BLOODY BELL

by Jeremy Waldron

  “Sam.” I heard King call my name from behind.

  I closed my eyes and cried harder.

  King announced himself before lifting both Erin and me to our feet. After a short conversation with the arresting officers, King escorted us out of the nursery and headed for the exit. He didn’t ask questions, and certainly didn’t seem too surprised to find us here.

  He released our restraints as we walked and, as I began rubbing the raw pain out of my wrists, a female officer rounded the corner, escorting a beautiful young woman strapped to the EMT gurney. And she was holding a baby.

  “Tracey?” I said as we let her pass.

  The young woman flicked her eyes to me. Fear flashed over her colorful irises but her face twisted with confusion. I smiled and said nothing.

  The gurney wheels rolled ahead of us and I breathed deeper. Erin shared a questioning look with me as we exited the building, knowing there should have been two babies.

  “King, there should be another one. Kate and Cameron both had babies here.”

  Tightening his grip on my arm, he lowered his head and kept walking. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he said, “One didn’t make it.”

  “Which one? Kate’s or Cameron’s?” I asked as we stepped outside.

  He shook his head, not having an answer for me.

  “Tell me,” I said, “how did you know where to find me?”

  The dark sky flashed with red and blue when I spotted another familiar face peering out from the back window of Detective Campbell’s unmarked sedan.

  “I didn’t.” His hand was on my arm and a part of me knew he was afraid of letting me go. King jutted his jaw to Campbell’s car. “We were following Tyler Lopez and he just happened to lead us to you.”

  Campbell caught sight of me and grinned—a knowing glint in his eye—as he stood guard of his prize in the backseat.

  “What was Tyler charged with?” I asked.

  “Nothing yet,” King said. “He surrendered as soon as we cornered him here.”

  “Has he talked?”

  “Nothing specific about Cameron, only that he was coming here to confront the man who set him up.”

  “Everyone was coming for Andrews, it seemed,” Erin said.

  “Tyler will be taken to the station and interrogated until his nose bleeds.” King stopped at his car and turned to face the Guardian Angel clinic. “If he’s smart, he’ll lawyer up before answering any questions. As long as he answers truthfully and is innocent like you think he is, Campbell will have no choice but to release him.”

  I stared at Campbell, thinking how he got what he wanted. If he squeezed a confession out of Tyler, Chief Watts would have no choice but to celebrate Campbell as the hero who collared Denver’s Most Wanted. But, in the end, it didn’t matter who got the victory lap. We found Tracey and the baby girl I hoped was Cameron’s.

  News vans arrived and a police helicopter’s rotors shook the sky above. We stood by King’s car and watched Dr. Wu get whisked away in an ambulance.

  “Alex,” I turned to my boyfriend, “Andrews confessed to murdering the Browns.” Then I told him about his designer baby scheme. “He did it. He’s your man.”

  King’s hand moved to the small of my back. “C’mon, let’s get you two down to the station to give your official statements.” King opened the back door of his sedan and motioned for Erin and me to get inside.

  Erin ducked her head and got inside first. I stepped forward, but before I got inside, Alvarez said, “Sam—” I lifted my head and turned to face him. “You should know it was your sister who tipped us off on Tyler’s whereabouts.”

  I felt my eyebrows pinch.

  “If it wasn’t for her call, we wouldn’t have arrived when we did.”

  Staring at Alvarez with a surprised and unwavering gaze, I said, “I’ll be sure to thank her.”

  Alvarez nodded. “Good sleuthing must run in the family.”

  I glanced to King. “Let’s get this over with. I’d like to get home to my son.”

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Two months later…

  The four of us girls were sitting outside on the patio of The Rio with the sun beating down on our backs and sipping margaritas listening to Erin entertain us all with the story of how she saved me from Dr. James Andrews.

  Erin had her voice low as she told her side of the story. Her hand was over her heart as she imitated how it had been racing that day. “I could hear Sam demanding to know where Tracey was and the moment I came around that corner and saw Dr. Andrews pointing his gun at Sam, I thought I was going to be witness to my friend’s death.”

  I rolled my gaze to Susan, flicked my eyebrows, and grinned.

  Erin’s spine straightened. Her voice raised. “And you know I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I wound my foot back and kicked that son of a bitch square between the legs.”

  “Got ‘em in the crown jewels,” I said.

  Erin jumped off her stool and landed on her feet. She brought her fists up in front of her face like she was readying to fight, and swiftly kicked her leg through the air mimicking her amazing moves from that day.

  We clapped and cheered, just like we had done the previous times Erin needed to relive her moment of glory. With each new telling, our cheers became more enthusiastic and Erin’s moves tighter, more controlled, and more dramatic.

  Allison jumped to her feet and was punching the air in front of her. I was laughing along with Susan, thinking how lucky I was to walk away from that day without being seriously injured.

  In the end, it all worked out. Andrews was indicted by a grand jury and was set to serve life in prison without parole. He went down for the murders of Keith and Pam Brown, Kate Wilson and her baby girl, and attempted murder of Cameron Dee and a whole list of other charges related to his elaborate scheme that was supposed to make him rich. He never did confess to the police like he did to me, but that was all right because the evidence against him was overwhelming.

  As for Tyler Lopez, he was cleared of all charges and, though Cameron’s baby girl wasn’t his, he remained a friend to Cameron until going their separate ways. Ms. Dee took her role as matriarch and was doing what she could to help her daughter bring up the child right.

  Tracey Brown was released from the hospital three days after Andrews was arrested and she and I became close friends. Though she never said it, I knew she liked having someone to talk to. In the end, I helped her put her parents’ house on the market and it sold astonishingly fast. It was hard for her to say goodbye, but she knew that it wouldn’t be a house she could stay to raise her child in without constantly thinking about past memories of her parents.

  It was revealed that Tommy Patterson was Dr. Andrews’s son. We never did learn how, or why, but Kristi said it was for the better. Tommy would always be theirs, no matter what DNA he shared. But I suspected as Tommy grew older, it would always be in the back of her mind that her son shared the genetics with a psychopath.

  Whether I agreed with it or not, designer babies were in our future for those who could afford it. As for me, I had already moved on and was a solid six weeks into an investigation that was sure to make the front page.

  “Sam, how many times did I kick him?” Erin asked.

  “About a dozen.”

  Erin puffed out her chest and nodded.

  I dropped a twenty on the table and said, “That’s it for me.”

  “No. Sam, stay. We’re having fun.”

  “I’d love to, but really, I have to run.”

  Allison pushed my twenty back. “Keep it. Tonight’s on me.”

  I flung my arm around her neck and we hugged. She felt warm and strong and though I knew she had begun her treatment, it was impossible to tell. Allison hadn’t let on to any of what she was going through and I admired her strength.

  “Stay,” Susan suggested. “You know the rules.”

  “Not tonight.” I chuckled.

  “She’s right. Not one of us has been asked out yet.”<
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  I turned to Erin. “Walk me to my car?”

  “Certainly.” She held her arm out and I looped mine through the crook of hers.

  “There,” I said. “Erin just got asked out.”

  Allison slapped her hand down on the table and laughed.

  Susan crumbled up a napkin and tossed it at my head.

  “I love you all, but this girl is on deadline,” I called over my shoulder as I walked Erin to my car.

  “You know, Susan will eventually find out what you’re writing,” Erin said as soon as we were at my car.

  “I know.”

  “You should tell her before it gets published.”

  “I will.”

  Erin held my gaze for a long pause before saying, “Sometimes the truth hurts, but sometimes it’s exactly what we need to hear.”

  I turned my head and stared up the block watching the cars go past.

  “When does Dawson want to run it?”

  “In Sunday’s paper.” Besides Dawson, Erin was the only other living soul who knew the depth of my investigation and the lengths I had to go to in making sure I had my ducks in a row, but there was something that even Erin didn’t know.

  “Are you ready for the world to read it?”

  I stared into her eyes and shook my head, no.

  “You believe it’s true?”

  “I do.”

  “Then that’s all that matters.”

  I wet my lips and swallowed. “Someone else knows what I’ve been investigating.”

  Erin’s eyebrows pulled together. “Someone like who? I thought you’ve been keeping this a secret?”

  My head was light from the drinks, but the alcohol was also making my nerves feel extra jittery. I pulled out my phone and opened the email I’d received earlier this morning. I turned the screen to Erin so that she could read it. I’d read it so many times this morning I knew it by heart.

  Be warned, Dearest Bell, you’re barking up the wrong tree. If you publish even just a piece of the fabricated story you’re investigating, there will be hell to pay.

  Erin’s head snapped up and I watched fear flash over her eyes.

  “It was sent to me about two this morning through the email linked to our website. It’s him, Erin, and I’m afraid of what he might do to make sure his story never gets out.”

  Tap here and read the next book in the series, BELL TO PAY. If you only read one book this year, this should be it.

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  A Word from Jeremy

  Thank you for reading BLOODY BELL. If you like the stories I'm writing, don’t forget to rate, review, and follow. It really helps my books get in front of new readers.

  Afterword

  One of the things I love best about writing these mystery thrillers is the opportunity to connect with my readers. It means the world to me that you read my book, but hearing from you is second to none. Your words inspire me to keep creating memorable stories you can't wait to tell your friends about. No matter how you choose to reach out - whether through email, on Facebook, or through a review - I thank you for taking the time to help spread the word about my books. I couldn't do this without YOU. So, please, keep sending me notes of encouragement and words of wisdom and, in return, I'll continue giving you the best stories I can tell.

  About the Author

  Waldron lives in Vermont with his wife and two children.

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