by Connie Mann
Still.
Before she could change her mind, Cat pulled out her tote bag and rooted around until she found a pen and a scrap of paper. She wrote down the number of her new burner phone and handed it to Sasha. “This is my new number. I’d rather you didn’t, ah, share it with anyone.”
Sasha’s eyes narrowed. “Define anyone. The family in general? Just Eve?”
Cat bit back a retort. “Just family. And only if they ask for it.”
“Why would they ask for it? How would they even know I have it?”
With no answer to give, Cat just shrugged. “Look, Sasha, would you let me know if anyone starts asking questions about me?”
Sasha cocked her head. “You mean like Nick? People in town?” Then she straightened. “Or do you mean someone from out of town?” She leaned closer. “You’re in some kind of trouble. But you better not have brought it here.” She jabbed a finger at Cat’s chest, and Cat winced. That’s where she’d hit the steering wheel. But Sasha was on a roll and didn’t seem to notice. “Mama Rosa has been through enough. First the trouble with captains Demetri and Roy, then Leon Daughtry going after Eve. Don’t you dare cause trouble here.”
“Hello. Are you listening? I said I was leaving. I have no intention of causing trouble for anyone, especially Mama Rosa. I love her.”
“Well you have a funny way of showing it, disappearing for years on end without a word.”
The barb hit home, and Cat swallowed the lump in her throat. “Look out for them for me, will you? And let me know, OK?” She spotted Jesse headed their way. “I have to go.” On impulse, she leaned over, kissed Sasha’s cheek.
“That’s it? Just like that, you’re gone again? When are you coming back?”
“I don’t know.” Cat gave Jesse a quick hug, then climbed into her car and left before she lost her will. This was the right thing to do.
It had to be. There was no other way to keep her family safe.
But before she’d gone two miles, an imported black sedan showed up in her rearview mirror, two cars back on the two-lane road. She kept an eye on it, trying to get a look at the driver, but she couldn’t see past the tinted windows.
In a land of pickup trucks and sensible sedans, the sleek, expensive car stuck out like a turtle in a snow bank. Cat kept her hands tight around the wheel, trying to convince herself it was just a random car. Her uncle hadn’t found her. Had he?
Nick sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on the scarred surface. Everyone else had called it a day long ago, but he still sat in front of his computer, staring at the screen. Cat’s DMV photo looked back at him. What was it about the woman that got under his skin?
Behind that soft pale skin and slender body there lurked a will of iron. That much he’d seen already. But it was her eyes that called to him. Dark and wide and vulnerable, she brought out every protective instinct he had, though he knew she’d hate it if she knew.
The woman had secrets, clearly. But were those secrets tied to Safe Harbor? Was she involved in the drug running through town?
It seemed a bit far-fetched, but he couldn’t discount it. Not yet.
He picked up his phone, looked at the report, and dialed her cell phone number. He wasn’t sure what he planned to ask when he reached her, but he’d figure it out as he went along.
The phone rang three times, then a recorded voice said, “We’re sorry. The number you have reached is unavailable or no longer in service.”
He hung up and tossed his phone on his desk. Why did that not surprise him? He grabbed his phone and dialed again. “Hey, Cliff, sorry to bother you at home. Did Cat Martinelli pick up her car today?”
“She did. You said I could release it to her, right?”
“Yes. There’s no problem. Do you know if she went back to the marina?”
“I don’t think so. I got the feeling from all the hugs that she was leaving, but I don’t know that for sure. You might want to call Jesse.”
“Thanks, Cliff. Have a nice evening.”
She had left town. Again.
He decided he needed some air. He walked down to the Blue Dolphin and grabbed dinner to go, then went back to the station.
He opened the file on his long-ago kidnapping and read every word again, even though he could quote most of it from memory. Then he read the report on Roy’s death and also, recently, Demetri’s death the day he was to give his deposition on the smuggling operation. Someone had clearly not wanted that information made public.
Was Teddy’s death tied to this in some way? He set up a whiteboard and started writing information on it: names, motives, possible connections.
Then he opened his desk drawer and took out an evidence bag from Teddy’s death scene. In particular, he studied a small metallic button from every angle. Where did it come from? It was found near Teddy’s body, but it could have been left there at any time by anyone. It didn’t necessarily have a thing to do with the teen’s death. Or maybe it did. His gut said Teddy’s death was somehow connected to the drug operation in town.
He took a picture of the button with his phone, then did a search for similar ones. The list of images went on for pages and pages. He kept narrowing the search terms but didn’t feel like he was making any headway.
After a while, he gave up in frustration and ran a search for illegal drugs that could cause a heart attack. He came across one in particular that made his blood run cold: scopolamine, also called “Devil’s Breath” or “the zombie drug,” from South America. Ingested or breathed in, the drug could cause a person to lose their ability to act of their own free will. There were reports of people who’d handed over all their money, cleaned out bank accounts, given away their electronics, all while under the influence of the drug. In cases of overdose, the person died of a heart attack, but the drug was usually not found in their system.
Nick picked up his cell phone and dialed, then winced when he realized how late it was. He wasn’t surprised it went right to voice mail. “Hey, Doc, Nick Stanton in Safe Harbor. Do me a favor, would you? Run an HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography, test for scopolamine on Teddy Winston. Just in case. And if you can run it sooner rather than later, I’d be very grateful. Thanks.”
The black sedan turned off I-75 just before the I-10 interchange. Cat kept an eye out for it as she headed west toward Tallahassee but saw no sign of it. Maybe she’d just been imagining someone behind her.
It was full dark by the time she pulled off the interstate to look for a fast-food joint and a cheap motel. She pulled into the parking lot of the Shady Rest Motel and winced. Cracked asphalt, faded paint, a neon sign out front missing most of the letters. She’d stayed in too many of these places over the years. But if you wanted to go unnoticed, this was the kind of place to do it. The clerk was a bored teenager with purple hair who reminded her of Blaze, and why this was necessary.
“How’s it going?”
The girl just grunted, fingers flying over her phone. “You staying all night, or just a couple hours?”
“One night, thanks.” She handed over the money, grateful all over again for the extra twenties Jesse had slipped her earlier, but determined she’d pay him back right away.
The girl reached behind the counter, handed her a plastic key ring with the number twelve on it. “Last room on the end. Should be a little quieter than some of the others.” She looked up briefly, shrugged. “But I’d use the safety chain, if I were you.”
Cat thanked her and pulled around behind room twelve, glad it wasn’t visible from the road. She opened the door, and the smell of urine, stale air, and cheap air fresheners assaulted her. She almost turned around and left, but she didn’t want to sleep in her car out in the open.
Resigned, she turned on the air conditioner, relieved when it finally clanged on with a wheeze, and looked around. Brown and orange drapes, brown shag carpet worn bare in spots, a bed that sagged in the middle. No way would she climb between those sheets.
She heard a woman’s laughter and
a male voice coming from next door, then rhythmic banging against the wall. Cat walked over to the television, not surprised there was no remote, and turned it on to block the noise from the next room.
She sat on the one hard chair, pulled out her soggy French fries and burger, and tried to choke it past the lump in her throat. Soda helped, but the sense of desperation that washed over her settled in and stayed. How many seedy motels just like this one had she slept in during her life? She’d lost count. But they were all the same and all reminded her of one thing: hopelessness. There was no way out, no way to be a normal person. She could never truly be part of the Martinelli family, never have a family of her own. For many years, she had accepted that as her lot in life. But lately . . . Unbidden, Nick’s smile popped into her head, the gentle way he dealt with Blaze. She thought of the teenager’s grief over her friend. “I wish I could have helped you, Blaze. I’m sorry.”
The looks on Mama Rosa’s and Pop’s faces as she kissed them goodbye would haunt her forever. What if Mama didn’t get better? What if Cat never saw her again? And what about Pop? And Eve and Blaze, Sasha and Jesse? It had been all she could do today not to blurt out the whole story to Sasha. She wanted forgiveness, to remove the wall that stood between them. But in the end, she’d been a coward. Just like always. And she ran. Always had.
For one moment, she wished she had the strength to stand and fight for the people she loved.
She crumpled the food wrappers and stuffed them in the bag. Then she washed her hands and splashed water on her tear-stained face in the dirty bathroom with its rusting sink.
She pulled on her hoodie, grabbed her violin, and after checking the parking lot to make sure no one was watching, slipped around the corner of the building and headed deep into the woods.
Once she was far enough away no one could hear the music, she pulled out her violin and quickly tuned it, then warmed up with a series of scales and finger exercises. She launched into her parents’ favorite piece, Panis Angelicus, and then moved into their other favorites, playing with all the sorrow and anger in her soul. Her fingers flew, the bow slid across the strings, sweat dripped down her back and the sides of her face.
By the time she started the pieces she’d played for Eve’s wedding, tears also ran down her cheeks, though she was unaware of them. As the music flowed out of her, in her mind’s eye, she saw her parents—the stern, passionate musicians who were so involved in their music they generally forgot they had a daughter. Then she saw Mama Rosa storming the police station, demanding Nick release her. She saw Blaze, eyes wide and scared, begging for help. Sasha’s accusations hit like slaps with an open hand. Didn’t Sasha understand that she wanted to be part of the family with every fiber of her being?
No, because Cat had never told her. And she couldn’t now, either.
And then there was Nick, with his strength and compassion and the sense that she could be safe in his arms, if only she told him the truth.
Around and around, like a dizzying carousel, the images flashed through her mind, over and over. They haunted her, giving her tempting glimpses of what could never be.
Finally she dropped her arms, sweat soaking her hoodie, completely spent. She swatted at the mosquitos chewing on her skin. The moon was high in the sky, lighting a path through the woods as she returned to the motel. She scanned the parking lot again before she went into her room, but didn’t see the black sedan anywhere.
After one more look out the window, she got ready for bed, then spread her bath towel over the bedspread. Exhausted and heartsick, she lay down on it, curled into a ball, and tried to sleep.
This was her life. And even though she hated the loneliness, she’d live this way forever if it kept her loved ones safe.
She never saw the black sedan slide to a stop across the street.
Blaze couldn’t sleep. She was angry and scared, and she didn’t know what to do about it. Those drugs that Teddy had given Bryan freaked her out. That meant that, even though he promised her he wouldn’t, Teddy had agreed to sell them for that guy, Eddie Varga. So why was Teddy dead? Had Varga killed him? But why?
Her brain felt like it was going to explode. She pulled on her gray hoodie and snuck out of the house. She didn’t want to wake Mama Rosa or Pop, but the walls felt like they were closing in on her. She had to think. And the best way to do that was out in the woods.
Once she was away from the house, Blaze clicked on her flashlight. She probably didn’t need it, the moon was so bright, but she felt safer with it. She walked quickly to her favorite clearing, the same place she’d seen Cat, and sank down on a fallen log. Just like she had that day.
She’d hoped Cat would stay. They’d connected somehow. Even though Cat didn’t say much, Blaze figured she’d been on the run a long time. She didn’t know from what, but Cat’s eyes said she had seen a lot. Too much, maybe.
Why didn’t she stay and help? Fine, then. Blaze didn’t need her anyway. She’d figure it out on her own. Cat had suggested she let Nick handle it, but she wasn’t sure she wanted Nick involved. Teddy’s parents were super sweet, and the idea that their son was selling drugs would really, really devastate them. Even worse, everyone would remember Teddy as a druggie loser, which wasn’t true.
Blaze pulled out her phone. She’d been blown away by Cat’s musical talent the other day. She should be playing concerts and stuff, maybe on television, not in some honky-tonk in Nashville. That didn’t even make sense.
The music had called to her, so she’d written down the names of the pieces Cat said she’d been playing. She found them online and added them to her phone. Now, she set the phone on the log, turned on one of the pieces, and pretended she had a violin. She copied the stance she’d seen Cat assume and followed the music as though she were playing, right arm moving an imaginary bow, left hand holding the violin.
She got lost in the beauty and closed her eyes, swaying to the music of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
By the time she heard the noise in the woods behind her, it was too late.
A gloved hand closed over her mouth from behind, and she was yanked back against a hard chest.
“Don’t make a sound,” a male voice said in her ear.
Blaze struggled for all she was worth. She tried to wrench out of his hold and kicked backward as hard as she could, gratified when he groaned, but he was a lot stronger than she expected. No matter how fiercely she struggled, he didn’t loosen his grip at all. He just held her tighter.
“Guess we’ll do this the hard way,” he grumbled.
Pain exploded in her head and spots danced before her eyes right before everything went black.
Chapter 14
Cat woke to an annoying buzz in her ear. She opened her eyes, studied the water-stained ceiling above her, and tried to figure out where she was. She looked around the gloom, lit by the slice of light that seeped in around the curtains.
Right. The Shady Rest Motel. It was shady, all right. The couple next door hadn’t quit all night long.
The buzz sounded again, and Cat glanced over and realized it was her cell phone.
She scooped it up. “Hello?”
“Tell me you weren’t irresponsible enough to take Blaze with you, wherever you’re going.” Sasha’s voice was clipped, angry.
Cat’s blood ran cold, and she turned on the bedside light. “What’s going on, Sasha?”
There was a long pause. Sasha’s voice became much more subdued. “Blaze isn’t with you?”
Cat’s heart pounded. No, oh no. She kept her voice calm. “No. Why would she be? You and Jesse were with me right before I left town.”
“You didn’t come back to get her?”
Cat was already pulling on her clothes. If she broke all kinds of speed limits, she could get back to Safe Harbor in three hours or so. “When was the last time anybody saw her?”
“Mama says she went to her room about nine p.m. She and Pop turned in shortly after that. She’s not here, and her bed hasn’t been slept in.�
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“So you assumed I took her?” Cat couldn’t keep the accusation from her voice.
“It was the only explanation that didn’t make me break out in hives.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there as quick as I can.”
“This is connected to you somehow, then.”
“I don’t know yet. Maybe. Or maybe we’re all jumping to conclusions and she’s off trying to figure out what happened to Teddy.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours.” Cat hung up and rubbed her hands over her face. Oh, dear Jesus. Please don’t let my uncle or Garcia have her.
She finished getting dressed, threw her stuff in a bag, and was on the road within ten minutes.
About an hour into the trip, she glanced in her rearview and saw a black car that looked like the one she’d seen before, but she ignored it. Fine. If somebody wanted a piece of her, they could have it. But in the meantime, she was going to find Blaze. And heaven help anyone who got in her way.
Cat thought it was a wonder she wasn’t stopped as she practically flew back to Safe Harbor. She didn’t even look at the speedometer as she sped toward home.
All she could think about was finding Blaze. She was still hoping and praying that the teen had merely decided to play detective and was looking into whatever trouble Teddy had gotten himself into. The alternative, that her uncle had tracked Cat and taken Blaze as leverage, was too scary to contemplate.
She raced into the marina parking lot and skidded to a stop. Sasha paced the front porch. “Finally,” she said by way of greeting.
On the porch behind her sat Mama Rosa, while Pop hovered beside her chair. Cat leaned down and kissed her cheek.
Mama gripped her hand. “I was hoping she was with you.”