by Seven Steps
There was no time to focus on anything else but each other.
He memorized her touch.
She memorized his smell.
They carved into their brains the feel of each other’s kiss.
They only had tonight.
Chapter 41
When she awoke the next morning, he was gone, leaving behind his scent and his warmth on the bed. Her heart seemed to slow, her mind drained as she got dressed.
Their time was up.
She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out her phone. Her mother had called sometime last night, then texted her to ask what time her plane would land.
She texted back, then went to her translated news feed.
4.0 Earthquake rips through Japan
Scroll.
President Obama enjoys a breezy day with British Prime Minister
Scroll.
Serial Killer strikes again in Paris
Cassie stared at her phone.
Strikes again? But how? Dondo was in jail. How was this possible?
She hungrily read the article, translated from French. Three women had been strangled, their bodies forced into a suitcase, and dropped off in an immigrant neighborhood right outside of Paris.
The thought came to her like lightning. She’d been wrong about Dondo. She’d been wrong about him all along.
But if Dondo wasn’t the killer, then who was?
Chapter 42
Noah
Noah froze for a minute in the doorway of the prison, stunned to see his immaculate friend laid so low.
Dondo appeared behind the thick glass wearing an orange jumpsuit and a white t-shirt. He looked at Noah with red rimmed eyes, his mouth turned down in a heavy frown.
The visitation room smelled like cheap perfume and stale cigarette smoke. He sat down in a hard, blue chair, separated from his childhood friend by thick glass. The overhead lights were fading, dying bulbs that reflected the dying spirits of the men inside the prison.
Next to the glass wall was a phone. Its black plastic casing stood in stark contrast to the beige painted chipped bricks that lined the walls of the prison. Noah picked up the warm phone from the cradle, and placed it to his ear.
Dondo did the same.
“Hey,” Noah said, his voice low.
“Hey.”
“How are they treating you in here?”
Dondo shook his head. “I didn’t kill those girls,” he said.
“I know you didn’t.”
“I took them back to the hotel, and we messed around, but I didn’t kill them.”
“I believe you.”
Dondo slammed his hand on the glass, his face twisted in anger.
“Then why am I still in here?”
Noah took a deep breath, struggling to find the words that would give his best friend comfort and patience. “They’re waiting for the DNA test to come back.”
“And how long is that going to take?”
Noah paused. “Tomorrow at the earliest.”
Dondo shook his head. “Tomorrow,” he muttered. “Another night of being locked up alone in this place, in this country. I’m an American! Where’s the embassy?”
“We’re working on getting you out. I have my lawyers working nonstop right now.”
“I can’t stay in here for another minute. I can’t. I’m not supposed to be here. I didn’t kill those girls. He set me up!”
Noah froze, his eyes moving to the guard by the door before turning back to Dondo. “Who set you up?”
“Walter.”
Noah felt his heart stop. “What?”
“I was going to tell you but I didn’t want to hurt you, or him. I’ve known you two my whole life.”
“Dondo, if he is a murderer—”
“Not if. He is. I saw him with Kelly.”
“Kelly?”
“Cassie’s friend. She was a nice girl, sweet, you know. She kept going on and on about how close she and Cassie were…” His voice trailed off. “We messed around for a while, then I took her back to the concert so she could get her car. That’s when we saw Walter. I was going to leave her but they started talking and they left together. Something didn’t seem right so I followed them. He took her to another motel in a bad part of town. I wanted to leave but something in my gut told me not to and I went back, and when I looked through the window, he was already choking her. I didn’t know what to do.” A tear dripped down his face. “It was Walter, you know. It was Papa Bear. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to talk to him about it later, but he didn’t want to listen. I just…I didn’t know what to do. I wish I had said something, but he was like a father to us. I didn’t know what to do.”
“What about the other girls?”
“I didn’t know about them until I got arrested. I would drop them back at the venues after I’d finished with them. I never saw them again after that. He must’ve been waiting back there. I can’t believe he would do this to me!”
“Dondo, you have to tell the cops what you know.”
“I wanted to tell you first. He was closest to you. I wanted to tell you first.”
“Cas,” Noah whispered. “What if he hurts her?” He rose from the chair, his eyes darting between the door and his friend. “Tell the police what you know. I have to find Cas. I have to make sure she’s okay.”
“What about me?”
“I’ll call the lawyers and the embassy. Just make sure you tell them everything.”
Noah rushed from the prison, demanding his limo driver take him back to the hotel at top speed. If what Dondo said was true, Cassie was in great danger.
Chapter 43
Cassie
A knock on the door pulled Cassie from her panicked pacing.
Who could have killed those girls? Who?
When she opened the door, her father was on the other side, his body radiating exhaustion, his eyes twitching.
“I came to walk you down to the cars. We’ve got a plane to catch.” His hand patted his thigh nervously. He walked past her and into the room.
“Dad, something isn’t right,” she said.
“What’s that, dear?”
She sat down on the bed, patted the spot next to her. When he joined her, she said, “Dondo getting arrested.”
He huffed, looked at the dark screen of the television. “He got what he deserved.”
“But what if he’s innocent? I mean, think about it. All this time, the killer has been taking those girls’ bodies to bad parts of town to dump them. Why would he change now? Why would he bring them back to the hotel and kill them here? What would have to gain? Why the change?”
“Who knows, dear?”
“What if Dondo’s being setup?” Cassie whispered. “What if the real killer wants us to think it’s Dondo. Maybe we were getting close to something and he had to throw us off his scent before we found out who he really was?”
“Cassie, you’re being ridiculous. Dondo Rodriguez killed those girls. He’s the murderer. Sad but true. Now, let’s get out of this country before anything else bad happens.”
Walter stood, grabbed Cassie’s bag, and pulled it behind him.
She followed silently, trying to staunch the feeling that she was missing something important.
Her eyes wondered down to the white tag that hung off of her father’s suitcase.
Another new suitcase? Her mind jumped back to Germany, where the red faced worker had delivered another identical black suitcase to her room instead of her fathers.
Why would he need so many new suitcases?
They rode the elevator down to the lobby in silence, passing the front desk.
“Wait,” she said. “There is something I have to do.”
“What is it, dear?” Walter asked, irritation coloring his voice. “We’re already running behind.”
“I just have to see one thing.”
She went to the front desk.
“Excuse me,” she said.
The dark-haired woman behind the desk sm
iled up at her.
“Can I please speak to the head of security?”
***
Ten minutes later, Cassie, Walter, the head of security, and another security guard stared at ten screens stacked together in a small, dark room.
“Cassie, this is crazy!” Walter hissed. “We have already established it was Dondo. Leave things be.”
The security guard sat in a chair in front of the head of security. He played back the video from the night of the murder. They watched Dondo exit the elevator with a blonde on his arm. They strolled down the hallway and entered his hotel room. Neither he nor the girl ever came back out, and no one else went in. The picture lightened as the sun rose. A few minutes later, the police arrived.
“There, you see,” Walter said. “It’s just like the police said. Dondo is the killer. Now, can we please just go?”
The head of security, a beefy man with greasy hair and a small mustache, eyed Cassie and her father before crossing his arms across his chest. He spoke no English. The security guard translated for him, and the head of security nodded.
Cassie sighed. “You’re right. I guess I’m just surprised. I’ll thank them and then we can go to the car.”
Walter nodded, grabbed both suitcases, and began to the lobby. “I’ll order us some coffees.”
Cassie waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to the two men.
“Thank you,” she said, primarily to the English speaking guard. “I appreciate you taking the time to look into this for me.”
“That man,” the guard whispered. “He is a very bad man.”
Cassie’s eyebrows shot up.
The guard said something in French to the security head, who nodded, shook her hand, and walked out.
Cassie kneeled next to the guard. His black eyes were red, his almond colored skin flushed. His gaze kept gliding to the door.
“What do you mean?”
“He is a very bad man, who does very bad things. You must stay away from him.”
“I can’t. He’s my father.”
“Cassie, are you coming?” She heard his voice echo up the hallway.
“I’ll be right there!” she called. She turned back to the security guard. “What are you talking about.”
“Cassie, we’re running late!”
“One second, Dad.”
She turned back to the security guard, watched the sweat form on his forehead. “Please, tell me what you know.”
“He paid me to change the feed. Another man walked into the room and killed that woman.”
“What could you possibly be talking about now?” Walter demanded.
She jumped, hearing her father’s voice right behind her.
She plastered a smile on her face. “He was just telling me about some restaurants in Paris that we should try the next time we’re in town.” She reached down and hugged the man.
The man’s voice trembled, the sound low enough for only her to hear. “He is a very bad man.”
“Cassie, we’re going to miss the plane.”
She took one last look at the guard before jogging out of the small, cool room.
She had a horrible feeling in her gut.
“Um, I have to use the bathroom before we go.”
She turned and ran to the women’s restroom before he could further protest.
Chapter 44
Walter
The look in Cassie’s eyes was all Walter Washington needed. He saw it. The fear, the panic.
The phone to the front desk rang, the woman’s eyes floating to him.
The thought hit him like a brick.
She knows.
There was only one thing left to do.
He left the bags in the middle of the lobby and slipped past the front desk, making his way back to the security room. No one followed. He jogged up the short ramp. The security guard was still sitting at his desk. In one hand he held a black phone, his eyes glued to the screen.
“He killed her, and made me erase the footage. He’s a very bad man. He—”
“Bolivar,” he said.
The guard turned around, fear rising in his cheeks as he dropped the phone.
Walter kicked the door shut, pulled a spare chair over, and shoved it under the handle.
Bolivar shot up, backing up against the table.
“Monsieur,” he whispered.
“I told you to keep your mouth shut. You were supposed to take the money and walk away. You shouldn’t even be here right now.”
“Monsieur, please.”
Walter’s mind went blank. He rushed at Bolivar, ramming his shoulder into the man’s chest.
Bolivar’s back slammed against the lip of the table. He screamed, crumpled to the floor.
Walter jumped on top of him, wrapping his arms around Bolivar’s thin neck, his lips forming babbles and mummers.
“I’m in control,” he muttered. “I’m in control.”
Walter leaned away from the weak punches Bolivar threw at his cheek. With one final squeeze, he heard a satisfying crack.
Bolivar lay still.
Walter stood, and stuffed the guard’s limp body into the cramped space beneath the desk.
He heard Cassie whisper Bolivar’s name on the other end of the phone. The secret was out. There was no doubt about what he had to do now. He placed the phone back in the cradle.
He had to get out and fast, but he wasn’t leaving without his daughter.
Chapter 45
Cassie
“Bolivar. Bolivar, are you there?”
Cassie sat on the closed toilet seat, her legs balancing on the door in case anyone walked in. “Bolivar!”
She’d heard the sound of a scuffle, something cracked.
Something happened to Bolivar. Something terrible.
“Cassie!”
Her father’s voice echoed into the bathroom. She held her breath, put her hand over the phone.
“Cassie, I know you’re in here!”
Ending the call, she sent a quick text to Noah.
Walter’s the killer.
Metal hit metal as her father kicked in the first bathroom stall.
“Cassie!”
Another door slammed.
Two stalls left.
Gathering her courage, she jumped from the seat, opened the door.
“What did you do?” she demanded.
“It’s time for us to go, dear.”
“You killed them, Walter, didn’t you? You killed those girls!” she screamed.
“It was the only way for me to get back in control.”
“Control? Control of what?”
“Control of my life. Control of theirs.” His eyes turned far away, as if he was remembering a very pleasant dream. “Everything was slipping through my hands so fast, I had to find a way to get back in control. Those girls, their lives, I controlled that. Their life and their death was in my hands. I was in control. It was beautiful.”
“You’re sick. You need help.”
He sneered at her. “You know nothing.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
She ran forward, dodged her father’s grab, and ran through the lobby and out of the hotel. The crowded sidewalk engulfed her, and for a moment she felt safe. She pushed through the crowds, rushing anywhere but near Walter Washington.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Noah: I’m on my way. Where are you?
She rushed past several shops before stopping in a café, La Bouchon. Squeezing past the patrons waiting in line for the small cups of coffee, she hid herself in a dark booth in the back. It was blocked from street view by a supporting beam.
She texted Noah where she was, and put her head down.
My father is a murderer, she thought, her mind going wild. My father is a murderer.
“Hello, Cassie.” His voice was dull, robotic.
Her lungs seized, her heart stopped. She fought to stay calm. “How did you find me?”
“Your phone
, of course. Rule number one when someone is trying to find you is to turn off your phone. Now get up.”
She felt the jab of something round in her side.
“Noah will find me,” she whispered.
“I’m counting on it.”
The gun moved deeper into her ribs, and she stood, walking in front of her father as he guided her from the café.
Chapter 46
Noah
Please let her be okay, Noah prayed. Please, God, I’ll do anything. Just let her be okay.
Noah’s cab pulled in front of La Bouchon. He jumped out before the car stopped, raced into the café.
There were no signs of Cassie, or Walter.
He rushed out again, his eyes scanning the streets for the woman who had become the single most important thing in his life.
He caught a glimpse of Walter’s grey hair ducking into a cab.
He raced back to the limo.
“Follow the cab!” he cried.
The driver peeled out of the parking spot, racing down the street.
The traffic turned heavy. The yellow cab weaved in and out between the cars, before finally losing itself in a row of identical vehicles.
Noah screamed in frustration. “No!”
“The cab is gone, monsieur. What do you want to do now?”
Noah’s hands went to his head. He had to think.
What would Walter do? Where would he go?
There was only one answer that made sense. The word was out. Walter was a wanted criminal now. There was only one play left.
“Take me to the airport!”
Chapter 47
Cassie
“Why are you doing this?” Cassie asked.
Her father didn’t reply. He tapped his hands on his thigh, his eyes blinking.