“Okay,” Andre said.
“You can get him to talk, right?”
“Yeah,” Andre said, a little too enthusiastically for my tastes. “Besides,” he continued, “did you see him? The guy’s a wimp. It’ll be easy to break him and he’ll tell me what he knows.”
I frowned. A wimp? Oh, that was cold.
“Fine,” Rasmus said. “As long as it doesn’t come back to me.”
“That detective doesn’t know you were here. He was knocked out when you came in, and he won’t see you now.”
Ha ha, I thought. That’s what you think. I was still feeling stung by the “wimp” comment.
“Good. And I’ll handle Holly.” Rasmus’s voice was low and sinister.
Holly gasped. Rasmus’s head jerked, and he panned his flashlight in my direction. I ducked back and flattened myself against the storage room wall. A sharp sliver of light suddenly shown through the crack in the door, creating eerie shadows in the storage room. I glanced over at Holly. Her eyes were wide with panic, and her breathing came in short spurts. Then she stifled a moan.
“Calm down,” I mouthed at her.
She nodded and tried to regulate her breathing. Rasmus said something to Andre, but I missed it. Then the shaft of light disappeared, leaving us in darkness again. Footsteps sounded on the stairs, growing fainter with each step.
“I think they went downstairs,” I whispered. “Let’s go!”
I eased the door open, then dashed out of the storage room with Holly close on my heels. We scooted around the tables in the kitchen and through the door. I turned left and halted. A beam of light was bobbing from around the corner, near the back entrance of the building. Crap, I’d been wrong. They hadn’t gone downstairs!
Holly plowed into me. “Oof!” Then she said, “Reed, why’d you stop?”
I spun around and shoved her ahead of me. By now, she’d seen the light as well, and her jaw dropped.
“Where?” she mouthed at me.
I started for the kitchen, but saw another light. Andre had gone downstairs, but Rasmus had gone out back. I spied the open door to the vats and pointed. She darted through the door and I followed. As we started to edge around the nearest vat, I heard Andre coming from the kitchen.
“They’re gone!” he hollered.
“What?” Rasmus’s tone was incredulous.
“They’re gone,” Andre repeated. “The guy broke down his door and he broke the hasp on Holly’s.”
“I thought you took everything from him.” Rasmus spoke quietly, with such calm authority it was ominous.
“I did,” Andre said. “I don’t know how he got her out. Must’ve found something around here. I could look.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I pushed Holly to get her to move farther around the vat, and she hit a pipe. It rolled and then clanged on the side of the vat, not as loud as I would’ve expected it to be, but loud enough.
“What was that?” Rasmus asked.
I thought fast, then reached down to the floor and felt around. My hand closed around what I thought was a screw. I picked it up and threw it out the door and across the dining area. It plinked off a table, and Rasmus and Andre came running. Their flashlights shone around the dining area.
“Hol-ly,” Rasmus said in a mocking tone. “Where are you? Don’t think you can get away from me that easily.”
I peeked around the vat. Both men were standing ten feet from me, looking the opposite way.
“Holly,” Rasmus repeated, this time stretching out her name. As he did, he pointed for Andre to move to the right, while he moved left. They slowly walked into the dining room. “Come on, sweetie, you’re only making it worse for yourself.”
Behind me, Holly let out a tiny snort when Rasmus said “sweetie”.
“You know about the case, and you think it’s going to help you,” Rasmus went on, “but it won’t. No one will believe you, especially after all this time.”
The two men made their way around tables, farther into the dining room. I jerked my head at Holly, indicating that we needed to make our move. I ducked down and tiptoed to the door, with Holly right behind me. We slipped out and stayed low as we crept away from the dining room. The back hallway seemed miles away.
“There!” Andre’s voice broke the stillness.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Andre peering under a table at the far end of the dining room. But he’d startled Holly, and she bolted upright with a squeak. I silently cursed. Rasmus and Andre whirled around, along with their flashlights, which put Holly and me in a bright spotlight.
“Get them!” Rasmus shouted.
“Run!” I hollered.
Holly and I raced down the hallway and around the corner. I was going so fast I slammed into the wall. My breath flew from my lungs. I gasped for air as I hurtled myself toward the back door. I twisted the knob and flung the door open, then Holly and I ran down the steps and into the alley.
“Where do we go?” Holly yelled.
I gestured down the alley, in the direction of Ace’s Kia. “That way!”
She started running as I grabbed a nearby 2x4 and rammed it under the doorknob. It wouldn’t stop Andre for long, but it’d give Holly and me a few precious extra seconds. I whirled around and started after Holly, and heard the doorknob rattle. A muffled shout penetrated through the door and then something slammed against it. I ran fast and caught up with Holly, who was in heels, which slowed her pace.
“My car’s a couple of blocks up the street,” I said and then cursed.
“What?”
“Andre took my keys.”
“Oh, no!”
“This way.” I headed down 26th. “Hurry up.”
“These heels are killing my feet,” she moaned after a half block.
“Think what William will do to you.”
“Good point.”
I glanced over my shoulder, but didn’t see anyone. We crossed Larimer Street and hurried on. I saw a restaurant across the street, but it was closed, so we hurried on. But there were hotels in the area, I thought.
“Where are we going?” Holly asked.
“The Ritz,” I said. It was the closest hotel I could think of, and I figured the front desk staff would let me use the phone to call Willie.
“How many blocks is that?” she asked as she panted hard.
“Ten, twelve.” I wished we could flag down a taxi, but there wasn’t any traffic in sight.
I glanced back again and saw what looked like an SUV a few blocks back. I cursed.
“What?” Holly turned around and then she swore as well. “Is that them?”
“Probably,” I said. “Over here.”
I ran into an alley. It was dark, just a hint of moonlight creeping in. About thirty feet down the alley, I spotted a dumpster near the entrance to a building, and I ran toward it.
“I’m not getting in that,” she protested as she followed me.
“We’ll just hide behind it.” On more than one occasion I’d ended up in a dumpster, and I had no desire to do it again.
We ducked behind the dumpster and pressed ourselves against the building wall. I peered around the dumpster and watched the street. A minute later, the sound of a car engine drew near. Then a black SUV passed slowly by. I spotted Rasmus in the passenger seat, then pulled my head back just as the beam from a flashlight burst into the alley. I held my breath and waited. Neither one of us moved. The SUV finally drove on and I exhaled.
“That was close,” Holly whispered.
“They’ll be back,” I said.
I walked slowly along the side of the building to the alley entrance and peeked around the corner. The SUV was driving slowly up the next block. Then it turned the corner. Andre was canvassing the area. I wondered how long they’d go up and down the streets before they gave up…or found us.
“Follow me.”
We moved down 24th, then had to hide again as the SUV went by us, this time driving faster. We finally made it to Curti
s Street, ran two blocks south, and we came to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
“Look at me,” Holly complained as we walked up the sidewalk toward the revolving doors. “I’m a mess.”
I turned to look at her, the first chance I’d had since I’d broken out of the basement room at the warehouse. She wore designer jeans, and a lime-green silk blouse, and, despite our ordeal, she was still in her heels. Her hair was a little disheveled, but otherwise she didn’t look that bad, although for the first time I noticed a bruise on her left cheek.
“Did William hit you?” I asked.
She nodded, suppressing tears. “He was so angry,” she said as she smoothed her blouse.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “You look fine. We’re just a couple who had a little car trouble, okay?”
“Right,” she said. “You don’t look so hot.”
“Whatever,” I said peevishly as I brushed myself off. Then I pushed through the revolving doors and marched up to the front desk. A small, wiry young man with glasses glanced up at me.
“May I help you?” he asked in a nasal tone, then his eyes widened.
“Could I use your phone?” I asked. “We’ve had a bit of car trouble, and on top of that, my cell phone’s dead. I’d like to call a friend to pick us up.”
“Of course,” he said. He put a phone on the counter. “Take as long as you need.” Then he moved down the counter to another phone, but he kept an eye on me.
Since Willie’s cell phone number was programmed into my phone, I’d never actually dialed the number, so I had to think for a second before I could recall it. Then I dialed and waited. I glanced down at myself. Holly was right. I didn’t look too good. My jeans were dusty, and my shirt had smudges of dirt on it and tears at the elbows. On top of that, my head ached. Then I glanced at a clock on the wall. 12:15.
“Hello?” Willie said, her voice groggy. “Reed, hon, is that you? I was waiting up for you, but I guess I fell asleep. Sorry.”
“Willie, I need you to get out of the house now,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” She was suddenly alert.
“I’ll explain later. Just get dressed and get out. Someone may be coming by the house, so there’s no time to lose.” I noticed the front desk clerk jerk his head up and stare at me, so I turned my back to him and lowered my voice. “Take the 4-Runner and come pick me up. I’m at the Ritz-Carlton on Nineteenth and Curtis.”
“Okay, I’m coming,” she said. “Where is there another set of keys to the 4-Runner?”
“In the top drawer of my dresser.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Don’t worry, just hurry. I’m going to call the Goofballs to make sure you get to the car okay.”
“Fine.” Her tone was edged with fear.
“I’ll call you back in a minute.” I hung up and then had to think even harder to remember one of the Goofballs’ cell phone numbers. I dialed some numbers and hoped I was correct.
“Hello?” Deuce’s languid voice said.
“It’s Reed,” I said.
“Hey, Reed, how are –”
“I need you to go upstairs right now,” I interrupted, “and walk Willie from the condo to the 4-Runner, okay? Then drive with her. She’s going to come pick me up.”
“Okay, you got it,” he said. And bless him, he hung up without asking another question.
I dialed Willie again. “Deuce is coming up. He’ll come with you.”
“I can see him through the peephole now,” she said.
“If you see a black SUV, call the police,” I said.
“Okay. We’ll see you in a little bit.”
“I love you,” I said.
“Me, too, even though you have some explaining to do.”
I certainly did, I thought as I hung up the phone.
The front desk clerk sidled back over. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, thanks.” I handed the phone to Holly. “Call Betsy and tell her you’re okay. But don’t tell her anything else.”
“You talked to Betsy, too?” I rolled my eyes at her. “Right, never mind.” She dialed and waited, then said, “Betsy? It’s me. Yes, I’m okay.” Pause. “No, I can’t talk right now, but everything will be all right. I’ll explain later.” Pause. “When you see William tomorrow, act like you don’t know anything, okay? I’ll call when I can. Thanks.”
“Good,” I said when she hung up.
“I want to call my sister, too,” Holly said.
I started to argue, then saw the look on her face. “Fine.”
She took the phone from me and dialed. While she talked, I jerked a thumb at chairs in a small lobby. “Can we sit here and wait for our ride?”
“Of course,” he said.
I went over to the chairs and sat down. A moment later, Holly came over.
“She was glad I called,” she said.
I nodded.
“Now what?” she asked.
I sank into the chair and sighed. “We wait, and I’ll think of what to do next.”
Easier said than done. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, wishing I was at home, holding Willie, instead of here.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
12:25 AM
When I opened my eyes again, Holly was staring at me.
“What?” I asked, feeling a bit sullen.
“Are you okay?”
I wanted to say, “Do I look okay?” but resisted. Instead I said, “I’ve got a bit of a headache.” And my shoulder hurts, but I neglected to say that.
She nodded acknowledgment, then drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “How’d you find me?”
I sat up. “Oh, you don’t know, do you?” In all the excitement, we hadn’t talked about that.
She shook her head. “You just said you talked to Kristin.”
“Right.” I explained the events of the last fifteen hours since I’d seen her.
Then her lower lip trembled. “I’ve really made a mess of things.”
My surly side wanted to agree, but what good would that do? “Let’s think about what we can do from here.”
“What am I going to do?” she asked. “I can’t go home now.”
“I know.” I thought for a moment. “I can buy you a plane ticket.”
She shook her head. “It would have to be in my name, which means William can track me down. I’m sure he’s got people looking at the airport and the train station now, and he’ll be checking flight information for me.”
“How?”
She shrugged. “He’s a powerful man, and he has ways.”
That left me with few options. I drew in a breath and let it out slowly. I needed a temporary place for her where she would be safe until I figured out what to do about Rasmus and Andre. I ran through options in my mind. She couldn’t stay at a hotel because she didn’t have any money or credit cards. I could foot the bill, but then how could I keep her from going out? She struck me as someone who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, sit still in her room while we figured out what to do, and that might put her in danger. Have her stay with the Goofballs? No, too close to my place. I nixed Willie’s friend, Darcy, who lived across the street from us, for the same reason. Face it, I thought. There was only one place I could take Holly that would be secluded, with little access to the outside world, where she would be safe. That was Cal’s house. If I could just make him agree. He’d not been happy the last time I’d brought people to him for safekeeping. Granted, it’d been a spoiled young woman and her spoiled young friends, but still…I frowned.
“What?” Holly asked.
“I know where we can go,” I said and reached into my pocket for my cell phone. Then I growled. “No phone.”
She nodded unhappily.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll call him from Willie’s phone.” The last thing I wanted was to try to explain to Cal what was going on with the front desk clerk listening in.
“Who’s Willie?”
“My fiancée. You’ll be staying together until we figure t
his out.”
“Stay with her?” she asked, then jumped when the revolving doors turned. A couple came in, holding hands and laughing. They walked past us to the elevators. Holly sighed heavily and turned back to me. “Oh, because William knows where you live.”
“Yes.” At least she was starting to get it. “And speaking of William, what do you want to do? Do you still want to go to California?”
Her eyebrows shot up and then back down. “I keep forgetting you talked to Kristin.” Her lips curled up as she pondered her options. “I can’t go now. William took all my money.”
“Could Kristin loan you some?”
“They don’t have that much, and besides, after everything with Paul –” She stopped abruptly.
“What with Paul? Oh right, the affair. After it happened, that was when William wouldn’t let you out of his sight, right? That’s when he really clamped down on you.”
She wrung her hands and nodded.
“And that’s why Kristin would’ve been glad if you left, not because she cares so much about your well-being, but because you wouldn’t be a threat to her marriage.”
She hesitated. “I haven’t been a threat for a while. She just thinks Paul still wants me. But William would never let that happen again.” She paused. “And he can’t let me go, either.”
“Maybe we can work something out, use his political career as leverage. He wouldn’t want anyone to know he’s abusive to you.”
She shook her head. “I know too much.”
“So he’s abusive. It’s not like he’s the first powerful guy who’s that way.”
She didn’t reply, and I didn’t like the guilty look on her face. She’d tried to hide the affair – what else was she hiding? I went over everything I’d learned up to this point: The comments about William getting what was coming to him. And then what he’d said in the warehouse hit me.
“William can’t let you go because you’ve got something on him, don’t you?”
She glanced away and sighed. “Yes.”
“He said you know something about one of his cases.”
“Yes.”
Night of the Hunted: A Reed Ferguson Mystery (A Private Investigator Mystery Series - Crime Suspense Thriller Book 11) Page 9