Death Loves a Messy Desk (39 page)

“On my terms.”

“Get real. You don’t have any terms. You’re a perfect target. I’m here ready to fire.”

In the past year or so, stalling has become one of my best talents. So have guessing and filling in the blanks.

“Here goes: The police now know you stole my phone; you had access to it. They also know that you told Fredelle the call came from Reg and that he’d called the meeting, so you could clear out the place and deal with Dyan. You needed to get rid of her because she’d been snooping around. She was getting close to uncovering your secret.”

I didn’t tell Autumn I didn’t know what the secret was, because I was faking it. I gave it my best guess. Logically it had to be connected with the fact that Quovadicon was a shipping company and that Daddy must have found a way to use the facility for his advantage. No wonder he’d planted Autumn where she’d have access to schedules and equipment. Who would ever suspect that dimwit?

“What did she do? Figure how the shipments were working? Just a matter of time until she worked out who was behind—”

“Dyan was a nosy bitch, just like you. Found some info when she was peeking at Barb’s desk.”

“So she was getting closer.”

“You know, I don’t think you really do have any useful information, and you haven’t persuaded me not to shoot you.”

I took a chance. “Here’s another argument in favor of cooperation: Tierney had it all figured out. And it doesn’t matter if you have him here. He doesn’t work alone.”

“That cop? He’s another pretty boy who likes to get the glory for himself.”

After my wave of relief that Tierney wasn’t involved in this conspiracy, I prayed that my instincts were right and Barb Douglas, who was really Angie, wasn’t also a conspirator. “All right, but it has to do with where Barb would have hidden her information. She’d spent months documenting and building a case.”

An intake of breath.

Jackpot.

“And you would know this how?”

“Because I have been investigating. Surely you must have noticed, when you weren’t monitoring people’s phone calls and checking out their desks. Everyone in the office but Robbie forgot about Barb. But I haven’t, and neither have the police. So if you want to know what I have, you have to put your gun down.”

“I think I’ll just shoot you instead.”

“Your call. But Barb’s information will come to light, so you’ll have one more thing to go down for.”

Silence.

I held my breath. I wondered if she would conclude that she didn’t have much to lose by killing me.

“All right. I’ll lay the gun on Robbie’s desk, but I’ll be able to reach it, so don’t try anything or you will definitely be dead. That clear?”

“Perfectly. Thank you.”

“Get moving. You’re not really in charge, you know.”

“Oh, I know that,” I said. Anything to get her off her guard while I got the proper grip on the fire extinguisher.

I ducked to the far side of the baffle. I wasn’t really expecting her gun to be on the desk and I was right. She was waiting for me to enter on the right side. I whipped into the room from the left.

I shouted, “Autumn!”

As she turned to face me, I angled the extinguisher, squeezed the handles together, and held steady as the cloud of pressurized yellow powder shot into her mocking face. Autumn collapsed to her knees, clawing at her eyes. Her head connected to Robbie’s desk with a
thwack
. Her head snapped back, and she crumpled in slow motion to the floor.

Was she dead?

Even if she’d come at me with a gun, even if she was tied to Dyan’s murder and Mel and Del’s deaths and the man in the trunk of the car, even then, I wasn’t trying to kill her. I just needed to stop her. Coughing from powder, I felt the pulse at her neck. Her pulse was strong. I glanced around for something to secure her. But who ever finds rope in an office?

Her eyes were still closed. I had no idea how long she’d be out. I prayed I’d have enough time as I snatched some of the cables from the box. I bound her hands and feet and considered the next hurdle. The minute she opened her eyes, she’d open her mouth and scream. Then I’d get to meet Daddy and his gun. And he’d really have something to be mad at.

Not so good.

I grabbed the scarf from the coat rack and fashioned a gag out of it. I tucked Autumn’s gun into the back waistband of my chinos. What did I know? It always seemed to work on television. I hoped it had a safety, even if I didn’t know exactly what a safety did. I was thoroughly out of breath by the time I rolled a hundred and twenty pounds of Autumn’s limp form under the desk. Were the keys to one of the vehicles in her handbag? I picked up her bag as well as my own and scrambled to my feet.

I checked out the window again. Still no police. But I did see Autumn’s father climbing into a Quovadicon truck. Who was in the warehouse with Tierney, Robbie, and Fredelle? One good thing, whoever was guarding was short one mean girl and one bad daddy.

I dashed to the staff room again. I stood in front of the door to the warehouse loading dock for a couple of heartbeats, calming myself, getting my breath under control. I tried to imagine what the warehouse and loading dock would look like. Where would a bad-guy guard be standing? No way to know that, but I assumed he wouldn’t be guarding this door, as the newly in-charge Autumn was taking care of matters on this side. I slid the gun from my waistband, held on to my handbags, and carefully opened the door. Naturally, in a well-maintained building, it did not squeak. I stared into a vast cavernous space with containers stacked on skids, forklifts parked, and tractor-trailers waiting to be filled. I stared down a set of concrete stairs. I took a while to believe the image: Fredelle, Robbie, and Connor Tierney were leaned against a container, several feet from each other. All three were bound and gagged. They were restrained properly, by someone who had taken the time to learn how. I recognized the duct tape. I’d had problems with duct tape in the past and it’s something I cannot look at without gagging. I turned at the sound of a low moan. In the far corner near the exterior doors, a woman lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving. At least the moan meant that Barb, or more accurately, Angie, wasn’t dead.

I still had my cell, but I reached into my handbag for my sewing kit and took out the scissors. I hurried down the stairs and with shaking fingers cut away the gag from Tierney’s mouth. I dialed the three magic numbers. As Tierney barked instructions to the 911 operator, I snipped the duct tape binding his wrists and moved to the ankles.

“My hero,” he said.

“Believe it.” I couldn’t bring myself to grin. “Autumn’s tied up inside the IT office.”

When he stopped rubbing his wrists, I handed him Autumn’s gun. At least one of us knew how to use it. Then I turned to Fredelle. Tears streaked her pale, plump face. Her aqua sweater was rumpled and dusty. She shook as I snipped through the bonds.

When the gag came off, she gripped my hand and blurted, “I am so sorry, Charlotte. Autumn had a gun. She made me say that Barb’s life was in danger. She said she’d kill Robbie if I didn’t.”

I took care of Robbie next. He was wheezing as I got the gag off. I moved behind the forklift on my way to see how badly injured the woman I still thought of as Barb was. Just as well, because I heard the loud beep of a truck backing up. I ducked out of sight as the overhead door from the parking lot slowly opened. Halliday jumped down from the cab of a Quovadicon rig. The pricey business suit was gone. But even in dark jeans and a waterproof jacket, he was confident, menacing, and deadly.

“Well, what do we have here? The kids are not behaving, I see.” He turned and trained his weapon on the unconscious Barb. “Let’s fix that.”

Tierney stood up and leveled the gun at him. At least he knew what he was doing.

Halliday sneered. “Give it up. I’ll take this nosy bitch with me for the hell of it. Put the gun down or I’ll shoot her right in front of you. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Tierney slowly lowered the gun, bent, and placed it on the cement floor. Halliday smirked, his weapon still trained on the still form on the floor. He glanced around. Was it possible that he didn’t realize that Robbie and Fredelle were no longer tied up? My heart fluttered when he spotted me.

Tierney tried a distraction, his voice remarkably calm. “You know you can’t get away with this. You’d better quit while you’re ahead. I am a police officer. At this point you can still make a deal, give us information about the car theft ring, purchasers. It will go easier on you.”

“I think we will get away with it. You’re the guy with the problem.” He gestured to me. “You. Snoop sister. Get over here.”

I shook my head. I knew he would shoot me if I got within shooting distance.

Tierney said, “The place will be surrounded. You start shooting and it’s the end for you and your daughter. Keep that in mind.”

Perhaps Halliday was distracted by that and didn’t hear Robbie utter a low growling sound, hardly human. Or perhaps he was caught off guard when the door to the office banged open and a vision in a wet Hawaiian shirt appeared. Jack stared wildly around at the frozen tableau. “Charlotte? What’s going on?”

Halliday raised his weapon and fired. Jack’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out as he tumbled down the concrete stairs. I screamed and started to rush forward. Halliday stood between Jack and me.

Halliday said, “You too, lady.” He turned his weapon in my direction. Behind him, Robbie launched himself at Halliday, roaring like a wild boar. As Robbie knocked his knees out from under him, I raised my handbag and Autumn’s and whacked Halliday on the head.

Not-so-lucky Halliday dropped. Robbie leaped on him, punching wildly, a cartoon character held back too long. I raced toward Jack as Tierney took over. Robbie was still roaring. I heard Fredelle sob. “Robbie! Stop, you’ll be killed.”

Tierney said, “Move away, Robbie. I don’t mind shooting him, but you’re off limits.”

As I knelt by Jack, blood spread through the yellow starfish on his shirt and pooled onto the floor. He whispered, “I should have come earlier.”

I took off my hoodie and pressed it against the wound. “Tierney! Call for an ambulance,” I yelled as I fumbled for my own phone. But of course, the wailing sirens were getting closer, almost upon us.

My whole body shook. “Jack, please don’t die because of me.”

I lowered my head to hear his whispered words. “I’m sorry.”

I said, “Don’t be sorry.”

Jack’s voice cracked as he struggled to speak. “Sally showed up at our meeting. She told me what’s been happening. I feel like such a doofus. I am so sorry, Charlotte, that I wasn’t there for you. Blair said she was helping me focus by handling my calls. She must have deleted your calls. She didn’t pass on any of your messages. Not a single one of them. You know I would have been there for you. I had no idea Blair would be so—” He gasped for breath.

I said, “Shhh. It doesn’t matter. Don’t try to talk.”

Jack’s eyes closed. He was still breathing, shallowly, but for how long?

Through the open door, I saw a team of uniformed police officers advancing, weapons drawn, and, moving up behind them, the tall, dark, and granite-faced Frank D’Angelo. I was thrilled to see the detective, but how had he known to show up? Of course, Margaret must have called him when she picked up my voice mail. I could always count on her to take action.

“Jeez, Tierney, you astound me. How pushy can you get?” Frank said, glancing around. “If you had to ruin my dinner date, couldn’t you at least have left something for me to do?”

The emergency workers bent over to check Jack. I was still shaking. I did my best to calm myself to ask, “Is he going to be all right?”

After what seemed like an eternity, one of the paramedics flashed me a grin. “Looking good for this guy. He’s lost some blood, but it seems the bullet missed all the important parts.”

Jack whispered again, “Of course I’m going to be all right. I have some making up to do.”

I predicted a long, long night at the hospital, but that would all be well worth it.

Detective D’Angelo stepped toward us to see how things were going with Jack. Jack’s eyes were closed, but he was breathing well, and I could feel the strength in the hand I held. I managed a smile. “They say he’s going to be okay. And don’t worry, Frank, I think that’s one dinner date that will wait for you. And there’s a nice surprise inside. The other half of the Halliday team, all tied up as a special gift. Whatever you do, don’t let your guard down with sweet little Autumn. She’s as much a killer as her father and she plays dirty.”

He said, “Guess it’s game over for both of them.”