A plan…she needed a plan. She couldn’t do anything until Brad returned. Then her attention was drawn back to the cabin. The front door opened and Tara stepped onto the front porch. Doreen watched as Tara looked around, then left the cabin and walked along the path paralleling the road headed toward the village. What a stroke of luck, just what she needed. Tara would be her ticket into the cabin and then they’d wait for Brad to return.
Doreen had dressed in her jogging clothes. Her first thought was to wear the red wig and large sunglasses, but she quickly dismissed that idea. She had overused that disguise…two murders and a trip to the morgue to identify Danny’s body. Brad would have caught on by now, maybe even warned Tara to be on the alert for someone who looked like that.
She put on a head sweatband and stuck her small .25 caliber handgun into her fanny pack. She gathered up the listening equipment, quickly deposited it in her car, locked the door, then made her way along the opposite side of the road from Tara. She kept her quarry in sight at all times.
KEN WALSH PLACED the binoculars on the table. He had followed Tara until she was out of sight. He hadn’t seen Doreen at first, but caught sight of her when she stood up. He watched as she put on the headband and shoved the handgun in her pack.
He dialed Brad’s cell phone. “Tara just left here. I picked up on Doreen across the road. She has short brown hair and is wearing a red sweatband around her head, a gray shirt and bicycle pants. And she’s armed. She seems to be trailing Tara from across the road.”
“Can you pinpoint where Doreen was hiding?”
“Yes, I know exactly where it was. I plan to check out the site as soon as I hang up.”
“I’m taking the fire road on the same side of the street as Tara. On the other side, a few feet back in the woods, there’s an old logging road. It’s hardly much more than a rutted trail, but it’s possible to get a four-wheel-drive vehicle back there.”
“I’ll look around and see if I can find Doreen’s car. I’m taking this cell phone with me.”
“Tara was going to try to stay in the village for at least three hours, making the grocery shopping her last stop.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m back inside the cabin.” Ken clicked off the phone. As an added precaution, he left by the back door and circled around until he was about one hundred yards up the road from the cabin before crossing to the other side.
He made his way down the old logging road until he saw the Jeep parked among the trees. He proceeded slowly, carefully checking for anyone who might be working with Doreen. When he was confident that the area was clear, he did a quick check of the vehicle. He discovered the listening equipment and a few items that could be considered disguises, such as a short red wig. He jotted down the license number, then returned to the cabin.
Ken placed another call to Brad’s cell phone. “She has a Jeep parked back there. I found some professional listening equipment, so I think we can assume she heard every word you and Tara said to each other while you were in front of the cabin. I didn’t see any rental-car stickers. I’m going to run the license plate on the car.”
“Good. Tara just reached the village. She’s inside the coffee shop right now. She’s seated where she’s visible through the window, but not a convenient target. After the coffee shop she’s going to a gift shop and then finally to the general store. She’ll browse there for a while and end up doing some grocery shopping. That will give her a sack to carry back to the cabin. With her arms full it will appear that she has her attention focused on what she’s doing rather than on what’s going on around her. I haven’t seen—”
“Brad? Are you there?”
“Yeah…I was about to say that I hadn’t seen anyone answering your description of the way she’s dressed, but I just spotted her.” A bit of a chuckle escaped his throat followed by words that were spoken more to himself than to Ken. “Well, I’ll be damned…slim waist and hips…a hard body with well-toned muscles. So, it was padding. This certainly explains a lot of things.”
“Brad? Are you talking to me?”
“Mousy brown hair, large horn-rimmed glasses and apparently about twenty pounds overweight. It was all a disguise. The blond hair dyed brown and cut short was easy. The optometrist confirmed the eyeglasses without any vision correction along with brown-tinted contact lenses to change her eye color, which was very clever of her. But the padding of her clothes to make herself seem heavier was truly inspired.”
“What are you talking about, Brad?”
“Shirley Bennett…that’s what I’m talking about.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tara sipped her coffee. It was all she could do to sit still and project an outer calm. The anxiety churned in her stomach along with something she didn’t want to admit—a large dose of fear. She had seen the admiration in Brad’s eyes when she took her firm stand on making herself a visible target and it had warmed her heart. But now, sitting all alone and knowing someone who wanted her dead was out there watching her…well, all the bravado had melted away, leaving only a thin veneer of composure.
She wanted to look around, to take in the faces of the people in the coffee shop and those passing by the window. She wanted to be able to spot Doreen, to know where she was and what she was doing. But she fought the urge. If she was being watched, she didn’t want it to look as if she was aware of it. It had to appear as if she thought she was safe and didn’t have any concerns. She took another sip of her coffee and pretended to be reading the morning newspaper.
A myriad of thoughts raced through her mind. If Doreen Vincent was sitting two booths away, would she recognize her? How had Doreen changed her appearance? Would it be something simple like changing the color of her hair or using a wig, maybe wearing glasses, or perhaps more drastic steps such as the plastic surgery Brad had suggested?
She paid for her coffee, then continued on the route that Brad had laid out for her. She forced herself to casually stroll along the sidewalk, pausing to look in windows. She felt someone’s eyes on her back, an uncomfortable presence that left her heart pounding and full-blown anxiety coursing through her body. It took a concentrated effort to keep from turning around. Was it her imagination? She tried to convince herself it was Brad keeping tabs on her, but in her gut she knew that wasn’t it. The hair stood up on the back of her neck and a shiver of trepidation ran up her spine. A foreboding of things to come? She tried to shake off the sensation as she continued on her route, doing everything Brad had instructed her to do.
Tara glanced at her watch while looking through the magazine rack in the general store. It was time to buy the groceries and return to the cabin. The feeling had stayed with her, the uncomfortable sensation that someone was staring at her, watching her every move. She took a grocery cart and slowly pushed it down the aisle, selecting a few items as she went.
Her gaze darted from place to place until she located what she had been looking for…one of the large round mirrors mounted near the ceiling that allowed the employees to view areas of the store behind shelves and around corners. If she could get into the right position, she could use the mirror to see who and what was going on behind her.
Not sure if it would really accomplish anything, she moved in that direction while constantly checking the mirror. She spotted three women who appeared to be the right age, but couldn’t get a good look at any of their faces. One was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, another was wearing a jumper and the third one was dressed in jogging clothes with a red headband. None of them had blond hair. She didn’t spot anyone with the short red hair of the wig, either. She looked in the mirror again. If Brad was watching her, he had managed to stay out of her line of sight.
She continued up one aisle and down the next, adding only a few items to her cart as she went. She was sure that nothing would happen while she was in the store. The plan was to have Doreen follow her back to the cabin. She knew Ken was there and Brad was following her, but it didn’t stop the trepidation that had been building in
side her from the moment she started toward the village.
She made her purchases and carried the sack out the door. She walked to the corner, then set the sack of groceries on the bench. Taking advantage of the moment, she glanced back along the sidewalk and caught sight of the woman with the red headband. It was only a glimpse, but it was enough.
A hard jolt of reality shoved through her body. Her pulse raced and her heart pounded. The long blond hair was now brown and had been cut short, but there was no doubt in her mind that the face belonged to Doreen Vincent.
Tara pretended to rearrange some of the items in the sack, then picked it up and continued walking. She didn’t need to look again. She felt Doreen’s stare as surely as if she could see it. She also felt the strong emotion attached to it, a sinister presence that sent a chill through her. Each step she took produced a sinking feeling of dread. Never in her entire life had she needed her trust to be valid more than right now. Her life was literally in Brad’s hands and she didn’t even know where he was. All she could do was believe his words, believe that he would have her in sight at all times.
She fought the urge to drop the sack and run back to the cabin as hard and fast as her legs would carry her. She took deep, slow breaths and forced herself to maintain a leisurely pace along the path. She finally reached the driveway leading up to the cabin. She juggled the grocery sack while fumbling in her pocket for the door key.
“Just keep walking, Tara. We’ll go in the front door together.”
Her body stiffened. The words startled her, even though she knew Doreen was behind her. She started to turn around.
“Don’t stop and don’t turn around.” Doreen’s voice held a menacing quality to it, something far more sinister than mere desperation, which she emphasized by shoving a gun in Tara’s back. “Don’t do anything stupid or I’ll use this.”
Tara swallowed down the lump in her throat. Brad had given her very specific instructions that if confronted directly she was to do exactly what Doreen said without any argument or hesitation. Her hand trembled slightly as she inserted the key into the lock. She quickly glanced around as soon as she was inside. There wasn’t any sign that Ken was in the cabin even though she knew he was there. She didn’t know where Brad was.
She couldn’t keep the quaver out of her voice. “Is it all right if I take the groceries into the kitchen?”
“Just put the sack on that chair.”
Tara did as she was told. After depositing the bag, she turned around to face her nemesis. Her gaze fixed on the gun in Doreen’s hand. A bitter taste filled the back of her mouth, the taste of fear. She knew she couldn’t allow it to show. She had to play out her part. She forced her gaze away from the gun, settling it on Doreen’s face. Her eyes were cold, her features hard. Doreen Vincent seemed to be devoid of any compassion or caring.
Tara’s legs began to quiver as terror coursed through her body. She sat down before her trembling became visible. The last thing she wanted was for her fear to show. She was careful to pick a chair on the opposite side of the living room from the kitchen door and the stairs to the second floor, putting Doreen in a position where her back was to that portion of the cabin. “Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?”
“Haven’t you and Brad figured everything out by now? If not, then I’m surprised. Brad is very bright. He had me worried from the moment he got his hands on the John Vincent case file.”
Tara scrunched up her face in confusion. “Had you worried? You personally know Brad?”
A sarcastic laugh escaped Doreen’s mouth accompanied by a smirk. “I’ve been working with him for a couple of months now. He never had a clue, never tumbled to the truth.”
“You work in the Marshals Service office? How did you manage to get a job there? Don’t they do a background check on people?”
“It was easy. I’d been watching the posting of available position openings in the Seattle office and saw that their computer person was retiring and the job was open. I hacked into the employment records and created a file in the name of Shirley Bennett showing that she had been employed in the Miami office, then I simply transferred her to Seattle to fill the vacancy. As far as Seattle was concerned, all the background checks had already been done and it was a routine internal transfer. It was a simple computer task for someone who’s proficient in that area. It’s a knack of mine, like a natural talent. I never really studied anything about computers, I just sort of fell into it by accident.”
“But I don’t understand. What do you have against me? We’ve never even met. It can’t be because I testified against your father. I was only one witness and what I knew was small stuff. I had no idea that he was involved in organized crime.”
“Hmmph!” Doreen’s contemptuous attitude came out in her voice. “You stupid little nobody. You don’t have a clue what’s going on here. Unfortunately that won’t save you.”
“Then it won’t hurt anything if you satisfy my curiosity and fill me in on what I don’t know.”
Doreen perched on the edge of the sofa arm, keeping her distance from Tara while continuing to point the gun at her. “No…I suppose it wouldn’t hurt anything. We’re going to be here together for the rest of this afternoon…at least until Brad returns. I heard what he told you about calling to you through the front door and waiting for you to answer him before he came inside. So, that buys you a couple more hours of time.”
Brad had concocted that plan as a safeguard to make sure no harm came to her while waiting for him to return. It was now up to her to get as much information out of Doreen as possible while she believed she had the upper hand. “Uh…did you really kill all those people?” Get her talking. Get her to confess to what happened. It was Tara’s single-minded purpose at the moment. In order to succeed she needed to block out the sight of the gun pointed at her and somehow manage to call up the strength to override the combination of fear and panic twisting into knots in the pit of her stomach.
“All those people? All of which people?”
Smugness covered Doreen’s face, matching the condescending tone of her voice. She radiated an attitude of superiority that said she believed she was smarter than everyone else. Tara latched on to that, focusing her efforts along those lines. An ego of that magnitude would have an almost obsessive need to brag about how clever she had been in carrying out her plans, especially when she thought she was in control of the situation.
Tara put a calculated plan of her own into play. She glanced nervously around the room, allowing her gaze to linger on the front door and windows in order to cover her real objective of checking the kitchen door where Brad planned to enter the cabin and the top of the stairs where Ken was stationed just out of sight.
“What are you looking for?” Doreen’s cynical laugh conveyed her contempt. “You expect the cavalry to come riding over the hill to rescue you?”
A quick look through the door into the kitchen told Tara what she wanted to know. A dish towel had been looped through the handle on the refrigerator door. It hadn’t been there when she and Doreen arrived. It was the agreed-upon signal from Brad telling her he was inside. Her panic subsided and a sense of calm settled over her. Doreen had no way of knowing exactly how much she and Brad had already figured out. She would allow Doreen to assume that they didn’t know that much about what had really happened.
“Did you really kill those witnesses? I mean, did you do it yourself? Everyone thought they were accidents. Even the police thought they were accidents. If they were murders, then they must have been done by a professional killer.”
“I planned all of them. Nobody else had the foresight to handle it. Danny wanted to rush in and blow them away, but then he never was known for his subtlety or his brains.” Doreen leveled a look of disdain at Tara. “You’d know about that since you used to be engaged to the jerk.”
“But I don’t understand…why eliminate the witnesses? Were you trying to avenge your father’s death? He died of a heart attack, which
means he probably would have died whether he was in prison or not. A natural death can’t be blamed on those who testified against him at his trial.”
A hard, cruel laugh was Doreen’s response to Tara. “Avenge his death? Are you serious? He didn’t have anything to do with this. It was those two witnesses…they knew about me. It didn’t come out in the trial, but it would have eventually.”
“You mean you killed all those people—” Tara hesitated for a moment, not sure how to word what she was trying to say “—five witnesses, a contract killer and your own cousin just because of what you thought two people might say at some future time? What could they possibly have known about you that warranted killing them?”
“They knew about what I did…what I really did. Not the cover of aerobics instructor, but the smuggling of drugs from South America and the Caribbean. It was only a matter of time before one or both of them would have sold that information to the feds. So I needed to eliminate all the witnesses. If the connection was ever made between the deaths, it had to appear as if someone wanted all the witnesses dead. Pat was sloppy, as evidenced by the fact that you’re still breathing. He wanted to be paid anyway…so I paid him off for good with a bullet. And Danny…well, he had the ridiculous thought that he would be running things. That was a matter of survival. Either him or me. It was an easy choice to make.”
“There are too many people who know about this now. You’ll never get away with more murders.”
“No you don’t.” She stepped in close to Tara and waved the gun in front of her face. “You’re not going to convince me of that. I know better. I’ve planned everything down to the last detail.”
In His Safekeeping Page 23