by Meg Benjamin
Nando blew out a quick breath, remembering suddenly just where Toleffson was tonight. The wedding rehearsal. At the event center behind the Woodrose. But there was no time to go and get him before the twenty minutes was up. Nando punched the button on his automatic dial, praying the chief would pick up.
He wouldn’t, of course. He was in the middle of a wedding rehearsal, and he’d probably turned his phone off. The voice mail message came on as Nando turned into the drive leading to the Inn. “Brody’s got Allie,” he barked. “He’s holding her in the Damask Room at the Woodrose. I’m supposed to go alone and bring everything from your desk. I’m almost there. Don’t let him see you when you come over there. He says he’ll kill her. I’m going there directly. Maybe you can find a back way in.”
He snapped the phone closed and tossed it onto the seat, then pulled the truck into the parking lot at the back of the inn, heading for the rear entrance at a dead run.
He looked at his watch. Four minutes.
It would help if he knew which room the Damask Room was, but he couldn’t take the time to ask, and besides, he didn’t see anyone to ask anyway. He headed down the hall that led to the ballroom, noting the names of the other rooms along the way. Floribunda, Bourbon, Gallica.
Jesus. He had no idea what those names meant or if he was even in the right hall. They didn’t look to be arranged alphabetically, unfortunately.
Ahead of him, he saw a card on an easel standing next to one of the doors. Maldonado-Kleinschmidt Rehearsal Dinner, it said. Behind it, he saw the room plaque. Damask.
He took a deep breath, then knocked on the closed door.
“Nando?” Allie’s voice sounded shaky.
“Yeah,” he muttered.
The door opened and he was looking down at Allie’s pale face. “He’s right behind me,” she said.
“I’ve got the sack. Let me in.”
She stepped to the side, letting him slide past. A tall man with silvery hair and a weathered face stood behind her holding a Walther PPK aimed at the middle of her back.
“Cutting it close, Officer,” he said. “I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”
“I’m here,” Nando said through clenched teeth. “Here’s your stuff. Take it and get out—I won’t stop you.”
“Of course you won’t. You can’t, as long as I have Ms. Maldonado here. Take the sack, Ms. Maldonado.”
Allie reached for the sack he held loosely in his hand. As their fingers touched briefly, he felt the coldness of her skin.
She swallowed hard. “Here,” she said, holding the sack toward Brody.
“Open it,” he said.
She blinked. “Me?”
“You. Let’s make sure the officer hasn’t decided to do something supremely stupid, like dropping in a couple of dye packs.”
Nando’s jaw tightened. If he’d had more time, he might actually have done that, assuming they had any dye packs at the station. “It’s clean,” he snapped.
“Open it,” Brody repeated. “Tell me what you see.”
Allie pulled the top of the sack open, peering inside. “It’s just office stuff.”
“Tell me what’s in there.” Brody’s voice was sharp. “Now.”
She licked her lips, then looked inside again. “I see a couple of legal pads, a lot of pens and pencils, some gum, some file folders with papers inside, some old computer disks, some energy bars, a bunch of paperclips and rubber bands, some spare change, some envelopes and stamps and some stationery. Do you want me to dig through it?”
Brody’s lips spread into the ghost of a smile. “No. That’s enough.” He stepped beside her, taking hold of her upper arm. “We’re going into the parking lot now. Hold onto that sack. You’ll stay here, Officer.”
“Take me,” Nando said quickly. “Leave her here. She’s got nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” Brody folded the sack under his arm. “Ms. Maldonado is a lot safer hostage than you would be.”
“If she gets hurt…” Nando said through gritted teeth.
“If she gets hurt, it’s your fault. All I want to do is get out of here.”
Brody moved the hand with the gun into his pants pocket. Nando could see the outline of the pistol still pointed at Allie. “Move, Ms. Maldonado. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner this will be over.”
She cast an anguished glance at Nando. “It’s all right,” he murmured, his chest clenching tight. “It’ll be all right.”
Brody nodded toward the far corner of the room. “Get over to the far side and stay there, Officer. Ms. Maldonado will lock the door when we leave. If you start yelling too soon, she’s likely to get hurt. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” he muttered.
Kit stood in the hallway, her gaze fastened on the door to the Damask Room. Nando had gone in carrying a sack and for just a moment she was sure she’d seen Allie’s white face when she’d opened the door. Which meant that either Nando was in cahoots with Brody or Brody was forcing him to do something by using Allie as a hostage. Since the first possibility was absurd, the second must be fact.
She wiped her palms on her thighs. At least that explained why she hadn’t been able to get Nando on the phone. She could try to run back to find Wonder and Erik, but who knew how long Brody would stay in that room? Yet if she didn’t go for help, what could she do? She didn’t have any weapons and she wouldn’t have known how to use them if she had.
She walked quickly back up the hall again, her hands trembling. Think, damn it, think! It’s not just Allie, he’s got Nando.
“Hey darlin’.” Joe stood at the end of the hallway, holding a large cake in his hands. “Got Ms. Allie’s groom’s cake here. Work of art, I’m telling you.”
Kit stood rooted in the spot for a moment then started trotting down the hall toward him. “Give it to me.”
Joe peered at her doubtfully. “To you? I was just going to put it in the kitchen with the wedding cake.”
“Give it to me now. Don’t argue, Joe, for god’s sake. Lives are at stake.” She slid her hands under the large platter, taking the considerable weight on her forearms.
“Lives at stake?” Joe’s forehead furrowed. “Look, Kit, I know this whole wedding thing has been a strain…”
She turned, moving back up the hall. “Go to the event center. Find Wonder and the chief. Tell them he’s in the Damask Room. Hurry! Please, Joe.”
She had no idea whether he did as she asked. Her whole concentration was on the door to the Damask Room, which was slowly opening.
Allie stepped through first, grasping the black plastic garbage sack in both hands. Behind her, Brody-Didrikson looked deceptively bored. His gray groundskeeper’s uniform was stained around the knees, his hair squashed down where he’d worn his cap. He looked annoyingly ordinary—just your average gardener taking a break. Except for the hand jammed in his pants pocket that probably held a gun pointed at his hostage.
Kit took a breath. “Aunt Allie,” she called, forcing her voice into the kind of hearty cheerfulness she figured she should be using on the day before the wedding. “Look! Joe had your groom’s cake.”
She pattered up the hall, hoping her grin was sunny enough. “Oh hi, Mr. Didrikson. I didn’t see you there. Look at Allie’s groom’s cake. Isn’t it super?”
Didrikson narrowed his eyes as she stopped in front of him, probably trying to decide if she was serious.
“It’s German chocolate, isn’t it?” Kit babbled. “And look at the detail in the frosting.”
Brody shifted his gaze to the cake for an instant.
Kit put all the strength she’d managed to build up from weeks of carrying laden trays and full pitchers of tea into her forearms, pushing the cake up to smash it into his face.
Several things happened at once. Allie screamed. Nando almost leaped out the door of the Damask Room, jerking Brody’s hand out of his pants pocket and bringing his knee up hard in his groin. Brody dropped to his knees, groaning, as Nando pulled the gu
n free.
Kit had flattened herself against the wall, staring wide-eyed as Brody pulled into the fetal position on the floor in front of them, icing and cake dripping from his face.
From further down the hall somebody muttered “Ouch.” Kit turned to see Joe standing at the bend in the hallway. He shrugged. “They’re on their way.”
Nando jerked the handcuffs from his belt, pulling Brody’s hands behind him none too gently. “You have the right to remain silent,” he droned. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been repeated to you, you asshole son of a bitch?”
Brody groaned again.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Nando looked like he felt an almost overwhelming desire to kick him again, but restrained himself when he glanced at Allie.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded, pressing her fingers to her lips. “I was so scared,” she whispered. “I’ve never been so scared before. I didn’t know if I’d ever make it back to the event center.”
“Allie!” Wonder ran across the hall, his thin hair on end, his glasses slightly askew on his nose. “Allie, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
Before she could answer he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. “Oh, sweetheart, sweetheart, I’m sorry. You can keep the house. You can have anything you want. All you have to do is ask.”
Allie leaned her forehead against his chest, and burst into noisy tears.
Nando stared at Kit where she stood huddled against the wall. After a moment he stepped across Brody’s prone form, dodging around the remains of the groom’s cake that littered the floor, until he stood in front of her. His eyes were burning, his hands trembled. She suddenly realized he was furious. “What the hell did you think you were doing?” he growled.
“I wanted to stop him,” she managed, voice shaking. “It was all I could think of.”
“You could have been killed. He had a gun.” He took a deep shuddering breath, then reached for her, pulling her tight against his chest. “Don’t ever do that again,” he murmured against her hair.
Kit closed her eyes, letting herself sink against him. “I can pretty much promise I won’t.”
“I almost hate to break this up, but somebody’s got to take this asshole to town.”
Kit glanced up. Chief Toleffson stood beside the wall a couple of feet away. He wore civilian clothes, khakis and a knit shirt, but he was holding a gun in his hand. He sighed as he walked toward them. “Got your message, Avrogado. And yours.” He nodded toward Kit, then narrowed his eyes. “You do know what you just did was unbelievably dumb.”
Kit managed a shaky shrug. “Seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, Allie’s probably going to have a new fit of hysterics when she actually realizes what happened to her groom’s cake.”
Toleffson stepped over a lump of cream-colored frosting to reach Brody, taking him by the elbow to pull him to his feet. “Former Chief Brody, I assume, somewhere under all that goop. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while. You tried to kill my sister-in-law, as I recall. And then you did the same thing to my dispatcher.” He gave Brody a very unsettling smile.
Brody blinked at him. “Business,” he muttered.
“Uh huh. I don’t supposed you’d care to tell us just what you were after in my office?”
“Fuck you,” Brody wheezed.
“Right.” The chief turned back toward Kit for a moment. “Sorry about this. Looks like I’m going to miss the rehearsal. Morgan can fill me in later.” He turned back to Brody again, giving him what looked like a slight shove, although it almost made Brody lose his footing. “Let’s take it downtown. I’m sure Helen will be very glad to see you again.”
Kit wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought Brody paled slightly as he stumbled toward the parking lot entrance.
Across the hall, Allie raised her head from Wonder’s chest. “Thank you. Both of you. He could have killed me.”
“That’s okay, Aunt Allie. We weren’t going to let him take you away.” Kit took another deep breath, surveying the fragments of pastry strewn around the floor of the hall. “I’m so sorry about your beautiful groom’s cake.”
Allie stirred in Wonder’s arms, staring down at the smashed bits of cake on the floor in front of her for the first time. “Who cares about a damn cake,” she murmured. “It’s the groom who matters.” She slid her arm around Wonder’s waist, leaning her head against his chest as they headed back up the hall toward the event center. “Come on,” she murmured. “Let’s go get married.”
Kit sighed. “And that’s my cue to head back to the rehearsal. At least, there’s going to be a rehearsal. And a wedding. This will probably all hit me somewhere around the toasts at dinner tonight. See you later, Officer?”
Nando tipped her chin up with his thumb, giving her a fierce kiss that left her lips almost numb. “Count on it, ma’am.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Allie still claimed she wasn’t upset about the cake, even though her lip trembled when she said it. She insisted on staying for the rehearsal dinner after Nando took her brief statement. He had the feeling she was running on fumes but not yet willing to give up.
So was Kit as far as he could tell. He made her promise to call him rather than trying to drive back to town herself—he didn’t want her behind the wheel once the adrenaline wore off.
He headed back to the station with the sack of stuff from the chief’s desk, fairly certain that he’d be walking into chaos once he got there. He was right.
The parking lot was full of police cars from various jurisdictions. He saw the circular insignia of the Texas Rangers on one, the county sheriff’s gold shield on another two. The Konigsburg cruiser was in the lot, along with a few civilian cars. Nando parked on the street.
Inside, there were at least six men in unfamiliar uniforms, along with the entire Konigsburg force, including the part-timers and Helen. She sat behind her dispatcher’s desk, looking slightly pale but absolutely determined. Nando decided he wouldn’t even bother suggesting she sit this one out.
He pulled up a chair beside Delaney’s desk. “What’s happening?”
Delaney glanced at him, then grinned. “Hey, the chief told us what you did out there. Nice work.”
“Thanks. I had help,” he said shortly. “What’s going on now?”
“Deciding where to send Brody first, I guess. Rangers want him for official corruption; Friesenhahn wants him for attempted murder and assault. Friesenhahn’s got a court order to take him. Rangers will probably get him for major crimes eventually, but I’m guessing he’s headed for the county jail right now.”
Nando grimaced. “Hell, we’ve got a solid claim on him for burglary and assault. Don’t we even get to question him? The son of a bitch broke into our station.”
“The chief did question him, but I guess he didn’t say much of anything. Maybe we’ll get another chance later.”
There was a flurry of voices from the hall leading to the cells, and then Brody emerged, his ankles and wrists shackled. Sheriff Friesenhahn held one elbow while a Ranger held the other. Nando managed to hide his grin. Maybe they’d split Brody up the middle, Solomon style.
Brody’s gaze flitted across the faces of the cops watching him, pausing momentarily at Nando, then at Helen. His mouth tightened.
Helen gave him a basilisk glare that should have turned him to stone.
Friesenhahn gave him a slight shove forward. “Move, jerk-off. You got no friends here.”
Nando stared at Brody’s hunched back as he shuffled out the door. What Friesenhahn had said was manifestly true. He figured every cop in the place would like to nail Brody’s hide to the wall, not only for his most recent crimes but also for the way his activities had made the civilian population doubt the rest of them.
After the entire procession had cleared the parking lot, Nand
o pushed himself to his feet again, grabbing the sack as he headed toward the chief’s office. “This was what he told me to bring out to the Woodrose when he had Kit—the contents of the desk. But I don’t know what part of it he wanted.”
“Leave it on the table.” Toleffson was pulling on his uniform shirt. “I’m going over to the County to sit in when they question the SOB. We’ll see what he has to say about breaking in here.”
Nando was guessing he wouldn’t say much. “Do you want me to check through this stuff again?”
The chief shook his head. “Leave it for now. Go on back to the Woodrose and pick up your girlfriend. At least one of us ought to get a chance for a decent meal tonight.” He gave Nando a dry grin, then headed back up the hall toward the parking lot.
Allie kept insisting she was so happy that Kit had saved her and Wonder was marrying her that nothing else mattered. But Kit still felt guilty about the globs of frosting and crumbs on the floor from the shattered groom’s cake. She hurried back and forth between the Damask Room and the event center, grateful that the maintenance staff had been able to clean up the last remnants of cake from the rug before the guests arrived. She wasn’t sure Allie would have been so forgiving if she’d had to walk on the crumbs to get to the rehearsal dinner.
Her reaction finally began to set in as the rehearsal crowd finished their meal and broke into smaller groups around the room. They showed no signs of wanting to go home.
She sank into a chair behind the hostess desk at the Rose, suddenly so tired she was afraid her knees wouldn’t hold her up any longer. Technically the rehearsal dinner was Mabel’s responsibility since it was a private event. She shouldn’t have had to make sure they left on time or that the housekeeping staff took care of the room before tomorrow. But Mabel didn’t seem to be around. Apparently, she’d left Kit in charge without telling her and gone home for the night.