Books of a Feather (25 page)

I knelt down next to Crane, grabbed him by his jacket lapels, and tried to shake him. He groaned but didn't come to.

“Crane, wake up! Where's Derek? What happened?” I scrambled to my feet and ran back to the phone in the foyer between the living room and my workshop. I pressed the two-number speed dial that connected me to Inspector Lee. I heard her voice say, “Hello,” and I yelled, “Help!” But she kept talking and I realized it was her voice mail.

“Put the phone down.”

“Crane? What are you talking about?” I looked around but didn't see him. I didn't see anyone. “Hello? Inspector?”

“I said, put the phone down.”

Bai stepped out from the dark shadows cast by the bookshelves along the wall. His eyes were focused on me as he pulled a very
old, very sharp, curved knife from his coat pocket and pointed it at me. “Give me the book.”

I dropped the phone and it clattered to the floor. My throat was dry and my mouth was open, but no words were coming out.

“Nothing to say?” he asked.

“What book?” I found my voice. “What're you doing here? What's wrong with Crane?”

“My brother ran into a little trouble.” Bai giggled, and the sound disturbed me almost as much as the knife did. Was he on drugs? I couldn't figure him out, but that had been true from the first time we met.

“We need to call an ambulance,” I said.

“No.”

“He's your brother,” I cried.

“He's nothing to me now.” Bai didn't even glance at Crane, collapsed and groaning on the floor.

You're
nothing, I thought furiously, but didn't say it. The man was obviously psychotic. And he was holding a really scary-looking knife. One that had probably been used to kill two people. And where the heck was Derek?

As if I'd conjured him, Derek shouted from somewhere near the kitchen, “Brooklyn! Run! Get Alex!”

“Derek? Derek!” I started for the kitchen.

“Hold it,” Bai said, waving the knife close enough to my face that I cringed. “Stay right where you are.”

I held up both hands in surrender—for now. At least I knew Derek was alive. “I don't know what you're trying to prove, Bai, but you need to call an ambulance. Take whatever you want from my house, but we need to get help for your brother.”

He scowled. “I told you I don't care about him.”

Bai was blocking my view, so I leaned to the side to get a look at Crane. “Did you drug him?”

“You could say that.”

“But why?” I was starting to panic. If he'd done that to his own brother, what had he done to Derek? “Why are you here? What do you want?”

“I'm here to get the book.”

I frowned. “Which one?”

“Don't play dumb,” Bai snarled, and slapped me across the face.

I screamed and pushed him. I couldn't help it.

Angry now, he grabbed my arm and flung me toward the bookshelf wall at the opposite end of the living room from where I imagined Derek had to be. I managed to keep from falling, but not by much. Had Derek been drugged, too? Had he been tricked by Bai? Impossible. Something else had to have happened here. Was Crane involved? Had he been helping his brother and then Bai had turned on him? Blood was thicker than water, after all.

And even as I thought the worst of Crane, I knew it couldn't be true. He would never betray Derek. The two men were closer than brothers. Bai was the odd man out here, and it had infuriated him for years. So what had really happened here?

The thought occurred to me that if Flint hadn't tried to attack me outside, I would've been up here ten minutes sooner. I might've been able to help Derek. And that was one more strike against that stupid scumbag.

“Give me the book.” Bai said it quietly, which was almost more disturbing than his shouts.

“If you're talking about the book of birds, I don't have it.”

“You're lying.”

“I'm not.” That much was true, technically. I'd left it in the car
when I went to get pizza and I forgot to go back for it. The car was locked up, so the book was safe for now, unless Bai took my keys. “I left it at the Covington Library.”

“Liar.”

“It's true. I was showing it to Ian McCullough and he asked if he could keep it overnight.” I almost groaned. Had my lies just put Ian in danger? No, simply because if Bai had hurt Derek, I would make sure he didn't walk out of here alive.

I watched as Bai glanced around, looking uncertain as to what he should do next. Who was in charge here?

“Does she have the book?” a woman demanded from somewhere in the other room.

I frowned at this new voice. “Who is that? What's going on?” I raised my voice. “Who are you?”

“Shut up,” Bai said, scowling at me.

“Does she have it?” the woman repeated, louder.

“She says she left it at the Covington,” Bai said loudly in response.

“She's lying.”

“No, I'm not,” I shouted, fed up and sick to death of idiotic intruders and worried that Derek might be in real danger. I felt my teeth grinding down as I looked at Bai. “Who is that?”

“It's a friend.”

“A friend?” I said sarcastically. It had to be his girlfriend. I wondered if she was the one Alex saw running away from here the night we were almost broken into. A female. Tall and thin. Was she Goose's killer? And what did she have to do with Jared Mulrooney? Had they tried to get the book from him first? Was that the connection?

I wanted to smack myself. Of course it was the connection. I was an idiot. Gazing at Bai, I said, “So you killed Jared Mulrooney because he wouldn't give you the book.”

Shrugging off my accusation, he clutched the knife tighter. “He was a loose end.”

A loose end?
I wanted to scream. Who was he trying to kid? He himself had left loose ends streaming from one part of the world to another. His entire life had consisted of loose ends.

“He was a human being,” was all I could say.

Bai rolled his eyes and I knew I would have to do something drastic or I would wind up the next victim. Was Crane still alive? And where was Derek? He hadn't spoken again. Was he unable to?

“Jared Mulrooney thought he was protecting the book from us. He refused to hand it over, so he had to die.”

“No, he didn't,” I muttered. “And who is
us
?”

“Give him the book, Brooklyn,” Crane whispered from where he still lay curled up on the floor. “He won't leave without it.”

“I'll give you the book,” I said. “I just have to get it from the Covington tomorrow. Please. You can follow me there and you can have it. I don't want it. I was going to return it to the Bird-watchers Society as soon as I repaired it.”

Bai frowned. “Why did you have to repair it?”

“Because Jared spilled wine all over it and asked me to fix it.”

“Wine?” the woman cried. “That stupid jerk could've destroyed everything!”

Bai blinked. So there was something he and the woman didn't know. Could I use that against them?

“Did you fix the book?” she demanded to know.

I'd just about had it with the disembodied voice. Was she the one guarding Derek?

“Let me see Derek and I'll give you the book.”

“Just give me the book.” Bai waved his hand dismissively toward Derek. “He won't be any help to you.”

My entire body trembled. Chills ran from my spine outward to every extremity and I knew what it meant to say my blood ran cold. “If you hurt him, I'll kill you myself.”

My threat seemed to provoke him and he waved the knife menacingly. “Brave words for someone who's powerless.”

It was true, but only for the moment. There was no way this smarmy little jerk would win. He kept a tight hold on my arm and continued brandishing the knife with his other hand. He had pushed me into the archway between my office and the living room, so I couldn't see the dining room where I had a feeling Derek might be. I needed to get to him. Save him, somehow. I had to do something. I would have to distract Bai. But how?

“Derek!” I screamed suddenly. Bai flinched and I took the opportunity to punch him in the stomach with my free hand and pull my arm away. I dashed across the living room floor, almost sliding into Derek sitting at the dining room table. He had his head resting on the table. My heart dropped.

“What's wrong with him?” I screamed. “Derek, wake up!”

The woman standing on the other side of the table had a gun pointed at me. She was tall, thin, Asian, and very beautiful. She reminded me of the risk analyst at Derek's office. What was her name? Lark. The one who had run her fingers along his lapel. This woman was striking as well and clearly deadly.

“Who are you?” I asked, all the while trying to get close enough to Derek to see if he was still breathing.

“That's my girlfriend,” Bai said, sounding like a ridiculous love-struck teenager. “Her name is Kea.”

I glanced at Bai and knew immediately that Kea was the brains and the power behind this duo. Her eyes were beautiful, but empty. She had probably killed Goose. I couldn't see Bai doing it, although
he was surely twisted. I hadn't seen that side of him before and I wondered if I should have. “Why do you want this book so badly?”

“None of your business,” Bai said.

“You've broken into my house, you've killed two men, you've attacked me and my fiancé and your own brother in my house, and it's none of my business?”

“I didn't kill him,” he groused.

“Shut her up, Bai,” the woman said. But now instead of sounding harsh and dictatorial, she sounded nervous.

“You shut up,” I snapped, well beyond thinking cautiously. Back to Bai. “If you didn't kill him, who did?”

“Bai, shut her up,” the woman repeated urgently.

I glared at her, then back at Bai. “She killed him, didn't she? She probably killed Jared, too. I can't see you doing it.”

“Bai!” she shouted.

“I'm trying to shut her up,” he shouted back, then scowled at me. “Shut up.”

“You won't shut me up. You're in
my
house now.” I yelled, subtly pressing up against Derek's arm. I needed to make contact. I could tell he was still alive, but very weak. “And what did you do to Derek?”

I heard my workshop door open and someone walked into the apartment. It was obviously a woman by the sound her high heels made clacking against the hardwood floor. What now? How many people were in on this, anyway? The newcomer walked through the foyer and into the living room. Bai and his girlfriend flashed each other a warning look.

“Kea, aren't you two finished yet? Do I have to do everything?”

Bai was seething, obviously insulted, but he said nothing.

“No, Mommy,” Kea said. “Not yet.”

Mommy
?

I turned around—and almost stopped breathing at the sight of Marva Pesca, the new president of the National Bird-watchers Society. What in the world? I stared back at Kea. “She's your mother?”

“Yes,” she said. “And she's not going to like your stalling one bit.”

“Who's stalling?” I asked. “I told you I don't have it.”

“Did you get the book or not?” Marva asked her daughter.

“She says she left it at the Covington,” Bai explained.

Marva glared at me. “You're lying.”

I almost rolled my eyes but resisted. These people needed to get their act together and take it on the road. “Why would I lie? At this point I would give you anything just to get you all out of my house. So no, I'm not lying.”

“We can get it tomorrow,” Bai said.

Marva pinched up her face. “Oh, so we'll just leave all these lovely people here and come by tomorrow. Is that what you're suggesting?” Marva pinned her daughter with a look. “Did you have to get involved with another moron?”

“Oh, Mommy. Just go wait in the car.”

“No. I'm taking charge.” She pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it at me as she said, “You kids stand over there.”

I felt Derek give me the slightest nudge, and it was the best moment ever in the whole world. I wanted to burst into tears, but this wasn't the time.

“Okay, okay,” I said, “I've got the book in my car. It's repaired. Let me go down and get it.”

“Now, was that so hard?” she asked, giving Bai and Kea a look that only a mother could give. They both glanced away.

“Wait,” Marva barked, and Bai and Kea froze. “Why did it need repairs?”

“Jared Mulrooney splashed wine on it,” Bai explained.

Marva made a sound of disgust. “That slob. I'm glad I killed him.”

Oo-kay,
I thought, my stomach flipping. So Marva had killed Jared and her daughter had killed Goose. Glad to know it was all in the family. Each of them was capable of cold-blooded murder. That settled it. “I'll get my keys.”

“No, you won't,” Marva said. She jerked her head at Bai. “You get them. Where's her purse?”

“It's in my office,” I said, ready to give them anything they wanted, if they would only just leave us alone. But there probably wasn't much chance of that.

Bai went to find my purse and came back holding up my car keys and jiggling them as though he'd accomplished something brilliant. “I'll be right back.”

With a spring in his step, Bai jogged over to our front door. But just as he twisted the doorknob, the door swung open, and my mother and father walked in.

“Special delivery,” Dad called. “Hey, who's this?”

“Hi, sweetie,” Mom said. “Oh, you have company.”

“Mom, Dad! Run down the hall and get Alex. Call the police!”

Kea was so distracted by the tumult that she dropped her arm, and the gun was no longer pointing at me.

Dad went running out, but Mom took one look at Derek and gasped. “What happened to him?”