Crime & Passion

by Chantel Rhondeau

“There’s no way she could get out.” Eric ran his hands through his hair. “There’s security all over that place.” He sighed and shook his head. “But if she is loose, after everything she told me yesterday, I’m pretty sure she’ll go after Madeline if Donovan doesn’t do whatever she demands. She hates Madeline.”

  Physical pain knifed through Donovan, and he snatched his phone out of his pocket. He swiped across the screen until finding the icon to speed dial Maddie, pressing it and holding the phone against his ear, praying she picked up.

  Four rings and her answering machine.

  “Madeline, Suzie might be loose. Whatever you do, stay with Lindsey. I’m coming to get you.”

  He hung up the phone, partially conscious of the fact the office phone rang while he left his message to Maddie, and Brice talked to someone on the other end.

  “I have to get Maddie,” he said, turning to Eric. “Tell Brice where I—”

  Brice held his hand up. “Yes, Suzie. I do understand how deep your love runs for Donovan. If you tell me where you are, I’ll let you talk to him.”

  Though every instinct urged Donovan to run out of the office and protect Madeline, he took a deep breath and forced himself to stay there. If Suzie were on the phone, maybe she hadn’t gotten to Maddie yet. Donovan had to figure out what she wanted.

  “You have a hostage?” Brice’s eyes widened. “Yes, that does change things. You know you’re only hurting your chances of being with Donovan if you hurt someone else. Tell me where you are and let the hostage go.”

  Eric stood from his chair and leaned in to whisper in Donovan’s ear. “I’ll go in the other room and call Woofy Cuts to make sure Madeline is there.”

  “Thanks.” Though he tried to reassure himself Lindsey wouldn’t let Suzie anywhere near Madeline, Donovan’s knees shook with fear. If she already had her, Donovan didn’t want to think about what pain she’d probably inflicted on his fiancée.

  As soon as Eric cleared the door, Brice held the phone out to Donovan. “She won’t tell me anything else. She insists on talking to you.”

  If she had Maddie, Suzie would wish she’d stayed locked away by the time Donovan finished with her. While in jail, he’d worried how he could extract revenge against an insane woman, but a dark part of him knew he could do it.

  Donovan put the phone to his ear and took a deep breath. The only option he had was to make her believe he was on her side. “Suzie? It’s Donnie. What’re you doing, baby?”

  “Donnie! I’ve missed you so much.” She giggled. “I had to move fast to set things up, but we can finally be together. You need to meet me.”

  “Sure. I'd love to meet. I've had a long time to think about what you said at the jail that day. I've really missed you." Apparently the rule he'd always lived by, never to lie about love, was easier to break than he thought possible. He'd say whatever he had to, just as long as Maddie didn't suffer any harm. "Want to tell me how you got out of the hospital, though, sugar? You must have been very clever.”

  Beside him, Brice nodded his approval. “Find out where she is, too,” he whispered.

  “Oh, you know me, Donnie. A little help, a little stealth.” Her giggle turned into a laugh. “A lot of money. Money can do anything. It’s going to buy us a new life.”

  “It’s going to be kind of hard to sneak away and get to you. The police are watching me now.” Donovan took a deep breath, hoping she was so lost in her psychosis that she’d believe he really had her best interests at heart. “Tell me where you are. I’ll lay low for a while and then come to you as soon as they quit watching me.”

  “I'm tired of waiting for you. I've waited ten years already.” She sounded irritated for the first time. “I need your new cell phone number. Your old one’s disconnected.”

  “Sure, baby, no problem. It’s 707-555-4578.”

  “Fine. Get in your car and start driving up the highway for Eureka. I’ll call you in ten minutes and give you further instructions. If anyone follows you, I’m not going to be happy.”

  Donovan sucked in a deep breath. It wasn’t good to let her get agitated. “Brice said you have a hostage, is that true?”

  “Just get here, Donnie. You need to leave now. Tell them to stay away from you. If you aren’t here in thirty minutes, things will get ugly. It's a twenty-five minute drive, so you’d better talk fast and get on the road.”

  “Do you have Madeline?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking.

  “God! Why does everything between us have to involve that bitch?” She screamed, blasting Donovan’s eardrum. “Maybe as a sign of your love to me, you should do the honors and kill her.”

  “She’s not important and she's not coming between us, but that’s a good plan. Wait for me, baby, and we can kill her together.” He could barely force the words past the tight knot of fear blocking his throat. “It can unify our love, but if you kill her first, it will ruin things for us.”

  “You think I’m stupid, don’t you?”

  I sure hope so. “Of course not. I thought it was a good idea. And once we get rid of her, we can do like you said before and take care of all the wife beaters.”

  She giggled once more, apparently placated. “That was a good idea, wasn’t it?”

  “Sure was. Look, I’m going to get in the car right now and head your way. Call me soon and we can talk while I drive. I can’t wait to see you again.”

  “Just don’t forget to come alone. If anyone follows you, I’ll put my original plan into action.” Her voice had a hard edge to it. “I’ll kill her myself.”

  Chapter Thirty

  “You can’t come with me,” Donovan said, practically begging Brice to listen. “She said she’d kill Maddie before I got to them if you do.”

  “I’ll drive my car and come behind you, but you can’t go into this totally alone. You need back up.” Brice’s voice was maddeningly reasonable.

  Donovan paced the small confines of the office, trying to come up with a plan. “If I keep her on the phone the entire time, she won’t be tempted to do anything to Maddie. I’ll get her to tell me when I’m close and tap my breaks a bunch of times so you know to back off.”

  “Okay, I’ll go for that.” Brice stood and grabbed his suit jacket off the back of the chair, slinging it on and covering the gun at his hip. “After I figure you’ve had time to distract her, I’ll come up behind you and be ready to assist.”

  “Fine.” Donovan nodded. “Give me a little bit of time alone with her. I’m not sure Maddie’s with her or if she’s hidden her somewhere else. We can’t take any chances until Maddie’s safe.”

  It was a flimsy plan, and Donovan’s whole world rested on it working. His guts twisted with fear, but now wasn’t the time to let his emotions take over. This was his job, what he’d done for the past twenty-one years. He caught the bad guys and protected the innocent.

  He motioned to the doorway. “Let’s go. Suzie said it would take twenty-five minutes to reach her and only gave me thirty to get there.”

  As they exited the office, Eric stood from his desk. “I can’t get a hold of anyone at Woofy Cuts,” he said.

  “We think she already has Madeline,” Brice replied. “Go to Woofy Cuts and check things out. Make sure Lindsey Butters is okay.”

  “I’m on it, Chief,” Eric said.

  Walking outside with the other men close behind, Donovan jumped into his police cruiser and flipped on the emergency lights. He pulled out of his spot and made his way to Main Street, Brice right on his tail and Eric’s car behind his.

  Panic arrested his heartbeat momentarily when they passed Woofy Cuts. Madeline’s car was still in the parking lot, right next to Lindsey’s. It would be one thing if Madeline just hadn’t answered her cell phone. She might be washing a dog or something. But there was no way someone wouldn’t answer the store phone when Eric called.

  His cell rang and Donovan pressed the button on his Bluetooth device, glancing in his rearview mirror to see Eric’s car turn off at the dog shop.
All he could do was pray Lindsey was knocked out or something, not dead.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me!” She sounded too happy for a woman with murderous intent.

  “I just got on the road, Suzie.” He forced his voice a bit higher than normal, hoping to sound excited instead of scared though dread cramped his stomach. “I had trouble getting rid of Chief Carter.”

  “Don’t call him that. Daddy’s the chief.”

  “Of course he is, baby. I didn’t mean anything by that.” The slow-moving car in front of him finally noticed his emergency lights and pulled to the side of the road. Donovan sped around it. “Why don’t we talk about us? I’m excited to get to you. What’s the plan when we get out of this hell hole?”

  She giggled. “Well, I’ve been thinking about that. We should go to an island. Somewhere we can drink margaritas and make love in the sand. I’ve been planning this for a long time, so I have money set aside for us. We’ll be so happy.”

  Planning what? To go on a killing spree? Donovan decided he better not examine that statement too closely. Maybe she had planned to leave the country with him after paying his bail if she couldn’t buy his freedom, and that was why she had money hidden somewhere for them to escape. He certainly hoped she hadn’t been planning this.

  Suzie prattled on about her plans for their life together. Donovan only half listened to them. He followed her instructions to turn right on a small road that wound far from any town. Eventually, he turned off onto a dirt road, switching off his emergency lights. The rough grade and huge dips attested to the fact that wherever Suzie led him was not a place many traveled.

  “There should be a driveway coming up on the left soon,” Suzie said after asking Donovan to explain his surroundings. “There’s a big stand of trees and it’s partially hidden.”

  “I’m glad I’m getting close. I can’t wait to see you.”

  Donovan tapped his breaks and waved at Brice over his shoulder, warning him to back off. He slowed, searching for the driveway.

  “I see it,” he told Suzie, turning into the narrow opening.

  Behind him, Brice stopped his car and Donovan continued alone. The densely wooded trail was barely wide enough for his cruiser. Trees eagerly crowded the road, blocking out the sunlight and any hope of changing his mind and turning around. The driveway twisted and turned until he finally broke into a clearing.

  “I can’t wait to plant a big kiss on you,” Suzie cooed.

  “That’ll be nice.”

  A dilapidated house dominated the area where trees didn’t grow, and Donovan parked near a black sedan. The outer walls of the structure leaned dangerously and their gray boards held flaking chips of white paint. It looked like something out of a horror movie. Donovan hoped the scene he would play in Suzie’s personal screenplay didn’t end up as gory as most.

  She hadn’t mentioned Madeline in the twenty minutes they’d been on the phone, and Donovan was afraid to set her off by asking. The only thing helping him hold onto his sanity was being on the phone with her. He’d heard no sounds to indicate Madeline was nearby or in pain, and it was unlikely Suzie killed her in the short time period Donovan left the police station.

  He walked to the house, the buzz of Suzie’s incessant chatter filling his ears. Somewhere around here Madeline waited for him, counting on him to save her life.

  “Meet me at the front door,” he said, cutting off her prattling.

  A shadow passed near a window without any glass and Suzie opened the door. She stuffed her phone into her pants pocket. “You really came alone? I hoped you would, but I was afraid you were tricking me.”

  “Tricking you? Why would I do that, baby?” Donovan stepped onto the uneven boards of the porch, afraid he would fall through. “I told you, I’ve been thinking about you these past couple months. I love you, Suzie.”

  She lunged forward, jumping into Donovan’s arms and wrapping her legs around his hips. “I’ve been waiting to hear that for so long,” she said, in an eerie echo of the conversation he’d had with Maddie the night before.

  Suzie’s lips latched onto his and he forced himself to return her kiss as he carried her into the house. He set her on the rotten floorboards and took in the state of the sparsely furnished room. What must have once been a couch occupied a corner of the room, and a mouse scurried across the floor to the safety of the rotting fabric and metal frame.

  He shuddered, wondering if Maddie had mice crawling all over her, possibly exposing her and the baby he hoped she carried to disease.

  Turning his attention to Suzie, Donovan forced a smile on his face. “Well, I think it’s time we got down to business. I want to get out of this place fast.”

  “You’re afraid of a little mouse?”

  “Terrified.” He nodded and put his arm around her.

  She leaned into him. “I’ll protect you.”

  It’s you I need protecting from. He kissed her forehead, trying hard to keep the distaste he felt for her off his face. “So, where’s Madeline? Let’s hurry and get this over with and head to a hotel somewhere.”

  Suzie slid her arm down his back. “About Madeline...there’s something I need to tell you. I don’t actually have her here. Something’s waiting at her house.”

  ***

  The bell above the door chimed and Madeline turned around in relief. “See, Brutus? I told you your mommy wouldn’t...” She paused when she saw Eric standing in the doorway.

  “Madeline. I’m so glad you’re safe.” He walked into the store and looked around. “Where’s Lindsey?”

  “In the back with Brandon.” She narrowed her eyes, watching him closely. Ever since that day on the beach, she didn’t quite trust him. “Why wouldn’t I be safe?”

  “No one answered the phone here and you didn’t answer your cell. Didn’t you get Donovan’s message? Suzie escaped from the hospital.”

  “Is that some kind of sick joke?” Suzie on the loose could only mean bad things for the people of this town, particularly her.

  He shook his head. “Donovan tried to call you.”

  “I must’ve left my phone in the back room after washing Brutus,” she replied, patting her pants pocket. “Where’s Donovan? Why didn’t he come here himself?”

  “He thought Suzie had you and went charging off to rescue you.”

  “Oh my God.” Madeline put her hand against her mouth, bile rising in her throat. “What if she hurts him? Why aren’t you helping him?”

  “He sent me here.”

  Madeline snorted in disgust. Of course Eric wouldn’t have Donovan’s back; he never had. “I have to go to him. I have to help him.”

  She made an abortive step toward the door and Eric. Brutus let out a low growl as he paced forward with her.

  “Hey, keep that dog away from me,” Eric said, holding his hands out in front of him.

  Madeline looked down at the leash in her hand, only then realizing she held it.

  “Dogs always hate me for some reason. And, trust me, the feeling’s mutual.” Eric stepped sideways towards the counter, putting more distance between him and the growling dog. “I don’t know where Donovan’s headed exactly. Suzie’s giving him instructions as he drives.”

  “Damn it. What can I do to help him?”

  “Brice is with him. He’s a trained cop, Madeline. It’s you Suzie wants dead. Donovan will be fine.”

  Leaning against the styling station, Madeline closed her eyes and tried to think past the panic fluttering in her chest. Donovan was a smart man, and Suzie thought she loved him. Eric was right. He could take care of himself, and once he knew Suzie didn’t have her, he’d come back home. He’d be safe.

  Brutus leaned into her leg, letting out a low whine and Madeline patted his head. He obviously felt her anxiety and she didn’t want to cause the dog stress.

  “It’s okay, sweetie.” The dog probably knew it wasn’t.

  “I think you should stay with me until Donovan gets back,” Eric said, taking a step t
oward her.

  Brutus stood up straight, his whine turning to a loud growl. He barked once and Madeline saw the hair stand up on the back of his neck, every muscle in his body tense.

  “Brutus, sit!” she commanded.

  The dog obeyed, but he didn’t relax at all.

  “Eric, I think you better just leave. If he decides to come after you, I’m not going to be able to stop him.” She looked at Brutus.

  “I freakin’ hate dogs.” Eric edged around the back of the counter, putting it between them. “I have to stay, though. Donovan will be pissed if I leave you alone. Suzie made some threats. What if she set up a trap?”

  “You think she’d have time? How long has she been out?”

  “Not long,” he admitted. “But someone must have helped her escape. Donovan put me in charge of your safety. I’m supposed to check on Lindsey too. You’re sure she’s fine?”

  The breath caught in Madeline’s throat as she realized she hadn’t heard any sound from the back room for several minutes. That was silly though. Lindsey was okay. Brandon was with her.

  “Lindsey?” she called. “What are you guys doing back there?”

  They were probably making out or something. Surely they were safe. Brandon wouldn’t let anyone harm Lindsey...would he?

  “Come on, boy.” She stood up and tugged on Brutus’ leash to get his attention. “I’ll go check on them.”

  Eric shook his head sharply. “Are you crazy? I’m the one with a gun. Keep that beast away from me and I’ll go check.”

  The man has a point. He was trained for these situations. What did she have? A sharp tongue and a normally lovable dog?

  “Lindsey! Answer me!” she screamed at the closed door, trying to convince herself there was no reason to panic.

  Silence.

  She put her trembling hand inside Brutus’ collar and crouched down to hug the dog’s neck.

  “Okay, Eric. You go...but be careful.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Donovan’s throat constricted to the point it was difficult to breathe. He swallowed hard. “What do you mean something’s waiting at her house?”