The stranger let out a high-pitched giggle that unnerved her even more.
“How very generous of you.” His reply dripped with sarcasm. “But it’s not cash I’m after.”
Oh, God! Stay calm. Remember your self-defense lessons. “If I were you, I’d get out of here while I still could. Because any moment now a brawny man with no sense of humor is liable to crash through our front door.”
“Somehow I doubt that, considering he’s tied up and unconscious out in his Hummer. Now shut your yap before I lose what little patience I have left.”
A moan came from the floor, and Tara decided she’d had enough. “I’m getting out of this bed to tend to my fiancé, and you’re going to let me.”
“Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
The familiarity of his voice niggled at the back of her mind, but she ignored him and knelt at Flipper’s side. The flashlight beam followed her every move. She shuddered when the intruder whistled at her but forced herself to focus on the blood that matted the back of Flipper’s head.
“Too bad you don’t sleep in the nude.” The man’s tone was leering. “I’ve always suspected you hid some killer curves beneath those boring, buttoned-up clothes of yours. Maybe before I leave I’ll take a closer look. Touch and taste, too. Mess you up a little. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Being with a real man for a change?”
As bile rose in her throat, Tara bit back a caustic reply. The man giggled again, and she imaged him in agony after she showed him what a real woman could do. Just bide your time and look for an opportunity.
“What I’d really like is a towel or two so I can stop Flipper’s bleeding.”
“You’re a real piece of work, lady, you know that? Don’t you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?”
Tara fought to keep her voice from quavering. “I’m well aware of my predicament. But right now my concern is for Flipper.”
“If I didn’t hate you both so much, I’d almost envy your misguided devotion to each other.”
“Why on earth would you hate us? I’m sure we’ve done nothing to you.”
“You willing to bet your life on that?”
“How can I be when I don’t even know who you are?”
He moved the flashlight beneath his chin so it distorted his features, making him appear ghoulish. As he giggled like a loon, Tara noticed the bat a few feet away on the floor. Could she grab it and lunge at him before he shot her? Her chances seemed pretty slim, but it might be her only option.
“Why won’t you reveal your identity?” she asked, trying to distract him. “What are you afraid of?”
“If you had any sense, you’d be the one cowering in fear. And here I thought you were so intelligent. But you’re just another stupid bitch who thinks the world revolves around her.”
“So you don’t like women, is that it?”
“Oh, I like women just fine. Want me to prove it?”
“That’s not necessary. But I would appreciate knowing why you broke into my home.”
“Let’s just say I have a score to settle with you and that jackass you’re so hot for. You’ve both disrespected me, and now you’ll pay the penalty.”
The intruder stepped toward her, and Tara steeled herself. But he just giggled again and trained the flashlight back on her. Flipper stirred but didn’t open his eyes. Tara bent over him and whispered in his ear but received no answer.
She startled when something hard smacked her in the head and landed in her lap. Glancing down, she found it was two long strands of nylon rope.
“Make yourself useful and tie up your boyfriend nice and tight,” the man demanded. “And hurry the hell up. I don’t have all night.”
“Please, he needs medical attention.”
The intruder rushed forward and pressed the cold barrel of his gun against her temple.
“One more word out of you and I’ll blow your brains out. Now do as I say.”
Tara’s hands shook so badly she fumbled with the rope as he screamed obscenities at her, which only rattled her more. With a feral sound, he grabbed her by her camisole, lifted her partway off the floor, and shoved her so roughly she stumbled backward and landed flat on her back, smacking her head and knocking the breath out of her.
As she lay there wheezing, her arms splayed, the intruder called her a string of profane names and threatened to shoot her if she dared move. Then he dropped to his knees, set the flashlight and pistol next to him, and picked up one of the ropes.
Even after she managed to suck air back into her lungs, Tara continued to gasp, hoping to deceive the gunman. Apparently deciding she posed no threat to him, he turned his focus to Flipper, tying his ankles together and then yanking his hands behind his back.
Meanwhile, Tara’s searching fingers finally located the bat, and she nearly wept in relief. She lifted it slightly off the floor and pulled it close to her body as she loudly drew in several more sharp breaths. Just as the intruder began to wrap the rope around Flipper’s wrists, she scrambled to her feet, gripped the bat handle with both hands, and took an awkward swing.
The gunman shrieked as she made solid contact across his shoulder blades. Rage surging through her, she flailed away, landing at least two more direct blows and a few glancing ones.
“I’m going to kill you, bitch,” he roared, staggering forward.
Though her arm muscles screamed with fatigue, Tara swung with all her might and whacked him several more times before he finally went down in a heap. She jumped back as he collapsed inches from her. Scurrying past him, she scooped up the flashlight and then the gun as he lay still as death.
“Move and I’ll send you to hell,” she hollered.
He didn’t even twitch.
Tara ran to the bedside table, flipped on the lamp, and grabbed her phone. Her voice broke as she pleaded for help when the 911 operator answered. She pulled herself together and gave him the details he needed to dispatch police and paramedics to the cottage.
He instructed her not to break the connection until he verified that help had arrived and she was safe. But she accidently hit the “end call” button when she tucked the phone under her armpit, and then she’d dropped it. She needed both hands, after all, to point the pistol at the prone intruder as she copied the shooter’s stance she’d seen Flipper and Jo use at the firing range.
As the minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness, she repeatedly called Flipper’s name, getting more panicked each time he failed to respond. Finally, he moaned and clutched his head.
“Hang on, baby, it’ll be over soon,” she assured him.
“Tara?” he croaked. He cried out in pain when he tried to sit up and then sank back to the floor. “Shit. What h-h-happened?”
“Some maniac broke in and pistol-whipped you.”
“No wonder…my head…hurts. Where…is he?”
“Over by the closet. I walloped him with your ball bat and knocked him unconscious. He deserves a lot worse.”
“Who…is he?”
Tara took her first good look since turning on the light. “Oh my God, it’s that guy from the aquarium.”
“What? What guy?”
“I don’t know his name. No wonder he sounded familiar. And I’m almost sure I know him from somewhere else, but where?”
Flipper’s jaw hardened and he began kicking his legs. “My feet…are trapped. Son of a bitch.”
“Don’t struggle. He lashed your ankles together. We’ll untie you as soon as the police get here.”
Just then she saw flashing lights through the cracks in the blinds covering the front windows. Moments later, her cell phone rang and, after making sure their assailant was still out, she bent to pick it up. She immediately recognized the voice on the other end.
“Tara, we’re right outside. If it’s safe for us to come in, say ‘pizza.’”
Tara choked back a sob. “Pizza. Hurry, Jo, before he wakes up.”
A second later the door slammed open and, guns drawn, cops in b
ody armor poured into the cottage. Only after the attacker was cuffed and Tara was back in Flipper’s arms did she let the tears flow.
Chapter 39
“Aaron West is the guy who’s been causing so much trouble? Idiot Aaron from the Education Department?” Dani couldn’t have looked more shocked if she’d found out her new pet, Taco, had won the top prize at the Westminster Dog Show.
“I could hardly believe it, either,” Tara agreed, “especially when he admitted his real name’s Joseph Blouzer and that my ex-boyfriend denied him entry into SWADS because he kept spouting radical garbage. Steven was worried he might become violent.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish. Steven might’ve saved us a lot of grief if he’d taken his concerns to the police.”
“It just floors me that Aaron, Joseph, whatever his name is got a job at the aquarium. When I think of all the damage he could’ve done…”
Tara nodded and shifted the ice pack from her head to her knee.
“If you need another one of those, I can request one at the nurses’ station,” Dani offered.
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
Tara sighed and settled back in the hard plastic seat in Gulf Shore General Hospital’s emergency waiting room. Flipper was being held overnight for observation, and Tara needed to see for herself that he’d be all right. He and George the overnight bodyguard had been brought in by ambulance and treated for head lacerations that required stitches. And both suffered concussions. George’s was the most severe, and he’d already been admitted because of problems with memory, slurred speech, and balance. Despite that, doctors expected him to make a full recovery.
Flipper’s symptoms were milder, but he still acted dazed and confused, felt nauseous, and had ringing in his ears. Tara had intended to sleep in a chair beside his bed because she didn’t want to stay in their home alone, nor did she have the energy to clean up all the fingerprint dust left by the crime scene technicians. But then she’d accepted Dani’s invitation to use her guest room. Evan and Kelsey had gone to the cottage to pack Tara an overnight bag.
Her adrenaline rush long since worn off, she felt like she’d been run over by a speeding train. Tara longed for a hot shower and a soft bed, but she’d settled for the ice pack, a couple of over-the-counter pain pills, a carton of orange juice, and a neck and shoulders massage courtesy of Kelsey.
“I wonder if anybody called Kenshin or Wesley to let them know what happened tonight,” Dani mused.
“Jo said she intended to, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s forgotten. She’s been so busy the past couple hours interviewing you, Flipper, and George and making sure the prisoner is secured.”
Fifteen minutes later, the detective emerged from the ER and sat with Tara and Dani.
“Is our assailant being transferred to the jail tonight?” Tara asked.
“Yes. As soon as they finish treating him he’ll be taken to the infirmary at the county lockup,” Jo replied. “I have to hand it to you. For a fragile-looking thing, you sure did a number on the guy.”
“It was either him or me and Flipper. I wasn’t going down without a fight.”
“You rock, girl.”
Besides a concussion, Aaron/Joseph had sustained a broken hand and clavicle, a hairline fracture of his shoulder, and assorted bruises. Since he’d regained consciousness, he’d been screaming that Tara was the one who needed to be behind bars.
“I think what hurts him most is the gigantic hit to his ego,” Jo told her friends. “He can’t come to terms with the fact a woman kicked his ass. He totally underestimated you, Tara.”
“Did he give any further explanation for why he went after me and Flipper?”
“Evidently he’s been obsessed with you for a while. He said you and he together could’ve, quote, ‘turned the aquarium and zoo industry on its ear,’ unquote, if you hadn’t ‘sold out and taken up with a sadistic poser like O’Riley.’ The guy clearly has delusions of grandeur along with being insanely jealous.”
Tara shook her head. “I spoke to the man briefly once or twice, and then Steven claimed Joseph had decided for whatever reason not to join SWADS. I never saw him again until he showed up at the televised debate. I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. How does someone form an obsession after such minimal contact?”
“The same way deranged fans stalk celebrities they’ve never even met,” Dani remarked. “They’re psychotic.”
“He may be mentally ill, but there’s no doubt in my mind he knew what he was doing,” Jo said. “Think about how much premeditation it took to move here from Orlando, change his name, get a job at the aquarium, acquire a handgun—and I’ll bet we find more weapons when we search his apartment—and bide his time until he finally broke into the cottage. Who knows how long he’s been watching you, Tara?”
She shuddered. “And I never had any inkling. That doesn’t say much for my powers of observation.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Dani comforted. “He was hiding in plain sight at the aquarium. A lot of us thought he was an ass, but we never got the impression he was dangerous.” Tears filled her eyes. “It makes me sick to think what could’ve happened to you and Flipper if you hadn’t gotten hold of that bat.”
Tara shut her eyes and then quickly opened them as the traumatic events of the evening came flooding back.
“I’m afraid I’ll be seeing his face in my nightmares for a long time to come.”
* * * *
As Jo sat with the other two women, the automatic doors to the ER whooshed open and in walked Kenshin, Wesley, Helen Holt, and a man with a camera. The Messenger reporter was scribbling on her notepad as the two aquarium managers made a beeline for the information desk. They appeared to be arguing with the woman who sat behind it until she finally shook her head and pointed in Jo’s direction.
Kenshin hurried over, pulled Tara out of her seat and, to her great surprise, smothered her in a hug that she tolerated briefly before disengaging herself. She wondered what in the world had possessed him to do that until she heard the clicking of the camera.
“Thank God you’re all right,” he gushed. “How’s Flipper?”
“A little worse for the wear, but he’ll be okay.” Tara felt self-conscious, definitely not in the mood for a public display, but she didn’t want to stir up old animosities.
“Well, whatever you two need, Gulf Shore Aquarium is behind you one hundred percent,” Kenshin assured her. “We always take care of our own.”
“We most certainly do,” Wesley chimed in. “Our employees are our number one asset.”
Jo shot both men a withering look. “Far be it from me to break up this touching photo op, but I’ve got work to do. Tara, I’ll be in touch. Dani, have me paged if these people get too pushy. I think Tara’s been through enough over the past few hours.”
“She certainly has,” Dani replied, her annoyance showing.
“Detective, can you take a few minutes to answer some questions?” Helen asked before Jo could slip away.
“I’ve got to run. But our PIO will be here in about five minutes, and she’ll have a press release for you and any other media who show up. Speaking of which, I’m surprised the TV stations haven’t gotten wind of this yet.”
“The local network affiliates have already done their late newscasts, which means they’ll be pestering you tomorrow. And this story is bizarre enough to capture the attention of the national media, too. The TV people tend to turn these things into three-ring circuses,” Helen warned, “so you might want to think about how you plan to handle all the attention.”
“Terrific,” Tara mumbled.
“This is just a suggestion, but maybe you and Flipper could address reporters before he leaves the hospital. That might lessen the chances they’ll camp out in front of your home and pester your neighbors and families.”
Tara rubbed her temples to stave off the headache she felt returning, and Dani slung a comforting arm around he
r shoulders.
“I’ll be more than happy to give you a statement, a sit-down interview, whatever you want, Helen,” Wesley offered. “Maybe if I feed the beast it’ll take some of the pressure off Flipper and Tara.”
“I’ll take you up on that. What I really need right now is information on the suspect. He’s one of your people, right?”
“Not anymore,” the aquarium director told her. “I’m shocked and appalled, of course, at what transpired tonight, and you have my word that I’ll be asking tough questions about how he managed to infiltrate our organization.”
“Did you run a criminal background check before you hired him?” Helen asked.
“I’m sure we did. It’s standard procedure.”
“Did you ever hear him make statements against keeping dolphins and whales in captivity?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“What kind of an employee would you say he was?”
“I really didn’t know the young man very well, so I can’t comment on his job performance.”
“Did he get along with his coworkers?”
“As far as I know.” Wesley glanced at Dani, who appeared as though she might burst with the effort of trying to stay silent. “You worked with Aaron in the Education Department, Dani. Perhaps you’d like to answer that question.”
Panic registered in her eyes. “I’m not so sure I should.”
Wesley and Kenshin suddenly wore identical “oh shit” expressions, but it was too late to corral the elephant that had lumbered into the room. Wesley looked resigned as he nodded at Dani.
“Well, let’s just say Aaron didn’t make any friends with his prickly personality,” she replied. “He’d get rattled when things didn’t go exactly according to plan, and he often acted as though he inhabited a higher plane than the rest of us. He certainly didn’t share our feelings of camaraderie.
“But I was never afraid of him. I never heard anyone else say they were, either. And although he wasn’t the most personable guy in the world, he knew a lot about marine life and seemed to genuinely care about the animals.”
The grim set of Wesley’s mouth softened. “Well said.”
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