Death Perception

by Victoria Laurie

  ‘‘I discovered that a plane matching Delgado’s description had landed at a small Arkansas airport,’’ Delgado said. ‘‘No flight plan had been filed, which is the pilot’s responsibility, and since you were the pilot, I can only assume you didn’t want anyone looking into Ricardo’s trip to visit his diamond mine.’’

  Chase didn’t say anything; he just glared at Robillard. Robillard sighed. ‘‘I see you don’t think I’m serious,’’ he said, and aimed his gun at Jane. Not even a second later a shot rang out. She yelped once, clutched her heart, then dropped to the floor.

  All of us were so stunned that no one moved for several seconds. Robillard then aimed the gun directly at Chase. ‘‘The diamonds, please?’’

  Chase was shaking and didn’t seem to be able to take his eyes off of Jane. ‘‘Why?’’ he began to sob. ‘‘She was pregnant!’’

  ‘‘I’m going to count to three,’’ Robillard said. ‘‘And if I get to three, you will lose the ability to father another bastard. One...’’

  ‘‘Jane!’’ Chase wailed at her still and bleeding form.

  ‘‘Two... ,’’ Robillard said.

  Chase’s shaking hand reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a fist-sized black velvet bag. ‘‘Here!’’ he shouted, holding it out to him.

  Robillard smiled. ‘‘Three,’’ he said, and pulled the trigger again.

  Chase fell straight back and Dutch shouted, ‘‘Nooooo!’’

  Robillard moved over to Chase and picked up the bag, tucking it into his suit pocket. He looked at Dutch’s anguished and shocked face for a long moment before he said, ‘‘For digging into things that don’t concern you, you’ll be the last to go.’’ Then he swiveled slightly and aimed the gun at me.

  I took an involuntary step back and put up my hands defensively. ‘‘Stop!’’ I said, my worst fear unfolding in front of me. ‘‘Don’t!’’

  ‘‘This is for the car wash,’’ he said with a sick and twisted smile, and the gun fired.

  I sank to my knees and grabbed my chest and it was a moment before I realized I was face level with Robillard, who had also sunk to his knees and was grabbing his own chest. The difference was, it was his chest that was bleeding.

  Stunned, I looked around and saw Nora holding a gun with smoke still curling from the tip. ‘‘That was for Jane!’’ she said. ‘‘And this is for Cynthia, you rotten piece of garbage,’’ she added before pulling the trigger again and making a round hole dead center in Robillard’s forehead.

  Robillard’s head snapped back and he fell to the marble slab with a sick, dull thud.

  * * *

  Several hours later I sat with Candice and Cat in the lobby of the emergency room, wrapped in a blanket and sipping at some coffee. ‘‘It’s been hours,’’ Cat said, getting up to pace the floor again. ‘‘You would think that we would have heard something by now!’’

  ‘‘Here comes Nora,’’ Candice said, pointing down the hallway.

  ‘‘Jane’s out of surgery,’’ Nora said. ‘‘They think she’s got a pretty good chance.’’

  ‘‘What about her baby?’’ Cat asked.

  Nora smiled ruefully. ‘‘That kid is holding on tight,’’ she said. ‘‘Jane is still pregnant, but it’s too soon to tell what effect the drugs and anesthesia will have on the fetus. Still, it’s a really good sign that she hasn’t miscarried.’’

  ‘‘And Dutch?’’ I asked, anxious for more good news.

  ‘‘He’s still in the OR,’’ Nora said. ‘‘But that’s normal,’’ she added when she saw my worried expression. ‘‘A ruptured appendix can take a long time to clean out. We got really lucky just getting him here in time. Another half hour and he wouldn’t have made it.’’

  ‘‘Can I join this party?’’ Bob Brosseau asked, coming up behind his wife and carrying two cups of steaming coffee.

  ‘‘How’d it go with Laney?’’ I asked. Bob had been tasked with delivering the news about Chase.

  ‘‘She’s a tough one,’’ Brosseau said. ‘‘She said she’d been waiting for us to show up, because she felt Chase had died suddenly right around eight o’clock, which was almost the exact time that Robillard killed him, right?’’

  ‘‘It was,’’ I said sadly. ‘‘After I know Dutch is okay, I’ll head over to her house.’’

  ‘‘Does she know everything?’’ Cat asked.

  ‘‘She does now,’’ he said. ‘‘A social worker is staying with her until Chase’s mom and aunt can arrive. I mean, it’s not bad enough to learn that your husband’s been killed, but to find out he’s a kidnapping murderer who tried to steal his cousin’s identity and bolt out of the country, well, that’s tough.’’

  ‘‘Imagine how poor Dutch is going to feel,’’ I said. ‘‘He loved Chase like a brother and trusted him to help look for evidence against Robillard when Chase does the double cross.’’

  ‘‘Have you found Delgado’s body?’’ Candice asked.

  Brosseau nodded. ‘‘It was in a shallow grave not far from the mausoleum.’’

  ‘‘That was one hell of a good hiding place,’’ Cat said. ‘‘I mean, who the hell would ever have thought to look in there?’’

  ‘‘He chose it well,’’ Brosseau said. ‘‘The mausoleum belongsto the Hurston family. They’ve been a prominent family here in Vegas for almost seventy-five years, and the last time they buried someone was in the sixties. I called the family and they said they haven’t even been out there for ten years.’’

  ‘‘I’ve never heard of a tomb with electricity before,’’ Cat added.

  ‘‘Allows the family members to visit day or night,’’ Brosseau said. ‘‘I’m sure Chase replaced the bulbs in there once he decided to use it to hide Delgado.’’

  ‘‘Do we know how Robillard eventually tracked us down?’’ I asked. ‘‘I mean, how did he even find us?’’

  ‘‘Your cell phone,’’ Brosseau said. ‘‘His guys confiscated Wyatt’s phone and found a number that was registered to a disposable cell. They assumed that’s the phone you were using and all he had to do was wait for you to use it one more time and get a hit off a tower to help triangulate your position.’’

  ‘‘And I used it to talk to Laney and then to Gaston.’’

  Bob nodded. ‘‘Once he saw that you were on your cell, he was on his way over to intercept you when the police scanner announced a call for an ambulance to the cemetery. He figured you were calling for help, and made sure to redirect the troops.’’

  ‘‘He almost got away with it,’’ Candice said, then looked gratefully at Nora.

  ‘‘He did,’’ Bob said, also beaming proudly at his wife. ‘‘How’re you doing?’’ he asked her.

  ‘‘I’m fine,’’ she said, and the way she said it I could tell she’d reassured him several times. ‘‘Really, Bob. I don’t feel bad about killing Robillard. He would have murdered all of us if I hadn’t done something.’’

  ‘‘Where did the gun come from?’’ I asked, still curious about that.

  ‘‘Chase dropped it when you were punching his lights out. I spotted it about five seconds before Robillard shot Chase,’’ said Nora.

  ‘‘Well, I’m grateful,’’ I said to her. Nora made a sound that said it was nothing.

  ‘‘Excuse me,’’ said someone off to our right, and we all looked up to see a man in a dark suit standing nearby. ‘‘Miss Cooper?’’ he said, holding a cell phone out to me.

  ‘‘Yes?’’

  ‘‘Special Agent in Charge Gaston would like to speak with you.’’

  I took the phone from him and got up from the group to talk to Gaston. ‘‘Hello?’’ I said wearily.

  ‘‘Good morning, Abigail,’’ Gaston said. ‘‘Is there any word on our boy?’’

  ‘‘He’s still in surgery, sir,’’ I said.

  ‘‘Well, I’m sure he’ll pull through. Dutch is as tough an agent as ever I’ve had the honor of working for me, you know.’’

  My eyes misted a little. ‘‘I
do know, sir.’’

  ‘‘And you? How are you holding up?’’

  ‘‘I’m okay,’’ I said. ‘‘Just worried about Dutch.’’

  ‘‘When you get word that he’s come out of surgery, my men will take you to any hotel you’d like and put you and your friends up until Agent Rivers has made a full recovery.’’

  ‘‘Thank you, sir.’’

  ‘‘I’m leaving the summit early and heading back to Michigan to take care of any loose ends around Robillard. I’d like to personally thank you, again, for your involvement in this, Miss Cooper. I know it came at great personal risk.’’

  ‘‘I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about him ever again,’’ I said.

  ‘‘There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you, if I may?’’

  ‘‘Yes, sir?’’ I said.

  ‘‘There’s a case we’re working here in Michigan. It involves the disappearance of some kids from college and we think we may have another serial killer on our hands. I understand you’re very gifted in the sixth-sense department.’’

  I smiled. ‘‘It’s come in handy in the past,’’ I said.

  ‘‘I’d like to invite you officially to take a look at the evidence and get your impressions. I’ll clear it with Dutch, of course, to make sure that he’s on board, but what would you say to helping us out on this one?’’

  ‘‘It would be my honor, sir,’’ I said. Just then there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned to see Nora wearing a huge smile on her face.

  ‘‘Dutch is out of surgery!’’ she whispered. ‘‘He came through it fine, and the surgeon says he thinks Dutch’s chances are excellent!’’

  I felt all the tension leave me and I almost sank to the floor with relief. ‘‘Oh, thank God!’’ I said, and filled Gaston in.

  ‘‘That’s wonderful,’’ Gaston said kindly. ‘‘Go be with your boyfriend, Miss Cooper. You and I can chat later.’’

  * * *

  Dutch spent a week in the hospital and his family put off Chase’s funeral for a few days to allow him to attend. It was an awfully sad affair, given the details that had come out about Chase’s double life. I worried the most about Laney, but she turned out to be a woman to reckon with.

  Misty officially changed her name to Jane but not before she was sent to prison for three years for her role in the kidnapping of Delgado. She narrowly escaped a murder charge, as, under Nevada law, if during the commitment of a felony (like kidnapping) a person is murdered, all accomplices can then be charged with that murder, regardless of who actually pulled the trigger. So even though Jane wasn’t with Chase when Delgado was killed, she still could have been charged.

  The DA was talked out of the charges, in fact, by none other than the dragon lady herself, Mrs. Delgado, who was afraid that all the sordid details of her husband’s extracurricular activities would come out in the trial, along with the fact that Jane cooperated fully in giving up the details relating to the kidnapping of Delgado, Dutch and even an attempt to kidnap me.

  Jane revealed that a few months earlier, right after Chase left Laney, Dutch found his cousin and Jane together, shacking up in Jane’s small apartment. With a whole lot of effort, including a job offer and promises of financial support, Dutch convinced his cousin to go back home to his wife. And Chase did go home, but he wasn’t willing to give up Jane, so when he discovered she was pregnant, everything changed.

  It was Dutch, in fact, who had given him the perfect opportunity to escape his stressful life when he asked Chase to help investigate Delgado and Chase learned of the diamond mine. He hatched the kidnapping plan soon afterward, pushing Jane to help him by withdrawing a few pints of his own blood and storing them in the fridge to use at the scene of the kidnapping so that everyone would think he’d also been abducted and likely killed.

  But Chase got greedy, and he got sloppy. He knew his wife had just received some cash in the form of the student loan, and Chase figured it was enough money to see them out of the country to a place where he could safely fence the diamonds.

  Dutch admitted later that he caught on when he saw the photo of Jane with her fake mustache and a beaten up but otherwise physically sound Chase—something just seemed fabricated about the photo and it pushed him to look a little deeper.

  Meanwhile, Chase had Delgado hidden in the mausoleum, and he intended to wait just long enough for the heat to die down before releasing Delgado so that he and Jane could slip out of the country, but a suspicious Dutch showed up at the apartment and nearly ruined all of Chase’s plans. The two fought, and Chase gave Dutch one sound blow to the back of the head, which took Dutch out of the struggle quickly. He and Jane moved Dutch to the cemetery, then a panicked Chase ordered Jane to drive Dutch’s car back to the Strip and find me by using Dutch’s cell phone with its built-in GPS. His instructions were for her to locate me and appear frantic. She was to explain that Dutch had been wounded, and offer to take me to him. Chase was aware of my inboard lie detector, and it seems he was careful to word it so that I wouldn’t be overly suspicious.

  Chase wanted me out of the way, because he was convinced that I had been the one to send Dutch after him, and he wanted me and my intuition safely locked up until he could make his getaway.

  Jane reported that when she was driving on her way to the Wynn, she was trying to turn off the ring tone because I kept calling and that’s when she lost control of the car and crashed into the ravine.

  Dutch said that’s when Chase really came unglued. He didn’t want to leave without Jane, and he suspected that the FBI was already aware he might have gone over to the dark side, so he began to take on Dutch’s persona, gathering the same hair products and aftershave to try to become his cousin as much as possible, and the two definitely looked close enough in appearance for Chase to pull it off. He also intended to use Dutch’s passport and badge to make his way to Dubai, where he and Jane and their child could live off the diamond money for the rest of their lives.

  But we all know it didn’t quite work out that way for Chase, who, ironically, was buried in the very same plot he’d purchased for himself when his daughter was born, although Laney admitted she probably wouldn’t be taking the slot next to him when her turn for burial came up.

  And in an even more surprising twist, it was Laney who offered to raise Jane’s son until she was out of prison. Laney reasoned that she couldn’t bear to watch little Chad (the name Jane chose for her son) end up in foster care, where he might very well follow in the criminal footsteps of his father. Jane eventually agreed, and Laney made sure to take Jane’s son for regular visits to the prison.

  Candice, Cat, and I returned home with new cars and new friends. Nora still keeps in touch with us, and has not given up coaxing me into the kitchen with her ‘‘very easy to follow’’ recipes. Uh-huh... tell that to the fire department.

  As for Dutch, he was quick to recover in body, but his conscience has suffered a deeper wound. He’s been working hard to forgive his cousin, and he worked even harder to forgive himself. His reasoning was that if he’d never enlisted his cousin’s help to spy on Delgado and get the evidence he needed against Robillard, Chase wouldn’t have been tempted.

  I’m trying to be his voice of reason with that one. I mean, we all take responsibility for our own actions, and Chase was an adult who made really poor choices. In time, I’m sure Dutch will see it that way too.

  In the meantime, he and I have a bad guy to catch... but that’s another story.