"No need." Angel looped her arm through mine and hugged it. Comforting me or pinning me? "I saw someone down the hall on his phone. He sounded like he was already speaking to the cops. Anyway, whoever was shooting, they must have gone now."
I glanced at Gina. She'd shifted back a little, separating herself from Jenny. She shook her head slightly, warning me not to push them.
"What do you want?" I asked, unlinking myself from Angel. "Why are you all here?"
"We have a favor to ask." She bit her lip and appealed to Taylor.
"A big favor," he said. "We want you to tell the police you found a letter from Frank in Cindy's things."
I blinked at him. "Um, what?"
Angel opened her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "We have the letter here. It's in Frank's handwriting and is addressed to Cindy."
I took the letter and read it. Frank told Cindy in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't sell his half of Play Group to her. He then went on to threaten Linc with the photos of him having sex two years ago with an older man whom I assumed to be Taylor.
"Where did you get this?" I asked Angel.
"Frank had asked me to post it for him the morning he died, but I didn't get around to it. I'm so glad I didn't! We'd never have the evidence that she was the murderer."
"And you only remembered it now?"
She nodded and blinked those big blue eyes at me. "This morning. I opened it. I know I shouldn't have, but I was desperate to know why my husband was writing to his ex-wife."
She looked so innocent that I almost believed her. Almost. "Why can't you hand it to the police yourself?" I asked. "Why do you need it to be found in Cindy's belongings?"
"Because if they find out it never reached her, they'll never suspect her. But if they think she's already read it, they'll realize she has a motive for killing him."
Too neat and convenient. And Angel was using her hands again. She wasn't flapping them wildly, but she didn't know what to do with them. One moment they were both holding her bag, the next she had one on her hip and the other motioned in front of her the way some annoying TV reporters do.
"If this letter didn't reach Cindy," I said, "then she didn't know Frank wouldn't sell. So that means she had no motive to kill him. Did she?"
"For fuck's sake!" Corey shouted. "Why are you asking so many questions?"
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gina jump.
"It's all right," Angel cooed at him like she would a frightened dog. To me she said, "It's possible Cindy guessed his answer already. Or perhaps they spoke on the phone."
"If they spoke, he wouldn't have asked you to send the letter."
Angel's smile suddenly turned bitter and hard. All the charm leeched out of her. Where before she was perky, now she looked grim. My skin tightened and it felt like a thousand tiny spiders crawled down my spine. I edged away from her, but Taylor caught my wrist. I tried to jerk free, but he was too strong.
"She's not buying it." He sounded a little panicky as he looked to Angel for direction.
She sighed. "Jenny, I thought you said she was stupid."
"She used to be!" Jenny said, defensive.
Stupid? Me? Compared to Jenny? Sheesh, so much for friendship. "I helped you out," I snapped at her. "When you got evicted, I let you stay with me rent-free. I helped you get your first agent! And now you're going to hurt me unless I frame Cindy for Frank's murder?"
"We don't want to hurt you." She looked to be in pain, she winced so hard. "Please, please, please just plant the letter in Cindy's things. You can get into her suite, but we can't."
"What if I don't?"
She chewed on her lip again and stared down at her feet.
"So one of you did shoot that bullet through my window. And which one of you tried to run me over at the Grotto?"
"That was just to scare you into thinking it was Linc or Cindy," Angel said. "Like Jen said, we really don't want to hurt you."
But she would. "So is that why you hired a black Lexus exactly like hers? To implicate Cindy?" I looked to Jenny. "Is that what you and Angel were discussing when I caught you in tears outside your room? You said you'd just told her about Frank's fraud, but when I asked Angel about it, she said she knew ages ago." It was only a few hours after the car almost ran me over. The coincidence was too great for it to be anything else.
Jenny didn't meet my gaze. It was promising sign. She seemed to be remorseful over their attempt to scare me into thinking Cindy was trying to kill me. Remorse meant she was not completely brainwashed by Angel. It also meant our friendship was at least somewhat genuine.
I tried to jerk free of Taylor again, but received a sore arm for my efforts. "Let me go."
He looked to Angel. She shook her head. "Can't," she said. "Not now. You know too much."
"Well you can't kill us!" I cried, my voice cracking.
"Can't we?" For the first time I thought Angel looked ugly. Her face was twisted with anger and hatred, and perhaps madness too.
Fuck. The spine-crawling spiders came back with a vengeance. "You would have been seen coming up here. You'll be the first ones the police talk to."
"Call her," she ordered Jenny without taking her eyes off me.
"Call who?" I asked.
Jenny didn't move. She seemed to be rooted to the spot.
"Darling, what's wrong?" Angel asked gently.
Jenny began to shake. "I-I can't. Cat's my friend."
I almost snorted in derision, but kept my thoughts to myself. Maintaining Jenny's friendship might be important for survival.
"Darling." Angel kissed Jenny's cheek. "We're your friends. Now fetch her phone and call Cindy."
My phone. They were going to set up Cindy for our murders as well as Frank's. She would come here to speak with me, find Gina and me dead, and call the police to report it. But with a phone call registered from my phone to Cindy's, she would be their primary suspect, particularly once Angel planted it into their heads that I had some evidence that would implicate Cindy in Frank's murder. It was neat, horrifying.
We had to get away.
Jenny hadn’t moved. Corey rifled through my bag instead. "I'll do it." He pulled out my phone and dialed a number.
"Cat Sinclair has evidence that will bury you," he said into the phone. Then he told her my address.
"No!" I screamed. But it was too late. He'd hung up.
I couldn't breathe. My chest hurt. My lungs felt like they were filled with sand. It was happening all over again. Except this time I had to fight off four people, not one. At least I had Gina on my side.
Oh God, poor Gina. I'd embroiled her in this mess and now she was going to die because of me.
"It's still her word against yours that we were already dead before she got here." My voice shook as I fought not to cry.
"Four against one," Angel said with the smile that now made me want to recoil. How had I ever thought her pretty and innocent? She had murderess written all over her face. "Cindy doesn't stand a chance."
"Why?" I asked. Keep them talking. I was good at that. Good at talking, good at distracting. I could do this. "Why kill Frank?"
"For love." She flashed a loving smile at Corey. Then turned it on both Taylor and Jenny. I shivered.
"You shouldn't answer her," Taylor said. "She's trying to distract you."
"Probably. Corey, Darling, get the friend."
Gina took that moment to step back again as he went for her. She grabbed the vase on the table behind her and smashed it over his head. He crumpled to the floor.
Angel gasped. She flew to his prone form and knelt beside him. "Wake up!" She rolled him onto his back. He groaned, but his eyes didn't open. "Baby, wake up!" He groaned again. She looked up at Gina, fury flashing in her eyes. "You bitch!"
Gina went to kick her, but Jenny grabbed her and held her back while Angel scuttled away. "Don't touch her," Jenny hissed at Gina through her teeth.
Gina winced. "You're hurting me."
"Let her go, Jen," I said
as calmly as my racing heart would allow. "It's me you want, not her."
Angel removed a gun from her bag. "We can't. She's heard too much."
Gina's eyes widened and she struggled harder against Jenny, but positioned in front, her movement was limited.
"Stop this!" I cried. "Are you people fucking nuts?" Okay, I could answer that one myself. Of course they were crazy. They'd already killed one person.
Angel wiped the gun's handle with her handkerchief and sized up Gina. Gina kicked and struggled against Jenny, but couldn't get away.
"Jenny," I pleaded. "We're friends. Don't do this. This isn't like you. You're sweet and kind, not a murderer." She was the weakest link, the one with a history connected to me. If I could get her to see reason, she might let Gina go and increase our odds of survival.
She blinked at me from over Gina's head. "I'm involved, Cat. I'm going to jail anyway." She spoke matter-of-factly, as if she'd already accepted her fate. Had Angel really managed to dupe her so thoroughly? Angel was compelling and Jenny was easily led, so it wasn't such a stretch.
"You can tell the police that Angel coerced you," I went on. "She hypnotized you somehow. Jesus, Jen, help me out here, for old time's sake."
Jenny shook her head. Angel smiled. Gina renewed her efforts as tears of frustration and fear streamed down her cheeks. Jenny had to wrap both her arms around her. I struggled against Taylor, but he was too strong. I kicked and connected with his shin, but still he held me, although he let out a string of swear words.
Angel dodged Gina's kicks and came round to her side. The gun barrel got closer to Gina's temple. Closer. Sweat beaded on my brow and dripped down the back of my neck. I had to do something.
"Jenny," I said, urgent. "Remember how I gave you a hundred dollars so you could buy yourself a new outfit for a big audition?" I tried to think of other things I'd helped her with, but my brain froze. I couldn't seem to remember back that far. It was like she'd just turned up in Renford asking for my help out of the blue.
The fraud!
I licked my lips. They were cracked and tasted of my salty tears. "Jenny, there's something I didn't tell you. Angel put the bank statements in Frank's things."
Angel's head snapped round to glare at me. "I didn't."
"It's true," I said. "Why would Frank carry them with him on tour? It doesn't make sense. They were planted, and Angel did it."
Jenny stared at me, then Angel.
"And Taylor," I said to the man whose grip was so hard there must be bruises on my arm. "You said it yourself. Why would Frank have those old photos of you and Linc? He didn't contact you about them recently, and I bet he never contacted Linc or Cindy. Angel planted them along with the statements in a place where the cops couldn't fail to find them."
"Angel?" Taylor whispered. "Why would you do that?"
"To set you up," I said. "Both you and Jenny." I was thinking fast. Fear had my mind racing at a million miles, and the more I heard my theory out loud, the more I was convinced it was true. Besides, Angel looked worried. "You two were the backup plan," I said to Taylor. "She could use the bank statements and photos to blame either of you for Frank's death."
"She's wrong!" Angel wailed. "Jenny, Taylor, trust me. I love you guys. All of you. Why would I do that? She's manipulating you."
"You're the manipulative one," I said.
Angel swung round and aimed the gun at me. Her mouth was a twisted gash in her face. Her eyes were diamonds—beautiful, but hard and cold.
She cocked the gun.
I wrenched my arm again, and this time it came free from Taylor's grip. Had he let me go?
There was no time to consider that. She aimed.
I ducked.
The gun went off.
The bullet passed over my head, past Taylor, and struck my lamp, exploding the shade and bulb.
Gina screamed and I saw that she too had gotten free of Jenny. She stumbled forward onto her knees.
Angel cocked the gun again and aimed it at me. I commando rolled out of the way. When I righted, I looked up and saw that Gina had pounced on Angel's back. She pulled her fist back and landed a blow on her cheek. Angel went down and Gina grabbed the gun off her.
"No! Angel!" It was Corey, awake and looking murderous. He sounded groggy, but he moved fast. Not toward Angel, but to me.
I waited until he was almost on me, then I dodged to the side and put out my foot, tripping him up. He careened into the armchair, toppling it over. He crashed to the floor.
I scrambled to Gina's side and together we backed up to where my phone lay on the table. She kept the gun aimed at Corey as he crawled to Angel. He helped her to sit up. Both Taylor and Jenny stood by, watching and crying. It was as if they were in mourning. In a way, they were. Their friend and leader had betrayed them. They now knew she'd been using them. She'd never loved them in the way they wanted to be loved.
I called Scarface. "Drop everything and get to my place," I told him.
"Your highness?" He sounded amused.
"Just get the fuck over here now. Bring four sets of handcuffs. I've got your murderers."
***
My shaking hands could hardly hold the coffee cup Scarface handed me. I set it down on the table, but circled my fingers around it for comfort. Beside me, Gina sat with her hands between her knees, staring straight ahead. Scarface put her cup down then massaged my shoulders. I closed my eyes as some of the tension dissolved.
"You okay?" he murmured in my ear.
"Not really." I took a deep breath. "But I'll be fine."
Stankovic and the uniformed cops had taken the Play Group members away with them, and we'd given brief statements about what had happened. Angel had screamed her innocence, claiming it was both Jenny and Taylor together.
"Tell me your theories," Scarface said, resting his hands on my shoulders.
"What makes you think I have any?" I asked, trying to be light when all I felt was heavy.
"You always have theories." He kissed the top of my head.
I relaxed into him as he massaged again. "Corey and Angel are in love," I told him. "Frank found out about it and threatened to break up the group to get back at her."
"She didn't do it so she could gain control of the group?"
"Maybe in part, even though she knew Cindy owned fifty percent. She wasn't to know that Frank changed his will recently and bequeathed his half to Cindy, giving her full control in the event of his death."
"That must have hit Angel hard."
"Hence her attempt to frame Cindy. I think that was an afterthought once she found out about the will. She'd originally planned to frame either Jen or Taylor." I looked to Gina. She sat in a chair, comatose. I squeezed her hand and she came to life, shooting me a weak smile.
"Divorce would have been less messy," Scarface said.
"But not as financially rewarding. Frank was a billionaire. I bet he got her to sign a pre-nup giving her nothing. Besides, he would have found some way to remove her from the group as payback. To her, that would have been worse than not inheriting it. So what about Cindy? Are you going to arrest her and Max for possession?"
"We've already brought her in for questioning, but she won't tell us who supplied her. We searched Warshenski's place, but came up with nothing. Seems he doesn't keep anything there."
"I sort of feel sorry for her," Gina said. "She incurred the wrath of a very devious woman."
"Don't waste your sympathy," Scarface said. "She really is a bitch."
"Amen," I muttered. "You're right about Angel though. She's a master manipulator. She got those three falling in love with her so hard they'd do anything for her."
"What drives people to be like that?" Gina asked, finally picking up her cup. "I mean, I like you, Cat, but I wouldn't murder someone for you."
"I didn't really get it until I watched Mom's documentary on cult behavior. It takes two sorts of people to form a cult. A leader who's so charming, so compelling, that they draw followers to them like flies to
meat. But the followers are the total opposite. They're needy and desperate to be loved. Give them that love in abundance, like Angel did, and bingo! They're hers to do with whatever she wished."
"I still don't get it."
"That's because you're not needy and desperate for love like Jenny, Taylor, and Corey. With your family, you've got too much of the stuff."
"I guess."
I nudged her with my elbow. "You did good, Gina."
She gave me a lopsided smile. "Looks like those kickboxing lessons paid off."
"And here I thought you were only there to ogle the instructor."
She giggled and I hugged her. "Thank you," I whispered. "You're the best and I love you in a totally un-cultish way."
She squeezed me back. "Same here, Cat. Same here."
Scarface cleared his throat. "Speaking of self-defense, it seems you got out of those lessons, Kitten. But I'll show you anyway if you want."
"Thanks but no thanks. Will won't like it."
He bent down to my level. "You're a big girl. You don't need his approval. Anyway Knight doesn't have to find out."
I sank into the direct gaze of his one eye. It wasn't so hard to understand the compelling leader thing when he looked at me like that. Sometimes I felt like I'd do anything with him.
Oh crap. It was thoughts like that which got me feeling guilty about Will. I hadn't even called him yet. I wasn't sure I wanted to. He was going to go ballistic when he saw the bullet holes in my wall.
"Whatever Cat does, Will finds out about it," Gina said. She crossed her arms beneath her boobs and narrowed her gaze at Scarface. "Leave her alone. She's already getting self-defense lessons from a pro. She doesn't need more."
Scarface backed away, hands in the air. He may have lost this battle, but I suspected he wasn't giving up the war.
I swallowed hard. "I need to call Will."
"We'll give you some privacy." Gina beckoned Scarface with a jerk of her head toward the door. "Drive me home. I'm too shaken to do it myself."
"Yes, ma'am," he drawled.
Gina kissed my cheek, then Scarface kissed my forehead. His lips lingered longer than hers. They were almost out the door when he turned back to me. He cocked the eyebrow with the scar slicing through it. "I forgot to ask what you want to collect for winning the bet."
Eeny Meany Miny Die (Cat Sinclair Mysteries) Page 21