Witness to Murder (11 page)

"Novel idea." Cutter paused, no doubt to think about Annie's ultimatum. "I haven't been outside for years. Perhaps I should see if it's still as bad as I remember."

There was a long pause before Cutter added, "Oh, and, Annie, if you don't deliver this time, only one of us will come back alive."

Brookshier squeezed Frank's arm and tapped Joe on the shoulder. He motioned in the direction of the elevator. Joe shook his head. Brookshier insisted. Frank caught on. They had to get off this floor before Cutter made his move. They had no hope of capturing the gang on their own turf. They were outmanned and unarmed except for Brookshier's Beretta.

In addition, if Annie did have the diamonds and could persuade Cutter to go with her to where she'd hidden them, they could catch him with the evidence they needed to put him away for years. Put him in an equally isolated environment, but one where he might miss his little luxuries.

In the elevator Frank punched Ground Floor and willed the huge cage to move so they could escape ahead of Cutter's gang. Cutter would certainly bring along adequate protection for his venture into the real world.

"She's getting him out. Good for her." Brookshier slammed his fist on the palm of his left hand. "She's going to lead him to the diamonds, and we'll be right there with them."

Joe, Frank, and Brookshier dashed from the elevator the minute it opened. They crowded into Callie's car.

"What happened?" Callie asked. She had the engine running the minute she saw the trio head for her.

"Shut off the car," ordered Joe, "and get down. But be ready to move out when we tell you."

"Annie's inside," Frank explained, hunched in the front seat beside Callie. "She told them she has the diamonds, but she's talked Cutter into going with her to get them."

"They should be right behind us." Joe and Brookshier were tucked into the backseat.

In no time the elevator door rumbled open and the sleek, black limo purred, its engine barely humming. As it sped up the ramp into the New York City street, Callie flicked on the ignition. Her car sprang to life and she pulled out, pursuing them.

"Maybe you'd better keep low," she said to her passengers. "If anyone is watching out the back, they'll never suspect that I'm following them."

"Good thinking, Callie." Frank smiled at her from his slumped-down position. "You do come in handy sometimes."

"When this is over, Frank Hardy, you're treating me to the best dinner in Bayport. It's not every day I risk my life for you."

Her smile was warm, and Frank knew she liked being in on the action. "It's a deal, Callie."

The limo drove the speed limit, smoothly and skillfully negotiating the city streets and pulling onto the expressway.

"Hey, we're heading for Bayport," Joe said, peeking out the back window.

"I knew it," said Brookshier. "I knew Annie had the diamonds or knew where they were hidden, and I had a feeling they were in Bayport."

"What would Annie Shay do with three million dollars' worth of diamonds?" asked Callie. "I sure wouldn't know what to do with them. You can't spend diamonds."

"She may not have planned beyond taking them." Brookshier wiggled, trying to get comfortable in the small, narrow backseat. His tall frame didn't fold up easily. "You have to have the kind of connections Cutter obviously has to convert them to cash."

"I wouldn't trust anyone if I had them," Callie said. "If you don't know where to sell them, you might as well not steal them. Annie is pretty naive."

Joe said nothing. Everyone in the car—except for him—seemed to have accepted the fact that Annie was a thief.

Callie had no trouble following the limo all the way into Bayport, and apparently no one in the dark vehicle suspected that she was tailing them. "Look, guys. We're headed for the Bayport mall."

Frank sat up cautiously. "They're pulling up to the delivery door of Mr. Pizza. I wish there were some way to warn Tony to clear out his kitchen and the restaurant. We don't want anyone hurt."

"I'll go in the front door," offered Callie.

"Call the police while you're there, Callie," Frank instructed. "Ask for Officer O'Hara or Con Riley. Tell them to get over here on the double. We don't want to give Cutter a chance to escape now that we have him with evidence. Better tell them to find our dad, too."

"I don't want Annie hurt," Joe said in a low voice. "Whatever she's done, there must be an explanation."

Frank hated to say that if Annie had stolen the diamonds there couldn't be any way to justify it— and there was still the unsolved mystery of Phil Sidler's death. Cutter's words came to Frank "Thanks for getting rid of Phil Sidler for us, Annie." What did that mean?

Callie parked as close as she dared to the limo. Quickly her passengers slid out. Then she drove around to the front of the mall before the others got inside.

Frank, Joe, and Brookshier watched as Cutter, dressed as he'd been when they'd seen him, including his diamond ring, stepped from the black car, flanked by two of his bodyguards. He looked around cautiously, probably feeling very vulnerable away from his sanctuary. Another man gripped Annie's arm, as if they thought her plan might be to escape from them here instead of leading them to the diamonds.

Tony Prito had obviously locked the storeroom door that day. "But look, Annie has a key," said Joe.

Sure enough, Annie had searched through her purse, then lifted out a key and prepared to slip it into the lock. She dropped the key, and as she bent to retrieve it, she made her move. Chopping across her guard's neck with one hand, she grabbed his gun and leaped forward. She took Cutter by the arm and spun him around, shoving the gun in his back. No one had suspected she'd make such a move, and they were all caught off guard.

For a moment Joe and Frank, along with Brookshier, stood frozen, watching. But as Annie inched toward the storeroom door with Cutter as hostage, Joe leaped forward, running for the pair.

"Good work, Annie. I knew you had a plan."

Taking one of Cutter's bodyguards by surprise, Joe twisted him around and kicked the gun from his hand. Frank, never one to hang back when Joe made a move, disarmed the other man in a similar way.

Annie's face, bruised and swollen from the beating she'd taken, registered surprise, but not for long. "I should have trusted you more, Joe," she said, smiling gratefully at him. "I thought you'd stopped looking for me. Let's get these crooks packaged up nicely, and then call the authorities." Whipping out a scarf from her purse, Annie started to tie Cutter's hands behind his back.

'"'You're a fool, Annie," Cutter growled. "You think they'll let you go, even if you turn me in? Get the diamonds and we'll leave together. I'll show you a life you never even dreamed possible." Cutter's sunglasses had fallen to the ground during his scuffle with Annie. His eyes glared out evilly from the scars on his face.

Annie laughed. "What's that, Cutter? Locked up in your ivory tower? No thanks. I like beaches and sun and tropical waters too much to live like a recluse."

Joe and Frank slipped the belts off their pants to make sure Cutter's two bodyguards were bound and didn't go anyplace until the police arrived.

Brookshier checked out the man Annie had karate-chopped. He was still out cold. "The diamonds, Annie. Where are they?" That was his main concern. He'd let the police deal with the crooks. "We'll need them as evidence against Cutter. With them and your testimony, we'll put him away for a long time."

Annie smiled and backed closer to the storeroom door of Mr. Pizza, still holding the gun. "What are they worth to you? I kind of liked knowing I held a fortune in my hand." Slipping the key she had retrieved from the step into the lock, she swung open the door and paused in the doorway.

"We might be able to make a deal for you, Annie," said Brookshier. "Or maybe the reward for returning stolen goods, will pay for a good lawyer. You were instrumental in capturing Cutter. That should count for something. We've been after him for some time."

"Don't listen to him, Annie," Cutter growled. "He won't get you any deal. There's still time for us to leave together."

Annie's eyes, sparkling with excitement, met Joe's disillusioned gaze. For a moment, as their - eyes met, the girl's tough demeanor wavered, her triumphant smile faltered. She frowned at Joe and looked away.

"Give me the gun, Annie." Frank stepped closer to the red-haired girl. "Joe and I will help you all we can."

"I wish I could trust you, Frank. I know you mean well." For the first time Annie almost smiled at Frank. She held the gun comfortably, the cold steel no stranger to the palm of her hand.

"You have to trust someone, Annie." Joe inched closer.

"All right, Joe." She looked him full in the face now. She seemed to have made up her mind about something. "You. You reach into that barrel of flour." Annie motioned Joe past her and into the storeroom. She stayed in the doorway, her gun on Frank and Brookshier. "That's right, that one. The bag is buried near the bottom." She laughed. "I didn't want some pizza customer thinking they'd won the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks."

Joe leaned over and sifted his fingers deeper and deeper into the cardboard barrel of flour. Finally he stood up, having retrieved a small cloth sack with a drawstring at the top. He came back to Annie and, opening it, took out a handful of uncut diamonds, most of which were the size of a kid's marbles.

Frank whistled. One of the uncut gems was as large as the one in Cutter's ring. It was probably worth a million by itself. But Brookshier was right. Where would Annie have fenced a marble sack full of shiny rocks?

He looked at Brookshier, whose eyes were on the diamonds, the "sight" he was being paid to recover.

Joe, who stood closest to Annie, was too mesmerized by the gems to think for a moment. And before Frank could decide what to do, Annie called the next shot.

"Thanks, Joe." She snatched the bag as soon as Joe tumbled the rocks back into it and pulled the opening shut. At the same time the gun in her hand pushed into the small of Joe's back. "And if you don't mind, I'll need you for a little longer."

With those words she pulled Joe backward toward the door into the pizza restaurant. The problem of turning the stolen diamonds into cash didn't seem to matter to her. She had the hostage she needed to escape.

"Annie, don't do this," Joe pleaded. "You trapped Cutter for us. That'll go a long way toward getting you a lighter sentence. You might even get probation." "You really don't understand, do you, Joe?" "I understand that I liked you, Annie. I can't believe you're doing this." Joe pulled away from Annie and leaned on a counter in the deserted pizza storeroom. He didn't think Annie would actually shoot him.

She kept her gun pointed at him, however. "I'm sorry it had to be you I'm taking hostage, Joe. But I certainly don't want to take Cutter with me to Rio. I lured him here because I wanted him and his men out of my way." A sadness invaded Joe's whole being. Boy, he thought bitterly, I really know how to choose 'em.

Maybe Annie sensed his feelings. "I'm sorry, Joe," she said again. "But you have to understand—this is my one chance to make it big. You don't know what it's like to grow up poor. I saw the home you were raised in. I know your type. You're the kind of guy who would never even look at me in high school because I was from the wrong side of town."

"This is not the way out, Annie. Even if you got to Rio and sold the diamonds, what would your life be like always running? Sooner or later you'd be caught."

Annie laughed a derisive laugh. The bright smile Joe liked so much had deserted her face now, leaving a bitter, hard expression he had never seen before. "Who cares? At least I'd have a good life until then."

"You could start over right here." Joe moved toward Annie.

"Stay away from me, Joe. I don't want to have to hurt you." Annie waved the gun. "But I will if you don't cooperate."

"Don't you care for me at all, Annie?" Joe asked. He needed to know that he hadn't been taken in totally by this beautiful girl. He needed to know that her optimism and courage, all the qualities he'd seen in her, were real, not lies she had fed him. And that her affection for him wasn't an act she'd put on to cover up what she was doing.

Annie stared at Joe for a minute. "Of course I do, Joe. I like you a lot. If — if things had been different ... " Annie took a deep breath. "But they aren't." If Annie's toughness was an act, it was a good one. Her voice hardened, and she motioned for Joe to step in front of her. She was ready to make her move.

"Annie, when we got here, Callie went to call the police. They'll have the entire place surrounded by now. There's no possibility of your getting away." Joe made one more attempt at talking sense into Annie, into persuading her to give herself up.

"I'm sure the police, your father, Frank — all the people who are out there, Joe — value your life. They'll let me go since you'll be with me."

Joe shrugged and tried to harden his heart toward Annie. He needed to concentrate on getting away from her with neither of them getting hurt. In spite of everything, he couldn't stand to see Annie killed or injured. Silently he settled on a simple plan that he hoped would work.

The pizza restaurant was empty when they entered it. Callie and Tony had silently cleared everyone from the place. As they moved around tables and toward the front door, Annie clutched Joe's arm tighter and kept her gun jammed into his side. Slowly they inched their way toward the parking lot.

"How are you going to get to the airport, Annie?" Joe asked. If he could keep her talking, he might distract her easier.

"You're going to drive me, Joe. It'll be my last ride in your van."

"The van's out in the woods still. We'll have to borrow a car." Joe said whatever came into his head as he tensed himself for what was coming.

"Whatever you say, Joe. You know, you could go with me."

"No, Annie. I can't. It wouldn't work. I'll help you get away if I have to, but I won't go with you." Joe kept talking.

"Joe, are you all right?" Frank called as Joe and Annie stepped outside the mall into the parking lot.