She’d seen that look only one other time—when Nikki had stood just inside the bedroom door, gazing down at her father’s blood-soaked body.
Nikki had been so traumatized that night that she hadn’t spoken since, and now she appeared to be experiencing that same terror again.
Instantly Thea whipped around, scouring the crowd. Her frantic gaze took in all the faces she’d now put names with: Tony and Nick Gallagher. Miles Gallagher and his father, Liam. Superintendent Ed Dawson.
Had one of them frightened Nikki?
Thea sprinted up the stairs and knelt in front of her daughter. The child’s face was devoid of emotion, but her eyes were wild looking. She didn’t even glance at her mother until Thea caught her arms. “Nikki, what’s wrong? What happened?”
The child didn’t answer, didn’t respond in any manner. Thea tried to think of what could have happened. Nikki had seen someone who had frightened her, sent her fleeing back to that dark hiding place, but who? And why?
Had she recognized someone?
Oh, God, Thea thought. Had Nikki really been on the roof the night Gail Waters fell to her death? Had her daughter seen the killer that night—and tonight?
Fiona had said their father had disappeared, his body never found. What if Gail Waters had been investigating his disappearance, too? What if she’d stumbled onto something that had been hidden for seven years? Hidden…by someone in this very house?
Thea told herself that her imagination was running away with her, but she couldn’t deny that something had terrified her daughter. And if John’s family was somehow involved, Thea had to get Nikki away from here. They were all cops, and cops stood together. Thea knew that all too well.
She lifted Nikki and carried her back into Fiona’s bedroom. She slipped her boots on her tiny feet and laced them. Taking her daughter’s hand, she led her down the stairs. They had to find their coats and then somehow make it outside without anyone seeing them.
“Hey, there.” John caught her arm, and Thea jumped. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “Everything okay?”
She willed down her panic, forced back the urge to tell him what had happened. This was his family. Whose side would he be on if she started making outrageous allegations against them? “Yes, everything’s fine. We’re getting something to drink.”
“Kitchen’s that way,” he said.
Thea nodded. “Thanks.”
But once they were swallowed by the crowd, she picked Nikki up and went down the hallway behind the stairs, where Thea had seen Fiona take their coats.
The bedroom was at the far end of the hall, and the full-size bed was laden with coats. Quickly Thea searched through the pile until she found their coats and her purse. She didn’t have much money with her, not enough for her and Nikki to leave the city, but they could at least catch a cab to take them away from this house.
Bundled against the cold, Thea glanced around. They couldn’t go out the way they’d come in. John would surely see them. Her gaze flashed to the window. She hurried over and raised the sill. A blast of frigid air slapped at her face, but undaunted, Thea stuck her head outside.
The window was only a few feet from the ground. She could manage the jump, and then Nikki could crawl out and into her arms. It took only a matter of seconds, and then they were both outside, on the cold snowy streets, alone and in danger.
Thea glanced back. The house was brilliantly lit, warm and noisy with laughter. And John was there. John, who would be wondering in a few moments what had happened to them. He was bound to come looking for them.
Thea set Nikki on the sidewalk and took her hand. “Come on, sweatheart. We have to hurry.”
But as they ran down the darkened sidewalk, Thea had the strangest feeling that the danger was already following them. That someone, even now, was pursuing them.
Chapter Fourteen
John decided he’d better go rescue Thea and Nikki from the clutches of whatever family member had undoubtedly waylaid them. He hoped to hell it wasn’t Meredith again.
Heading for the kitchen, he turned when the front door opened and Roy Cox came in on a draft of icy wind. Not bothering to take off his coat, he spotted John and strode toward him. “We need to talk,” he said grimly.
“Back here,” John said, recognizing the unusual urgency in his partner’s voice. He opened the door of the spare bedroom where his mother always put the coats, but the room was freezing. “Someone left the window open,” he muttered, crossing to close it. He turned back to Roy. “So what’s up? Why are you so late getting here?”
“The lab called after you left today. That picture you gave them to blow up?” He pulled a manila envelope out of his coat pocket and handed it to John. “Take a look.”
They’d blown up various portions of the photograph, including the man’s face and his shield. There was something about his dark eyes, something familiar about his features, that made John uneasy.
“I decided to do some checking after the lab had this delivered to the office,” Roy said. “I kind of figured you’d been holding out on me.”
John dragged a hand through his hair. “Look, I know I owe you an explanation—”
“Save it.” Roy traced his mustache with one fingertip. “The guy’s name is Rick Mancuso. He’s Baltimore PD. Or was. His ex-wife and daughter disappeared about four months ago and haven’t been heard from since.”
John’s heart started to do a slow hammer against his rib cage. “What’re their names?”
“The woman’s name is Tess Holloway. She took back her maiden name after the divorce. The kid’s name is Nicolette.”
Tess and Nicolette. Thea and Nikki. Even though he already knew the story, John felt as if he’d been sucker-punched in the gut.
“It’s a pretty bizarre tale,” Roy said. “It seems this Mancuso guy is—”
“Dead.” John glanced at his partner.
Roy scowled. “Dead? Hell, no, he’s not dead. He’s facing murder charges.”
“What?” John said in shock. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yeah. I talked to the guy’s lieutenant. Mancuso’s been suspended without pay, pending an investigation. See, about four years ago, a man named Donnelli was about to turn state’s evidence on the mob, only the guy was smoked before he could testify. An arrest was made, the suspect tried and convicted, but now he’s singing from prison that he got a bum rap. Says Mancuso is the one who made the hit.”
“Have you ever met an inmate who wasn’t innocent?”
“No, but this guy claims there’s a witness. Mancuso was suspected at the time of the hit, but he had at least a dozen witnesses, including cops, who swore he was with them in a bar drinking all night. He claims he never even met Donnelli. But the guy in the joint says that he, Mancuso and Donnelli stopped by Mancuso’s house that night before the hit. He says Mancuso’s wife saw them all together. She can place Mancuso with Donnelli the night of the murder. Mancuso’s ex-wife can finger him if she turns up alive.”
Miles had been right. Gail Waters’s death didn’t have anything to do with seven years ago. It had nothing to do with John’s family, but it had everything to do with Thea and Nikki.
THEY’D HAD TO WALK several blocks before Thea finally spotted a cab, and with every step, she became more and more certain they were being followed. The temptation to simply have the cabdriver keep going was almost irresistible, but Thea barely had enough cash to pay him to take them to the apartment.
Going back there was dangerous, but what else could she do? They had to have money and IDs. Maybe this time they’d even use the passports, leave the country, go somewhere faraway…
And never see John again.
She felt an ache deep inside her at the prospect, but she wouldn’t let herself dwell on the pain. She wouldn’t let herself worry about what John must think of her, the way she’d run out on him.
She had to concentrate on getting Nikki to safety.
The apartment was dark when Thea l
et them inside. She didn’t turn on any lights. She knew exactly where everything was. She led Nikki to the sofa and said, “Wait right here for me, sweetheart. This won’t take long.”
Hurriedly she gathered the money from her hiding places—the freezer, behind picture frames, inside a hollow table leg. When she’d collected all the cash, she went into her bedroom to get the passports, stored behind a loose baseboard underneath the bed. Everything was where she’d left it, and she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She and Nikki were ready to go. They had money, papers—
A sound from the living room stopped her cold. The door had opened, she was sure of it.
But she’d turned the lock behind her and Nikki. No one could get in without a key—
Her mind shot immediately to Morris Dalrimple. He had a passkey.
She heard Nikki whimper, and her blood turned to ice. She lunged for the door, but she was too late. A man stood in the darkened living room, holding Nikki around the waist as the child hung frozen against him.
Thea felt as if the floor had dropped out from under her. Her head spun dangerously, but she forced away the dizziness. Somehow she had to keep her wits about her.
“Hello, darling,” Rick said with a sneer. “I’m home.”
Thea put a hand to her heart, as if she could somehow slow the pounding. How could this be? How could Rick be standing here in front of her? She’d killed him. Shot him dead. “Let her go. Please,” she begged hoarsely.
“What? Without getting my welcome-home kiss? Maybe you’d like to come over here and take her place.”
Thea saw the gun in his hand, then wedged against Nikki’s coat. “She’s just a baby, Rick. Please. Let her go. This is between you and me.”
“You’re right about that,” he said darkly. “You left me for dead, you bitch.” With that, he set Nikki down and she scampered toward Thea.
Thea grabbed her and put her behind her. When Rick started toward them, she screamed, “Run, Nikki. Run!”
She didn’t know whether Nikki would obey her or not. The little girl was terrified, just like she was. But almost instantly Thea heard her little feet pounding across the floor, and then the sound of the bedroom door slamming shut.
Rick just laughed. “You can’t get away from me that easily. Haven’t you learned that by now?”
Without warning he hit Thea across the face with the back of his hand. Her jaw exploded with pain, and she tasted blood as she stumbled backward, crashing against the coffee table before falling to the floor.
Rick was immediately on her, straddling her, pinning her to the floor. “You bitch,” he said again, leaning toward her. His eyes gleamed like a wild animal’s in the dark.
Thea lay beneath him, not struggling. She was terrified but she had to think. She had to play this smart. Rick wanted her to fight him. He wanted to have a reason to hit her again.
“How—?”
“How did I survive? No thanks to you. You walked away without a qualm that night, blood all over your hands.”
“You were going to kill me,” she said.
“No, I wasn’t,” he said. “But I am now.”
Thea had no doubt about that. He would kill her, and then he would go after Nikki. The coffee table had collapsed under her weight, and somewhere in the splintered wood lay a glass bowl. If she could reach it…
“How did you get in here?” she asked him.
He grinned. “Your landlord’s a little careless with his passkey.”
Thea’s fingers closed over the smooth surface. Rick was dragging the barrel of his gun slowly down her chest, toying with her, enjoying himself.
“Maybe it doesn’t have to end this way,” he murmured. “Maybe we could try a little…reconciliation.”
When he bent to kiss her, Thea lifted the glass bowl and smashed it with all her strength against his head.
“You…bitch…” he muttered, falling away from her.
Thea scrambled to her feet, then raced to the bedroom door and flung it open. “Nikki! Oh, God, Nikki, where are you?” she called softly, and then Thea noticed the open window. Nikki had gone out on the fire escape, just as they’d done before.
Thea hurried to the window and crawled out. She stood shivering and gazing down at the street, but Nikki was nowhere in sight. Then Thea looked up. Nikki was climbing to the roof. As Thea watched, her daughter’s foot slipped on one of the icy rungs, and she clung for a breathless moment until she had her balance again.
Thea didn’t dare call out to her. She didn’t want to distract Nikki or make her look down. Instead, she started up the slippery steps herself. When she finally got to the roof, Nikki had already disappeared. Thea ran across the deck and tried the door to the stairwell, but it was locked from inside. After Gail Waters’s death, Mr. Dalrimple had started keeping it locked.
Where was Nikki? Dear God…
Thea’s gaze fell on the rows of drums. She knew instinctively that her daughter was hidden in one of the long channels that ran between the pallets. Thea was small, but she didn’t think she could fit. Besides, she didn’t want to draw Rick’s attention to Nikki. If she could somehow keep him occupied—
Thea turned just as he came over the edge of the roof. He leveled the gun at her. “Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide!” he sang out.
The wind whipped his words at Thea, and she stared at him shivering. It was snowing, and the scene seemed so surreal that she hadn’t a clue what to do.
“Come on out, Nic,” he called to his daughter. “You want to save your mother, don’t you, baby?”
“No, Nikki, don’t!” Thea yelled, but the wind tore the words away. Nikki crawled out of her hiding place and stood facing Rick.
“Leave her alone!” Thea screamed at him.
Rick just grinned as he walked toward them. “I can’t leave her alone. She saw me up here the other night. Didn’t you, sweetheart?”
Nikki had seen him on the roof? With Gail Waters?
“Why did you kill her?” Thea asked, almost without meaning to.
“That reporter? She’d seen me here in Chicago, too. I mean, I was grateful and all that she’d contacted Baltimore, asking questions about you and Nikki. Not thirty minutes after she called the station I was on my way to Chicago. She led me right to you, but I couldn’t have anyone knowing I’d been here. She had to go.”
“You were in her office. You stole the file she had on Nikki and me.”
“I was going to come back here and finish you off then, but you were a little smarter than I gave you credit for. But it was interesting, seeing you at your boyfriend’s house tonight. He looks like a real family man, if you can stomach that kind of cop. Nic saw me through the window, didn’t you, sweetheart?”
When Nikki didn’t respond, he said, “Come over here, baby. Come give your daddy a kiss.”
“You’re not my daddy!” Nikki cried, startling both Thea and Rick.
“You little bi—” He made a move toward Nikki, and Thea lurched for her daughter just as the stairwell door flew open. The wind whipped it back with a loud crack. Rick whirled and fired, and out of the corner of her eye Thea saw John stumble and fall to the deck.
Oh, no! her mind screamed, even as her body fell on her daughter, shielding her. She glanced over her shoulder.
Rick stood there, arrogant and defiant, pointing his gun at Thea. She could almost see his finger squeezing the trigger when John fired. The first shot slammed Rick backward, and he stumbled toward the ledge. The second and third shots propelled him over the edge of the roof. He fell without a sound.
Thea wrapped her arms tightly around Nikki, blocking her view. John got up, holding his left arm as he came toward them. He dropped to his knees beside them.
“Are you okay? Is Nikki—”
“We’re not hurt,” Thea said. Nikki buried her face in Thea’s neck, shivering uncontrollably. “It’s okay. Shush. It’s okay. We’re safe now.” She looked up at John. “You’re hurt. Oh, God…”
“Just nicked,�
� but he winced in pain.
Thea said almost in wonder, “I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill Rick.”
“No,” John said with grim satisfaction. “You didn’t.”
Nikki turned at the sound of John’s voice. When she saw the blood on his arm, her eyes widened in fear and she let out a little cry. John drew her into the crook of his unhurt arm, holding her gently. “I’m okay, kid. How about you?”
Nikki nodded, and then, still silent, she caught a snowflake on her fingertip and touched it to his lips.
Epilogue
Six months later
Spring had come early to the city, perhaps because the winter had been so cruel. Thea, relaxed and unworried, sat on a park bench and gazed at her surroundings. Chicago really was beautiful this time of year.
When the diamond on her finger caught the sunlight and flashed fire, a thrill of wonder shot through her. She and John had been together for six months now. Not together together. She and Nikki still had their own place, a new home with a yard and a swing set, not far from John’s mother’s house.
They’d decided to take things slowly, she and John, and not rush into anything. They’d both made mistakes in their first marriages and were determined not to do the same again.
An early fall wedding had been planned, and truth be told, Thea couldn’t wait to be Mrs. John Gallagher. She wasn’t sure how she would have made it through that first month after Rick’s death without John, when she’d had to go back to Baltimore to testify.
Facing the Mancusos had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life, but John had been by her side constantly. Her and Nikki’s. He’d never left them.
And now, in just another few months, they would be together always. Thea’s stepmother, Mona, was even thinking of closing down the agency or selling it to one of the investigators and moving to Chicago. Thea hoped she would. Family had become very important to her, and she’d realized just how much she and Nikki had been missing when she’d seen the way John’s family had rallied around him in the hospital the night he’d been wounded. The Gallaghers had their difficulties, but it was plain to see how much they cared for one another.
The Littlest Witness Page 20
