Dead of Spring: An Alexa Williams Novel

by Sherry Knowlton

  “You gotta be kidding. That hearing’s still going on over in North? Why don’t the senators just wrap it up and send everyone home?” a male voice asked.

  “Yeah, this place cleared out at least an hour ago. Feels like a tomb at this hour,” a woman interjected.

  “It’s the will of the people, man,” another man responded. Alexa thought she recognized Kurtz’s arrogant tone.

  “Hey, I’m just doing what I was told.”

  Alexa didn’t recognize this new voice, but she feared it was Kurtz’s companion. “The senator needs these papers to finish things up, and he sent Kurtz over to pick them up. They could be in his desk on the floor. Could be in his office. I’m going to escort him around to see if we can find what the chairman needs. I wanted to give you a heads up.”

  “Appreciate it, sir,” the first speaker answered.

  Alexa eased out onto the main floor next to Walt. They were still shielded by the pillar. A reflection in the huge display case on the facing wall caught her eye. She blanched at the scene, mirrored in the glass. Kurtz stood at the capitol police desk, speaking to two cops. The fourth person, the one speaking, was Kurtz’s buddy as she had suspected. Even worse, his words seemed to indicate he was a capitol cop.

  “Bad guys,” she mouthed silently to Walt. From the grim look on his face, he’d already figured it out.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered. Instead of going back downstairs, Walt dashed forward a few steps into the short hall and disappeared around a corner.

  “He might have left them in Representative Jordan’s office over on the House side too.” Reacting to Kurtz’s nasal voice, Alexa pushed aside her fear of being seen. She took a deep breath and scurried across the open space to join Walt.

  “There’s a back stairway here. Let’s climb to a higher floor and watch what they’re doing. Then we can call for help.” Walt jogged up a narrow staircase, not pausing until he’d gone three floors.

  When they reached the top, Alexa longed for a rest. She was in good shape, but the adrenalin spike from that long run from the North Office Building―and getting shot at―had left her drained. She leaned over and massaged her feet. They throbbed from walking barefoot over what seemed like miles of marble.

  “That man with Kurtz, he must be a capitol cop. Do you know him?” Alexa looked at Walt.

  “No, but from the conversation, he seems to be higher up on the food chain than the two at the door. And it sounds like he has a master key to get into any room in the capitol. Everything operates on a swipe card system.”

  “Well they know who you are. Your office is on the list of places Kurtz plans to visit.”

  Walt moved out of the stairwell and slid to the edge of the balcony. Alexa followed him to the railing. They stood on the highest floor that opened into the rotunda. As she gazed down into the space below, Alexa trembled. Senator Martinelli’s last view had been from up here―before he’d been thrown over one of these railings to his death.

  She shook off the dismal reflection. Walt was pointing at Kurtz and the cop below. They were opening the door to the Senate chamber. When the two men stepped inside, Alexa said, “They won’t be in there long. They’re just going through the motions for those guards.”

  Walt whispered, “I’ll keep an eye on them. Call for help.” He dashed across the hallway and stood behind the middle pillar, watching the entrance below.

  Alexa pulled her cell phone from her pocket. Three bars. She pressed the emergency button to reach 911.

  “What is your emergency?” a man asked after a few rings.

  “I need help. Someone has been shooting at me and a friend,” Alexa replied, her voice breaking at the thought of getting help.

  “What is your name?”

  “Alexa Williams.”

  “And your friend?”

  “Representative Walt Jordan.”

  “And where are you located?”

  “In the capitol building in Harrisburg.”

  “You say someone is shooting at you? In the State Capitol?” The dispatcher squawked.

  Walt came running back toward Alexa, pointing to the corner behind him. “They’re coming up the elevator. They must have taken a side exit from the Senate chamber.”

  When she lowered the phone from her ear, Alexa could hear the elevator bell ring and the doors open in the far corner.

  “Miss, are you still there?” the man at the 911 center asked.

  Alexa put the phone back to her ear just as Walt grabbed her elbow and whispered, “This way.” The phone sailed from Alexa’s hand and soared into the rotunda. As they fled the balcony, Alexa winced at the crash of the phone, shattering on the marble floor far below.

  “Shit,” Alexa exclaimed. Nothing was going right. She rounded the corner heading back toward the stairs. But Walt dashed straight through the stairwell and took a ninety-degree turn out onto the balcony above the House chambers. Alexa slowed to claw at the doors into the visitor’s gallery on her left, but they were locked. Freaking out, she followed Walt toward the front corner of the building. Alexa stumbled at the terrifying crackle of gunfire behind them.

  “Over here.” Walt raced for cover behind a corner wall. Despite her panic, Alexa fretted about the priceless paintings and mosaics on the other side of their hiding place. Then, Walt’s hand went to his upper right arm, and he groaned.

  “What’s wrong?” Alexa whispered. “Were you hit?”

  Walt gritted his teeth. “Fine. Just grazed me.”

  “These assholes just don’t give up. I’m scared.” Alexa tried to mirror Walt’s penchant for understatement. But the terror she was feeling went well beyond scared.

  “Me too.” Walt grinned. He hugged her with his left arm. “But we’ve almost got them where we want them.”

  Alexa knew what he was doing but couldn’t suppress a hysterical giggle at Walt’s lame joke. Battlefield humor.

  “Capitol police. Halt. Hold your fire.” The woman cop’s shout came from somewhere down below. Footsteps charged up the main staircase just as more shots rang out. A woman screamed, then a man yelled, “Carson? Roxanne?” There was no answer.

  Alexa feared the worst for the woman cop but didn’t have time to dwell on her fate. The sharp slap slap of leather on marble had resumed, rushing in their direction. It sounded like only one man still chased them.

  “Let’s get to another floor.” Walt broke cover and ran for the staircase in the corner. Passing an elevator, Alexa pushed the button, hoping to confuse their pursuer. She pounded down a twisting and narrow stairway behind Walt, terrified she’d trip and fall. She ran faster, even more terrified at the thought of Kurtz shooting her in the back.

  Alexa sighed in relief when Walt dashed out of the second floor exit. She caught a glimpse of white hair on the stairway above before she followed. Kurtz was gaining ground.

  Gasping for breath, Walt pulled her close. “I hoped we could make it to the main floor, but I don’t think it’s safe. They split up. They won’t want any witnesses. Kurtz’s buddy has probably gone to take out the second guard. Let’s deal with this asshole.”

  Alexa stepped back, glancing around in dread. Here on the mezzanine, they were exposed to the upper floors. She jumped as shots rang out below, hoping the other cop hadn’t been hit.

  Walt ignored the commotion, intent on Kurtz and the stairs. He grabbed a metal fire extinguisher from the floor and stood to the side of the stairwell exit. “Over here, behind me.” When Alexa joined Walt, he said, “Be ready to run back upstairs. We’ll take the staircase in that corner.” He motioned toward the far side of the mezzanine.

  Moments later, footsteps approached, coming down the stairs. The barrel of a brutish-looking handgun poked through the doorway. Then, gripping the gun in both hands, Nason Kurtz emerged, looking to the right. He glanced to his left just as Walt brought the fire extinguisher down on his head. The gun in his hand discharged, bullet striking the marble baseboard and ricocheting past Alexa into the corrido
r. Kurtz fell to the floor, stunned. The pistol clattered from his hand. Grimacing, Walt dropped the extinguisher to the floor and snatched up the gun. A voice called from below, “Kurtz? Check in.”

  Walt dashed across the mezzanine to the stairwell on the opposite side of the building. Alexa stepped over the rolling fire extinguisher to follow. As she hurried by Kurtz, lying on the floor, the big man grabbed her right ankle. Alexa wobbled, then came to a complete stop. Her skin crawled at this monster’s touch.

  “Not so fast, bitch,” Kurtz muttered thickly. Although his white hair was turning red from the head wound, Kurtz’s grip on Alexa’s ankle was tight.

  “Kurtz? Where are you?” The second man was ascending the main staircase.

  Alexa tried to wrest her ankle out of Kurtz’s steel grip.

  “Kurtz, damn it. Where are you?” The voice sounded very near.

  In a panic, Alexa slipped her purse strap over her head and swung the bag as hard as she could at Kurtz. Thwack. When she connected with the man’s injured head, he moaned and collapsed, releasing his grip on her ankle. Alexa sprinted across the mezzanine, fearful that the deadly cop was taking aim behind her. Ducking into the other stairwell, she bounded up the circling stairs.

  Walt was waiting at the top of the first flight. “Where were you?”

  “Kurtz grabbed me, but I knocked him out. His cop friend was on the main staircase. He’s probably reached Kurtz by now.”

  Walt said, “Wait here.”

  As he disappeared around the corner to the left, Alexa noticed the red fire alarm pull. She reached out and yanked the lever. Immediately, a loud claxon rang through the capitol. The sound was deafening. Then she followed Walt out onto a small, secluded balcony that overlooked the mezzanine. He held a finger to his lips and nodded toward the expanse of white marble below. The cop was leaning over Kurtz, who appeared to be out cold. When the cop glanced around, they both stepped back from the railing.

  Alexa spoke into Walt’s ear, although she doubted the dirty cop could hear anything over the din. “I pulled the fire alarm. They’re going to have trouble explaining two dead capitol policemen to the first responders.”

  “No kidding.” He grinned and gestured to acknowledge the clamor. “Good move. But those cops on the desk acted like he was a boss. Who knows how he’ll spin things. We need to get to a phone.”

  “They were going to check your office,” Alexa warned.

  “I have another idea.” Walt pointed to the glass door at the back of the mezzanine below them. The gold lettering said “Lieutenant Governor’s Office.” From this vantage point, Alexa could see the handle of a mop lying on the floor in front of the door. The mop was wedged into the door frame, preventing the door from closing.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Walt drew Alexa back into the shadows as Kurtz’s cop buddy rose. “We need to get him out of there. But it’s a dangerous move. He’ll be desperate to shut us up before the fire company reaches the capitol. We don’t have much time.”

  “OK. What’s the plan?” For an instant, Alexa wondered why Walt didn’t just shoot the cop with Kurtz’s gun. But she knew Walt was the type of guy who would only shoot in self-defense. And even that wasn’t pretty. She still hadn’t fully recovered from being forced to shoot Reverend Browne.

  “I’m going to activate the elevator and bring it up to this floor. First, I want you to run down the stairs. There’s a cubbyhole beneath the staircase at the bottom. Hide there. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “But he’ll run up those stairs when he hears the elevator bell,” Alexa protested.

  “Exactly.” Walt smiled but he clutched his arm in pain. “Go.”

  Alexa gritted her teeth and padded down the stairwell. Running up that last flight, she’d completely missed the hiding space nestled behind the foot of the stairs. She snugged her body into the small space, grimacing at the thought of spiders in the dusty nook. A moment later, the elevator whooshed as it ascended, and Walt rushed down the stairway, silent in his stocking feet. He folded his large body into the space behind her. Alexa could feel the pistol in his hand digging into her shoulder. Even over the fire alarm clamor, Alexa could hear the elevator bell chime when it reached its floor.

  Seconds later, the dirty cop rushed into the stairwell and flew up the stairs. Alexa held her breath as his footsteps passed over her head, but he never paused. Clearly, he hadn’t seen them.

  Walt and Alexa stayed hidden while the cop checked out the empty elevator. Alexa closed her eyes, hoping Walt’s ploy had worked. They waited until they heard his footsteps thud up the next flight of stairs. Alexa smiled. He’d fallen for the ruse. The cop thought they’d headed toward a higher floor.

  “Let’s go,” Walt urged. He slid out from beneath the stairs and extended a hand. With a glance toward Kurtz, still lying motionless on the far side of the mezzanine, they slipped through the door to the lieutenant governor’s office suite. A table lamp in the corner bathed the room in a soft light. The alarm clanged in here too. An annoying light flashed above the door.

  Alexa headed for a telephone, skirting a vacuum cleaner sitting in the middle of the room. Is there some code to get out of here?”

  “Dial nine and then the number.” Walt placed the mop in the corner and locked the door. Avoiding the bucket full of Pine Sol-scented water, he closed the blinds on the glass windows facing the mezzanine. He peered into an office to the right, closed the door, and then disappeared into another door to the left.

  Meanwhile, Alexa dialed 911. This time, she didn’t wait for the operator to go through her questions. She raised her voice above the clamor from the alarm. “This is Alexa Williams. I spoke to someone there a little while ago but couldn’t finish the conversation. I’m barricaded in an office in the capitol. Two men with guns have been chasing Walt Jordan and me. One of them might be a capitol policeman. I think they killed the two capitol police guards at the main entrance of the capitol. We pulled the fire alarm to get help.” Alexa paused to take a breath.

  “What is your name again?”

  Alexa shouted. “Alexa Williams. This is an emergency. They’re trying to kill us. Can you connect me with Detective Marshall of Dauphin County CID? He’ll know what this is about.”

  “Ma’am. We have already notified the capitol police and the state police assigned to protect the governor. I suggest you stay put. Do you want to tell me where you are so I can relay that information to the capitol police?”

  “No. Let me speak to Detective Marshall.”

  “Wait and I’ll see if I can connect him.”

  Alexa looked up from the phone. Walt stood in the side doorway with a kitchen towel wrapped around his arm. Before she could ask about it, Detective Marshall came on the line. “Ms. Williams, they tell me someone has been shooting at you and . . .” He paused with a question in his voice.

  “Representative Walt Jordan. It’s about Senator Martinelli’s death. At a hearing today, I recognized the man’s voice. From that night. I tried to report it to the police, but these two men chased us. Then they started shooting. They killed two capitol cops.”

  “Do you know the name of the man from that night with Senator Martinelli?”

  “Yes. Walker Toland. A high-powered lobbyist. His employee, Kurtz, and another man tried to kill Walt and me tonight. I think the other guy is a capitol policeman. We need help.”

  “What does Representative Jordan have to do with all of this?”

  “Nothing, really. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in it. I wouldn’t have survived without him.” Alexa’s eyes brimmed with tears. “We’re barricaded in the lieutenant governor’s suite, but they could find us in here. They want to shut me up.”

  “Stay put. I’ll get in touch with the head of the capitol police. I’m on my way.”

  Walt popped back into the center room. After Alexa relayed the conversation to him, he said, “There’s a bathroom in there. In the back.” He pointed to the inner office h
e’d just left.

  “Good idea.” Alexa used the facilities and took an extra moment to splash cool water on her face. Now they’d stopped running, her bare feet throbbed. She sighed and returned to Walt, standing in the inner office. Lamplight from outside the capitol filtered through a row of huge windows on the front wall. Alexa saw that Walt had closed the door to the center room. With no windows or doors leading to the capitol mezzanine, this cozy inner office gave the illusion of safety.

  Walt held out a bottle of water. “We’re standing in the Ladies’ Lounge. In the old days, this is where ladies waited when they came to visit dignitaries. He pointed to the decorative mural on the ceiling of a woman with two cherubs. “Venus, here, was deemed the appropriate decoration for those delicate flowers like you.”

  “It’s actually quite lovely.” Alexa gazed up at the ceiling, bathed in a dim glow. She felt like she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. A few minutes ago, she and Walt had been running for their lives. Now here they were, discussing historical architecture.

  Walt continued in a conversational tone. “I hear Jackie Kennedy tried to snag the fireplace mantel for the White House, but the State refused. So she had to make do with a replica.”

  “Maybe I can get the full tour later, Walt. Do you think we’re safe here?” Alexa worried that Nason Kurtz might have regained consciousness and seen them slip into this suite.

  “I locked the main entrance in the center room and used that here,” Walt pointed toward the chair propped beneath the doorknob. “But I still think we’d be safer outside.”

  “Outside?”

  He plucked a throw off the nearest desk chair. Opening a french door in the wall of windows fronting the room, he steered Alexa through it. She stepped through the door, astonished to find they stood on the broad balcony that spanned the main entrance to the capitol. Below, on the right, three fire trucks formed a line in the parking area, turning the wet streets red with their flashing lights. But the big roof above them had kept the balcony dry. Alexa was tempted to walk to the front of the balcony and peer down at the capitol steps but didn’t want to reveal their presence until Detective Marshall arrived. “Wow. You knew this was here?”