He got on the radio and connected with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office. He explained to dispatch what was going on and was told they’d send out a deputy. It was going to be twenty to thirty minutes.
He turned off the headlights. Sat with his window down and listened. Nothing.
Better call Marcia.
But his cell phone couldn’t pick up a signal.
“Screw it!” he mumbled.
He flipped the car lights on, shone the Maglite on the footprints, and started into the woods. It wasn’t long before his light picked up the bony rack of a dead deer.
The closer he got, the metallic smell of blood burned his nostrils. There was blood everywhere. It had sprayed and covered piled-up pine needles and the buck’s coat. Mulzini fought the nausea that was tickling his throat as he leaned over the dead animal.
There were two wounds—an arrow protruded from the neck and the carotid had been sliced open.
Why was the artery cut?
The cup in the cabin! Whoever did it wanted the blood.
Wasted a life, left it to rot ... just for the blood.
Mulzini had seen a lot, but this scene was ugly. It made him shiver.
Chapter 52
The cabbie had to wake Gina when they arrived at the apartment complex. She’d spread out on the back seat the moment after she crawled into the cab and had gone right to sleep.
Instead of driving away, he helped her inside and up the steps.
“Thank you. I would have had to crawl up without you.”
“Listen, lady, you nurses saved my life too many times to count. The least I can do is give you a hand.”
When she paid him, he refused a tip.
Inside, there was a brief moment of relief to be home, but her eyes were heavy and she was burning up. All she wanted to do was lie down.
“Must have a temp,” she muttered as she pulled off her clothes, letting them drop onto the floor. She automatically walked to the shower and got the water adjusted and stepped inside the stall. Holding onto the wall with one hand, she ran soap over her body.
When she stepped out, the room started spinning and she sat on the toilet seat to steady herself. She zigzagged the towel over her body, only partially drying. Her eyes kept closing and her chest felt like it was collapsing.
Finally, she took her temperature. When she looked at the readout, she was too sick to care. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. She staggered into her bedroom and crawled under the covers. “One zero four ... too high.”
* * *
Harry should have been in a good mood. Dommi Machado, born Dominick Colletti, was dead. But Harry wasn’t used to celebrating anyone’s death, even that miserable bastard.
Maybe Dominick had tried to kill Gina a year ago.
He’d broken parole in New York and was probably hiding out right here in Arizona, waiting for an opportunity to return to San Francisco.
Gina was right all along. He had been there and tried to kill her.
That thought gave him a weird feeling.
How many times had he told Gina she was imagining things? You’d think by now he would have more faith in her intuition.
But he felt a real spark of hope. Maybe with Dominick out of the picture they could find their way back to each other.
At least he was going to try. The last two months without her had been unreal. He’d only gone through the motions of living when all he was doing was surviving.
He’d been lost without her.
Harry tried her phone again; it seemed like he’d been trying to reach her for hours. She still wasn’t answering.
Things didn’t feel right.
It was 10 P.M. when he finally gave in and called Helen and Vinnie. He had to know for sure.
Helen sounded sleepy when she answered.
“Hello.”
“All right, Helen, please don’t hate me for calling so late.”
“You have a way of calling at the worst times, and I don’t mean the hour.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. But I’m worried about Gina. She’s not answering her cell, and that’s just not like her.”
“When have you not worried about that girl? Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you, dear boy.”
“That’s not it. There’s something wrong. I know it in my gut.”
“Mm-m-m, I just got my cell out while we were talking. Hold on. Let’s see if there’s a message from her.”
Harry waited, holding his breath.
“Well, it seems she did try to call. Looking at the time, it must have been after she went off shift. Strange for her not to leave a message. I’ll give you that, Harry.”
“I can’t shake this horrible feeling. Do you think you can go to her apartment and check on her?”
“Well, yes, now that you have me worried, too. I have a key to her place, so if she’s sleeping I can pop in and out.”
“I’ll really owe you a big one for this.”
“You bet your sweet ass you will, especially since you interrupted Vinnie and me getting reacquainted for the first time since he’s been ill.”
“Too much information, woman,” Harry said, laughing. “Meanwhile, I’m catching a flight out of here. I’ve got some really good news for Gina.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, no. You’ll find out when I get to San Francisco.”
“You listen to me, Harry boy, you don’t get any favors if you don’t give me those little tidbits.”
There was a long pause before Harry answered.
“Dominick Colletti is dead.”
“What!”
“That’s it until I get there. And don’t tell Gina. I want her to hear it from me.”
“My lips are sealed.”
* * *
Helen had been naked when she answered the telephone. Vinnie watched her put on underwear, jeans and a tee shirt.
“It’s almost as much fun watching you put them on.”
“Dirty boy,” she said and blew him kisses.
“You weren’t saying that five minutes ago.”
“I wasn’t worried about your sister then.”
“I heard ... that must have been Harry?”
Helen was putting her belt through the loops of her jeans. “The good news: Dominick is dead!”
“Son-of-a-bitch!” he said, sitting up. “Does Gina know?”
“No, and you can’t tell her. Harry made me promise and I can’t breathe a word.”
“How did it happen? I’ll bet they probably caught the bastard doing something stupid. It would be just like him.”
“I don’t know all of the details. I was lucky to get that much out of Harry.” She stopped to look in the dresser mirror and run a comb through her hair.
“Yeah. I’m sure Harry wants to tell her himself.” Vinnie smiled. “Things are going to be a lot better for my sister, and probably Harry, too.”
“I’m kind of worried about Gina,” she said, stepping over next to the bed. “She’s been under the weather and not herself since she and Harry broke up. But in the last few days, well, I think she’s coming down with this rotten flu.”
“I’ve been worried, too. She’s been looking worn out. I try to be there for her without interfering, but I gotta tell you, she is one independent gal. I don’t see how Harry puts up with her.”
“You take that back, Vinnie Mazzio.” She bent over to kiss him goodbye. “Or I’ll never take these clothes off again.”
“Okay, okay. How about, I don’t know how I put up with her.”
He pulled her down on the bed.
“You be careful out there, woman.”
Chapter 53
Russell was speeding back to San Francisco. He was high.
High!
Out in space, in the universe, looking back at everything. This is what the Presence tried to teach him. He could be a super being now.
Drugs never gave him this; he’d never felt like this in his whole life.
Perception and awareness
were exquisite. He sensed every nuance of living. So acute. Almost unbearable.
He, Russell, had drained the vitality from a living beast. All its blood had drained away.
Warm.
Thick.
Rhythmic, with its burst of energy.
Dad Todd had tried to tell him, but Russell never really understood until today.
He could still see his foster dad lying on top of an animal, covering it with his body after taking it down. A buck. A bear.
He would cut its neck and watch it drain.
Strip the skin, the meat, cut up the bones.
Dad Todd threatened, connived, and punished in the beginning when Russell wouldn’t watch the draining.
But Russell had learned.
Now he wanted to drain again and again and again.
Chapter 54
Helen tried Gina’s phone again.
No answer.
“You still can’t get her?”
Helen tucked her shirt into her jeans as she answered Vinnie. “No. I’m going over there. I promised Harry. And I think something’s wrong.”
“Hey, she’s my sister. I should be the one.”
“Silly boy, I don’t think you’re ready to be up and about. Today was the first decent day that your lungs were clear and you didn’t have a temp.” She bent over the bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I'll call you when I find out what’s up.”
“Thanks, Helen.”
She gave him a bright smile and was out the door.
* * *
The streets were deserted when Helen eyed her surroundings and unlocked the Prius. Once seated, she immediately pressed the button to lock the doors.
She hated giving up her once-in-a-lifetime parking place right in front of her building. But it was for Gina.
You’re going to owe me big time, Ms. Mazzio, RN.
Gina’s apartment was only about ten minutes away and there was barely any traffic. She zipped there even a couple of minutes faster than her best time.
She looked up at Gina’s windows on the third floor. Lights were blazing in every window but one, where the tree that Gina called her garden covered any interior light.
Well, she’s definitely home.
Helen circled the block and finally squeezed into a parking spot a half a block away. She stepped out of the car, grabbed her purse, and hurried down the street.
Helen was a little jittery remembering some of the stories Gina told about walking alone at night in the Bronx. But there wasn’t a soul anywhere.
She had the keys out and ready so she could slip into the building. She felt better once she was inside, hurrying up the three flights.
She opened the apartment door and shut it, set the chain in place. Helen never did that at her own apartment—she couldn’t remember the last time she was so spooked.
Helen set her purse down on the kitchen table, tossed her jacket across a chair, and tiptoed toward Gina’s room. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out.
Even at the doorway to the bedroom, she could see Gina was feverish and sick.
She rushed to the beside and pulled the comforter up around Gina’s nakedness. Gina was out cold, shaking and moaning in her sleep.
Helen hurried back to the kitchen, pulled her cell out of her purse. It rang only once before Vinnie picked up.
“How is she,” Vinnie asked before she could speak.
“The girl’s in bad shape.”
“Is it the flu?”
“That’s what it looks like. I’m going to have to wake her and get some meds down her throat, along with gallons of fluid.”
“Maybe it would be better if you just let her rest.” Vinnie’s voice had dropped to a murmur.
“You go back to sleep and let me worry about Gina. I’m just going to make her comfortable and help her get what she needs.”
Silence.
“Vinnie. I’m going to stay here tonight. I won’t leave her alone. She’ll be all right.”
“Call me.”
“I will. In the morning. Promise.”
* * *
Gina was drenched with sweat and the sheets were as wet as she was. Helen got fresh sheets, turned Gina on her side, and started changing everything.
After turning her again, she finished making the bed and slipped Gina into a pajama top.
Helen only had to look around to see what happened. Her scrub clothes were scattered everywhere, the bathroom was covered with water, and a wet towel was flung on the toilet. Gina must have barely made it to the bed.
Her friend moaned, opened her eyes once, and Helen could tell Gina wasn’t really seeing anything.
“It’s okay, little one. I’m here.”
She propped Gina up with pillows and covered her chest with a towel. “I want you to take these pills and with lots and lots of water. Can you do that?”
She said something that Helen couldn’t understand, but when she put the meds in her hand, Gina tossed them into her mouth and reached for the bottle of water.
“Good girl. What a pro. Now drink some more.”
After what seemed like hours of forcing fluids, she tucked Gina under the covers. Helen scrutinized her. She looked a little better. Her breathing was good, her pulse was a little rapid, but she was definitely better.
Helen shucked her own clothes and pulled out one of Gina’s PJ tops and went to take a shower. Soaking under the hot water felt wonderful, but she was pretty well done in.
She turned out all the lights and crawled under the covers in Gina’s spare room. All she had to do was close her eyes and she was gone.
Chapter 55
Harry grabbed all of his clothes from the rickety wooden dresser and crammed them down into his suitcase. When that was settled, he sent a formal e-mail resignation letter to the hospital administrator. There’d be no glowing recommendation for his work this time.
He was also going to be out a big chunk of money.
Yeah, so what?
Dominick was finally gone from Gina’s life, from everyone’s life. Forever.
It was finally sinking into his head—Gina was free. Really free.
He left a note under Abby’s door, apologizing again, but it was more for his benefit than hers. She’d wanted nothing less than having him as a lover, a mate. Friendship alone had never really been her goal.
She was a bright, pretty woman. She should have seen this coming. He’d warned her, but she’d refused to understand no matter how clear he tried to make it. She never believed him, never understood that Gina was the only one he wanted, the only one he needed in his life.
Without Gina, he’d stopped living. He needed to breathe again. He hadn’t really been alive since they broke up.
He wanted to call Helen or Vinnie to find out what was happening with Gina, but he would have to wait for Helen to call him. That’s what he’d promised.
As Harry boarded the plane for San Francisco, all he could think about was getting back to Gina.
He was never keen on flying and he made a deal with the powers of the universe. If they could just keep the plane from crashing, he’d do anything just so he could hold Gina in his arms one more time.
He was filled with hope. Hope for the two of them to be together again, hope that their love for each other would mend all wounds.
* * *
Inspector Mulzini was conflicted. Most of the time he went by the book, but this was one of those other times when he was conflicted.
He had no legit reason to drag Russell Thorpe down to the precinct. He might qualify as a person of interest in Jenni’s murder, but Mulzini really had nothing concrete to go on.
Someone had been out to Russell’s cabin recently, but was it him or some other woodsy nutcase?
No way to prove it either way. Anyone could have walked into that disintegrating cabin. It was unlocked and in the boonies. Not even a No Trespassing sign posted anywhere that he could see.
It had been dark and he was working with a flashlight. It co
uld have been anyone who left the fresh bloody animal carnage.
Even if Russell was the one to cause the mess out there, deer hunting was not a crime. Mulzini thought of that stag lying out there in the woods. What a travesty to kill a beautiful creature and just leave it there to rot.
He knew there were plenty of cults that used blood, both their own and that of animals, as part of their rituals, but it was disgusting as far as Mulzini was concerned.
By the time he got home, it was after ten; he sat in his driveway thinking, making no attempt to get out of the car and go inside.
After a while, Marcia came out with a tray of food and a Coke. “If you’re going to spend your time out here working something out, have a bite to eat, big guy.”
“How’d you know I was here?”
Marcia laughed. “You’ve been doing this for years. Think about it. How many trays have I brought to you while you worked out some problem?”
“Maybe once ... or twice—”
“—A week, or month?”
The glow from a full moon shone on he face; they looked at each other for a long moment. Sly grins turned to laughs and Mulzini took the tray from his wife.
“I’m going in now,” she said. “I’ll see you when I see you.”
Mulzini took a big bite of the healthy tuna fish salad sandwich. While he chewed, he wished, as often did, that his wife would stop trying to keep him alive forever. All he really wanted was a triple grilled cheese sandwich packed with bacon.
He sipped the Coke and thought about Gina and Harry.
It had caught him off guard when Gina told him that she and Harry had split. If he were a betting man, he would have put a C-note on them to be one couple that would make it.
Yet, something always seemed to go wrong for his nurse friend. Smooth sailing was never part of her crystal-ball vision.
As they say, life is shit ... and then you die.
Chapter 56
Russell’s high bottomed out, was gone by the time he walked into his apartment.
His mind was full of confusion; his thoughts jumped from one to another in no particular sequence. He paced around the work table, moving faster and faster until he almost slipped and fell.
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