by Hornsby, Kim
He laughed. “I’ll text you the minute I’m done.”
Although she laughed, something in her worried that he wouldn’t.
****
“What I’d like, right now, is a cup of coffee with a shot of Bailey’s in it,” she whispered to Pete over the chess board. They’d been struggling to keep their conversation low since Tony was reading his school book and easily distracted.
“Or a snifter of warm cognac.” Pete captured Nikki’s queen.
“Oh, damn. I was distracted by all this talk of alcohol and didn’t see that.”
“Don’t get so distracted next time.” His smile didn’t say chess.
It was unfair that she had to look at him all day, knowing what she was missing. Not only was he flirting with her, but he was frustrating a pregnant woman. Wanting to frustrate him, she slid her foot under the coffee table and moved it up Pete’s calf to his knee making little circles with her toes. “Don’t you get distracted.”
A smile teased the corners of his delicious mouth. Hopefully he was remembering their close call the night before. Lifting his free foot, he stomped on Nikki’s. “No fair.” He bent over the chess board to whisper to her. “Chess isn’t a contact sport.”
It was getting more difficult to resist grabbing him. Now that she knew what he felt like under her hands, and how his whiskers tickled her face, how his tongue searched her mouth, it was torture to hold back. She wanted more. The only relief from all this would be getting the call to court or him giving in to the temptation.
Connie screamed on deck and Pete flew out of the cabin before Nikki even looked up. She motioned for Tony to stay in his bed. Nikki peeked her head up over the lip of the door to see what was going on.
Connie said something and Pete laughed. First tentatively, then it turned into a belly chuckle. Nikki let Elvis outside and went on deck herself. At the bow, where Connie had been collecting a few pieces of laundry from the line, she saw Pete and Connie staring out at the water. Nikki couldn’t see the joke but moved toward them. “Is everything okay?”
Connie turned. “A seagull swooped down and...” She could barely spit out the rest of the story. “And grabbed…”
Pete tried. “…grabbed her bra and flew away.”
Nikki looked off to the bay where a seagull was sitting on a floating island of kelp and something distinctly white. “Your bra?”
Connie nodded, still laughing. “The only one I brought, unfortunately.” She’d folded her arms across her ample bosom.
Pete made a surrender signal and tried to escape the girlie conversation. Passing by Nikki he whispered, “Lend her yours, you could go without. I don’t mind.”
Connie stopped laughing and waited for Pete to go down below. “It’s none of my business, Nikki, but I’m intrigued that Pete wants you to go without.” She smiled secretly, looking out to where the seagull still sat on the bra.
Nikki couldn’t think of what to say to Connie about all this. We’re just flirting to fight the boredom? She didn’t know what was going on either.
****
On day nine, they motored to another bay under cloudy skies, and had just set the anchor when Pete’s phone rang. Minimal words were exchanged and when finished, he pulled up the anchor.
“We need to get to Seattle right away.” Pete gave Tony the wheel and after pointing him in the right direction, he approached Connie. “This is it. They want your testimony this afternoon.” Pete looked apologetic. “You ready?”
“I am.” Connie’s expression was stoic. She and Nikki had talked the day before about how she hoped after years of ignoring her husband’s business activities, she could finally do some good by putting someone behind bars.
Pete ran around battening down the hatches, stopping only briefly to look at Connie with a mixture of regret and sympathy. “If you ladies pack up, Tony’ll take us in the right direction.”
Connie nodded at Pete. “Let’s get back to the truck.”
“We’re not going to the truck,” Pete said. “We’re putting in at a dock closer to Seattle. It’ll save us two hours. They need you this afternoon.”
The transformation from Pete the handsome shipmate, to Pete Daniels, U.S. Marshal, was frightening. Even his face looked different, more focused. Stern. Their vacation was officially over.
There was a stillness on board, a feeling of foreboding. Strings of low clouds enveloped them like Halloween decorations hung in the sky.
“Because we’re now in a rush, you’re going to have to come with us, Nikki. Just until Connie is safe, and then I’ll arrange to have you taken to Quinn’s, or wherever you want to go, today.” If this was happening too fast for Nikki, she could imagine what Connie and Tony were feeling.
When the Seattle skyline got closer, all three passengers moved below deck, as instructed, while Pete aimed for the arranged meeting place. Elvis seemed to be the only one who thought the trip was just a continuation of the fun, as he bounced around on deck in his life jacket, his little ears flapping in the breeze.
Nikki helped Connie into her brown wig then stuffed some padding into Connie’s coat and pants for her disguise. “All my life I’ve been on a diet and now here I am trying to look fat.” Neither woman laughed. Nikki couldn’t. “Tony. Put on your hat now,” Connie said.
The boy pulled it low over his forehead.
“Remember, my sweet boy. Stay back from me when we get out of here.” Connie tried to smile at him. “You just be responsible for Hammie.” She glanced at the cage in her son’s arms.
Nikki felt sick. She knew that feeling of staying away from the innocents if someone was targeting her. The electrocution. Tony wasn’t the target in this case. She hoped to hell that no one was a target. She’d grown terribly fond of Connie over the last week and wasn’t happy that this new friend would be taken from her now. They’d shared laughs and confidences as two women, not rock star to mobster’s wife. That morning after breakfast Connie had admitted to Nikki that it wasn’t until her husband opposed his business partners to remain true to his morals that they put out a hit for him and took him down.
“You don’t need to explain,” Nikki had said.
“I just want you to know that my Anthony wasn’t a hoodlum.” The look in Connie’s eyes had broken Nikki’s heart. “He was a good man.”
“I’m sure he was, if he chose you and raised such a fine boy as Tony.”
Connie leaned in to her. “I want you to know my real name.”
Nikki nodded, as though this would secure them forever.
“It’s Cathy Vanelli but soon it will be changed to Cate Nelson.” She looked desperate for Nikki to remember that. “Tony will become Anthony Nelson.” Connie nodded like this was information that would be used later for something important.
Tears welled in Connie’s eyes, and Nikki embraced her. “Cate and Anthony Nelson,” Nikki whispered. “I’ll find you someday soon.”
****
As the sailboat pulled into slip forty-three, Connie and Tony put on the bulletproof vests Pete had brought on board. “Stay below.” Pete recognized the man driving the unmarked white van and spoke to him. He summoned Connie and nodded to Tony and Nikki. “You two are next, but wait for me.” Pete’s face reflected his mood. All business. He put a blanket over Connie’s head and they walked quickly to the van.
After locking the cabin, Pete checked the boat one last time. He’d be back within the week to move it. They hurried to the van with Tony wedged between her and Pete.
The driver nodded and, checking the rearview mirror, he did a double take when he saw Nikki. She looked down at the van floor. Yup, I’m Goldy.
They pulled away from the marina and made an indirect course for Seattle, along enough twisting back streets to make Tony queasy. The silence continued, the Bayer family’s sailboat vacation already a memory. This was not the happy group from breakfast. Each person was now stuck in their thoughts about the worst that could happen that day.
Pete needed to keep
Connie safe, Connie needed to keep Tony safe, and Tony needed to keep his mom safe. Nikki was just along for the ride. Excess baggage, she was the fifth wheel to these people who were now on overdrive.
The best thing was get out of their way as soon as she could. Once inside the courthouse, she’d get Quinn to pick her up. Subtract one from the mix. None of them had been ready for this today. She and Pete hadn’t had a chance to talk about what would happen after, like when to have tea, go swimming, or continue what they’d started. At least she had Connie’s name. Cathy Vanelli had the forethought to realize that when the call came, events would go down quickly and they’d be gone. It seemed trivial and selfish to Nikki, that she was worrying how she’d detach from the group at the courthouse when Connie’s safety was in question.
When they pulled onto a downtown street in Seattle, Pete turned around in his seat. “When we get to the courthouse, I’ll take Connie inside. Rivers, you bring Tony and Nikki.”
“Sure.” Rivers smelled like cinnamon gum.
Seeing the look on Tony’s face, Pete softened.
“Just a precaution, sport. You know the drill. We’re playing spy games to keep your mom safe. In a few minutes, we’re going down a laneway and into the underground parking garage and through a tunnel under the courthouse. It’s the safest way.” He reached back and squeezed Tony’s shoulder, but the boy ignored him, instead staring at his mother.
Elvis squirmed out of Nikki’s lap and tried to get to Pete.
“Elvis.” Connie grabbed his collar in time and handed him back to Nikki.
“Don’t come near the front like that, Cathy,” Pete warned.
He’d used her real name. This all seemed too real now. How could she abandon them in the next few minutes? She couldn’t. She’d wait out the testimony with Tony. It would be cruel of her to leave the boy with a bunch of men he didn’t know. If Pete accompanied Connie, Tony needed someone to hold his hand.
The van slowed and Rivers said, “Shit,” under his breath. Through the tinted front window, Nikki saw news vans and cameramen infesting the sidewalk ahead.
“They must have gotten a tip she was coming in,” Pete said to Rivers. “Let’s see if we can enter over there.” He pointed beyond the group.
“If we try to barrel through, they’ll know we’ve got her in here,” Rivers said.
The press lay in wait for Cathy Vanelli to arrive at the King County Courthouse to testify against her husband’s murderer. Nikki saw the expectant faces and knew what they were thinking. They’d be desperate for a picture, unintentionally blocking access to the only safe entrance for Connie. Nikki grabbed Connie’s hand.
“They’re just reporters, blocking the way.” Pete sounded calm but, knowing him the way she did now, she was sure he was worried. “Circle the block, Rivers. We’ll get the cops to move them.”
“What will they do, Mom?” Tony was on the verge of tears.
“S’okay, sweetie, don’t worry.” Connie glanced at Pete.
He rubbed the stubble on his chin and exhaled loudly. “They’ll know it’s us,” he whispered, “if we move them.”
Rivers turned the corner and drove the van around the block.
“Mom?” Tony was crying now.
“It’s okay, sweetie, they’ll find the safe way in.” Connie didn’t sound as confident as her words.
“Easy-Squeezie Tony,” Pete said. “We just need some crowd control.”
Coming around the corner, the laneway was a hundred feet away and the press was still swarming the sidewalk.
This wasn’t fair.
Nikki had an idea.
Squeezing Connie’s hand one last time, she turned to face her friend. “I’ll see you in there,” she whispered.
Nikki flung open the side door and jumped from the van.
“No! Nikki!” Pete opened his door in a split second, grabbed the edge of Nikki’s coat and as Rivers slammed on the brakes, Nikki escaped coatless.
“This’ll work,” she yelled back, running along the sidewalk in her sweat suit, no makeup and her hair in a dirty ponytail.
“Anyone been looking for me?” Goldy yelled, posing on the sidewalk, like she was in full Goldy costume.
“It’s Cathy!” someone yelled.
She backed up to lure them away from the turnoff to the underside of the building, and as they rushed forward, she braced herself in case they knocked her over. Go go go. She caught a glimpse of the van that was slowly inching to the turnoff. Get out of here.
Nikki extended her arms to signal the press to keep their distance. “Looking for Goldy?” she asked and as she did so, something struck her chest like a rock hit her hard. She staggered back with the blow. The man directly in front of her looked terrified, and, glancing down, she saw a gun in his hand.
She touched her chest. With blood on her fingertips, her legs gave way and she sank to the sidewalk.
Chapter 21
Hell! Pete hoped Nikki knew what she was doing by jumping out of the van. The press was already flocking to her before he’d even shut the door and thrown the coat in the back. He had to leave her. His priority was Cathy Vanelli.
“God dammit, Nikki!” He hit the dashboard as they drove away.
This was her world and she was a master with the press. He told himself that, anyways. At least the distraction allowed them the break needed. It was a generous move on Nikki’s part, seeing she’d been trying to avoid the press all these months. And she’d sacrificed all that to save their hides.
The alley under the courthouse was dark, and Rivers switched on the van’s lights. Pete radioed for the police to find Goldy out in front. “Hey, Hitchens, can you bring her into the building?” Connie was scheduled to testify within the hour, and they had to hurry.
Once upstairs, they walked into the meeting room where the lawyer waited for Connie, then Pete joined Tony outside in the hall. “It’ll be good to get a real shower tonight, huh?”
Tony nodded.
“The danger is over now.” Pete ruffled Tony’s shaggy black hair.
Tony didn’t look convinced. Nikki would get a smile out of him soon. Someday Tony would be able to put this nightmare behind him and have a normal childhood. He was only a kid, for Christ’s sake.
Footsteps indicated someone was running down the hall, coming around the corner and Pete stood in front of Tony, instinctively. It was Hitchens, the policeman he’d asked to get Nikki outside the courthouse.
“Goldy’s been shot,” he whispered solemnly.
“What?” Pete’s first instinct was to run.
“A shooter took her down outside. The ambulance is coming.” He glanced at Tony.
“Status?” Oh, God, please.
“They got the shooter but...I don’t know about her.”
Hitchens’s partner ran around the corner. “Go ahead.” His nod indicated the direction they’d just come. “We’ll watch the boy.”
Pete hesitated. Connie was his duty. Tony too.
“I don’t think she’s dead yet,” the partner said.
Pete had to go. Connie was in good hands.
“Go, Pete!” Tony cried.
Pete grabbed him by the shoulders. “I’ll be right back.”
“Just go!” Tony yelled.
The artwork on the wall rushed by him as he ran full-out, toward the front door. Once he hit the cool air, Pete took the courthouse front steps three at a time, barely touching the concrete on his way to the sidewalk where he’d last seen Nikki.
How could she be dead? He’d just seen her jump from the van. In front of him was the clumped crowd, police cars, people rushing in from every direction. Why hadn’t they secured the scene?
Ambulance sirens got louder. Traffic was at a standstill. He ran closer. A crowd of incredulous bystanders silently stared at the police who surrounded something lying on the pavement.
An ambulance screamed to a halt thirty feet away, lights flashing. Squad cars moved in from every direction and a fire engine rounded the corner.
“Coming through.” Pete pushed anyone out of his way, flashing his U.S. Marshal ID badge. Don’t let her be dead.
“Give her room.” Police were putting up yellow tape.
As Pete flew through to the front of the crowd, he yelled “U.S. Marshal, move aside,” and luckily it worked.
Then he saw her. Her body was now on a moving gurney ahead, rushing for the nearest ambulance—her blonde hair visible, her head not under the sheet. A paramedic talked into a radio, another opened the ambulance door, and two more pushed the gurney at high speed.
She wasn’t dead.
Her blonde hair fell off the bed and when the gurney turned, it looked like her eyes were open. “Nikki!” Could she hear him over the noise?
Pete tried to push forward, but was stopped by two police who didn’t care that he was a U.S. Marshal. “I know her,” he pleaded.
“Sorry, buddy. We got our orders.”
He moved aside, watching her disappear. “U.S. Marshal!” He flashed his ID card to another police officer in front of him. “Hitchens sent me out here. I’m a friend of hers. Let me through.” Only able to get forty feet from the back of the ambulance, a policeman with outstretched arms stopped him.
“I’m a friend.”
“Then let the pros do their job.”
Pete moved on. “How is she?” he asked a paramedic who’d just come from her side. The man shook his head.
Pete grabbed his shirt collar frantically. “What? Not good or you don’t know?”
He pulled Pete’s invasive hands off him. “Hey, buddy, I don’t know, and it doesn’t look good.”
Pete turned to the ambulance which, by now, was surrounded by police. “She’s not dead, right?” he asked anyone who’d look at him. “She’s still alive?” He held his breath, his heart a bleeding lump in his chest.
“Still alive.” A policeman shook his head. “But I don’t know for how long.”
They closed the doors and, on impulse, he yelled, “Nikki, hang in there!” His hands cupped his mouth. Standing on his toes, he tried to get a better view. “It’s Pete, Nikki. I love you! Be strong!”