gave way. It
wasn’t locked. Surely, she had locked it when she left this morning. But maybe
she hadn’t. Or maybe Dave was here. She pushed the door open and turned on the
light. It flickered, and the power went out.

She dropped her purse and fumbled
her way through the dark apartment to the kitchen, took the flashlight out of
the drawer, and flipped it on. Nothing. “Darn!” She groped around in the
drawer. There was another flashlight in there someplace.

She found it and flipped the
switch. Nothing. Fear prickled up her spine. She had changed the batteries a
week ago.

A shuffling sound vibrated through
the quiet apartment. Someone was here. She sensed a presence. She picked up the
phone. Darn, it didn’t work without the power.

Her cell phone, she had to get to
her cell phone.

She eased herself around the
counter. The bitter taste of bile filled her mouth. Oh, God. She was going to
be sick. She took a deep breath. Held it. Then let it out slowly. She almost
smelled the fear. She needed to calm down, get the phone, and call the police.

 
She stumbled across something. A pair of
shoes.

“Susan,” a voice whispered through
the darkness.

She knew that raspy voice, even in
a whisper. She was almost there. The bag was on the floor. She bent down,
feeling along the floor.

There.

She reached out to grab it. A hand
grabbed hers. He pulled her up and twisted her arm behind her.

“Susan,” the voice whispered in
her ear. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Susan struggled, tried to pull
away. But he held her too tight. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“There was a little girl who had a
little curl right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was
very, very good. But when she was bad, she was horrid. You’ve been very, very
bad, Susan.”

Oh, Lord, she was going to die. He
was going to kill her. Why? What did she do to him? So much anger and hatred in
his voice. But she didn’t even know him. Or did she? Something familiar. An
odor — his aftershave? That was it. But whose?
 
If only she could get away.

He pushed her to the door, out
into the hall, and up the stairs. She tried to turn around. If she could at
least get a look at him in the light of the hall. He tightened his grip on her
arm, twisting it harder and pushed her forward, up the stairs, and down the
hall to an apartment.

“Open it.”

That voice… It wasn’t the same as
the raspy voice on the phone. It was a normal tone. She knew it. Had heard it before.
Names and faces went through her mind. Nothing. He opened the door, and pushed
her into the apartment.

Somehow, some way, she had to do
something, had to get away.

He shoved her across the room. She
fell and hit her head against the wall. A dim light shone from the kitchen. But
still she couldn’t see him. He stood in the shadows. She looked around the bare
apartment. A chair stood in one corner and a desk against the far wall, nothing
there to help her.

Shades covered the windows.
Nothing she could grab. Nothing to hit him with. Suddenly, Bella jumped in her
lap.

She pulled the cat to her chest.
Whether for protection or comfort, she wasn’t sure.

* * *

Dave hurried to Susan’s apartment.
The sooner he told her, the better off they’d both be. It was for the best.

Then why did he feel so
crappy?
 

Why wasn’t her door locked?
 
Something didn’t feel right. He eased the
door opened, unsnapped his holster, and pulled his gun. The dark apartment
greeted him. Not a sound, no Bella, nothing. He flipped the light switch.
Nothing happened. He pulled out his flashlight and turned it on.

“Susan!” He waited. No response.
His gut told him the apartment was empty, but he followed procedure and came
around the corner, gun aimed chest high. He almost tripped over her bag.

Something was terribly wrong. Fear
prickled up his spine. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Where was she? He
searched the apartment and looked under the bed, expecting to see Bella hiding
there.

Nothing, no one, not even the cat.

In the kitchen, he found the two
flashlights — one on the counter, one on the floor. He picked one up. Shit, no
batteries. What the hell was going on here? He found the fuse box and turned
the power back on. The answering machine blinked with a message. He pressed the
button.

The raspy voice came on. “A man of
words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds. And when the weeds begin
to grow, it’s like a garden full of snow. And when the snow begins to fall,
it’s like a bird upon the wall. And when the bird away does fly, it’s like an
eagle in the sky.”

David clenched his fist and
listened to a long pause and heavy breathing before the voice continued.

“And when the sky begins to roar,
it’s like a lion at the door. And when the door begins to crack, it’s like a
stick across the back. And when your back begins to smart, it’s like a penknife
in your heart. And when your heart begins to bleed, you’re dead, and dead, and
dead indeed.”

David heard a click and the
machine went quiet. What the hell did that mean? He grabbed his cell phone and
called for backup. Susan was in trouble. She needed him, but where was she?
Where had he taken her? The killer must have been waiting for her in the
apartment. She probably didn’t stand a chance.

He ran his hand through his hair.
Damn it! He had to figure out where she was. He had to find her. He loved her.

* * *

Susan rubbed her wrist. “What do
you want with me?” She looked around for something, anything she could use for
a weapon. Nothing but pictures on the walls. No furniture, no nothing. It
looked like no one lived here. He came closer, out of the shadows.

“Why did you reject me, Susan? I
don’t like rejection.”

“Gary!” It couldn’t be. Not Gary.
She’d been alone with him, done stories with him. Why?

“It’s that cop, isn’t it? I saw
how much time you spend with him...” He raised his hand as if to quiet her
protests.

As if she’d protest. But she had
to think of something, anything to get away. His next words surprised her.

“Everything was fine ‘til he came
along. We were making progress in our relationship.”

Relationship, what relationship?
What was he talking about? They worked together that’s all.

The crazed look in his eyes
terrified her. Bella stood up on her lap and hissed at Gary.