Imola

by RICHARD SATTERLIE

  “It’s time.”

  No.

  His body shivered. “Please don’t kill me. I’m nothing to you. I won’t talk. I swear.”

  Lilin spread her feet and distributed her weight evenly. “Stand up. Like a man.”

  Please.

  Now it’s please. What happened to You’re not going to do this, huh?

  Her right hand slipped from the purse, the stun gun in her grip.

  Donnie pulled his arms over his head. “Please. Don’t. We have a mutual friend. Remember? Your reference? Jason Powers.”

  Lilin’s hand dropped back into the purse.

  “Jason’s my brother.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Jason tried to shiver the cold, sleepless night from his bones. Frustrated was an understatement. The suspected terrorist, a Middle Eastern man, had turned out to be a graduate student at Cal State, East Bay. He was visiting his brother, a computer analyst in the city, who just happened to have an English-style, formal garden in the backyard of his row house. The trunk-load of fertilizer was purchased and delivered for its intended purpose.

  Jason was off coffee after the six cups that had nursed him through the night, and even a steaming plate of scrambled eggs and bacon couldn’t compete with his eyelids. The only thing that would out-duel a pillow right now was a roll in the sack with April, but only because the pillow would be right behind it. But she was up in Santa Rosa, and the drive would be a killer. Heneeded a cheap motel room, even though it was morning. In fact, a room would be perfect. Sleeping would be difficult at his apartment, with Lilin in the area and aware of his activities. And a change of clothes was in a bag in the trunk of his car. He’d been caught too many times in day-old outfits.

  He found the perfect place. Close enough to Seal Rock to get the fresh scent of the ocean but far enough to avoid the tourist prices. And a whole step up from a dump. Not good enough for the AAA rating program, but spiffy enough to price out the hookers and druggies. No weekly rates here. And it took credit cards.

  The cell phone rang before he could fall out of the car and sleepwalk into the motel office to register.

  “Jason? It’s Donnie. I have a bit of a problem.”

  “Not now, big brother. I just pulled an all-nighter, and I want to pass out for half an eternity.”

  “It’s really important.”

  A shuffle in the background over the phone caught Jason’s attention. “Can’t it wait?”

  “No. It’s a life and death—”

  The phone made a series of swishing sounds, then clicked. Jason heard breathing on the other end. More like panting.

  “Hi, Jason.” The voice was husky, vaguely familiar through Jason’s fatigued mind-fog. “I have your brother.”

  He strained to make the connection. “Who is this?”

  “Lilin.” A muffled exhalation punctuated the word.

  Jason’s attention shot to midday form. Up until a few seconds ago, he thought he didn’t have a pulse. Now it pushed on his temples, rang in his ears. “What do you want with Donnie?”

  The husky voice turned sexy. “I don’t want Donnie. Not anymore. I want you.”

  Another heavy exhalation. “I want you here.”

  “What are you going to do with Donnie?”

  “That depends on you. You come here and I let him go. If you don’t come, I’ll have to vent my frustration … and my desire.”

  “Where’s Agnes?”

  Lilin laughed. “She wants you here, too. She has something for you. You do want to be with her, don’t you?”

  “I want to make sure Donnie is all right. Let him go now and I’ll drive right up.”

  Another laugh. “My razor starts cutting in sixty minutes. Sooner if I see or hear a police car. I can disappear in this place faster than a cockroach can squeeze under baseboards. It better be you, and no one else, or Donnie becomes my next lover.”

  “I want to talk to Agnes.”

  “Agnes is busy.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Preparing for a long trip. You’ll want to say goodbye to her. Fifty-nine minutes now. You may want toget on the road.”

  A click and the phone went dead.

  Jason turned the ignition, and the grinding sound shot through his body like an electric shock. He’d forgotten the car was still running. An hour didn’t leave much time to get there. He accelerated out of the motel parking lot. An hour didn’t leave much time for a plan either.

  CHAPTER 35

  Jason pushed the Volvo beyond its usual nine miles an hour over the speed limit. Good thing the Golden Gate was clear of most traffic. He’d barely missed rush hour, and he was heading in the best direction for the time, outbound from the city. Even so, he’d have to hurry. The gas pedal of the Volvo slapped the floor.

  Jason flipped the hinge on his cell phone and brought it to the top of the steering wheel. The number was memorized now. It rang once. He didn’t expect a woman to answer.

  “I think I have a wrong number. I wanted to talk to Detective Art Bransome. Of Mendocino.”

  “This is Mrs. Bransome. Art’s not here.”

  “I need to get in touch with him. Can you give me a number?”

  “Afraid not. He’s doing what he always does before and after a tense job. He’s fishing. No phone, no radio. I’m not even sure where he goes.”

  Jason looked at his watch as he pulled onto Donnie’s cluttered street. He’d set his watch timer in San Francisco, and it ticked over to fifty-four minutes with a block to go. Normally, he’d hold out for a parking place in clear view, as close to Donnie’s building as he could get. But he couldn’t count on an optimal spot on short notice. He nosed the car into the first available space and bailed from the front seat at a near sprint.

  Into Donnie’s building. His timer read fifty-seven. His Nikes lost traction making a turn in the entryway and he forgot to count the steps, hitting the fifth too close to the edge. His foot slipped downward and he fell forward, hitting his shin first, and then making a two-point landing on his elbow and nose. Each injury, by itself, would tear the eyes, but the combination turned the ducts into faucets, followed by a red gusher from his nose. He didn’t have time for this. He scrambled to regain his balance, and hand-and-foot four-wheeled up the remaining steps, leaving a red-dotted slick in his wake. A lunge, and he banged the door with his good arm as the timer hit fifty-nine.

  He straightened up at the doorway and waited. Should he pounce when the door opened? Should he step back in case a razor sliced at the air in the doorway? Should he run? Despite the motivation, he was unable to arrive at an optimal plan of action.

  The door creaked open, slowly at first, then with a quick swing. A shuffling shadow crossed behind the door, and a flash of clothing stopped at the chair across the room. Donnie was in the chair covering his head with his arms, as if he expected a nuclear blast. Duck and cover. Lilin stood over him, a straight razor held high over her head. Or was it Agnes?

  CHAPTER 36

  Lilin’s hand twitched on the razor. She looked down at Donnie, then up at Jason standing in the doorway. A slight smile creased her cheeks, and she circled her tongue in an exaggerated lip-lick.

  Jason stepped into the apartment and halted six feet from the chair. “Let him go.”

  Yes. Let him go. You said you would.

  Lilin’s husky voice answered. “Why should I? I’ve never done it with a pair of brothers. At least not at the same time.”

  “You said if I came, you’d let him go.”

  Let him go. We don’t need him.

  Lilin felt her sneering confidence slip a bit. Did she say, we? The razor dropped six inches but stayed high. We don’t need him?

  We don’t. We want Jason. His brother means nothing to us.

  The razor dropped another few inches.

  Let him go. Like we said. We have Jason.

  Jason took a step forward. “Please. Let him go. You wanted me here. You have me.”

  We have him.

 
Lilin blinked hard and shifted her weight to her right foot. The razor lowered to the side of Donnie’s head, then downward to his neck.

  Donnie shifted in the chair, squirming away from the blade. Lilin pressed it forward to his neck. Donnie froze.

  Jason wiped his nose with his sleeve. His mouth breathing rattled on each exhalation. He palpated his elbow and cringed.

  Lilin focused on the blood that ringed Jason’s nose. It appeared to be clotting. She felt her heart race. “Have a little accident?”

  Jason lowered his arms to his sides. “Let him go.”

  Lilin giggled. “How do you feel now? Helpless? Not the least bit heroic? Is flight winning over fight? Can you resist the temptation to abandon your brother in the name of saving your own ass?” Her giggle turned to a throaty laugh. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll find you again.”

  He blinked a remaining tear loose. “Agnes. Please let Donnie go.”

  We will.

  “Agnes isn’t in charge. I am.” Lilin pressed the razor edge against Donnie’s skin again. A slight movement of either her hand or his neck and it would penetrate.

  Take it off his neck. We’re going to let him go. Now!

  Lilin’s hand flinched, and a red line appeared on Donnie’s neck. He let out a loud whelp as a drop of blood appeared and then rolled toward his collar.

  “God damn it.” Jason took another step forward. His face seemed to change. “You cut him again and I’ll be on you before you can get the razor up.”

  Jason. No.

  Lilin laughed again and pulled the razor away from Donnie’s neck. “That’s sweet. Your brother’s a loser. A dopehead. And you want to risk your life for this waste of human flesh?”

  “Put the razor away.”

  We will.

  Lilin frowned again. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  Jason held his hands out to his sides. “I won’t do anything. Just put the razor away.”

  Do it.

  She folded the razor halfway and stopped. “Why are you doing this for him?”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “He gave you up, but you won’t return the favor? What are you, some kind of saint?”

  “I’m his brother. Just like Agnes is your sister.”

  Lilin opened the blade again and put it against Donnie’s neck. “You don’t want to turn that page.”

  I did the only thing I could do.

  Lilin’s back straightened. She felt her hand relax a little. It was barely perceptible, but its grip on the razor changed.

  Jason’s eyes were fixed on her hand. “Agnes did the best she could. She was a scared little girl.”

  Lilin’s hand tightened again. “She left me to him.”

  I’m going to take the razor and put it down now.

  “You can’t.”

  Jason’s mouth gaped. “Can’t what?”

  Lilin looked up at him. Something wasn’t right.

  I’m going to put the razor down now.

  She pulled the razor away from Donnie’s neck, folded it closed, and laid it on the table next to the chair. Donnie’s next exhalation went on forever.

  I’m going to let him go, and you’re going to let me.

  She stepped back from the chair and raised her hands up to shoulder level.

  Jason leaned forward. “Donnie. Get up. Get out of here.”

  Donnie sat still for an eternal second and then pushed from the chair so fast it scooted back a couple of inches. He ran around Jason and paused.

  Jason stepped in front of him. “What are you waiting for? Get the hell out of here.”

  Donnie sprinted for the front door and pulled it closed behind him. Heavy footsteps faded to silence before the door latch completed its final click.

  Now I’m going to let him go, too. I’m not going to kill today.

  Lilin grabbed the razor.

  I said no killing.

  I’m just putting it away.

  She slid the knife into the purse and walked around the chair, toward Jason.

  Put the purse down.

  She slid her right hand out and tossed the purse with her left. It landed on the chair cushion.

  Jason watched it bounce once and come to rest. The pearl-like handle of the razor was there, in clear view.

  Her shoulders slumped, and her posture relaxed. A different voice spoke. “Go, Jason. Get out of here. I’ll be all right.”

  “Agnes?”

  “Go. Please. Just go.”

  “Not without you.”

  She stiffened again, and the sneer returned to her face.

  Sweet. You’re going to do it. You’re going to kill him. You know that, don’t you?

  I’m stronger than you think.

  She raised her right hand, lunged forward, and the stun gun punched into Jason’s ribs.

  He jerked sideways as if someone had hit him with a baseball bat. His knees buckled.

  “Are you stronger?”

  Jason crumpled onto the floor.

  Yes.

  CHAPTER 37

  A warm sensation turned hot. In his shin. Then the pain hit, radiating upward. A sharp tinge shot down his elbow and met the upward bolt, right around the ribs, where another warm spot heated to a scald. Jason’s memory cleared: he’d never felt so happy to be in pain. It meant his throat hadn’t been slit. His right hand went to his crotch. All intact. No pain there. He exhaled, but nothing happened except a burning pain in his nose. He opened his mouth and tried again.

  He didn’t want to open his eyes. Lilin might still be there, razor in hand, ready to slice. Or it could be Agnes, with her arms held out for a hug. He opened one eye, then the other. Half of the apartment filled his visual field. No one was there. He turned his head slowly, and a pyre of pain flickered in his chest. No one was in theother half. He was alone.

  Curiosity battled relief. Why? Why wasn’t he another of Lilin’s victims? Had Agnes intervened? It had been Lilin who held the razor. He was sure of that. The look in her eye, her voice, her posture—it was Lilin. Her features were emblazoned in his mind from their earlier meeting, before Imola. But he sensed that Agnes had been in the apartment, too. The actions, the changes in expression, and the strange talk. Agnes must have been in there. Arguing with Lilin? She must have saved him.

  Jason’s mind turned to his brother. Thank God he ran away, for once without a request for money. But where did he go? Jason rose up on one elbow and immediately regretted it. Where could he find Donnie? He’d never seen his big brother so scared. What Lilin had said about him held some truth, but Donnie wasn’t a waste of human flesh. He was family, and Jason needed family right now.

  Jason pushed to his feet, and the pain dulled but stiffness moved to fill the void. He grunted. It triggered a flash memory of his father. The old man had said that as one gets older, grunts help whenever standing up or sitting down. They lubricated the joints. The grunt certainly helped him stand up this time.

  Jason brushed his clothes straight, and a flash of white caught his eye. It fell from the front of his shirt and fluttered to the ground like a wounded butterfly. A small square of paper landed on the floor between hisfeet. He leaned to pick it up and gave a double grunt to grease the movement. Three words were written on the scrap, in all caps: “DR. LEAHY, LEVI’S.”

  Dr. Leahy? April. Was Agnes headed to her place? Was Lilin? The tight sensation of panic pressed on Jason’s lungs and constricted his throat. He charged three steps toward the door before his brain kicked in.

  His cell phone was in his pocket. He nearly dropped it, and his shaking fingers had trouble pushing the miniature buttons. It clunked and rang. No answer. After seven rings, April’s voice mail picked up and a computer-generated woman’s voice spoke.

  “April. Get out of your apartment right away. Call me when you’re gone.” He slammed the phone shut and ran for the door.

  At the bottom of the stairway, he heard the distant wails of police sirens, coming from two opposite directions, getting closer.r />
  Donnie must have called the police. Jason silently thanked his big brother, then sprinted from the doorway and down the street. He couldn’t wait for the police now. He had to get to April’s.

  The Volvo was intact—no stolen wheels or missing parts—and it fired up on the first key turn. A quick glance at his watch—he’d been out for around fifteen minutes. No sense calling Bransome. He’d still be fishing. Fifteen minutes. Agnes must have left in a hurry.

  The police. He could have them check April’s apartment. They’d be able to get there before he could. They might find Agnes. Or catch Lilin in the act. He hesitated. Levi’s? What did that mean? Was there something at April’s that he was meant to see? Or to do? It was a message from Agnes. He’d seen her handwriting before, and the writing on the scrap appeared similar. Maybe Agnes had another message for him or some kind of sign. But she never wore Levi’s. Did she? He pressed on the accelerator.

  Agnes was close, or rather, he was close to Agnes. That feeling kept returning. She’d saved his life. He was sure of it now. She’d saved him this time. But what about the next meeting? She’d battled Lilin and won. This time. A warm sensation flooded his body, edging through the stiffness and pain. His feelings for Agnes had a familiar tone, and they brought him back to Mendocino, when they’d first met. When her allure was confusing to him, but strong. And it was so different than what he had felt for Eugenia or April. April. His foot pressed down on the accelerator pedal.

  Just what was it about Agnes that pulled on him? The sensations were solid, enveloping. His foot backed off the accelerator and then pressed again. They mirrored the feelings he had for Donnie. The need to protect, sure, but it was more. A closeness. A bond. Like family?

  CHAPTER 38

  Jason felt a chill that penetrated deep into his body. The door to April’s condo was unlocked. He twisted the knob past the catch and pushed, jumping back. No movement, no sound. He inched in, slightly crouched for a quick movement, but he straightened up just inside the door. His throbbing pulse highlighted his injuries. He’d been to too many homicide scenes, and the condo had all of the eerie sensations.