Deadly Dozen: 12 Mysteries/Thrillers (149 page)

She might lead me to Hank.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

I STAYED A FEW cars back from the Town Car as we drove toward the foothills. We took a few more turns and I pulled over into the driveway of a home that had a For Sale sign in the yard. These homes were huge and expensive and most were for sale. This was a dead-end street, so I parked and waited.

I found a PowerBar in my glove box and munched on it—I had missed lunch and dinner. I wanted to know where the black car had parked, but I did not want to drive by and get spotted.

A few minutes later, the car drove by the other way and I ducked in my seat. Great, she’d been dropped off … now I had no way of knowing where she was.

I started the car and backed out. No time to wait—I was going to risk it. I had gone this far already.

The street flattened out after going uphill for a few blocks. All these houses overlooked the city and had amazing views. At the end of the street were a gate and a long drive that went up and over a small hill. I couldn’t see the house at the end, but I figured it was the place.

There was a guard shack at the gate and a big dog lounging under a tree. Who else would have security like this at their house? I pulled over, not getting too close so the cameras wouldn’t spot me, and turned around. As I drove down the hill, I took note of the other houses. They were all big, but nothing with a gate or security. It had to be Hank’s house.

Okay, so I knew where he lived. Big deal. I could’ve found that on the Internet. What was I going to do, sneak in and spy on him?

Parking at the same house where I did before, I waited. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for, but I needed time to think. I texted Mandy and told her I was okay and that Angela was doing better. She replied in all caps that I was a stupid, stubborn brat and that if I did anything like that again, she’d kill me herself.

Can I stay with you and Rick tonight? Don’t feel like being alone.

You’d better if you want to stay friends.

She said she would be gone all evening but would be back by ten, and that I’d better be home soon after. I smiled and shook my head. She was acting like a mom.

I looked up just as a car passed, and I about had a heart attack. Driving by in a silver Lexus was none other than Hank Williams.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

HE DROVE ON AND didn’t look toward me. I sucked in a breath and groaned. Was it Hank, or was it Glen? Adrenaline rushed through me, and I felt energized and tired all at the same time. But I was determined to see this through to the end. For Angela’s sake. For Heather’s sake. For Tracy’s sake. For my sake.

Starting the car, I pulled out after him, making sure to stay back.

Was he visiting Hannah, or did he live at the house? I kept on following him. It was a sure bet that he was up to no good.

The Lexus made a right on Hill Road and I turned on my blinker and followed. Traffic was lighter and it wasn’t until we turned down Whitehead Street that I knew where he was going.

He was driving to my best friend’s house, the place where I was supposed to be staying tonight. Rick and Mandy’s.

I had to get there before him. Taking a shortcut, I gunned it. Tires squealed and streets sped by. I turned corners so fast, I almost flipped the car, and disregarded stop signs. My heart pumped in my ears, but I’d never felt so charged up. All the car-racing video games I’d played as a kid paid off because I reached the house before the Lexus.

They’d given me a garage door opener as a gift for Christmas a few years back. I pulled into the garage and hit the button to lower the large metal door. I entered, slammed the door, entered in the alarm code on the keypad, and took the stairs two at a time. The guest room where I would sleep was on the second floor.

I dumped my purse out on the bed, searching for my gun. My hands trembled as I loaded the clip with bullets from my pocket. There was no calm exterior anymore, just a raw need to protect my friends.

The cool metal felt good in my hands, but as I loaded the clip I had a sinking feeling about how alone I was in all this. There would be no one to come. No one to have my back. It was just me against the killer.

Bring it.

As I sat on the edge of the bed, I worked out a plan. It wasn’t much, but it was the only thing I could think of in such a short time. Letting my anger build, I made myself remember the crime scene photos, the blood, the hanging body, Heather’s hollow eyes and rotting teeth, Angela’s limp, blood-soaked body, and then … my mind roved deeper, to what had happened in the past.

I felt a fire grow within me, and I didn’t squelch it this time.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Rick was a little paranoid. He had a small room he called the security room. It held the monitors for all the cameras throughout the house, the alarm switchboard, and some other things that just looked like buttons and lights to me.

I’d known them both a long time, so I knew the codes and how to work most everything from the few times I’d house-sat for them. The house was dark with all the blackout blinds drawn. I went through the house, making sure all the doors and windows were locked except for the one right off the back porch. I figured he would go around checking them, and if my hunch was right, he would walk right into my trap.

I turned on all the alarms, but put them into silent mode so I could see what ones got tripped and they wouldn’t send out an audible alarm.

I sat in the dark security room watching, waiting for him to come.

The house creaked in the wind. A timer buzzed somewhere, maybe the dryer. Nothing happened. Maybe Williams had just driven past, nothing more. Was I losing it?

It had been over an hour and I was about to give up when a little red light came on. The large monitor showed a map of the house. And when the silent alarm went off, a message flashed onscreen.

SOUTHEAST WINDOW BREACH!

It was the one I left cracked open.

As I found the monitor for the camera on that side of the house, my hands started shaking again. I needed to throw up, but forced it down. Using my sleeve, I wiped the sweat off my brow. A dark figure ducked in through the open window and stood in the dining room. He was dressed in black with a hood over his head.

A warning message flashed again, but this one was different.

POLICE WILL BE NOTIFIED. TO CANCEL, TYPE IN YOUR PASSWORD!

I typed in the password and the warning message disappeared. I could break a window later if I needed to get some help, but right now I needed time alone with Williams.

Williams—I didn’t know which one—slowly made his way toward the stairs that led up to the bedrooms—my bedroom. I flexed my left hand and began to wrap the right with a torn piece of my shirt. Kickboxing classes taught me to wrap my hands and feet before a fight; it would protect them. And just the act of wrapping the cloth made my hands stop shaking.

I loaded a round in the chamber just like Solomon showed me and slipped the gun in my left pocket. This was it, and just down the hall was a man who wanted to kill me. I was done running. This time,
he’d
better run.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

WALKING AS QUIETLY AS I could, I made my way down the hall toward the guest room. Although the lights were off, the sunlight cutting through the slats in the blinds cast a creepy glow through the side windows. Slivers of light cut across the hall and I moved past them as fast as I could without making any noise.

The hall was empty.

I held the gun in both hands off to one side and down. I didn’t want to turn a corner and have it knocked from my hands.

With my back to the wall, I peeked into my room. There, standing over the bed, which I’d stuffed with pillows to make it seem like I was asleep, was Williams.

His hood was off and he held a long knife in his right hand.

Stepping into the room, I raised my gun and pointed it at his back.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Williams.” My voice sounded calm and low.

He spun around and bent his knees a little as if to attack. “Sarah Steele.” He didn’t sound as shocked as I’d hoped. “You’re better than I thought. How long have you been waiting in the dark for me?”

“Long enough. Now sit.”

Williams grinned and shook his head. “No, I don’t think I’ll do that.”

Before I could react, he grabbed a pillow and threw it at me. Lunging forward, he batted at the gun and it flew from my hands. I stumbled backward and he hit me in the midsection. All the air in my lungs left in a whoosh. White stars crossed my line of sight, but I righted myself and my kickboxing training took over.

Hands up, elbows in. I crouched.

Grinning, he held up the knife and slashed at me. One step back and then I sent a roundhouse kick his way. The sound of his ribs connecting with my foot gave me a little hope. I came up with my knee and grabbed his head at the same time, forcing his head down as my knee came up.

A sick crunch and a wet groan told me I’d broken his nose. He dropped the knife and I frantically searched for my gun as he crumpled to the carpet.

There, next to the wall, was my gun. I ran to it and scooped it up. Turning, I aimed the gun at Hank, or whoever he was, and he looked up at me, holding his nose.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot. I mean it!”

Coughing up more blood, he wiped at the damp hair that hung in his eyes. “You got a mean kick. Learn that from your boyfriend?”

“Shut up. You don’t get to talk about him.” I coughed, and my breath wheezed. My lungs weren’t holding air like they should.

“Oh ...” He held up his hands in mock surrender. “What are you gonna do—take me in, call the police?” He laughed and winced. Hunching over, he clutched his side and cursed. “You know where that got you last time.”

I spoke through gritted teeth. “You really shouldn’t be baiting me right now.”

“Ha, you won’t kill me. You’re the ADA. You have a moral code, a promise to uphold the law. Besides, you have no idea who I am and what I’m capable of.”

“And you don’t know what
I’m
capable of.” I should have been scared, shaking and freaked out, but I wasn’t. My hand was steady and my mind was working like a well-oiled machine.