by Rose Pressey
I peeked at the wound on my arm. “It just grazed my arm. I’ll be fine. We have to hurry if we want to catch him.”
“We don’t want to catch him,” she yelled as she raced after me.
Chapter 30
I jumped behind the steering wheel with that pain still searing in my arm. Dorothy scrambled in and I shoved the car into drive and zoomed down the driveway like a bat out of hell.
Dorothy held on to the seat. “You’re going too fast.”
“Just make sure your seatbelt’s on,” I said.
“You’re driving with one arm. See, I knew you were injured,” Dorothy said.
“It’s just a teensy bit of pain. It’ll go away soon. I’ll just dab some Neosporin on it and I’ll be good to go.”
“You need to drive to the hospital and have that looked at.”
“It’s just a little scrape.” I zoomed down the road, hoping I was headed in the same direction as the guy. I thought this was the way he had gone, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. This was my one chance to find him.
“Do you see the car, Dorothy?” I asked as I scanned the area in front of us.
We were coming to a more congested area now. Which meant more cars to get around and traffic lights to beat.
“I don’t see anything. I’m looking for a hospital sign,” Dorothy said.
“Not now, Dorothy.” I zipped into the other lane. “Oh, wait, I see the car up ahead.”
“What if they start shooting again?”
“You have to tell the police where we’re at. Did you give them our location?” I asked.
“No, I just hung up the phone.”
“Call them back.”
“Good idea,” she said as she dialed the number again.
“Tell them we’re trailing this guy and they have to arrest him right away.”
“They might arrest you for driving so fast,” she said.
“I have to catch up to him. Plus, I’m doing five over the speed limit,” I said.
“Oh,” she said through pursed lips. “Well, just be careful.”
A couple of people honked their horns, warning me to watch where I was going. There was no time to look back and apologize, something I would normally do. I hated accidentally cutting people off. I wasn’t even driving that badly, just a little more frantically than usual.
A few minutes later, before I knew it the guy had pulled over to the side of the road. I hadn’t expected that.
“Now what do I do?” I said.
“I suppose you have to pull over to the side of the road too. But don’t get too close,” Dorothy said. “He still has that gun, remember?”
“How can I forget?” I said, gesturing toward my arm.
I merged over to this side of the road. Thank goodness I found a parking spot and didn’t have to parallel-park. That would take entirely too long right now. Plus, my arm was hurting. Should we get out of the car? What was he doing? At least I could see him. But then again, the guy could see me too if he looked over his shoulder. He probably had no idea that I had followed him though. He thought he had shot me, and I’d gone down.
“Okay, we have to get out of the car and follow him,” I said.
He walked down the sidewalk away from us now.
“We have to call and tell the police where we are,” Dorothy said.
“Where is Jake and why doesn’t he answer the phone?”
“Maybe he’s in a dangerous situation,” Dorothy warned.
“Don’t say anything like that,” I said.
“Well, it’s true, you know. He’s been warning you.”
“He’ll be excited when I catch this guy,” I said.
“If you don’t get us killed first, maybe.”
Dorothy and I were now headed down the sidewalk on a mission. Thank goodness he hadn’t looked back to see us. My shirt had some blood on it though, so needless to say, I was garnering some looks.
“You look like you’ve stepped out of a horror movie,” Dorothy said.
“It’s just a little scrape, that’s all,” I said.
The injury really wasn’t that bad. Dorothy was just overreacting as usual. The guy stopped and entered a building on the right. I had no idea what that building was yet because we were still too far away.
“We have to pick up the pace now, Dorothy,” I said as I grabbed her arm and hurried her down the sidewalk toward that brick building.
Now that Dorothy and I were in front of the building, I had no idea what to do. This sure had been a crazy afternoon. One minute we’d been in an isolated house looking for clues and the next we were chasing a killer into a building. What if he tried to kill the people inside the building too? This had gone on long enough and I had to put a stop to it.
“Dorothy, you should wait out here. So the police will know where we’re at.”
She raised an eyebrow. She had to admit that I was right. “All right, but if you don’t come out soon, I’m coming in after you.”
“I’ll be just fine,” I said.
I opened the door and looked into the building to see what I was entering. For all I knew he could be waiting right there on the other side for me.
The place was empty. It didn’t look abandoned. There was some furniture around the office as if it had been used recently, but there was no sign of the killer. Now I had to step in here and find him, like a game of hide and seek. Did he know that I had followed him? Maybe this was his game all along. He would trick me into coming into this building and be waiting for me.
I glanced back at Dorothy. She grimaced as she waited for me on the sidewalk. I tossed my hand up at her, letting her know that things would be just fine. Now that I was inside, I felt a little claustrophobic, even in this big room. A hallway ran down the middle of the space and large rooms were to the left and the right.
I felt as if I should say, Come out, come out, wherever you are, though I was afraid he might start shooting at me again. So I kept my body close to the wall and was sneaky as I moved down the hallway. I eased my steps so that I wouldn’t be heard. It was so quiet in here that it was eerie.
The staircase in the middle of the hallway I assumed ran up to the second and third floors. He could be on those floors or right down here nearby. I kind of wished that I had some backup. What was taking the police so long to get here anyway?
Footsteps sounded from above me. Oh, great. Now I had to go up there and look for this guy. What did I think I’d do with him when I found him? We’d already had a fight. If only I had handcuffs. This guy was strong though. I felt I’d have an easier time wrestling a bear. I moved back over to the staircase. I peered up and checked to see if he was on his way down. I really didn’t want to meet him on his way down. If I was on my way up, I didn’t want to fight on the staircase. That would end badly for me. Probably I would tumble to my death.
Releasing a deep breath, I placed one foot on the first step and then moved up the next. There was no turning back now. I had already started. The faster I got to the top, the faster I could get this over with. So far there was no sign of him, but I knew I’d heard his footsteps. When I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped and peered down the second-floor hallway.
The doors were closed so I wasn’t sure which one he was in. If I tried the first door, he might hear me and come after me. This would cause a deadly confrontation. I had to be prepared when I saw him again. I didn’t want to be taken off guard.
Maybe I should have waited for the police after all. What had I been thinking of coming in here by myself? I thought about going back outside and waiting for the police when noise came from behind the door right in front of me. It didn’t sound like footsteps. It was more like someone trying to speak. As if the person might have something over their mouth.
Chapter 31
I grabbed the doorknob and twisted, but it didn’t open. I pushed on the door, trying to get it to open. Nothing. It wasn’t budging at all. Still that noise came from inside the room and it was louder th
an ever. Someone most definitely was in there and trying to get my attention. Maybe it was the killer just playing games, but nevertheless, I had to find out for sure. Someone might need my help.
The killer could have brought someone else here to murder them. Why else would he be in this empty building? I kept trying to open the door, but nothing was happening. I looked around for something to help me break it down, but unfortunately, there was nothing. My adrenaline pumped hard. One way or the other, I would get into that room even if it meant breaking down the door.
I wasn’t sure how this happened. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after this point. But with all of my strength, I rammed my body against the door. I didn’t even have to try it twice, just one time and the door fell off the hinges.
Now maybe it hadn’t been up that well in the first place, and that was probably what everyone would say, but something had told me that I had to get in that room. And there was no way I was going to let a little thing like a door stop me. I’d probably have a huge bruise and some soreness tomorrow along with my bullet wound. Now looking into the room, I knew why I had felt the undeniable urge that I had to get the door down.
Jake was tied to a chair in the middle of the room. I was completely stunned to see him here. Tape covered his mouth. I ran over to him, almost stumbling over my own feet trying to get there so quickly.
“Oh, my gosh,” I yelled. “Are you all right?”
Of course he couldn’t answer yet because I had to take the tape off of his mouth. Unfortunately, I forgot that it would hurt and I yanked it off. He screamed out a little. Now the tape had to be removed from around his legs and wrists. I had to get all of this done before the killer returned.
“What happened to you, Maggie?” Jake’s face was filled with panic.
“Oh, this?” I gestured toward my arm. “Just grazed by a bullet. No biggie.”
“No biggie? Did Billy do that?” he asked.
“You got it. Did Billy tie you up here like this?” I asked.
“Yeah, we’ve been here for a couple of hours.”
“Why did you do this? Did he say?” I asked.
“Behind you,” Jake yelled.
I still hadn’t got the tape off his legs, much less his wrists. When I spun around, the killer was at the door with a gun aimed at me. Within a second, he pulled the trigger. Somehow a miracle happened, and the gun jammed. In this amount of time it allowed me to pull my gun out and fire a shot at him. He fell backward like a heavyweight. The gun fell from his hand.
I rushed over and picked it up. “That makes two guns I’ve gotten from you today. Do you have any more?”
He groaned so I knew he was still alive. I knelt down beside him. He held his shoulder.
“Now you know how it feels,” I said.
I patted him down to see if he had any other guns. It seemed as if he was clean, but I still didn’t trust him.
“Two guns?” Jake asked.
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“Well, I’d love to hear it.”
“No problem,” I said. “As soon as I get you untied.”
I had to keep my eye on the guy while I freed Jake. After taking the tape from his legs I moved on to his wrists. Maybe I should have started with his wrists. Oh, well, it was too late now. The killer moved a little and I worried that he might get up soon. Though he was wounded, and I doubted he would be able to do much more harm.
“Did you call for backup?” Jake asked.
“Dorothy’s outside. She called.”
At least I hoped she’d told them how important this was. What if Billy had done something to Dorothy? The thought sent a chill down my spine. I handed Jake one of the guns. I was seriously starting a collection. I knew Jake couldn’t wait to hear the story about how all this had happened. I wanted to know how he’d ended up in this building and tied to the chair.
The guy scooted back across the floor on his elbows as if he was trying to get out of the room.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked with the gun pointed at him. “I already shot you once, I won’t hesitate to do it again.”
At least he knew now I meant business. He was trying to get away from me, but he wouldn’t succeed.
“If Justin hadn’t shown up at the park that night, I could have killed you then,” he snapped.
“Why did you do this?” I demanded.
“I told Vivian I would do this,” he said.
“Why? Because Vivian refused to give you the money? When you couldn’t get money out of her anymore you finally got rid of her? Because she was going to go to the police and tell everything?”
“It looks as if you did your detective work,” Billy said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” I said.
“You got that right,” Jake said. “Maggie is relentless when she’s on the case.”
“I thought you loved Vivian? Why would you do this?” I asked.
“Vivian tried to kill me. When I asked for money she said no and tried to kill me. I had to do something.”
“You could have just not asked for money. You could have gone to the police,” I said.
He continued as if he hadn’t heard a word I said. “I decided I was done with the relationship. She tried to kill me, so I killed her.” He shrugged. This was no big deal to him.
“I don’t believe you. Did you try to blackmail her as well?”
“She killed someone, so she should have expected to be blackmailed.”
“I hardly think that’s true,” I said.
“Justin’s father was with her the night she hit that man with her car. He blackmailed her for years. When Justin’s dad died, I told Justin there was no reason to stop the blackmailing. He did it for a while. Even got her to transfer a house she owned to him. After that Justin didn’t want to do it anymore. He wouldn’t give me the blackmail material either. That’s why I got rid of him.”
“Did you start dating her specifically so you could get money from her?” I asked.
Billy laughed. “I figured if I dated her, she would eventually confess to me. She did and it only took a couple weeks too.”
“When she wouldn’t pay you, then you decided to kill her?”
“Why should she pay someone else and not me? She had to be stopped.” Rage filled his eyes. “Lloyd knew his wife had killed someone too. He kept it secret. He planned to get those files from your office. Someone had told him your uncle worked on that case. Justin and I decided to beat him to it. I wanted the evidence.”
“Why not take the whole file?” I asked.
He stared at me a bit before answering, “I thought I had it all.”
“Sloppy work,” I said with a click of my tongue.
“I guess that explains why I found the key to my office at Lloyd’s.”
“Vivian took the key from me. The day I murdered her. I’d told her we’d been at your office and found the file.”
“So you didn’t go to the police and tell them she had killed someone back in 1994?”
“If she’d given me the money, I wouldn’t have told the police. Her husband knew about her past, but he kept quiet. I guess she’d threatened to kill him too.”
I hadn’t even heard the sirens. But now the loud calling out from the police as they stormed the building caught my attention. Loud footsteps thundered as they pounded up the stairs.
“We’re in here,” Jake yelled out.
“Miami-Dade Police Department,” the men yelled out. “Come out with your hands up.”
Did they mean me? I looked at Jake as if I had no idea what to do. Should I put my hands in the air? I didn’t want to let my guard down around the killer.
“It’s all right now, Maggie. You can give me the gun.”
Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten he was a cop. I handed over the gun to Jake. He still aimed his gun at the suspect. Thank goodness the police had finally arrived. I was worried about Dorothy though. Was she waiting outside for me? It was unlikely that she
had left. She’d try to get in if they’d let her.
Several police officers had stepped into the room. Jake explained to them exactly what had happened. Soon the ambulance would be here to take away the killer. But I had forgotten about the blood all over me and now they wanted to know if I had injuries.
I definitely needed to know what had gone on between Jake and Billy.
The emergency technicians came into the room and insisted I sit down in the chair so that they could check me out. There was no way I was going to the hospital. It wasn’t that bad.
“I think you should just go and have that cleaned up,” Jake said.
“But I have other things I need to do.”
“Like what?” he asked.
I didn’t have a good answer for that, but I had hoped we could have a nice dinner tonight after this ordeal. “I don’t know at the moment, but I just need to check my schedule,” I said.
The emergency technicians took Billy out on the stretcher. I was glad I didn’t have to see him anymore.
“Come on, Maggie. It won’t take long. It will give you a chance to tell me the whole story.”
Reluctantly I agreed to go. Jake was probably right. I should get it cleaned up. I just wanted to find Dorothy and make sure she was all right. Jake placed his arm under my shoulders and guided me down the stairs. They’d taken the killer out on a stretcher, but I insisted on walking. I didn’t want the killer to think he’d gotten the best of me.
When we stepped outside, I didn’t see Dorothy anywhere in sight. Where was she? They were trying to guide me toward the ambulance, but there was no way I would go until I made sure that Dorothy was okay.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” Jake said.
I scanned the area, expecting to see her at any moment. Or least I hoped to see her at any moment.
“Maggie,” the tiny voice called out from somewhere.
I peered around the area again.
“Did you hear that?”
Jake frowned. “Yes, but I don’t see her.”
She had to be here somewhere.
“Ma’am, are you ready?” the technician asked.