Laurel Heights 3

by Lisa Worrall

  “I waited for the police to knock on our door, to take me to jail for what I’d done, but the next day my parents came into my bedroom and told me Ellis had been so sad about Jenny, he’d jumped off the bridge so he could be with her in heaven, but we knew the truth.”

  “We?” Scott prompted.

  “Me and Jenny, of course,” Noah said derisively. “Keep up, Scott.”

  “Jenny loved Ellis,” Ally said, fresh tears wetting her cheeks. “She loved Ellis and she loved us. She wouldn’t have wanted this. We were her friends. My God, Stevie, we were your friends.”

  “No!” Noah yelled in her face. “She was my friend. My only friend and you took her from me. Now, like the others, you’re going to pay.”

  Chapter twelve

  The tires squealed as Will braked to a hard stop outside the hospital entrance. He all but threw himself out of the car and leaned back in to bark instructions at Matt.

  “Get the kids and take them back to the house. Wait for me there. I’ll keep you updated.”

  “What about you?” Matt asked, shuffling over to the driver’s seat. “I can—”

  “No.” Will shook his head before Matt could finish the sentence. “I need to know you and the kids safe.”

  Matt sighed heavily and nodded, albeit reluctantly, curling his fingers around the wheel as Will shut the door. Will turned to walk away and spun around as Matt called his name. His gut tightened at the despair in Matt’s voice when he said, “Bring them home.”

  “I intend to,” Will replied firmly. He glanced at his watch as he entered the hospital at a run and headed toward Kimberly’s room.

  Ally and Scott had been missing for twenty-four minutes, and the only reason Will knew that was because he’d counted every single second since Jesse had called Matt to tell him that they were still waiting to be picked up. Of course, they’d probably been missing for a lot longer than that, but if he let himself think about that he wouldn’t be able to focus on what he had to do—find them.

  He hurried through the corridors, the content of the phone call he’d received from Glenn fifteen minutes ago echoing in his ears. Instead of sending a uniformed officer to guard Kimberly, after he’d hung up with Will, Glenn had gotten in his car and driven to the hospital himself. It was only a few minutes after Jesse’s call that Will’s phone rang, and Glenn uttered the two words that snapped him out of the sudden whirlpool of panic he was in danger of being sucked into.

  “She’s awake.”

  Will nodded to the nurse on the desk and sped down the corridor to Kimberly’s room, pushing open the door. He paused in the doorway, his breath catching in his throat. He glanced at Glenn sat by the bed, with whom he shared a relieved smile, then turned his attention back to the tiny figure beneath the white sheets. The head of the bed had been raised and Kimberly had been taken off the ventilator. She still looked like shit, but her eyes were open and there was a glimmer of light in them as he crossed the room.

  “Hey,” Will said, pulling up a chair and took her hand in his. “You look… good.” Even quirking an eyebrow was obviously a struggle for her, but she managed it. He winced. “I paused too long, didn’t I?” Her lips curved in a tired half-smile. “You scared the shit out of us.”

  “Sorr….” She trailed off, not managing to finish the word.

  “It’s okay,” Will reassured her, stroking her fingers. “Don’t talk.”

  “H-h-have… to.”

  “Mule-headed as always, I see,” Glenn chided softly.

  “Of course, she is,” Will said, holding her gaze. “It was a speedball, not magic.” She opened her mouth to speak again but he shook his head. “I know you’re not ready for this,” she gave a dismissive shake of her head which he ignored, “but I need to ask you a few questions about what happened. Just yes or no answers will do. We can wait for details.”

  “O… kay.”

  “Kimmy,” Will said softly. “Do you remember anything?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know who did this to you?” Will looked down at her fingers, which had tightened around his.

  “Y… es.” Will’s heartbeat so hard against his breastbone he was concerned it was going to break free.

  “Who was it?”

  Kimberly’s breath rattled in her chest as she pulled in enough air to answer. “St… Stev—” She groaned in frustration.

  “Take your time, Kim,” Glenn instructed, putting his hand on her forearm.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, took another breath and she forced the name out on a rush of air. “Stevie Burrows.” She began to cough, harsh, dry, chest wrenching coughs and Will shot out of his chair to lift her up from the pillows. He stroked her back until the coughing ceased, then laid her back down.

  “Okay?” He raised his eyebrows and sank back onto the chair as she nodded. He looked over at Glenn. “Stevie Burrows?” She nodded again and Will took his notebook and pen out of his pocket to write it down. “Thank you, honey,” he said softly. “I’ll take this back to the station and look in—” The words stilled on his lips as she shook her head at him. “What?” He frowned, confused. Why wouldn’t she want him to look into Stevie Burrows? If he was the one responsible for what had happened to all thre—he flinched as she lifted her hand and batted at the notebook he held. “Kim,” he glanced at Glenn, who shook his head, obviously as confused by Kimberly’s behavior as he was. “I don’t under—”

  “No….” Kimberly slapped her hand on the bed, albeit weakly.

  “No?” Glenn echoed. “Kim—” He snapped his lips shut as she glared at him.

  “St… Stev—”

  “Stevie Burrows?” Will hated finishing the story for her, but time was running out. He tapped the notebook. “I got it, honey. It’s okay.”

  “No!” Both men stared at her as she croaked out the word. “Ste… is No….”

  Will held out his hands. “Not what?” His eyes widened at the anger and frustration she directed at him and he held his hands up in supplication. “I’m sorr—”

  “No… ah!”

  Will fought the urge to scream in her face that Scott and Ally were missing, and he didn’t have time for this shit, and said, “Noah? Noah Lieberman?” She nodded excitedly. Well, what he imagined what excited would look like under the circumstances. “What about Noah?” If looks could kill, Will wouldn’t have been likely to survive. “I’m sorr—”

  “Stev….”

  “Stevie?” She nodded.

  “Is….”

  “Stevie is,” Will repeated, trying not to tap his foot impatiently. She took another breath.

  “Noa….” She sank against the pillow, exhausted.

  “Stevie is Noah.” The words hung between them like smoke swirling up from a campfire. She nodded, her breath falling from between her lips in harsh gasps. He repeated the words. “Stevie is Noah.” He frowned as they slowly penetrated the mush that used to be his brain, and he said them for a third time, “Stevie is Noah?” A sudden wave of nausea hit him, the blood rushed loudly in his ears and the room seemed to slip away as the reality of those three words hit him like a freight train.

  “Will?” Will blinked as Glenn shook him, his fingers curling into the meat of Will’s shoulder. He stared up at him. He hadn’t even realized he’d moved. “Are you with me?” Glenn’s face swam before him, but Will couldn’t see past the names bouncing around his skull like flashing neon signs. Noah? Scott. Noah has Scott? Scott. Noah? Scott. Noah? Scott. Scott. Scott—The sharp slap of Glenn’s hand connecting with Will’s face snapped his head back on his neck and brought his friend’s concerned countenance into startling clarity. Glenn squeezed his shoulder tightly. “You back?”

  Will nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He stood up and leaned down to press a kiss to Kimberly’s forehead. “You rest up,” he said softly. “Glenn, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

  Glenn nodded and patted Kimberly’s hand. “I’ll be right back
for that game of strip poker you promised me.” He tipped her a wink and followed Will from the room. “Talk,” he growled. “Now.”

  “Scott and Ally never arrived to pick up the kids.”

  “What?” Glenn ran his hand through his hair. “What?”

  “I need to get to the station,” Will said quickly. Glenn had already pulled out his phone and was tapping at the keys. “What are you doing?”

  “Go,” Glenn ordered, handing Will his car keys. “I’ll get someone to meet you there. I’ll stay with Kimberly. Just go!”

  Will nodded and hit the ground running. Mild-mannered Noah Lieberman killed Jack and Rachael, attacked Kimberly and now had Scott and Ally God knows where. When had he fallen into an alternate universe? He found Glenn’s car not too far from the entrance to the hospital and threw himself behind the wheel. He started the engine and floored it, quickly turning on the emergency lights as he left the hospital sight and joined the traffic. This was not a good time for anyone to get in his way.

  As he wove his way through the other vehicles, he turned on the police radio and connected to dispatch. He immediately recognized the voice that answered. “Maddy, it’s Will Harrison.”

  “Hey, Detective Harrison, what can I do for you?”

  “I need you to locate Detective Turner’s phone, and see if there’s GPS attached to this number, too.” He reeled off Ally’s number. “I’ll be at the station in about ten minutes. Can you let me know on my extension as soon as you’ve got that information?”

  “Sure thing.” The radio clicked as she disconnected the call and he increased his speed.

  It wasn’t long before Will barreled through the double doors and into the eerily quiet murder room, having taken the stairs two at a time to avoid wasting precious minutes waiting for the elevator. He skidded to a halt at his desk, turned on the computer and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen to write down any details he needed. “Hold on, baby,” he mumbled under his breath. “Just hold on.”

  After logging on, he pulled up Noah’s file. There was nothing on it he didn’t already know, apart from Noah’s address, which he wrote down on the paper in front of him. Noah came from a small town in upstate New York, only child, parents deceased, entered the academy at eighteen, top of his class in everything, including the detective’s exam, which had led him to homicide. He opened another window and typed in the name Burrows, followed by Tivoli, then hit search. The top result was a hardware store in Tivoli’s main street, still owned and run by the Burrows family. He clicked on images and began to scan the photographs that filled the screen. “Where are you, Stevie? Or Noah, or whatever your fucking name is. Where are—”

  “What have we got?”

  Will started as the booming voice echoed around the room. He watched the owner’s approach open-mouthed. “Kelly?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Glenn called you?”

  “Of course, he called me, Ghostbusters were busy.” Kelly shot back. “Glenn filled me in on the basics.” He squinted at the screen as he pulled up a chair. “What have you found?”

  “I pulled up Noah’s file,” Will answered, grateful for his support. “I’ve just searched the name Burrows in Tivoli and there’s a hardware store on Main Street owned by the family. I was hoping we might find a picture or something of this Stevie.”

  “Have you requested a GPS track?” Kelly asked.

  “Waiting to hear from Maddy.”

  “Good, good.” Kelly waved a hand at the screen. “I haven’t even met Lieberman for Christ’s sake. I have no idea what the guy looks like.”

  “He looks like an older version of that,” Will said, clicking on the picture and enlarging it. Will stared at the young boy, who looked about thirteen, in what appeared to be a photograph snapped at some kind of town fayre. He stood proudly next to a boy of a similar age and they held a large fish between them, beaming from ear to ear at their achievement. His gaze found the caption beneath it and he gasped as the words hit him like a slap in the face.

  “What?” Kelly leaned closer and read the caption out loud. “Proud winners of the trout fishing contest, Stevie Burrows and Noah Lieberman. What the fuck? I thought Kimberly said Stevie Burrows is Noah Lieberman.”

  “She did.” An acorn of an idea sprouted behind a tiny door in Will’s head, the roots nudging at said door and forcing it open. “Oh my God,” Will murmured and began to stab at the keyboard. “Oh, my fucking God.”

  “Oh, my fucking God what?” Kelly snapped, his gaze flitting between Will and the screen. “Obituaries? Oh, my fucking God. He didn’t.”

  Will hit search and clicked on the first result. “Oh, yes he fucking did. “Noah Lieberman, aged eighteen, was killed in a car accident nine years ago on his way home from a concert.” He read aloud from the obituary. “Noah was a wonderful student,” said the Principal of Redwood High School, “and had already secured a place at the police academy in the fall.” He is survived by his parents, Bob and Shona, and his three siblings.” Will sat back in the chair, his head spinning. “He took his name and his place at the academy,” he said, utter disbelief dripping from every word. “Nine years? Jesus Christ, how long has he been planning this?”

  “This guy is seriously fucked up,” Kelly stated eloquently.

  “Couldn’t have put it better my—” The phone on Will’s desk rang and he snatched up the received. “Will Harrison.”

  “I’ve got those GPS locations you asked for, they’re in the same place,” Maddy informed him, and reeled off an address which Will scribbled down beneath Noah’s. “Anything else you need, sir?”

  “No thanks, Maddy. I owe you dinner.” Will hung up, grabbed Glenn’s car keys and was already on his way out of the door when Kelly caught up with him.

  “Slow down!” Kelly barked as he raced down the stairs after Will.

  “We don’t have time to slow down,” Will snapped, pushing open the door into the parking lot and heading toward Glenn’s car. “They could already be—” He couldn’t allow himself to finish that sentence.

  Kelly grabbed him by the upper arms as they reached the car. “No,” he said gruffly. “If he’s been planning this as long as we think he has, he’ll want to take his time. Especially if he sees Scott and his sister as the real reasons Jenny was there that night.” Will hoped to God he was right. If he lost Scott—he flinched as Kelly plucked the keys from his fingers. “It’s safer if I drive and you navigate.”

  Will opened his mouth to tell him to shove that idea where the sun didn’t shine, but closed it again, because Kelly was probably right. Not that he was going to tell him that. Instead he settled for an eye roll and stomping round to the passenger side like a petulant teenager. Every fiber of his being hoped they would find Scott and Ally with their phones, but he knew, deep down, there was little chance of that. Noah was a cop and he knew how not to get caught. Will closed his eyes as Kelly started the engine and sped out of the parking lot leaving the scent of burnt rubber behind them.

  He hated being right.

  Fifteen minutes later, Will and Kelly fished Scott and Ally’s cell phones out of the trash can to the astonishment of passersby. “Fuck!” Will yelled, banging Scott’s phone on his forehead in frustration. “Fuck!”

  “Okay, okay,” Kelly soothed, shepherding him back into the car. He pushed Will into the passenger seat then ran around the hood to climb in behind the wheel. Will didn’t miss the concern in his friend’s face as he stared at him, and he knew what was coming. “Don’t you fall apart on me, Harrison,” Kelly said sternly. “I need you firing on all cylinders here. You’re the brains, remember. I’m just the eye candy.”

  Will ran his fingers through his hair, gripping at the strands, desperately trying to hold onto his sanity. His heart beat frantically in his chest and he couldn’t latch onto a single one of the myriad of thoughts that vied for attention in his head. What was it Audrey Petersen had said? “Did I tell him I loved him?” Oh God, did I? I can’t remember. He let go his hair and pressed his fingers to
his mouth. I kissed him. I remember that. But did I say the words? Did I tell him? I should’ve told—

  “Will!” Kelly’s roar snapped Will out of his own head, and he wiped at the tears he didn’t even know had wet his cheeks. “Wi—”

  “Okay!” Will yelled back. “Noah’s place. We need to get to Noah’s place. See if we can find anything there that might lead us to where he’s taken them.” He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and punched it into the sat nav. “He’s got to have made a mistake. They all make a mistake, right? Even the smart ones.”

  “Damn straight they do,” Kelly replied, shooting Will a smile of relief as he started the engine. “Especially the smart ones.”

  Noah lived in a studio apartment downtown and, when they pulled up, Will saw his car parked on the street in front of the apartment building. After flashing their badges, the doorman let them in, and they headed up to the fifth floor in the miniscule elevator he directed them to. Will and Kelly hurried along the hall and stopped outside the door at the end. Reflexively, Will lifted his hand to knock and Kelly batted his hand out of the way.

  “Seriously?” Kelly drawled, fishing in his pocket. Will’s eyes widened when Kelly took out a long thin wallet and flipped it open to reveal several odd shaped pieces of metal.

  “Lock picks?” Will said, his voice a stage-whisper in the quiet of the hallway. “Since when did they become standard police issue?”

  “Since it cost me sixty bucks a pop every time I locked myself out of the house,” Kelly said on a grin as he crouched down and fitting two of the picks into the lock. One at the top and one at the bottom.