After dinner, Tia Selena chased both Holly and Peppy out of the kitchen as she cleaned up. Peppy sat down and said, “So let’s go over this plan again.”
“Okay, Holly said. This is what we’re going to do.”
60 POLICE HEADQUARTERS
Manelli pulled into his parking space at Pineland Park Police Headquarters. He and Officer Rivera got out of the car and went inside.
“Is Dina Hagel here?” Manelli asked O’Rourke at the front desk.
“Yes, sir. They found her at her fiancé’s in Montclair Heights.”
“Excellent,” Manelli said, walking over to his office. He dropped his keys and gun on the desk, grabbed his notepad, and headed directly to the interview room where Dina and her lawyer, Herbert Ralston, were waiting.
Ralston wore a three piece Navy Blue suit, white shirt and red bow tie. His round tortoise shell glasses gave him the appearance of an owl. He glared at Manelli as he took his seat.
“Detective, may I begin by saying that sending a squad car to pick up my client on Sunday evening was entirely unwarranted.”
“Duly noted, Mr. Ralston,” Manelli said, flipping through his notebook.
Ralston crossed his arms and grimaced. Manelli had dealt with Ralston in the past and knew that nothing irked him more than “civil servants”, his pejorative epithet for policemen, who just refused to acknowledge how important he was.
“Look, Detective,” Ralston began. Manelli just stretched back in his chair, tilted his head and made direct eye contact with Ralston, a move that caused Ralston to sputter. “You--you have no--there is no basis for this treatment of my client or for this interview.”
“Mr. Ralston, the last time I spoke with Ms. Hagel, she said she wanted to help the police in any way she could in the investigation of her grandmother’s murder. Am I right, Ms. Hagel?”
Until now, Dina had simply sat quietly, examining her manicure. She looked up at Manelli, and said, “That’s right, Detective.”
“So this is how you can help. By answering a few questions, like why did you make an appointment with Novardo Development the day your grandmother’s body was discovered?”
Ralston put a cautionary hand on Dina’s arm. “No, Herb. I can answer this. Detective, I never made an appointment with Novardo Development. Not ever, let alone the day of my grandmother’s murder. What was it? Two, maybe three or four days ago--I don’t remember--a woman from Novardo called me to follow up on an appointment she said I called about. I told her the same thing I’m telling you. I never made any appointment to meet with anyone at Novardo.”
“Ms. Hagel, why did you lie to us about your brother’s whereabouts the day of your grandmother’s murder?”
This time Dina turned to Ralston. Ralston said, “How dare you accuse my client of lying?”
Manelli flipped through his pad. “It says right here she said Phillip was at the office. She even said he was home for dinner. But Phillip said he was at an all-day barbecue and didn’t return home until around midnight.”
Ralston and Dina exchanged whispers. Manelli smiled, knowing he had her on this one.
“As far as Dina knew, Phillip was at work, Detective. She may have been mistaken about his being there for dinner.”
Manelli closed his pad and asked, “So did you see Phillip at all the day of your grandmother’s murder?”
For the first time, Dina looked uncertain. Again she and Ralston had a whispered exchange. When they finished, she looked at Manelli and said, “I saw Phillip at breakfast, Detective.”
“Excuse me, please,” Manelli said. “I just need to check on something.”
Ralston began to object. “Just a minute…”
“I’ll be right back, Mr. Ralston.”
Manelli walked out of the interview room and strolled over to Rivera’s desk.
“Got anything for me?” he asked.
“Nothing good. You were right. Donnelly’s phone was pinpointed to her home address. Also, a report was in my inbox from forensics. They couldn’t see anything on the scan of the matchbook cover. Jensen reported no one’s been in or out of Mazer’s apartment. And none of the patrolman has seen hide nor hair of Holly Donnelly. How’s it going in there?”
“Dina Hagel denies making the appointment with Novardo. She seems pretty confident no one can prove otherwise. I got her on the lie about her brother’s whereabouts the day of the murder. I walked out just to make them stew a little.”
Manelli walked over to the vending machine and bought three bottles of water. He opened one and took a long swallow. Slowly he walked back to the interview room. When he re-entered the room, Ralston once again began to complain.
“Detective, this is outrageous. You have no right to keep us sitting here like this.”
“My apologies. I’m so sorry.” Manelli feigned concern as he placed a bottle of water in front of each of them. “I got a call I just had to take while I was out there. I have just a few more questions for Ms. Hagel.”
“When was the last time you talked to Richie Mazer?” Manelli asked.
Again, Ralston placed a cautionary hand on Dina’s arm, but this time Dina brushed it off. “Richie Mazer? I haven’t spoken to Richie Mazer in at least two years. I remember he wanted to do landscaping for my grandmother, and he caught me when I was leaving her house one day. His sister lives next door. I told him to forget it. Grandma only hired Mexicans to help her.”
“Really?” Manelli replied. “And if we check cellphone records, we won’t find any calls between you and Mr. Mazer.”
“No, absolutely not. I have no reason whatsoever to call Richie Mazer. What is this all about?”
Manelli stared at Dina Hagel. She appeared genuinely baffled by the question about Mazer.
“Teresa Nowicki is the Novardo secretary who called you. The day after she called you, she was run off the side of the road and almost killed. The night before, a woman was mugged in her driveway at 7 Park Place. We have reason to believe Richie Mazer was responsible. We also have reason to believe Mazer was the one who plunged the garden knife into your grandmother’s chest after she was already dead in order to frame the gardener.”
At this Ralston smiled, stretched his neck and straightened his bow tie. “You may have reason to believe, but you don’t have proof, do you, Manelli? And so this has been a fishing expedition intended to link my client to Mazer. We’re done here,” he said, standing up.
Manelli knew he’d gotten as far as he could. He stood up. “Thanks for your cooperation, Ms. Hagel,” he said, smiling at her.
She said nothing, waiting for Ralston to open the door for her. They exited the room and didn’t look back.
Manelli sat for a moment, stood up and kicked the metal filing cabinet in the corner, leaving a dent. He was running out of time.
61 A THORNY SITUATION
“Ms. Donnelly,” Peppy said, tapping Holly’s shoulder. “Ms. Donnelly, it’s time to go.”
Holly blinked, looked around, remembering where she was. She sat forward and shook her head, blinking her eyes, surprised she’d fallen asleep so soundly, amazed she’d fallen asleep at all.
“We need to go,” Peppy said, staring at her. “You sure about this?”
Holly stood up. “I’m sure.” She went into the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She stared in the mirror and whispered, “All you Gods and Goddesses in the Galaxy, please give me what I need to do this.”
She came out of the bathroom revived and determined. Tia Selena was asleep on the chair. She and Peppy tiptoed out, closing the door gently behind them. They walked the fifteen minute walk to the park in silence. Entering the park through the main entrance, they followed the path past the now closed Boathouse Café along the duck pond directly across from the Hagel house. As they neared the part of the road that emptied back onto the street, they stopped in the shadows and faced each other.
“Okay, you know what to do. I will owe you forever for this. Just remember--no matter what--you get my sister an
d run. Leave the rest to me.”
“That’s the part of the plan I don’t like.”
“Believe me. I know what I’m doing. It will work,” Holly said. She wasn’t at all sure it would. The only thing she was sure of was that she had to rescue Ivy.
“Okay,” Peppy answered, squeezing Holly’s hands, then turning and moving quickly down the road. Dressed all in black, Peppy disappeared into the shadows on the east side of Mrs. Hagel’s house. Holly looked at her watch. At exactly ten minutes after she and Peppy parted, she swallowed hard and licked her lips. As she started to move, she felt the ocean roar in her ears. No, this couldn’t be happening. She bent forward placing her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. She could not pass out. She breathed deeply and slowly, and her head began to clear, but her limbs felt weak. Snap out of it, Holly!
She stood up straight and tossed her head back, rolling her shoulders and shaking her arms, then her legs one at a time. Okay, let’s go. Stepping out of the shadows, she walked down the road, across the street and up Mrs. Hagel’s driveway. Her heart began fluttering as she rounded the corner on the west side of the house and started up the path to the back patio. A bead of perspiration slid from her forehead into her eye. She stopped and ran the back of her right hand across her forehead. Get a grip. Ivy’s all that matters.
Again she began to walk slowly forward. The path got darker the farther she got from the street light. When she reached the back corner of the house, she stopped and peered around. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She wondered where he was, where Ivy was. She had to get past the shed to where the gravel path began if her plan had any chance of working.
She bit her lip and stepped past the house, scurrying in a diagonal line across the patio to the shed.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice in the dark called out.
Holly felt the adrenaline course through her limbs and her entire body began to tremble. She stopped and turned to face the house trying to pinpoint exactly where the voice came from. She couldn’t see anything, not a silhouette or a shadow.
“You said the backyard.” Holly’s voice cracked.
“That’s far enough. Have you got it?”
“Yes,” Holly answered, slowly inching backward.
“Show me,” the kidnapper commanded.
Holly reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out the plastic bag containing the matchbook. A flashlight beam appeared, darting around, finally landing on her. Her hand shook as she held up the plastic bag.
“All right. Come over here and give it to me.”
“Where’s my sister?” Holly moved back just a bit. She had to get to the shed.
“You’ll get your sister. Now come give me the bag.”
“Uh-uh. You don’t get anything until I see my sister.”
Holly heard the back door, and the flashlight beam left her and landed on Ivy seated on a chair, gagged and bound. Holly was relieved when she saw Ivy nod her head. She just prayed Peppy saw her from wherever she was hiding, too. Then the door slammed shut. As the flashlight beam left Ivy, Holly turned and moved as quickly as she could over to the steps beside the shed.
“Hey, where are you? Do you want me to kill her right now?” the kidnapper threatened as he scanned the yard with the flashlight. “Stop with the games and give me the damn bag,” he said when he finally located her.
“Untie my sister, and let her go first.” Holly’s voice now trembled.
“Enough of this, bitch. You don’t call the shots here. Give me the bag.”
“You want it? Come and get it,” Holly said, turning and running up the two steps and down the path straight to the back of the yard. She heard the kidnapper’s heavy footsteps crossing the patio. She knew she couldn’t outrun him, but that didn’t matter. She just needed to give Peppy enough time to get Ivy.
Knowing she was nearing the part of the path that was overgrown with weeds, Holly slowed down. Her pursuer was now just a few feet behind. Looking back over her shoulder she saw the flashlight beam on her. She stepped slowly onto the weeds that she and Lucky had tamped down just a few days before and stopped completely. She heard the kidnapper’s heavy breath, he was so near.
“You dumb old bitch. Didn’t you know there was no way out of here?” he laughed, so close she could smell him. Now. Holly dove over the weeds to where there was a small clearing in the path. Her pursuer lunged at her, but tripped in the weeds. Holly rolled over, got up and headed across the yard. In the near complete darkness of the back end of the yard, she was not sure where to turn. She had to just trust her memory.
As she stumbled over some branches, barely managing to stay upright, she again heard the kidnapper moving toward her. Looking back she was relieved to no longer see the light beam. He must have lost the flashlight when he fell. Without the light, he couldn’t see any better than she could. If she could move quietly, she might make it over to the cleared bit of path on the other side of the yard, and if she could do that, she might actually get away from him.
Suddenly, Holly heard the crunch of branches and heavy breathing very nearby. She held her breath. She didn’t exhale until she heard the kidnapper move in the opposite direction from where she stood. She turned slowly and started to move forward. When she put her foot down, a loud snap broke the silence.
Holly grunted. She could hear her pursuer running directly towards her. She screamed as he lunged managing to lock his arms around her legs, tackling her to the ground. He, too, fell and as she tried to roll away, he grasped her right ankle.
“Give me that bag,” he growled.
Holly struggled to get her leg free, but couldn’t break his grip. She grabbed on to some shrubbery in front of her and tried to pull herself forward. Holding on to her ankle, the kidnapper struggled to get up. As he did, Holly used every bit of strength she had to turn over and kick out with her free left foot. She hit him squarely, she didn’t know where, but it was enough to cause him to loosen his grip. She rolled and scrambled to her feet. It was too dark to see where she was, and the skirmish left her disoriented. She decided she just had to move forward. As she did, she felt a distinct change underfoot. She was under the pine tree.
“Where are you, bitch?”
Good. He’s facing the back. He doesn’t know where I am.
Holly moved slowly one step at a time, but now she knew exactly where she was going.
“When I get you, I’m going to kill you and your sister.”
Perspiration rolled down Holly’s neck and back. Suddenly she caught a whiff of moonflower and smiled. Inching her way through the weedy area as quietly as she could, she positioned herself exactly where she wanted to be.
“All right I had enough of you,” snarled her pursuer.
This time Holly replied. “Over here.” He covered the distance between them in just a few seconds, and lunged at her again. A hideous howl pierced the quiet as his body stopped midair, caught in the branches of the Gertrude Jekyll rose bush. Holly turned and raced through the weeds, skirting the rosebush, her whole body shaking. As soon as she reached the footpath she ran as fast as she could. Crossing the patio, she rounded the corner of the house, running smack into someone coming up the path. Holly screamed.
“Holly! Holly! It’s me. Nick.”
“Nick?” Holly said, confused.
“Nick Manelli.”
It took a moment for what she was hearing to make sense to her.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his hands holding her by her upper arms, his head lowered looking into her eyes in the dim glow cast by the street light in front of the house.
She nodded, unable to catch her breath, now a ball of quivering nerve endings.
“Where’s Mazer?” he asked her.
“Mazer? You mean the kidnapper? He’s tangled in the rose bush.”
Manelli laughed out loud and pulled her tightly to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She didn’t resist.
Two patrolmen came up behind them shining
powerful flashlights. “Looks like we didn’t need the sharpshooters after all,” he said. “Check out the rose bush.”
Holly suddenly jerked back. “Ivy?”
“Ivy’s fine. She’s with the EMTs out front, which is where you’re going.” He turned her around, his arm around her waist, guiding her down the path to the driveway.”
“Really, I’m okay. I don’t need EMTs.”
“Holly, for once, don’t argue with me. Just get checked out, please.”
Holly let him lead her to the emergency vehicle parked in front. She broke loose from his hold when she saw Ivy sitting on the back of the truck, wrapped in a blanket.
“Holly!” was all Ivy could say as Holly threw her arms around her and hugged her close. When she finally let go, one of the EMTs came over, took her pulse and asked her a few questions. Just as the EMT was finishing with her, Peppy appeared looking quite pleased with herself.
Holly jumped up and grabbed Peppy, hugging her tightly. “How can I ever thank you?”
“Okay, okay. Loosen up a little. You’re chokin’ me, Mami.” Peppy turned and said something in Spanish that Holly couldn’t make out. The EMTs burst into laughter.
“What did you say?” Holly asked.
“That I’d come up with a way for you to thank me. That’s all.”
Holly laughed. “It worked just like we planned.”
“Hey, like you planned. And why didn’t you tell me your sister was your twin? Dios mio, I nearly flipped when I opened that door and saw her. I thought somehow the guy got you and she was the one running away.”
“Oops. I didn’t even think about that.”
“Doesn’t matter. I knew Manelli wasn’t going to let anything happen to you.”
“How did he know we were here?” Holly asked.
“Sorry, Mami, but I called him. I didn’t like your plan.”
“I don’t believe it,” Holly laughed, shaking her head. Suddenly the smile left her face as she turned to Manelli. “You mean you were here all the time?”
Second Bloom Page 24
