G'Day USA (30 page)

‘
The friend’s name was Kent Williams.’

‘
Not him. What was the name of the person inside the police station?’

Bernie closed his eyes and thought. ‘Different name. Guy’s and girl’s. Sammy? Shelly? Not that’s not a guy’s name, just a girl’s name.’

Cathy snapped her fingers. ‘Stevie.’

‘
Yup. That’s it. Why?’

‘
I’m calling the station and talking to her.’

‘
She’s not going to talk to you.’

‘
She’s talking to an actor about Ellie. I’m Ellie’s best friend. Surely this Stevie will talk to me.’

‘
The actor’s her friend, but what the hell, go for it. Maybe you’ll get lucky.’

T
he killer looked around the pillar to see Ellie submerge herself to rinse the soap out of her hair. He seized the opportunity and pushed through the swirling water as fast as he could. Less than three seconds after she went under he was near her. Behind her.

He placed his hand above her head. As she came up to breathe he let her get to nose level then pushed down with all of his strength. He leaned into it. Her hands breached the surface and started grabbing at his, but he had a full handful of her short hair.

He braced himself and pulled up, hard.

His voice deepened. ‘Too bad, no fire to end your life. I’m sure you were anticipating that. No, today you drown. Repeatedly.’

She struggled to turn around to see him. He smiled and shook his head. ‘No dice.’ He grabbed her by the back of the neck and held her steady. ‘Got your breath? Hope so ‘cause you’re going under again.’ He chuckled, deep and hoarse. He was doing his throat in with this. He looked forward to killing her and stopping with the stupid voice.

He relaxed his attention a bit too much.

Wool gathering, his grandmother used to call it.

A pointy fist to the side of the head would be his new name for it. ‘Hey, bitch,’ he growled. ‘The more you fight, the longer I’m going to keep you alive, suffering in one contrived torture session after another.’

She struggled again, trying to turn.

He grabbed her by the back of the neck again and squeezed. ‘Bitch.’ He leaned his head close to hers. ‘Get used to being owned, bitch.’

Ellie snapped her head back, catching him on the nose and left cheek, cracking both. ‘Ungh. Fuck you asshole.’ She lunged forward and glanced off a piling, wiping soap from her eyes.

The Killer held his face and swore. He struggled forward against the waves and dove under the water, catching her by the ankle. He pulled her under and stood on her back with one foot, feeling her struggle. He leaned against a column for support and waited until she stopped. He held his face with one hand, blood pouring out of his nose.

When she stopped moving he reached down to grab her by the hair and was met by a flurry of fists and kicks. A wave surged around the pilings knocking them both off their feet. Clumps of seaweed covered them, like slimy fishnets pulling them under. The Killer kept his head averted and staggered around behind Ellie, grabbing her by the throat from behind.

She struggled to stand, grabbing his pinky fingers and twisting them outwards with a grunt. She rolled her left shoulder and swung her elbow back glancing off his jaw, knocking him backwards into the surf.

He fought through the increasing waves and the seaweed. He leaned against a piling and peeled a clump of seaweed from his face. Ellie was cursing and yelling something, fighting against the waves to get to the beach.

‘
Like fuck, bitch.’ The two of them fought against a rising surge. The wind increased and the heavens opened, a sheet of rain coming from the sky.

The Killer wiped the rain from his eyes and lurched forward, grabbing Ellie by the arm and dragging her back, careening off one piling and smashing her into another. The wind whipped the caps off the waves, blinding them with the spray. His rage grew. This wasn’t supposed to be so difficult. He stumbled, falling more than he was walking and fell on top of Ellie. He pushed her face into the water and wiped the spray off his face with the other hand. ‘Fuck, you fucking bitch.’ She struggled, flailing with both arms, then kicked out with her feet catching him in the groin.

He double over, releasing her head and cursing. She pushed up, sucked in a lungful of air and screamed something the Killer couldn’t make out. She kicked at him again, missing and ran up the beach. A wave caught her, slamming her into one of the pilings. She slumped and grabbed on to it. The Killer struggled to get to his feet and pushed through the water to reach her when the crazy bag lady waded into the water. She looked at him, narrowed her eyes and helped Ellie get to the beach.

The Killer weighed his options. She was tougher than he thought she was. He needed a plan B. He couldn’t do her now, and there was a witness. He didn’t want witnesses. She saw his face, but he knew where she lived.

He staggered to the north side of the pier and pushed through to the beach. It was vacant. The surfers had surrendered to the weather. Not even the insane would be out in this. He wiped the water off his face and winced when he touched his nose. ‘Shit. Fuck, that hurts.’ He looked at his hand and watched the rain wash away the blood. ‘Oh, she’s gonna pay.’

He was drenched and it felt like he had a broken nose. ‘There will be blood. Lots of blood.’

It looked like Ellie was staying with the old lady. Tonight was going to be a two-fer.

C
athy hung up.

‘
What did you find out?’

‘
I was on hold the first time so long my battery almost died. The second time I called I got shunted between homicide, robbery, and someone who had an accent so thick I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. This last time I was on hold again. Gave up waiting.’ She looked at her watch. ‘And pretty soon all the office schleps will be gone.’

Bernie snatched the phone from the table. ‘Let me try.’

He waded through a veritable IVR hell before he got a person. ‘Ah, fantastic. My name is Steve Austin with the Valley Free Press. I’m doing a story on the proposed State initiative to halt all pay increases for the next two years. Can I talk to your media relations person?’ He winked at Cathy while he waited for a pissed off media rep.

‘
What are you doing?’

‘
Just wait.’ He returned his attention to the phone. ‘Good afternoon. What was your name again? Miss Wilson? Oh, Nancy. So would you care to comment on the proposed initiative to cap salaries in the police departments around the state for the next two calendar years?’

He listened with a concerned look on his face. Cathy tried hard to stifle a laugh.

‘
My name? Steven Austin of the Valley Free Press. I just read about this initiative on the wire so I’m not too surprised you haven’t heard about it yet. Apparently the Governor is pulling out all stops to balance the budget, or at least appear to, before the next state election. A bit harsh on the public servants, but the polls seem to support his actions.’

He nodded and listened. ‘Yes. Yes. Interesting view. May I quote you? Your official title?’ He nodded and pretended to scribble. ‘Thank you very much. I appreciate your time.’

He listened for a couple of more seconds before interrupting her. ‘Hey, listen, can you help me out here? Took me a dog’s age to get through to you and I’ve got to talk to a girl in the evidence room. I tried calling her mobile, but it’s off, or the coverage in there is as bad as it’s always been. Can you put me through to her? Transfer me or something? We met last weekend and were supposed to get together tonight for drinks.’

He listened, frowning. He put his hand over the phone. ‘It’s Stevie, right?’

Cathy nodded. ‘Why?’

He held up a finger and returned to the phone. ‘No, it’s not Wally I’m looking for. Her name is Stevie. Works in the evidence locker area. Really? Wally? Maybe Stevie has transferred to a different department?’

He shook his head while he listened. ‘So Wally has been there for the last two years and will be until he retires in six months. So no Stevie? This is Devonshire, right?’

Cathy whispered. ‘What’s going on?”

He shrugged and talked to the phone. ‘No Stevie of any sort there? Huh. I guess I was stood up. Well, Nancy, I apologize for taking your time, and thanks for talking to me about the Governor’s initiatives. I’ll be sure to send you a draft before it goes to press on Monday.’

He hung up and sat back. ‘Weird.’

‘
That was slick, and possibly illegal. What was that all about? Wally? Who’s Wally?’

‘
Ellie told you her buddy, what’s his name, Kent had an inside track with the cops, right? A Stevie in the evidence area, right?’

‘
Records clerk.’

‘
Same difference. There’s nobody at the station by the name of Stevie unless you count Steve Hanson, the dude who washes the cars.’

‘
Wally?’

‘
The guy at the evidence locker. Overweight dude putting in time until he can cashier out on full pension.’

‘
Very weird.’

‘
Ellie’s under a lot of stress. She probably heard the name wrong.’

Cathy snorted. ‘How much stress do you have to be under to mistake “Wally” for “Stevie”? No, something’s fishy about this. I’m going to call her.’

‘
Really? Over an incorrect name?’

‘
She’s got the right to know.’ Cathy dialed the number and went straight to voicemail. ‘Ellie, it’s just me. Call me when it’s safe. Tried to reach Kent’s contact at the police station, Stevie. There is no Stevie there in any job. How well do you know Kent? Watch your back, Ellie. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’ She closed her phone and took a deep breath. ‘Don’t like this, Bern.’

‘
What? The guy got the name wrong?’

‘
I don’t think he got the name wrong. I think he’s feeding her a line of bullshit.’

‘
Why in the hell would he do that?’

‘
How the hell should I know? You’re too trusting, Bernie. My best friend is running around trying to keep from getting killed and one of the guys supposed to be helping her has been lying to her. What am I supposed to think about that? Shit. Where the hell is she?’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I ran out of the water with Ann holding my arm, fighting to fill my lungs and keep my balance. The rain and the spray cut visibility to a few hundred feet and I had no idea where the asshole was.

‘
Ann, thank you.’ I stooped and grabbed my clothes and kept running. ‘You’re a sight for sore eyes.’

‘
You better put a shirt on before you get arrested.’

‘
I’ll take a cop, right now. Can you see the guy?’

‘
Who?’

‘
The guy who just tried to kill me. Is he still behind us?’

Ann looked back and shook her head. ‘I don’t see him. Are you okay?’

‘
I thought I was dead there for a minute. But I got a few good licks in. Did you see him?’

Ann nodded and kept running, pulling me with her.

‘
Hang on, putting on the shirt.’ I put the pants and the shoes on the wet beach and struggled with my polo short over wet skin. ‘I’m incredibly uncomfortable right now.’ I scooped the pants and shoes and kept running. ‘Where are we going? Back to your place?’

‘
No good. He was there already. He knows the place.’

I nodded. Smart. ‘So where?’

She took my arm and ran between two buildings and turned an abrupt left.

‘
Ann, I’m shocked. You’re in pretty good shape.’

‘
Spend a lot of my time on my feet. Keep up will you?’ She slowed a bit. ‘He was bleeding. Did you see him?’

‘
Didn’t see his face, no. Did I get him in the nose?’

‘
Seems so. He wasn’t happy. Do you know who this crazy person is?’

‘
Like I said, I didn’t get a look at him. He talked like Batman all the time so I don’t recognize his voice and I have no idea why he’s doing this. But he certainly knows me. My fucking luck.’

She tsked me.

‘
What?’

‘
Young lady shouldn’t talk like that.’

I smiled. ‘Okay mom.’ A gust of wind swamped us with a wave of rain. ‘Dam - Darn it, I’m soaked. Where are we going?’

‘
Just around the corner.’

‘
That’s what you said last time.’

‘
What’s wrong, getting tired? I thought you were fit.’

‘
I just had the stuffing beat out of me, ma’am. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit a spell.’

She laughed. ‘In here.’ She pulled open the door of a container sitting on a construction site.

‘
What is this?’

‘
They haven’t worked on this site for six months. A friend broke the lock off this a couple of months ago. Not many people know about it and it’s not very comfortable. But it’s safe.’

She closed the door behind us.

‘
It’s dark in here, Ann.’

‘
I haven’t been able to convince DWP to hook anything up.’