My internal monologue was controlling my tension-filled body now, the voice of my inner animal fully in control as my destiny settled roughly on top of my heavy heart and shoulders. I gripped the handle of the knife with my sweaty palms, ready to find my prey and eviscerate them both when I heard the floor creak behind me. I swung quickly around with knife at the ready as my face contorted into an angry sneer, and I locked eyes with a pair of dark brown one’s that matched the madness of my own.
“Well, lookie here. Someone thinks they are going to play the hero!” Piper growled out the last word as I heard a click of the hammer on the gun that was aimed directly at my chest by hands I assumed belonged to Kevin. “Not today, bitch! Your Warrior days are over. Drop it,” she sneered, just as Kevin appeared right next to her, the gun shaking slightly in his effeminate hands. “Or I’m afraid I’ll have to make poor ol Mizz Milligan suffer greatly.”
Her words slid easily off of her tongue as she held up a syringe full of thick, creamy-colored liquid that almost glistened underneath the bare bulb dangling from the ceiling while she gently swayed it back and forth across her chest. “And trust me, Robert didn’t enjoy his death at all. I’m sure you don’t want that poor bag of bones in there to suffer such a painful fate, so sit!” she barked. As much as I wanted to launch myself across the kitchen and bury the blade up to the hilt into her blackened, twisted heart, I calculated my advantages at this point, which were basically nil, and slowly leaned over and placed my chance at freedom on the table, then stepped back and leaned against the cool counter.
“Now, there’s a good little escapee. Kevin, go get our other guest. We don’t want her to miss out on tonight’s festivities, do we?” Piper directed her words to Kevin, but her darkened eyes never left my own. For the first time, I had a clear glimpse of them, and it was obvious to even me that she was gone. There wasn’t much lurking behind her eyes except utter madness, and although I knew I should be scared, a strange sensation spread through me as I realized I could be just as cold and calculating as she was, but for completely different reasons.
“Where is Mrs. Milligan?” I said slowly, never taking my eyes off of my newfound nemesis.
“She is resting in the other room. You ask about that ol bitch first but have yet to comment on your other friend here. Don’t you think she looks…well, better? It’s a nice change from before,” Piper said, her arm that held the syringe flamboyantly swaying in front of Gabrielle’s corpse, almost as if she was a morbid version of Vanna White. “That lying mouth will never utter another lie again. I made sure of that when I bashed her face in,” Piper sneered, looking down at the matted corpse almost like she was a proud parent displaying her child’s artwork to her friends.
Before I could respond, the sound of Kevin’s voice came barreling down the hall, followed quickly by his footsteps as he burst into the kitchen. His sudden outburst startled Piper, who dropped her focus on me and turned it to him as he yelled, “She’s gone!”
“What?” screamed Piper.
“She’s not in there!” he said, turning his attention, and the gun, on me. “Where the fuck is she?”
Nicole had been gone for less than ten minutes, and I knew that she probably hadn’t made it very far toward Summerset, but still, she did have a lead on him. I needed to buy her some more time, even if it only consisted of seconds, so I replied, “Oh, she just went out for a night stroll, you know, to get some fresh air after waking up with a hangover.”
Before I could finish the last word, Kevin was suddenly upon me and the back of his hand caught almost the same exact spot on my face that it had earlier that evening, but this time, I was not only ready for it, but almost craved the pain to give me strength of my own. The loud smack of his skin against mine reverberated through the kitchen only to be outdone by Piper’s shrill shriek, “Don’t waste your time with her! Go find Nicole!”
Kevin was breathing heavy, his hair mussed and falling into his reddened face as he nodded at Piper and quickly spun around, slamming the front door behind him as he headed to search for Nicole. Piper’s eyes immediately converged upon mine again, a hint of laughter twitching at her lips as she moved slowly toward me, her limpid pool of sanity not disturbed by petty blinking.
“Clever girl, but it won’t matter…now, let’s have a seat in the living room by your other friend. I have some papers that require your signature. It’s up to you whether we use ink or blood.”
“YES, THAT’S THE CORRECT VIN number, I’m sure of it. I am looking at the purchase documents right now,” Nick said, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to focus on the buyer’s order in his lap. He was pale and shaky, gripping the phone tightly in one hand, the other buried in the door handle of my car as I sped through the streets of Phoenix toward Audra’s house.
“I’m sorry, sir, as I said earlier, the GPS on that VIN number is not locating anything.”
“Fuck!” Nick yelled, slamming his phone shut, his frustration overwhelming his normally calm, attorney-like demeanor. “That was a complete bust. I can’t believe we couldn’t find any records of her phone number! How in the hell are we going to find her? She could be anywhere.”
“The crime scene unit will hopefully uncover something, soon. I was really hoping that we could get a trace on her car. Think Nick. You know her best,” I said, the knot in my stomach now the size of a basketball. Twice since leaving Piper’s house a few minutes ago I tried calling Audra, but her phone was going straight to voicemail, which it never did. For the first time in my career as a cop, I overrode my instincts and told myself that she was fine.
But I knew better.
Nick let out his breath in a huge burst of frustrated air as he replied, “I only thought I knew her. I knew she was unstable and a danger to herself, but I never would have imagined that she was a danger to others.”
As I exited the freeway toward Audra’s, I snatched my cell phone from my lap to call her again, ignoring the panic that was rising in me. A crazed, psycho killer bitch, armed with rattlesnake venom, who had killed one person already and kidnapped another, was God-knows-where in this sprawling state, and she was after the woman that I loved. Jesus, Steve, you just admitted it; you love her.
And I did. I loved every single thing about that feisty sprite of a woman, from her bravery and strength down to her hidden fears and flawed character. The first time I saw her truly smile I felt it pierce through my own armor, and I knew then that she was something special. Our night together seemed eons ago after all the craziness of the past few days, but I could still remember watching her sleep, her face calm and relaxed as her body curled around my own, her breathing deep and heavy. I knew then that I wanted to experience that every single night for the rest of my life.
My heart was beating fast as I dialed her number again, and it then went into overdrive as the call went straight to her voicemail again. Where was she? Then I remembered the dinner date.
“Nick, what is the name of that overpriced Italian joint downtown? I think it starts with a Z?”
“Zargento’s?” Nick responded, looking at me like I just lost my mind by asking.
“Yes! That’s it!” I said, slowing down a bit as I rounded the corner into Audra’s neighborhood.
I dialed information and within seconds, was connected. It was past ten o’clock, and I hoped they were still answering the phone. On the fifth ring, I was just about to hang up when someone picked up.
“Zargento’s.”
Thank God. “My name is Detective Ronson, and I need to speak with the manager, now please. It’s urgent.”
“He has already left for the evening, sir. We closed at ten. I am the host, Renaldo…may I help you with something?”
Damn it! “There were reservations this evening for around six for Audra Tanner. I need to know if she made it?”
There was a pause on the other end as I heard paper being flipped as Renaldo was searching. “You say you’re a detective? Is there something wrong?”
�
�Yes, there is something wrong, or else I wouldn’t be calling to ask! Time is precious here, so please just answer my question. Did she show up?”
I heard him clear his throat, his voice betraying his hurt at my chastisement. “Yes, Audra Tanner, party of three, only two checked in at 6:30, and they left at eight in a cab.”
“Only two? Was the other woman older with a head full of curly blonde hair?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact she was. Very funny lady, especially when I helped them both to the cab. The one you just asked about was pretty drunk and, um, rather flirtatious.”
So, Audra and Nicole left together, drunk, around eight, yet their meeting with the rich bitch never happened. Either the rich bitch stood them up or this was a set up. I chewed on that for a second when my thoughts were interrupted by the host who said, “Funny, I just noticed a note here that the third party did call at six and left a message saying she was delayed with car trouble, but on her way.”
Bingo.
“Did she by chance leave a call back number?” I asked as I turned onto Audra’s street.
“No, but I could check our Caller ID. Hold on.”
I put the phone on speaker and set it down in my lap as I turned into Audra’s driveway and stopped quickly, digging through my console for a pen and paper in case luck was with me, and just as I found a pen, Renaldo clicked back on the line.
“There was one call at exactly six o’clock from a cell phone, the number is…”
I quickly scribbled it down, my heart beating from excitement now. I thanked Renaldo and hung up and said to Nick, “Hey, I think we have our first lead….” I stopped short of finishing my sentence when I noticed the look on Nick’s face, so I followed his gaze and looked out the windshield.
My stomach dropped like I was riding the biggest roller coaster of my life as I stared at the open gate. A cold fear swept up my back as I shut the car off and reached under my seat for my revolver. I didn’t even look at Nick as I opened the car door and said, “Do not follow me. Call 911, and stay put.”
Nick just nodded his head and began to dial as I quietly shut the car door and headed up the drive to the front door. I didn’t notice anything amiss until I hit the peak of the driveway and looked at the front door, which was wide open, the glaring light shining alone in the darkness. I made my way through the front door and inside, crouching by the door and listening for sounds of life. I glanced down and saw two purses next to a chair, the contents of both strewn all over, and as I followed their scattered path, my eyes stopped on a smear of blood on the floor and the remnants of two shattered cell phones.
Oh God, I was too late.
On autopilot now, I quickly cleared the house and determined that no one was there. Once back to the front door, I bent down and opened the other bag, assuming that it must be Nicole’s, and upon finding her driver’s license, realized I couldn’t escape the instincts I had been born with and that had been honed to razor sharp accuracy as a cop: Piper had Audra, and it seems, Nicole as well.
I walked back out the front door and was greeted by Nick’s hulking figure walking up the driveway, and thought how ironic that two completely different men were in this life and death struggle for two completely different women for polar opposite reasons. I heard sirens in the distance heading in our direction, but it brought no comfort to my pounding heart as I looked at Nick, who was now standing directly in front of me, his eyes a rampant mess of emotions, and said, “We’re too late.”
“Oh, God,” Nick said, his voice choking back the tears that were in his throat.
“Where’s my cell?” I barked.
He produced it silently from his pocket, the tears flowing freely down his face now. Quickly, I ran back to the car as I dialed the station, praying that Sandy would answer because God knows the rest of the staff didn’t have the brains or expertise to help me.
“Summerset Police Department…Sandy.”
“Sandy, I need you to run the following number. Get someone to ping it so we can locate where it was last used. Get Judge Hall patched through to my cell. We need a warrant to trace this number,” I said, snatching the paper off my console. “And I mean now!” I yelled, cringing a bit on the inside for my outburst at Sandy, but unable to hold back my nervousness anymore.
“Sure thing, Steve. Hold on,” Sandy responded, thankfully realizing that this was truly an emergency.
The first of five Phoenix police cruisers came screaming down Audra’s street as I finished giving the phone number to Sandy, and before my voice was lost over their wails, I said, “Hurry, Sandy, please.”
I SAT IN THE very same spot that I did days ago, and so did Mrs. Milligan; only this time, she was unconscious and bound tightly to a chair less than three feet away from me. When Piper led me to the living room moments ago, I thought my heart would burst from agony as I gazed upon her aging frame, unmoving and pale as death’s shadow, until I saw her chest rise and fall faintly. Knowing she was still alive, even if her heartbeat was faint and her breathing shallow, caused my nerves to settle somewhat. My mind focused on setting her free from this nightmare that I inadvertently had drug her into.
Piper was perched in the chair between us as her eyes burned into mine, watching every reaction and movement from me as I looked at Mrs. Milligan, just waiting for me to mentally cave and become some blubbering idiot—putty in her hands.
Bitch picked the wrong woman for that.
Barely perceivable, I drew my breath in slowly through my nose and leveled my eyes and stared straight into her pools of madness. Her right hand still held the syringe that was uncapped now, a few drops of the liquid dripping slowly off of the sharp end. The edge of the needle was dangerously close to Mrs. Milligan’s limp arm, while Piper’s other one reached out to the papers on the table and pushed them toward me slowly.
“Sign,” she purred.
My window of opportunity was a cracked sliver at best. Kevin could walk in at any moment, and Piper could break from reality at any second and stab Mrs. Milligan with whatever poison she held in her hand. The thought crossed my mind briefly that I could just leap across the table and knock her down, thinking that we were about well-matched in height and weight, but I tossed that plan out as quickly as it entered my head. Her insanity obviously made her a very strong woman if she took down a man, even though I wasn’t quite sure of exactly the way she had accomplished that. I didn’t want to deal with what if scenarios or thoughts and decided to use the one weapon against her that was stronger than any gun or knife—Olin.
Forcing my facial features to contort into a snide grin, I glanced down at the papers and responded, “Exactly what am I signing here, Piper?”
Her wicked grin matched my own as she replied, “Oh, just a few little loose ends. You know, an affidavit stating you are resigning as Managing Partner and that you are nominating Nicole as the new one. Of course, if she is unable or unwilling to carry out those duties, the firm will then be under the control of Kevin.” The pools were writhing in glistening madness now, almost making me dizzy, but I never looked away, deciding to dive right into their darkened waters.
“Really? So that’s what this is all about? Kevin wants Winscott? Jesus, Piper, he could have just asked. Running that hellhole isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. So, what’s this?” I said, my head nodding slightly toward the other piece of paper.
“Your suicide note.”
My heart quickened, but I kept on swimming.
“Oh, suicide! What a brilliant plan! So let me guess; the note rambles on about my guilt and sadness, and I decided to drive all the way to Summerset and stop here, at this house of all places, to kill myself, after dragging the rotting corpse of my assistant with me? And Mrs. Milligan? Come on, Piper, you can do better than that!” I said, taking another stroke in the blackened water.
Her eyes narrowed a bit at my affront to her planning capabilities. “No, actually, you admit to killing Robert, Gabrielle, Mrs. Milligan, and yourself because you couldn�
�t stand your life anymore, and they needed to pay for their lying, sinful deeds. You realized that you couldn’t live with the fact that the filth you spouted about Olin caused a chain reaction for others, forcing an innocent man to be arrested. Your thoughts on this were solidified after Robert confided to you that he, in fact, killed that trollop so long ago. Oh, and you also felt so guilty about ruining Nicole’s life that you wanted to leave her the company…you know, as some sort of final peace offering. Female to female bonding shit. Of course,” Piper’s smile was so inherently evil that the chill from it shot straight through me, almost as if the Grim Reaper himself reached inside my chest and squeezed, “Nikki was supposed to die in a terribly tragic car accident shortly after becoming top dog, but look at you! You brought her to us and saved me from having to dirty up my hands! I will admit, her presence threw a small rock into my well-oiled plan, but Kevin and I decided we could use this to our advantage. Now that we have her…well, had her,” she said, glancing quickly out the picture window into the stillness of the night, “she will mysteriously disappear, leaving the authorities to assume that you had something to do with her death since she was last seen with you. It’s perfection!” she said, her breath coming heavier now and her voice almost sultry as she cooed the words, “Oh, and the best part? I get to kill you and that obnoxious Southern Belle myself once Kevin finds her!”
My God, she was certifiable. Not that I had any doubts about it before but watching her almost salivate over the thought of ending the existence of more human lives was beyond frightening. There’s nothing like having the eyes of a demented, psychotic killer staring you down like you were a wounded bird that they toyed with before ripping it to shreds.
Except I wasn’t wounded.
“Wow, I’m impressed Piper. You have it all figured out, right down to whatever drug or poison is dripping out of that needle, just waiting to enter my veins,” I said, hoping she would take the bait and give away what toxic substance I was up against.
Eviscerating the Snake - The Complete Trilogy Page 35