Demi looked at Allan and then calmed and nodded.
“Thank you,” she said softly and thought a moment. “They won’t come here right away,” Demi said. “They would be afraid that I had called the police. Warren won’t come, I’m sure. We’ll get out of here. Now,” she said firmly. “Taylor, go upstairs and pack some of your things. Only things you definitely need. Lois, you better go home,” she ordered, taking charge.
“This is crazy, Demi. Where are you going to go?” her sister asked.
“I’m not sure. I have enough cash on hand for a while.”
“Your sister’s right. That’s not a sensible solution, Mrs. Petersen,” Allan said.
“It’s not a permanent one, but at least it will give us some time to think. Go on, Taylor!” she snapped, and he hurried to his room.
“They could be waiting out there,” Lois said, lowering her voice as if they could be overheard. “Just watching the house by now and waiting to see what you’re going to do. They’ll follow you, Demi. It will be worse for you if you go some place where no one knows you.”
“She’s right,” Allan said. “Listen to her.”
“I’m not staying here,” Demi replied with enough firmness to assure him she wasn’t changing her mind. “And I don’t want to depend on the police or the courts. Too often men like this get away with things. We’ll still be in great danger.”
Allan found himself attracted to her strength and determination when she made her decision. She had been exactly like this when she turned down all the money he had offered.
“Okay. At least let me come along for a while. In fact, let’s leave in my car, not yours. You and Taylor can stay low when I drive away so anyone watching would think there’s no one else in the car,” Allan said. “Look,” he continued when she didn’t respond, “I’m responsible for this. I need to be involved in protecting you both.”
“Not just for the blood?”
“Not now,” he said. He risked a small, tight smile. “Right now, I’m worried about my own blood, too.”
She nodded.
“You should be. Okay, but we don’t get talked into going to your research laboratory.”
“I won’t even mention it,” he said, raising his hand to swear.
“Lois, go on home. It’s better that you don’t know any more. If either Warren or that terrible man bothers you, call the police immediately. Tell Ralph the same thing.”
“I can’t let you do this, Demi,” Lois said.
“It’s done,” Demi told her and turned to get her own things together.
Lois watched her walk off and then looked at Allan.
“This really is your fault,” she said. “Doctor Weber had everything under control and quiet. No one was the worse for anything.”
“I agree. I’m sorry.”
“Being sorry isn’t enough. If anything happens to them…”
“It won’t. I promise,” he said.
He went to the front door and looked through the small window. “The street looks quiet. I don’t see anyone parked nearby watching.”
“She should call the police now. I don’t like this.”
“Mrs. Walker,” Allan said, turning to her. “Your sister’s a pretty smart girl. This is a page one story. Mr. Wellman, the second patient who benefitted from Taylor’s white blood cells, doesn’t even know about it, but he’s out there with his health visibly restored. He’d speak up and be interviewed. It would easily make the national news services, and there would be a mob scene out here in a short time, parents begging for their children, husbands begging for their wives and vice versa. The lines of people who go to the Grotto at Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France would look like a garden party compared to the crowds who’d come here.”
“Well, why didn’t you think of that?” Lois demanded, her face straining with rage.
“I’m afraid my focus was entirely on the science and not the people involved—a consequence of working with slides and microscopes most of the time.”
“Right,” Lois said. “Blame it on your work.” She looked back toward the kitchen and shook her head. “If my daughter lives and Taylor dies…”
“He won’t die.”
She stared at him a moment. Her anger and pain were still so strong and so sharp that he felt it cutting into his brain. He had to look away.
“I’ll blame you,” she warned, opened the door and went out.
“I’d blame myself,” he muttered. He stood there looking after her, waiting to see if anyone would turn on lights or make any sort of move. It remained deadly quiet.
Taylor came forward with his small suitcase first.
“You’re going with us?”
“Until I’m sure you’re both safe,” Allan told him. “We’ll leave in my car. It looks clear out there. Can you kinda sneak out and get into the rear seat and then drop down so no one would know you’re in the car?”
“They’re going to figure out we went off with you.”
“Not for a while, maybe, giving us enough time To make some distance, especially if they think we’re heading for Los Angeles and my home.”
“Maybe,” Taylor said. He shrugged. “For now it’s better than my plan.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Wait for the invention of teleporters,” he said. “Then teleport to some place on the other side of Mars.”
Allan laughed. “Yeah, my idea is slightly better for now.”
Demi joined them.
“I’m going to leave the lights on,” she said. “And the television set. Anyone sneaking up will think we’re still here. It will give us more time.”
Allan nodded.
“We’ll go out the rear entrance and come around the side of the house,” she said.
“Good.” Allan looked out again. “Still no sign of anyone. They’re probably trying to come up with a viable idea. They don’t know we’re not calling the police just yet, but it’s for sure they’ll come.”
“Wait a minute or so to give us time to get around the house and then go to your car,” Demi said.
Allan nodded.
Demi and Taylor went to the rear of the house. After a few seconds more, Allan slipped out the front door and got into his car quickly. He flipped the light switch so it wouldn’t go on when the rear door was opened and then he reached back and opened the door slightly. Moments later, Taylor slipped in and to the floor, putting his suitcase on the seat. Demi did the same. Allan kept himself looking forward. They closed the door, and Allan started the engine and drove out of the driveway. He made a right turn, looking into his rearview mirror.
“No sign of anyone parked back there,” he announced, “and no one waiting in any cars ahead of us.”
He sped up. When they reached Indian Avenue and headed north, Demi and Taylor sat in the seats.
“Where are we going?” Allan asked. “I’m almost to the freeway.”
“We’ll get on it and head for Vegas,” Demi said. “People can get lost there easier. I have a cousin there who’s big in real estate. He’ll help us. It will give us some time To make better plans. You should go home afterward.”
“Won’t they come after him?” Taylor asked. “To get him to tell where we are?”
Allan nodded. “They probably will,” he said. “I won’t be in a hurry to leave Vegas. Besides…Vegas seems appropriate. It’s all quite a gamble anyway.”
No one laughed.
It was clear that it wasn’t meant to be a joke.
CHAPTER TEN
Warren looked at the empty bed with the rope beside it on the floor and then at Frankie Vico, who had returned to the seat he had when Dr. Parker had first entered. He shifted the bag of equipment from one arm to the other.
“What’s going on?”
“You know what you can do with that shit now, don’t you?” Frankie said.
“They’re gone?”
“No. They’re both under the fucking bed.”
“How’d they get awa
y?”
“Tony was looking for a bedpan or something the doctor sent him for to keep him away long enough. Smart son of a bitch, that doctor. Of course, you had me believing he’d sell his mother to white slavers just to get the kid’s blood, so I thought it was okay. You’re a helluva negotiator, Moore. Remind me to hire you next time I need something desperately.”
“Not a bedpan,” Tony piped up quickly. Frankie just glared at him. “It was a whole bunch of stuff. How was I to know it was bullshit? I ain’t a doctor.”
“The doctor untied him?” Warren asked, looking from Tony to Frankie as if he hadn’t heard a word since he had returned to the room.
“You’re getting this pretty fast for a schmuck, Moore. Next thing you’ll realize is you’re alive. For a while,” Frankie added pointedly.
“Hey, I can’t believe it. I knew how hard he wanted the kid’s blood and how definitely my girlfriend was refusing. We gave him his chance, and I thought he was on board. So did you.”
“Right. The kid must have changed the doctor’s mind right in front of Tony,” Frankie said, smirking.
Warren realized he could turn the attention from himself by attacking Tony.
“How the hell did you let them get away? I had that kid bound pretty tightly. It must have taken a while to untie him. Didn’t you hear anything?”
“You heard him. He had trouble finding what the doctor wanted,” Frankie offered.
“And they slipped out the window before I got back,” Tony added.
A second realization struck Warren in the pit of his stomach.
“Shit. I was hoping the sight of the money would wipe out my girlfriend’s anger over what I did to her precious brat and everyone would be happier for it.”
“You’re not getting any money now, Mr. Moore. At least, not yet. We’ve got to regroup here and come up with a new plan, and I mean quick.”
“What new plan? They’ll call the police,” Warren muttered. “She’ll take the kid’s side against me and send the police to your house.”
“Maybe. I’m not exactly worried about going to jail right now. That’s not my biggest concern. My concern is will I be alive when the trial date arrives,” Frankie said. “Now, in your case, you should be a little worried. Kidnapping is a federal offense. Me? I’m a poor, dying slob who was reaching for any possible hope.”
“Shit,” Warren said again. He set down the bag of equipment on the floor and wiped his face with his right palm. “I’d better get over there and come up with a good story.”
“Not so fast,” Frankie said. “If the police are over there taking a report, you’ll know about it quick enough. We all will. We still have a card or two to use,” he said. “Lucky I can still think. You two obviously don’t,” he added, glaring pointedly at Tony.
“What cards?”
“You think I’m the only one around who needs a miracle cure?”
“No. So?”
“As it turns out, my cousin Danny’s sister-in-law has breast cancer. She got three kids still in school and everyone’s terrified.”
Warren relaxed. “And?”
“The money we’re now talking about is considerably more, say a half million.”
“Dollars?”
“No peanuts, you putz. Of course, dollars. We get the kid again. Take what I need and deliver the rest To my cousin for his sister-in-law. After all that, he hands us a half million. You want To make the kid and his mother an offer they won’t refuse? Try two hundred thousand. We’ll split the three hundred.”
The possibility of making so much money this quickly overwhelmed Warren. For a few moments, he couldn’t speak. Of course, he already figured out he would offer Demi and the kid only $100,000. Then, the reality of the situation settled on him again.
“Yeah, but they might be talking to the police right now,” Warren said.
“So? She’s your girlfriend, ain’t she? Talk her out of it. You got a lot more to offer.”
“She probably won’t even talk Tome now. She dotes on that kid, spoiled him rotten,” Warren whined.
Frankie glared at him a moment.
“Figure it out,” he said. “And fast. I’m not exactly running on a full tank and neither are you. You hopped onto this sinking ship. Now you’ll either sail off in the sunset with it or go down with it. You understand? It’s one thing to have these doctors make promises with this chemo crap and give lousy odds, but when someone waltzes in here and promises me new life…”
Warren nodded. “Okay. I’ll go over there and work on her, but I’d better check out the place before I go in.”
“Gee, what a brilliant thought.”
“You’re sure about the money? Five hundred thousand?”
“I’ll write you a contract. Of course, I’m sure. As soon as all this happened, I called my cousin figuring I was going to need some muscle to fight an arrest and such. We’ve got a few contacts here. That’s when he told me about his sister-in-law. I knew a second chance had fallen into our laps. You fuck this up, you’re a goner, Moore, because we’re making promises to someone with ten times the muscle I have. He is never disappointed. One way or another, he gets his satisfaction.”
Warren started to nod, tried to swallow, and then wiped his forehead again. He thought he had broken out in a sweat, but his skin was drought dry.
“Get going. I don’t like wasting any time anymore,” Frankie said. “Minutes are now hours for me, and days are weeks.”
“Right,” Warren said and started away.
“You’d better come back here with some good results. Keep telling yourself your life depends on it,” Frankie called. “That should help.”
He heard Warren leave and then turned to Tony.
“Call Marilyn. Tell her to come home from the restaurant now. I got some things for her to do.”
Tony went to the phone. Frankie returned to his room. A moment later, Tony hurried in.
“What?”
“She ain’t at the restaurant, Frankie.”
“Where is she?”
“Don’t know. Stuart said she said good-bye like she was leaving for good.”
“I imagine she took the money I had in the office. There’s only one place she’d go. Call George in Vegas. I want To make a bet I can’t lose.”
“Right,” Tony said.
“Rats deserting a ship,” Frankie muttered. “I’ll make sure this one drowns.”
Warren sat in his car and studied the house. The lights were on, but he didn’t see any movement, and there were no police cars in the driveway or nearby. He did see the television flickering on the wall in the living room, but he simply couldn’t imagine either Demi or Taylor watching television as if nothing in the world had happened.
However, Demi’s car was there. Maybe she was down at the police station now. Perhaps Dr. Parker had taken her. Warren didn’t know what to think. His mind was a jumble of twisted images and words, everything tangled with Frankie Vico’s threats looming like a storm cloud.
Calm down. Calm down, he told himself. You hafta come up with a defense.
Why couldn’t he claim the kid had agreed to donate the blood when he heard about the money and then chickened out?
Simple. The doctor would testify against that. Stupid idea. Next.
Maybe he could claim the whole thing was the doctor’s plan. The doctor had told him to do it, and then the doctor got cold feet. He was practically stalking Demi, wasn’t he? That fag at the salon would verify it. And hadn’t she called him to tell him the first time that the doctor made her very nervous?
She relied on him then, didn’t she? How was she to explain that? She wasn’t for this transfusion. She practically threw the guy out. He was a nutcase. So what if he was a doctor? He wanted fame and fortune just like anyone else. Now he was covering for himself.
This idea felt good. It was sufficient to get the whole thing complicated enough so that he might not be convicted of anything. He knew Demi feared anyone else finding out about the kid’
s blood anyway. She’d take the easy way out if it meant it all was swept under a rug, wouldn’t she?
If that didn’t work, maybe he would throw himself on her mercy, explain how Vico would kill him, kill all of them and that he was doing this for them, too. Yeah, that might work even better, he thought. He forced Taylor over there because Vico had already discovered everything about Taylor’s blood and was coming after them. He’d kill her and her son if he didn’t get what he wanted. He was just doing what he thought was best for everyone.
Didn’t he always protect her? There wasn’t any time to convince Taylor, so he hijacked him, but he did it to save them all. Yes, he liked this idea the most.
After he got her to believe it, he could bring up this huge amount of money and convince her that not only was this the best way to guarantee Taylor’s safety, but they’d have enough to leave and start new somewhere. She’d like that. It was perfect. He congratulated himself on coming up with a solution.
Confident now, he got out of his car and started for the house. He paused when a car turned down their street. His heart began to thump in anticipation of it being a police car, but it wasn’t, and it went by quickly. Relieved, Warren got out his house key and went in.
For a moment he stood in the entryway listening. The silence was heavy, ominous. What if the police were hidden here, just waiting for his return? Would someone, gun drawn, leap out at him if he went a step farther? Now he really was sweating. His imagination was running away with itself.
Take it easy, he told himself. He took a deep breath, chastised himself for being such a coward, and continued through the house.
It was quickly clear that there was no one home, but when he went into Taylor’s room, he saw the drawers of his dresser were left open and his laptop computer was gone. He hurried into Demi’s bedroom. It wasn’t as immediately obvious to anyone that she had packed up some things and left, but he knew where her most valuable jewelry was, and that was gone.
They’ve run off, he thought. Why? Why didn’t she just go to the police? This threw him off completely. What did it mean? He sat on her bed, thinking. She hadn’t taken her own car, so she must have gone off with that Dr. Parker. Frankie wasn’t going to like this, but on the other hand, he was right suspecting they might not go to the police. They probably were too afraid to go to the police, probably because it would lead to the newspapers writing a story and exposing the kid.
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