What You Wish For

by Fern Michaels

  In the Crown Victoria that was supposed to be a nonsmoking car, Daniel lit a second cigarette. His plan was to drive to the ranch, walk up to the door, and ring the bell. If necessary, he would shoot off the lock, at which point anything could happen. He was prepared. For everything and anything. For one split second he paused in his thinking to wonder if he’d crossed over the edge.

  Helen roamed through the empty ranch house. She’d never felt so alone in her life. Artie and Gerry had gone to Los Angeles and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow night, when she was to return with them in the Tyger corporate jet. Julia hadn’t arrived yet, and Sam hadn’t been in contact with either the vet or Daniel’s old boss. She missed Lucie so much she felt like crying.

  She toyed with the idea of going on the computer to check out her web site to see how her fledgling business was doing.

  For five days the story of Boots and the ten tiny graves had haunted her. She wanted to do something. There were no pictures of the dog Boots that Isabel had loved so dearly, but Gerry and Artie had described every hair, every whisker on the dog’s body. The pups as well. Tears blurred her vision when she thought of their deaths and how it had affected the three old friends. Lucie’s tiny face surfaced in front of her. She had to do something so she wouldn’t think about the meeting she had to attend in Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon. She was going to take Isabel Tyger’s place in the boardroom. She. Helen Stanley. Artie and Gerry were paving the way, preparing the management team for the arrival of the new owner who would expect . . . what?

  Helen flopped down on Isabel’s favorite chair and reached for her sketch pad. She was so engrossed in what she was doing and because there was no dog to bark a warning, she had no idea anyone was on the premises until the doorbell rang. With Artie and Gerry in Los Angeles, who would be calling at this hour? Gerry said no one came to the ranch unless they were invited. A shiver of fear ran up and down her arms as she contemplated answering the door. Was it locked? She couldn’t remember. Should she turn on the house lights? While sketching, it had grown dark and she’d switched on the reading lamp, but the rest of the house was in total darkness. Better to leave them off, she decided as she made her way to the front door. She saw that the dead bolt was firmly in place.

  Sam? Sam would have arrived with his hand on the horn shouting her name every inch of the way up the long driveway. Julia? Lucie would be barking her little head off. That left Daniel. Daniel knew all about this house. He’d been here often enough when ComStar did all Isabel Tyger’s work for the foundation.

  Helen ran through the dining room and out to the kitchen just as Daniel walked through the door. He looked exactly the way he looked on all those other days when he returned home from work. She looked into his eyes the way she had back then and saw the exact same things. He was in a violent mood.

  “Were you waiting for me, Helen?”

  “No, Daniel, I was not waiting for you.” God, where was the carving knife? The trucker she’d given her gun to had promised to get it to her on his next trip to California. A lot of good that was going to do her now. It had to be behind her somewhere on the counter and too far away to be of any help. She had no weapon of any kind unless she counted the bright red teakettle.

  “I’m sick of your bullshit, Helen. It’s got to stop once and for all. Why aren’t you cooking dinner? I don’t see any dishes on the table, and I don’t smell anything.”

  “Because I already ate, that’s why. Get out of here, Daniel. You don’t belong here. This is my house, not yours.”

  “What’s yours is mine, and don’t ever sass me again.”

  “Or what?” Helen managed to say as she stalled for time. “I’m not afraid of you anymore, Daniel, so don’t threaten me. If you do, you’ll be sorry.”

  “That’s almost funny coming from you. Let’s sit down and talk about how we’re going to spend old Isabel’s money. With a lot of hard work and ingenuity, I think I can destroy ComStar and Arthur King.”

  “You aren’t getting one cent of the Tyger money. I plan to give it all away. It won’t matter to you because you’ll be in jail. I’m going to see to it that they lock you up forever. If you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police.”

  “Go to it. Well, what are you waiting for? Call them. You should never make a threat unless you mean to carry it out. Now, sit down! That’s a goddamn order, Helen.”

  “You know what you can do with your orders, Daniel. I told you. I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

  Helen slowly inched her way around the table until she was directly in front of the butcher-block knife holder. The carving knife was the longest, the one with the biggest handle and sharpest blade. As long as the kitchen chair was in front of her, she could swivel around, grab the knife, and do whatever she had to do.

  She saw the gun then. “If you kill me, Daniel, you’ll spend your life in jail. You’ll never get to spend the money. What will your parents think? Too many people know what you did. They’ll all testify against you. Even that nurse Maggie whatever her name was has a story to tell about you. Arthur King told me all about her. Everything is documented. Just go away, Daniel. Leave me alone. Think about your family.”

  “My mother said you were trailer-park trash. She said it was fitting that I ended up with someone like you. You turned my own mother against me.”

  “I never even met your mother, Daniel, just like you never met my mother. You said your mother didn’t want anything to do with you because you married me. She didn’t even know me. Guess what, I don’t like her either.”

  “There you go, lying again. I met your mother yesterday. I told her I was from the insurance company that paid her $25,000. I told her she had to pay it all back now that you’re alive. Guess what! She took off. She isn’t going to be one bit of help to you. You’re just like my mother and sister. You think you’re better than anyone else. You think you know everything. I’ll show you and them, too.”

  “By doing what, Daniel?” One more inch and she could safely swing for the knife. She eyed the gun that looked rock-steady in her husband’s hands. Maybe she should drop to a crouch, shove the chair toward him, and run through the open door. She might have the element of surprise on her side for a few seconds. As Gerry would say, it was a plan, but would it work?

  “I told you to sit down, Helen. I want you to write up a will.”

  “Not in this lifetime.”

  “Do it, Helen.” She heard the safety on the gun snick back. She could still do it. If she was fast enough, even if he fired, the bullet might go wild. She’d be on the floor, the last place he would expect her to be. She didn’t stop to think, didn’t stop to worry about a bullet going into her body. She dropped to the ground and shoved the chair across the floor. With one wild kick in the general direction of her husband, a second chair moved, and she hit the open door at a dead run.

  The darkness swallowed her up almost immediately.

  Behind her she could hear the angry crunch of heavy feet on dry leaves. She could smell her husband’s fear, or was it her own?

  Don’t look back.

  Don’t think.

  Run!

  28

  She was sitting on the front porch, a small dog cradled in her arms. Even from this distance, Sam could see that it wasn’t Helen. He wanted to cry in frustration. Men didn’t cry. Bullshit, he thought. If I want to cry, I’ll damn well cry.

  Max plopped one massive foot on the button and unhooked his seat belt, then let out a howl that set the fine hairs on the back of Sam’s neck on end. “Okay, okay, let me stop the damn car, okay. Yeah, yeah, it’s Lucie. Oh, hell, go on and go!” Sam said as he slowed his truck and opened the door. Max flew up the rest of the driveway, where he skidded to a stop. He danced and pawed the ground, finally picking up Lucie by the scruff of the neck and walking over to the car but not before he let out one earsplitting bark of pure joy. He held up the little dog as much as to say, here she is.

  “Hey, little lady, where’s your mistress?”
Sam said, scratching the Yorkie behind her ears.

  “I guess you must be Sam. Max and I are acquainted. I’m Julia Martin. I just got here about half an hour ago. Helen doesn’t seem to be home, and there are no lights on.”

  “I’m Sam Tolliver,” Sam said, holding out his hand. “Did you go around back?”

  “No. Helen must not be home because Lucie would have wanted me to put her down. She just wanted me to hold her. I guess they missed each other,” Julia said, pointing to the dogs.

  “That’s probably the understatement of the year,” Sam said. “I just took a chance and came here thinking this was where Helen would come. I’ve been trying all day to reach those two old coots who seem to be running things and there’s been no answer at any of the numbers they gave me. Do you have any idea where Helen might go?”

  “Like you, I thought she would come here, so that’s why I’m here. I’m too tired to go any farther. I’m going to sleep right here on this front porch. For three whole days.”

  “Let’s check out the back before you get comfortable. I’m assuming this door is locked.”

  “I did try it and I called Helen’s name. Even if she was sleeping, she would have heard me. It’s kind of funny, though, Lucie hasn’t barked. That tells me Helen isn’t here. I am the first to admit I know very little about animals. She’s been shaking so badly I had to put her inside my shirt so she could feel my heartbeat. I’m basically a stranger to her. I think I was just too tired to walk around the back. I’ve been driving with only catnaps the last forty-eight hours.”

  “Welcome to the club,” Sam said, holding out his hand to pull Julia to her feet.

  “There’s an Avis rental car here. Guess Helen needed some wheels. Oh, oh, what have we here?” Sam said as he walked up the small incline to the back door that was standing wide open. Lucie pawed at his leg to be picked up.

  “Something must have happened,” Julia said as she picked up one of the kitchen chairs. “This room is too neat and tidy with the exception of these two overturned chairs. You know, dinner’s over, you clean up, everything is in its place for morning. The knife rack is out of place, and the big knife is gone. I notice stuff like that,” Julia said fearfully. “Furthermore, why would Helen rent a car when Isabel Tyger must have left her some vehicles? There’s a big garage right across the way that has four doors, so that must mean there are four cars at Helen’s disposal. Guests, unexpected or otherwise, leave their cars in the open. Owners garage their cars. Nobody leaves their door wide open, especially at night. What should we do, Sam?” Her fear was so palpable, Sam cringed.

  “I say we call the police. Now!”

  “I agree. Then what?”

  “We start to look for her. We have an edge here with Max. He’ll find her. I hope it is that goddamn husband of hers. I want to kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands,” Sam said, as Julia dialed 911. He listened as she rattled off the location and her worry about Helen.

  “I’m just as worried as you are, Sam, and you might have to fight me if that bastard surfaces. I want to kill him as much as you do. Let me see if I can find a flashlight. Neither one of us knows this area. Does your dog need something to pick up Helen’s scent?”

  “No.”

  Julia opened and closed kitchen drawers until she found a flashlight. “Okay, we’re in business. I’ll carry Lucie, and you take the flashlight.”

  “Find Helen, Max. Go, boy!”

  Max sprinted off into the darkness, Julia and Sam behind him.

  Helen crouched low behind a dense thicket, her breathing ragged, her adrenaline pumping. She prayed that she wouldn’t cough or make some noise that would give away her hiding spot. She could hear Daniel stomping through the underbrush ahead of her. She had no way of knowing where she was or how far from the house she’d come. All she knew was she was exhausted.

  Overhead, the clouds parted, the three-quarter moon lighting the night. “Damn,” she muttered as she waited for a sign that Daniel was far enough ahead of her so she could double back to the house and call the police. The only problem was, she didn’t know which direction the house was. There were no pinpoints of light to show her the way. The house could be anywhere.

  Helen could feel a cough building in her chest that was going to erupt at any moment. She clamped her hand over her mouth just as a vicious cramp settled in the calf of her leg. She tried to inch her leg forward so she could massage it. The next thing she knew she was flat on her back, and Daniel had both her ankles in his hands.

  “You’re so fucking predictable, Helen, it’s pathetic.”

  “Let go of me,” Helen gasped.

  Daniel ignored her as he started to drag her forward. Fallen branches and rocks gouged her neck and back. A branch with sharp ends whipped across her face. She felt something drip down her cheek and neck. Blood. “All right, Daniel. All right. You can have it all. Now, let me go.”

  Daniel swung around, dropping his viselike grip on Helen’s ankles. “I thought you weren’t afraid of me.”

  “I lied. I’m petrified. You aren’t stupid, Daniel. If you hurt me, or if you kill me, you’ll get nothing. Everything will be tied up for years. Years, Daniel. You need me to give it all to you. Give. That’s the key word here. Not a will. A will would be suspect. You of all people should know that. They’ll say you coerced me into signing it. We can go to the attorney’s office tomorrow, and I’ll sign everything over to you. They know I don’t want the money. I told them so from the get-go. They won’t question my decision.”

  Helen looked up. Another few minutes and the clouds would sail across the moon. Maybe she could get away. Obviously, Daniel was thinking the same thing. He reached for her to pull her to her feet.

  Helen felt the air stir, saw something streak past her, and then she was free and on her knees. “Max!” The Lab barked as he planted himself on Daniel’s chest, his huge head almost touching Daniel’s face. Even from where she was kneeling she could see the shine to his lustrous coat.

  He held out his arms and she ran into them. “Sam.”

  “It’s me. In the flesh. Is that some dog or what?”

  “That’s some dog all right!”

  “Get this mutt off me!” Daniel bellowed.

  “I-don’t-think-so!” Sam said. “That dog has incredible staying power. He’s staying right where he is until the police get here, which should be very shortly. Then again, maybe they won’t get here for hours. How does assault with intent to kill sound, Mr. Ward? From where I’m standing, it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.”

  “Fuck you!” Daniel spat.

  “Give him a swat for that, Max. You never curse in front of a lady, Mr. Ward.”

  The big Lab lifted his front paw and pressed down on Daniel’s nose. Sam laughed as he squeezed Helen tighter. “Hey, look who’s here!”

  “Lucie! Oh, God, Lucie, it really is you. Come here, baby. It’s okay. Your buddy has things under control. Take a look. Shhh, it’s okay. He’s never going to hurt either one of us again. I missed you so much.” The little dog licked her face, her eyes, her neck as she snuggled against the one person she loved more than anything in the world.

  “He is your friend your partner, your defender, your dog.

  You are his life, his love, his leader.

  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.

  You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”

  “Cicero said that. Boots sent me that in an e-mail once. I understood it, but I didn’t understand it if you know what I mean. Now I know what to do about it. Are the police coming?” she whispered.

  “Julia called them. They should be here any minute. What the hell were you thinking of, Helen? There are no words to tell you how worried and scared I’ve been.”

  “I don’t know, Sam. I thought . . . I wanted to find a way to trap him somehow. I was trying to find my way back to the house to call the police. Ah, I hear the siren now. I hope we can find our way back.”

&
nbsp; “I’m staying here with this bastard until the police cart him off. You and Julia head back. We made a pretty good path. The cloud cover is easing up.”

  “I love you, Sam.”

  “I love you more.”

  They watched the police car’s blue-and-red lights until it was out of sight. “Is this the end of it, Sam?”

  “I think so, honey. All you have to do is have your lawyer explain everything tomorrow morning when you go down to the police station to file charges. The paperwork is going to be horrendous, but it will get resolved. He’s not going to bother you again. The way he was babbling when they put him in the car tells me he’s way over the edge.”

  “Can I go to bed, Helen?” Julia asked.

  “Of course you can go to bed. Take any room you want. I’m going to sit here all night with my fella and tell him how much I love him.”

  “I’ll say good night then. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine, Julia. Thanks for patching me up. I might look a little beat-up, but I feel fine so I don’t want you worrying about me. Sleep tight.”

  “All night? We’re going to talk all night?” Sam said, when the door closed behind Julia.

  “Uh-huh, all night. Did you ever make love under the stars, Sam?”

  “No.”

  “Me either. Want to try it? It’s exceptionally warm, almost like spring. We can always talk later.”

  “Yeah, yeah, that sounds like a plan to me.”

  Helen laughed. “You sound like Artie. With him and Gerry, everything is a plan. Sam, I have so much to tell you. I . . . I told them I would accept the inheritance Boots left me. Tell me right now if it will make a difference to you.”