All I Want For Christmas

by Joanna Wayne

  “He hasn’t contacted you because the rotten scum is fulfilling his objective. He wants you to suffer. He’s made sure you are.”

  Susan’s head ached, a dull throb that encompassed both temples and rode the base of her skull. She massaged the back of her neck.

  Jack moved closer and took over the job, digging into her flesh with firm fingers. “He’ll have to call soon,” he said. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

  “Do you think Darby cares about that?”

  “Not ordinarily. But he said you’d be begging him for mercy by Christmas. In order to do that, you’ll have to talk to him.”

  “I’m more than ready to beg right now.” All she could think of was Timmy alone with Darby. Was he warm? Was he hungry? Was he asking for her? That was as far as she would let her mind go. To think anything more frightening would destroy her will when she needed it most.

  Casanova returned a few minutes later with bagels and doughnuts and a bottle of orange juice. Jack insisted she try to eat, and she picked at a bagel. The bread wouldn’t go past the lump in her throat. Besides, her stomach was a lead ball that had no need for food.

  “I’d wanted this Christmas to be one Rebecca and Timmy would always remember.”

  “Don’t do this to yourself, Susan. Darby will call. Timmy will be all right. You have to hold on to those thoughts.”

  Susan studied the long lines in Jack’s face and wondered if he really believed that himself or if it was just more cop talk, reassurances used to keep her calm so they could do their job.

  The phone rang again. Susan grabbed it. This time it was for the new cop on duty. She took it to her and then went to stare out the back door and into the courtyard,

  “I know a little about your father,” Jack said, “but you’ve never mentioned your mother.”

  “I don’t remember much about her. She died when I was three. After that it was just my father and me He was my life—the Center was his.”

  “I’m sure he loved you, too. How could anyone not?” Jack caught her fingers in his.

  “He did love me, in his own way. It took a lot of years for me to understand that, but I finally did.”

  “Did you tell him that?”

  “Yes, the year before he died. I told him that I loved him.”

  “So Darby’s comment about making peace with your dad doesn’t apply.”

  “No, but he probably heard about the argument my dad and I had when I left the Center and moved to New Orleans. The truth is, I’m a lot like my dad was. It’s difficult for me to show my emotions, difficult for me to open up and let people into the private parts of my life.”

  “Your job is working with people.”

  “Right. So was my father’s. On a professional basis, I’m confident and assured. In my personal life, I’ve always been a very private person. Cold, some people have said.”

  “I’d argue that with them. You’ve opened up to me.”

  “You are one of the exceptions.”

  Jack squeezed her hand. “How did your dad die?”

  “An apparent heart attack. He died in his sleep at the Center. He had a room on the second floor with a bed and a few personal items, and he frequently stayed there after I left home. No foul play was suspected so we didn’t request an autopsy.”

  Susan got out of her chair and walked to the counter. “I’m sorry you had to miss out on your family Christmas in Abilene, Jack.”

  “I’ve missed it before. I’ll miss it again. They understand. In fact, my mom would have my hide if I wasn’t here with you at a time like this.”

  “Your mom doesn’t know me.”

  “She knows about you. I talked to her on the phone a couple of days ago. I told her all about you and Rebecca and Timmy. She wants to meet all of you.”

  “You know, Jack, if there’s any good that’s come out of this nightmare, it’s been the change in my relationship with the kids. This whole ordeal has made me realize how much they mean to me. I couldn’t love them more if I had given birth to them.”

  “I’m sure their mom knew that would happen when she made you their guardian.”

  “I expect you’re right. Carrie was a very smart lady. And fun. Always upbeat and ready to grab the gusto. She had a way of seeing qualities in me I didn’t know were there, a lot like you do.”

  The phone rang again. This time Susan didn’t jump for it. Repeated disappointment had dulled her response time.

  Jack pushed the phone toward her. “You should be the one to answer.”

  She lifted the receiver. “Hello.”

  “Dr. Susan McKnight. You’re up early this morning, or did you sleep last night?”

  Her heart jumped to her throat. “Darby. Where’s Timmy?” Her words alerted every officer in the house.

  “He’s here with me. He’s such a nice, bright boy. Unlike you, he doesn’t think Mr. John is crazy.”

  “Is he all right?”

  “He’s fine. I have no reason to hurt him, unless of course you don’t do as I ask.”

  “What is it you want me to do?”

  “Come to see me, Susan. Alone. I’m telling you now, if you bring the police you will never see Timmy alive again. And you do know I mean what I say. Think of Maggie and Sherry.”

  “I want to talk to Timmy.”

  “Of course, he’s here at the warehouse with me. Timmy, come over here, son, your auntie mom wants to talk to you.”

  Trembling, she waited for the little voice to come across the wires.

  “Hi, Auntie Mom, are you going to come and get me?”

  “Yes, Timmy. Are you all right?”

  “Uh-huh, but Mr. John didn’t have any Cheerios, so I had to eat his bran stuff. It was yucky. So I need to come home and eat breakfast. Can I have Cheerios and chocolate with marsh’ellos?”

  “Yes, sweetie. You can have anything you want for breakfast.”

  “Mr. John said I was staying with him until Rebecca got her finger fixed. Is it well yet?”

  Tears filled Susan’s eyes. “Yes, your sister’s all well and I’m coming to get you.” Her voice broke on the words.

  “I’m going back to the loft and play now.”

  “Be careful, Timmy.”

  “All right, Dr. McKnight,” Darby had taken the phone, but his words were little more than a whisper. “Are you ready to listen and do as I say?”

  “Tell me where to meet you. I’ll be there.”

  “Timmy and I are in a warehouse on the river. It’s deserted now, but it has a lovely ambiance for this type of rendezvous.”

  Susan listened to the directions, writing down every word and then repeating them to Darby so there would be no mistake. When she hung up the phone, her fingers were shaking so badly, she had to use two hands to get the receiver into the cradle.

  Jack wrapped a hand around her waist. “Let’s get this show on the road, Susan. Casanova and I will draw up the game plan.”

  “No!”

  “This isn’t up for debate, Susan. Darby plans to kill you the same way he did the others. We’ll stay in the background as long as we can, but…”

  “No!”

  Jack, Casanova and Hammonds all remained silent, staring at her as if she’d just landed from another planet. She didn’t waver. “Darby said for me to come alone if I wanted to see Timmy alive again. I’m following his orders, Jack. I’m a psychologist. This is my specialty. If I don’t upset Darby, I can make him listen.”

  “You don’t believe that any more than I do, Susan. If you go in there without backup, he’ll kill you and maybe Timmy, too. I’m not about to let that happen. When you walk into that warehouse you’ll be wearing a mike, and we’ll have the place surrounded.”

  “Darby might check for wires. And all he has to see is one policeman for him to kill Timmy and me.”

  “There won’t be any wires. Just one tiny microphone, the size of a large pin hole, disguised as part of your clothing. We do this my way, Susan, or you don’t leave this house.”

&nb
sp; Jack had reverted from lover to cop. His voice was stern, his posture straight and formidable.

  She met his gaze unflinchingly. “If something happens to Timmy because a cop shows his face before he’s free, I will never forgive you. Never.”

  “I don’t blame you a bit. Now get dressed while we work out the details.”

  Casanova stepped in. “You’ll need to wear a shirt with white buttons up the front. If you wear a coat or jacket, it has to be opened so that it never covers the front of the shirt.”

  Jack and Casanova returned to the foyer where three other cops were already huddled over a card table, drawing lines and making notes.

  “I’m coming, Timmy,” she whispered as she ran up the stairs to dress in a white shirt. “I’m coming to get you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Susan slowed to a stop in front of a deserted warehouse that sat on the banks of the muddy Mississippi River. The windows were boarded, and obscene graffiti was smeared across every wall. Not a place for the faint of heart to visit. Leave it to Darby to find it.

  And somewhere inside the daunting gray building, Darby was waiting for her. Darby and Timmy. She wouldn’t have to look for them. Darby would find her. Whispering a prayer, she opened the car door and stepped outside A gust of wind slapped her in the face, and she pulled her coat tighter as she dodged the debris that littered the walk.

  A step at a time, cool and calm. Jack had assured her his plan would work, but the closer she came to the door, the more doubt and fear engulfed her mind. They were not dealing with an ordinary man.

  The first order of business was to get Timmy outside. The moment he was safe and out of Darby’s sight, a policeman would pick him up. After that, she was supposed to maneuver so that Darby faced the east side of the building. Jack and Casanova had already contacted the owner of the building and gotten a detailed description of the interior. Their rescue plan was in place.

  Susan had her own objectives. Get Timmy out of the building, and get Darby to confess to killing Sherry and Maggie. She had to make certain he never had the opportunity to take another innocent life.

  Darby would probably be in no rush to kill her. He obviously got his kicks from her suffering, so he would drag this out as long as possible. If at any point she thought either she or Timmy was in immediate danger, she was to say Jack’s name loud and clear. Cry wolf and clear a path so the men in blue could save the day. On paper, it had looked foolproof. Now, a few steps from putting the plan into operation, she knew a million things could go wrong.

  She stepped inside the door of a building that smelled of mold and rotting wood. The interior looked pretty much as Jack had told her it would, except that it was much colder and far darker than she’d expected. There were few inner walls, only rafters and bare boards and one rickety stairwell that led to a second-floor loft. She scanned the room

  “Darby, it’s Susan. I’m here to meet you” Her voice carried through the empty building, coming back to her in ghostly echoes. She longed to turn and run, to escape the dark shadows and the fear that squeezed the air from her lungs. But somewhere in this dark building a killer waited, and he had Timmy.

  “Come in, Susan. Timmy and I were waiting for you.”

  The voice came from behind her. She spun around, and the nauseating odor she’d come to associate with fear touched her nostrils.

  “Auntie Mom, what took you so long? Mr. John took me out back by the river. There was big boat out there, but I got cold so we came back in.”

  Timmy ran to her and she wrapped him in her arms, holding him against her.

  “Don’t hold me so tight,” he complained, squirming from her embrace. “You’re hurting me.”

  Reluctantly, Susan released him from her arms but held on to his hand.

  Darby stepped closer. “I think she’s glad to see you, Timmy. Now, why don’t you go back to the loft and play while your auntie mom and I have a talk?”

  “No, Darby. That’s not the deal.”

  Timmy looked up at her. “Are you mad at Mr. John because he took me to see the boat?”

  “No, I’m not mad. It’s just that it’s too cold in here. I don’t want you to get sick.” She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Her gaze locked with Darby’s. “I want Timmy to go and sit in the car while we talk.”

  “Timmy would rather be inside with us, wouldn’t you, Timmy?”

  Timmy looked from Darby to Susan, confusion shadowing his blue eyes. “I’m ready to go home,” he said, tugging at Susan’s hand.

  “We’ll go home soon. Mr. John and I have a bargain we need to seal. I’ve kept my part of it. I came for you by myself. Now I expect him to keep his.”

  Darby laughed, cold and mocking. “Fine, go ahead and sit in the car, Timmy. Run now, before I decide not to be so agreeable.”

  Susan squeezed his hand extra tight. “Go to the car and wait for me. Hurry. And don’t come back in here. It’s too cold. You don’t want to be sick for Christmas.”

  “Is tonight the night Santa comes?”

  “Yes, sweetie. Tonight. Now run. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  “Okay. I have to do what you say and be real good, so Santa will leave me toys. Goodbye, Mr. John Thanks for keeping me, but you sure eat yucky cereal.”

  Susan didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Timmy ran through the door into the sunlight and she felt the burn of dank air filling her lungs. The rest would be easy. Timmy was safe, and Jack could hear her every word.

  “It looks as if it’s you and me, Susan. Together, at last.”

  She struggled to sound calm. “I know you’re angry with me. I can understand that.”

  Darby shook his head. “Don’t start that psychological routine on me. I was with your father for years. I’ve heard it all. The problem is I’m much better at playing with people’s minds than either you or your father ever were.”

  “You are a very smart man, Darby. That’s why I think you’ll turn yourself in and go back to the hospital. If you kill me, the police will track you down and take you to jail It will be far worse than the hospital, and I don’t think you’ll do anything to hurt yourself.”

  “I’ll do what I want. I have, all my life. I do whatever I choose to whomever I choose. But not because I’m crazy the way you told the judge I was. It’s because I’m evil. Just plain evil, though neither you nor your father could accept that. I’ve always known exactly what I was doing.”

  Susan’s blood ran cold. She took a step backward, but Darby reached out and grabbed her wrist. “I knew what I was doing, but that doesn’t mean I forgive you and your father for locking me away in that godforsaken Center where I was treated like some poor sick soul.”

  “We wanted to help you, Darby. I still do.”

  “You are going to help me.” He stuck his other hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a bright purple scarf. He smiled as he shook the silky folds lose and twirled it in her face. “When I kill you, I will feel so much better. Just like I did when I killed your father.”

  “You didn’t kill my father. He died in his sleep.”

  “That was thoughtful of me, don’t you think? I saved my medicine for months, those little white pills they gave me to make sure I didn’t cause them too much trouble. When I had enough, I requested that your father have dinner with me.”

  “And you put the pills in his food, no doubt knowing about his heart condition.” Anger shook the voice she’d been determined to keep smooth.

  “Of course. Now don’t interrupt me. You’re spoiling my story.” He tightened his grip on her arm until she winced in pain. “I accidentally knocked over my glass of water. When Kelsey jumped up to avoid the spill, I sprinkled the ground-up pills into his coffee. So easy. So easy. He just went to sleep never to wake up again.”

  “That was a long time ago, Darby. You didn’t know what you were doing. Let me take you back to the hospital. They’ll help you.”

  He twisted her arm behind her. “I’m not going b
ack to the hospital. I should never have been there. I’m not crazy. Don’t you understand yet?”

  “If you hadn’t gone to the hospital, you would have gone to jail.”

  “No, I would have walked free. They couldn’t have pinned those murders on me. They had no proof. You were the one who sentenced me to live my life in an institution, you and your father.”

  Susan forced her mind to concentrate. She tried to turn so that Darby would, too. Right now he was facing north. But he yanked her back around to face him. “I know why you want to hurt me, Darby. But why Maggie, why Sherry?”

  “I hadn’t planned to kill Maggie. I had moved to the French Quarter to seek out your friends, to get to you through them. I met Maggie in a nightspot. She looked so much like you did when I first met you that I couldn’t help myself. And once the game had begun, I had to play it through to the end. That’s what we’re doing today.”

  “A game that you controlled completely.”

  “Exactly, but you weren’t suffering nearly enough. You were laughing and riding around in carriages, flirting with that cop who came sniffing around your door every night. So I had to find the one thing that would tear the heart from you before I wrapped this pretty silk scarf around your neck and strangled your life away.”

  “Kidnapping Timmy.”

  “Yes, another stroke of genius on my part. One look at you today, and I knew my plan had worked. Only I didn’t designate Timmy. Originally I’d thought it would probably be Rebecca. But when she cut her hand, everything fell into place. So easy. It was all so easy.”

  He jerked her closer, until her body pressed against his. His eyes glazed over, and the veins in his neck and face popped out, blue rivers against the red of his flushed skin. This was the side of Darby that Maggie and Sherry must have seen in the seconds before he strangled the life from their bodies.

  “I want one thing from you before I kill you, Dr. McKnight.” He spat out her name as if it were a curse. “I want you to admit that you were wrong. I am not crazy.