Snipped in the Bud (27 page)

That left Kenny.

All at once, the hairs on the back of my neck rose. Then I caught the faintest sound near my ear, like an indrawn breath.

Someone was standing behind me.

G
oose bumps covered my skin. It had to be Kenny…unless Puffer came back—or had never left.

“Marco,” I whispered urgently, but before I could say more, the phone was yanked from my fingers. I turned with a gasp. There stood Kenny, face composed, body relaxed—the picture of calm. He snapped the phone shut, then extended his other hand. “I’ll take those letters.”

I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, or how much of the conversation he’d heard, but if I’d accidentally tipped him off, I needed to hang on to Reed’s letters for evidence. “I told you, Kenny, they’re just thank-you notes. Why would you want a bunch of thank-you notes?”

Kenny slammed his fist against the desktop, rattling everything within a five-foot radius—including me, making me jerk back with a gasp. “Don’t play games with me, Abby. You’re not smart enough to win.”

Normally, I’d take exception to that remark, but Kenny was scaring me. I’d never seen him react so violently. “Hey, no problem,” I said, holding up my hands. Who would have ever believed that I’d wish Snapdragon had stuck around? I hoped Marco had figured out I was in trouble and called the cops. But if he hadn’t…

I eyed the silver cell phone in Kenny’s hand. An idea was forming, but I wasn’t sure if I dared try it. As he reached toward the pile of letters and envelopes, I threw my arms around them and drew them toward me. “ Tell you what. I’ll trade you these letters for my phone.”

It was a long shot, but for some reason Kenny bought it, probably because my demand was unexpected, or maybe because he couldn’t hold on to both the phone and the papers. He wiped his prints off the shiny surface with the hem of his shirt, then, holding the phone with his shirttail, he tossed it onto the desk. “Now put it in your purse.”

My purse was sitting on the other side of the monitor, the open end facing me. I placed the phone inside. “There you go. All done.”

He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers impatiently. “The letters.”

“Listen, Kenny,” I said, making a neat stack of the envelopes to stall for time, “I’m sorry Professor Reed lied to you about getting the clerkship. I know you had your hopes up, but there are other positions available.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I
got
the clerkship.”

I tapped the top letter. “Then this is a mistake?”

“That’s right.” His gaze narrowed, as if daring me to contradict him. Either I had it figured wrong or there was some major denial going on in his head.

Time to put my plan into action. I eased my chair to the left. “It’s lucky we caught the mistake, then, because you damn well deserved that clerkship.” As I talked, I slid my left hand into my purse, hidden from his view by the monitor, and used my thumb and index finger to flip open the phone. “Even Bea said you were the obvious choice.”

Just as I was feeling for the redial button, Kenny reached for the pencil on the desk. Having a sudden vision of the black stub protruding from Reed’s neck, I shrank back with a gasp. Kenny was onto my plan!

But he merely twirled it between his fingers, watching it spin. “Damn right I deserve that position. I worked my ass off for Reed. I did everything he asked, every menial chore, even if it meant staying up all night. So why wouldn’t I be his choice?”

My shoulders sagged in relief. Slowly, I felt for the redial button again and pressed it, then eased my hand out of the purse, praying Marco would pick up and realize what was happening. “But even if you hadn’t been selected, Kenny,” I said loudly as I arranged the letters alongside the envelopes, “you were the one who said this clerkship wasn’t a matter of life or death.”

“Not for the average law student, perhaps.” He leaned toward me, his hands braced on the desk. “But for someone of my caliber, Abby, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, a springboard to a whole new world. Do you think I could let that get away? I mean, think about it. The Justice Department, Washington, D.C., power, prestige, independence—the sky’s the limit for a man with my brains and ambition. It’s my ticket out of New Chapel, secured without my father’s influence or control. I’ll be in the federal system and finally be able to say ‘To hell with Kent Lipinski.’”

“But not getting the clerkship doesn’t stop you from leaving town and taking a position with a firm in, say, New York. Like you said, the sky’s the limit.”

He wagged his index finger in my face. “In the Lipinksi family, sons don’t leave home. They follow in their fathers’ footsteps. The name must be carried on, blah, blah, blah. And if we dare do otherwise, Kent Lipinski will fix that. Ask my brother, the,
quote,
junior partner.”

Kenny began to pace in front of the desk. “Let me tell you how it is, Abby. There’s an office already waiting for me at my dad’s firm, with my name on the door. He’s even picked out the furniture and artwork. Oh, and let’s not forget the house he bought for me—next door to his, of course. My wife will be his choice, too. I hear he’s interviewing candidates next week.”

Kenny came around to crouch beside my chair, his pupils fully dilated, giving him a maniacal appearance. “Do you see why I have to have this federal clerkship? I have to be more powerful than he is so I won’t ever have to answer to him again.” He smacked the pencil on the side of the desk. “Ever!”

He was totally bonkers.

I shot a quick glance toward my purse and froze. Oh, no. If Kenny looked beyond my shoulder he would see my open phone.

Diversionary tactics!
that little voice in my head cried.
He’s a male. For God’s sake, Abby, use your boobs!
I arched my back as though I were stretching, effectively thrusting my breasts in his face. “Kenny, I really do understand,” I said, sliding my chair to one side, drawing his bulging eyeballs with me. “This is your future, your freedom. You deserve the best.”

For a second, I thought I had him, but then, giving me a canny look, he got to his feet, holding the pencil as though it were a fencing sword. “You’re playing games with me again.”

“Trust me,” I muttered, “the last I feel like doing is playing a game.” I shot a quick glance at my phone, praying that someone was on the other end, because I was about to prod Kenny into a confession. “Okay, how about if we strike a bargain? I’ll give you the letters if you tell me why Reed rejected you.”

“I told you I
got
the position,” he snapped.

“Come on, Kenny,” I urged gently, trying not to provoke his anger. “We both know you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did!” he bellowed, pounding the desk with his palm Clearly, I hadn’t been gentle enough. “It was
promised
to me. Don’t you understand? People can’t renege on promises.”

Was he delusional? People always reneged on their—At once, the whole picture became clear in my mind. “Reed broke his promise to you, didn’t he, Kenny? You went to see him, hoping to get him to change his mind.”

“Shut up!” Kenny yelled, clapping his hands over his ears. “Stop talking!”

Right. Like that was a possibility.
I hope you’re listening, Marco, because here goes everything.
“I know rejection hurts, Kenny. I’ve been through it. But did you really think you could kill the professor and get away with it?”

“I said shut up!” he cried, brandishing the pencil inches from my face. “Give me the friggin’ letters!”

Being threatened by a man who had recently stabbed someone had the effect of reducing my limbs to the consistency of wet noodles, which wouldn’t be too helpful if I had to run for my life.
Take a deep breath, Abby. There you go. Now keep him talking until the cops arrive.

“Okay, Kenny,” I forced myself to say. “The letters are right here. So calm down and think this through. You can’t pretend to get a clerkship. If Reed didn’t give it to you, he gave it to someone else. Destroying these letters doesn’t change that.”

“
Wrong,
Abby. Professor Reed told me he was considering two other candidates, but he hadn’t notified anyone yet. He wanted to break the news to me first. So all I need to do is get rid of the letters, then it’s your word against mine—and let me remind you,
you’re
the suspect, Abby. Not me.”

At least he hadn’t decided he had to get rid of me, as well. I snuck a quick peek at the clock on Bea’s desk, wondering how much longer I could stall. Where were the cops? What if my phone call hadn’t gone through? Should I make a run for the stairs?

“You’re right, Kenny. The cops won’t take my word for it. What I still don’t get is why Reed didn’t pick you, especially after all you did for him.”

He snorted contemptuously. “Ironic, isn’t it? Kenny Lipinski, the guy with everything—intelligence, ambition, loyalty—fetching, carrying, humbling myself for that
ass-hole
…”

“Stealing pets,” I put in.

“Would you give it a rest?” he said irritably.

And lose the chance to play for more time? No way. “Okay, look, I understand that you humbled yourself to get the clerkship, but why would you take people’s pets?”

“Because it made me look good. Brown needed animals, I supplied manpower, Reed was grateful.”

I stared at him in amazement. A nutcase without a conscience. Just what the world needed more of.

“And after all that, Reed had the nerve to say I wasn’t qualified,” Kenny continued. “Me! The guy who did all the work for Dermacol while he took all the credit—
I
wasn’t qualified. He didn’t think I could handle the pressure. Do you believe that? I was doing his work
and
mine and he told me I couldn’t handle pressure, that maybe I should see a shrink.”

Reed was smarter than I’d thought. “Actually, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to someone, Kenny.”

He thrust the pointed tip against my throat. “Give me the letters.”

“Okay,” I whispered, keeping perfectly still. “Could you give me a little room to move?”

We were almost eyeball-to-eyeball, and Kenny glared at me, making me think my minutes on earth were numbered. Then, thank heavens, he lowered the pencil. Moving cautiously, I scooped up the letters and envelopes and got to my feet, frantically searching for an escape. When in doubt, punt, my dad always told me. Since punting wasn’t possible, I did the next best thing. I tossed the envelopes high into the air. Then I ran.

“Shit! Why did you do that? Shit!”

I could hear his feet pounding against the floor as he raced after me. My heart slammed against my rib cage as I eyed the staircase ahead. At least I’d had the advantage of surprise. Another few yards and I’d be at the top.

Suddenly my head was jerked backward as he lunged at me and caught a handful of my hair. I lost my balance and nearly fell backward, but managed to right myself only to be dragged away from the steps like a cave woman captured by some heavy-browed brute. “That was stupid!” he cried. “I was going to let you go.”

Was
going to let me go? I grabbed hold of the corner of the wall. “There’s no reason why you still can’t.”

“It’s too late.” He released my hair to wrap his arms around my waist for better leverage.

“It’s never too late, Kenny,” I gasped, struggling to keep my grip. “All you have to do is explain to the cops that Professor Reed lied to you and you just wanted to ask him to change his mind. You never meant to kill him. That’s what happened, isn’t it? You must have gone to see him right after I left, and found him in Puffer’s office, talking on the phone.”

“He brushed me off!” Kenny cried, his hold on me loosening. “I begged him to reconsider the clerkship, and he told me to grow up. He said I should stop being a coward and learn to face my father like a man. Then he turned his back on me, like I was a nobody.”

“So you grabbed the phone from his hand,” I prompted, “and then what?”

“I hit him,” Kenny said in a cold voice. “He fell back against the chair, staring at me, and I knew he was thinking, ‘You’ll always be a coward.’”

“And that’s when you stabbed him.”

“I thought Professor Reed was different, but he was just like my father, an arrogant, lying bastard. You want to know the real reason why he rejected me for the clerkship? Because my father paid him to.”

Wow. No wonder Kenny had snapped. Everything he’d worked for and counted on had been taken away because of one man’s greed and another’s need for control. But it didn’t justify murder. A normal person might have been furious about the rejection, be he wouldn’t have followed it up with a stabbing. Clearly, Kenny was not a normal person.

“So when you realized what you’d done, you ran out the back and took the elevator to the main floor?”

“That’s right. Then I took the steps up to the computer lab, and a few moments later you called for help. I couldn’t have planned it to work out that perfectly. When you shouted for help, I had to stop myself from laughing.” There was no remorse or sorrow in his expression, only a look of immense satisfaction.

“But you didn’t know Reed had already written the rejection letters.”

“It was the only glitch. No one would have ever known I’d been rejected if you hadn’t found that letter. But there’s still time to fix that.” He caught my arm and pulled me toward the computer lab, which I wasn’t about to let happen without a struggle. Once inside the lab, Kenny could lock the door and make mincemeat of me.