Never Sorry: A Leigh Koslow Mystery (30 page)

She cursed under her breath. If only she could call the police…but naturally she had no cell phone. Unbeknownst to Hollywood, most average-income people still didn't. Nor could she pull over at a payphone—she would lose the car in a minute, and on the North Side, it would be hard to find again. Too many ways to turn, too many alleys to duck into.

She kept up behind the car, which began turning at every corner. Left, left, left, left. Right, right, right, right. They were going in circles. The car seemed to know she was following, and was toying with her. Leigh's annoyance grew, but she hung on, trying fruitlessly to get a better view of the driver. Unfortunately, time was against her. It was already growing dark.

Around and around the Eldorado circled, moving to a new area now and then only to circle again. Leigh followed doggedly. Sooner or later the car would stop somewhere, or else the driver would tire of the chase and make a break for a major road. Either way, if Leigh could call quick enough, the police would have a decent chance of catching up.

The chase had gone on for half an hour when Leigh realized that they were making progress, however slowly, in a particular direction. They were headed for the zoo. And thanks to the circuitous route, they were headed for the zoo in darkness.

***

The phone in Leigh's apartment rang four times before the answering machine picked up, only to expel a beep so long Maura doubted there would be any tape left. Her quick pleas for Leigh to answer if she were in went unheeded, and Maura stopped the call in frustration.

"Any luck?" Frank asked, reclaiming his cell phone.

Maura shook her head. "I'll just have to find her."

"Well if you're going anywhere near Zone One, can I hitch a ride?" Frank asked, more in the manner of a command. "I haven't got time to beg for a spare and fix this tank of mine—I've got work to do."

She nodded, and Frank piled into the ancient Escort. "Besides," he said casually, buckling his seat belt, "we need to talk."

***

It seemed like ages before the tan Eldorado finally reached the zoo and headed up the winding side road toward the employee lot. Having had plenty of time to mull over potential options, Leigh was ready for action when the moment came. She watched with a sly smile as the Eldorado made a wide swing into the employee lot. Immediately, she revved the Cavalier into high gear and drove straight ahead.

As brief as her time on the zoo staff had been, her excursions as a tourist were numerous enough that she had a good idea where the phones were. And it just so happened that the closest and most accessible one was up on the top of the hill, between the vending shed and the restrooms. It was also quite near what Tanner had once referred to as "the high road"—his own personal after-hours entry.

Leigh scanned the tree-lined fence and tried to estimate the location of the phone. When she thought she was close, she pulled two of the Cavalier's wheels off onto the narrow shoulder and parked—hazard lights blinking. The last thing she needed tonight was a totaled car.

She grabbed a flashlight from her glove compartment and began to walk the fence line, shining the beam through until she found the back wall of the vending shed. Then she headed downhill, focusing her attention on the tree branches overhead.

She found "the high road" quickly, tucked the butt of the flashlight in a back pocket, and pretended she was ten again. Jumping up high enough to hook the old maple's lowest branch was easy. Getting her bottom half to the same level was another matter entirely. Cursing her weight distribution, she scrambled up only after five tries and several nasty bark burns. Once she was up, however, the rest was easy.

A series of horizontal branches took her up higher than the fence's barbed-wire top, and one particularly large limb offered safe passage across it. She swung down easily on other side, but her sense of victory was short-lived. Her feet had no sooner hit the ground than she realized the flaw in her plan.

Never in a million years could she jump back up to the branch she'd just let go of. The "high road" was one-way.

Hell
.

She looked nervously around her at the darkness. She hated being in this place at night even before she'd found Carmen's body. How had she ended up here again?

Trying to push the paranoia out of her mind, she focused on the task at hand. She was going to get to the phone and let the police know that Kristin was in the zoo. With any luck, the terror monger of North Hills High would still be here when they arrived. Zoo security could get to her faster, but they probably wouldn't. All they would do would be to take Leigh in for trespassing—giving Kristin plenty of time to wise up and take off.

Leigh found the vending shed and sighed a breath of relief. The pay phone was still there beside it, and it appeared to be in working order. She stepped up into the old-fashioned booth and picked up the receiver, then stared blankly at the numbered buttons beneath. 911 would reach the local cops—but what could she tell them? That someone she was scared of was at the zoo? Kristin was probably wanted for questioning, but the city cops might not know about that, and there couldn't be a warrant out for Kristin's arrest—not with charges still pending against Leigh.

She had to call Frank.

A dial tone buzzed in her ear, but she paused again. She had no money. 911 calls were free, but this didn't count. Was her entire plan going down the drain for lack of a quarter? She was about to panic when her rational side caught up with her endorphins. It wasn't a problem. She knew her phone-card number. She could charge it.

Calm down
.

She took a deep breath, then pushed 0. She would ask the operator to connect her with the city detectives, and Frank would come through. He had to. He owed her.

"Detective Frank isn't available at the moment," a receptionist at the bureau answered dryly. Perhaps one of the other detectives could take your call?"

"Yes, fine." Leigh stammered impatiently, looking toward some bushes that her paranoid imagination seemed to think were moving a little. "Get anybody. Just do it quick, okay?" She shuffled her feet on the concrete slab, irritated at the gaping holes that were now so apparent in her plan. Sure, this had been the closest phone, but what was she going to do now? She couldn't go out the way she came in, and security would have a fit when they saw her—it might even get her bail revoked. On the other hand, there was Kristin. Who was now, in all likelihood, on the same side of the fence as Leigh was.

The wait for another detective seemed to take ages, but at least the bushes weren't moving anymore. Or after all.

"Hello. Detective Fanelli here. What can I do for you?"

Leigh opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead a piercing crash assaulted her ears, and hundreds of glass shards rained over her arm and side.

Chapter 22

Maura's Escort reached the North Side of Pittsburgh about the same time she and Frank finished piecing together a credible theory. They were almost within sight of the zone station when a ringing sound radiated from under Frank's coat. With reluctance, he withdrew the cell phone clipped to his belt. "This had better not be another surprise," he said gruffly.

After punching in some numbers and barking out his name, Frank listened for a moment, then turned towards Maura. She watched in alarm as his pupils darted about nervously.

"You got a caller ID?" he asked someone brusquely. After another moment of listening, he spoke quickly. "We're near there now—send back-up." He replaced the phone on his belt and turned to Maura. "Forget the station. We've got to get to the zoo.
Fast.
"

***

At first, Leigh thought she'd been shot. The explosion had been sudden and loud, and to say it startled her would be an understatement. She burst out of the phone booth as if she were on fire, running madly towards she didn't know where. She didn't stop till she had reached the bear caves, where she whipped through the staff-only gate and crouched on the other side. Her breath was coming heavy, and she tried to calm it.

What had happened? One second she was about to tell the detective all, the next, she was taking a shower in glass. She looked down at her arms, and was surprised to note only a few shallow scratches. What had broken the booth window? She didn't remember hearing a gunshot, only the breaking glass. Had someone thrown something?

She stood up and looked cautiously around the side of the gate. Seeing and hearing no one, she crouched down again. Was she overreacting? If Kristen had come in the employee entrance, she couldn't possibly have found Leigh so fast. How would she know where to look? Perhaps the glass had broken because of—. She searched for a creative explanation, but found none forthcoming.

Someone had thrown something. Maybe just to scare her, or—an even less comforting thought—to interrupt her call. So much for doing the police a favor. Now she was here with no way to contact them, and no defense against a murderess.

Think
.

She realized she shouldn't really be alone. Security was supposed to patrol the zoo all night—"supposed to" being the operative phrase. She had never actually seen a guard patrolling. Word had it that "the patrol" was a loose circuit running between the ape house and the main security shack— which shared the distinction of having television sets.

Her options were limited. She could come out from her hiding place and start running—and screaming—until she attracted attention. But the bear caves weren't particularly close to either end of the security loop, and it could be a long time before she caught up with a guard—a long enough time for someone else to catch up with her. She could try to get back to her car—but that was risky, too. The fence nearest to her was up on a rise, and quite visible. Not to mention that she'd have a difficult time keeping her mouth shut when the barbed-wire at the top started drawing her blood.

Think
.
Think
.

Perhaps her best option was to head for the nearest security hub—the main shack—but to do it quietly. Presumably, whoever had assaulted the phone booth had already lost track of her. If she stayed low, she had a good chance of avoiding detection till she got within screaming range of the shack.

She had just steeled herself to stand up and peer around the gate again when a sound stopped her. Soft footsteps, trekking slowly down the path.

She sucked in her breath, her heart beating madly against her breastbone. Who was it? It could be a security guard, and if it was, her problems were over. But could she dare look?

The footsteps stopped for a moment, and Leigh heard a whistle. It was a high, accomplished whistle, and the tune was hauntingly familiar. The words popped into her head with a grim irony.
Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight?

An old tune, and one she might not know, except that in the seventh-grade choir she'd been forced to sing it till she dropped. She liked singing, but she hated the school choir because—. Her racing heart stopped for a moment. Because there were some rough girls in it that she was afraid of. Part of the Seville Elementary crowd. And Kristin had been one of them.

The footsteps started up again, and this time sounded as if they were coming closer. Leigh curled her body into as tight a ball as possible on the ground behind the gate, breathing between her knees as softly as she could. The footsteps stopped, and she lifted her head.

A woman's fingers appeared around the edge of the gate, pushing it slowly in.
And dance by the light of the moon
.

Leigh considered springing—at least she would have the advantage of surprise. But she had no idea what type of weapon her pursuer might be carrying—and she, in the meantime, had nothing. Her flashlight had long since fallen out of her pocket, and there was nothing on the ground—not even a rock.

Despite her poor odds, Leigh readied herself. She and Kristin were roughly the same size—if she could knock the other woman to the ground, she could tell pretty quickly if there were a weapon involved. Anything less than a heat-seeking machine gun, and Leigh would run off screaming.

She drew in a deep breath, but held it. The gate stopped moving in, and the hand was withdrawn. An eternity passed as the figure stood somewhere on the other side of the gate, not moving. Leigh thought about pushing the gate out quickly to knock the woman off balance, but she wasn't sure it swung out far enough—and if it fell short, she would be in big trouble.

So instead she did nothing, just listened to the occasional scuffling noise the woman's shoes made as she pivoted in place. Finally, Leigh heard her make a sighing noise, and the footsteps moved slowly away.

When the footsteps were so faint she could barely hear them, Leigh allowed herself a few deep breaths. She couldn't go back out on the main path—Kristin would be looking for the slightest movement. She'd have to slink around as best she could behind the exhibits, snaking her way slowly down to the security shack—no matter how long it took.

She tried to remember what the layout was like behind the bear caves, but she hadn't a clue. She'd had no cause to be there as an employee, and zoo visitors were never allowed in the tunnels.