Cuts Like Glass

by Dana Feldman

  “No, I don’t see that, Ella! We would’ve had the time to figure out his next move. We could’ve monitored him, and he would’ve had the time to make a plan. We could’ve circumvented that plan. And now there’s no time for any of that! Now he’s going to be desperate. He’s not going to be thinking clearly. Desperate people, Ella, they do desperate things.”

  I know, I think to myself. I’ve already gotten to that point.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  INTO A CORNER

  “Fucking bitch,” he yells. Jay doesn’t flinch. Not even when Gabe throws his cell phone clear across the room towards him. It breaks into several pieces as it hits the wall to the right of his head. “How in the hell has she been following me without either of us knowing about it? I thought you were watching her!”

  “I have been,” he says loudly. He tries with all his might to keep his voice from trembling, but it’s of no use. The few times that he’s seen his friend this angry, someone has died.

  “Explain it to me, Jay. How in the fuck could you be watching her and not know she’s had a tail on me? Are you in on this with her?”

  “Of course not,” he says, standing up quickly. He backs up a few steps as Gabe approaches him. He cannot go any farther; his back is up against the wall now. He’s trapped here with nowhere to go, no way to get away.

  Gabe is stealth, like a leopard, agile on his feet and swift. He’s now just in front of him. He can smell the whiskey on his breath as he berates him for being so careless.

  “Gabe,” he says nervously, before correcting himself. “Eddie, I swear, I’ve been watching her, and there was no indication that she had anyone on you. On my life, I swear it.”

  “It just might be your life,” he says coldly. He punches the wall within an inch of his face. He looks over at the hole he made right through the stucco. His heart is racing wildly, and he can’t catch his breath. “What are you going to do to fix this?”

  “I’ll find out what she knows.”

  “When? When in the hell do you plan to do that? She’s meeting with that detective bitch tomorrow!”

  “I’ll take care of the detective,” Jay says, praying this will calm him down.

  “Why her? Why do you want to take care of her? You should be telling me that you’ll kill my fucking wife! Why is it that you’re not saying this?” Gabe takes a few steps back. He’s rubbing his now swollen, red hand in his other. He looks at his friend. They’ve been partners for over two decades, and he’s always had a good read on this guy. But now he doesn’t know what to think.

  “Are you in love with her, Jay? Is that what this is all about?”

  “No, no way, man. That’s not it at all. I just don’t want you to do anything that you’ll regret. And we can’t kill her. That’ll just ruin everything we’ve worked for! I’m just protecting us both here. The detective is collateral damage. They won’t care about her.”

  “I care about her. Do you know why I care?”

  He shakes his head. He’s trying to keep up but his partner is being erratic, and he’s terrified of what he might do.

  “I care because if you kill that detective do you know what will happen?”

  He doesn’t say anything. He’s afraid that if he says the wrong thing that his neck will be broken within seconds. He looks at Gabe. His face is beet red and the veins in his neck are protruding as his eyes bulge wide. He looks like a wild animal. He’s far beyond simply being irrational. He’s far beyond angry: he’s crazy.

  “If you kill that detective, her entire department of detectives will descend on this case like flies on shit. Let me put this another way, one that you might actually be able to understand, ok?”

  He waits for his idiot partner to nod his head that he understands.

  “How long ago did Ella tell her that she has proof that I’m alive?”

  Jay doesn’t answer. He’s actually trembling. Gabe looks at his watch.

  “It’s 8:15. She told her that at dinner over twenty minutes ago. Do you think that Detective Milner left, got in her car, went home to take a bath and get some shut-eye? Do you?” He’s screaming now, demanding a response.

  Jay shakes his head.

  “No, I agree with you. I’ll bet that she contacted her entire team, and let them know all of this within minutes of getting into her car. So you see my point that there is no point in killing the detective?”

  “Yes. I do. I understand.”

  “So, who do you have to kill?”

  He waits a few seconds before answering. It’s now literally her life or his. He’s too much of a coward to do anything but save his own ass now.

  “Ella. I have to kill Ella.”

  “Yes. Don’t worry about the plan. I’ll take care of that. You do as I say, and you live. Get her tonight. And don’t make it quick. I want her to suffer. Do you understand?”

  He nods his head. He understands. He’s left with no choice. He’ll do as he’s told. The only thing that he won’t do is make her suffer. She’s already done enough of that.

  He’s been both literally and figuratively backed up into a corner. Gabe hands him a serrated knife as he heads towards the door.

  “Like I said, take your time. I’ll be watching.”

  Gabe goes back over and sits down beside his telescope to wait.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  IN TOTAL DARKNESS

  It’s so quiet as I lay here beside Peter in the dark. We’re pretending to be asleep, knowing that we’re being watched. Evelyn assured me that she had undercover officers all over the place, just waiting for anything that might happen.

  Nothing is making me feel safe, but I keep reminding myself that I’d still be feeling this way for several nights instead of just tonight. This way, by this time tomorrow, this will all be over.

  Other than the sound of my own heart beating in my ears, I hear nothing. It’s perfectly quiet, too quiet, too still. I cannot even hear the sea lions. I can always hear them at night. An eerie stillness sends a chill through me. Peter is holding my hands under the covers.

  I cannot help but wonder if everything I should fear is really outside. I keep my eyes closed and wait. As his hand glides from my hand, up my arm, onto the bare skin of my shoulder and then to my back, I cringe. He runs his fingers up towards my neck, and I freeze, wondering if he plans to break it like a twig in his strong hands.

  And then his fingers are in my hair. Is he kidding me? Is he really going to try and have sex with me right now? That’s one way to tell his father to fuck off. But there’s absolutely no way that I’m going to do this.

  “No,” I whisper, as his hand travels down my back and wraps around to my stomach and then up to my breast. His takes two fingers and rubs my nipple between them. I cannot help the reaction that my body is having right now as my nipple hardens and my back arches. I let out a soft moan but am able to take his hand and push it away.

  I roll over to look at him. “No,” I say firmly. “You can’t be serious,” I add quietly. “Why do you want him to see this?”

  I’m becoming furious, wondering why he’s doing this now. We haven’t had sex since we realized that there was even a remote possibility that we were being watched. I cannot help but wonder what he’s trying to do.

  “I love you,” he says. “And I want to make love to you. Right now. We can pull the covers over us. He won’t be able to see.”

  “But he’ll know,” I say.

  “He already knows. Look, the shades are drawn. He cannot see us. We’ll be quiet. He won’t hear a sound. I’ll kiss you so you don’t scream.”

  “No, Peter. This isn’t right.”

  Just as I push him off of me, we hear it. I’m not sure at first, but then I hear it a second time. Officers are watching the front door of the building, as well as the elevator from the garage. I can hear someone out on the patio.

  “There’s no way he could open the patio door,” I say, sitting up. Peter is now up, out of bed, a gun in his hand. The bedroom door
is slightly ajar, and he’s looking through the crack.

  “Someone is out there for sure. He’s trying to get in through the kitchen window. Call Evelyn.”

  I grab my phone and start to dial her number, but the call won’t go through. My cell phone goes dead. I crawl over the bed to the other side where the landline is and pick up the phone. It’s also dead. I check to see if it’s plugged in and it is.

  It’s just then that I look out the bedroom window and watch as one light after another goes out. One by one, I watch as lights in the apartment buildings around us go black. Then the streetlights go black.

  We’re in total darkness within seconds.

  “Oh my God, are we having a black out?”

  I can no longer see Peter in shadow. It’s pitch black other than the half moon shining through the window.

  “Yes, it’s a power outage,” he says too calmly.

  As I stand there, I feel completely vulnerable, wondering if this man, the one who just said that he loved me, is the one who will ultimately kill me. I suppose that I always knew that it was possible that he’d be working in tandem with his father.

  I mean I knew it was possible but yet highly doubtful. I can feel his breath on the nape of my neck as he comes up behind me. I close my eyes; certain that he’s about to kill me with the gun that Bob gave me to protect myself.

  Bob warned me about becoming another statistic, and here I am.

  “Go into the bathroom and lock the door behind you,” Peter says, pushing me towards the bathroom. “And take this,” he adds, handing me the gun. “Do you know how to use this?”

  I nod my head. I can hear him run to the kitchen and open a drawer. I know that he’s grabbing a knife. I get into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. Without a window in here, I feel like a sitting duck.

  I have absolutely no escape, if anyone comes in here. I can’t even see my own hand in front of me as I hold it up to my face.

  I can’t stay here. I’ll die in here if I do. I have to think. If the power is out, I can’t use the elevator. I’ll have to use the stairs. I won’t be able to get my car out because the rod iron garage gate will be locked closed, if there’s still no power when I get down there.

  I can hear people talking. The neighbors are milling about in the hallway now, checking up on one another. I hear someone knocking at my front door. Despite Peter telling me to stay put, I open the door to the bathroom and run through the bedroom and living room.

  I can hear one of my neighbors asking if I’m ok. Peter grabs my arm just as I get close to the front door.

  “Yes, we’re fine in here. Thanks,” he yells through the door, and they go away. “What are you doing?” he asks, looking frantic.

  “We’re safer out there, with everyone. It’s better than staying in here!” I try to pull my arm free, but his grip is very tight. There’s no getting away from him. Just then we hear it. The window in the kitchen has been broken. I look, and with the light illuminating in from the full moon, I can see the outline of a hand and a forearm come through to unlock the window from the inside.

  Before I can get to it, Peter slices at the hand with the knife. I hear a scream. Before he can get to the man, he’s gone.

  “You’re right. We have to leave now. We’ll have to head out on foot first,” he says. “Then I’ll have to find a car parked on the street.”

  “We should keep trying to contact Evelyn,” I suggest.

  He tries her, but can’t get through, and tells me that there’s no cell service. He says that the phones are probably too busy with everyone trying to call out at the same time. So I suggest trying to locate the undercover officers that she promised would always be close by.

  “And how in the hell do you suggest doing that? Have you looked outside? People are scrambling in all directions and there’s no order whatsoever!” he says louder than necessary.

  “She promised they’d always be nearby,” I reply. He guides me towards the window, and I see what he’s talking about. It’s not exactly chaos, but people are everywhere. I have to agree that it would be difficult to find anyone right now.

  I hear a plethora of police and fire truck sirens, as well as ambulances, as help arrives. A certain, though contained, panic has ensued. As we head outside, there is frustration as people scurry about. Peter has his hand wrapped around my arm as we start to walk a few blocks away from my apartment building. I could yell for an officer to help me, but just as I think about it, I look and see a glimmer of moonlight dance off the blade of the knife. He’s a Marine. He can slice my tongue right out of my throat before I’d get the first yell out.

  I decide to do as I’m told for now. I don’t want to risk anyone else’s life trying to get away from Peter. As I look around I can see candles being lit on windowsills and many people are walking around with flashlights.

  Amidst the chaos, it’s just now that I can finally hear the sea lions. There’s a certain comfort as I listen to them. Dogs are barking, people are yelling, many laughing, thinking of this as an adventure; something that they’ll all be talking about for days and weeks to come.

  I follow as Peter pulls me by the arm towards a car parked close to the curb. It’s a Mini Cooper, and he asks me to stand by and be on the look out as he picks the lock. Within seconds he’s opening the door and ordering me to get inside.

  As I get in the car, I know that he’s either going to save my life or kill me. There isn’t an in-between. A young mother with her two children walks by, and I’m again reminded that I need to do as I’m told, or endanger innocent lives.

  Within a second he’s in the car at the wheel. He’s flicking something underneath the dashboard and within seconds the engine is on. Firemen are just starting to block the street off so we only have a second or so to get out of here. Everyone looks over at us as he turns the headlights on, and we head towards the end of the street to leave.

  There’s no doubt in my mind that this blackout is no coincidence. Gabe has powers beyond my wildest dreams. This I know for certain.

  “Sir, we’re closing the street off,” the fireman who stops us says to Peter.

  “My wife is having a panic attack,” Peter says. “I need to get her to the hospital.”

  “The blackout expands to a twenty mile radius, sir. It’s best if we get her over to an ambulance. The hospitals are running on generators, but they’re backed up right now with several car accidents that were caused by the blackout. She’ll get better care right over there,” he says, pointing to an ambulance just half of a block away.

  Just then two police officers armed with rifles walk up to see if there’s a problem. We’re stuck here.

  “Ok, thank you,” Peter says. “We’ll just park the car and be right over.”

  He puts the car in reverse, and we park back in the same spot that we just pulled out of.

  We walk over to the ambulance, both of us looking over our shoulders as we do. A paramedic immediately comes over to us and asks what’s wrong.

  “My wife is having a panic attack,” Peter repeats, his arms around me as I breathe heavily, acting the part. “Could you please take us to the hospital?”

  Our goal, he whispers into my ear, is to just get out of the immediate vicinity. Within moments, we’re inside the back of the ambulance. I’m lying on the gurney with an oxygen mask covering my face. Peter is sitting beside me, holding my hand, looking like the loving and concerned husband.

  The sirens are on, and we’re quickly heading out of there. As we speed down Via Marina and onto Washington Boulevard, I close my eyes and a flood of relief overcomes me.

  And then I watch Peter’s face as realization crosses it. I know by the direction that we’ve just turned that we’re not heading towards the hospital.

  I sit upright and look over at the driver. I can only see the back of his now-bald head, but I know it’s him.

  “Hello, Son,” Gabe says to Peter through the rearview mirror. Peter squeezes my hand tightly in his. I know t
hat this is as much a surprise to him as it is to me. “I want you to know that I forgive you. For her, I mean. She has a way of getting under your skin. I completely understand. I really do.”

  I look over but cannot see his face, just the back of his head. He looks nothing like the man I once loved. I wouldn’t believe it if not for the voice. Then as I look to the man in the passenger seat, I see the paramedic who’d helped me just moments before as his head, with his chin to his chest, bobs slightly up and down as we drive.

  “Is he dead?” I ask, already knowing that he must be, but hoping that he’s just drugged him. Even now, under these circumstances, I remain hopeful.

  “Yes,” Gabe says. “Don’t worry, Ella, he didn’t suffer. I made it quick. Just a clean break of the neck.”

  “Where are you taking us?” Peter asks.

  “We’re going to go for a little adventure, Son. We never got to spend any time together when you were growing up. I’ve often hoped for the opportunity to make up for lost time, and now it appears that I’m being given that chance.”

  “That was because you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “That’s not true. Your mother was a hateful woman. I was young and admittedly not ready to be a father, but I never once said that I didn’t want anything to do with you.”

  “What exactly did you think would happen to me when you killed her? Did you ever, for one moment, stop to think about that?”

  “Of course I did. Peter, I’ve thought about you every single day of your life. As for your mother, that wasn’t planned. It was an accident. I wasn’t in a place in my life to care for you properly, but I knew that her family would. I made sure that they always had enough money to get you anything that you ever needed.”

  “I needed a mother,” Peter says, squeezing my hand tightly in his.

  I can feel the ambulance as it speeds up, and I can tell that we’re heading into a parking lot. I feel the speed bumps and can hear the sea lions. We’re near the boats. Panic rises within me as I realize that he’s taking us out on the water.