Death Angel, page 33
“She adored you, you bastard.”
Carl held his breath. Mike blinked at the hostile tone and the moment of compassion was gone. He turned away from her and faced Carl.
“After it was over, I had to get away. And I knew I would need an alibi. I raced back to the hospital. I was just coming up the back stairs onto the second floor when I realized there was a code blue.”
Mike’s voice was devoid of emotion. Strictly conversational. Carl hoped it would stay that way.
“One of your patients?”
“No. A Joe Blalock. He was old Doc O’Brien’s patient. Died.” Mike shook his head. “At any rate, when I got on the floor, I ducked into Mrs. Olson’s room. She was awake and wanted to know why nobody’d been in to see her since I left. I told her that because of the emergency down the hall, the new shift hadn’t gotten to her yet. I was still pretty shaken up, so I picked up her chart to give myself a chance to calm down. I looked at my watch. It was 3:50. I had one chance to create an alibi. I changed the time I ordered the oxygen increase to 3:19, and told Mrs. Olson I’d sit with her for awhile.”
“No wonder,” Carl said, putting a touch of awe in his voice. “So when the nurse came in, she thought you’d been there all the time.”
“Exactly.” Mike smiled. “The moment I heard her footsteps, I pretended I was asleep in my chair. She tiptoed across to the chart, spoke to Mrs. Olson, and then left. When my beeper went off, I said good-bye to my patient and went out to talk to the nurses at the desk.”
“Why did you bring me up here?”
Kate‘s question startled both men. She tried not to stare at the gun on the table. Mike was still too watchful. It wasn’t the right time. She’d have to wait.
“The case was closed, but you wouldn’t let it alone. Questions. Looking up things at the library. I knew I had to stop you.”
“People knew I was coming up here with you. Marian knew. Were you planning to stage some kind of an accident?”
Mike laughed, but there was little humor in the sound. “Better than that. I wrote several prescriptions for you and talked to several people in the hospital about how worried I was about your depression. I even told Marian. You’ve been under a terrible strain, so I don’t suppose it would surprise anyone if you took some sort of overdose. Of course, I’d have done everything to revive you but my efforts would naturally have been in vain.”
Kate nodded. “That makes a certain amount of sense and might have worked. Now with Carl here you’ll have to come up with another scenario.”
“Yes, he’s complicated things. I definitely need a new plan since it looks as if my time in Pickard is up. So we’ll sit tight here until nightfall,” Mike said. “Then I’ll take the boat and make a run for it.”
She didn’t believe him. She glanced at Carl, and could see in his eyes the truth. Mike would leave, but he would kill them before he left. It was still daylight, but the sun would be going down soon. She guessed the time at six or six-thirty. A couple of hours before it was dark. That would be the time to make their move. Until then she needed to marshal her strength.
“If that’s the case, I’d like to lie down. My ankle’s still killing me, and I’m tired.”
“You know, I’m getting pretty damn annoyed with your complaints.”
His face reddened and his fingers twitched on the butt of the gun. Kate hurried to placate him.
“I’m sorry for all my moaning, but my ankle’s throbbing.”
Her apology seemed to appease him. “If you want to lie down, you can use the floor.”
She lay down beside her chair, her back against the wall. Knees pulled up to her chest, she pillowed her head on her arm and closed her eyes. Richard’s penknife was somewhere on the floor, but she hadn’t been able to spot it. She wondered what Carl had done with his gun. Had he hidden it in the bedroom before Mike forced him outside?
She tried to think how they could get the gun or the knife away from Mike, but she really was exhausted. She tried to relax letting her body drift into a mindless trance.
“Get up, Kate.”
The impatient call broke into Kate’s semiconscious state. For a moment, she wondered why she was lying on the floor. With a jolt, she remembered where she was and raised her eyes to Mike sitting at the table, glowering down at her. She jerked her head. Carl was still tied to the chair, but she noticed he’d managed to work his feet free. His eyes were steady and encouraging as they met hers.
The cabin was filled with shadows. The edges of objects were beginning to blur, growing indistinct in the gathering dusk. The time was near when she and Carl would have to make a move.
“Light the lantern.”
Kate jumped at the barked order. Tilting on the back legs of his chair, Mike waved the gun in the direction of the Coleman lantern. The stiffness of her body lent credibility to her awkward movements as she limped across the room. She picked up the lantern, set it on the corner of the shelf beside the stove, and lit a match.
Her fingers shook as the match touched the wick, the tiny flame a beacon of hope in the darkened cabin. She didn’t need to see the message in Carl’s eyes to know it was time for action. Turning, she faced Mike.
The gathering darkness had taken a toll on his nerves. His face was flushed and seemed bloated.
“Try anything, Kate, and I’ll blow your head off.” He pointed the gun at her face.
“I want to ask a question.”
“What question? I don’t have to tell you anything more.”
“I know you don’t, but it’s something I still don’t understand. Was Richard in the forest preserve the day Jenny died?”
He stared at her without speaking for a full minute. Kate remained motionless under his glance, afraid that her slightest quiver would put him off.
“Yes.”
“Was he with you?”
His mouth slowly widened into a smile. “You don’t know, do you?”
At his expression, Kate stepped back a pace, sorry now that she’d asked the question.
“Leave her alone,” Carl said.
The interruption startled Mike who had been concentrating on Kate. He seemed to have forgotten they weren’t alone. He whirled to face Carl, gun swinging back and forth between the two.
“Stay out of this, Leidecker!” he shouted. “If it hadn’t been for her, the case would be closed. Her constant snooping has cost me everything. I had money, social contacts, and a position of respect.” He swung back to Kate, his expression ugly. “If I’d known how much trouble you’d be, I’d have killed you a long time ago.”
Kate held perfectly still. In Mike’s present state, she suspected she was as good as dead if she so much as blinked. Carl must have sensed it too.
“Listen to me, Mike. Don’t hurt her. If it hadn’t been for Kate’s absolute belief in you, we might have focused more carefully on you. Because of her, you still have a chance. Don’t do anything in haste. If the police get here before you can get away, you can use us as hostages to negotiate for better terms. Hell, you can probably work out some kind of a movie deal.”
The touch of humor got through to Mike. In relief, Kate watched the apoplectic color fade from his face.
“I’m sorry I made you angry,” she said. “All I wanted to know was why Richard was in the forest preserve.”
Mike turned to face her. His smile was nasty. “Richard was picking up someone.”
“An affair?”
“More like a brief encounter. He wasn’t interested in a relationship. He just wanted sex. And for that, any man would do.”
For a moment she didn’t understand. When it dawned on her what Mike meant, her face must have reflected her shock. Mike laughed.
“Shocked to discover your husband was a queen?”
“Chris knew, didn’t he?”
“Knew that Richard swung both ways? Yes. I used to think that Chris was gay, but Richard said no. In my opinion, he is, but too afraid to act on it. Whether Chris knew it or not, he loved Richard and covered for him the last couple years while Richard was trying to decide if he preferred boys or girls.”
“That Glen Sather Carl mentioned earlier. Was he Richard’s —?”
“Lover?” Mike was enjoying her awkwardness. “Richard said Glen wanted to go to the police. I called Richard and used the whispery voice and told him if he didn’t meet me, I’d go to the police, and tell them about Sather.”
“That’s why he was soaking wet. He wasn’t waiting for Hepburn. He was waiting for a blackmailer.”
So many things that had puzzled her were falling into place. No wonder Richard had lied. He couldn’t face the consequences of exposure. And with the lie, he became a suspect in the rape and murder of his own daughter. A heinous crime committed by his best friend.
God, how she loathed Mike! She darted a quick glance at Carl. He blinked once. It was time.
An icy calm descended over Kate and her hands were steady as she picked up the lantern. She held it lightly, her fingertips caressing the smooth metal. With faltering steps, she limped across to the table. She raised the lantern to set it down and with all her strength threw it directly at Mike.
The lantern struck him a glancing blow on the shoulder. The glass shattered, spewing kerosene and shards of glass across the floor. In a flash of light, the kerosene ignited.
Mike jumped up away from the flames. He leveled the gun at Kate’s face and pulled the trigger. When nothing happened, he stared down at it. It took him several seconds to figure out why it hadn’t fired. With a smile of pure malevolence, he pushed the safety lever down and raised the gun again.
With a flying leap, Carl slammed into Mike, knocking him to the floor.
As the men fought, flames raced along the floor and up the wall. Kate raced into the bedroom, grabbed her sleeping bag and used it to beat out the flames. She dropped the sleeping bag and raced back to the table. Her fingertips brushed the knife hilt just as the men careened into the table, overturning it. The hunting knife disappeared.
In the shadowed light inside the cabin, she couldn’t even tell which man was on top of the grunting, heaving pile, fighting for possession of the gun.
A shot exploded, curiously muffled but still terrifying. Straining her eyes, Kate saw Carl’s body jerk in a spasm of pain, but he still held Mike in a viselike grip.
“Get out, Kate,” Carl shouted. “Run.”
Twenty-nine
“Run, Kate!”
With only a momentary hesitation, Kate whirled around, pulled the door open and raced outside. She ran down the bank and splashed into the water of the lagoon.
She didn’t even consider taking the boat. The water was safer. The mud sucked at her feet and she hurled herself forward into a low dive. She dove again, heading for the weed beds. She gasped for breath but didn’t stop until she’d wriggled into the concealing center of a clump of cattails. Knowing that her shirt would be easy to spot, she submerged her body up to her neck.
Another shot rang out, and she covered her mouth to muffle the sound of her sobs. Her breathing and the pounding of her heart were deafening. She began to shake and she put her arms around her waist, huddling down in the water.
Eyes at water level, she pulled the marsh grass apart until she could see the cabin across the lagoon. As if she were watching a play, the clouds parted and the stage was lit up with moonlight.
A figure stood in the doorway of the cabin, holding the sides of the frame. It was Carl.
He took a step forward, then another. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and in slow motion, crumpled sideways onto the ground. She waited but could see no movement. Hands over her mouth, Kate sobbed silently into the night.
Where was Mike? Was he dead too?
Frantic as she was to get away, she knew she had to wait until she knew what had happened to Mike. Suddenly she spotted the beam of a flashlight inside the cabin. Moments later there was movement at the door. Mike came out, carrying his duffel bag. His white face and bare arms stood out starkly in contrast to the maroon shirt and navy slacks that blended into the dark background. He stood motionless, staring out over the lagoon.
“Kate?”
Mike’s voice was a breath on the wind and she recognized the sound of the Whisperer. She bent her head close to the water and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t draw his gaze.
“Kate, I’m leaving. I’m sorry.”
Head turned away, she remained where she was. She opened her eyes when she heard the motor drop into the water. The boat was in the lagoon and Mike stood in the stern, pulling the cord for the motor. It caught the first time. He feathered it lightly, then sat down, and steered the boat toward the wall of marsh grass that hid the channel. In an instant the boat was swallowed up, and all she could hear was the sound of the motor fading away.
When she could no longer hear anything, Kate swam out from behind the cattails. She treaded water while she stared at Carl, lying on the beach. He hadn’t moved, but she needed to check if he was alive. She was reasonably certain that Mike was gone, escaping while he could, but she’d have to be careful. If he returned, she’d have enough warning to make a dash for the woods behind the cabin.
She swam to shore and after one more searching glance, she squished through the mud and up onto the bank. Running over to Carl, she dropped down beside him, rolled him over onto his back and felt for a pulse in his neck. Beneath her fingers, his heart beat slowly.
“Oh, thank you, God!” Taking only enough time to whisper another prayer of thanksgiving, Kate examined him.
His right side was soaked with blood. She pulled the knit shirt out of his pants, easing it up until she could see the wound. It wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. The bullet had sliced across his ribcage, scoring a groove about four inches long. It wasn’t deep, so unless a rib had been broken and there was internal bleeding, it wouldn’t be fatal.
The other wound was worse. About four inches below his shoulder, a small hole penetrated the outside of his right arm. Turning the arm over, she gagged. The skin was shredded where the bullet had torn its way through. Ugly as the wound looked, at least it wasn’t gushing blood. If she could bandage it up, he wouldn’t bleed to death.
She was surprised that with all the pushing around Carl hadn’t regained consciousness. His breathing was steady. She reached up to touch his forehead and her hand came away wet with blood.
Getting to her feet, she hurried up to the darkened cabin, searching the shelf beside the door until she found a pack of matches. Her hands were shaking so badly, it took her several tries before she could light one. Her eyes darted around the room. Everything was in a shambles from the fight.
Just before the flame went out, she spotted her little flashlight. She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled across the floor, wincing as the glass from the lantern cut her knees. She felt around until her fingers touched the plastic casing of the flashlight.
The beam came on and she flashed the light around the room. She spotted Richard’s penknife on the floor. In the bedroom, she snatched several blouses out of her suitcase, and pulled Mike’s sleeping bag off the cot.
She tossed the sleeping bag over her shoulder and hurried back into the main room. She picked up the water jug and started for the door.
In the beam of the flashlight she saw the first-aid kit on the shelf beside the cooler. She juggled the items in her hands and reached for it.
Back outside, she stood beside him, wondering whether she had time to bandage him before she went for help. If she didn’t, he’d probably die of shock or loss of blood.
Using the penknife, she cut the back out of one of her blouses. She soaked it with water from the jug and washed off all the dirt she could see on the wounds. The right side of his face was swollen, but the cut on his head appeared to be only a shallow laceration. She opened the first-aid kit and found gauze dressings and adhesive tape. She dealt quickly with his head, then wiped away the blood on his ribcage and covered the groove with the dressings, taping them in place.
Carl’s whole body was limp as she examined the bullet hole on his arm and taped dressings to the top. She used several for the ragged skin on the other side. With the last of her shirts, she tied the dressings securely.
Just as Kate finished, the moonlight disappeared behind a cloud. When her eyes adjusted to the change in light, she unzipped the sleeping bag and spread it out. Carefully she rolled him onto his side and slid the bag under him. Setting him back down, she folded the other half over him and zipped it up to his chest. With the last of the water, she wiped his face clean then let a few drops trickle across his partially open lips. She felt the muscles in his throat move as he swallowed.
Carl groaned and opened his eyes.
“Kate?” His voice was raspy, and she barely heard her name.
“I’m here. I’m going for help.”
His throat worked. “Mike?”
“He’s gone. Do you understand?”
His eyelids fluttered.
“Don’t you dare die on me, Leidecker,” she said. “I need you.”
“I need you too.”
Tears filled her eyes as she stared down at him. How had she gone from hating him to feeling that she would die if she lost him? She stroked the side of his face and he sighed.
“Careful.”
He blinked several times, but then his eyes closed. His breathing was so soft she had to press her head to his chest to hear the sound of his heart.
Time to get help. For a moment she debated between the woods and the water. If she went into the woods she might lose her way entirely. In the water, she at least knew the direction to the main part of the lake. Leaving her shoes on, she stepped into the lagoon.
The moon came out from behind the clouds, shining magically across the water. She took it as an omen and smiled as she dove in, swimming toward the wall of grass where she hoped to find the channel. She had almost reached the entrance when the moon once more ducked behind a cloud. She felt disoriented. She stopped swimming, treading water until her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
In the silence, she heard the slap of water against the aluminum side of a boat.
