Beholden

by Pat Warren

  “Mmm hmm.” Still smiling, Sandra hurried on. Her Toyota was parked just on the other side of a red Nissan. But as she walked, she noticed something dark red and wet trailing down the walkway. Glancing to the right between her car and the Nissan, she saw the man lying on his back, one leg twisted under his body, blood trailing from his chest onto the cement floor.

  Sandra let out a piercing scream that echoed through the high-ceilinged building.

  ***

  Almost dizzy with fear, Terry tried to focus on a plan as her eyes darted from the windshield to the rearview mirror. Was that the same gray sedan? Where had they come from? How had they spotted her? Was it really them or was her imagination on overtime? Damn those tinted windows that kept her from seeing inside. Her damp hands clutched the steering wheel as she found a break in the left lane traffic and scooted into it. If the gray car wasn’t the right one, it wouldn’t follow her.

  Just past the next light, the gray sedan moved into the left lane, leaving only a white Buick between them. Terry felt nervous sweat trickle down her spine. Where the hell was a police station that wasn’t Central? But would they even believe her if she accused a sergeant from Central Precinct of being involved in a brutal killing?

  Up ahead, she saw the signs indicating the approach to Papago Park and a maze of roads that led to the Phoenix Zoo. The area was well lighted and usually filled with people, residents and winter tourists. Without signaling, she bided her time, then quickly turned left. Holding her breath, she watched the rearview mirror. The gray sedan followed, about three car lengths behind.

  Her Volkswagen couldn’t outrun the more powerful sedan, Terry thought. She’d have to outwit them. She knew this park well, having picnicked here often with her family over the years. Squaring her shoulders, she stepped down on the gas and swerved to the right.

  For long, frightening minutes, she zigzagged around the winding roads, the sedan following like a patient predator wearing down its prey. Finally, luck smiled on her as a bus-load of tourists returning from a day’s sight-seeing moved to their respective cars in the zoo parking lot. Terry managed to maneuver her VW between a truckload of teenagers and a family of six in a station wagon.

  Eyes shifting every which way, she spotted the gray sedan stuck behind an older couple in a staid Lincoln ambling along. Adrenaline pumping, she stayed with the cars, noticing the sedan falling farther behind. Finally, she saw her chance at Hayden Road, hung a quick left, and pressed the pedal to the floor. She was in Scottsdale now, another police district, and if she got picked up for speeding, so much the better.

  No cops in sight when you need them, she thought as she switched lanes and whipped through an amber. She was nearly to Chapparal now and couldn’t see anything resembling a gray sedan behind her. If she could make it to her apartment, she would have a fighting chance. She felt so vulnerable in her car. Even if, as cops, they learned her identity from her license plate number and therefore her address, surely Mac and his companions wouldn’t storm her apartment. She’d feel better there. She could call 911, her father, someone.

  She drove as if her life depended on it, and it very probably did. At the same time, her mind raced like a runaway train. Had they spotted her in the garage, after all? If so, why had they waited till she’d left to go after her? Had Mac recognized her car? The VW was new. Maybe not. If Mac had been a party to killing Don, would he stand by and watch the gunman shoot her as well?

  Too horrible to contemplate, Terry decided as she swung into her parking space. Cautiously, she looked around and saw no cars that didn’t belong there. She also noticed that Lynn’s space was vacant, meaning her roommate wasn’t home yet. Damn.

  Gathering her things, Terry hurried up the stairs and made it inside the apartment. Quickly, she closed the drapes over the picture window, then collapsed on the couch and lit another cigarette. She had to do something, had to. But what?

  She reached for the phone and dialed her parents’ number. The answering machine came on. Great. Now her mother was gone, too. She hung up without leaving a message, not wanting to alarm whoever arrived home first. She’d call when she got some place safe. Feeling desperate, she searched her memory and finally recalled the name of the bowling alley her father frequented. She looked up the number and dialed, only to be told he’d left ten minutes ago. Frustrated, she slammed down the receiver. Be calm, she told herself.

  She needed to think, to get away. Mac knew where she lived. He might lead them here. Where could she go where he wouldn’t follow? The idea came to her, a place away from people where she could lock herself in and decide what to do.

  But where was Lynn? Terry rubbed her forehead where a headache was pounding. The cigarette wasn’t helping and she snubbed it out. At her mother’s, most likely. She dialed Aunt Julia’s home and nearly sagged in relief when Lynn answered.

  “Hi. Listen, Lynn, I need a serious favor,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “I need to go away for the weekend and I want you to come with me. Right now.”

  “Right now?” Lynn’s voice was hesitant.

  “Yes, please. I’ll explain everything later.”

  “Okay,” Lynn finally answered. “Is everything all right?”

  No, nothing was all right. “I can’t go into it now.”

  “Where are we going?” Lynn asked. She knew her cousin almost as well as she knew herself. Though Terry could be impulsive occasionally, there was an edge to her voice tonight that had Lynn frowning.

  “I’ll tell you when we get going.” Actually, she’d thought of a place, the cabin in Sedona. The house was jointly owned by the Hartleys and Ryans, a place where her father and Lynn’s often had spent weekends fishing, taking Terry’s two brothers. The two-bedroom place was tucked into the woods near Oak Creek Canyon and well stocked with staples, the perfect retreat. If he were intent on pursuing her, Mac probably wouldn’t think she’d go there this late in the season.

  “You sound strange. You’re sure you’re all right?” Lynn wasn’t crazy about secrets.

  “I… I really need to get away, then I’ll be fine. Please don’t ask any more questions right now. I’ll explain everything later. I’ll throw some things for both of us in a bag and pick you up in twenty minutes. Just tell your mom we’re going to meet some people. Okay?” She held her breath, needing Lynn to agree, afraid to be alone tonight.

  Something was very wrong, Lynn thought. Terry was not an alarmist. Whatever it was must be terribly important. It never occurred to Lynn to refuse. “Sure, Terry. I’ll be ready.”

  Relief flooded Terry. “Thanks.” She hung up, ran into the bedroom and hauled a suitcase from her closet. Eight minutes later, she was ready to go. But first, one more call.

  Quickly, she looked up Andy Russell’s phone number and dialed. Another answering machine. Still, he could return any minute, Terry decided. At the beep, she spoke into the phone. “Hi, Andy, it’s Terry Ryan. I really need to talk with you. It’s eight-fifteen and I’m leaving for our Sedona cottage right now.” She rattled off the number. “Please call me there as soon as you can. It’s really important. Thanks.” She hung up and stood looking at the phone, wondering if she should have said more. No, Andy would call.

  At the corner of the window, Terry moved the drape aside and peeked out. Her car was exactly where she’d left it and no one was around. Drawing in a deep breath, she left to drive to Julia Hartley’s.

  “Why this sudden trip?” Aunt Julia asked Terry, her round face showing annoyance. “Lynn and I were going shopping together tomorrow.”

  Terry’s face felt tight with nerves, but she forced a smile, not wanting to alarm her aunt unnecessarily. “There’s always next weekend, Aunt Julia. Or why don’t you ask Mom to go with you? She loves to shop.” The two women were sisters, but while Julia was quiet and serious, Emily was open and fun-loving.

  Julia walked out onto her front stoop with the girls, wishing young people weren’t so given to changing plans. “What did Emily say about you tw
o going off like this so suddenly?”

  “I couldn’t reach her. Would you please let her and Dad know? Tell them I’ll call sometime tomorrow or Sunday.” Anxious to be on the road, Terry rushed toward her VW.

  “I don’t like this,” Julia went on. “Where on earth are you going? It’s already dark.” She touched her daughter’s blond head. Ever since her policeman husband’s death five years ago, Julia had this irrational fear about her only child’s well-being.

  “Mom,” Lynn said, opening the car door, “it doesn’t get any darker. We’re big girls now. Will you lighten up?” Her mother was as overprotective of her as Uncle John was of Terry. Nice to be cared for, but Lynn found it smothering at times.

  You couldn’t keep children with you always, Julia knew, but it was so hard to accept. “All right, dear. Will you call when you arrive wherever? You know how I worry.”

  “Sure thing, Mom.” Lynn kissed her mother, then got in since Terry was already revving the engine impatiently. She could hardly wait to find out what in the world was bothering her cousin. She’d never seen Terry so fidgety.

  “Drive carefully, Terry,” Julia called after them, waving as the Volkswagen disappeared from sight. They were so alike, those two. Both blond, blue-eyed, just a bit taller than her own five-five. Lynn was a little heavier than Terry, yet they could wear each other’s clothes and often did. Born only two months apart, they weren’t just cousins but best friends who looked after each other.

  As she slowly walked back to her house, Julia hoped they would do just that on this unexpected trip.

  ***

  She’d thought she’d calm down once they were on the way, but Terry couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed. Noticing that her hands held the wheel in a white-knuckled grip, she forced herself to relax her hold, finger by cramped finger.

  “What’s wrong, Terry?” Lynn asked, studying her cousin’s profile. Terry was acting so out of character that her behavior was beginning to frighten Lynn.

  How could she tell Lynn that less than two hours ago she’d witnessed a cold-blooded killing and that the men who’d done it had methodically followed her? And worse yet, that Mac, the man who’d been like an uncle to the Ryan children and Lynn, was involved? Lynn would think she’d lost her mind. Maybe when they got to the cabin and safely behind locked doors, she’d think of a way to explain the unexplainable. “Lynn, do you trust me?” Terry asked, rubbing her forehead where the headache was sending shooting pains throughout her entire system. Absently, she lit a cigarette.

  “Of course I do. Why would you even ask?” They’d been inseparable since childhood, roomed together in college, and now shared an apartment. Lynn couldn’t imagine not trusting Terry.

  “Then please, let’s wait until we get to the cabin in Sedona and I swear, I’ll tell you everything.” Her eyes scanned the rearview mirror, then the traffic ahead, the headlights making the ache behind her eyes increase. “Right now, I need to concentrate on driving.”

  “You have a headache, don’t you? And I’ll bet you haven’t had anything to eat lately.” Always the more sensible one, Lynn wished Terry would take better care of herself.

  Food was the last thing on her mind at the moment, Terry thought as she took a swallow from the can of Coke Lynn had handed her. She cracked the window and drew on her cigarette.

  Lynn watched Terry’s hand tremble. Whatever was wrong had certainly shaken her friend. Suddenly, the Volkswagen swung erratically as Terry changed lanes too quickly, then overcorrected, causing the small car to sway. This had definitely gone on long enough. “Pull over, Terry, and let me drive. I don’t know what happened to you today, but you’re in no shape to drive for two hours.”

  Terry let out a shaky breath. Maybe Lynn was right. Without a word of protest, she angled to the right and pulled off on the shoulder. She got out to change places, her eyes examining every approaching car. “Hurry, will you?” she told Lynn as she climbed into the passenger seat.

  Careful, as always, Lynn eased back into traffic. She was fidgety with worry over whatever was bothering Terry so she had to concentrate extra hard on her driving. The seat wasn’t right, but she didn’t want to adjust it until the next light. And the ring on her right hand was driving her nuts.

  She slipped the silver ring off and held it toward Terry. “Would you hang on to this for me until we get to Sedona? This darn rash on my hand is itching like crazy.”

  Terry slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand, then rolled her head around, rubbing her temples. If only the pain would ease she might be able to think more clearly.

  “There’s Tylenol in my purse,” Lynn said, glancing over.

  Terry reached into the backseat and grabbed Lynn’s purse. With the Coke, she swallowed two pills, dropped Lynn’s purse on the floor, then leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

  “Fasten your seat belt,” Lynn said. “We’ll be on I-17 in a minute.” When Terry didn’t move, she glanced over at her. “Are you all right?”

  “Please stop asking me that. I’ll be fine as soon as my head stops hurting like hell.” And even better when she reached either her father or Andy Russell. She wanted to hand over this burden of witnessing a murder to others, to be free of it. Brushing back her feathery bangs, she opened her eyes and turned to check the traffic behind them. It was dark, but she couldn’t see a car that resembled the gray sedan. Please, God, let it be so.

  Still concerned, Terry peered around Lynn out the driver’s window. Was the car in the far lane gray? The windows were tinted and… No, there were only two doors and the one at the garage had been a four-door. Why hadn’t she had the forethought to get the license number?

  “Terry,” Lynn began again, “what are you looking for?” She’d been craning her neck in every direction since they’d set out.

  “Nothing. Just drive.” She ground her cigarette out in the ashtray, leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

  It was going to be a long trip, Lynn thought as she swung onto the sloping entrance ramp to the highway leading north. She turned into the curve, then stepped on the brake to slow their descent. That’s when she noticed that the pedal went all the way to the floor, yet the car was picking up speed on the downward loop. The first rush of panic had Lynn gasping. “Terry, the brakes won’t hold.”

  Terry jolted upright, her eyes wide. “That can’t be.”

  Lynn tried to pull out of the curve, but the car was going too fast and the wheel wouldn’t straighten. She could see the cement retaining wall just ahead of them. Gripping the wheel, she cried out. “Oh, my God, we’re going to crash!”

  The tan Volkswagen grazed the retaining wall, spun completely around, carried along by the momentum of the curve, then smashed into the wall with a shattering crunch of metal. The engine mounted in the rear of the vehicle hit cement, sparking a violent explosion.

  Fingers of fire engulfed the small car as black smoke swirled up into the peaceful evening sky.

  CHAPTER TWO

  He’d never seen anything like it. Officer Charley Drake took out his handkerchief, wiped his damp face, then held the cloth to his nose. The heat was so intense, the smell of metal and plastic and gas burning vile enough to threaten his dinner. His partner was in the patrol car radioing for two ambulances. Charley was sure that when they managed to extricate the driver’s remains, one ambulance might as well head for the morgue.

  They’d been cruising along Bell Road about a mile from the I-17 turnoff when they’d gotten the call that a civilian with a car phone had reported an automobile out of control and crashing. Four minutes later, they’d arrived and the fire hadn’t yet burned itself out.

  Charley circled around the smoking wreckage toward the woman lying motionless on the ground about twenty feet from the burning car. She’d been tossed free, but he wouldn’t bet much on this one’s chances either. Who’d have thought that not wearing a seat belt would give her a fighting chance? The older couple who’d witnessed the accident huddled together n
ear the squad car.

  The veteran cop stooped alongside the unconscious young woman, his frown deepening. Her blond hair was badly singed, but that was the least of her problems. Her face was the worst, with shards of glass from the windows embedded in her skin, probably from the impact. She was lying at an odd angle, but he knew better than to move her. Her hands were cut and bleeding almost as much as her face, indicating she’d probably raised them to try to protect herself.

  It hadn’t worked.

  Carefully, Charley touched two fingers to her throat again and found her pulse, still weak but definitely there. From the slender shape of her, the poor kid looked to be young, in her early twenties, he’d guess. Probably been pretty at one time. She may never be again, he thought wearily as he straightened.

  “Ambulances are on their way,” Officer Greg Tompkins said, walking over. He glanced down at the girl. “She still alive?”

  “So far.” Squinting at an object off to the side, Charley walked over and picked it up. “A handbag. Wonder which one of them it belongs to.” He opened the zipper and removed a red wallet. “Lynn Hartley,” he read from the driver’s license in the glow of the squad car’s headlights.

  Officer Tompkins glanced up at the sound of approaching sirens. A fire truck and two ambulances came racing down the ramps, pulling off on the shoulder. “Might as well wait until we get them to the hospital before notifying next of kin.” His gaze took in the smoldering inferno that had killed one girl and badly injured another. “They were probably going like a bat out of hell and lost control.”

  Charley watched the fire truck hoses begin spraying the burning wreckage immediately. It was their second accident since the evening shift began. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Damn shame.” A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance and the first raindrops fell as both officers looked up. Just what they needed.

  It was going to be a long night.

  ***