Lethal Affair (44 page)

“
I'm hanging up now, Will.
They're getting out of the van.”

*

Paul climbed out of the van and went
around to help Kylie, in obvious stress with her ankle. She bit the
bullet and hopped out onto her good leg.

Paul's cell rang.

“
Where are you? Where is my
wife and baby?”

“
Calm down, Paul. We're
close. Close enough to smell, thanks to your little girl here.
She's a real shit, you know that? Got a diaper full, reeks to high
heaven. Just follow the stench and you'll find her.”

Drew clicked off and Paul looked
around wildly. “What the fuck! They're somewhere here but he's
playing games. Says that Ruby crapped in her diaper and to follow
the smell.”

A cloud covered the sun and the
afternoon light went to gloom. To their left was an open field with
rockery and beach beyond. To their right was a lightly forested
area with trails leading to public washrooms. Kylie knew that
beyond those washrooms was a small cliff with a pebbled beach below
and a lot of kelp, the kind of seaweed with an odorous
punch.

Was it a clue? If it was, it was so
Drew. He was like a devious child, concocting his capriciously evil
games.

She took hold of Paul's arm. “This
way.”

Owls hooted as they hurried along the
little trail and skirted the washrooms. No one was about except for
a lone man who looked a lot like Kim, Kylie realized, walking
behind them at a distance, his attempt at nonchalance comical if
not for the dire situation.

They came to a small clifftop and saw
the kelp strewn beach and small cove below, the strong odor rising
up to meet them. The rocks coated with dark green slime promised a
treacherous descent.

Paul's cell went off.

“
You're almost there, Paul,
but now you go on your own. Poor Kylie won't make it down that
slippery slope without breaking that wonky ankle of
hers.”

He didn't get a chance to reply as the
call abruptly ended. Drew was in command, and he wanted them to
know it.

Paul gave Kylie a pitying look. He
knew she probably wouldn't be there when he came up again. Suddenly
he heard a baby's fretting whimper from below and without
hesitation, launched himself down the cliff side. At the bottom he
followed the sound, clamoring over rocks, slipping and sliding,
scratching his hands on their rough surfaces.

He found them tucked into a small
cave. His wife Sela, his child, Ruby. Quickly he duck walked into
the low cavern to his wife's side as she loosely held little Ruby
with limp arms.

Ruby let out a long howl. Sela never
even flinched. Her eyes were closed and a red welt had formed on
the side of her face. Blood trickled from her hairline where an
angry, open cut could be seen. Paul quickly felt her throat for a
pulse.

It was weak, but blood still
circulated. She'd been knocked out cold.

*

On the clifftop the drama played
out.

Kylie anxiously awaited Paul's return,
hopefully with his wife and child intact. Peering over the edge,
she heard the crunch of gravel behind her and whirled
around.

Drew was a few short meters away.
“Hello sweetheart. How's your ankle? Must be killing you, huh. Too
bad you had to lose the cane but I didn't want you bringing
anything lethal to my party.”

He was wearing jeans and a plain blue
t-shirt with an ominous purple stain that could only be blood
spatter. She could smell it on him, metallic, fresh. That could
mean a number of things and it turned her stomach. She felt her
legs buckle and fought hard not to sink to the ground. She had to
keep it together, at least until Crane's people got
here.

Where the hell were they!

Drew stepped closer, the scars on his
face livid. His eyes riveted her attention with their glittering
madness. Showing his chipped front teeth he smiled, seemed
genuinely pleased, whether with himself or with her, she couldn't
tell.

Defusing the situation seemed
tremendously optimistic. “What did you do with Paul's
family?”

“
They're doing fine. Before
you know it we'll be just like them. I wonder, will we have a boy
or a girl? What do you want, Kylie? Does the gender matter to
you?”

She had to keep him engaged, talking,
and passed a hand over the non-existent baby in her belly. “As long
as it's healthy, Drew. That's all that's important. What about you?
Do you prefer one or the other?”

“
I think I'd like a boy.
That little Ruby was no fun. Kept squalling the whole time.
Wouldn't shut up! Drove me crazy.”

“
You didn't hurt her, did
you?”

In one fell swoop Drew was upon her.
He grasped her wrist and pulled her to him. Close up his face was a
disaster that looked like he'd sewn himself up, the resulting scars
healing with ridges. It only added to his wild, feral
demeanor.

Crane! Get your ass here!
Now!

“
We're outta here,” he
growled, and began to pull her with him.

It happened fast. Kim loomed up behind
him and smashed him over the head with a tree limb. Drew fell to
his knees and swayed.

“
Move, Kylie, move!” came
Kim's stern instructions.

Her ankle screaming in protest, Kylie
shuffled away, but Drew's hand snaked out and he grabbed her good
ankle, pulling her to the ground. In an instant he had a wicked,
trademark knife to her throat.

“
Back off!” he commanded
Kim.

This was all too familiar. Knowing
that if she struggled the knife might slip into her carotid artery,
Kylie went still.

Wielding the branch, Kim tried simple
reasoning. “Look man, the cops are coming. Let her go and you can
make it out of here before they arrive.”

Drew laughed. “Nobody's coming, Chief.
Who the hell are you? Don't tell me you're her backup.”

“
I'm her friend.”

“
Really. Figures. Kylie's an
irresistible catch, isn't she? Men just line up for a chance to
poke her,” – the blade pressed harder against her throat - “like
she's special. This is none of your business, pal.”

Kim's lips formed a snarl. “Since
you've been on a rampage, it's everybody's business. You need help,
pal. Put down that knife.” He raised the branch, brandishing
it.

“
What are going to do with
that?” Drew taunted. “It barely scratched me.” He dug the knife in
and got a whimper. “This gets the job done.”

Kim searched his mind for the right
thing to say. He had to keep this asshole engaged.

A helicopter buzzed them, flying low,
just as the woods behind them erupted with dark figures all headed
their way. Crane's people, at last!

Drew focused on the sudden activity,
the knife giving leeway as he peered into the forest. Using that
tiny instant, Kylie flung herself to one side, the sharp blade
skimming her jawline.

Kim didn't waste a second. He snatched
Kylie up off the ground and pulled her back behind him, shielding
her with his body.

Whirling around, Drew lashed out with
the knife. Kim used the branch to deflect it but caught a long
slash along his lower arm.

Cutting his losses, Drew flung himself
down the slippery slope, landed like a cat on his feet and took off
running around the little cove and up the other, grassy side. He
easily hurdled a low picket fence and tore through someone's
private property.

Operatives skidded to a stop at the
cliff with their weapons cocked. Drew was already out of
sight.

“
Which way did he go?”
someone yelled, and Kim pointed.

Six men took off down the slope
cursing the whole way, while one man stayed behind to protect Kylie
and Kim.

In Kim's opinion, it was a moot effort
at best.

* * * *

CHAPTER TWENTY
TWO

Everyone was talking at
once.

With three cruise ships in dock,
Hammond had taken advantage of the dense crowds and used Paul
Stokes to confuse Crane's team. Theoretically it should have been
easy for them to follow Kylie's every move, but the crowds had made
it near impossible. They'd been forced to rely solely on the
tracking device embedded in the handle of Kylie's cane. Loathe to
admit that his team had failed, Crane was relieved that Kim Moon's
intervention and Will Delaney's constant contact with him had kept
them on Kylie and Paul the whole time.

In the parking lot they'd found the
stolen van Hammond had used to transport Stokes's wife and child.
Sela Stokes had outlined how he'd kept them hidden and immobilized
whilst keeping an eye on Stokes's activities.

Crane held up his hand for silence.
The roster included Will, Lyle, Jolene, Kim, Rita and Joe.
“Everyone will get their chance to speak. Mr. Delaney, let's start
with you.”

“
How's this for a moniker?”
Will fired off. “Slippery eel. Who are you guys, the Keystone Cops?
Why weren't you able to track them?”

Crane leapfrogged the sarcasm. “Prying
the device off the handle was a good tactic but it got damaged. We
couldn't get a clear fix on them after the alley.”

Joe wasn't letting it go. “If Kim was
able to follow them, why weren't your people?”

“
Slippery eel doesn't begin
to describe this guy. He knew where to find Kylie and sent Paul to
meet her. How he did it we have yet to work out.”

Rita came to Crane's aid. “None of you
were there,” she said quietly. “The crowds were thick, nearly
impenetrable. Impossible to keep track of someone.”

Joe looked mildly surprised. “Are you
defending the Detective's team, Rita? They were...”

“
...only trying to do their
job,” she finished. “Please, let's not turn this meeting into a
blame session. We need to figure out how to keep Kylie safe. How to
keep all of us safe.”

“
She's right,” said Kylie.
“Drew knew right from the get-go at Beacon Hill what we were up to
and then used Paul Stokes to ferret me out. He's a mad genius,
formulating intricate schemes that keep our heads spinning.
Detective, you're the professional. How did he do it?”

Crane stroked his mustache, thinking.
“The night he killed Stacie Hoyle he may have given himself an
insurance policy. He wants you alone, and he's willing to go to
great lengths to get you that way.” He held out his hand. “Give me
your cell phone.”

She handed it over.

Crane removed the cover of the battery
compartment and flipped it over. A long Velcro-like strip was
attached to it. He held it up for everyone to see.

“
This is a listening device.
He bugged Kylie's phone.”

The implications of it hung over the
room like a nasty smell.

“
Kylie,” said Crane, “I need
you to remember every call you've made or received since then. What
I'm wondering is, did you talk to anyone on your cell about losing
the baby?”

She concentrated. “I must not have. On
the cliff at Saxe Point he was still under the illusion that I'm
pregnant.”

“
There might be more devices
in your apartment. I'm sending someone over there now to debug. May
I have your key?”

Silently she took it off her key ring
and handed it over.

Crane gave the key to an officer along
with instructions. The young man left the room.

“
I sent Carrie and the kids
to see her Mom on Pender Island,” said Kim.

“
Kim's right,” Kylie
acknowledged, “you should all leave. Jolene, this might be a good
time to visit your parents up island. Mom, Dad, why not take that
cruise you've been wanting to go on? The rest of you, figure out
where to go, but go!”

Joe's quiet resolve echoed everyone's
immediate protests. “Do you really think your mother and I could
sail off into some tropical sunset and leave you in a
lurch?”

Kylie looked from person to person,
each face set with stony determination. “You're all masochists.”
She rubbed her weary eyes and sighed. “And I love you all for it.
Thanks for your support. That includes you, Detective. Keystone
cops and all.”

Will squeezed her hand even as Crane
flushed with embarrassment. They were all in this together, the
outcome both in and out of their hands.

*

The diner stayed open and it was
business as usual.

Kylie stayed with Will and Jolene with
Lyle. Conferring with Jay Humphrey, Will put an alarm system on
both the diner and his home utilizing more complicated circuitry
that Jay guaranteed couldn't be disarmed by a career criminal, much
less an amateur like Hammond. Of course that kind of security came
with a hefty price, but Will figured it was worth every cent. Lyle
and Kim's places were next in line, along with Rita and
Joe's.

Nerves stretched tight, then eased off
as days, then weeks went by. Although everyone settled into their
routines, no one let down their guard.