He turned so fast, she almost collided with his chest. After a moment’s pause, he sighed and grasped her shoulders.
“I know this may be hard for you to understand, little one. We are in the middle of a war. David and the others are in the fight of their lives. You heard Anna. Their hands are tied. Against a vampire, they would win easily, but their enemies are humans. Their efforts to save these humans may bring about their own demise. Each of the Corels are in different locations trying to protect the families from their own loved ones. Loved ones affected by hallucinogenic drugs and Voodoo magic.”
“Can’t the police help?”
Christoff lowered his chin, looking up at her with his piercing blue eyes. “The police would not understand. They would be forced to kill the very people David and his family are trying to save.”
Susie nodded. “I think I understand.” She stared at the door of the building. “Why would Terry have been taken here?”
“Do you remember the phone call at the office earlier?” he asked.
With a shrug, she told him, “Not really. Only that afterward, I really wanted to hurt Terry.” She grimaced as she added, “And you. Sorry about that.”
He looked down at his torn shirt and the blood stain close to his heart. “That was my favorite shirt.”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” she offered with an awkward grin.
After checking the deserted street for witnesses, he broke the front door open with little more than a push and ushered her inside. “That man, Beau, was the caller. He told you to kill Palmer.”
“Why would he do that?” she gasped. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense,” he argued as they stepped into the elevator. When the doors closed, he told her. “Although I hadn’t heard his name in years, I recognized the voice on the phone. You see, Beau and I have a history. His real name is Buford. Buford Moroux.”
She leaned back against the wall of the lift and shook her head in disbelief. “How did you know him?”
“I was sent to destroy him for his use of the dark arts. He was, and it appears that he still is, a bokor.”
She watched the light above the door flash three and continue upward. “A what?”
“Bokor. Voodoo priest.”
The elevator stopped with a thump.
“This is where the meetings are held,” Susie told Christoff. “Do you think Beau … I mean Buford will be holding Terry here?”
He held his finger to his mouth and disappeared. In a wink of an eye, he’d returned. “The fourth floor is empty. Wait inside the meeting room while I search the other floors.”
Before she could protest, he’d vanished. She trudged to the empty room and waited by one of the large, floor-to-ceiling windows to gaze down below to the street. Not a soul ventured outside. Why would they? Most people would be safe and sound, asleep in their cozy beds at this time of the morning. She rubbed at the gooseflesh on her arms. The temperature had dropped. There was a definite chill in the air, especially in this big, empty room. She tried to remember if Terry had been wearing warm clothes when he left the office. What did Buford plan to do to him? Why must she wait here when Terry needed her?
“Susie?”
She turned toward the familiar voice. “Dr. Dubois. What are you doing here?”
The doctor frowned. “I could ask you the same question.”
“I’m … waiting for a friend.” Who is taking his sweet time coming back.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the doctor told her. “This building is restricted.”
“I’m sorry.” Susie made her way toward the doctor, wondering if she should mention Buford. “Look, Dr. Dubois. There’s something I think you should know about Beau.”
The doctor reached into her pocket. “I can’t discuss other patients with you. You know that, Susie.”
“But what if he’s doing something illegal? Surely that overrules doctor-patient confidentiality?” What is she holding in her pocket?
“All right, you have my attention. What is it you want to tell me about Buford?”
“Have you heard of a bokor?”
The doctor’s smile sickened her to her stomach and something jelled. She hadn’t mentioned Beau’s real name, but somehow the doctor had known all along. She knew what he was doing. Probably helped him. Terror gripped her by the throat and squeezed, robbing her of the scream that strained beneath its grip. As Dr. Dubois lifted her hand from her pocket, Susie glimpsed the handle of a gun and rushed the doctor. They grappled for control of the weapon. The gun fired past Susie’s head, narrowly missing her. She ignored the ringing in her ears as she fought for her life, trying to stop her attacker from getting a better shot.
They wrestled. The weapon fell to the floor and they both grabbed for it, the doctor reaching it first. She raised the gun by the barrel and swung the handle at Susie’s head. Susie raised her left arm to protect her face and felt the impact on her wrist, the watch taking the brunt of the attack. Pain radiated from what she instinctively knew was a broken wrist. Before she had time to react, a second strike hit her temple, knocking her to the ground.
She blinked away the blood that trickled down from her temple in time to see Dr. Dubois raise the weapon and aim it at her face. As she closed her eyes and waited for the bullet that would end her life, she heard a male voice.
“What are you doing, Charlotte?”
“Stay out of this, Buford. This doesn’t concern you.”
Susie opened her eyes, stunned to hear the hate in her doctor’s voice. What had she done to deserve this? As if he’d heard her unspoken question, Beau asked, “Why are you doing this? It wasn’t in our plan.”
Our plan? What were they planning? How did it involve her?
Beau casually approached the not-so-good doctor and reached for the weapon. She snatched her hand away. “You can’t talk me out of this.”
He shook his head, tapping his temple with his forefinger. “Think, Charlotte. Use that clever mind of yours. We need her alive in order for the plan to work.”
“You mean you need her.”
She turned her attention to him, giving Susie the opportunity to reach for her watch to call for help. With a sigh, she realized the little heart-shaped alarm had been crushed. The watch was reduced to a broken frame attached to a band. The face of the timepiece shattered.
Beau’s words shocked her back to the situation at hand.
“Are you jealous, lover?”
“Of her?” Charlotte spat the words, scowling in Susie’s direction. “I could break that little bitch like a twig.”
Excuse me? Susie’s blood boiled. We’ll see who breaks who. Unfortunately, when she tried to sit up, the pain and swelling in her wrist reminded her that she’d been handicapped and her head throbbed from the blow. Where the hell was Christoff? Why was he taking so long?
“I’ve been busy,” the voice in her head told her. “I’ve found Palmer.”
She glanced around the room. “Did I imagine his voice? Is it the concussion?”
“Why do you ask so many questions?” he complained. “I warned you that we’d have a telepathic connection.”
“Christoff?”
“Who else would it be? Wait … I sense danger. What has happened?”
She inhaled a deep breath. “The doctor and your friend Buford are in cahoots. I’m trapped. Terry? Is he…?”
“He’s alive. Slightly concussed, but otherwise uninjured.”
“Oh, thank God.” She almost cried aloud but managed to keep her expression blank. She could use this telepathic link to her advantage. “Christoff, can you hear what I hear? If I can entice my captors to talk, will you be able to listen in?”
“Yes, but why? I can be there almost instantly to assist you.”
“No! No. If you attack them, we won’t know what they’re planning. We have no idea what permanent effect their drugs will have on the patients. I have a better idea.”
“Fine. Wait … Palmer is o
bjecting to your suggestion. He demands we come to you.”
“Don’t let him!” A smile tried to curl her lips. She fought it down. “Tell him I know what I’m doing. Ask him to trust me.”
She waited for an answer. “Well?”
“He trusts you. That is all I’m prepared to relay. I refuse to repeat the other mush. He can tell you himself later.”
“You’re awfully quiet.”
Susie looked up to see both Beau and Charlotte staring down at her. “Here we go,” she told Christoff. “I’ve been trying to work it out. Why are you hurting your patients? What’s in it for you?”
“Revenge and money,” Beau answered without hesitation. “Isn’t that what everyone wants?”
“Buford!” Charlotte snarled, but he ignored her protest.
“What’s the harm in telling her?” He shrugged. “She’ll forget everything once I compel her again.” As a frown creased his brow, he asked, “Wait a minute. Why didn’t you kill Palmer?”
“I couldn’t find him,” she told him truthfully. Then, for effect, she added, “I’ve searched everywhere for him. He must die.”
“You won’t find him here.” He snorted, but his smile faded when Charlotte grimaced. “What did you do to him?”
“He turned up at the office yesterday morning, asking questions about the drugs I’ve been giving my patients. He wanted a list of the ingredients and their contra indicators. I pretended I was going to my outer office for a list before hitting him with a marble bookend.”
“Where is he now?”
“Don’t worry.” She stroked her man’s arm. “I have him locked up downstairs. He’s not going anywhere.”
Beau pushed her away. “You idiot! What if he finds the antidote?”
“Are you getting this?”
“Find out what the antidote looks like. What does it do?”
“How the hell am I going to do that?”
Before he had a chance to answer, Charlotte solved the problem.
“Don’t you call me an idiot!” She pointed the gun at his chest. “No one gets to call me an idiot.”
“Put the gun down, my love.” He gently took the gun from her hand and placed it on the shelf behind them. “I am sorry.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his finger. “We’ve worked hard to get to where we are. I don’t want anything to go wrong now.”
“I’ve hidden the capsules in a nondescript brown bottle behind the jar of intestines in our private room. No one will think to look there. Besides, he’s tied securely.” She turned to Susie. “It should be easier for her to kill him now.”
Susie swallowed the lump in her throat. If Christoff’s telepathic link hadn’t broken Beau’s hold over her, she may have been enthralled to kill Terry.
“You’re welcome. By the way, Palmer has located the bottle. We’re coming to assist you.”
“No. Get the antidote to David. They won’t hurt me while they believe I’m under their influence.”
She waited for a response. “You are right. While I’m away, Palmer can assist you—”
“No! Keep him away. With you gone, I may not be able to resist their compulsions. I can’t risk hurting him.”
“As you wish, but we’ll be back soon.”
Knowing that Christoff and Terry had left the building, Susie felt very much alone. Pain radiated through her head and hand and Charlotte stared daggers at her while she remained on the floor, unable to rise. How could I have been so gullible? I trusted this woman. She looked away, unwilling to make eye contact with the psychologist. So many broken, desperate patients had put their faith in her treatments only to be exploited. Why?
As she willed herself to her feet, she solicited more information from her captors.
“I still don’t understand. Revenge on who? And how does that make you money? Are you blackmailing someone?” Her hand reached out to grab a chair for support as her legs began to shake.
Buford laughed, but his smile twisted into a sneer as he told her, “I knew that if we could create a little chaos, my old nemesis would surface. Charlotte provided me with a way of distributing my … shall we call it, Zombie formula? Once the pills had been administered, I’d call the patients and plant the suggestions to kill their families. Sure enough, Christoff Berg emerged from whatever hole he’s been living in since driving me from my home.”
Susie’s right hand flew to her mouth. This was all about Christoff? But how would that make Charlotte rich? She asked the question out loud. “Where does the money come into it?”
It was Charlotte’s turn to smirk. “All of my patients signed over their life insurance to me. Once they killed their families and then themselves, I’d be sole beneficiary of a stack of policies. Which reminds me. I have some papers for you to sign.”
Susie shook her head and turned toward Buford. “Christoff will stop you again. He’ll drive you from Azure Waters just like he drove you from your last home. The Corels will help him. I will help him.” She directed her next threat to Charlotte. “As for you. You won’t see a cent of that money. I’ll tell the police everything you’ve said.”
“My dear Susie.” Buford snaked his way over to her. “The Corels aren’t going to help Berg. They’re going to kill him.”
She backed away, cradling her broken wrist. “Never. You can’t compel any of them. It isn’t possible.”
“Don’t you think I’ve done my research?” He growled. “The Corel brothers protect the humans in this community while our friend Christoff is a cold-blooded killer. We’ve made sure that there are too many people for them to deal with without someone getting hurt. He has no love for humans, but his friendship with David Corel goes way back. If David is harmed, there’s no telling what Christoff will do, and then the rest of the family will be forced to exterminate him. It’s their law. I’m sure he’ll take at least one of them down with him. Either way, it’s a win-win situation for me.”
“And a few more monsters off the street,” Charlotte added.
“Monsters?” If she’d learned anything from her time with Anna and her family, it was that they were the kindest people she’d met. “You are the monsters. I hope they lock you up and throw away the key.”
“I’ve had enough of this small talk.” Buford reached out and grabbed her arm. “It’s time for you to finish off Palmer.”
She struggled to free herself as he dragged her toward the door. “Why Terry? What does he have to do with any of this?”
“Oh, why don’t you just shut up,” Charlotte screamed in her face. “I’m sick of all the questions.”
“No, I think she deserves to know the part she’ll be playing in Berg’s demise.” Buford stopped beside the door, pinning Susie against the wooden frame. “You see, my dear Susie. You are our extra insurance that Christoff goes rogue.”
She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to question him, but he silenced her with the answer.
“After you kill Palmer, Christoff will be forced to punish you. I doubt very much that the Corels will allow him to hurt their little pet. You will be the last straw. The final nail in his coffin.”
Slap! Her uninjured palm connected with his cheek. “You bastard!”
His laugh still rang in her ears as his accomplice hustled her out of the room.
****
Of all the occasions he’d been forced to bide his time, this had to be the toughest. He’d recognized their voices, all three of them, and understood why Susie had delayed them with questions. Damn, she’d make a fine detective. Each answer revealed a crucial detail about the plot to, not only kill Christoff, but to annihilate whole families for the sole purpose of exacting revenge. No, not just revenge. Greed played a large part. Greed always played a part.
They’d stopped at the door and he’d almost lost it when Beau pinned her against the frame, but he’d talked himself down. Wait. Not yet. For a moment, he’d worried that she’d seen him hiding outside the room. Would she accidentally give him away? Apparently, her attention rema
ined focused on the big man because her eyes didn’t leave his face, even when she struck him. Good girl. His heart almost burst with pride. She had guts, his fiancée.
Susie exited first, followed by the doctor, and then the target of his anger. Terry lunged, knocking Beau face first to the ground and almost toppling Susie. For a split second, Dr. Dubois froze, staring down at him as he wrestled the big guy’s hands behind his back. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and cursed before running back inside the room with Susie hot on her heels. That’s my girl.
He turned to the sound of a crash as something hard hit the floor. Beau took the opportunity to flip over, forcing him onto his side. They wrestled, his opponent managing to take a few cheap shots with his fists. His eye began to swell, blurring his vision. That’s gunna leave a bruise. He returned the favor, scoring a couple of solid punches to the big man’s nose. Blood gushed down his chin and pooled on the collar of his shirt, but rather than slow him down, it seemed to spur him on. His hands wrapped around Terry’s neck and squeezed. Terry could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. The pressure building behind his eyes. His consciousness fading.
Was that a scream? He fought the darkness that had begun to wash over him. Must fight. Fight for Susie. He slammed his right arm across his chest, connecting with Beau’s elbow, breaking the grip on his neck before using the momentum of the strike to bring his elbow back and into Beau’s temple, not once, but three times. Saliva dribbled from his opponent’s mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head just before he lost consciousness. A gunshot rang out, followed by another scream. Susie!
****
When Charlotte reached for the gun that she’d left on the shelf by the door, Susie lunged for her. The momentum took them both down. The gun slipped from her hand and slid across the wooden floor. Charlotte stretched out her arm, her fingertips almost touching the handle.
Not again! Susie’s temple still ached from the last assault. No way would she give the doctor another chance to control the gun. She grabbed a handful of the other woman’s hair and tugged, pulling her head back briefly before slamming her face-first into the floor. Simultaneously, both women screamed. Susie’s wrist throbbed from the exertion. Charlotte’s scream probably in response to the wound to her forehead, but there was to be no relief for either because Susie continued to pound the doctor’s face until she ceased in her attempt to grab the gun.
Take Back the Night Page 14