The Reed Ferguson Mystery series Box Set 3

by Renee Pawlish

  I took out my phone, connected to Google and typed in “Greg Revis”. A moment later, I found his LinkedIn profile, along with his picture.

  I handed the phone to Trisha. “Have you ever seen this guy?”

  She studied the photo. “Yeah, outside Charlie’s building. And a time or two with Gil.” She shuddered. “I can hardly say that guy’s name.” She handed the phone back.

  More pieces fell into place. “You saw this guy,” I pointed at Greg’s picture, “with Gil?”

  She nodded. “Yes, just the other day I saw them together, outside Coors Field.”

  I stared at the image on the screen. “Gil got rid of Pete, so he needs another supplier,” I said. “Maggie was working with Greg. I’ll bet Greg agreed to start supplying Gil.”

  “But why would Gil kill Pete if he was supplying Gil with the steroids?”

  “I don’t know. But I’ll bet I know why he killed Maggie.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll bet she found out that Pete was also supplying Gil with steroids, and once Gil knew that I’d found her, he knew the trail would eventually lead back to him. So he had to get rid of her.”

  “Like he wants to get rid of me,” Trisha said in a hushed tone.

  “Yes.”

  Neither of us had anything to say to that. Thirty long minutes later, Deuce called.

  “Hey, Reed, I’m getting close now. I’m on University Boulevard.”

  “Good. Just south of Evans, take your first right. Then take a right into a circular drive. Park and call me and we’ll come running.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Five minutes later, he called back and said he was waiting.

  “Let’s go,” I said to Trisha.

  She nodded, but I could see her shaking. I peeked out the slit window and saw no one, so I eased the door open. The hallway was empty. I waved for Trisha and we darted down the hallway in the opposite direction from where we’d come in. There was another stairway at the end of the hall. We ran down to the first floor and I stopped at the door that led outside. I saw Deuce’s pickup truck sitting in the drive. If Gil was around, I couldn’t see him.

  “Run fast to that truck,” I said to Trisha. “If Gil shows up, I’ll distract him, but you keep running.”

  She nodded again.

  I opened the door, stepped outside and looked around. No Gil. A group of students were walking in front of the building.

  They might give us some cover, I thought. “Okay, now!” I hissed.

  We ran pell-mell across the grass, near the group of students. As we drew near the truck, Deuce leaned over and opened the passenger door. Trisha dove into the truck. I slid in beside her and slammed the door shut.

  “Go!” I said.

  Deuce peeled out of the driveway. I watched behind us as he circled the driveway and turned south on University. Trisha was wedged between Deuce and me, and I felt her relax just slightly. I breathed a sigh of relief as well.

  Gil was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Good work,” I said to Deuce.

  He grinned.

  “My car’s parked on Josephine,” I said. “Take me there and then I’ll follow you for a ways to make sure Gil isn’t on your tail.”

  Then I introduced Trisha to Deuce. She thanked Deuce for helping, and then she just stared out the windshield. Deuce turned east on Harvard Avenue, then onto Josephine.

  “There’s my car,” I said a moment later. I stared up and down the street. “I don’t see Gil’s car.”

  “Good,” Trisha whispered.

  Deuce pulled up beside the 4-Runner.

  “Go south on University and I’ll stay behind you,” I said. “If I see Gil, I’ll call you.”

  “Okay,” Deuce said. He was trying to appear cool in front of Trisha, but he was gripping the wheel so tight, his knuckles were white.

  I hopped out and quickly got in the 4-Runner, then followed Deuce down University for a number of blocks. I kept an eye out behind me, but never saw a white convertible Mustang. When I was convinced that Gil wasn’t tailing us, I called Deuce.

  “There’s no sign of Gil,” I said when he answered. “But you and Trisha keep an eye out for him. He’s dangerous, okay?”

  “I can take care of this,” Deuce said. Bless him, he was trying so hard.

  “Okay, call me when you get to Cal’s, or if you see any suspicious cars.”

  “I will.”

  I ended the call and turned around and headed back to Trisha’s apartment building. I drove slowly up and down the streets around her building, but I didn’t see Gil’s car. Where was he? Would he give up, go to the airport and leave town? Or drive back to California, or somewhere else, in his rented convertible? What if he pulled out all the stops and tried to kill Trisha? No matter what, I couldn’t be everywhere at once, so as I drove north on University toward my condo, I made another call.

  “I hope you don’t want information,” Spillman said in her usual gruff way when she answered. “I’ve given you what I can.”

  “No, I’ve got something for you.” I rattled off the events of the day, my words tumbling out fast.

  “Ferguson, slow down,” she said, then started peppering me with questions.

  I finally got the whole story out and paused to take a breath. I was more wound up than I realized.

  “So this guy, Gil Valducci, is on the run,” she said.

  “Yeah. I don’t know where he’s staying, or if he decided to get out of Dodge.”

  “I’ll put out an APB and get people to cover the airport. If he tries to leave, we’ll find him.”

  An all-points-bulletin would mean the police would watch for his car. But Gil was wily, and Denver was a big city. He could be anywhere.

  “I’ll feel safe when he’s behind bars,” I said.

  “Just be cautious. And Ferguson?”

  “Yes?”

  “Good work.” Then she was gone.

  How about that, I thought. She’d thanked me twice in one case. I smiled. Spillman had an exterior like titanium, but underneath, she was full of charm.

  I stopped for a red light and glanced in my rearview mirror. Was Gil back there somewhere? Or was I paranoid? Then I realized I needed to warn Charlie, so I called him.

  “Hey, have you talked to Gil?” I asked.

  “He was supposed to come over, but he cancelled. He said he had an emergency and he had to go back to California.”

  “Gil killed Pete and Maggie.”

  “What?”

  “It sure looks that way.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Charlie said.

  “It’s all right there. He had access to your gun, and we have a witness who saw you leave Pete’s apartment before the gunshot and Gil leave the apartment right after the gunshot.”

  “Where’s the witness?” he snapped. “She’s the key to clearing my name.”

  “I’ve got her hidden away,” I said. “And the police are looking for Gil.”

  He cursed. “Man, I don’t believe it.” Then he laughed bitterly.

  “What?”

  “Remember I told you that the night I argued with Pete, he said it was all going to come out, that my steroid use would be exposed? He was right. The police are going to know all about me, and so it’s only a matter of time before the public does, too. Pete never said anything. I don’t care about that, either, but he still lost his life over all this.” Another bitter laugh. “That’s the real tragedy.”

  “It is, but maybe you can learn something from all this,” I said. “You did say you wanted to go straight.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Wait, hold on.”

  “What?”

  “You said Pete told you if he didn’t get his money, it was all going to come out anyway.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ll bet Pete didn’t mean he was going to tell about you, he was going to tell about Gil because Gil wouldn’t pay Pete what he wanted. That’s why Gil killed him – it would rui
n Gil’s career.”

  “If I get my hands on him…” Charlie left the rest unsaid.

  “Whatever you do, don’t let Gil in. Call the police.”

  “Better to take my bat to him,” Charlie muttered.

  “It’s not worth it. Let the police handle him.”

  “All right. You don’t have to tell me twice,” Charlie said.

  “I’ll touch base with you later.”

  I put my phone away, my mind still revved. By now I had reached 18th Avenue, so I headed west toward my place. I glanced at the clock. It was a little after three, which meant Willie should be home from work. She’d had to work the early shift and was out the door this morning before I’d gotten up. And right now, I just wanted to sit on the couch with a beer and with her beside me, not necessarily in that order.

  A few minutes later, I parked the 4-Runner on the street in front on my building and raced up the stairs.

  “Hey, hon, are you here?” I called out as I entered my condo.

  Silence.

  “That’s not a nice welcome home,” I joked. “You should greet the great detective with open arms and a kiss. Especially since he solved the case.”

  Nothing.

  “I guess she’s not home,” I concluded to no one. She must’ve had to work late.

  I went into the kitchen, grabbed a beer, then strolled into the living room. I sprawled on the couch and turned on the television. Cape Fear was playing, a great film that was one of the last to claim noir roots. Gregory Peck played Sam Bowden, a lawyer whose family is terrorized by Max Cady, played by Robert Mitchum. The end of the movie was one of the most chilling in noir, where Cady sneaks up onto the family boat and holds Bowden’s wife hostage. I watched the movie for a few minutes, then called Willie. Over the sound of the television, I thought I heard her phone ring. Was she back in the bedroom?

  I got up and started down the hall. Our bedroom door was partially open. Inside, the shades had been drawn and the room was dim. Was she taking a nap? I tiptoed toward the door and saw her purse lying on the bed. Then I heard a muffled sound, not a snore or heavy breathing, but a warning sound. Fear shot through me. I put my hand on the door, wishing I had my Glock, but it was safely stored in the closet where it could do me little good now. I pushed the door open.

  Willie was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands tied behind her, a sock stuffed in her mouth. Gil stood on the other side of her, pointing a gun at her head.

  Chapter Thirty

  My jaw dropped.

  “Welcome home,” Gil sneered.

  “Willie?” I could barely choke out her name. I took a step toward her.

  “Stay back!” Gil snarled.

  A single tear ran down Willie’s cheek and my heart shattered. In that moment, I was acutely aware of everything, from the smell of her perfume lingering in the air, to the dim light in the room and the movie playing in the living room.

  “Did you hurt her?” I asked.

  “She’s fine.” Gil ran a hand along her cheek. Willie recoiled from him, but he didn’t notice.

  I forced myself to stay calm, but inside my guts roiled. If he harmed her, or worse, I’d tear him to pieces. I decided to keep him talking until I could think of what to do. “Did you follow me?”

  He let out a derisive noise. “What, do I look like a detective? I searched your name on the Internet.”

  “And you came here and broke in,” I said. “Add that to your list of crimes.”

  “I didn’t break in,” he said. “I showed up here, just as your lovely girlfriend came home. I said I was looking for you and she asked me to come inside and wait.”

  I stole a look at Willie. Her eyes held apology in them, as if to say she shouldn’t have fallen for his lie.

  It’s okay, babe, I thought. You didn’t know.

  I held out my hands, showing I had nothing to hide. “I’m here. What are you going to do? Shoot her?” Willie flinched. “Shoot me?” I said. “You don’t want to do this, Gil. I know everything. You’ve already killed two people. You don’t want to add more to the list.”

  “You don’t know squat.”

  Keep him talking, I thought. “I know about the steroids, how you and Pete started selling them to other athletes.” His eyes narrowed slightly. I was right. “I know about Maggie Hollenbaucher. She was involved with Pete, and then Greg Revis. And after you killed Pete, you started to work with Greg.”

  “Aren’t you the clever one.”

  I glanced at Willie, and for once in my life, I had no snappy comeback. “Pete was going to expose you, wasn’t he? That’s why you killed him.”

  His lips twisted into a sneer and he waved the gun at me. “Yeah, the punk. When I found out he was supplying Charlie with steroids, I told him we should start working with others, that we could supply more athletes, some that I represented. We’d both make a lot of money.”

  “Him from selling the steroids, you by getting your players better contracts.”

  He nodded. “As long as the players performed well.”

  “It’s a risk.”

  “Some of the players would do better.”

  “Enough to make you money and help you land more clients, some who wouldn’t be using steroids.”

  “It’s already happening,” he said. “I’m representing a couple of guys who are doing really well and they’re about to sign big deals.”

  “But Pete screwed it up,” I said.

  “Yes.” He gripped the gun tighter and I saw Willie stiffen. I took a small step forward, but he didn’t notice. He kept talking. “He wanted too much money. I told him no way, that I’d find another supplier. We argued about it for days.”

  “And then you killed him,” I said

  One more tiny step. Willie shifted and Gil pulled her back.

  “Don’t move,” he said to her. Then to me, “It was an accident.”

  “An accident?” I had to work hard to keep the contempt out of my voice. I didn’t want to piss him off. “You had Charlie’s gun and you shot him in the back.”

  “Yes, I had Charlie’s gun. But not because I was going to use it to kill Pete,” he said.

  “What happened?”

  I started to move forward again and the gun came up, so I paused.

  “That idiot Charlie kept showing off his gun during parties. I kept telling him that wasn’t smart, but he wouldn’t listen. The other night, he had the gun out and he left it on the bed. Can you believe that, leaving a loaded gun on the bed with all those people around? I took the gun to teach him a lesson. Stuck it right in my pocket and Charlie never noticed. I was going to give it back and then…” His voice trailed off.

  “Instead, you shot Pete with it.”

  I slipped a foot forward, moving just a bit closer.

  “I didn’t mean to. It just happened.” Anger crept into his voice. “I had it with me the next night. I was going to give it back to Charlie, and I didn’t want to leave it in the car. But I went to Pete’s place first. I wanted to convince him that he’d make plenty of money with me, but he said he didn’t trust me anymore. We argued and he finally said he was going to let everyone know what I was doing.” His voice grew louder. “I didn’t even think of the gun until I felt it in my pocket. I took it out and threatened him. I said he couldn’t back out now, that he had to keep his mouth shut. He laughed at me and said I didn’t have the guts to shoot him, and that I’d never get inside a locker room again. Then he turned around and started to go into the kitchen.” He swallowed hard. “I…I saw red and then the gun went off and he was lying on the floor. I panicked, dropped the gun and ran.”

  It sounded too pat, as if he’d already been thinking through his defense strategy, but it was still an admission of guilt. And Willie and I both heard it. Let Spillman and the DA make the case against him.

  “But Maggie’s murder didn’t ‘just happen’ ” I said. “She knew about you, didn’t she?”

  He nodded. “You were on her trail, and I couldn’t afford
to have her talking to you. Hell, she’d lead you right back to me.”

  Something else occurred to me. “Who beat me up?”

  “I hired someone to scare you off.”

  “It didn’t work.”

  He snorted. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”

  “Two lives lost and for what?” I shook my head in disgust. “So you could protect your career.”

  “You should be careful,” he said. He took the gun and pressed the barrel into Willie’s cheek. “I’ve killed twice. I can do it again.”

  “Like you trying with the third fan,” I said. “The one who saw you at Pete’s apartment the night you killed him. When I ran into you outside Charlie’s building the other night, you were looking for her, right? But you had to cover that fact, so you said you were visiting him. Only he wasn’t expecting you.”

  He jammed a finger at me. “And I wasn’t expecting you, either.”

  “And Charlie pointed her out to you, served her up on a platter. And you were going to kill again.”

  “I still might kill you,” he threatened.

  I took another tiny step forward, but Willie gave me a slight shake of her head. She was right. I couldn’t risk going after him when he had the gun pointed at her. Damn! I felt so helpless.

  “You don’t want to hurt us,” I said, marshaling all the calm I could. “The cops are looking for you now. There’s no place to go.”

  “Yes, there is.”

  “Where?”

  “You’re going to drive me west.”

  “What’s west?”

  “I’ve got a friend who’s going to meet us. He’s heading from California now.”

  “That’ll take time,” I said. “And people will know my car.”

  “Let me worry about that.” He gestured with the gun. “Let’s go.”

  “What about Willie?” I asked.

  At first he looked confused, and then he realized who I meant. He glanced at her. “Willie, huh? Willie can stay here. Someone will find her eventually.”

  “But –” I started to protest.