Power Play

by Warren, Nancy

  “Yeah?”

  “Right before they were ready to arrest him, both Buddy and the nurse disappeared. The Feds figured they were on the run together and had made up their tiff.”

  The truck’s tires squealed as he took a sharp corner. The last part made his hands tighten on the wheel and his foot push down harder. “They found the nurse last night. When they emptied the Dumpster behind her apartment.”

  “He killed his girlfriend? Shit.”

  “Yeah.” Most white collar criminals were greedy but not violent. Buddy was now in a much more dangerous category.

  Sadhu frowned. “Wait a minute, this guy steals millions. He murders a woman, goes on the lam and then comes to a family wedding? Makes no sense.”

  “It makes perfect sense. He’s smart enough to know every border, airport, train and road will be watched. Cops all over the country have his picture. He uses a credit card or tries to rent a car and we’ve got him. So he comes to a third cousin’s wedding, stays with relatives, eats his food at potlucks. Who’s going to look for a dangerous fugitive at the Masonic Hall in Elk Crossing?”

  “But the wedding’s tonight. Then where’s he going?”

  “That’s what’s got me worried.” They hit a pothole and the truck skewed to the right, skidding. He brought it back. “He’s close to the Canadian border, but he’s still got to get across it.”

  “How—”

  “Shit!” He banged his fist against the wheel as the obvious answer hit him. “The message.”

  “What message?”

  “Emily picked up Buddy’s phone the night of the stagette thinking it was hers. Saw a message that said, ‘Pickup, Saturday, midnight.’”

  “Then we’re in plenty of time.” Sadhu glanced at the clock on the dash. “It’s only nine-twenty.”

  “Who knows where this pickup is? I can’t stand thinking of Emily in the same room with that monster.”

  “Or Kirsten,” Sadhu said quietly.

  They barreled through a red light, causing a blue Ford Taurus to screech its brakes and lay on the horn.

  Sadhu said, “You got your wedding clothes with you? ’Cause you’re going to blend in more easily if you change out of your hockey uniform.”

  “Clothes are at the hotel. No time.”

  “You have a plan?”

  “Get that son of a bitch out of there and turn him over to the Feds.”

  “You think you should call the local cops in?”

  “Don’t want to spook the guy. We know he’s capable of murder. Once I’ve got him away from the crowd, then I’ll call the local cops.”

  He overtook and passed a car full of teenagers; they honked as he passed and tried to keep up, but fell behind after a block. The Masonic Hall came into view and reluctantly Jonah slowed the truck.

  “How’d he kill her? The nurse?”

  “Bullet in the back of the head.”

  Jonah saw Sadhu’s hands clench. Knew the feeling. “You got a gun with you?”

  “Never carry a weapon when I’m not on duty.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to go in with you?”

  “No. He’s expecting me to be there. Two of us show up? Might freak him out.”

  “Watch yourself.”

  “Yeah.” He parked then slid out of the truck, aches and pains gone as the adrenaline carried him forward to do his job. To protect his woman. Before slamming the truck door he leaned in to Sadhu. “You’re clear?”

  “Yeah. Keep the rest of the team out here, call the cops once you’ve got Cousin Buddy outside and away from the crowd.”

  He nodded. “If I’m not outside in five minutes, call the cops anyway.”

  “You got it.”

  A nod and he headed toward the entrance. He heard dance music as he got closer, a good sign. And when he opened the door, the scene was as placid as an old folks’ home on a Sunday afternoon. A few couples dancing, some groups settled around tables, talking. He scanned the entire room in one thorough sweep.

  Two huge orange dresses—one belonged to a blonde who was a lot shorter than Emily. He spied the second on the dance floor. The woman was a brunette, with her back to him, and she was dancing with Third Cousin Buddy.

  He felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as he strode forward, nothing clear in his mind but the need to get that animal off her. Now.

  Buddy saw him and stopped dead, his eyes widening, panic and the sure knowledge that he’d been found out flashed on his face like a series of neon signs.

  All Jonah cared about was Emily. Separate her from the murdering orthodontist, then he’d deal with Buddy. As he drew closer he forced a smile to his fury-stiff lips. “Emily, I came as soon as I could get away. Didn’t even stop to change clothes.”

  He was four feet from Cousin Buddy, three feet. Buddy shoved his dance partner at Jonah and then turned and sprinted for a door.

  The woman turned, gasping. “What the hell?”

  The world went cold and still for a second. She wasn’t Emily. He grabbed her arm. “Where’s Emily?”

  “Ow.” She pulled her arm away. “How should I know?”

  He glanced around, shouted, “Where’s Emily?”

  Emily’s mother rose, acting like a society hostess with a difficult guest. “Hello, Jonah. So nice you could make it. And in your hockey uniform.”

  “Where is she?” His urgency must have got through.

  “In the kitchen, dear. She won’t be long.” She gestured to the door Cousin Buddy had disappeared behind.

  Jonah sprinted after him, his need to get Emily safe the force that drove him forward. He’d break Buddy’s neck with his bare hands if he touched her and the thieving, lying, murdering dentist better know it.

  He bashed through the door before it had finished swinging.

  19

  “A HUNDRED AND THREE, and another dozen makes…um…a hundred-fifteen.” And next time she was definitely going to say no to picking up the rental dishes which, like so many seemingly simple tasks, was a lot more complicated. Here she was checking that all the dishes were accounted for against the rental agreement. Since she’d signed for the dishes yesterday when she picked them up and she was pretty sure she’d be returning them tomorrow, she was determined to keep track.

  “Emily, I need your help,” Cousin Buddy said, coming in behind her in a big rush.

  “Get in line.”

  “Come on.” He grabbed her arm. “I’m too drunk to drive and I promised Derek I’d pick something up for him.”

  He was breathing heavily as if he’d been running, and he pulled her arm so hard she dropped the clipboard.

  “Ask somebody else. I’ve got to—”

  The door banged open a second time and then everything happened so fast she couldn’t keep track. Jonah was standing there looking a little like a superhero in his padded red uniform. He’d obviously rushed all the way over here without bothering to change, but he didn’t seem happy to see her. In fact, he wasn’t looking at her but at Buddy, who was behind her, outside her line of vision, still gripping her arm.

  “Buddy, I’d like to talk to you outside.”

  “I don’t think so,” her cousin said with a chilling lack of intonation that for some reason made her flesh creep. She turned her head to look at him and as she did so she noticed he had one of the carving knives from the baron of beef that had been served at the wedding dinner. He held it as though he were about to carve a roast, or perform surgery on one of his patients.

  She made an instinctive move away from him, toward Jonah, but before she’d taken a step Cousin Buddy tightened his grip and toppled her hard against him and held the knife to her throat.

  It was like something out of a bad movie, not the kind of thing that happens to a person at their cousin’s wedding. She wanted to believe this unpleasant charade was some kind of bad practical joke, but Jonah was pale and rigid with control, every inch the cop. And she could smell Buddy’s sweat, and something else, a smell she thought was fea
r.

  “What’s going on?” she managed to say, even though her throat was dry and the knife was pressing her neck in a way that cut across her jugular. She could feel her pulse bumping against the cool, slightly greasy steel. Of course, an orthodontist must have studied basic anatomy. He hadn’t found her jugular by accident.

  What was going on she had no idea, but it was obvious she had to find a way out of the mess, preferably before any of her blood was spilled.

  “Emily? Jonah? Is everything all right?” her mother called through the door.

  “Keep her out,” Buddy said, pressing the knife so she had to press her lips together to keep from crying out.

  A sharp wave of protectiveness for her mother swamped her. Whatever happened, she couldn’t let her mother see this. “Everything’s fine, Mom,” she called out, amazed at how normal she sounded.

  Her mom giggled. “I think they’re making out. He sure was in a hurry to see her.”

  “Throw me your keys,” Buddy snapped at Jonah.

  And she realized the truck keys were still hanging in his hand.

  “Throw them to my left, over her head. And don’t do anything stupid that would get Emily hurt.”

  “Look,” Jonah said, “I’ll drive you wherever you want. Let Emily go.”

  “I’m not taking your truck. Or you. Throw me the keys.”

  He tossed them and Buddy caught them neatly. “Now. My cousin and I are going for a little drive. If you follow, I’ll kill her. If you don’t, I’ll let her go. As simple as that.”

  And he began to pull her toward the kitchen door that led to the back parking lot.

  Jonah didn’t move. But he didn’t stay quiet, either. “You think I’m the only cop who knows where you are? You’ll be picked up before you’ve gone a block. Drop the knife, let Emily go and I’ll help you make a deal.”

  “Nobody’s going to follow me or she dies. That’s the deal we’re making.” Buddy opened the kitchen door and stepped out, pulling her with him.

  Out of her peripheral vision she saw the flash of a familiar red uniform and hope flared, but Buddy only pulled her closer to his body. “Don’t even think about it,” he snarled.

  As he pulled her backward, her high heels and the damn fool dress making her stumble over the cracked pavement, she saw Sadhu, looking more grim than she’d believed possible. And standing with him, the entire team of Portland Paters as well as a few guys in a green uniform she didn’t recognize.

  Jonah emerged from the kitchen door after them, but then stood, a statue of anguished fury.

  Their gazes connected and all doubts she’d harbored that a person could fall in love in a few days were gone. Who ever knew how many days they had in a given life? That she should have wasted a second of her time with Jonah made her crazy angry. She hadn’t even known she loved him until today, so she hadn’t had a chance to tell him.

  She told him now, though, with her eyes. Opened herself up and let him see everything in her heart.

  Damn it, she wasn’t ready to die. Or to let Buddy maul her in this humiliating way.

  Buddy pulled her to an older-model car, a big boat of a thing that had to be thirty years old. If there was a chance, it would be now. He’d have to let her go to open the car door. If she could pull away, just a foot or two, she knew that would give Jonah all the opening he needed.

  She heard a jingle of keys. Braced herself.

  Get ready to run, Jonah’s eyes telegraphed to her. His body was coiled energy, waiting, ready.

  I’m ready, she let him know. All Buddy had to do was lessen the pressure and she’d duck and roll. She might end up hurt, but he couldn’t do anything serious before an entire hockey team of seriously pissed off guys was on him.

  “Open the door,” he said, holding the knife steady against the most vulnerable part of her throat. He hadn’t locked the car. And she knew that he wasn’t going to give her the chance she needed.

  She fumbled, and he pressed the knife harder. She opened the passenger-side door.

  He pushed her in and stayed right with her, pushing her hip along the bench seat until she was behind the wheel. “You drive.”

  She heard a click and pop and then the knife’s pressure lessened. She turned her head and found that her danger hadn’t decreased at all. He’d popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a mean-looking handgun.

  Once she’d driven them out of the parking lot, he directed her. “Turn left, then right at the intersection.”

  “You’re not going to kill me.” She tried to infuse her tone with absolute certainty. “We’re cousins. Family doesn’t kill family.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Emily, but I will do whatever I have to do to get out of here.”

  Her head was starting to ache. “I don’t understand.”

  “Let me make it very simple for you. I’ve got more money than you’ve ever dreamed of in a few accounts in parts of the world where they aren’t too fussy about where your money came from so long as you’ve got lots of it. It’s time for me to go join up with my cash and spend the rest of my life trying to spend it.” His smugness was appalling.

  “But what about your practice?”

  “I’m taking early retirement.” He chuckled, a truly unpleasant sound. “Freedom forty. I like the sound of that.”

  “How are you going to get there?”

  He skewed his head to look behind them, something he’d been doing a lot of. “Drive faster.”

  “I’m too nervous. I’ll crash.” He must see that she wasn’t bluffing. She could barely keep the unfamiliar car on the road as it was. It was a big boat of a thing that must be thirty years old with oversensitive power steering and poorly aligned wheels. “And this car’s a piece of junk. If you’re so rich, can’t you afford something better?”

  He rose to the bait as she’d suspected he would. If there was one thing she knew about Buddy it was that he loved his luxury goods and flaunted his large income in every way possible. “I bought it for cash because it’s inconspicuous. I’ll dump it when I leave. Don’t you worry. From now on I’ll be in chauffeured limos.”

  He sent her a crafty glance. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ve got plenty of money for two. I’m a way better catch than that cop you’re so hot for. His net worth is probably in his hockey equipment.”

  What turnip truck did he think she’d fallen off? He was as likely to take her to his banking paradise as Jonah was to sit in that parking lot and wait for the phone call saying he could come pick her up.

  “HE HAS A GUN,” SADHU said grimly.

  “I saw it.”

  As the old Cutlass pulled out of the lot, a grimfaced Emily at the wheel, Jonah had never felt so helpless or so frightened. He didn’t like either feeling. He was a man of action and he knew that his personal feelings for Emily were getting in the way of logical thought, paralyzing him. He had to get his personal fear for her safety out of the way or he’d jeopardize his ability to save her.

  There were a few seconds of tense silence. “We have to go after them,” Kevin Lus suddenly said as though he couldn’t stay quiet.

  “He said he’d kill her if we followed,” Jonah said.

  The kitchen door opened once more and Kirsten ran out, looking puzzled. “What are you all doing out here?”

  Sadhu crossed the gravel in two strides and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her so hard she squeaked in protest and pulled back slightly, obviously sensing the trouble in his face. “What’s happened? What is it?”

  She glanced around, and saw Jonah. “Where’s Emily?”

  A look passed between Sadhu and Jonah. He walked over. “I don’t have time to explain the details but Buddy’s got Emily. He’s kidnapped her.”

  “What?”

  “He’s a criminal, Kirsten. He’s holding a gun on her.”

  The soft brown eyes opened wide. “Why?”

  “He needs to escape. My best guess is he’s trying to get to Canada.”

  “It would
take about three hours to drive to the closest border crossing. They’d take State Highway 1, but I don’t think the crossing’s open again until morning.”

  Jonah shook his head. “He can’t risk a border crossing. He needs to sneak into Canada. He got a text message Thursday confirming pickup at midnight Saturday. Who’s picking him up and how? I’m guessing a small plane. Where’s the airport from here?”

  “The airport’s forty minutes away, but even a private plane has to log its flight plan.”

  “How about a private airport?”

  She shook her head. Her forehead was creased with worry. “I don’t know. Derek’s uncle Tim is at the wedding. He comes into our restaurant and I’ve talked to him a few times. He’s taken some hunting trips to Canada. He might know.”

  “We’ve got to bring in the cops. Maybe the Feds?” Sadhu said. “They’ve got the resources and equipment.”

  “But they’ll put the emphasis on catching Buddy. My priority is Emily.”

  “Agreed.”

  One thing he was certain of was that he couldn’t sit here doing nothing. “Kirsten, you said Derek’s uncle is a hunter?”

  She nodded.

  “Where does he keep his guns?”

  “At home, I think. Locked up.”

  “Close to here?”

  “I don’t know where he lives.”

  “Okay. Go get him. Bring him out quietly. But hurry.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve got two hours until midnight.”

  He didn’t say what he was thinking. He had two hours to get Emily back alive.

  20

  DEREK’S UNCLE TIM, WAS A burly, grizzled millwright in his early sixties. He didn’t waste any time but as soon as he’d grasped the situation took them straight to his house, which was less than five minutes’ drive. He pulled out his three hunting rifles, binoculars and a comprehensive map of the northern part of the state.

  “He won’t use public airstrips. But there are private strips here—” he jabbed a work-gnarled finger at the map “—here and here.”

  He studied the map another minute. “A helicopter could land in a field just about anywhere, and then there are the floatplanes.”