Olga stood still. Thoughts raced through her head and she finally said, "I knew you had something to do with my kidnapping. I'm sure of it now. I'm going upstairs to call detective inspector Carlyle and tell him that you were behind it."
"I don't know what you're talking about, young woman. I've done nothing to you. Nothing at all."
"Let's go, Olga. We'll leave the confrontation to the detective inspector. No need to get into a discussion with my father. Leave it to the professionals. They know how to interrogate him to get what they need."
"You better watch your mouth, son. I've had about all the lip I'm going to take from you." Gabe's father poked his son in the chest.
"Stop. Leave him alone. I have one more thing to say to you and then I'll go." Olga moved forward one step toward Mr. Swicord. "Martin told us what you did to get Julie out of Gabe's life. I'm putting you on notice that you won't be successful if you try any of that crap with me. I'm in love with your son and I'm here to stay. I think you had me snatched off the street to get rid of me. It's extreme, I know, but you've been a jackass to your son every time I've seen you and I'm sure you did it."
"You impertinent girl. Do you have any idea to whom you're speaking? That statement is slanderous and I'll sue you for all you're worth." Gabe's father almost spat the words at Olga.
"Bring it. Let's tangle in court. I'd love a chance to tell the world all the underhanded things you've done to your own flesh and blood. It'd be a pleasure to see you fall."
Before Alexander Swicord could do more than sputter in response to Olga, Gabe pulled her back to stand beside him.
"We're going upstairs. Expect a call from the man investigating the kidnapping of two women. I think Olga's right. I think this stinks of your tactics. I don't know why you don't want me to be happy and successful but I'm through trying to please you. From this point on, my life is mine. Now, go away." Gabe gestured for Olga to go ahead of him to the flat.
As they moved toward the building, Gabe whirled around. "I can hear you following us, sir. Please leave. Now."
"This conversation is not over," his father retorted.
"It is." With his hand on the small of her back, Gabe practically forced Olga up the staircase. She was glad to get away from the old man and moved as quickly as she could.
Chapter Twenty-Six
"To be prepared is to have no anxiety."
Korean Proverb
Upstairs, Olga took Gabe's cane and set it down inside near the front door. She turned back to him and found he was standing so close to her that she almost collided with his chest. "Good God, man, you've got to quit sneaking up on me like that. How do you do it?"
"I follow your lovely scent, my dear. You may as well get used to it, after all, I heard what you said to my father down there, you know."
"Which part are you referring to?"
Gabe chuckled as he rubbed the bandages on Olga's back lightly. "I was referring to your statement that you weren't going to be run off by him, so I'm thinking you better get used to me stalking you since you're here to stay."
"I'm planning to stay awhile today, so can we move away from the front door and further into the flat?"
"Which way? I'm game to head upstairs or stay down here in the living room."
"I'm voting for upstairs. Your room."
"They're all my rooms, Olga, my love." He lightly kissed her on the lips.
Before he could move away, she pulled him closer, her arms around his waist and deepened the kiss. Her tongue slid inside his mouth and he responded in kind. Their tongues danced together until she thought she would collapse from the passion he awakened in her.
Gabe tightened his hold on her. She gasped at the pain the movement caused to her still raw wound.
Gabe leapt back. "I'm sorry. God, I was supposed to be nursing you back to health.
"Don't be so silly. I'm fine. It startled me." Olga lied so she wouldn't make him feel any more inadequate as a caregiver than he already did. She took his hand. "Come on upstairs, I want to have you take care of me up there."
"I need to leave you alone. You're injured. You go up and lie down and I'll bring you some ginger ale."
"Nonsense. I need my nursemaid to come up to bed with me."
"You told me not to be silly, and now you're the one being exactly that. Don't you know by now that I can't be alone with you without wanting to be naked in your arms?"
"That's exactly how I feel, so come on." Olga tugged at his hand and tried to pull him up the stairs.
"I think we need to call the detective inspector like we planned before we came up here and got distracted."
"You're changing the subject now. Don't be afraid. We can be together. We only have to be careful about my back. It'll be fine."
"I don't want to hurt you. Can't you see it's making me daft?" Gabe ran his hands through his hair until it stood on end.
"It doesn't have to. Come on, I have a plan." She reached up and smoothed his hair. "Once we are sated with each other, we'll come back down and call the detective inspector."
"That'll be never, then." Gabe laughed.
"Those are the words I was waiting to hear." Olga tugged him up the stairs as she giggled.
Once they arrived on the landing, she took her shirt off and threw it on the floor. She didn't have a bra since she hadn't wanted the strap to irritate her injuries. She took Gabe's hands and placed one on each of her naked breasts.
His eyebrows rose over the top of his sunglasses and she pulled them off his face.
"Why'd you take off my glasses?"
"Remember my rule. No hiding."
"I'll never hide from you again, baby." Gabe leaned in and licked one of her nipples as he ran the pad of his thumb across the other one.
"Then come on and let's see what you've got in there, mister." Olga tugged on the front of his jeans. "And this time, I get to be on top. Purely for medicinal reasons, of course."
*****
The next morning after a long night of passion that went a long way toward healing Olga's back, or at least making her feel less sore, they went out to have coffee and bagels at a place near Gabe's flat called The Beanery. While they ate, they discussed their plan to first visit the detective inspector about Gabe's father and then head over to the Retro Disco to see if Jacob knew anything else that could help them figure out who was behind the murders and the kidnappings. After that, Olga wanted to go see Martin. She'd spoken to Gina who said he was doing well but Olga needed to see for herself. After all, the man had almost died to save her.
They took the tube to the precinct and asked to see the detective inspector. He was in and the desk officer led Olga and Gabe to an interview room. He left them there with cups of coffee that looked more like mud than anything Olga had ever swallowed voluntarily.
In a few moments, detective inspector Carlyle came in and, grabbing one of the metal chairs and swinging it around to straddle it, he sat.
"I'm glad to see you up and about and out of the hospital, Miss Quinn."
"I'm relieved to be out as well. Thanks." She smiled. "Did you get that bastard that held me and Gina?"
"We did. He's in lockup now and singing like a canary, as they say."
"So, you know who did it?" Gabe asked.
"We're not quite done sorting it all yet. It's quite a convoluted mess. We have a car out now to pick up one of the accomplices. I'm waiting to question him."
"Can you tell us who? Do we know him?"
"I can't say yet but will soon, I hope. We don't want it to get out." The detective inspector placed his hands on the table and reached out to touch Olga's. "I know you told me in the hospital that the man never let you see his face, but I want you to look at a lineup for body type. It may not do much good, and may not even be admissible in court and, even though we caught him coming out of the building and his clothes had a fire accelerant on them, I'd like it if you'd take a look. Will you do that?"
"You bet I will. This guy needs to go down and I'm
in for whatever it takes to send him away for a long time."
"Wait here and I'll arrange it." The detective inspector stood.
"Don't go yet, we came here to tell you Olga's theory about my father being somehow involved in this whole mess."
"Really? You think Alexander Swicord could be involved?" The detective inspector directed his question at Olga as he retook his seat.
"I do indeed. Let me tell you exactly what kind of father and man he is." Olga proceeded to tell the detective inspector how awful the man had been to his own son and explained her reasoning for believing him to be involved at least in her abduction, even if not the murders.
When she was finished, the detective inspector said, "Wow. That's some story there, but we'll check into it. I'll ask the canary about it, too." He stood. "Let's get that lineup done. I think my other suspect should be here soon, as well."
They waited about half an hour before Carlyle returned. He led them down the corridor to a room that had a few chairs scattered around and a wall of glass on one side. There were four other people milling around the room. One of them looked like a lawyer to Olga and she wasn't sure if the others were with him or were law enforcement. None were in uniform.
Carlyle led her and Gabe over to the glass wall. "In a moment, the lights will come on and you'll see seven men dressed in black and wearing the same type of ski mask you described. We need you to look them over and let us know if any look familiar. Later, we'll have them each say something the man said to you so you can maybe identify him by voice. We've also called to ask Miss Boudreau to come and do the same."
"Will the men be able to see Olga?" Gabe asked.
"No. It's a one-way mirror." The detective inspector turned to Olga. "Are you ready?"
"Can I wait for Gina?"
"No. You can't do this together. I'm afraid. We need each of you alone. You know, so you don't influence each other."
"Oh. I didn't think about that." She took Gabe's arm and turned toward the glass. "Let's do it."
"Gentlemen," Carlyle called out. "It's show time."
The others in the room gathered closer to the glass. The light came on and seven men walked in a single file line across a stage. Olga's knees buckled as the fourth one entered. She'd know him anywhere. There was really no need for him to say a word. She whispered, "Oh, God."
Gabe squeezed her arm. "You can do this."
His faith in her and the warmth of his nearness gave her the strength to go on. She looked at Carlyle and nodded.
"Do you think you know which one?" Carlyle asked.
"Yes. I'm positive."
"What about the voice test? Are you going to let her try to ID someone without the voice?" The man she thought looked like a lawyer spoke up.
"I don't need it." Olga addressed him.
"Don't talk to him. Talk to me." Carlyle said. "I'd like you to write down the number of the person on this pad of paper and hand it to Gabe. Then we'll do the voice test. Let's see if they match."
"Why should she give it to her friend? What if he cheats and changes it?" lawyer man asked.
Gabe let out a bark of laughter. "Can't you see I'm blind? How can I cheat?"
"Let's just do this. We have another witness on the way and we need to get this one out of here." Carlyle handed Olga the paper and she wrote down her choice.
After she handed the sheet to Gabe, Carlyle said, "Okay, now turn your back and we're going to have each man say one of the things you told us he said when you had your conversation with him. They will be in random order so you won't be able to tell which is standing where." He put his hand on Olga's back and she turned away from the glass wall.
"Are you ready?" Carlyle asked.
"Yes. Let's go, but remember, the guy spoke with a French accent."
Carlyle pointed toward the wall. "We told them to use their best accent. And go."
One at a time, the men said, "It's a shame really, that you're not going to be around much longer. A real shame."
When Olga heard the same sentence come from the man who'd said it to her when she thought Gina was dead, her blood ran cold and she shuddered.
"Are you all right?" Detective Inspector Carlyle asked.
"Fine. I'm fine. Keep going."
When all seven had said the sentence, Olga said, "The voice was the man who spoke sixth."
Carlyle tapped Gabe on the arm. "Hand me the slip of paper. No, wait. On second thought, hand it to Mr. Givens."
"Who is Givens?" Gabe asked.
"Me." Lawyer man said with his hand out.
Olga glared at him. "And who exactly are you?"
"None of your business."
"Stop. There's no reason for animosity, Givens." Carlyle stepped between them.
"Come on, Miss Quinn. Tell us your number for the ID by sight. I'm curious if it's the same man." Givens sneered at her.
"The man who handcuffed me to a bed and set fire to the building to try to kill me is the man in the number four place." Olga tilted her head toward the room where the seven men still stood.
Carlyle spoke to the man standing closest to the door. "Okay, she ID-ed the same man both times. Let's get Miss Boudreau in here and see what she says." He turned to Olga. "Thank you for your time and I'll be in touch."
"Can we leave now?" Gabe asked.
"Yes. Like I said, I have another witness to speak with as well as a potential suspect and I'm hoping Mr. Givens' client will see now that he's going down and want to take some others along on that ride with him."
Olga shook the detective inspector's hand. "I'll look forward to hearing something soon."
She and Gabe left the station, passing Gina on her way in. They arranged to meet her and Martin for dinner.
Olga and Gabe headed over to the Retro Disco in a black cab.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
"He who has not tasted bitter knows not what sweet is."
German Proverb
When they arrived at the door to the club, Gabe raised his hand to knock on the front door since he'd given his key to Jacob when he quit. Before he could make contact with the glass, the door came open. Olga pulled him back by the arm. "Watch out. It's some woman and she looks upset."
"Oh. Hi, Gabe," the woman said as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Why are you coming in this door and not the side entrance?"
"I quit, you know. I can't use the employees' entrance anymore, but I could ask you the same thing, Patricia. What are you doing using this exit?"
"You know how Jacob sometimes gets on the warpath. He's got a couple of cockney blokes in his office and he's giving them the what-for. I decided to get out of here and get some tea before he breaks one of their heads."
"Can we go in?" Gabe indicated the door.
"Suit yourselves. I'm out of here for now. How about calling me when the coast is clear?"
"Will do. Any idea why he's mad?"
"No. He got a call, these guys showed up and he's been stomping around snorting like a bull ever since." Patricia laughed a short bark. "He better settle down soon or he'll chase off the customers when they get here."
"Thanks. I'll call you when he's calm." Gabe placed a hand on the small of Olga's back. "Come on. Let's go in."
"I'm not sure we should. She may have sounded okay but that woman looked terrified to me."
"I heard it in her voice. I agree that something's not right here but I think we need to go in and see what's going on."
"Why? It's none of our concern and, if he's really angry, we don't need to interfere."
"Olga, we came here to talk to him and I'm not leaving without doing that. If you want to leave, you can, but I'm going in." Gabe turned and moved inside the building. He headed toward Jacob's office, the way well known to him even though he couldn't clearly see the tables and chairs.
He could hear Olga following along behind him. He held his hand up and whispered, "Let's be quiet and see if we can hear what's got old Jacob all riled up."
They tiptoed to Jacob'
s office and stopped just outside the door. Gabe leaned back on the wall and Olga followed suit.
Inside the room, Jacob seemed to be in the middle of an intense conversation. As he listened to his former boss and friend, a chill ran down Gabe's spine.
"Look, you morons, you really messed this whole thing up and now your friend is in custody. We're all going down for something that should never have happened." Jacob was furious. Gabe had never heard quite such a hard edge in his voice before.
"You told us to grab that girl, mate, don't deny it," another man said.
"I didn't tell you to kill her. All I wanted was a little publicity, I didn't want a murder," Jacob practically spat the words.
"Sorry, but you know when some of me pals get riled up, I can't control 'em, " the second man said.
"But you went over and above what I asked. I wanted you to snatch the girls but then let them go once it made the papers that they'd been here to the club. That was all you were supposed to do. Now I'm facing charges if your man rats me out."
"Too bad. You ran that risk as soon as you hired us, you stupid bloke. You should know if you hire a gang to do your dirty work that you'd be in the muck yerself." This was said by a third man.
Gabe wondered how many men were in the next room. He wished he could tell. So far there were three voices and even that number of people worried him. After all, it was just him and Olga and he wouldn't be much help if any of them had a firearm since he wouldn't be able to see it.
He turned his head toward Olga and mouthed, "Let's go."
She grabbed hold of his hand tightly. Right as she pulled him with her toward the exit, one of the men with a cockney accent said, "Oh, ho, what do we have here? Lookie, lookie, Jacob, your girl you wanted us to nab has walked right back into our hands and this time with that blind bloke you wanted to set up for the fall."
"Marcus, how'd you know they were out there?" Jacob's voice came next.
"I heard a scuffling noise and peeked out and la-de-dah, there they stood, all quiet and sneaky-like," the man that Gabe now knew to be named Marcus said.
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