"Mom." Darcy started to cry.
"Michelle, I'm begging you. Let Darcy walk away and leave. I'll stay here with you."
She continued on as if she hadn't heard my plea. "I knew he was home alone that day. I was only going to threaten him. But he started waving those damn results at me again. And then he called me a whore." Her lower lip trembled. "He said Ben would know everything that night. So I pulled the gun out and told him to hand the paper over. He refused, and the gun went off." She stared down at her hand for a minute. I attempted to send Darcy a message with my eyes to try to break away, but she was too panic-stricken to move. She kept looking at me and crying until I thought my heart would break.
"So it was an accident. See, I knew you never meant to hurt him." I prayed she would believe me.
Michelle nodded in reply, but I still wasn't positive my words were registering. She seemed to have retreated into her own little world. "And the old lady. If only she'd kept her stupid mouth shut."
I waited for her to go on, not taking my eyes from Darcy as I put my foot on the bottom step.
"I didn't want to hurt her either. But I had no choice. When I told her I was your sister, she was only too happy to let me in the door. I even wore a dark wig. That was kind of fun, going incognito. All she wanted was to chat and give me a cup of tea. Then I asked her what you guys had talked about. She rambled on, telling me she'd left you a phone message to come back. She remembered Ben's name had been on the piece of paper and that it had been some type of lab test. When I grabbed it out of Paul's hand that day it tore, but I didn't realize there was anything written on the other part. I positioned the gun in his other hand to make it look like a suicide and ran out of there as fast as I could. I should have been more careful, I guess. So you see, I couldn't let the old lady tell you. She had to go."
"Wh-what did you do to her?" I said in a voice that sounded strange to my own ears.
Michelle continued to calmly stroke Darcy's hair and didn't answer me for a moment. Darcy whimpered in return as I climbed another step. I had to pace myself, keep talking to Michelle, and reassure her I only wanted to help. All I cared about right now was my daughter's safety.
"I had a scarf in my handbag and wrapped it around her neck. It all happened pretty quickly, and she didn't suffer much, so don't feel bad. She struggled a little bit at first, and then went still." Michelle shrugged, as if the whole situation was of no great consequence. "She was old and wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. I basically did her a favor."
Darcy cried even louder. Michelle pointed the gun at her head again. "You need to stop, or I'll have to make you be quiet too, honey."
I was on the fourth step. Only about ten or more to go. My phone buzzed from my pocket, but there was no way I could answer it now. "Michelle, please let her go."
Michelle shook her head as she moved the gun away from Darcy and pointed it at me again. "I'd like to, but I have no choice. You know everything now. I guess I'll have to kill you both. I just have to think about what to do with the bodies."
I moved up another step. Darcy's face was a sheer picture of terror. She couldn't stop crying, and I was afraid that Michelle might do something to silence her. "Baby, don't cry. Everything will be fine."
Michelle shook her head. "That's close enough, Cindy."
"I'll help you get out of the country," I volunteered. "I'll go with you as a hostage. But let Darcy walk out of here. Come on, Michelle. Think about your own daughter."
I was only about ten feet away from them and thought about making a run at her but not with Darcy between us. It was too much of a risk to take.
Michelle stopped to think for a moment. "Maybe you're right. Why make her suffer. She's just a kid. I never really got to be a kid. I mean, I was a mother when I was eighteen. But I had to do whatever was necessary to hold onto Ben. My parents didn't have two nickels to rub together. Ben was my lifeline, just like Paul was yours."
For about the hundredth time this week I said, "No. We were friends. That's all." Boldly, I took another step.
She clicked the hammer on the gun. "I'm not going to tell you again."
I raised my hands in the air. "We can take your car. Let Darcy go. She can't drive. She'll have to stay here until someone comes for her. But at least I know she'll be safe." Truth was, Jacques would come sooner or later, and then Darcy would be with him. They might not get to me in time, but it was a chance I had to take. Darcy's safety was all that mattered.
At that moment, my stomach churned, and I thought about the helpless baby I was carrying and was instantly torn. How could I protect one child and not the other? Did I even have a choice here?
Michelle stopped to consider. "Well, okay. I'll let her walk down the stairs while you come up. But no funny stuff." She loosened her grip on Darcy. "Okay, honey. Start walking toward your mama." She kept the gun pointed at me.
I moved up another step. Darcy was only a few feet away, almost close enough for me to grab but not quite. If only I could snatch her, then flee down the stairs and out the front door. But I had already prepared myself to go in exchange for her.
"Mommy," she said in a choked voice and took another step toward me. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Tears rolled down her cheeks.
I managed a smile. "It's all right, baby. Go on outside, and sit in my car until someone comes, okay?"
She nodded while Michelle continued to watch us. Darcy was almost at arm's length. I started to reach for her to pull her into my arms and heard Michelle laugh. "How stupid do you think I am?"
A cold tingle ran through me, and then I knew. She's going to kill us both.
I grabbed Darcy's arm and yanked her forward. "Run!" I ran toward Michelle. She fired the gun, missing me by mere inches. I reached her but stopped for a second to look back behind me. Darcy was at the bottom of the stairs, hesitating by the door.
"Get out of here now!" I screamed at my daughter.
The front door flew open, and Jacques stood there, gun poised in his hand. Michelle reached out and gave me a vicious shove. I reached for the railing, but it slipped through my grasp, and I was unable to stop myself from tumbling backward down the stairs.
I heard Darcy scream and a gun fire. My arms flailed out, trying to grab hold of something—anything—but I couldn't stop myself from rolling. I landed in a heap at the bottom of the staircase. I must have passed out for a minute because when I opened my eyes Jacques was holding my hand and bending over me.
"Thank God," he breathed. "You're okay, love. I've just called for an ambulance."
"Mommy." Darcy threw herself on top of me and sobbed. "I'm an awful daughter. You could have been killed. And it's all my fault."
I reached a hand up to stroke her hair. "Don't cry, honey. Everything's going to be okay. And I'm fine." To prove my point, I tried to raise myself into a sitting position, but a stab of pain shot up my left leg, and I yelped like a dog. I laid my head back down on the floor.
"My leg. I think it's broken."
Jacques glanced at Darcy. "Sweetheart, why don't you go outside and wait for the ambulance. We need someone to direct them. I'll stay right here with your mother."
"Daddy," she sobbed. "Someone has to call him. He needs to know."
Jacques exchanged glances with me. Then he got to his feet and put his arm around Darcy, leading her to the door. "I'll call your father. Don't worry, okay?"
She sniffled and looked at me for reassurance.
I managed to give her a thumbs up. "It's all good."
She shut the door quietly behind her.
Jacques came back to my side and grabbed my hand. "I heard you guys through the door. I suspected something was wrong when I got your message, so I brought my little trinket, just in case." His lips were compressed in a thin, firm line.
"You shot her?" I asked, almost incredulous.
He waved a hand to the top of the staircase, where Michelle's body lay. "She has a pulse. I got her in the chest. Unfortunately, I think she'l
l survive."
The sound of a siren could be heard in the distance as I glanced anxiously at my best friend. "Once again, you've saved my life. My hero."
He squeezed my hand. "You've finally gotten justice for your friend. You saved your daughter's life. A cold case for twenty-five years, Cin! One that no one even knew existed until you started poking around. So I beg to differ. You're the true hero, my darling. And you're right. Everything is fine now."
I smiled in return but didn't answer. Jacques seemed to have forgotten about one thing. In my attempt to save one child, I might have involuntarily hurt another.
Please let the baby be okay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Two separate ambulances arrived shortly to transport Michelle and myself to the hospital. Jacques had been busy making phone calls to my mother-in-law, Greg, and even Aaron, who agreed to meet him at the police station where Jacques was wanted for questioning. Before Jacques left, he handed the phone to me so I could speak to Greg. The alarm in my husband's voice was unmistakable.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
Even though I wanted to, I couldn't tell him about the baby now. I'd have to wait until he reached the hospital, and we were alone. He was upset as it was. "I'll be fine as soon as you get here."
"I'm on my way right now." He exhaled a long breath. "Cin, you have to promise me you're going to stop putting your life in danger like this. I'm happy you found out the truth, for Paul's sake. But I couldn't live if something happened to you. I love you, baby."
My shoulders wracked with sobs. Again, I was consumed with guilt. Greg didn't know I hadn't just put my own self in danger. Another life was being threatened. A life that up until yesterday I hadn't known about and wasn't sure that I'd even wanted. Nothing could be further from the truth now.
"Sweetheart, don't cry. I'll be there as soon as I can."
I handed the phone back to Jacques. His face was sympathetic for he knew what I was thinking.
"I'm sure everything, er—everyone—will be fine, darling."
Darcy held my other hand as they transported me to the ambulance and looked up at him, confused. "Who do you mean? Michelle?"
He glanced from her to me, and I shook my head in warning.
"Uh, no, I wasn't talking about that psycho. Listen, sweetheart, you need to ride to the hospital with your mom. I have to go to the police station. I'll be back as soon as I can, and then I'll drive you over to your grandmother's house. Okay?"
She nodded and bowed her head. "Thanks, Uncle Jacques."
He reached over and lifted her chin in his hands. "Your mom is going to be fine. Stop blaming yourself."
Darcy rubbed her arms as if for warmth and smiled back at him but said nothing.
He gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
My lower lip trembled as I leaned forward to put my arms around him. "Thanks—for everything. I love you."
"And I you, dear."
As they were loading me into the ambulance, I heard Michelle screaming Ben's name. I'd almost forgotten about the both of them. I wondered what the police would say to Ben when they called him. To learn that your daughter had been fathered by someone else and your own wife had murdered your brother? I didn't know if this might end up affecting the house sale, but I couldn't worry about that right now. There were more important things to consider.
Darcy reached for my hand, while I laid the other one on my stomach.
She threw her arms around me. "Mom, I was a total jerk. I deserve to be grounded forever. You could have been killed. All because you were trying to save my sorry butt."
I patted her back reassuringly. "Don't beat yourself up about this. It's over and done with, but I can't promise you won't be grounded forever because you did disobey me. Darcy, you have to realize that when I ask you not to do something, it isn't because I'm being petty or mean. It's for your own good. I didn't know for sure that Michelle had killed Paul until today, but I did think there was something off about her and Ben, making them both untrustworthy. Despite what you think, I wasn't jealous of her."
She blinked back tears. "I should have listened. Michelle's a total loser. Who cares that she was rich, beautiful, and a big-time cheerleader. I mean, she killed people. Seth and Stevie are right. I am a moron."
I squeezed her hand. "No, you're not." If anything, I hoped that the experience would bring us closer. I would need to depend on Darcy in the future—more than she knew.
We rode in silence for the rest of the brief trip, both of us wracked with our own separate feelings of guilt.
When I arrived at the hospital, they made Darcy stay in the waiting area while I was transported into the emergency room.
"How bad is the pain?" The nurse wanted to know. She had short, white hair, a stocky build, and appeared to be in her late fifties. "On a scale of one to ten?"
I gritted my teeth. "An eleven." I reached out and grabbed her arm. "I—I'm not sure what I can have for medication. I'm seven weeks pregnant."
She glanced at me sharply and wrote something down on a chart. "Who's your primary?"
"Doctor Sanchez."
"It just so happens he's here, making his rounds. You had a pretty nasty fall, so we'll schedule an ultrasound right away. Usually they're not done until eight weeks at the earliest, but in this case, it should be able to tell us if everything is okay with your little one. Any bleeding or cramps?"
"No, I don't think so." I continued to stare at her with my best pleading look. "Please tell me if the baby's okay. I have to know."
She patted my hand. "We're going to do everything we can. Once we see the flicker, we'll have a better idea."
I was puzzled. "Flicker?"
"The heartbeat, dear. I'm going to give you a little morphine for the pain. It's perfectly safe for the baby but will probably make you drowsy. Now, you just try to relax. Everything will be fine, young lady."
Within minutes, I found myself drifting off into a happy place as they rolled me into the technician's room. She moved the wand over my stomach and talked to me during the process. I nodded and tried desperately to stay awake but kept drifting in and out.
Then the words of the nurse floated back to me in my drug-induced haze. She'd called me young lady. I felt anything but young right now, but her words were a strange comfort. Perhaps having another child would keep us young for a while. I smiled at the thought then placed my hands over my stomach and drifted off to sleep, trying to imagine what this child would look like.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, Jacques was sitting by my bedside. I glanced around in confusion, not knowing what had happened at first. Then I remembered. I glanced down at my leg, which had been placed in a cast.
Jacques had been texting a message on his phone but looked up immediately when I tried to move. "How are we feeling, love?"
I managed a smile. "It hurts, but I'll live. What time is it? Have you seen Greg yet?"
He shook his head and glanced at his watch. "He should be here any minute now. They brought you into a private room when I got here, which was over an hour ago. You've been out of it since then."
I yawned and struggled to sit up. "Where's Darcy?"
"I sent her down to the cafeteria to get something to eat a few minutes ago. As soon as Greg gets here, I'll take her over the river and through the woods—to the grandmother from hell's house we go."
I reached for his hand. "Did—did the doctor tell you anything? About the baby?"
He shook his head. "I haven't seen the doctor. And the nurse who came in wouldn't tell me anything because I'm not family. Don't you remember what they told you during the ultrasound?"
I wrinkled my nose. "No. I was in and out because of the damn medication they gave me. Find the doctor for me. I have to know that the baby is okay."
He smiled. "I knew your true maternal instincts would kick in before long. I can't believe that it actually took a whole day."
My eyes grew moist as I lo
oked at him. "If anything's happened, I'll never forgive myself."
He kissed me on the forehead. "Stop worrying, and think positive. Psycho Michelle will live, but I'm sure she'll be going away for a long time, hopefully forever. Darcy gave me some bits and pieces of information, and I was able to fill in most of the gaps. How on earth did you ever know that Michelle was lying about Paula being Ben's child?"
"I didn't at first," I admitted. "But it seemed to fit. The hair that was found in Paul's hat was a clue. When Ben told me that Paul had asked him to come to the hospital a few days earlier to give a—uh, specimen sample, the pieces started to come together. Paul was aware that his brother needed money, so he concocted the whole scheme to see if the baby really was Ben's."
Jacques grinned. "Pretty sneaky of him to plan that out. Sounds like we could have been good friends."
I smiled. "You would have liked him. Ben mentioned to me that he never heard anything back about the specimen and assumed Paul might not have turned it into the lab. Paul would have made an excellent doctor, but he was no shabby detective either. A regular dog with a bone. Once he suspected something, he didn't let anyone stand in his way until he learned the truth."
"So when the results came back, Paul found out Ben was sterile. That's why he'd had that discussion with Mildred—he'd been curious about what might have caused it." Jacques paused for a moment. "How did Michelle know about Mildred? We were out on the terrace that day when you mentioned her name. Do you think Ben told Michelle afterward?"
A light bulb clicked on in my head. "Actually, I think she might have overheard. Remember how Ben told us she was lying down because she didn't feel well? I looked up at their bedroom window, which was wide open. She must have found out that way." I laid back and closed my eyes. "Poor Mildred. Like Paul, she didn't deserve to have her life end like that."
"And your car windshield was smashed in an attempt to throw more suspicion on Rachel. All so that spoiled, pampered Michelle could keep her man and the expensive life she'd made for herself. Do you think Paula is Carl's kid?"
Priced to Kill (Cindy York Mysteries Book 2) Page 19