Dead Man's Hand (29 page)

Looking down at Alexis’
wounded body, Dempsey took one tentative step towards him.  But a moment
later he confidently closed the distance and cracked a smile. 
How can
any man enjoy this?  Is he speaking with Alexis?
  He was taking
his time with this.  Well hopefully Alexis was going to be able to keep
Dempsey talking until the police arrived.  But between moments the gun was
leveled at Alexis’ head and Dempsey smiled.

Watching my great plan
unfold I couldn’t stop thinking about how it was going to get Alexis
killed.  As the fear grew in the back of my mind, I realized that my heart
was about to explode when the police began to pile into the room.  I
sighed with relief as they quickly subdued and arrested the quivering and
crazed lunatic.  At least that was what I hoped the cops were calling
him.  Hopefully, the ones who were here would spread the news like
wildfire.  They had what they wanted, they finally had everything they
would ever need to force Dempsey into a dark cell somewhere.  And none of
his lawyers or well-placed employees would be able to do a thing to save him.
He was going to be arrested for murder and attempted murder.  Alexis
appeared to be all right, he was currently trying to refuse the help from the
paramedics.  Yeah, he was going to be just fine.  But more
importantly, I was going to be free.

I watched the scene
unfold as Alexis tried to regain some normalcy in his home.  The ambulance
was insistent that he go with them to a hospital but he refused to let them
lead him away.  I watched as those frustrated men and women failed to
convince him to go anywhere, until they eventually gave up and began treating
his wound right there in the living room.  The police fared no better when
they tried to escort him to the local precinct.  Like the paramedics they too
eventually relented and agreed to take his statement right there on his couch.

All I was able to do was
wait and watch the police and medical personnel as they went about their business. 
It was particularly eerie watching them remove my corpse from the room.  I
finally understood the adage about someone walking over your grave, and the
shiver that sent down your spine.  When the last of the policemen finally
left, Alexis made a bee line to the door to my closet, but then hesitated for a
moment.  I banged on my side of the door, but all that got me was a “
tsking
” motion from Alexis’ right index finger.

When he eventually opened
the door I was able to hear him scolding me, “What did I tell you?”

“I’m sorry,
Alexis.”  I replied as meekly as I could, looking down at his feet. 
“I was just getting a small dose of cabin fever and I had nothing to do but
watch my corpse being manhandled.”

“I thought they did a
fantastic job, very respectful.”  He replied with a smile on his
face.  “Now we have to get you somewhere out of sight for now.”

“Of course.” 
Sighing I decided to press my luck, “But, can I make a phone call before we
secure me somewhere?”

“You’re dead!  Who
could you possibly want to call?”

“Yeah, there is one
person.”

“Is this the Bella you
asked Dempsey about?”  When I nodded he gave me a slightly irritated
glare.  “Didn’t I hear right that she’s a relative of Dempsey?” 
Forcing myself to remain silent I nodded again and waited for him to express
his displeasure.  And sure enough it came, “After all we did to get you
killed, why would you go and advertise your perfect health to a member of
Dempsey’s family?”

“She can’t stand her
uncle.  In fact she’ll probably jump for joy when she finds out that he’ll
be imprisoned, even if it is under false pretenses.”

“So you want to bring her
into your confidence.”

“We had something at the
tournament.”

Nodding his
understanding, Alexis waved me into a corner of the room and turned his back to
give me some sense of privacy.  As I went to pull out my phone he said,
“Go use the phone in the hallway.”

Not wanting to argue I
nodded my head and found the indicated phone and dialed the number she had
programed into my phone at the tournament.  I held my breath as I waited
for her to answer the phone.

 “Hello.”

“Hello, Bella?”

“Marcus?”

I smiled as I heard her
voice. “Yes, it’s me.  And before you ask, I’m okay and we have a lot to
talk about.”

“We certainly do.” 
She replied with a warm laugh.