Savage Art (A Chilling Suspense Novel) (45 page)

Chapter 39

Tears streaming through her line of vision, Casey struggled with the pocketknife she had stashed under her hand when Leonardo looked away. She needed to cut through the tape and then get to Leonardo's gun. She'd known Leonardo used tape from the other crime scenes. Had he switched to rope or something heavier, her plan would have failed. The little knife was her only shot.

She was almost through half of the tape on the first arm, but he was hurting Amy. Her fingers shook as she struggled to push the knife through the tape. The knife slipped and started to fall from her fingers, but she caught it, the blade stabbing into her palm. Ignoring the blood coming from the small wound, she turned the knife back to the tape.

Her mind raced across the events of the past weeks. Why hadn't she recognized Kevin's voice? It was as though the drugs that night had somehow warped her brain and his voice became a deep, haunting whisper. But it was real enough now. And now he was hurting Amy. Her own pain came rushing back at her. People always think you can eventually block it out, but you can't. It was there as clearly as the moment he'd cut open her hand. Focus, she told herself, as she carved through the tape.

* * *

Her hands shaking, adrenaline began to take over and she broke her way through the first tie. With one arm free, she maneuvered the knife more easily, working desperately, praying that Leonardo wouldn't turn around.

From the corner of her eye, she saw red soaking into Amy's shirt. Her daughter's blood being spilled by this monster. Amy's screams echoed again and again in her mind. Hadn't five minutes passed? Where the hell was Jordan?

The second tie began to loosen as Casey heard Amy let out another horrible scream. Sobbing, she commanded herself to cut faster. Her hands cramped, but she sawed as fast as she could.

"I've only barely touched you," Leonardo protested. "Not even to anything exciting yet."

With most of the tape cut away, Casey ripped her arm free, then sawed though the tape on her legs until she could tear herself free. Fighting to contain her anger, she waited until Leonardo lifted his scalpel and then lunged at him, stabbing the pocketknife into the fleshy space between his spine and his shoulder bone.

"Bitch," he cursed.

He yanked the knife from his shoulder and clutched at the open wound. "Amy's going to pay for that reckless maneuver first. I think a few severed nerves will teach a mother to behave." He turned to Amy and smiled.

Amy whimpered.

Casey turned and leapt for his gun.

Before she could get there, though, Leonardo pushed her, knocking her out of the way.

She fell hard back against the bookcase and slammed her head against one wall. The pain flashed in her head, and she fought the grogginess that came with it.

She saw Leonardo stoop to the floor. He came up holding the gun, pointing it at her. "You shouldn't have done that, Mac. I would have preferred to keep you alive a while longer."

Casey struggled to get her bearings, searching for a way out. He had the gun. Her only weapon had been the pocketknife, and it was gone. Her one chance spent.

Amy's gaze pleaded at her to do something.

Casey tried to think, to form a plan.

Leonardo aimed the gun at her. "Good-bye, Agent Mac," he said.

Casey held her hand out as she heard the
pop pop
of two gunshots. She was knocked backward by a heavy weight, and her head slammed into a table behind her. She shook her head and tried to open her eyes. She was dead.

Amy screamed.

Casey felt the warmth of blood and forced her eyes open. Strangely, she didn't feel any pain. As her vision cleared, she saw Rick Swain lying in front of her, two gunshot wounds to his chest. She blinked and touched her chest. She wasn't dead. Swain had saved her.

Leonardo pointed the gun again and pulled the trigger. It was silent. "Damn it." He turned to reload, then moved toward Casey. She felt Swain's ankle holster against her leg and started to reach for the gun.

Amy let out a scream and jabbed an elbow out, knocking the gun from Leonardo's hand. He turned and slapped her in return.

Knowing he would only be distracted a moment, Casey lifted Swain's pant leg with one hand and felt the gun. It was small, probably a .22, perfect—if only she could shoot it.

"Up, Mac."

Casey bent over, pretending to get to her knees. Pulling the gun out of the holster, she gripped it in her left hand and stood. With a step forward, she pointed it at Leonardo and prayed to heaven that she had the strength to pull the trigger.

Amy started to cry harder, fighting at the tape on her wrists and ankles.

Spotting the gun, Leonardo started to reach for another weapon. "But you can't shoot—"

"Want to bet?" Casey steadied the gun with two hands and fired twice into Leonardo's chest.

Leonardo dropped to the ground with a low thud, and it was all Casey could do to get to Amy and wrap her arms around her as they both cried. She saw the purple birthday hat sitting on the counter, and thanked God it had never made it to Amy's head.

"Oh, God, Mom. I thought he killed you. I thought you were dead," Amy sobbed.

Tears streaked her own cheeks. "I'm okay, baby, everything's okay."

"He was so scary."

"I know, but he's gone now. He can't hurt us ever again." Casey exhaled, holding her daughter tight. "It's over now," she said, as much for her own benefit as for Amy's.

Just then the door burst open, and a hundred people seemed to fill the room. Casey only cried harder. It was finally over.

Epilogue

Two months later

Casey put the vase down on the mound of fresh grass and fiddled with the yellow roses until they were spread out in perfect order. She turned her face toward the sky and felt the warm sun on her skin. It was perfect weather. Clear, blue, with the slightest wind that made the sun feel warm rather than hot. Fat cumulus clouds looked down like cherubs as Casey stood over Billy's grave.

She wiped off the top of the gravestone and read the familiar inscription. "William D. Glass, 1962-2000. Loving friend. You will be deeply missed."

She stood and brushed the dirt off her hands. "He always loved yellow roses." She straightened the sleeves on her button-down and smiled. Billy would've been proud. Ten buttons including the sleeves, and she'd done them in under four minutes. She turned and looked up at Jordan.

He gave her a sad smile.

Putting her arm through his, Casey kissed Jordan's cheek as they started to walk back down toward the car. "I talked to Nina Rodriguez."

"Yeah? What'd she say?" Jordan asked.

"She sounded so relieved. You could tell she'd been living in fear since her attack." Casey thought a minute. "I guess I wanted her to know firsthand that it was over. I know how fear can take control of your life."

Jordan pulled her toward him and gave her a hug.

After a moment Casey stepped back and punched his arm playfully. "The newspapers sure did cover it. Did you see that big picture of you on the cover of the
Chronicle?"

Jordan stopped and crooked an eyebrow. "You mean the one where I'm standing next to you?"

Casey grinned. "Great picture, eh?"

Jordan smiled. "We made a pretty good team."

"True," she agreed. "Let's hope we never have to do it again."

"I'm all for that."

They started walking again. "How are the boys?" Casey asked.

"Settling back in up here. Everyone seems happier so far."

"You really considering the job out in Contra Costa County?"

Jordan looked over at her. "Hard to believe?"

"Smarter than I would've imagined, actually."

Jordan laughed. "I'll have to give Angie the credit for that one. She wants to see more of her husband. And the captain said he'll welcome me back if I change my mind down the road." He paused and looked down at her. "What about you? You going back to the Bureau?"

She shrugged. "Haven't given it much thought yet. I'm going to head back to Virginia for a while, see how that goes. I'm not sure what'll happen with me and Michael, but I'd like to spend some time with Amy."

"She's a great kid. How's she doing?"

Casey nodded. "Better every day, I think. The cuts were fairly superficial. It's the fear that's hardest to repair." She looked up at Jordan. "But I know all about that."

"I'm sure she'd love to spend some time with her mother."

Casey nodded. "I'm looking forward to it. Taking everything one step at a time." She opened the car door and unlocked the opposite side for Jordan. "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"How about Crogan's for burgers?" he suggested, getting into the car.

She remembered the lunch she'd had with Billy a few days before he died. Sitting in the driver's seat, Casey started the engine and put the car in first gear. "Crogan's it is."

The End

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