by Chris Taylor
“How long are we going to wait before sending someone out to look for him?” Jacob asked quietly.
Lane sighed. “How long’s he been gone?”
Jacob glanced at the clock. “I’m not sure. A couple of hours?”
“That’s not long. Especially when we’re talking about an adult. And you did say you’d had an argument. The police won’t be interested in a missing person’s report at this stage.”
Jacob was flooded with irritation. “So we’re just going to leave him out there, wandering around for God knows how long. Is that how this is going to work?”
“Calm down, Jacob,” Lane replied with a trace of annoyance. “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to do anything. Just that your average cop wouldn’t be interested. Call his phone again. I’ll do a triangulation on his phone signal and see what tower he’s bouncing off. It will give us a rough idea of his location. Do you know which phone company he’s with?”
“Yes, he’s with Optus.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. I re-charged his prepaid account only two nights ago.”
“Good. That should speed things up. Give me a few minutes. I’ll call you back.”
Jacob ended the call and sighed. He wondered where the hell Toby could be. It hadn’t occurred to him that his brother would leave the apartment complex. He’d been upset, but not, he thought, uncontrollably so. Jacob would never have left him alone, if he’d thought his brother needed immediate consolation.
Instead, he’d let Hannah kiss him and he’d been more than happy to kiss her back. No, not happy. Delirious. He’d made love to her with his heart and mind and body and it had been all so amazing and great. He couldn’t wait to do it again. But Toby was missing and he needed to be found—and Max Grace was a murderer.
Lane’s revelation struck him anew and he wondered if he should wake Hannah and give her the shocking news. The thought had barely formed when he decided against it. Nothing would be gained by waking her tonight. The morning would be soon enough. The phone rang in his hand and he answered it immediately. “Lane, how did you do?”
“Great. His phone’s pinging off a signal in the Balmain area.”
“He’s gone to the funeral home,” Jacob guessed.
“Why the hell would he do that?”
“I guess he’s looking for somewhere to spend the night. He knows the funeral parlor.”
“How would he get in? I assume the building’s locked.”
“Yeah, I wonder if he’d knock on the door,” Jacob replied. “Maybe he has a key. I’d ask Hannah, but she’s asleep.”
“Well, the phone signal puts him in that location. It makes sense that’s where he’s gone.”
“I’ll go over and fetch him. Let’s just hope he lets me in. He’s not answering his phone. I don’t want to wake the neighbors.”
“What else is in the vicinity?” Lane asked.
“Mostly warehouses, a couple of small businesses. Hairdresser and a coffee shop, if I recall. And of course, the residence upstairs.”
Lane’s voice sharpened. “Who lives upstairs?”
Dread formed an icy ball in the pit of Jacob’s gut. “I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it could be Max.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Toby blinked and tried to clear his vision. It was weird. He’d barely drunk half a glass of Coke and yet he could see two of everything. Max sat across from him, smiling and telling him stories from when he was young. At least, he thought that’s what his boss was saying. It was a little hard to stay focused with his eyes playing tricks and his brain not keeping up.
“Drink up, lad. Don’t let it get warm. Nothing worse than warm Coke,” Max joked.
Toby tried to laugh. He didn’t like warm Coke, either. But his efforts came out in some sort of garbled moan. He wondered if Max had noticed. He did his best to look over at his boss, but once again, his eyes refused to cooperate. And now his head had begun to thump.
A piercing pain behind his eyes left him gasping and wondering what was going on. He’d been fine when he first came upstairs. Max had shown him around the small apartment. It had a nice view over the roofs of the other buildings to the water. He’d spied a collection of suitcases lined up neatly by the door. Max had explained he was going on a holiday. He wasn’t sure for how long.
Toby frowned. He couldn’t remember Hannah telling him their boss was going on a holiday, but then again, he was new on staff. He wouldn’t be told everything. He was still so grateful for the opportunity Max had given him and he told his boss as much. Max merely smiled and looked even more like the guardian angel he was—or at least, that’s how Toby thought of him.
“How are you doing, Toby? Are you feeling all right over there?”
Max’s voice held a note of concern. Toby began to feel worried. If Max had noticed that he was looking poorly, perhaps he was really sick? He felt beyond awful. He felt worse than he ever had in his life.
“I… I think I need to see a doctor. I… I don’t feel well.”
Max’s face immediately creased in concern. At least, that’s what it looked like, but it was a little hard to tell. Toby was still seeing everything in twos. That made it hard to know what was real and what was not.
“How about we go outside and get some fresh air?” Max suggested and pushed away from the table.
Toby tried to nod, but even the slight movement was beyond him. “I… I don’t know if I can make it down the stairs, Max. My head feels like it’s going to split open.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Toby. I’ll help you. We’ll go down slowly, side-by-side. I promise I’ll hold on to you. After all, I’d hate to see you fall.”
* * *
Jacob pressed his foot against the accelerator until it was almost flat on the floor. Lane had promised to meet him at the funeral home with a team of officers. They were only guessing Toby had gone to the funeral home, but with their recent discovery of what Max was capable of, they weren’t taking any chances.
Jacob glanced across at Hannah where she sat white-faced in the front seat. He hadn’t meant to wake her, but she’d overheard him talking and when she came out into the kitchen dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt. Catching a glimpse of his expression, she worked out straight away that something was dreadfully wrong.
As quickly as he could, he’d told her about her employer and the possibility that Toby had gone to the funeral parlor. She was as shocked as he was about the discovery her boss was a murderer, but she insisted on accompanying him to Balmain.
“Turn left at the next intersection,” she said and he shot her a quick look.
“It’s a shortcut. Trust me. I know these roads better than anyone.”
Without argument, he made the turn and once again, hit the gas.
* * *
Toby stumbled awkwardly and fell heavily against Max, crushing him momentarily against the wall. Max grunted in pain. Edward Sutton had weighed about half as much as Toby. This wasn’t going to be easy. Not for the first time that night, Max wondered if he should simply abort his plan.
The police were on Bobby’s trail. It was only a matter of time before they arrested him. If they did so prior to Toby’s “accidental” death, Max’s carefully laid plans would be torn asunder. Questions would be asked. The insurance policies might be scrutinized more closely, including the bank account where the money was transferred. It could get tricky. More than tricky. It could interfere with the grand retirement he’d planned.
Toby stumbled again and Max wondered if he should simply push the man down the stairs. It had worked once. There was no reason it wouldn’t work again. But Toby was bigger than Edward and he was inside Max’s home. The police would ask questions and wonder. Toby’s family would do the same.
It was too risky. Best stick to the original plan. He’d take Toby down to the Harbour where the boy would “accidentally” fall in. With the amount of alcohol and LSD Max had put in his drink, it wouldn’t take long for Toby to drown. A very sad end
to a man who’d largely lived a very sad life.
As far as Max had been able to ascertain, Toby Black had lived most of the last decade on the street. He ought to be grateful for the charity Max offered him the night he came across him hunched over a bench in a bus shelter. But charity had its limits. Nothing came for free. It was time to collect on his debt.
It seemed to take forever to reach the bottom of the staircase, but finally, they made it. With Toby leaning on him heavily, Max struggled to make it to the front door. With an effort, he got it open and then awkwardly negotiated the front steps. Not long to go and he’d have Toby in his car and then the deed was as good as done.
* * *
Jacob took the last corner wide and with a squeal of tires. He was less than two blocks away from the funeral home. The streets were dark and relatively quiet, which aided their progress. Coming to a halt at a red light, he tapped the steering wheel impatiently.
“I’m sure he’s all right,” Hannah murmured and Jacob couldn’t help wondering which one of them she was trying to convince.
“Yeah,” was all he said and then hit the accelerator the second the light changed to green.
* * *
Max made it down the front steps with Toby in tow. His heart rate had picked up its pace. His Jeep was parked beside the curb, only a few feet away. The sound of squealing tires caught his attention and he looked up in time to see a pickup truck bearing down. It was moving fast and looked like any second the vehicle would mount the curb and wipe them both out.
The street was poorly lit and there was no one else around. In a split second, Max aborted his original plan and maneuvered Toby across the narrow sidewalk and onto the road, in line with the oncoming truck. The sound of the engine drew nearer, roaring with impatience. Max had time to capture Toby’s startled look before he bent low and using his head and shoulders, pushed with all his might.
Toby was caught totally unawares. With a shout of fear, he reached out blindly, grasping at air, then hurtled into the path of the oncoming vehicle.
* * *
“Watch out!” Hannah screamed, pointing to the road in front of them.
Jacob swerved and hit the brakes. At the same time, he spied a familiar shock of white hair disappear into the night.
Max.
The truck went into a slide. Jacob fought against the wheel, finally bringing it to a halt. Throwing open the door, he bolted from the truck, at a run. Hannah caught up to him.
“Did you see him?” she panted.
“Who? Max?”
She frowned. “You saw Max?”
“Yes, at least, I think it was him. Who did you see?”
“I’m not sure. It was a man with dark hair. I only caught a glimpse before he fell onto the road. It was like he’d overbalanced.”
Jacob immediately thought of his brother and picked up his pace. If it had been Max he’d spotted, Jacob could have just aborted Max’s attempt to throw another employee under the tires of a vehicle. He was puffing by the time he saw a figure lying prone on the side of the road.
“There he is!” Hannah shouted, at the same time. They ran to the man’s side and slowly turned him over.
“Toby! Oh, God! It’s Toby!” Jacob gasped. “Stay with him and call an ambulance! I’m going after your employer.”
“You don’t know—”
“Yes, Hannah, I do,” he cut her off. Anger flooded through his veins. All of a sudden he was certain it was Max who’d pushed Toby into their path. If Hannah hadn’t seen him fall, Jacob might very well have run over him. His own brother. It didn’t bear thinking about.
Hannah pulled out her phone. Jacob jumped to his feet. Satisfied that the ambulance would soon be on its way, he took off at a run in the direction of the funeral parlor. Max Grace had a lot of explaining to do.
* * *
Max’s heart pounded. He felt like he was having a heart attack. Perhaps he was having a heart attack? His chest felt tight and he was panting like he’d run a marathon wearing concrete boots.
It was the fact that he’d turned tail and ran the moment he’d given Toby an almighty shove that had his heart thumping so hard. He hadn’t waited to see if his last-minute change of plan had been successful. He’d heard the squeal of brakes seconds after he pushed Toby into the path of the oncoming vehicle. He knew better than to be found at the scene of the crime.
It hadn’t been like that with the other two. He’d met with Christopher Lowrey in a bar on the corner of a busy intersection. He’d waited until the early hours of the morning before suggesting they leave the bar and go for a walk. He’d checked the street in all directions for other passersby. There had been nobody.
The semi had been visible from some distance, even in the dark. Max timed it perfectly. Keeping to the shadows, he’d supported Christopher’s drunken form until the very last minute. The cab of the truck had already passed them by when he threw the man under the back wheels.
And nobody had been the wiser. Even the truck driver hadn’t seen a thing. Max had dissolved into the shadows, just another anonymous figure making his way home. Then there was Edward Sutton. His death was even easier.
The man was already a hopeless drunk. It didn’t take much convincing for him to agree to meet Max after work for a drink. Edward wasn’t shy about alcohol. Max plied him with rum until the man could hardly stand and had then escorted him home to the dingy hostel where he’d been staying. It was way past late. Not a soul stirred in the house. He managed to half-walk, half-drag Edward up the stairs. It had been a simple matter to exert a little pressure and watch the man fall.
All the way to the bottom.
Max had winced at the thud of the man’s head. The concrete floor was so unforgiving. He’d calmly walked by his former employee, pausing briefly to check for a pulse. There was none. His plans had gone better than he’d expected.
Then Toby Black had dropped into his life at a most fortuitous moment. Max had waited years to call in his “investments,” but the sight of his growing bank account proved too hard to resist. He got impatient and that was a mistake. He’d chosen Toby and had sent him for the medical right away. The boy had gotten curious. Max had overheard him discussing it with Hannah.
Still, it had all worked out in the end. The boy was dead and Max was positioned to inherit a final, tidy sum. All he needed to do was get his things and get on the road. His yacht was packed with all the essentials for his journey, full of fuel and ready to set sail.
A noise from downstairs caught his attention and he froze. Two visitors in the same night. It couldn’t be a good sign. Unless it was his nephew. Max eased open the door to his bedroom and stepped quietly out into the hall. Plastered against the wall, he peered around it to see who had come inside.
A tall figure who looked terribly familiar stood in the entryway, as if deciding which way to go. It sent a shiver down Max’s spine to see the brother of the boy he’d just killed. They looked so much alike. It was like staring at a ghost. But he was being stupid. The man was the identical twin. Of course he looked like his brother.
Thinking fast, Max moved back toward his bedroom as quickly and as quietly as he could. Reaching for his bathrobe, he tugged it on over his clothes. He pulled back the bedcovers and climbed into bed and then switched off the light. A sound from the stairs alerted him that the man was close.
A moment later, a knock came on one of the outer doors. Max ignored it. When it came again, followed by a loud and impatient hello, Max switched the light back on and climbed out of bed. Taking his time, he made his away across the room to the door that led to the top of the stairs. Toby’s brother called out a third time before Max opened the door.
He frowned at the man and took his time rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It wasn’t all that late, but Jacob Black didn’t know what time Max usually went to bed. It suited his purposes to make the fellow believe he’d woken Max from a deep sleep.
“Hello? Is there something the matter?” he asked. To hi
s annoyance, his voice trembled from the strain of pretending. He cursed silently.
“I’m here about my brother,” Jacob stated, his eyes hard.
Max pretended to be confused. “What are you talking about? Toby left for home hours ago. He won’t be back until the morning.”
“Try again, Max. Toby’s downstairs. He’s lucky to be alive. Someone pushed him in front of my truck. It’s a miracle I didn’t hit him.”
Max fought to keep his expression from revealing his frustration. Of all the luck! Not only did he fail in his attempt to do away with Toby, his brother was the witness. And that same brother was watching him with eyes narrowed with suspicion. Max thought fast.
“Oh, my goodness! Is he all right? Where did it happen?”
“Cut the bullshit, Max. It happened right outside your building. I saw you with him at the same time he fell onto the road.”
Max’s heart began to pound and the blood rushed through his ears. He had to do something to distract the man, to move the focus of his attention.
“You must be mistaken. I’ve been asleep for more than an hour. Your brother’s downstairs, you say? Come, let us go to him. I might be able to help. Have you called an ambulance?”
“Yes, of course we have, and I’m a doctor,” Jacob snapped.
Max frowned. “We?”
“Hannah and I. We traveled in the same vehicle. We were out looking for Toby.”
Max forced himself to nod, but he wasn’t pleased to discover Hannah was also nearby. She knew him far better than Jacob. She’d notice anything amiss. All he could do was get Jacob out of his house and distract him from his suspicions. Tightening the sash of his bathrobe, he made a point of locating his slippers and then led the way down the stairs, Jacob on his heels.
They’d made it across the entryway. Max was already at the front door when Jacob spied the suitcases. Max cursed under his breath. He’d meant to load them into his car earlier, but then Toby arrived and his packing had been interrupted.
“Going somewhere?” Jacob asked, fresh suspicion visible in his eyes.