Steal Me (Longshadows Book 1)

by Natalia Banks

Carmen lashed out, a black-gloved hand flying out and smacking Lorraine across the face, shocking everybody around them. Carmen grimaced at Lorraine and snarled, “This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, he’d still be alive!”

  “Carmen?”

  “The school board. He begged you, but you were just too stubborn.”

  “The school board?”

  “Shshshshsh! They’ll kill me next,” Carmen rasped, “if they don’t get to you and your family first.”

  “Carmen, are you sure of what you’re saying?”

  Griffin said, “News said it was a heart attack.”

  “Oh please,” Carmen said. “They knew where we were, when he was alone. You think that Supreme Court Justice died of a heart attack, too, I suppose?”

  “What are you saying, they smothered him with a pillow like Antonin Scalia?”

  “They rushed his body into cremation even though his will said he wanted to be buried, why do you think that is?” Lorraine and Griffin shared a peaked glance. “He was just a warning,” Carmen went on, “watch yourselves, watch your kids — ”

  “Carmen!”

  “Heed my words! She who lives by the sword, dies by the sword!” With that, Carmen’s family led her away, not sparing any nasty glares at Lorraine and Griffin, but managing to slither away before the camera crews arrived. All they captured were Lorraine’s stunned expression and Griffin’s determined gaze.

  Chapter 17

  Lorraine and Griffin arrived at the offices of Phoenix Enterprises early the next morning. The computers were back up and running, and Griffin was anxious to collect every last file from their system, cloud or otherwise, to transfer them to another off-site system. Griffin was working with his head IT guy to this end, leaving Lorraine to scour Ki’s personal files for some clue as to where he might be.

  “He’s got family in Hong Kong,” Lorraine said. “We could check the airlines, see if he’s flown out.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Of course, he could just have gone with the law of contrary instinct and be hunkering down in Mexico. He almost certainly flew out under an assumed name with a falsified passport.”

  “You think he put that much … ?” Lorraine had to stop herself, already knowing what the answer was. She knew he’d have gone to those lengths and greater. He’d swindled millions of dollars from the company at first blush, perhaps a good deal more.

  Lorraine continued over Ki’s file, not liking what was coming up. “Minor in computer tech, that pans out.”

  Griffin glanced around. “No sign of Jeannie?”

  Lorraine shook her head. “I just called Dennis’ office, but he’s not in either.” Griffin bit down on his anger, a silent tension collecting around his office.

  Lorraine checked her watch and turned to Griffin. “I have a meeting with that realtor in a half-hour, I think I’m going to head on over.”

  Griffin said, “You should have them pick you up here.”

  “I don’t mind, it’s just around the corner.”

  “It’s a status thing, Lorraine,” Griffin said, “a power move. You’ve got to get used to that now.”

  “What can I say? You can take the girl out of Denver, but you can’t take Denver out of the girl.” They shared a chuckle and a kiss and Lorraine headed down the hall toward the elevators.

  She took the elevator down to the multi-level parking garage.

  She couldn’t get her mind off Ki Fong. He must be a genius of some kind, to have sneaked that past Dennis Douglass, or any competent accountant. No, Dennis has to be involved. Unless Ki really is that good. A delayed computer virus, suddenly vanishing at just the right time; that’s a man with a plan, can’t be much doubt.

  So how do we find him? Is Griffin right, is he just gone for good, made off with company funds? What’s that going to do for Phoenix Enterprises’ reputation? Griffin said the whole company could collapse if word gets out. How’s Griffin going to spin this one? Is this a problem even he won’t be able to fix?

  Lorraine stepped out and glanced around. She walked toward her car, heels clicking against the concrete, echoing in the vast, layered lot.

  What about Albert’s death? Could he really have been murdered by the school board? It’s possible, I can’t doubt that. He did try to warn us, Carmen was right about that, too. But, he could have had a heart attack, that also tracks. And poor Carmen could just be delirious with sorrow over his loss, that happens all the time. People die of broken hearts, and they kill because of them, too. I recall back at the library rally when Albert had left her to go back to his wife, she was devastated. I wasn’t sure what she was capable of. Of course they did wind up together in the end, but if Carmen was that sad over losing Albert’s love, imagine how hard it must be for her to lose his life!

  Is that really my fault? I suppose if I’d never written that letter, if the chain of events hadn’t begun, he wouldn’t have run for office. If the school board really did have him killed, then that’s on me, no question.

  How could we prove such a thing? Surely no record of their meetings with Albert still exist, if they ever did. Whoever put that pillow over his face would have been untraceable. What chance would we have fighting the entire school board, anyway? It goes straight up to Capitol Hill!

  What about me, Lorraine couldn’t help but wonder, do I really belong in all this mess? I keep sticking my head up, and I have to admit it’s had some terrible consequences. Maybe my mom’s right and I should just go back to the penthouse, raise my kids, love my husband and that’s that. It would be enough; really, it would be more than enough.

  But that didn’t feel right to Lorraine either, and never had.

  No, I lived too much of my life like that, even before Tony Gardner attacked me in that dance club parking lot. I don’t want to be some mousy librarian, hiding in a prison with golden bars. I want to live the way Griffin does, even the way Ashe does. They ski, they glide along on dizzying zip-lines, master motorized water flyboards. I barely made it through those things, and they were just tourist attractions!

  I was shot and almost died, I saved the public library system and then I let somebody else take the credit. That’s not bad, not bad at all! I’ve been places most people could never come back from. I’ve earned everything I have, even if I didn’t create it. Love has brought me here, and I deserve to be here. And this is where I’m going to stay, damnit!

  Lorraine walked on, her car not far up ahead. Should have let the valet park it, she told herself. It’s a power move.

  I hate those.

  A loud set of footsteps grabbed Lorraine’s attention, reverberating in the wide, low chamber and getting louder fast. A woman ran around the corner from the upper level and was barreling straight toward Lorraine, her long, chestnut hair bouncing on her shoulders.

  Lorraine muttered, “Jeannie?”

  Jeannie’s eyes were wide with fear, her mouth open but silent until she called out, “Lorraine!”

  Jeannie finally met Lorraine, almost falling into her arms. “Lorraine, we gotta get outta here!”

  “Why, Jeannie, what’s going on?”

  Jeannie looked desperately behind her. “No time to explain, we gotta go!” Another set of footsteps approached from the upper floor, heavy and fast and getting louder. “Where’s your car?” Lorraine looked around. “Never mind, there’s no time!”

  The footsteps got louder and a gunshot rang out, echoing in the concrete parking lot and sending both Lorraine and Jeannie running for their lives. The nearest point of escape was a staircase on the side of the parking lot leading to the street, and though Lorraine would have kept running back toward the office building, Jeannie made her choice and Lorraine followed, the two scrambling down the metal steps and onto Fifth Avenue.

  They ran blindly, Lorraine following Jeannie away from the Phoenix Enterprises building and further down the posh avenue, cluttered as always with pedestrians.

  “Jeannie, what’s going on?”

  “No time! Keep r
unning!”

  Lorraine did keep running, sensing a pulsing danger behind them. They ran up to a pretty young woman with a baby carriage, who turned to see them coming and was stunned, frozen where she stood. All the poor woman could do was bend over to protect her unseen child as Lorraine and Jeannie ran past, very nearly smashing into the carriage and sending the baby flying.

  Gotta be careful, Lorraine told herself, gotta figure this out! What’s really going on here? Who are we running from? Is she luring me into a trap? Is she pretending to run so I’ll charge right into an ambush? Why would she be running, and from who?

  They turned a corner on Madison Avenue and kept running, angry tourists grimacing at them, shaking their fists.

  Lorraine and Jeannie kept running, skidding to a halt to see two beefy men carrying boxes from behind a double-parked box truck filled with brown packages. Lorraine nearly hit one of them, stopping just in time. She and Jeannie looked around, and Jeanne led Lorraine around the truck and out into the street.

  Horns honked, people shouting at Lorraine and Jeannie, a cab blasting by so close that Lorraine could feel the pull of the car’s drag, only inches away from her. Jeannie led Lorraine past the truck and then across the busy avenue. Cars were skidding, horns blaring as the two women scurried to the other side, finally reaching another stretch of crowded sidewalk.

  Gotta figure this out, Lorraine’s imagined voice warned her, but we don’t dare stop running. What if she’s sincere and we’re in real danger here?

  Lorraine had no choice but to keep running, cutting across the intersection of Sixth and running toward Central Park. Pedestrians parted as Lorraine and Jeannie ran, Jeannie plowing into a man walking on metal braces. He staggered forward, metal crutches flailing as he fell forward.

  “Hey, you stupid bitch!”

  Lorraine’s impulse was to stop and help the man up, but Jeannie grabbed her hand and dragged her forward down the street. “Hurry, there’s no time!”

  Bam bam bam! Gunshots rang out behind them, people screaming and charging around them, ducking into shops. Some cars screeched to a halt, other drivers gunned their engines and tried to drive around the others, inevitable collisions creating the heavy crunch of metal, the blare of horns blasting out continuous tones.

  Lorraine and Jeannie ran into the park, big trees providing little enough shelter in the expansive place.

  Bam bam!

  More confusion, people scattering around them, Lorraine was struck by flashbacks of the Denver shooting. Remembered pain shot through Lorraine’s belly and shoulder, so striking and real that she had to glance down to make sure she hadn't been hit again.

  No, she reassured herself, not this time … not yet.

  Lorraine and Jeannie got separated, Jeannie running in a straight line and looking backward in terror. Lorraine called out, “Don’t run in a straight line, Jeannie!” Jeannie turned to look at Lorraine, both still running forward.

  A big German shepherd came running across the park chasing a Frisbee, its eyes on the novelty flying disk and not on Jeannie until just before they made contact. The dog howled and Jeannie screamed, the two rolling on the grass. Lorraine turned and ran over to Jeannie, the dog’s owner doing the same thing.

  The man, tall with shaggy red hair and a beard, ran to his dog. “What’s wrong with you,” he shouted at Jeannie, “why don’t you look where you’re going?”

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry … ”

  Lorraine arrived, helping Jeannie up. She turned and looked back to see Dennis Douglass striding toward them, a gun in his hand.

  Lorraine tried to pull Jeannie away, but the dog’s owner grabbed Jeannie’s other arm. “Hold on there, we gotta go see the vet. You’re payin’ the bill!”

  Jeannie screamed, “Lemme go!” She wrenched her arm free and she and Lorraine kept running.

  The guy cried, “Come back here!” but they were already gone.

  Lorraine and Jeannie charged through the park, running over a slope of rock to one of the winding streets cutting through the seemingly endless green. A black car skid to a halt, cars honking around them as the door opened and Ki Fong ran out of the driver’s seat toward them.

  Lorraine muttered, “Ki?”

  Lorraine and Jeannie cut and ran in the other direction, to the north and away from both adversaries.

  Gotta call for help, Lorraine’s inner voice cried out, gotta call Griffin!

  But, there was no time. All Lorraine and Jeannie could do was to keep running and run fast. Not in a straight line.

  Lorraine grabbed Jeannie’s hand and pulled her to the side but still running forward, then drawing her into a zig-zag pattern in the other direction.

  Bam bam!

  Lorraine’s heart was pounding, sweat rolling down the crevice of her spine. Lorraine reached into her purse and grabbed her handgun.

  Don’t, Lorraine warned herself, you could kill an innocent person, and you have to save your bullets!

  Bam bam bam!

  No choice, Lorraine had to decide, pulling the gun out and shooting twice upward blindly behind her. They kept running, no shots returned from behind them. Still cutting through the park in a chaotic pattern, a glance behind them told Lorraine that Ki had stopped and doubled back to his car.

  But, they weren’t out of the park yet.

  Lorraine and Jeannie ran into the zoo, a crowd of pedestrians not yet alerted to the panic. Lorraine and Jeannie ducked down behind one of the animal cages, Lorraine looking around nervously as she dropped her gun back into her purse, pulled her smartphone out and swiped the screen.

  Police sirens leaked into the distance. But the entire park was a mass of panicked pedestrians and Fifth Avenue was probably a chaotic parking lot, Lorraine reasoned. The odds of the cops finding us in the middle of all this, and doing so in time, are pretty slim … next to nothing.

  Jeannie said, “You carry a gun?”

  Jeannie ignored her, barking into the phone, “Griffin, we’re in Central Park, in the zoo! Hurry!” That was all she had time to say before turning to Jeannie. “Jeannie, what the hell is going on here?”

  “Ki and Dennis were ripping off the company,” Jeannie said. “I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t. It was the Westmorland thing. When I found out, I told them I wouldn’t have any part of it. They were going to kill me back in the parking lot, or drive me off somewhere, bury me in the Jersey swamps or something.”

  Lorraine gave it some thought. Most of her story makes sense, Lorraine knew. But wasn't she having an affair with Dennis? Could she really not have known what he was up to?

  A handsome cab’s horse began to panic, the carriage shifting back and forth near the zoo entrance, creating another frenzied crowd and blocking Dennis from getting to them for a few precious moments.

  Lorraine urgently wondered, Where are the police?

  Lorraine grabbed Jeannie’s hand and led her deeper into the zoo, a terrible feeling that Dennis was fast on their tail.

  The two ran into the zoo, people already scrambling from the nearby gunshots, pouring out of the zoo while Lorraine and Jeannie ran against the tide of terror and deeper in.

  Bam bam bam! Another roar of panic rose up from the crowd as people poured out of the administration building. An armed guard came out with a gun in hand, looking around in confusion. Lorraine reached out for him, ready to call for his help. But, a bright red wound burst in his chest, then a second.

  Bam bam!

  The guard fell to the concrete walkway, the gun still in his hand. Lorraine and Jeannie ran further into the zoo, employees running out of the cafe, the ticket booth, police and ambulance sirens got louder fast as rescue came streaming into the park.

  Whether it would arrive in time to save Lorraine and Jeannie was another matter. The sirens were close, but Dennis Douglass was closer, and getting even closer by the second.

  Chapter 18

  Lorraine and Jeannie ran between the Dancing Crane Cafe and the long building that had the restrooms. L
orraine peered around, Dennis had been joined by Ki, and both were holding big, black handguns. Lorraine pulled her own gun out, slick in her sweating palms.

  “Hurry up,” Jeannie rasped, “kill ‘em, kill ‘em both!”

  “Shut up, Jeannie!” Lorraine peeked around the corner, but she saw Dennis pointing right at her and she retracted, the bullets digging into the stucco wall, digging out chunks with every close shot.

  Bam bam bam!

  “Oh Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus — ”

  “Jeannie, stop!” Lorraine popped her head out again then pulled it back to avoid another three shots.

  Bam bam bam!

  Then Lorraine pulled around again and fired in the precise spot where she remembered Dennis being, hoping she’d luck out and he’d still be there.

  Bam bam!

  But, Dennis had moved, and Lorraine caught sight of him in the corner of her eye and pulled back again, putting three more shots into the wall, digging away at their protection. As soon as he paused, Lorraine peeked out again, shooting twice. Bam bam!

  Dennis fell back, the gun falling out of his hand.

  “I got him,” Lorraine said, a rush of adrenalin coursing through her.

  “Which one?”

  “Dennis.”

  “Dennis,” Jeannie repeated, panting. But sorrow seemed to overtake her fear. “Oh, my poor Den … ”

  “Jeannie, he was gonna kill you!”

  “I … right, I know, I know.”

  Lorraine peeked out, not seeing any sign of Ki. “I lost the other one, Ki. Probably snuck around the other side … ”

  Bam bam! Jeannie snapped, her warm blood splattering Lorraine’s dress, her lifeless weight falling over Lorraine, knocking her to the side. Lorraine instinctively pointed down the stretch of walkway on their side of the bathrooms. Bam bam click click click.

  Jeannie lay heavy on Lorraine, slumping to the side. Lorraine looked over the see Ki Fong approaching. He pulled the clip from the handle of his handgun, tossing the empty clip away and pulling a fresh clip from his pocket.