by Mary Maxwell
“Hang on there, Katie,” he said. “I need to give Dina a head’s up. She should be the one to confront Rex and get his statement.”
“Absolutely,” I said. “I was going to call her next. I wanted to give you the update first.”
He laughed again. “You’re the best, Katie.”
“That’s what people are saying,” I joked.
“Which people?”
“I’ll tell you later.” I got up from the chair and grabbed my purse. “Let me call Dina so we can both get over to hear what Rex has to say for himself.”
“Probably just another fresh pile of malarkey,” Trent said. “I’ll look forward to hearing all about it later.”
CHAPTER 40
Stepping from the elevator at the hospital a half hour later, I was instantly surrounded by a hodgepodge of hushed conversations, uniformed police officers and frantic staff members rushing from one room to the next.
As I made my way through the congestion, I saw the nurse that I’d talked with in Rex’s room the night before. She was coming toward me, a crumpled hospital gown in one hand and a sheaf of papers in the other.
“If you’re looking for Mr. Greer,” she said, “you’re too late. He’s gone.”
“The doctor released him?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not exactly. After his visitor left, Mr. Greer attacked Dr. Lansing in his room. Then he stole his car keys and tied him up with tubing from the IV.”
I let the inexplicable news filter through my mind before asking how badly the doctor had been injured.
“He’ll be okay,” she said. “He’s in Mr. Greer’s room with Detective Kincaid.”
I looked down the corridor. Two CCPD officers stood outside Rex’s room.
“Do you know who came to see him?”
“I didn’t get her name,” the woman answered. “I guess one of the other nurses on the floor noticed her with Mr. Greer, but didn’t think anything about it. They were talking quietly, so it seemed like maybe she was a friend or family member.”
I asked her to describe the visitor. Based on the first few words of her reply—bright pink long-sleeved pullover, polka dot calf-length tights and sapphire running shoes—I was confident that I knew who had come to see Rex Greer.
“Any idea what they talked about?” I asked.
“No, sorry,” the woman said. “By the time I got back from my break, the whole place was in chaos.”
I nodded. “And what about the officer who’d been stationed outside Rex’s room?”
She shrugged. “I think he went to check on the reason we were on lockdown,” she said. “Someone called in a bomb threat right before Dr. Lansing went to see Mr. Greer. I think maybe the man guarding the room left to check on that.”
When she glanced at her watch, I figured she probably needed to get back to work. I thanked her again for the information, hurried down the hallway to Rex’s room and looked inside. I saw Dina Kincaid standing beside a man in a chair. He was pressing an ice bag to the back of his head, talking in a low, somber tone.
“…was the last thing, literally the last thing, that I expected,” he was saying. “And I—”
He stopped as I knocked gently on the door.
“Katie?” Dina’s voice sounded weary and sluggish. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk with…” I focused on the empty bed. “Where’s Rex?”
The man in the chair grunted. “That’s the ten million dollar question.”
“What happened?” I asked, even though I was already beginning to fill in the blanks. “Did he go for a little stroll?”
Dina frowned. “No jokes, okay?” she said firmly. “Dr. Lansing was assaulted by Rex Greer about twenty minutes ago. He knocked him out with one punch and stole his hospital badge and car keys.”
I glanced at the doctor. “How are you doing, doctor?”
He lifted a hand and tilted it from side to side. “I’ve been better,” he said with a tepid grin. “I’ve been worse.”
“Well, I’m sorry about what you went through,” I said. “And I’m glad that your sense of humor is still intact.”
He shrugged. “You know what they say.”
“Laughter is the best medicine?”
“They say that, too,” the doctor replied. “But I was thinking about another one that goes—”
A member of the hospital’s security team suddenly rushed into the room.
“Sorry for the interruption, Dr. Lansing,” he said. “But we’ve confirmed that your car is gone.”
The security guard showed no emotion as the doctor jumped from the chair.
“What about my family?” he asked. “If that madman took the car, he could find my home address on the registration.”
“The police are on the way,” the guard said. “They’ll be at your residence in less than five minutes.”
My eyes rotated to Dina. She was already looking at me. We exchanged a nod and I turned toward Dr. Lansing.
“What do you drive?”
He blinked. “What kind of car?”
“Yes.”
“I’m driving my wife’s car today,” he said. “It’s a white Buick Regal.”
I glanced at Dina again and started for the hallway.
“I’m going to check it out,” I called over my shoulder. “I’ll be back in touch with you soon.”
“Be careful, Katie,” she said. “And keep yourself out of the way as much as possible.”
CHAPTER 41
When I turned onto Edgewood Road fifteen minutes later, the tree-lined lane was as placid and calm as it had been during my first visit. As I sped past the spick and span bungalows with their neatly manicured lawns, I saw two vehicles in the driveway at Bitsy Curlew’s house: a white Buick Regal and a dark brown Ford F-150 pickup with New Jersey plates. They both appeared to be empty, although the driver’s door on the sedan was open and the radio was blaring.
I parked at the curb, stepped from my car and paused to look around the immediate area. The only thing disturbing the sun-splashed silence was the incessant ping, ping, ping chime announcing that the keys were still in the Buick’s ignition.
Before proceeding up the driveway, I sent a quick text to Dina: Lansing’s car at Bitsy Curlew’s. No sign of Rex.
I slipped the phone into my pocket and walked between the two vehicles. A quick glance into the pickup confirmed my hunch; a Starbucks cup labeled THEO was on the floor near the passenger door. As I turned to peer into the front seat, I heard someone calling my name. When I swiveled around, Polly Ladd was halfway across her front lawn.
“Something’s wrong,” she shouted, gasping for air.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” she said, reaching the edge of the driveway. “But I just called 911. I was coming home from the store when I heard squealing tires and saw that car race up the street and pull in beside the truck.”
“Did you see both drivers?”
She shook her head. “Only the one in the white car; a young man, maybe early twenties. He was dressed in green scrubs, like doctors wear. And no shoes. He was cursing up a storm and seemed very upset. I watched him stomp up to the door and then I heard this huge boom when he kicked it open with his foot.” Her eyes expanded in disbelief. “His bare foot!”
“What happened after that?”
She stopped to catch her breath. “Well, about five minutes later, I saw him forcing Bitsy across the street.”
“What do you mean ‘forcing’ her?” I asked. “Did he have a weapon?”
“It looked like a stun gun,” she said. “It was yellow, so I knew it wasn’t a real pistol.
He had it pressed against Bitsy’s back while he gripped one of her arms tightly with his other hand.”
I turned to look up and down the street. There was no indication that anything unusual had transpired.
“Did you see where they went?” I asked.
Polly’s head bobbed. “Right over t
o Mildred’s.”
My phone vibrated, but I kept the focus on Polly. I asked her to repeat everything that she’d just shared with me. As she went over the events again, beginning with her return to Edgewood Road and the frightening sight of Rex Greer pressing a Taser into Bitsy Curlew’s back, my mind plunged down parallel tracks. I was listening to Polly’s account, but also speculating about the likelihood that the brown pickup belonged to Theo. And, if that was the case, why didn’t Polly see both of them guiding Bitsy away from her house?
When Polly finished her description, I suggested that she go home and stay inside.
“What’s going on?” she said anxiously. “Do you think he’s going to hurt someone?”
“I don’t know, but he’s definitely in a highly agitated state.”
“About what?” Polly’s eyes were wide with fear and her hands were trembling.
“It’s a long—”
A muffled sound across the street interrupted my reply.
“What was that?” Polly whispered.
Before I could answer, another subdued pop, pop, pop came from the far side of the street.
“Get down!” I shouted, one hand on Polly’s shoulder. “And stay down!”
“What is it?” Polly instantly crouched between the Buick and the garage door. “What was that sound?”
“Gunshots,” I said firmly. “Now, stay right where you are and don’t move!”
CHAPTER 42
Once Polly Ladd was out of harm’s way, I started across the street. I was fairly certain that the gunshots had come from Mildred Nelson’s house, and I wanted to sweep the area once before the patrol car arrived in response to Polly’s call to 911.
When I was halfway up Mildred’s driveway, I heard another volley of gunshots inside the bungalow. My heart began pounding even more violently and my breath lodged in my throat.
I glanced left, then right, deciding that the best bet was diving for cover behind a low stone wall that encircled a birch tree in the front yard. I took two lurching steps, threw myself forward and slammed into the ground with enough force to knock the air from my lungs. A sudden, sharp pain exploded in my left side as I scrambled on my hands and knees before rolling and tucking myself behind the wall.
While I concentrated on catching my breath, I dug in my purse for my phone. Before I could get it out and dial 911, I heard sirens in the distance.
Perfect, I thought. Just hold your position and—
Another torrent of shots erupted inside the house.
I pressed against the wall, listening to the propulsive thuds echo in my ears.
“Kate?”
It was Polly Ladd, calling from across the street.
“Are you okay?”
I glanced quickly in her direction to make sure she was still behind the car.
“Stay down!” I shouted.
It seemed like time had shifted into an otherworldly realm; each second crawled by, each minute vanished without assurance that another would follow. As I pressed against the cold, damp stones, the sirens in the distance began to sound strange and distorted, like a child’s toy instead of the real thing.
“Hurry up, guys,” I whispered. “The situation isn’t getting any better over here.”
As I tried to estimate how close the cars might be, I suddenly heard another sound: Mildred Nelson’s garage door chugging into motion. It moved upward and curled along the ceiling, eventually thudding into place with a metallic groan and a final shudder until the entrance to the two-car space was uncovered.
I crept along the ground to peer around the edge of the stone wall. If the gunshots didn’t start up again, I would do my best to get a glimpse into the garage.
“Okay,” I said quietly. “One. Two. Three.”
I rolled onto my side, strained my neck and looked around the craggy limestone barricade.
The first thing that I saw was Theo Greer. I recognized him from the flyer that Rex had brandished at Sky High Pies. His face was turned toward the street, and he was flat on his back in an expanding pool of blood.
For a split second, I considered my options. I could stay put, waiting for the CCPD officers to arrive. Or I could race into the garage and see if Theo was still alive.
My heart was thudding in my chest, the strident, relentless response to the massive surge of adrenaline along with the inexplicable impulse to help someone in need.
I held my breath to listen for the sirens, but they still seemed impossibly far away. I quickly looked across the street at the Ford pickup and white sedan. I could see Polly Ladd, huddled behind the front of the car.
Stay right where you are, I thought. Don’t even try to—
Another burst of gunfire sounded inside Mildred’s house. The shots were followed by more ghostly silence, the muted echo of the muffled blasts and the sound of a door slamming open.
I took a deep breath, slid along the ground and peered around the stone wall again.
Rex Greer stumbled from the house into the garage, one hand pressed to his abdomen and the other hanging limply at his side in the bloody sleeve of his sweatshirt.
“Theo,” he said, sinking to his knees.
As I started to call Rex’s name, there was another series of explosive blasts inside the tidy bungalow. Rex instinctively looked over his shoulder, wincing in anticipation—or heartsick dread—that the person firing the weapon would soon appear in the open doorway between the house and the garage.
But the threshold remained empty.
And Rex went back to his brother, slowly and carefully reaching out toward the lifeless form sprawled on the cold concrete.
“Theo!” His voice was frayed and weak. “Say something, Theo!”
I waited and watched, one shallow breath after the next, until I heard the sirens moving up Edgewood Road. When I looked down the street and saw the flashing red and blue lights, I pushed up from my hiding space and raced along the driveway toward Rex and Theo.
“He’s hurt,” Rex said when he noticed me approaching. “Mildred did this.”
CHAPTER 43
I rushed toward the brothers, crouching beside Theo and pressing two fingers to the carotid artery in his neck.
“Don’t let him die,” Rex pleaded.
There was a faint pulse, fragile and retreating, as if he was gradually surrendering to the inevitable cleft between life and death.
“Where’s Mildred?” I said quietly.
Rex looked at me, eyelids rising and falling in the aftermath of whatever the Greer brothers had just endured inside the house.
“Rex?” I raised my voice slightly. “Where is Mildred?”
He swallowed hard, lifting his chin. “She…she shot him,” he said through barely parted lips. “Then me.”
“What room is she in?”
He reached with the uninjured arm and clamped his bloodstained hand around Theo’s wrist.
“Rex,” I said again. “The police will be here in a matter of seconds. Where is Mildred?”
His jaw clenched repeatedly as he took another long, slow breath. The growing volume of the sirens signaled that the CCPD cruisers were almost to the house. I saw Rex’s eyes lift and expand as the first car arrived.
“I didn’t call them,” he said, frowning at the seemingly confusing development.
I repeated my question, asking again where he last saw Mildred Nelson. I was still waiting for a reply when I heard the fast drumming steps of someone running toward the garage.
“Police!” a man shouted. “Hands up!”
I slowly looked toward the open garage door. It was Denny Santiago, a veteran member of the force. Amanda Crane, Denny’s longtime patrol partner, was a few feet behind and to one side. They both had their service weapons aimed squarely at where I knelt with Rex and Theo.
“Katie?” Denny’s voice was a tangle of confusion and relief. “What’re you doing here?”
“Check inside,” I said. “The house belongs to Mildred Nelson. I think Bethany Curlew is with
her.”
“What’s going on?” he asked, walking closer. “Who are these two?”
“Rex and Theo Greer,” I said.
Denny briefly conferred with Amanda. Another patrol car was approaching and they decided to wait until the other two officers had arrived before going inside.
“It’s been quiet for the past couple of minutes,” I said. “There was one final round of shots after Rex came out.”
“Do you know what this is all about?” Amanda said, stepping into the garage.
“Diamonds,” Rex said, keeping his eyes on the faint movement of Theo’s chest. “My brother was going to blackmail her into giving him half of the diamonds.”
Denny’s forehead crinkled. “Diamonds?” he said. “We haven’t heard about any robberies in the area.”
I noticed Rex’s mouth twitch, but he didn’t respond to Denny’s comment.
“It wasn’t around here,” I said. “And it wasn’t recent.”
The two-way radio in the patrol car crackled with the dispatcher’s voice.
“Is somebody going to help my brother?” Rex moaned, bending forward so that his head was pressed against Theo’s shoulder.
“Sir?”
I looked back and saw Mike Kramer, one of the newest officers with the CCPD. He was walking slowly toward Rex with one hand outstretched.
“Can I get you to come away from him?”
Rex didn’t move. He held his position as he mumbled repeatedly under his breath. Mike stepped closer, reaching down and lightly touching Rex on the upper back.
“Sir?”
Rex suddenly lurched away from Theo.
“Don’t touch me!” he seethed. “I’m helping my brother.”
Mike Kramer’s facial expression remained calm and unruffled as he looped one hand under Rex’s uninjured arm.
“I understand that,” Mike said. “But I need you to come with me. The EMTs will be here at any moment. They’ll take care of you both.”