Blood seeped out in circles, expanding on his back and the chunk of plaster missing from the wall. Beating down the panic, she fell to her knees and felt for Dietz’s pulse.
“Dietz?”
“It’s too late, my dear.” Sterling Howard strolled into Kane’s kitchen looking every bit the rich yachtsman in his navy pants and spotless deck shoes.
He even had a blazer with one of those stupid seals embroidered on it. Every hair in place. Nails buffed and fake tan distributed to perfection. At fifty-something, if that was how old he truly was, Howard was fit and in control.
The gun gave him away for the slime he was. A big gun with what she assumed was a silencer on the end.
“You killed him,” she said as shock filled her veins.
Howard shrugged. “Collateral damage.”
Her thoughts went to Derek on the front porch. She had to get to him. Jumping to her feet, she tried to run past her attacker.
“Ah, ah, ah. I don’t think so, Ms. Parks.”
She skidded to a stop when Howard aimed the gun right at her heart.
“Let me go,” she pleaded. Derek needed her.
Howard grabbed her upper arm and dug those manicured nails deep into her soft skin. “We need to get acquainted, you and I.”
Reality dawned on her. She saw the smug recognition on his face.
“You know who I am,” she said.
“Of course. I know everything about a mark before I go after it.”
That was what her mother was to him. A victim. “My mother.”
“Yes. The perfect score. Rich, attractive and disconnected from her family or anyone who should really care about her. I hadn’t counted on her mental instability. The woman was frighteningly crazy.”
“Go to hell!” Annie made sure to spit in his face.
His composure slipped, and he snarled like the animal he was. As soon as it appeared, it left. Almost instantly a calm washed over him again. It was as if he trained his mind and body to act with complete control, and could switch his mood without thought.
Within seconds his rage turned into disdain. Howard wiped his face with his jacket lapel. “So vile and under-class, my dear. Your mother raised you better than that. The finest schools. The best activities.”
“Shut up!”
Not from him. She wouldn’t take this from him. He didn’t have the right to talk about her or her upbringing. Every word he said cheapened her life. Every sentence made a bigger mockery out of what her mother’s life had become.
“All those opportunities spread before you, open to you if you would only have taken advantage of them. And, what did you do instead? Waste them.” He shook his head. “It’s a crime, really.”
“You’re a condescending prick.” She edged back toward the counter, trying to remember where Kane kept the knives.
Howard pursed his lips as if he tasted something rotten. “Language. All this time with these police officers has ruined you.”
“Where’s Derek?”
“We were discussing your mother and what a disappointment you were to her.”
How could her mother ever be taken in by such a creep? How could any woman? “Don’t talk about my mother. Don’t talk about me. Don’t talk about Kane. Do you hear me?”
“You’re shouting. I have a gun, and you’re shouting.” Howard made a tsk-tsking sound. “That is not your smartest move, my dear.”
“I’m not your dear.”
“No, but you could have been my stepdaughter. Think about that. The family outings, afternoons listening to the orchestra together. Yachting. You could have benefited from some respectable fatherly attention.”
“You killed my mother, you sick bastard.”
He pressed the hand with the gun against his chest. “Such concern from the prodigal daughter.”
“She’s my mother.”
“You never cared enough to actually call her or visit. Really, Ms. Parks, who is the bad guy here?”
“I didn’t cheat her or steal from her. I never used her.”
“Worse, you pretended she didn’t exist. And, last I checked, your mother was very much alive.”
Breathing, but not alive. Her mother existed, ate and stared. That was all she had left. “You ruined her.”
The gun aimed right at Annie’s heart again. “Interesting that you pretend to care. You who abandoned her and left her alone with her pills. See, Annie, I did her a favor. I showered her with attention and then removed the one thing that caused her pain. Do you know what that was?”
Annie refused to respond. Not when she needed all of her focus and wits to get out of this situation alive. Howard had likely killed everyone on his yacht excursion but her. He probably had something to do with Jed’s disappearance, too.
The vile man needed to die.
Keeping her body as still as possible, she felt around the counter behind her. Her hands shook as they skimmed the cool surface.
“No guesses, Annie? It was the money. See, without the money, your mother had no resources to buy the drugs. The money ruined her, so I removed that temptation as a way of forcing her to become a productive member of society.”
The rage exploded behind her eyes nearly blinding her. “She went insane.”
“Your mother’s insanity predated me. I couldn’t have known how unstable she’d become or that she’d take that option.” He shrugged. “Live and learn.”
She tried to stall for more time. “Where’s Derek?”
“In the trunk of my car.”
She accused Kane of lacking emotion. Wrong. It flowed from him like a river compared to Howard.
“Is he alive?” Her hand brushed across the counter-top.
“I hit him with a stun gun and threw him in the car. The headphones helped. He never heard me coming.”
With unexpected speed, Howard reached out and pulled her away from the counter. She looked down and saw just how close she’d come to the can opener. One shot to the side of his head, and Howard would be on the floor next to Dietz.
Dietz, who wasn’t moving.
Derek, who was in Howard’s car.
The scenario played out like a nightmare.
“Why are you here?” Bile formed in her stomach. She tried not to dwell on the fear. To deal with Howard, she had to stay in control. She needed to know his plan to see if she could stop it.
“That’s an interesting story.” His smile was feral and contemplative at the same time. “See, according to my information, Kane isn’t known for engaging in anything serious with the ladies. My plan was to pick up the boy, blackmail Kane into leaving me alone, and then move on.”
“Kane wouldn’t—”
“The moving-on part is your fault. You’ll pay for that eventually. Until then, you will be my insurance.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Maybe the good police chief used to shun women, but he’s taken quite a liking to you. Which, of course, is unfortunate for you.”
One more loss Kane would have to accept. “We don’t even know each other.”
“I hope that’s not true since you’re sleeping with the man. I’d hate to think you turned into a whore on top of everything else.”
“How do you know that?”
“I make it my business to know everything. I’m in the business of information.”
The truth dawned on her. Kane’s missing link and her target were the same person. “You were Sam Watson’s dealer.”
“Alas, no. If I were, the child would be alive and the business would be running.” Howard glanced at his fingernails, as if to make sure the murder hadn’t messed up his cuticles. “No, not me. I know who, but that’s a story for another time. To the extent you have more time, that is.”
“You’ll never get away with this.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He grabbed a piece of plastic out of his jacket pocket. “Hands in front of you.”
“Why?”
He didn’t wait for her to comply
. After grabbing her hands, he wrapped the tie around her wrists and yanked. “We’re going to take a little trip.”
“Why don’t you just leave? Take the car and whatever money you haven’t spent and go.”
“I no longer leave loose ends.” He touched the tip of his gun against her nose. “That’s a lesson I learned from you, my dear. Now I can never assume the dysfunctional relatives won’t show up because they always do.”
Numbness settled in her hands. “You’re going to get caught.”
“I never have before.”
“Kane will find me. He will kill you if you hurt Derek.” She knew Kane would track her and do everything he could to hunt down Derek. It made her sick to think about Kane berating himself over the danger Derek was now in.
“That’s the point, my dear.” Howard grabbed her under the arm again. “Kane is the man I need.”
“Why?”
He ignored her question. “It’s a shame you no longer have your camera. Beautiful instrument. An unexpected and unfortunate victim of your charade. When you walked into that meeting room on my yacht and I realized who you were…” He shook his head. “Not very smart, Ms. Parks. You lost the element of surprise.”
Things, she could replace. She couldn’t remake Dietz or Derek. “You knew who I was from the beginning.”
“As soon as I saw you.”
“How?”
“Your mother had your photo next to her bed.”
That information stunned Annie as much as everything else that had happened in the last few minutes. She never saw a photo. Never had any indication that her mother even cared enough to keep one.
“I figured you and Manning were working together. That you were working on the same exposé as he was. That meant you both needed to disappear. You were supposed to go first, but that didn’t work out. Your mother failed to inform me about your swimming skills.”
She’d caused Manning’s death. She’d dragged him into this mess. Now he was dead. The guilt stacked up on her. “So you killed him.”
“No.”
“Why lie now?”
“Oh, I killed him. Just not for the reason you think.” He guided her around Dietz. “That’s right. Step over the dead officer.”
“You’re sick.”
“Resourceful.”
Sick. The word was sick. “Where are we going?”
“Have you ever been to Waimea Canyon? It’s a lovely site. I hope you aren’t afraid of heights.”
Chapter 26
When his home answering machine rather than a human picked up at his house for the third time, Kane knew something had happened. Something bad and final.
He closed his cell phone with a snap. Tried to think over the pounding inside his skull. Less than ten minutes after they left the house, a sense of wrongness settled over him. He fought the feeling for a few miles, then gave in and called home. And called. And called.
The only voice he heard was his own on the machine. No one picked up. No one called back.
He tried again with the same results. The fourth time confirmed what he knew the first. Derek and Annie were in trouble.
“Still nothing?” Josh took his eyes off the road for a split second.
“No one is answering.” So stupid. Kane had watched Annie every second. By stepping away he’d left her vulnerable.
Josh turned off the radio. “Maybe—”
“Turn around.”
“What about the lead Roy called you about?”
Kane unloaded his rage. He whipped the cell phone in front of him. It hit the dashboard and split apart.
“Feel better?” Josh asked.
“Turn the damn car around and get back to my house.”
“Right.”
Kane wiped a hand over his face. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
Josh tapped his fingers on the wheel. “There could be a reasonable explanation. They could be at the beach or—”
“They’re not at the beach.”
“How do you know?”
“I do.” Kane knew because he always knew. Before the police called from the accident scene in Oahu, he knew. Leilani had kept pushing. Acting as if she could beat the odds and outlive everyone. He’d tried to get her into a program. Even scared the hell out of her by dragging her through the rehabilitation hospital and the morgue to show her what could happen.
And then it did. Leilani died before her twenty-sixth birthday. Married for two years. Widowed for almost five.
Josh grabbed his cell phone. “Here. Call the station. Ask for backup.”
“You believe me now?”
“I believed you the first time. I just hoped you were wrong.”
When the car roared into Kane’s driveway ten minutes later, having broken every traffic law in the state, no one sat on the porch or beach. The front door, usually open to let in the ocean breeze, stood shut.
Kane’s anxiety morphed into fear. Someone had taken them. He knew it down to his soul. He didn’t let Josh stop the car before he jumped out the door.
“Damn it, Kane. Wait!”
Kane was already moving. He slammed the door and ran up to the porch.
Josh grabbed Kane’s shirt from behind just as he reached the top step. “Stop it. You’re acting like a madman.”
Kane tried to shake Josh off. “We don’t have time to waste.”
“What if they’re in there and fine?”
“They’re not.” A breath hissed out of Kane.
He couldn’t regulate his lungs or his mind. Everything ran in circles in his head. His usual calm abandoned him. He didn’t have any control and didn’t care.
“Protocol.” Josh slapped him on the back. “Get it together. For them.”
The final phrase sank in. Embarrassed and shocked by his lack of restraint, Kane could only nod.
Josh took over, leading them up to the door and, after a quick check in the windows, inside. Crouching and covering, they moved through the family room, opening the closet door and checking for hiding places.
The crash of glass sounded in the kitchen. They both ran, weapons ready. When they hit the doorway, they saw Dietz. With blood running down his back, Dietz tried to drag his body up to the kitchen table. Shattered glass and something white and sticky covered the floor.
As they reached Dietz, the chair toppled over, throwing the man back to the tile. He yelled in pain as the chair fell against his head.
“What the hell happened?” Kane shoved the furniture out of the way.
“Damn it.” Josh helped Dietz turn over on his side and propped up the older man to ease his choking coughing. “Take it easy.”
Kane grabbed some clean towels and pressed them against the man’s back. “Can you talk?”
“Annie…” Dietz choked out her name.
“Where is she? And Derek?”
“Took them…”
Josh balanced Dietz with one arm and grabbed for his cell phone with the other. Josh remained calm as he called for help. “Officer down. I repeat, officer down.”
Kane worked to stop the bleeding. His stomach twisted and turned. Someone had Derek and Annie.
“Couldn’t stop him…” Dietz’s weak voice grew even weaker.
“Who? Bill, tell me who has them.”
With a last burst of energy, Dietz grabbed the front of Kane’s shirt in his fist and tried to sit up. “Have to—”
“Bill, no. Stay still.” Kane’s anxiety increased. Dietz wasn’t going to make it if they didn’t get him help. Soon. “Where the hell is the ambulance?”
“They’re on the way.” Josh helped to wrestle Dietz back down to the floor and stem the flow of blood.
The older man wouldn’t be deterred. He kept trying to talk. To get their attention. With a pain-filled groan, he fought them until he drew Kane’s face down. “Ho…Howard.”
Something inside Kane crashed. A heavy darkness fell across him from the inside
out. “Sterling Howard? He has them?”
“Yes.”
“Are they okay?”
“For…now…” Dietz spit out the words, then slid to the floor.
Kane didn’t bother to hide his terror when he faced Josh. “Where are they? Where could he have taken them?”
Sirens sounded in the distance. The whirring and bells swelled, getting closer and louder, until they screamed right outside the front door.
“I’ll go,” Josh said.
Kane could hear shouts and a murmur of voices. The front door banged, and something rolled across the floor. A few seconds later medics trampled through the house. Men he’d known for years flooded into his kitchen.
With a minimum of words, they loaded Dietz onto a stretcher. They ran around, pumping plasma, medicine and fluids into him. Everyone had a job to do but Kane. He wasn’t sure where to start. Still unconscious, Dietz lay there unmoving. Kane couldn’t help.
Too late. The two words spun around in his brain.
“Hey.” Roy fought his way through the crowd to get to his chief. “What happened?”
“Didn’t you get the bulletin?” Worry made Josh’s voice more gruff than usual.
“I meant the details.”
“Sterling Howard tried to kill Dietz. Took Derek and Annie.” It physically hurt to say the words. Kane rubbed his chest to try to ease the pain.
“Why?”
“Revenge. He’s a nut.” Josh threw up his hands. “Who the hell cares, Wallace?”
“We don’t know where he has them.” Kane spoke the words that circled in his mind.
“What about the lead? The ranger cabin in Waimea Canyon?” Roy lifted a computer printout from his pocket. “This is what I called you about. Here.”
Kane grabbed the paper out of the younger man’s hand, and Josh read it over his shoulder. A map. They studied the directions and location.
“I know this place. I’ve hiked around there a million times.” The memory of his conversation with Annie came back to Kane. They had talked about the area, its beauty, so recently.
“I can take Kane. Josh can—”
“No. Call Ted. Secure the scene until Ted can get here and work out a strategy and backup. Josh will come with me.” Kane was already moving for the door with Josh right behind him. “If there’s any news, call Josh’s cell.”
Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy Page 20