by J A Whiting
A police car flew down the street and pulled to an abrupt halt several yards away from the girls and the still gasping Johnson. One officer approached Johnson and another came up to the girls. Olivia and Ynes explained how they heard screams and found Johnson attacking a young woman who fled after they approached. They reported that Johnson wheeled on them and that he knocked Olivia to the ground and tried to choke her.
“She attacked me,” Johnson yelped, rising to his feet, pointing at Ynes, but still gripping his stomach.
The officers gave him a look of disgust. The second cop asked for Ynes,’ Olivia’s, and Johnson’s identification and the first officer took the girls off to the side and told them to wait there for a few minutes. He went to the squad car and sat in the driver’s seat.
“He must be calling in our ID info,” Ynes said. Olivia was still rubbing her neck.
After a few minutes, the first officer returned and put cuffs on Johnson who began to rant and swear. The cops told Olivia and Ynes that they could go, but that an officer would contact them again at a later time. A second squad car rocketed into the parking lot as Olivia and Ynes were heading for the sidewalk. A crowd of people had gathered to watch.
“Are you okay?” Ynes asked Olivia. They headed to the entrance to the club.
“Yeah. I’ll probably be sore tomorrow though. Especially, my butt.” She rubbed her tailbone.
“I can’t believe it was Adam Johnson,” Ynes said. “That monster.”
“Where did you learn to do whatever it was you did to Johnson?”
“I took martial arts classes in high school.”
Olivia’s eyebrows went up. “You learned to do that in high school? What kind of high school was it? A military academy?”
Ynes opened the door to the club and paused for Olivia to enter first. Pulsing music was blaring inside.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your skill when we were at the gym the other night?” Olivia asked. “I wouldn’t have been so nervous if I knew I had the Karate Kid with me.”
Ynes rolled her eyes. “It’s not that helpful against someone with a gun. Or, a knife.” She placed her hand on the small of Olivia’s back and gave her a playful nudge. “Go tell Melissa who we ran into in the parking lot. I’m going to the ladies’ room.” Before they parted ways, Ynes locked eyes with Olivia and said, “And I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t tell anyone about what I did to Johnson.”
“I don’t keep secrets from Melissa. But I won’t tell anyone else.”
Olivia delivered the aspirin to Melissa and told the group of friends about what transpired in the parking lot and who was involved, but she left out Ynes’ heroics. Olivia practically had to shout over the music. Two guys in their group of friends hurried outside to see what was going on with Johnson and the police.
Something in Olivia’s subconscious picked at her, causing some unexplained anxiety to flow through her body while she was sitting with her friends around the table.
“I can’t believe you ran into Johnson,” Melissa said. “What are the odds of that?” She swallowed two of the aspirins that Olivia had bought for her.
“How are you feeling?” Olivia asked. “Are you worse?”
“I’m achy and my throat’s sore. I hope I’m not getting the flu. I have too much work to do.”
Ynes returned to the table as Olivia placed her hand against Melissa’s forehead and then touched her cheek. “You feel warm now. You must be coming down with a fever. Maybe you should call it a night?”
Melissa groaned. Their friends who had stepped out to see what was happening with Johnson, rushed back to the table.
“The cops arrested Adam Johnson,” one friend blurted.
“People in the crowd said that the cops searched the trunk of Johnson’s car and found a bloody knife inside of a backpack,” the second friend said.
Other friends piped up with tidbits of information.
“I read in the news that Johnson’s girlfriend has a restraining order on him.”
“Yeah. I heard he’s a suspect in a murder case in Florida.”
Melissa, Olivia, and Ynes exchanged glances. Ynes leaned towards them. “Maybe the knife the cops found will tie Johnson to Christian and Gary?”
“Maybe the case is about to be solved,” Olivia said. She felt hopeful for the first time in days. She turned to Melissa and saw beads of sweat on her pale face. “You don’t look so good. We need to go home.”
“I don’t feel so good. I guess you’re right.” Melissa’s eyelids were half-closed.
“I’ll call a cab,” Ynes said. “You don’t want to take public transport home when you’re feeling sick.”
The three girls said goodnight to the other friends and Olivia took Melissa’s arm and helped her to the door. “Everybody must think I’m drunk,” Melissa moaned.
Melissa started to shiver when they stood outside in the chilly night air waiting for the cab. Olivia offered Melissa her coat but she declined. Olivia rubbed her friend’s shoulders and Melissa leaned heavily against her.
Shuffling her feet to keep warm, Ynes said, “Where’s that damn cab?”
Suddenly what had been pricking at Olivia came into her mind. “Melissa, Luke never showed up. Did he text you?” she asked.
Melissa shook her head. “I texted him again when you went to get the aspirin. He never answered.”
Olivia shot a concerned look at Ynes. “He said he was meeting us at the club. I’m calling him. Hold on to Melissa.” She punched at her cell phone’s buttons, lifted it to her ear, and waited. She shook her head. “He doesn’t answer.”
“Maybe he’s on his way.” Melissa’s voice was just above a whisper. She could barely keep her eyes open. “Maybe he’s on the “T” and doesn’t have cell phone reception.”
“Maybe.” Olivia looked at Ynes, worry etched over her face. “Maybe, not?”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Ynes said. There was a tinge of urgency to her voice.
Olivia said, “Will you go inside and get Amy? She can take Melissa home. You and I can take a cab to Luke’s.”
Ynes ran into the club and returned several minutes later with Amy. A cab pulled up to the curb. “I know you’re sick,” Ynes said to Melissa, “but Olivia and I need to take this one. Amy will call for another a cab to take you home.”
Olivia hugged Melissa and followed Ynes into the cab. They gave the driver Luke’s address and the taxi pulled into the traffic.
“We’re probably wrong,” Olivia said. “Luke’s fine.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Ynes told her.
Olivia’s heart was hammering. She pulled out her cell phone and called Luke again. “Ugh. Still no answer.” Her hand shook as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. Olivia tried to cut the tension she was feeling. “He’s probably in bed with some girl and we’ll come banging on his door.” She forced a smile.
Ynes flicked her eyes to Olivia. “Let’s hope so.”
The cab stopped at the curb, the girls paid, and leaped out. They rushed to Luke’s building, ran up the steps and pressed on the button to ring Luke’s apartment. Olivia jammed her finger against the button over and over. Tears gathered in her eyes. “He’s not answering.”
“Try another apartment,” Ynes said. “Push any button.”
Olivia pushed a different one. A voice came over the intercom. “Who is it?”
Ynes said, “We’re trying to reach our friend. Luke Smithson. He’s in ‘212.’ He isn’t answering. We’re worried about him…” She was about to go on with her explanation when the door buzzed and Olivia grabbed the handle and flung it open. They tore up the stairs and when they reached the landing, they halted. Ynes gasped.
Luke lay crumpled on his side on the floor in front of his open apartment door. Blood flowed from a red gash in his throat. The front of his jacket was cut. Blood stained the leather and dripped onto the floor. The skin of his hands was red with blood.
Kneeling next to him, holding a knife, wa
s Kayla.
Chapter 19
“Olivia,” Kayla whispered.
“Kayla, drop the knife,” Olivia said gently, unsure of what Kayla might do. She took a step forward.
Kayla blinked and looked down at the knife in her hand. She shook her head and raised her eyes to Olivia. She let the knife slip from her grasp. “I didn’t do this.”
Olivia knelt beside Luke and touched his neck to locate a pulse. She kept Kayla in her peripheral vision. “He’s alive.” Her voice quavered. She turned to Ynes. “Call 911.” She shrugged out of her jacket and pulled her sweater over her head, balled it up, and pressed it against Luke’s abdomen.
“Luke, can you hear me?” Olivia asked. Luke lay motionless and did not respond. She could see defensive wounds on his hands. “We’re here, Luke,” she spoke to him soothingly. “You’ll be okay. Help’s on the way. We’re with you.” The words hitched in her throat.
Kayla was kneeling behind Luke. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She leaned to check his neck wound. She lifted her scarf from around her shoulders and used it to apply pressure to the gash in Luke’s neck.
Keeping her hands firmly pressing the sweater against Luke’s stomach wounds, Olivia shifted to look at Kayla.
Kayla’s breath was coming in shallow gasps like she was close to hyperventilating. “I just got here. He was on the floor. I heard you coming up the steps. I grabbed the knife. I was afraid the attacker was coming back.”
Olivia didn’t know whether to believe Kayla or not. “Why did you come to his apartment?”
“Luke and I have met up a few times. For coffee, a drink. To talk about Christian and Gary and everything that’s been going on. He said he was going to meet a bunch of you at a club tonight. He asked me to go.” Her eyes bore into Olivia’s. “I didn’t do this. He was like this when I got here. Olivia. I swear it’s true.”
“How did you get into the building?” Olivia asked, adjusting her hands on Luke’s abdomen for maximum pressure.
Anxiety washed over Kayla’s face. “Probably the same way you did. I pushed someone else’s door buzzer and asked to be let in.” She leaned back from Luke’s prone form. “God, I know how this looks. You think I stabbed him.” She stood. “The police will think so too.”
She took a few steps away.
“Don’t leave, Kayla,” Olivia said.
Ynes knelt and took over for Kayla, pressing on the scarf to stay the flow of blood from Luke’s neck. “If you take off, it will look bad. Stay here. Just tell the police what happened.”
Kayla’s eyes darted around the hallway as she tried to make a decision. A siren could be heard close by.
“Don’t run,” Olivia said. “If you’re innocent, you need to stay and tell what happened. If you take off, it will make you look guilty.”
“Don’t tell the police I was here,” Kayla said, stepping back. “Please.” Her voice shook.
“Your fingerprints are on the knife,” Olivia said.
Kayla froze. Her hands clutched the sides of her head. Her muscles seemed to give out and she sat down hard on the floor.
The front door of the building opened. Heavy feet could be heard on the steps.
“We’re up here,” Ynes called out.
A police officer and two emergency medical workers appeared on the landing. The EMTs raced to Luke’s side and Ynes and Olivia backed away. Kayla was still sitting on the floor with her head pressed against her knees.
“There’s a knife on the floor,” Olivia told the cop.
Another officer climbed the stairs. “Move back down the hall,” he ordered the women.
“Kayla,” Olivia said, placing her hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “Come on. Stand up. We need to move down the hallway.” She placed her hand under Kayla’s arm and tugged. Kayla stood and moved with Ynes and Olivia.
Luke was placed on a stretcher and carried down the stairs and into the waiting ambulance.
Each woman talked individually with a detective who appeared on the scene shortly after the initial arrival of the two officers and the EMTs. The girls’ names and addresses were collected along with their accounts of why they were there and what they saw when they came on the scene. Olivia was the last to speak with the detective and by the time she was finished and allowed to leave, she dragged herself down the stairs to the first floor and stepped out the front door. Ynes was sitting on the front steps waiting. She looked up when the door opened.
“Where’s Kayla?” Olivia asked. She sat down on the concrete step next to Ynes, the spot illuminated by a streetlight. The night air was cold and Olivia pulled her coat closer around herself.
“She was gone when I came out.”
Olivia looked at the blood on her hands. Ynes fished hand sanitizer and some tissues out of her purse and handed them to Olivia, who took them and cleaned her skin.
Olivia felt like all her energy had drained out of her body, so she put her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. “At least Luke is alive.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I thought all this was over. The cops arrested Adam Johnson tonight. They found a knife in his trunk. I thought these killings were over and done. Now, Luke is attacked. It can’t have been Johnson. He can’t be responsible for killing the guys.” She sounded so weary. “Poor Luke. I can’t believe this happened. Who’s doing it? Why?”
“What do you think?” Ynes asked. “You believe Kayla’s story? She had nothing to do with this?”
Olivia lifted her head. “I don’t know. “Why would she try to kill Luke?”
“She might think he could identify her because he saw her in the apartment that night.”
“But she claims she didn’t see much. Just someone’s feet. And she only saw Luke’s back as he ran into the living room. He didn’t see her there.”
“So she claims,” Ynes said, skeptically.
“I don’t know. I don’t think she’s lying. I don’t think she killed them.”
“Reasons?” Ynes asked.
Olivia lifted her palms up and shrugged. “Intuition?” She blinked at Ynes. “Am I wrong about her?”
Ynes scowled. “I think she did it.”
Olivia sighed. “We should go to the hospital. See about Luke.”
“I’ll call a cab. Again,” Ynes said. She reached into her pocket for her phone.
Olivia was so sick of trying to figure things out. She felt like she could sleep for a week. She rested her head back on her knees and whispered a silent hope.
Don’t die, Luke. Don’t die.
Chapter 20
Olivia and Ynes entered the hospital and found out that Luke was alive and in surgery and that he would survive his injuries. Both young women breathed a sigh of relief.
Ynes was exhausted and decided to head back to her apartment. She was leaving the next day to attend a conference in New York City and she need to pack and get things ready to go. Olivia wanted to stay at the hospital for a while hoping to see Luke once he was moved to recovery. She was directed to a waiting room where she could sit until Luke’s surgery was completed.
Olivia entered the empty, dimly lit waiting room and went to take a seat when she noticed someone slumped in a chair, asleep. The person’s jacket covered most of her face but her short blonde hair was shining in the moonlight that filtered in through the window glass.
“Kayla,” Olivia spoke quietly. She touched her shoulder.
Kayla bolted up, blinking, trying to orient herself to her surroundings. “Oh. Olivia.” She rubbed her eyes.
Olivia took off her coat and draped it over the arm of one of the chairs. She collapsed into the seat next to Kayla. “I didn’t think you’d be waiting.”
Kayla stretched and leaned back. “Yeah. Well. I wanted to see how Luke was.” She sat up straight and faced Olivia. Dark circles tinged the skin under her eyes. “I didn’t stab him. I swear. I found him like that. I didn’t do it.”
Olivia nodded. Kayla seemed sincere in her denial, but Olivia just didn’t know what to believe anym
ore. “Who’s doing this?” she muttered.
“I don’t know. It’s horrible. Who would want them killed? What’s the reason?” Kayla rubbed her long, slender fingers over her temples. Her spiked up hair had relaxed and now hung over her forehead giving her a soft, almost sprite-like appearance. “They never got to live their lives.” She looked at Olivia, her face lined with worry. “Will the police arrest me? My prints are on the knife. How will they ever believe that I didn’t stab Luke?”
“I don’t know. You’ll get a lawyer. The truth will come out. You’ll be okay.”
Kayla whispered, “Will I?” Her shoulders slumped.
“Was Luke conscious when you found him?” Olivia asked.
Kayla stared at the floor. “No. He was on the floor. I thought he was dead.”
“I wonder if he got a look at his attacker. The police will question him. He’s the only one who has survived an attack.” Olivia speculated, “It must be the same person who killed the others. Maybe the knife can be tied back to Christian and Gary. And, Jack.”
Kayla massaged the back of her neck. “Luke must have fought back. His hands…they were all cut up.” She winced recalling the image of Luke’s bloody hands.
Olivia nodded. “Maybe the attacker heard you come in and took off. Maybe you saved him.”
Kayla’s eyes were wide at the thought that she may have interrupted the attack. A buzz from her pocket indicated an incoming text message and she reached in and took out her phone. “It’s Eric. He wants to know how Luke is doing. He’s on his way to keep me company. He’s just outside.”
“What time is it?”
“Two am.”
“He’s quite a friend to come here so late.”
“Yeah. He’s good to me. He comes to most of my gigs. Makes sure I get home safe.” Kayla’s fingers flew over the screen of her phone sending a reply text back to Eric.
“How’d you meet?” Olivia shifted in the chair trying to find a more comfortable position.
“At the coffee shop. We’ve both been working there for a couple of years.”