What the River Knows (36 page)

Her shoulders shook as she took a deep breath. “You can’t imagine.”

“I know what it’s like to be misunderstood, to be doing the best you can, but it’s not good enough.”

She turned to face him again. “What have you ever screwed up that you had to hide who you were, what you were?”

“My marriage.”

“If you ask me, it’s your wife who screwed up.”

He looked toward the ceiling. “No, it was me. Never around when she needed me, never neat enough, never focused enough.”

“But you can start over, with someone new.”

“You already did, you started your life over.”

“Yeah, some start over.” She rested her hand on her forehead.

“It looks to me like it worked.” He hesitated. “I could tell by watching you tonight that you are one of the most valuable waitresses in the restaurant.”

“That’s not even my day job.” She laughed. “I’m an artist. I design the artwork for ad campaigns. Make good money.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t even know why I took the job at the Dragon.” She lowered her voice. “And so many times, I’ve been sorry I took it.”

“Why?”

“If I hadn’t taken it, I wouldn’t have met—”

“Who?” He tried hard to look at her face, but from this angle, all he could see was the top of her head. “Delia?”

“No. Yes.” Her voice was so soft, he could barely hear her.

He felt tears on his chest. “You didn’t kill her, did you?”

She shook her head.

“But you know who did?” Jealous boyfriend? That didn’t bode well for his current situation.

“I tried to stop her.” Charlotte’s voice sounded like a small child’s.

“Stop who? Delia?”

“No.” She shuddered. “Devlyn.”

“Devlyn, your boyfriend?”

“No.” She turned to face him. “My
girl
friend.”

“Your
girlfriend
?” His mind reeled in a new direction. “Tried to stop her from what?”

“From killing her.”

“Killing Delia?”

“Yes.” She crawled out of the bed to sit on the end of it, hugging herself, tears running down her face. “Killing Maggie, the only true friend I ever had.” She put her hands to her face. “The only one I ever loved.” She turned toward Scott. “She came home and found us.” Her tears flowed freely. “And then she made me help her take Maggie to that awful place and leave her there, alone.” Her shoulders shook. “It was so horrible.”

The facts swirled around Scott as he tried to make sense of them. He had solved the case, but little good it did him trussed up like a Christmas goose. And likely to be Devlyn’s next victim, unless he could convince Charlotte to let him loose. “You must be very afraid of Devlyn.”

“You have no idea.”

“That’s true, but I know it must be bad if it’s better to stay with her than to leave.”

“I want to leave.” Her hands trembled.

“You could.”

“How?”

“Let me loose, and we’ll go down to PD and make the report, file charges. Provide you protection until we bring Devlyn in and the trial is over. With your testimony, I’m sure she’d be convicted.”

“You could do that?” The tears stopped, and the face she turned toward him looked like that of a five-year-old promised a trip to the ice cream store.

“We could keep you safe till she’s in custody.”

“But what happens when she gets out?”

“Charlotte, she committed murder.” He tried to keep his voice calm, because winning Charlotte to his side represented the only chance he had. “She won’t get out.”

“Not even on bail?”

“Not likely, but if she does, we’ll keep you under protection.” He gritted his teeth. “I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“You’d do that?” She leaned toward him. “For me?”

“I’d do it for anyone who needed protection.” He hoped the real conviction of his words held the sincerity she needed to hear. “Please? Turn me loose and we’ll go together.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Devlyn said—”

“Do you want to believe what Devlyn said, after she killed your best friend?”

“Well…she said if I ever told anyone, she’d…”

“She said she’d hurt you, didn’t she.” He almost had her convinced. “Did she threaten to kill you like she did Delia?”

“No. Worse.” Tears came again. “She said I’d go to jail as an accessory, that they wouldn’t give me my hormones there, that I’d become…a freak!”

“Haven’t you heard of the battered woman defense?”

“Yeah.” Her lips trembled. “Would it work for me?”

“It could.” His life depended on his being convincing. “I’m no lawyer, but it would give you a better chance than staying with Devlyn.” When she just stared at him, he went on. “Think about it, Charlotte. Right now, you and I are the only ones who know she killed Delia. If she goes through with what I think is her plan, soon you’ll be the only one alive that knows, and you will then be accessory to murder of a police officer. And then one day, Devlyn will tire of you and think you are just too dangerous a loose end to have dangling.” She began to shake. “And,
voila
, you end up same as Delia.”

She buried her face in her hands. “I have made such a mess of my life.”

“You can still make it right, Charlotte.” He noticed a clock on the dresser across the room. Nearly seven a.m. He had been here almost five hours. How much longer would he have before the killer came through the door? If Devlyn worked the eleven to seven shift, the sand was running out. “Let me go, give me my clothes and my gun, and we’ll get out of here before Devlyn gets home.”

“I don’t know.” She stood up. “Devlyn promised.”

“You want to trust someone who killed your best friend, or someone who’s sworn an oath to protect you?”

“Would you give your life to protect me?”

“I would.” He tested the ties again. “It wouldn’t be my first choice of ways to protect you, but if I had to, I would.” His gaze caught hers and held. “Please, Charlotte.”

She moved toward the bedpost. “All—all right.” Her hands shook so much, she fumbled with the tie.

He watched her in frustration, as the clock ticked their lives away. “Why don’t you give me my gun first, just in case, and then get some scissors.”

“But, it’s a Ralph Lauren—Oh, right, never mind.” Almost in shock, she fumbled around a chair in the room, until she came toward him with his gun, still in the ankle holster.

“OK, now, Charlotte, go get some scissors or a knife or something.” He glanced toward the clock again. Six-fifty. “I think we may be running out of time here.”

She wandered out of the room, and he lay there with his gun six inches away and no way to use it if he had to. This Devlyn sounded like a force to be reckoned with, if she had struck the blow that nearly decapitated Delia. He didn’t want to face her unarmed.

Charlotte returned to the room with a pair of dainty scissors. He wanted to yell at her to get something bigger, but she went to work with determination and soon had one layer of the scarf around his left hand severed. Suddenly, he heard the sound of gravel under tires. “Charlotte, cut that side and then unholster my gun.”

She faced him with wide eyes and froze. “Devlyn!”

“Keep cutting, Charlotte, and it will be okay.”

One more snip and his left hand was free. Before he could stop her, Charlotte dropped the scissors and ran from the room. With his left hand and teeth, he unsnapped his holster and worked his gun out. He grabbed the scissors and began to saw at the scarf holding his right hand.

Chapter 82

“Devlyn.” He heard Charlotte greet the person who threw open a door that sounded like it was two rooms away from him.

“Where is the bastard?” a rough voice rasped, then coughed. “Is he still out?”

“Yes, Devlyn, he’s still out like a light, so there’s no hurry.”

“No hurry, my ass. We gotta get this done before it gets any lighter out. Don’t want no one to see us.”

He heard heavy boots on the floor, coming closer. He dropped the scissors and picked up his gun with his left hand. Thank God for the training with the off hand. He had never thought he’d need it.

“What the—” A tall, rawboned woman in a flannel shirt and worn jeans, holding what looked like a hunting knife in her left hand, stepped through the door, and then turned to swat Charlotte with her right hand as a giant swats a fly. “You were gonna let him go, you little bitch.” Charlotte crumpled into the other room, and Devlyn faced Scott. “So it ain’t gonna be easy, Barney, but it’ll still be.” She advanced on him, and he brought up the gun.

“Stop right there. You are under arrest for the murder of Delia Enfield.”

Devlyn laughed. “Gotta hit me first, Barney.” She crouched low and lunged toward the bed. He fired one shot, then she hit the bed, slashing with the knife. He brought his feet up to push her away, firing again, but her knife found his thigh, even as his foot landed in her gut.

He thrust her back and she stumbled, but regained her footing and launched herself toward him again. He tried to aim, but missed again. He twisted on the bed, but her knife slashed his ribs. At least she was slashing, not jabbing. She punched him, a powerful blow to the side of his head that nearly knocked him out, and he lost his grip on the gun.

He pulled against the tie for all he was worth, and the scarf holding his right hand tore, freeing his hand. He punched her back, and then grabbed her hair to try to control her head, but she snatched his arm, and they flipped off the bed. She dropped the knife as they landed, and he kicked it as far under the bed as he could. She gave his left leg a savage twist, but he kicked her hard in the face with his right foot. He jumped to his feet, but she kicked them out from under him before he could get to his gun on the far side of the bed. She reached for it, and he kicked her in the gut.

She went down, but immediately threw herself on him, her elbow in his ribs. He wrapped an arm around her throat, but she bent back his thumbs until he let go to keep her from breaking them. Again, she jabbed him in the ribs. He caught her chin and tried to twist her head, but she pulled free, reaching under the bed as she did. She stood, with the knife in her hand.

“Stop, Devlyn!” Charlotte stood facing them, Scott’s gun in her hand, gun and girl shaking. Scott scrambled to his feet. Even if she meant to help him, Charlotte armed was as much a danger to him as to Devlyn, who laughed. He didn’t like the sound of that laugh.

“Gotta hit me first, you bitch.” She swung the knife toward Scott, as he hopped onto the bed toward Charlotte and the gun.

Charlotte squeezed the trigger and the shot shattered the window between Scott and Devlyn. Devlyn lunged at him as he landed on the floor and seized the gun from Charlotte. He spun and squeezed the trigger just as Devlyn’s knife raked down his ribs and hip. The bullet found her thigh, but she didn’t stop. She slashed at Charlotte as she passed her, and Scott saw blood on Charlotte’s blouse as she dropped to the floor against a dresser.

He backed up a step, and Devlyn charged again. His second shot caught her in the shoulder and spun her around. She turned back toward him. “Daddy didn’t raise no quitter,” she hissed. She raised the knife for a downward plunge and took a step forward, balancing on her good leg.

He steadied himself. “Drop the knife,” he ordered. “I won’t miss this time.” He could hear Charlotte sobbing, which meant she was still alive.

Breathing heavily, Devlyn laughed again and then coughed. “Maybe I’ll take out this worthless bitch first.” She turned, and her knife arm started to drop. Scott fired. With her at an angle to him, his center mass shot entered her side low and at an angle. She collapsed, knife still in her hand, next to Charlotte.

With his gun at the ready, Scott pried the knife from her fingers. She looked at him, but put up no further fight. “Charlotte,” he said in a voice much calmer than he felt. “Can you get up?”

She stared wide-eyed at Devlyn, whose glare would have killed if it could. “I-I think so.” Shaking, she struggled to her feet.

“How bad are you cut?” He didn’t dare take his eyes off Devlyn.

She looked down at herself. “It hurts, and there’s a lot of blood.”

“Can you step away from Devlyn, into the other room?” She nodded and did as he said. “Do you know where my cell phone is?”

“Yeah. It’s still in your jeans, on the chair there.”

Still eyeing Devlyn, who was conscious and watching him, her hand over her side wound, he fished his phone from his pocket.

“If you’re calling 911, I already did that,” she smiled at him. “When Devlyn hit me. They said they were coming.”

“Okay.” He didn’t know where they were, what the response time might be. “Call them again, and ask for an ambulance. Tell them Officer Seventy-Three has the suspect in custody and the situation is under control, but there are three injured parties.”

“Okay.” She paused before she opened her phone. “You know, I could just leave now, run away and not have to face this.”

“You could.” He noticed that Devlyn’s eyes had closed, but she still breathed shallowly. “But then you’d always be wondering when you’d be found out. You have to stop running someday.” He pulled the top sheet from the bed. Laying his gun down on top of the dresser behind him, he tucked the sheet around Devlyn’s side wound the best he could to try to stop the bleeding. While he ministered to Devlyn, Charlotte made her call and returned with two towels. She tossed him one and touched her wound with the other. “Ouch.”

Scott dabbed at his cuts and thought about slipping his clothes on, because he felt, well, naked. “You could put your clothes on now,” Charlotte suggested.

“And have the paramedics cut up my best jeans and shirt? No thanks.” He wrapped the towel around himself. He heard a siren, and then another. He stood and picked up his gun again.

“I guess if I was going to run, I’ve waited too long,” Charlotte said.

“Yup. Today’s as good a day as any to make stand.” He sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ll put in a good word for you, because you did try to save me.” The blood loss, aftereffects of whatever she had slipped him, and the ebb of adrenaline began to take hold.

“But I’m still in trouble, right.”

“I won’t lie to you, yes, you are.” He rubbed his face to stay alert. “You witnessed a crime and didn’t report it. You helped to conceal a felony, and that is serious business. And then you kidnapped a police officer and collaborated to murder me.” He watched her stand there bleeding and dry-eyed. “But you also saved my life just now, and you committed your crimes in fear of your life. I’ll do my best to get them to take that into consideration.”