Deadly Escape

by Colleen Helme

  She glanced away to hide her surprise at how close I’d come to the truth. If Manetto were dead, she’d tell us in a heartbeat. “Hmm…that’s a good question. But he never told me anything like that when I talked to him. I’m still in shock that he’s my dad. I always thought my step-dad was my real father.”

  “I bet that was a shock. How did you find out?”

  “I got a letter from his lawyer, with a note from Leo attached.” She shook her head, thinking it was too bad she’d opened it. Now it was too late to go back. She just hoped it would all be over soon.

  “Well, thanks for your time,” I said. “So, you work for a healthcare company, right?”

  “Yes,” she said. “That’s right. I process claims over the Internet.” She wondered why I wanted to know.

  “It’s nice you can work from home.”

  She nodded, but wanted us gone and walked us toward the door. “I hope you catch him soon,” she said.

  We thanked her again and left. Back in the car, Dimples began the drive to the precinct. “Did you get anything this time?”

  “Yes,” I said, glancing his way with a pleased smile. “We need to check out an old cellmate of Leo’s from prison. His name is Trey Cooper. I think he’s the one who’s been helping Leo.”

  “Really? That’s a huge break.” Dimples smiled. His big grin sent his dimples dancing like little whirlpools in his cheeks, and I realized I hadn’t seen them in a long time.

  “Just so you know, Erika’s been helping Leo too, but she’s been real sly about it. He’s promised her all his money, just like we thought, and she’s done some things for him, but I couldn’t pick up exactly what they were.”

  “Good to know. Did you get anything more about this Trey person? Is Leo staying with the guy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Okay. That means we need to find the guy fast. Leo might be with him right now and, if he’s not, Trey might know where he is. Although I doubt he’d tell us anything.” He pulled the car into the precinct and parked, then turned in my direction. “But if you’re there, you’ll pick it up. I hate to ask you, but can you come in until we figure this out?”

  I didn’t want to see Gerard, or his people, but what could he do to me? Throw me out? Arrest me? Nope, he couldn’t do anything, so what would it hurt? If it got us closer to catching Leo, it was a good idea.

  “Sure. I’ll come in. I just hope it doesn’t get you in trouble.”

  “Let me worry about that.”

  We both entered the precinct, and I followed Dimples to his desk. It didn’t take long for word to spread that I was there, and Gerard soon showed up with his steely-eyed gaze fixed on me.

  “What is she doing here?” he asked Dimples, his gaze never leaving mine.

  “I asked her to come in,” Dimples said. “Unlike you, I believe in her psychic abilities, and she’s given me a lead to track down Leo.”

  Gerard’s sharp gaze turned to Dimples. “What is it?”

  “The name of a former prison inmate who could be helping him. I’d like to check it out.”

  Gerard shook his head. “We’ve already spoken to all of Leo’s former cell mates. It’s a dead end.”

  “Even Trey Cooper?” Dimples asked.

  Gerard narrowed his eyes, remembering the guy because Leo had shown an extra interest in him. He’d even helped the inmate with a legal matter, so he’d done a thorough background check. If he hadn’t turned up anything, how could I? “Yes. We tracked him down at the beginning and searched his apartment. He had nothing.”

  “Fine. Then you won’t mind if Shelby and I pay him a visit. What’s his address?”

  Gerard let out breath and flipped open a notebook. Before he could give the address to us, he changed his mind. “You know, I think I’ll come along.” He turned to one of his men and told him to drive us to the address, then asked two others to follow in another car for backup, just in case Leo was there.

  My brows rose. For someone who didn’t believe in me, he wasn’t taking any chances.

  “All right. We’re ready,” Gerard said. “Let’s go.”

  Dimples and I followed him to the car and slid into the back seat, while he and his deputy got in the front. He took a peppermint from his pocket and popped it into his mouth, hopeful that something good would happen for a change. Since losing Leo’s trail the night before, nothing had panned out, and he was desperate enough to take a chance on me.

  I tried not to roll my eyes, but his attitude sent a rush of spiteful anger through me, and I imagined how good it would feel to wring his neck. Dimples sent me a worried glance, asking in his mind if I was okay. I let out a pent-up breath and nodded. He patted my clenched fist, sending positive thoughts my way that this would soon be over and Gerard would go back to where he came from.

  That lightened my mood a little, and I visualized how great it would be to walk into the precinct and never see his face there again. That happy thought brought a smile to my lips. Now, I just had to hope that I could work my magic on this Trey person and find out exactly where Leo was and what he was up to.

  We pulled in front of a rundown apartment complex not far from the train tracks. Gerard motioned two of his men to watch the back of the building, and we continued to the door. He left our driver at the entrance, telling him to watch both the door and the elevator, while we proceeded up the stairs to the third floor.

  At apartment number three-fifteen, Gerard stood out of sight and told Dimples to go ahead and knock. A few minutes later, the lock snapped back, and a man with hard eyes and a shaven head opened the door. He wore a wife-beater shirt, that showed off his tattooed muscles, and a pair of dark jeans.

  “Yeah?” he asked. His dark gaze looked us over, and he correctly determined that we were with the police. A spark of unease flashed through him.

  “Trey Cooper?” At Trey’s nod, Dimples continued, holding up his badge. “I’m Detective Harris with the police. May we come in?”

  “What do you want?”

  “We just have a few questions,” Dimples said. “As long as you cooperate, you don’t need to worry about anything from us.”

  Trey swore under his breath before letting us in. After we entered, Gerard followed, and Trey cursed under his breath. As panic set in, his swearing got worse. Sure, it was all in his mind, but I still cringed a little and wished I could hold my ears.

  “I already told you that I don’t know anything about Leo,” he said, directing his answer toward Gerard.

  “That’s fine,” I said. “Then you won’t mind answering a few questions from me.” I smiled, hoping to put him at ease, since all I could hear from his mind was swearing, and that wasn’t helping. An old couch sat in front of a flat-screen TV in the small living room. I moved to sit down, and Dimples followed my lead.

  A couple of folding chairs sat at a table next to a kitchenette, and Gerard pulled one out, motioning for Trey to sit down. With a big show of disgust, Trey sat down, and Gerard stood behind him, keeping his senses alert to any noises that would indicate someone else’s presence in the apartment.

  I could have told him Trey was alone and saved him the trouble, but since we weren’t on the best of terms, I kept my mouth shut. “We know you and Leo were cell mates in prison. He helped you with something, didn’t he?”

  Trey’s brows rose with surprise. How did I know that? “Uh…I don’t know what you mean.”

  “He helped you with an appeal that got you out of prison.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Trey said. “We spoke about my case, and he mentioned something I could do that might get me released.”

  “That’s not all,” I continued. “He hired a lawyer to appeal your case. Without his help, you’d still be in prison.”

  Trey squirmed. This wasn’t a connection anyone but Leo and his lawyer knew about. How had I found out?

  “So…as it happens, you’re in Leo’s debt and, once he escaped, he came to collect. Now…if you don’t want to get thrown ba
ck in prison, I suggest you start talking.”

  He shook his head, not about to do that. We had no proof and, unless Leo talked, he’d done everything the way Leo told him. We couldn’t get him for anything. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen Leo since I left prison.”

  He was thinking that he’d seen him just last night. Too bad Leo’s plan to kill Manetto hadn’t worked. Now Leo wasn’t being as careful as he should. Trey had tried to talk him out of it, but Leo insisted on making one more attempt, promising that, if it didn’t work, he’d leave the country like he’d planned, and hope his daughter would take care of the rest.

  But now that the cops and the U.S. Marshall were there, Trey had second thoughts.

  Fully intending to capitalize on his reticence, I continued, “If Leo had one last chance to kill Manetto, how would he do it?”

  Trey swore again in his mind, and sweat popped out on his upper lip. I knew things I shouldn’t know, and now I was asking this? Leo’s new plan to grab Manetto’s successor seemed foolish. Even if kidnapping the woman made Manetto agree to a face-to-face, it would probably end up with everyone dying. Of course, Leo was already dying, so as long as he took Manetto and his successor down with him, he probably didn’t care. At least that was his plan.

  Trey had done everything Leo had asked, but this seemed like suicide. There was so much that could go wrong, and kidnapping someone didn’t sit well with him. Maybe it was time to cut his losses and run. With the money Leo had given him so far, he could leave the city and start over. Leo was dying. Why risk it?

  Holy hell! He was thinking about me! Leo thought I was Uncle Joey’s heir. Good thing Trey had never met me. He was supposed to help Leo kidnap me. Would Leo still try if Trey backed out?

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, thinking he was done and, instead of meeting up with Leo, he’d make himself scarce until this was over. “Are we done here? I need to get to work.”

  “Uh…sure.” I glanced at Dimples and sent him a nod. “Thanks for your time.” I made my way to the door. Dimples followed behind, but it took a moment longer before Gerard moved. He couldn’t believe that we were leaving without more information. It was obvious to him that I knew more than I’d said. And what was that about Leo hiring a lawyer for Trey? How did I know that?

  We made it to the car, and Dimples opened the door for me. After pulling away from the curb, Gerard turned to me. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Not really,” I said. “You don’t believe in my abilities anyway, so why should I?”

  Gerard did a mental head slap, and a growling noise came from his throat. “Do you think Leo’s going after Manetto again? Do you know how?”

  Of course I did, but I wasn’t about to tell him. So I shrugged and looked out the car window. Dimples thought I might be pushing it, but he didn’t blame me after the way Gerard had treated me the night before. I sent him a grateful smile, glad that he understood.

  I picked up that Dimples could hardly wait to hear Leo’s plans. That put me in a predicament, since I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him. The person I really wanted to tell was Uncle Joey, since I wanted him or Ramos to kill Leo, and I wasn’t sure Dimples or Gerard would.

  I knew that was wrong, but it still didn’t stop me from wanting Leo dead. Which, I had to acknowledge, made me uncomfortable. Because, as much as I hated him, I didn’t think I could kill Leo. But if not giving information I was privy to would get Leo killed, was that like killing Leo myself?

  Now I wasn’t sure what to do. Telling Gerard that Leo planned to kidnap me because he thought I was Uncle Joey’s successor didn’t seem like a good idea. Besides, how had Leo come up with that impression in the first place? Had he been observing us during dinner last night?

  I had given both Uncle Joey and Jackie hugs. I had even sat to Uncle Joey’s right, and I called him Uncle Joey all the time. Had Leo heard me say that? He also knew it was me who’d warned everyone at the table about the poison. That must have been what convinced him of my value to Uncle Joey.

  We pulled up to the precinct and got out of the car. Before heading inside, Gerard caught my gaze over the hood of the car. “I’d like a word.” He didn’t even wait to see if I’d follow before he took off.

  I thought about getting in my car to leave, but picked up alarm from Dimples. He needed me to cooperate, or he’d never hear the end of it, and he liked having a job. He silently pled with me to stay, so I waited until Gerard was out of range so I could explain things to Dimples.

  “We can’t tell Gerard Leo’s plans, because they involve me.”

  “What?”

  “Leo’s planning to kidnap me because he thinks I’m Uncle Joey’s successor, and then get Uncle Joey to meet with him in exchange for my life. But he’ll probably kill us both instead. Anyway, that’s not something I can tell Gerard.”

  “Oh hell,” Dimples said, closing his eyes. “What are you going to tell him then?”

  “I don’t know, but leave it to me.” We passed through the doors of the precinct and caught up to Gerard in his office.

  Gerard slipped off his jacket, then motioned for us to sit down and closed the door. It truly pained him to ask me what I’d picked up, so he sat there and stared at me, hoping I’d get nervous and spill my guts.

  Since I was used to that kind of intimidation, the silence didn’t bother me in the least. In fact, it gave me some time to figure out what I was going to tell him.

  Finally, Gerard let out a breath and sat back in his chair, disgusted that I didn’t cave. “Okay. I’ll bite. What did you pick up?”

  I caught Dimples’s encouragement that I talk, since he didn’t like being in the hot seat. So I gave in.

  “Well. I picked up that Leo hasn’t given up. He’s still going after Manetto, and it sounded like he was making his move tonight.”

  “Where?” Gerard asked.

  “That I don’t know. But Leo’s got a plan to ask Manetto to meet him somewhere in exchange for something Manetto wants. I think it must be valuable enough to Manetto that Leo’s pretty sure he’ll go for it, and meet him.”

  Gerard shook his head, wondering what Leo had on Uncle Joey. Since I didn’t want him to think about that too hard, I continued. “So, I think if you watch Manetto’s house, and follow Manetto when he leaves, he’ll lead you right to Leo, and you can catch him.”

  He’d already figured out that much. It almost sounded too easy, but he was sure his team could handle it, as long as they didn’t lose him along the way. On the other hand, if they messed up and didn’t get there in time, maybe Manetto and Leo would kill each other. That wasn’t a bad outcome either. “Anything else?”

  I sent him a dirty look but kept my mouth shut. “Nope. That’s all I got.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” He stood to dismiss us, wondering if he should include Dimples in the operation. I held my breath that he wouldn’t, since I wanted Dimples to help me catch Leo before he ever contacted Uncle Joey.

  Gerard decided against it, mostly because Dimples was my friend, and he couldn’t trust him. I let out a relieved breath and smiled at him before leaving his office. Gerard wondered what I had up my sleeve. Was this all part of my diabolical plan? Or was I just weird? He settled on the weird explanation, since he didn’t think I was all that bad.

  Dimples followed me back to his desk and paused. “So, what do you want to do?”

  “Walk me out?”

  He nodded and didn’t speak again until we stood beside my car, which gave me a little time to figure something out. My idea wasn’t the best, but I couldn’t think of anything else. “Do you mind being my shadow? That way, when Leo tries to kidnap me, you can stop him?”

  Dimples shook his head. “That’s a horrible plan.”

  “Can you think of something better? Because, if you can, I’m all ears.”

  His lips thinned. “Not off the top of my head.”

  “That’s what I thought. Since we have
no idea when this kidnapping is going to take place, I can’t think of another way to do this.”

  “Fine. Until we come up with something better, I’ll follow you home and keep an eye on your house.” His gaze caught mine, and his eyes narrowed. “Are you going to tell Manetto?”

  “I don’t know. Do you think I should?”

  He wasn’t sure, but it might be nice to have Ramos as back-up, since he couldn’t exactly tell anyone in the police department. But if Ramos were involved, we might run the risk of ending up with a dead Leo, since he wouldn’t put it past the hit-man to kill him.

  “That’s true. Why don’t I head home, and we can think about it on the way. We probably have plenty of time until the abduction, and we can talk on the phone.” I opened my door to get in the car.

  Dimples grumbled under his breath. What was up with me? I spoke of my imminent abduction like it didn’t bother me. I should be freaking out that Leo wanted to kidnap and kill me. But I looked as cool as a cucumber.

  As I shut my door, I sent him a smile. What a nice thing for him to say. I waited until he was in his car before I started home. That’s when it hit me that the idea of getting kidnapped and possibly killed just seemed like another day at work for me.

  Did that mean something significant? Was I getting so used to these types of things happening to me that I’d developed a tougher skin? Or did it mean I was losing it in a different way? I waited for the panic to set in, but it didn’t come. Maybe that was because I had no intention of letting it happen.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d decided that I’d kill Leo myself before I ever let him harm me or anyone I loved. It was as simple as that. Once I got home, I’d get Chris’s gun out of the safe. I’d have it loaded and ready to shoot. Leo might be coming after me, but he wasn’t going to succeed.

  Home, I pulled into the garage, waiting to make sure Dimples had parked nearby before climbing out. Opening the back door, I stepped into the kitchen, wanting a diet soda something fierce. Before I took more than two steps, I caught sight of my kids sitting at the table, and my heart stopped. Leo sat beside them with a gun in his hand.