Catherine's Cross (33 page)

“Once the regulator was out of her mouth, she put up quite a fight—but it was no use. I simply held her tightly until she became still.” He grinned. “There was not a mark on her. It's almost time for you and your boyfriend to join her.” His face came even closer to hers. Jenks could smell the pungent stench of sweat from his body. She mustered every ounce of strength she had in an attempt to fight back, but it was no use. He was just too strong.

He pushed against her even harder. “I've had your sister's home under surveillance since her unfortunate death. I rented the vacant house behind Gigi's, and I've listened to every conversation you've had. I've heard the sounds of lovemaking between you and your boyfriend. I've been in your bedroom while you slept—so close to you that I could hear your breathing.”

“You're completely insane,” she struggled to say.

Frank Hiller was pressing against her throat, and airflow was being cut off to her lungs. The room became deep amber-brown, and when he released her, she collapsed to the concrete floor. Lying beside Seth, she gasped for air.

Jenks watched as Frank's hazy figure carried a large leather duffel into the refrigeration locker. After a few moments, she remembered that she had left all of the documents that she had found in Gigi's fireplace in Seth's office, except for the last inventory list that Gigi would have turned in to the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. On that list were the names of Gigi and Frank Hiller as the salvagers of the
Defiance
. She had inadvertently kept it after she and Seth spoke to Detective Campbell about Fleming's Seafood. Jenks rolled to her side and then struggled to her knees. If she could show Frank the list, he'd know that Gigi meant to include him.

Fumbling through her cargo pants pocket, she removed the document just as she was grabbed from behind. Frank jerked her to her feet and then taking her by the arms pulled her close to him.

“I'd find out what you're like if there were more time,” he said as he pushed her sweat-soaked hair back from her throat.

Jenks thrust the inventory document into his face and cried out frantically, “She was not cheating you. She was going to surprise you on your birthday. Read this!”

As he looked over the document, his face became ashen, and he released her from his grasp. She collapsed back to the floor.

For a moment, she put her hand on Seth touching him tenderly. The blood was spreading on his shirt.

Time seemed to stand still as Frank read the inventory list. His face was gray. He took a deep breath, and then grabbed Seth by his arm and dragged him into the refrigeration locker. Without saying another word, he pulled Jenks to her feet and effortlessly carried her to the door of the compartment. He pushed her into the locker and she fell hard, striking her head on the concrete floor. There was a sound of breaking glass and then the room went black. She could barely breathe, and her ability to think was failing her. As she lay on the concrete, she felt consumed by the darkness and fear. Her mind went blank.

There was a noise like muffled voices and the sudden pounding of what sounded like a hammer. Jenks woke in total darkness, but suddenly the door to the refrigeration compartment opened and someone shined a flashlight inside. The light blinded her, and she could not remember where she was. She heard a voice cry out, “In here, they're in here.” The voice sounded like Detective Campbell's.

Other flashlight beams appeared in the darkness, and she heard the voice say with desperation, “Oh, my God—Seth.”

She felt someone lift her from the concrete floor and then she was in fresh air. Completely dazed, she closed her eyes as the late afternoon sun blazed into them.

The scent of rubbing alcohol was in the air. Jenks looked up at the ceiling of an unfamiliar room. Her head was throbbing, and she felt queasy. “She's waking up,” a voice said.

Someone was holding her hand. She thought it was Seth, but when she turned her head toward the individual, she saw her mother. There were lines of worry on her face, and she gently stroked Jenks's forehead with her fingers.

“Thank God. We've been so worried about you,” Linda said in a shaky voice.

Gregg Mikell rose from a settee near the bed and joined Linda at the side of Jenks's bed.

“Honey, we're so glad to see you awake,” he said. “Detective Campbell called us yesterday, and we got here as fast as we could.”

Jenks slowly realized that she was in a hospital room, and she tried to formulate a sentence, but found she was having difficulty creating her words.

“Baby, don't try to talk. You've had a bad blow to the head.”

“Where is Seth?” she said feebly.

Her mother looked at her compassionately, and then responded, “Jenks— I'm afraid he's hurt badly. The doctor said he has a fractured leg and a serious concussion. You've been diagnosed with a concussion as well, although not as severe as his.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “He's going to be all right, isn't he?”

“Baby, he's in the intensive care unit. All I know is that the doctors are taking care of him.”

Jenks wiped her tears with her fingers as they rolled down her cheeks.

Her mother handed her a tissue, and asked, “Who did this to you?”

“Frank Hiller,” Jenks choked out.

“Oh, dear God,” Linda whispered as a deep frown crossed her countenance.

“He killed Gigi over artifacts . . . she found a ship that sunk during the Civil War. He thought she was cheating him . . . he murdered her over gold.”

Her voice was becoming nervous and high pitched. “She wasn't betraying him—she was going to share everything with him.”

Her mother wept, and she squeezed Jenks's hand tighter. “Do you feel up to speaking with Detective Campbell for a few minutes?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

She closed her eyes and within a few minutes Detective Campbell entered the room. “Miss Ellington, I know you don't feel well, but please tell me what happened to you and Seth.”

“How is Seth?”

“His CT scan did not reveal any bleeding, but did show some mild swelling.”

“Oh, dear God,” she said in a trembling voice.

“Now take your time and please tell me what happened.”

“We went to Fleming's Seafood.” A wave of pain wracked her brain and she stopped talking. “I'm sorry, my head hurts so much.”

“Just take your time.”

“We located Gigi's artifacts in an odd compartment in the refrigeration locker. Seth tried to phone you—but the call was dropped. He was going outside to call you again—as he went through the doorway, I saw the glint of a metal bat, maybe a pole. It hit Seth in the leg. There was such a frightening noise from the blow.”

“Yes, we found the steel pipe that was used in the assault.”

“Then the bat descended on Seth's back and head. He went to the floor and didn't move.”

“Who is responsible for this?”

“Frank Hiller, Gigi's diving partner.”

“I see,” he said as his face darkened with a deep frown.

“He murdered my sister over treasure she discovered off Woodward Point.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “Gigi's findings are recorded on a CD and in a journal that I discovered in a hiding place in her fireplace. I left the documentation in Seth's office—except the last declaration she was going to submit to the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. She had listed herself and Frank Hiller as the divers responsible for salvaging the
Defiance
.”

“Yes, we've put everything safely away.”

“I showed the list to Frank Hiller. He seemed shocked to find out that Gigi was planning to share the discovery with him—did you find that document in the Fleming building?”

“No, we didn't.”

“He told me that he had rented the house behind mine . . . he eavesdropped on all my conversations.” Cold chills ran up her spine, and she trembled as she remembered his words. “He said that he had been close enough to me while I slept—that he could hear my breathing.”

Uncontrollable tears fell down her cheeks, and in a shaky voice she said, “As he was choking me, Frank told me that he took the regulator out of Gigi's mouth and held her underwater until she drowned.”

The creases in Detective Campbell's face deepened. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I'm sorry, Miss Ellington, Mrs. Ellington.”

“I thought he was going to kill us—instead he put us in the refrigeration locker. I was so terrified.”

“He must have changed his mind—thank God.”

Before Detective Campbell departed, he said that the police would go to the house behind Gigi's to investigate for electronic equipment. When he finished interviewing her, Jenks could not control her emotions, and she was sobbing. Her mother gently put her arms around her and whispered, “You just rest, Jenks. Mama's here now.”

When Jenks woke again, Linda was sitting in a recliner with her eyes closed. Jenks tried to rise from her hospital bed, but found herself dizzy as she stood up.

“Jenks, what are you doing?”

“I want to go to Seth.”

“You get back into bed, and I'll see if the nurses will allow that.”

Linda left the room, and Jenks lay back down on her bed. She thought of Gigi and the terror she must have felt in the grasp of Frank Hiller as he drowned her. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of what they had shared as sisters—all stolen by the misplaced revenge of a madman.

After several minutes, her mother and a nurse with a wheelchair entered her room. “Miss Ellington, my name is Sally Hudson. The head nurse, Mrs. Wisdom, says that you can visit with Detective Mason for a few minutes.” With their help, Jenks rose from bed and sat down in the chair. Nurse Hudson pushed her out into the hallway.

“Miss Ellington, we're glad to see you are feeling better. The emergency room staff was real concerned about you and the detective when you were brought in yesterday.”

“How is Seth?”

“Dr. Lemons operated on his leg. His head injury has caused us deep concern, but we're keeping a close watch on him, I promise.”

They entered the elevator and descended to the second floor. At the end of a hallway was the intensive care unit. Nurse Hudson pushed an automatic opener at the entrance and the door opened. They continued down the corridor to a room where Seth was resting. As they entered, Jenks realized that he had two visitors: Detective Campbell and another man. Thomas Campbell was holding Seth's hand.

Both men rose from their seats when the women entered the room. Detective Campbell spoke first in a solemn voice: “Ladies, this is Captain Barrett with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department. He's Seth's and my boss.”

Captain Barrett was a well-built man with thick gray hair, and he came forward to Jenks. He touched her on the shoulder and then lightly patted her on the hand. “I'm sorry about what's happened. An arrest warrant has been issued for Frank Hiller, and the collective levels of law enforcement in South Carolina and neighboring states are on the lookout for him.”