Playing With You

by Cheyenne McCray

  Instead, Deena had gone too far and Ricki wasn’t ready to forgive her for that.

  Ricki looked away from Deena and the chill in her eyes as she drove her car out of the spa’s parking lot, and headed for the main road. She made it to the road and was well on her way out of Sedona when her phone rang. She dug it out of her purse and saw that it was Garrett.

  A measure of relief made her relax. A little. All she needed was to talk with him and she knew she’d feel better.

  “Hi,” she said as she answered the phone.

  “Are you all right?” Something in Garrett’s voice sounded tense, concerned.

  All things considered she was fine, but she wondered what Garrett was so worried about. “I’m okay. What’s wrong?”

  “Where are you?” he asked. “Is Deena with you?”

  “I’m leaving the spa.” Ricki glanced at the empty passenger seat. “Deena is finding another way back to Prescott.”

  “Thank God.” Garrett let out an audible breath. “Just keep driving back to Prescott. Don’t stop for anything.”

  “What?” Ricki frowned. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I think Deena’s a suspect in two murder cases in Tucson,” Garrett said and goose bumps broke out over Ricki’s arms. “If what I believe is true, her real name is Diane Donatello and she may have killed two of her roommates.”

  “Deena?” Ricki couldn’t comprehend that Deena wasn’t who she’d said she was and that she could have killed anyone. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure,” Garrett said. “Do you remember the woman in the photograph that was in the broken frame?”

  Ricki nodded. “Yes. I thought the woman could be Deena’s sister. Other than a few differences, they look a lot alike.”

  “The woman in the picture is the suspect,” Garrett said. “And I’m pretty damned sure that Deena is one and the same. She’s made some changes and enhancements to her appearance, but I’m certain it’s her.”

  More goose bumps broke out on Ricki’s skin as she gripped the steering wheel. “I saw on a news report this morning that the body of a woman named Celia was found in the Santa Catalina Mountains in Tucson.” Ricki’s eyes widened. “Deena told me in the past that she’d lived with someone named Celia who disappeared. Deena also told me that a roommate of hers named Maria was murdered.”

  “That’s Deena.” Garrett had a bite to his tone. “I was afraid you would be her next target.”

  Ricki swallowed. “Me?”

  “You said Deena’s finding another way back to Prescott,” Garrett said. “I’m happy as hell that’s true, but what happened?”

  “She came on to me.” The words sounded as surreal as she’d felt when Deena had touched her, kissed her. “She told me she loved me. I told her I couldn’t be around her anymore.”

  “Shit.” Garrett growled the word. “Thank God you’re alone. I’m almost to Sedona now. Which route did you take?”

  “We took 89A, the scenic route.” Ricki hadn’t been paying attention to the scenery now like she had on the way from Prescott. “I’m going home the same way back.”

  “I went down I-17,” Garrett said. “I’m going to head through town and take your route home and catch up. I’m a good thirty to forty minutes behind you. As for Deena, we’ll let the police find her.”

  “Police?” Ricki’s mind was reeling. “I just can’t believe it.”

  “If she’s guilty, she’s a sick woman,” Garrett said. “She has a history of violence as well as being a murder suspect. Tell me where you last saw her and I’ll call it in.”

  Ricki checked her rearview mirror and saw that she wasn’t being followed as she gave him the name and location of the spa. “Deena was just standing and staring at me when I drove away.” Ricki shook her head as she pictured her former friend. “The look in her eyes was almost frightening. I was glad she wouldn’t be riding back with me.”

  “You should be safe now,” Garrett said. “Just keep driving. The police should locate Deena before she finds a way out of Sedona and heads back to Prescott.”

  “Okay.” Ricki let out her breath. “I’ll be home within an hour.”

  “I’ll see you there, honey.” Garrett sounded much more relieved. “I love you.”

  She smiled at the tender note in his voice. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 28

  A woman who was about five-foot-one with a short, elegant haircut, came out of the spa and Deena studied her. Earlier two women had left together and Deena had ignored them. But this woman was alone as she headed out to her car. Deena looked around as she followed the woman to make sure no one was watching, and then Deena slid her hand into her purse. She had a few things she’d planned on using on Ricki if she’d needed to, but they would come in handy now.

  Deena waited for the woman to open up the driver’s side door of a silver Mercedes before she walked casually up to the woman and put on a smile. “Excuse me.”

  The woman turned and with a mildly interested look, she raised her eyebrows in question. She exuded wealth and confidence, as well as a touch of impatience. Definitely not Deena’s type. Deena liked her women innocent, sweet, accommodating, and not so damned thin and petite.

  “My car won’t start and I don’t have my cell phone.” Deena gave a dramatic sigh. “BMW’s are supposed to be built to last but I’m ready to trade this one in even though it’s less than a year old.”

  “I’m sure you can use a phone in the spa,” the woman said, a haughty tone to her voice.

  Deena looked over her shoulder, her hand still in her purse. No one was around. “They’re so rude in there.” Deena moved closer to the woman so that she was a foot away.

  The woman frowned. “Rude?”

  Deena gave the woman a hard smile as she pulled a stun gun from out of her purse and pressed it under the woman’s ribs.

  Her eyes went wide and she gave a small cry as her body jerked and her legs gave out on her, and her purse dropped to the ground. Deena caught the woman to her then laid her down.

  Again Deena looked over her shoulder and saw no one. She opened the driver’s side door and popped open the trunk with a lever before dragging the woman behind the car. Fortunately the back of the car was facing away from the spa doors and the woman didn’t weigh a whole lot.

  It took Deena only a few moments to use the zip ties she had in her purse to bind the woman’s wrists and ankles. She took the small roll of duct tape she had in her purse and wrapped it around the moaning woman’s mouth and eyes.

  Voices came from the direction of the spa and Deena’s heart beat a little faster. She was behind the car and if she hurried she could throw the woman in the trunk and not be seen. Without too much effort, she heaved the petite woman into the trunk and closed the lid.

  She put a smile on her face as she picked the woman’s purse up off the ground and tossed it inside the car. It landed on the floor with a thunk. She set her own purse on the passenger seat.

  For a moment she gripped the steering wheel and tried to control the rage rushing through her. From the time she was young she would go nuts if something didn’t go her way. Her parents had sent her to specialists and when she was older she’d sought therapy.

  She hated the rage and what she had done. All rationality went down the tube. She couldn’t stop the compulsions. Maybe she was sick, but it was what she was. When it took over, she couldn’t stop herself.

  And now she had to get Ricki. Had to. And it didn’t matter how.

  The women who were heading toward a Lexus didn’t even look Deena’s way. She started the car, drove out of the parking lot, and away from the spa. It would be getting dark soon so she turned on the headlights.

  Ricki had told Deena that the way she normally drove to and from Sedona was on the 89A but Deena wasn’t going that way. She’d take the other route, as it was easier to speed on I-17. She was twenty minutes behind Ricki so she had some time to make up.

  Deena guided the car down the road, awa
y from the spa. She thought about the woman in the trunk she had bound, and felt an adrenaline rush. Rich, haughty bitch. Wrong place wrong time, she thought, feeling no sympathy for the woman. She would figure out what to do with her later.

  Deena’s mind shifted to Ricki and the hard anger that felt like a block of ice in Deena’s chest.

  How dare Ricki rebuff Deena’s advances? How dare Ricki turn her away?

  Anger built up to the point there was pressure behind Deena’s eyes. She deserved love, and she deserved Ricki. Not that bastard, Garrett McBride—he didn’t deserve Ricki.

  Deena gripped the steering wheel and dug her nails into the leather binding. If she couldn’t have Ricki, no one would.

  Chapter 29

  By the time Ricki reached home, it was dark outside. Garrett had been delayed for a short time, so he wouldn’t be getting to Ricki’s for another hour to an hour and a half. Apparently he’d had to talk with the police, giving them all of the information he could, as they started their manhunt for Deena—or rather, Diane Donatello, which was apparently her real name.

  It wasn’t going to be easy to get used to that, or the possibility that Deena could be a killer who’d murdered two women she’d said she cared for. Ricki had seen the pain in Deena’s eyes as she talked about the two women and having lost them. To believe that she was responsible for their deaths was almost unfathomable.

  Ricki parked her car inside the garage, climbed out of the vehicle, and slammed the door shut behind her. The force she put into it came from her increasing anger. As she drove back to Prescott, she’d had a lot of time to work things over in her mind and ultimately what she felt was used. She could see now how Deena had orchestrated every meeting, every event. Ricki had been completely manipulated and had never seen it coming.

  She paused for a moment, staring at the car, but not really seeing it. Well, now karma was going to come around and Deena would get what she deserved. If she were indeed responsible for the deaths of her friends, she’d be in prison for a long time. Arizona was a death penalty state, so Deena could be facing even more severe punishment. That was not a place Ricki wanted to go in her thoughts.

  According to her last conversation with Garrett, the Prescott Police had been alerted and would be going to the house Diane had rented, if they weren’t already there. In the morning Ricki would need to go to the police station and give her statement that included any and all information she could give them. By then Deena would probably be in jail.

  Garrett had said he’d have one of his brothers, all of whom were in some branch of law enforcement, stop by and stay with her while she was waiting for Garrett to arrive, but she insisted she’d be fine. It would only be for a little more than an hour that she’d be alone. She’d keep the doors and windows locked and her cell phone at her side. And after all, the search for Diane had turned up empty when all of the shuttle companies had been contacted, so it wasn’t likely she was on her way back to Prescott yet.

  Besides, Ricki had Xena, who was a great watch dog and fiercely protective of Ricki.

  Ricki pressed the button to lower the garage door. When it was completely down, she grasped the knob to the door that led into the house. She smiled as she pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by her golden retriever. Xena jumped up, putting her paws on Ricki so that she could receive the big hug that Ricki always had for her.

  Xena bounded around and gave two short barks, telling Ricki that she was excited to have Ricki home and that Xena was more than ready for her treats.

  “You know I spoil you, don’t you?” Ricki smiled as she got out a large chicken jerky treat. Xena sat and waited patiently for Ricki to offer it to her. After the treat, she gave Xena a big rawhide bone to keep her busy while Ricki took a shower.

  Everything had been wonderful today, up until Deena had touched and kissed her. At the time it had felt more than uncomfortable and had made her angry. Now not only was she angry but she felt dirty after finding out that Deena was really a woman named Diane who may have murdered her roommates.

  Ricki stripped out of her clothing and tossed it all into the hamper. When she was naked, she turned on the shower as hot as it could go. When steam was rolling out of the glass-enclosed shower, she adjusted the temperature just enough that it was bearable and stepped under the spray.

  She closed her eyes as she let the water pound down on her, trying to wash away the dirty feeling she’d been left with after all that had happened and all that she’d learned about the woman who she’d thought was her friend. It had seemed like she’d known Deena forever. Turned out Ricki didn’t know her at all.

  After Ricki soaped her body with bathing gel, she started washing her hair. As she shampooed it she thought she heard Xena barking, but when she slid the door aside and leaned out of the shower, she didn’t hear anything else. She stepped back under the spray and closed the door. She rinsed out the shampoo then worked conditioner through her hair and rinsed that out, too.

  She felt marginally better when she finished showering and stepped onto the fuzzy royal blue rug as she grabbed a pristine white towel off of the bar beside her. She started to dry off when a crawling sensation skittered down her back. She sucked in a lungful of air and coughed.

  Smoke. She smelled smoke.

  It wasn’t a just faint smell, it was strong and growing stronger.

  Heart thundering, Ricki took the towel, ran water over it in the sink, then grabbed her robe off its hook. She jerked the robe on as she ran to her bedroom door. The smell of smoke was strong and blood rushed in her ears. She remembered what she’d learned about touching a doorknob to make sure it wasn’t too hot which would mean the fire was right outside the door. The knob felt warm when she brought her fingers to it but not hot.

  She wrapped the wet towel over her nose and mouth and opened the door. Thick black smoke billowed into the bedroom. She dropped to her knees, terror ripping through her. She could hear the roar of the fire now and heard the explosion of glass breaking from the heat.

  “Xena!” she cried out, muffled behind the wet towel. She was going to lower the towel and shout to Xena again but was afraid the dog would come rushing to her through the fire. She prayed Xena had gone out the doggie door and was outside waiting. But she didn’t hear any barking.

  More explosions and then the fire was coming toward her, as if it had sprung down from the ceiling and up through the floorboards at the same time. She lunged to her feet and back through the door of her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

  She hurried to her window that looked out onto the backyard. Her hands trembled as she unlatched the window and shoved it up. Cool night air mixed with smoke rushed in. Her feet tangled in her robe as she crawled over the windowsill and she tumbled to the ground.

  Air rushed from her chest as she landed hard on her back. She rolled over and started to get to her feet when something slammed into the back of her head.

  Blackness…silence…nothing.

  Ricki groaned as she stirred. Her head throbbed and her brain felt as if it was wrapped in a cocoon. She tried to think where she was and what she was doing, but nothing made sense.

  Sirens closed in, the sound screaming through Ricki’s head. She heard a roaring sound, like the roar of a big fire, cracking, and glass shattering.

  Everything came back to her in a rush. The fire! She tried to open her eyes, only to discover that something was over them and she couldn’t see. She tried to sit up but realized then that her wrists were bound in front of her with some kind of heavy tape. Duct tape, no doubt. Her ankles were secured together, too. When she opened her mouth to scream, nothing came out because tape covered it, as well.

  Her mind searched for answers. What had happened? What the hell was going on?

  It came to her as clear as anything. Deena. She had to be responsible.

  Ricki thrashed, trying to break free when she felt something cold and unforgiving pressed to her throat then felt a sting as if something had cut her
flesh. She stilled.

  “I want you to get to know me, Ricki.” Deena sounded so calm that it took Ricki by surprise. “I want you to see what I’m like.”

  Deena put her hand over Ricki’s mouth. “I’m going to take the tape off but if you scream, I’ll slit your throat now. Understand?”

  Ricki nodded, her head rubbing over the ground beneath her. She felt suddenly hyper aware of every leaf, stick, and rock poking into her body. The smell of smoke was thick and heavy and now the air was also filled with the shouts of firefighters and law enforcement.

  Deena ripped the tape from Ricki’s mouth. Ricki gasped and her breathing came out ragged and harsh from fear.

  “That’s better.” Deena studied her and smoothed Ricki’s hair gently and lovingly, seemingly oblivious to everything that was happening with the fire.

  “Don’t kill me.” Ricki hated that her voice shook. “Just let me go.”

  “Move too much and you’ll slice your own throat open against this blade.” Deena’s voice was still calm. She pulled the tape away from Ricki’s eyes.

  Ricki winced and as she blinked she saw Deena’s crazed expression. “You’re mine. You will always be mine.”

  In the background the fire crackled and roared. A very little light made it through the trees they were in. Ricki realized they were next to the playhouse hidden in the thicket of trees a good distance behind her house. No one would think to look there for her since the playhouse couldn’t be seen, even if someone was close to the trees. They would think she was in the house.

  “Whatever you want.” Ricki swallowed and felt the knife against her throat, praying that Deena wouldn’t slice it. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

  Deena’s brows narrowed. “You’re only saying that now because you don’t want me to kill you.”

  Ricki didn’t dare shake her head. “I mean it.”