Reunion on the Run

by Amity Steffen

  Claire was startled by her words. “What plan? The plan to kill Jared?”

  “As I said, so simpleminded. My plan was so much more complex than that.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t,” Veronica agreed. “You don’t need to. All you need to know is that I don’t appreciate people standing in my way.”

  “I’ve never stood in your way,” Claire said, struggling for calm. “We barely even know each other.”

  Veronica looked furious as she glared back at her. “You have made quite a mess of things,” she said. “I should’ve taken you and Jared out at the same time. A horrific, fiery car accident would’ve done the job nicely.”

  Claire’s heart skipped a few beats before taking off at a gallop. “You killed Jared?”

  “Oh, darling, did you really think Xavier had the capacity to pull this off? Of course not. He’s all talk but gets cold feet when it comes time to put ideas into action.”

  “You killed, George, too, didn’t you?” Claire demanded, acting on a hunch.

  “I did.” Her words were simple, her tone bland. “I told him that I’d like to learn to fish because I wanted to surprise Xavier with a boating trip. Xavier had been feigning an interest, at my suggestion, of course. George was more than happy to drag me along.”

  “You pushed him overboard?”

  “Yes. He tried to get back in the boat but I made sure that didn’t happen. It wasn’t long before his boots filled with water and dragged him down. With the help of a lifejacket, I swam to shore. His boat was found in the morning, though it took divers a few days to recover the body.”

  “No one suspected you?”

  “Obviously not.”

  “Did Xavier know?”

  “Of course he did. We make a wonderful team. We always have. Xavier would do anything for me. Would you believe that when we were much younger, he nearly killed someone defending my honor? Now that’s love,” she said decisively. “Something you would know nothing about, given Xavier’s stories about your relationship with Jared.”

  Much younger? Nearly killed someone? Perhaps he’d nearly beat him to death?

  “Just how long have you and Xavier known each other?” Claire’s mind was spinning, trying to mentally weave together past events.

  “Since we were children.”

  “You’re from Chicago?” she asked, finally unable to keep the tremble out of her voice.

  Veronica narrowed her eyes. “Someone has been doing their research.”

  Claire said nothing. She’d said too much already, judging by the anger flashing across Veronica’s face.

  “If I ever had any doubts about disposing of you, which I didn’t,” Veronica said in an icy tone, “you have just convinced me that I’m making the right decision.”

  “How am I going to look guilty if I’m as dead as Jared?” Claire asked.

  “Why so many questions?” Veronica demanded. “None of this matters now.”

  “It obviously matters to me,” Claire bit out. “If I’m going to die, the least you could do is tell me why.”

  Indecision flashed across the other woman’s face. Claire did want to know why. She also wanted to buy herself some time. She needed time to think. She needed time to come up with a plan.

  As for Alex...she couldn’t fathom where they could’ve taken him. But she knew Veronica had to know. If only law enforcement would arrive in time to question her.

  “It’s not as if I’m going to have the opportunity to tell anyone,” Claire quietly pressed.

  Veronica’s lips curved into a smug smile. “We knew it was only a matter of time before you became a suspect. The plan was to let the police charge you, and then we were going to make you disappear. Permanently. Unfortunately, we could never get you alone. Your sister was always by your side. And then the press camped out in your yard.”

  “If you had gotten to me—” Claire shivered “—wouldn’t that look suspicious?”

  “Not if no one ever found your body.” She shook her head. “How is this for irony? We had planned to make it look as though you took off in order to evade arrest. Imagine our surprise when that’s exactly what you did.”

  Claire blinked at her but said nothing. She understood the implications. If she hadn’t gone on the run, she’d be dead by now. Her body hidden, possibly never to be found.

  “We had a paper trail leading to Canada all ready to go,” Veronica continued. “At first we thought we could use your disappearance to our advantage. You’d already taken off. All we needed to do was dispose of you. However, you put quite the crimp in our plans when we couldn’t find you.”

  Her tone implied that Claire should feel guilty for causing her so much trouble.

  “No one would believe that I left the country without my daughter.” She clasped her bound hands in front of her. She didn’t want to give Veronica the satisfaction of seeing them shake. If this woman had her way, Claire would’ve been dead weeks ago. The realization hit her hard. She knew God had been watching over her, but she hadn’t realized just how completely.

  “Of course they would’ve believed it. They believed you killed your husband, didn’t they? Surely, if they thought you capable of cold-blooded murder, they’d think you capable of leaving your brat behind.”

  “You killed Jared because he interfered in Xavier’s business dealings,” Claire grated out, still struggling to buy some time. “Do you feel any remorse at all for that?”

  “I don’t,” Veronica answered simply. “The antique business was my baby, not Xavier’s. After George died, we held an estate sale. I have to say, I was blown away by the amount his antiquities sold for. That day an idea was born. I have worked long and hard to make my business what it is today. Jared had no right to interfere.”

  Claire swallowed hard as she realized Jared hadn’t really known who he’d been up against.

  “Your husband was arrogant. He knew Xavier would never follow through on threats. What Jared didn’t count on was me. Xavier tried to warn him. Jared knew the risks. Yet he continued to dig himself in deeper. He stole my clients. He stole my supplier. He stole goods right out from under us. I had every right to steal them back. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he threatened us.”

  She shrugged, her gun glinting in the sunlight with the motion. “He left me no choice. Killing him was easy. Xavier knew that Jared liked his quiet time down by the pool most nights. He called Jared to provide a distraction. When he had his back to me, I struck.” She paused. “Hopefully it will bring you comfort to know that it all happened very quickly. He never saw me coming. Quite frankly, it’s possible he didn’t feel a thing.”

  “No,” Claire said, “that doesn’t bring me comfort.” This woman was unhinged.

  Veronica frowned. “Now, to me, it seems that I did you a favor. Xavier shared his suspicions that Jared didn’t know how to treat a wife. He knew your request for a divorce ended in a little visit to the ER with a fractured wrist and a concussion. That just isn’t right. A man should know how to treat a lady.”

  “You think you did me a favor?” Claire scoffed. “You’re planning to kill me.”

  Veronica shrugged nonchalantly. “We can’t have everything now, can we? On the bright side, look at what your brat is set to inherit with both of you out of the way. So you see, I am doing you a favor. Your daughter will be set for life. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “What about the other people you had killed?” Claire demanded, choosing to ignore the gibe about Mia because it was more than she could deal with. “Vincent? Penelope? Who else?”

  “You’re a nosy one, aren’t you?”

  “Do you really think you’re going to get away with this? When you leave a trail of bodies,” Claire said in a wobbly voice, “you’re bound to get caught. I wouldn’t be surprised if Xavier is arrested any day no
w. We’ve compiled evidence. The police already have it in hand.”

  “He’s already been taken in,” Veronica announced.

  Claire was momentarily speechless. When she found her voice she said, “Don’t you think that means they’ll be coming for you next?”

  Veronica frowned, as if surprised by the idea. “Of course not. You see, Xavier loves me. He thinks he concocted this plan on his own. That’s the funny thing about men. They’re so easily manipulated. He believes he’s the mastermind of this scheme. He never realized that I was feeding him ideas along the way. Not just now, but who do you think convinced him to take Uncle George up on the offer to move halfway across the country? Xavier trusts me. He’ll never let me take the fall. He’ll go to prison because there’s no sense in both of us paying.”

  Veronica glanced at her gold watch. “Story time is over. I have a business to get back to. It’s time to move things along.” She motioned toward Claire with her gun. “Let’s go for a little walk.”

  Every cell in Claire’s body was screaming at her to run. She knew it would be a bad choice. She was no match for a bullet in her back.

  She took a tentative step forward in the direction Veronica pointed.

  “Do you know why I prefer drowning?” Veronica asked in a conversational tone.

  “The water helps to wash away evidence?” Claire grated out.

  “There is that,” Veronica agreed. “But what I really appreciate is the lack of mess. Guns, knives, even beatings tend to be so...bloody. Why risk DNA evidence on your clothes? Or bloody footprints, fingerprints? You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”

  “You like your murders to be neat and tidy.” Now Claire understood why she hadn’t been shot dead in the driveway. It would’ve been too messy. She clenched her jaw, unreasonably disturbed by the realization. The only reason her life had been temporarily spared was that Veronica had a penchant for tidiness.

  “Exactly! Now don’t get me wrong, I will shoot you before we reach our destination, if I must. So be warned, it would be a waste of your time to try to fight me, or to try to escape.”

  If I’m going to die either way, Claire thought frantically, why should I make it easy for you?

  Claire felt the gun jab into her back as she hit the edge of the overgrown lawn. She continued on, moving into the forest.

  “Did you know there’s a pond on the property?” Veronica wondered aloud.

  Claire did know. Her grandfather had come here to hunt deer, but also water fowl.

  “It’s almost too perfect, isn’t it?” Veronica asked. “As soon as you and your ex are out of the way, I can start cleaning up the mess you’ve made for me.”

  At the mention of Alex, her heart throbbed painfully.

  Please, God, watch over him. I don’t believe You brought him back to me, only to take him away again.

  “People will look for us,” Claire said, trying to concentrate on not falling. It was difficult to navigate the shrubbery, to keep her balance, with her hands bound. “Beth knows I’d never leave Mia.”

  Veronica’s voice took on an edge. “Then perhaps your sister should be dealt with, as well. Your daughter, too. If the four of you vanish, it will look as though you all left together.” She clicked her tongue. “I do rather like that idea.”

  Claire’s blood sizzled. “Don’t you dare threaten my daughter,” she said, her voice a low warning.

  Veronica laughed. “I can do whatever I wish. I’m the one in control here.”

  Claire continued to move through the scraggly brush. It worked to her advantage that Veronica was behind her, even if she did have a gun pointed at her back.

  Her phone had been taken and Shaggy had probably patted her down looking for a gun, but he hadn’t been expecting her to be hiding anything else. Her fingers dug under the neckline of her shirt. They snagged around the thin cord. She tugged at it, pulling the vial free. With her hands so tightly bound, it was difficult to get a good grip. She was grateful for Veronica’s silence as they trudged through the trees. Her concentration was split between trying not to fall and trying to position the pepper spray so that she could get off one good blast.

  Veronica grunted as she tripped over a rotten log. Claire spun and saw that the other woman hadn’t gone down all the way and was quickly righting herself. She knew this was the best chance she was going to get. Her hands flew out, she pressed the nozzle and the spray shot from the bottle. Veronica shrieked as Claire’s foot connected with her knee.

  The gun swung upward as Veronica toppled. She reflexively squeezed the trigger, shooting blind. Searing, white-hot pain tore through Claire. She stumbled backward, lost her balance and couldn’t use her bound hands to break her fall. Blackness smashed through her as she crashed to the ground.

  * * *

  Alex had one foot on the floorboard and one foot on the gravel driveway when the blast of a gun sent him running. He leaped from the truck, heading toward the woods. He had a vague idea of where the shot had come from. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to find Claire among the thick trees. He ran, anyway.

  When the GPS app had showed Claire’s phone on the move again, he’d almost followed it, grateful he’d thought to install the app before giving the phone to her. Now he knew he’d made the right choice by coming to the shack.

  In the distance, sirens blared. He hoped an ambulance was among them.

  He knew he should slow down, be more cautious. He should approach quietly to try to apprehend whoever was in the woods. His body wouldn’t listen. He was fueled by raw emotion as he continued to run. He couldn’t help himself. This was Claire.

  Claire. The love of his life.

  The mother of his child.

  He wanted to call out her name but kept his jaw clenched. He scanned the area as he ran. There was nothing but trees for as far as he could see. The sound of someone in distress—a woman, by the sound of the cries—reached his ears.

  If the cries were coming from Claire, that meant at least she was alive.

  The agonized sound of a woman moaning became louder, leading him through the woods. He burst through a thick tangle of brush and his heart nearly stopped when he spotted her on the ground. Another woman was on her knees several yards away, scratching at her face and making guttural noises.

  “Claire!” He cried out her name, but she didn’t respond.

  She was flat on her back, far too still, as blood seeped from a wound in her left shoulder. He tore off his T-shirt and pressed it against the wound to slow the blood loss. Judging by the location, no organs could’ve been hit. He didn’t understand why she’d lost consciousness.

  The woman, whom he now recognized as Veronica Ambrose from the pictures in the file Mason had sent, had scrambled to her feet. She tried to take a step, stumbled and toppled. Her face was crimson, covered in a shiny substance. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her eyes were nearly swollen shut. Her neck swiveled around as she blinked hard, probably trying to find an escape route.

  With her vision limited, Alex didn’t think she was going to go anywhere.

  The sirens’ wailing hit a crescendo as they reached the shack.

  Once the T-shirt began to staunch the flow, he carefully began to inspect Claire for other injuries. His fingers came away covered in blood when he moved her head to the side. It took him only a moment to realize that she’d struck her head on a log.

  The sudden quiet startled him. The sirens had been silenced.

  He cupped his hands over his mouth and called for help. Claire needed immediate medical attention but he hated the idea of leaving her. He called once more and received a call in response.

  Dear Lord, I know I’ve been asking a lot from You the past few days. You’ve come through for me every time, he prayed. Please, I’m begging You, watch over Claire. Please let the bleeding stop. Please let her make a full recovery.

/>   He checked the wound on Claire’s head. The blood continued to seep out of it. He reminded himself that head wounds bled badly. She moaned and her eyelids fluttered.

  “Claire, sweetheart? Can you open your eyes for me?” he coaxed.

  She blinked into the sunlight, her face creased in pain. “Alex?”

  Relief swept through him like a tidal wave. Claire’s voice, scratchy or not, was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

  “It’s me. I’m here. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be just fine,” he said soothingly.

  “Veronica,” she ground out with a grimace. She tried to sit up and Alex quickly scooped his arms around her to support her.

  “Veronica’s not going anywhere,” he assured her. “As for you, just hang tight. Help is on the way.”

  He took her hand, her fingers felt small and fragile in his.

  “I was so afraid I was never going to see you again,” she said.

  “That’s not something you have to be afraid of,” Alex said firmly. “Not ever. When you asked me at Mason’s if I could be the man you needed me to be, I knew the answer was yes. I just wasn’t sure how to convince you. I knew in that moment that I wanted to be with you and Mia for the rest of my life. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

  “Alex,” Claire said, “I want to believe you. I do. But—”

  “No. No excuses,” Alex said firmly as the first rescue member came into view. “You’re not going to talk your way out of this.” He paused. “I love you, Claire. I think I’ve always loved you. I’m pretty sure you still love me, too.”

  “I do,” she said. “I’ve been trying to fight it. I haven’t been doing a very good job.”

  Alex grinned as the rescue team burst through the woods.

  “What have we got here?” a paramedic asked as he rushed up to them.

  “Gunshot wound.” He reluctantly let Claire slide from his arms. The conversation might be interrupted, but it certainly wasn’t over.

  FOURTEEN