I didn’t like this one bit. I’d specifically instructed Barry not to tell his wife our location. “Your husband is fine,” I said. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I’m very concerned. He said he was poisoned.” She turned her head slightly to the right and, noticing the flicker of light from the gas lamp, looked into the window of the cabin. Her eyes grew wide. “Heavens, is that who I think it is? Rachel’s alive?”
Her act wasn’t that convincing. My God, I got the awful sense that she already knew Rachel was alive.
Without much time to react, I decided to play along. “It’s quite a shock, isn’t it? We just found out this morning.”
“And you didn’t think we should know?”
I shrugged. “I’m sorry.”
Tracy leaned against her car. If she was so concerned about her husband, why didn’t she go inside the cabin to see him? Her features were shrouded in the shadows, but I sensed she was feeling me out.
“Is this where Rachel has been hiding out for the past two months?” she asked, with a hint of amusement. “I’ll be damned. She must’ve had some help.”
I wasn’t about to give her Logan’s name. “Maybe.”
“Where’s Carter?”
“He should be here any second,” I lied. “And the police should be here any second, too. There’s no point in prolonging this charade any longer.”
She took a step toward me and now I could see her face. The moon shone down, making her skin look pale and lifeless.
“You called the cops?” She regarded me curiously, probably wondering if I was bluffing about that. She assumed a combative stance; hands still plunged deep into her coat pockets. I would have to tread lightly until I was sure what she was hiding. Too bad my pepper spray was in my purse, inside the Buick.
“You told me Barry left the research group because you were afraid that Big Pharma would try to eliminate the competition,” I said. “That wasn’t the case at all. Barry got kicked out of the group. And he resented that.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “Just because he couldn’t find enough test subjects for the trial, they sent him packing. They said he wasn’t contributing enough to the research. It simply wasn’t true. My husband worked tirelessly for months and months, collecting data, putting his heart and soul into the study, only to be stepped on. He wasn’t going to get any credit. They would reap all the glory and the money. Now, does that sound like a fair deal to you?”
“So he decided to murder Barry’s colleagues? Why? To teach them a lesson? Or so that Barry would publish the book himself and be the star?”
“Barry?” She laughed. “No, Barry doesn’t have it in him. He’s too sweet and innocent.”
“So then, it was you.”
“I’ve always had to protect Barry. He’d never stand up for himself.”
As we stood there in the dark, I wondered when she’d make her move. She wouldn’t have confessed unless she felt secure in her position. I had no weapon to defend myself, just the cell phone in my hand.
At the sound of a screen door opening. I looked to my left. Standing in the doorway, Barry had a look of uncertainty on his face. “Sweetheart,” he said to his wife, eyes flitting nervously from her, then to me, and then back to her. “You got here fast.”
“Yes, dear,” she replied with a sweet smile. “Sarah and I were just discussing how wonderful it is, that Rachel is alive. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Barry nodded, but his mouth twitched. “Are you coming inside?” he asked us.
“In a minute,” she said, calmly. “Go back inside and let’s stick to the plan, okay?”
Barry bowed his head subserviently and retreated into the cabin. A second later, through the window, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Barry swing his arm around and clock Rachel over the head with his clenched fist. She collapsed onto the floor like a sack of flour.
I jerked my head around to face Tracy, blood boiling, my fists clenched into tight balls of fury. I lunged toward her, but she reacted with lightning speed and pulled the pistol out of her coat pocket. She aimed it at my head and, in complete control of her emotions, she said, “I’m sure you’re wondering if I’ve ever fired a gun before, and the answer is yes. So don’t try anything funny.”
I quickly reviewed my options and decided I only had one.
I slowly raised my hands in surrender, silently cursing myself for not making my move before this had happened. If I had been quick on my feet and beat her to the punch...oh, heck, there was no point in lamenting. “What’s the plan?” I said. “Kill a few more people? You won’t get away with it. If anything happens to me or Rachel, Carter will hunt you down.”
She shook her head slowly, clearly unthreatened by my words. “I guess I should be thanking you, Sarah. You led us right to Rachel. Her death will be on you, now.”
“So you knew Rachel wasn’t dead.”
“I mean, really. It’s so obvious what she tried to do. I’m not an idiot, but she gets an A for effort. She was able to fool everyone else, but not me. I knew that Big Bad Pharma wasn’t killing Holistic doctors. I’m not a conspiracy nut.”
“And Barry? He was in on this from the start?”
She made a face. “Of course not. To be honest, I didn’t know if I could trust him to keep his mouth shut but then you and Carter show up and send me away to my parents’ house, I knew I had to tell him everything. He refused to believe I had killed his ex-colleagues. When I explained to him why it was necessary, he understood that I did it for him.”
I prayed Carter would get here quickly but he was still a good half an hour away. I decided to keep Tracy talking for as long as possible.
“Was it your idea to fake the Gatorade poisoning?” I asked.
“Of course. I wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull it off, because he’s usually a terrible liar, but he understood exactly what was at stake.”
“People make mistakes,” I said. “I’m sure Rachel is deeply sorry for whatever she did to Barry. I’m sure she realizes now that Barry’s contribution was the most important aspect of the therapy, and I am sure at this point, she’d be willing to give him all the credit.”
She smiled at that. “It’s too late, but nice try.”
So much for buttering her up. It was time to take a different approach. I reached into my jacket for my phone and pulled it out quickly.
“Stop,” she yelled. “Don’t you dare move another muscle.”
“Or else what?” I said, tauntingly. “You won’t shoot me.”
“Like hell I won’t.” She fired a shot, and the bullet tore into the ground about a foot from my left shoe. Okay, so maybe this broad did know how to use a gun. “Throw the phone on the ground,” she bellowed. “Right now!”
With my thumb, I depressed the button that would automatically dial Carter’s number. “Okay, okay,” I said, tossing the phone in front of me, landing on the ground just inches from her feet.
She lowered the gun and aimed it at my phone as if she were going to shoot it. She must have thought better of it and, instead, she stomped on it with her boot. “You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “Not particularly. If I was so clever, I wouldn’t be standing here with a gun pointed at my head, now would I?”
Carter would know that I was in distress when he tried calling me back. I wanted to make sure he’d approach the campground with extreme caution. “My partner knows how to use a gun, too. If I were you, I’d get back in the car and go home with your husband. Pack a bag and get the hell out of the country. There’s no other way unless you want to go to jail for the rest of your life.”
With her free hand, she reached into the other jacket pocket and produced a coil of rope. “Put your hands behind your back.”
Barry came out of the cabin with Rachel slung over his shoulder, as lifeless as a rag doll. “She’s out cold,” he said. “We better hurry before she wakes up.”
“Barry?” I called out to him. “You are not a violent person
. Your wife is crazy, but you don’t have to go down with her. Up to this point, you’ve done nothing wrong. I know you want to do the right thing here. Let Rachel and me go, and I promise you will not go to jail.”
“Don’t listen to her, sweetheart,” Tracy said in a sweet yet firm voice. “I am your wife. I am the only person in this world who cares about you.”
“It’s not true,” I said, hoping Barry would come to his senses. “Your wife is a murderer. She killed two innocent men. You’re a doctor, and it’s your responsibility to help people, not hurt them. Out of all your patients, your wife is the one who needs treatment. You can help her but first you have to do the right thing.”
I could tell Barry was hearing me, but the way he kept looking at his wife, with sympathetic eyes, I realized there was no way I’d convince him to turn against her.
She gave her husband the gun and said, “Keep this pointed at Sarah’s head. If she tries anything, shoot her. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”
He nodded but, the way he held the gun, suggested he’d never held one before. His hand shook as he leveled it with my eyesight. The weight of Rachel on his shoulder had to be tiring him out. He was sweating like a pig.
“Turn around,” she said to me. “Hands behind your back. Now!”
I considered giving her a back thrust kick to the groin, in hopes of incapacitating her - or at least stalling her. I seriously doubted that Barry would shoot me. Even if he did, his aim would most likely be horrible. He’d be more likely to accidentally shoot his wife than me. After a second to think it over, I figured it was too risky, especially since Rachel couldn’t defend herself. So I reluctantly let Tracy tie my wrists together. The abrasive rope scraping my skin caused my wrists to burn like hell.
Luckily, the knot didn’t feel secure. Perhaps in all her planning she’d neglected to learn how to tie a proper knot.
“Let’s go.” She shoved me forward and I began walking.
“Where are we going?” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.
“For a swim,” she said. “You and Rachel.”
“If you think this will look like an accidental drowning, you’re wrong. Especially with the rope. Is this the best idea you can come up with?”
She ignored my taunting as I continued walking toward the lake. I could hear Barry panting behind me, probably having a hard time keeping pace with a hundred and twenty pound woman on his back. I prayed that Rachel would wake up and create a diversion, just enough time for me to kick Tracy. If I could get that gun out of the picture, I’d have a fighting chance, even with my hands tied behind my back.
No such luck. I kept on walking.
When we approached the dock, I stopped and looked out at the cold, dark water. My body began to shake. Was this really going to happen? Did I have any control over this? Certainly, there was something I could do. I frantically searched my brain for an idea, but nothing came. It was as if my blood had turned to Novocain and my mind had turned into mush. Paralyzed with fear, I refused to believe that my time was up but, clearly, there was no way out of this.
Time to stall. “How did you fake Spealman’s heart attack? Did you slip something into his drink?”
“No. I injected him with Oxycodone. A little trick I learned from a cop show.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I showed up the grocery store where he liked to go. We chatted for a while and when he offered to help me put the groceries in my trunk, I slipped the needle right between his ribs. When he collapsed on the ground, I called 911 like a good samaritan. Too bad he was gone by the time they showed up, poor lad.”
“And Lenzer?” I said. “How’d you get those sleeping pills in his drink?”
“Well now,” she said. “I can’t give away all my secrets.”
“Why not? I’m going to be dead soon anyway.”
“I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work. We’re running out of time as it is. Barry, let’s do this. Now!”
I blinked and the next thing I knew Barry was beside me, gently lowering Rachel’s body into the water where she began to sink. I noticed a rope was secured to her ankle and, with mounting dread, realized it was the same rope attached to my wrists.
The last words that came out of my mouth before my body hit the water was, “You’re gonna regret this...”
I took a deep breath before my face became submerged in the dark, murky water. The cold enveloped me whole and I was afraid I might go into shock. Forcing myself to think and act, I struggled with the rope to get my hands free. Luckily, the knot came loose and hope blossomed.
I could see nothing, but at least I knew that Rachel was on the other end of the rope. I tugged with all my might, but it felt like an anchor. Had her body already sunk to the bottom, or was my perception all wrong?
Pulling the rope to guide me, I figured I must be going down. Arms stretched out ahead of me, I finally felt material, probably Rachel’s sweater. Was she already dead? No. I refused to believe it.
My lungs burned.
With both hands, I managed to scoop her up, my arms wrapped around her torso. A deep pain set into my chest and head, threatening to smother my consciousness. I pumped my legs, begging them to move faster...harder, while trying to keep my grasp on Rachel.
Just when I thought I couldn’t last another second, my head felt a lightness, and I gasped for breath while struggling to lift Rachel’s face above the water line.
I could barely make out the two figures standing on the dock. I heard the gunshot, and the sound of a bullet whizzed passed me and cut into the water near my head. I heard cursing and then another gun shot that missed. Tracy must have been the one shooting and, maybe, just maybe, Barry was trying to stop her.
Thank God she was a lousy shot.
With one arm around Rachel, I doggie-paddled ferociously with my free arm, but only managed to go around in circles. I couldn’t even see where I was going as the water kept splashing in my eyes and up my nose. I fully expected more gunshots, but all was silent for a few moments.
And then, Rachel vomited into the water, next to my ear. The fact that she was still alive gave me the inspiration and strength to keep paddling toward land, wherever that might be. Thankfully, Rachel didn’t fight against me as she continued to cough miserably.
“You’re okay,” I whispered to her, almost out of breath. “I need you to stay calm and trust me.”
“What ...what is happening?” Her voice sounded weak and frightened. I couldn’t even imagine the terror she was experiencing waking up this way.
To conserve energy, I didn’t respond and hoped she’d get the hint. I headed toward what I thought was land, and eventually my feet hit something mushy. Yes! Just a little further ,and I’d be able to get a solid footing. Damn it! The ground was too soft. It felt like my feet were sinking into quicksand. So close and yet so far. I struggled to keep paddling with my one arm, but I couldn’t go much longer.
Blue and red flashing lights filled the dark sky and another spark of hope emerged. I tried to yell out, but the waves kept splashing into my mouth and I couldn’t breathe.
Felt like my lungs were about to collapse. Just when my mind and body were about to give up, strong hands grasped under my shoulders, and I felt lighter.
“I got you, Sarah.” Carter’s voice was stern yet calm. “You’re gonna be fine.”
Chapter 15
Carter covered my back with a warm blanket while we watched the paramedics tending to Rachel. She seemed to be breathing and coherent, but they were checking her vitals anyway.
Tracy and Barry Boyle were being led to the cruisers in handcuffs. Tracy was protesting her arrest, while Barry seemed to succumb to his fate, head bent forward as he walked.
Carter explained the situation. He had called the authorities as soon as he’d received my call and heard the subsequent conversation between Barry’s wife and me right before she decimated the phone with her boot.
He said, “Wh
en I got here, I heard the gunshots out on the dock. Barry and his wife were arguing: Barry was trying to get the gun out of her hands. I was able to sneak out on the deck and surprise them. They never saw me or the Taser gun in my hand until it was too late. After they had crumpled to the ground, I noticed you were pretty close to the shore with Rachel in your grasp, but you appeared to be running out of energy.”
I said. “I don’t think I would’ve made it if you hadn’t gotten here when you did.”
“I’m sure you would have,” he said, just to make me feel better.
My body was shivering from the cold. Carter’s embrace made me feel safe. “What do you think will happen now?” I asked.
“Your testimony, along with Rachel’s, should be enough to convict Barry and his wife of attempted murder. As for Rachel’s colleagues, I’m not sure what will happen with that.”
“Barry had nothing to do with their deaths. Tracy confessed that it was all her idea and she only told him the truth today. I think Barry just wanted to protect his wife. Looks like he came to his senses in the end.”
“I’m sure the court will offer a favorable plea deal if he testifies against his wife. He might even get off on both charges.”
A police officer approached us. “Ma’am, are you feeling well enough to give your statement about the events of this evening?”
“Sure,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’ll tell you everything but, first, you need to do me a favor.”
He tilted his head. “What’s that?”
“Please go and talk to that woman over there. Her name is Rachel Manning, and two months ago she was declared dead. Her boyfriend, Andrew McCarthy is in jail for her murder. He needs to be released immediately.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “I remember that case.” Then he turned to get a good look at the woman with the blanket around her shoulders and drenched hair. “Is that really her?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Go see for yourself.”
After he left us, Carter wrapped his arm around me and held me close. “I know it’s probably a bit traumatic for you to talk about, but what happened here tonight?”
Sarah Woods Mystery Series (Volume 6) Page 19