by Diane Bator
“I have to find out what I can from Danny. He’s a cop and has some idea what’s going on with this whole case.” Ray scratched his stubbly face. Apparently in such a rush to talk to her he’d neglected to shave.
Laura sighed. “You’re right. We have no other choice. You go find Danny and I’ll stay here and keep an eye on her. Should I be armed in case she’s dangerous?”
Ray shook his head in frustration. “Woman, there are days I’d love to take you for a long drive into the woods and leave you there.”
“Make sure Danny fixes your car first or you’ll be stuck with her,” Katie pointed out.
The rainy morning kept most people away. Katie felt more alone, not to mention more nervous, than ever. Any sound from Laura and every creak in the old building made her jump. It was quiet until the phone rang when Laura returned from her lunch break in the back room.
“Katie.” Hilda’s voice crackled with fright. “There were two men here looking for you. A big guy and a skinny, sneaky-looking guy. They had guns and said someone phoned and told them you lived in the area. What on earth would they want with you?”
“It’s a long story, Hilda. Where are they now?”
“They saw your business card on the fridge. I have an awful feeling you need to get out of the store and stay out.”
Al and Chevy. Someone else must have called them, but who? Why on earth Hilda had let them into the house escaped her. Most people in Packham were simply too trusting.
Katie’s eyes widened and she checked out the front window. “Where? I don’t know where to go.”
“Go see Father Sam. He’s at the corner of Bishop and Hazel Street. He’s a little odd, but he’ll help you. Look for the Virgin Mary statue on the front lawn.”
“I know where that is.” The phone buzzed. Katie’s insides seemed to ooze out onto the floor, leaving her body a cold, hollow tube. “Oh, shit.”
“Watch the language, sister.” Laura startled her.
Katie swung around, hopped off the stool and grabbed Laura by the shoulders. “I have to go. Lock the door behind me, call Ray then go home.”
“What am I supposed to tell Ray?”
“That they already found me. If two men in fancy suits come looking for me, you have no idea who I am.”
“You’re not supposed to leave without me.” Laura’s eyes widened. “Where are you going? I can give you a ride.”
“I have no idea.”
“Well that’ll make it a lot easier to tell people I don’t know where you are.”
“Laura…Lock the doors and don’t let anyone inside.” Katie grabbed her coat and ran into the back room. She glanced up at the cookie jar. Things were not supposed to come to this. She climbed the cupboard, grabbed the gun and darted out the back door, hoping the rain would give her some cover.
Hood pulled up over her head, she ran up the wet streets with the gun heavy in her coat pocket. An image of Father Sam and his statue popped into her head. Hilda was right. She needed a lot of guidance. Fast. She scanned the signs for Bishop Street and watched for Maddox’s car.
Danny must have shared everything he knew with Maddox. How else would his men know where to find her? That thought made the tuna sandwich in her stomach lurch. Wasn’t this where her life was supposed to replay before her eyes? It wasn’t happening. Maybe she was too young for reruns.
Katie shielded the left side of her face with her hands when a black Lincoln Town Car turned onto the street two blocks up and drove toward her. She clutched the gun and rested a finger on the safety. Since Maddox always rode in a black Town Car, she wasn’t about to take chances.
She turned to her right at the next corner and picked up the pace as she strode up the hill. The last thing she wanted was a shootout in downtown Packham. Her hands shook and she’d probably shoot someone’s lawn gnome before she hit either Maddox or his men.
Up ahead stood the lone pine tree with the plastic statue beneath it. Father Sam, a black umbrella open over his head, sat on the stone bench as if waiting for her. Relief washed over her. Had Hilda called him? He had to be the answer to her desperate prayers.
Father Sam looked up and smiled. “Hello, Katie, Katie, the Bookstore Lady.”
She slid onto the bench beside him, hid her face and kept her voice low. “Can we go inside, please? I need you to hide me.”
“Oh no, I don’t give refuge to murderers.” Father Sam shook his head. “Mary told me you’ve sinned and have yet to repent.”
“I didn’t murder anyone. Honest.” Katie wished he hadn’t seen the news that morning. “Look, my boss made a lot of stupid moves. He got involved with some very bad people and got himself killed. He’s the one who told me to leave town.”
“Coming here was the best you could do?” He looked concerned. “Katie, my dear, I’m losing faith in you. You could have gone to Paris or the Bahamas or even the Middle East, but Packham? No one in their right mind comes here.”
“I’m beginning to realize that. You people are all crazy.” She wanted to strangle him with his clerical collar. “Please, Father, I need help. They’re coming to get me. They want to kill me.”
“I know.” The eerie calm smile returned to his face. Was he trying to make her crazy?
Tears welled in her eyes and her hoarse voice betrayed her frustration. “Then why won’t you help me?”
A car door closed, making her jump. Someone got out of a little red car half a block away.
Katie panicked. “Oh for God’s sake! Give me some Hail Marys or something. Make me write ‘I’m sorry for making bad choices’ a thousand times. Anything. Just help me.”
“I did help you, my child.” Father Sam patted her shoulder. “I called the people who are looking for you. They’re coming to get you.”
“You called the police?”
“No, silly girl.” He patted her thigh. “I called DMR this morning after I saw you on the news. You do look quite a bit different, but there’s something about your eyes that made me think you’re hiding a horrible secret. Anyway, that Mrs. Maddox is a very nice lady. She’s making a donation to the homeless shelter and said her husband would send someone to pick you up in a limousine.”
“You took a wild guess, called Maddox and told them you thought I was Paulina Chourney? Are you nuts?” Katie shrieked then ducked.
He remained as serene as the statue. “God and I had a long talk. He told me you need to get a backbone and put things straight. So I called. Those nice men said they’ll help you if you help them.”
“They don’t want to help me. They want to kill me.” It was all she could do to not to jump to her feet and run. “When did you call them?”
“Around eight this morning. Right after I finished my breakfast. They should be here by now.”
The thought struck her like an acorn falling off a tree. The priest’s retirement had nothing to do with his age. “You really are insane.”
Father Sam smiled, his wispy hair flapping in the light breeze. “Nuts. Crackers. Flipped off my rocker. Call it what you will. Personally, I like to think of myself as slightly askew. It sounds more poetic, don’t you think? I guess I’ve heard one too many confessions that made me doubt if any of us are really sane.”
“I’m with you there. I don’t think there are any sane people in this town.” She stared at the old man. If she stayed, he’d probably help Al and Chevy roll her into a rug and toss her in the trunk of their car. Worse, he might try to play hero. Complete with cape and tights. She shuddered at the thought. She was becoming as loco as the locals.
“I have to go.” Katie backed away, careful to keep her hand off the gun in her pocket.
Father Sam giggled. “Okay, dear, but be sure to take the back alley. There’s no point in them finding you too soon.”
“Excuse me?” She raised her eyebrows.
“What’s the fun of hide-and-seek without hiding?”
Would anyone in this town help her without making things more difficult first? Preferably so
meone in control of their mental faculties. She ran around the side of his house and through the backyard. Near the gate sat a flowery gift bag with her name written in bold letters.
“Please let this be something useful.” Inside the bag lay a trench coat, a fedora and dark sunglasses. She threw them on the lawn. At the bottom of the bag lay a handgun. “Geez, this guy really is nuts.”
What was worse, her running around town armed with two guns and dangerous or Father Sam with a loaded weapon? She took the gun, emptied the chamber and ran to the store via back alleys and shortcuts, glancing over her shoulder the entire way for any suspicious vehicles or Danny.
Katie crept into the store through the back door and sought somewhere to hide both guns. She glanced up at a red glass cookie jar. Only one fit. Did adding a second one make her a collector? When she pulled a chair close to the cupboard, the leg scraped the floor.
“Katie? Is that you?” Laura asked.
“Oh, crap.” She stuck the barrel of one in the waist of her pants and covered it with her shirt. The second gun she tossed into the cookie jar. Adding the slim gun made her pants uncomfortably tight. She had to stop eating cookies and packing guns.
Laura ran over and grabbed Katie by the arms when she came out of the back. “There were some guys looking for you. Big guys. With guns and a black car.”
“They were waving guns around?” Katie’s eyes grew wide. She was glad she’d kept one gun handy.
“Well, no, but they had holsters under their jackets like in the movies.” Laura talked so fast Katie hardly understood her. “It was cool in a bizarre way. One guy was a pretty big dude. He scared the crap out of me.”
Chevy. “Didn’t you lock the doors?”
“I didn’t have time. The little guy looked like he meant business.”
Al. “Did you call Ray?”
The jingle of the door chimes made them jump toward each other. Ray stood in the doorway with a tray of paper coffee cups in one hand. “I heard we got raided. Did they shoot anything?”
“I can’t believe you two are excited about this.” Katie’s breath came in strangled gasps. She ran to the front window and completely closed the blinds installed to protect the books in the windows from the hot summer sun. She needed a paper bag to breathe into. The only bags in the store were plastic. Just her luck. If the killers didn’t get her first, she’d suffocate by breathing into a plastic bag. She sagged onto one of the stools and sighed. “At least they’re gone for now.”
“What can we say?” Laura shrugged. “Nothing ever happens in Packham.”
“You’re wet. I thought you were supposed to stay here.” Ray set the tray on the counter and pushed the back of Katie’s head down toward the floor.
When the gun jabbed her hip, she fought back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Just breathe and shut up. I saw that black car earlier when I went to meet Danny.”
“Where is he, by the way?” Laura wandered over to the door. “We need a knight in shining armor.”
“No, we don’t.” Katie struggled to sit up, but Ray held her head firmly between her knees, farther than she normally bent without pain. The tight waistband made it hard to breathe. She’d start working out again—if she lived long enough to find a good gym and some cute workout gear.
Ray hesitated. “Danny’s out of our hair for a while. I sent him on a mission so he stays away from Katie.”
Laura froze. “Oh no. It’s those two guys who were here earlier. Should I stall them?”
“No,” Ray groaned. “Lock the door. We’ll go out the back.”
“Yes.” Katie shook Ray’s hand off her neck. She was already out of time and options. Al and Chevy stood right outside the front door. It was time to face the proverbial music.
She should have locked up and run while she had the chance. Instead, she took a deep breath and feigned bravery. Why had she closed the blinds? Al and Chevy would be glad to have no witnesses while they took care of Maddox’s dirty work. “It’s okay, Laura. I’ll talk to them. With you guys here, what’s the worst they can do to me?”
Ray and Laura were strangely silent.
“You’re not going to leave me now, are you?” Katie asked, wide-eyed.
“Of course not.” He draped an arm around her shoulders. “We’re all in this together. Right?”
“Well, I do have a dentist appointment…You don’t happen to have a gun, do you? I saw those guys earlier. We might outnumber them, but they have a lot more fire power.”
“Is that—?” Ray’s words were cut off when the chimes over the entrance jingled and two men in custom tailored black suits strode into the store.
Her heart grew heavy. She swallowed hard and tried to prepare herself for what was to come.
Chevy Duvall stood six eight and was as big as the black bears in the zoo that she’d never see again. It was his sunglasses that unnerved her. He wore dark mirrored sunglasses, the kind that kept his eyes hidden from the world. As big as a car and about as talkative, he stood a few feet away from the counter with his feet apart and his hands behind his back. The only thing that set him apart from his cousin, aside from his size, was the huge gold chain around his neck, which reminded her of a dog collar. A really big, filthy rich dog.
“We’re looking for Paulina Chourney.” Al Duvall held out the same photograph she’d seen on the news that morning. He was shorter by a head and thinner by a person and a half. He wore a tailored black suit and a diamond earring in one ear. The mouth of the team, Al stood in front of her, legs spread slightly, with a greasy smile.
“You cops?” Ray asked.
Katie’s heart snaked down her left leg to her foot and pulsated in her big toe. It had been months since anyone had called her Paulina. It sounded wrong. She struggled to keep up her façade and kept her mouth shut.
Ray stepped in front of both women. “What do you want with her?”
“We’re Paulina’s friends. We want to make sure she’s okay and take her home. We miss her.” Al sneered and ran a hand through his spiked dark hair. The thin moustache above his lips looked more like a dusting of dark chocolate sprinkles from a donut. His gaze met Katie’s. “Unless, like the old man who called us said, you’re her. In which case, you can’t tell me you’ve forgotten all we’ve been through together.”
Katie kept her mouth shut and tried to act like she wasn’t afraid, even though she knew all the stories about how they toyed with their victims. Despite their placating smiles, she was afraid of both men for dozens of good reasons and glanced at the door. Now that his goons had her in their grasp, Maddox would likely put in an appearance.
“You have a nice place.” Chevy reminded her of a car engine, rough and loud. His words reverberated around the walls for what seemed like a full minute. “I’d hate to see it get all messed up and burned to the ground. You know what I mean?”
“I don’t know who you think my employee is, but—” Ray flinched, but Katie held him back.
“Yeah, it’s a real nice place.” Al bared an incisor embedded with a diamond. “Shame we’ll have to mess it up.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Laura moved slightly behind Katie.
Al raised one eyebrow. “Death isn’t a tidy thing. Our friend Paulina has a price on her head. She’s been a bad little girl.”
“There’s no one named Paulina here.” Laura took a faltering step toward the back room when Katie nudged her.
Chevy didn’t move his bulky frame even a fraction of an inch. Solid as stone.
“Yeah.” Al stepped forward to pinch Katie’s chin between his fingers. “Did you ever notice how neat and orderly cemeteries are? Total peace and solitude. It’s too bad you can’t take all your books with you when you die. You’ll have a long time to read.”
His cologne made Katie nauseous. She used to tease him he should put his cologne on before he showered, but Al preferred to suffocate people with the scent. He claimed it was part of his charm and made people remember
him. He’d even threatened to drown her in it if he ever got the chance.
Al examined her face. “You know, you do look a bit like Paulina. We’d just have to put a blonde wig on you.”
“Leave her alone.” Ray knocked Al’s hand away. “Just tell us what you want and leave her alone.”
Chevy laughed. “Did you hear that? The old guy wants us to leave her alone. That’s funny. Does he know half of what you’ve done, Paulina?”
She flared her nostrils. “My name is not Paulina.”
“Father Sam says it is.”
“Father Sam’s a lunatic.”
Ray winced and leaned close to Katie. “Is that a gun in your pants?”
Katie nodded.
“And you’re saving it for—?”
“You’re safer unarmed.” She whispered then blew out a shaky breath. “Look, guys, if it’s money you want, I can get you some, but it’ll take a while.”
Chevy looked at Al and they laughed as though sharing a private joke.
Al shoved Ray aside and stroked Katie’s hair. “This is a nice color on you, Paulina. It is, Paulina, isn’t it? Very sexy. Personally, I like a hot redhead. Maybe before we go see the boss, we could—”
“Get on with it,” Chevy growled.
Al grasped a handful of Katie’s hair. “The boss wants the money. The whole twenty million.”
“Twenty million?” Laura and Ray chorused.
Katie froze, her voice hoarse, and gave up all pretenses. “I never had twenty million. Dunnsforth only gave me five hundred thousand.”
Al grinned then his gaze pierced hers. “So you are Paulina. The way I hear it, Dunnsforth borrowed twenty millions dollars from our mutual bosses. You want me to believe he fronted you five hundred thousand to keep your mouth shut then took off with the rest?”
“Yes.” Her palms sweated.
“Do you think he was dumb enough to blow his head off when he had twenty million dollars in an offshore bank account?” Chevy’s grin revealed a perfect set of teeth amid the cloud of a dark beard.
“I’m sure he probably had help with that part.” Katie moved back. If she didn’t shut her mouth, they’d leave her for dead and she’d be eaten by wild animals somewhere in the woods near the lake. Even that was preferable to being thrown in the trunk of the Town Car and seeing Maddox again.