Macie examined the door. It was a solid piece of metal, heavy and rusted. She pulled the handle. It didn’t budge, and she stepped back.
“Oh no, you don’t. Go inside. Now,” Rose ordered.
Macie braced her weight against the door and heaved it open. The interior was dim and debris littered the floor. Light entered through broken windows on the far side, illuminating the floating dust in the air.
“It’s quite lovely, isn’t it?” Rose asked. She giggled at her own joke.
Macie remained silent, her eyes scanning the room for a way out. The windows were too high on the wall and there were no other obvious exits from this room. Doorways opened off the room with no indication of whether they were dead ends.
“I know it’s old and run down, but it has charm. Look at those beams. And the wide plank floor. All original.” Rose laughed again and kicked a stone across the room.
Macie tried to put distance between them, taking small, slow steps toward the more shadowed area.
Rose fixed Macie with a sharp gaze. “I have this feeling you’re going to be difficult like your sister. So much alike, you two. Always in one another’s pockets. Always sharing everything. But she didn’t share the most important thing with you, did she?” Rose continued, nudging small pieces of brick with her toe like a child kicking stones on a playground.
Macie gasped. “What are you talking about?”
“The cause of her death.” Rose sounded matter of fact, as if she were discussing the weather.
Macie raised her hand and pointed at Rose. “It was you, wasn’t it?” Her finger shook with fury.
“Not exactly,” Rose mused. She swayed from side to side.
“How can you not exactly murder someone?” Macie demanded, taking a step in Rose’s direction.
Rose waved her hand dismissively. “Murder? Frankly, what happened was her own fault.”
“Her own fault?” Macie retorted, her voice rising.
“Yes. Your sister was simply too good at her job. Too nosy. Too curious. She couldn’t let things go. I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t listen.” Rose spoke as if the subject was lunch instead of murder.
“You killed Karen,” Macie spat. After all this time, Macie finally knew and it didn’t help at all.
“We argued. I pushed her. She fell. That wasn’t my fault. She shouldn’t have had so much clutter around. It’s hazardous.” Rose smirked and played with the buttons on her shirt.
Macie flexed her fingers. The desire to hit Rose grew within her. “It wasn’t your fault? How can you say that?”
“You don’t think I feel bad about what happened? I do.” Rose pouted her lips. “After all, it’s caused me no end of inconvenience.”
“You’re crazy.” Macie calmed herself. Anger wasn’t what she needed to get herself out of this.
“That isn’t a very nice thing to say.” Rose’s eyes bulged and she took a step toward Macie.
Macie stumbled back, almost tripping on a stray brick. “What would you call it?”
“I was so careful. So clever. I really never thought anyone would find out.” Rose’s eyes glazed over.
“You weren’t nearly as clever as you thought.” Macie searched the floor for anything that would help her—a pipe, a piece of board.
Rose shrugged. “Apparently not. However, all that really matters is that people stop asking questions. I needed the money. You have to understand that.”
“You took a life over money?” Karen’s life had been priceless.
“It’s not that simple,” Rose explained, as if it were possible to convince Macie she was in the right.
“It’s exactly that simple. You’re a murderer.” Macie located nothing of use on the floor—broken bricks and rubbish didn’t seem much use against a gun.
Rose shook her head. Her eyes narrowed. “I really wish you wouldn’t use that word. I don’t like that word.” She took another threatening step toward Macie.
“That’s all you have to say? You don’t like the word murderer?” Macie kicked a piece of brick toward Rose. It was only a small rebellion compared to what she wanted to do.
Rose took the gun from her pocket and examined it. “Don’t use that word.” She aimed at Macie, then lowered the gun with a smile. “We’re getting off track here. What I want to know is what you found.”
“Why? So you can try to cover your tracks?” Macie knew she needed to stop goading Rose, but she couldn’t seem to control herself.
“Precisely. See, I knew you were as clever as your sister. Unfortunately, cleverness can be bad for your health.” Rose smiled around clenched teeth.
Macie held back the tirade she wanted to unleash on Rose.
“I’m going to ask you again,” Rose said firmly. “What was on the computer?”
Macie considered before answering. It really made no difference if Rose knew. “Files. Spreadsheets. They show someone embezzled funds.”
“I prefer the term redirecting,” Rose cackled.
“Do you think I care what you prefer?” Macie’s anger slipped out.
“Now, don’t get snippy with me. After all, I’m holding your life in my hands.” Rose tapped the gun barrel with her finger. “Where’s the computer now?”
“With the police, of course,” Macie responded.
“If you were going to give it to the police, you would’ve done it right away. You wouldn’t have waited.” There was a suggestion of unease in Rose’s statement. She wasn’t confident.
Macie shrugged. “You’re wrong. Why do you think they questioned Jerry?”
“They can’t prove anything. There isn’t enough evidence,” Rose snarled. “I didn’t leave evidence.”
“There’s always evidence,” Macie retorted.
Rose lifted the gun toward Macie. “Tell me where the computer is. Now.”
Macie did some quick thinking. “Okay, you’re right. The computer’s at Rylan’s apartment.”
“No, it isn’t. I searched his apartment. He really ought to dust a little more.” Rose’s hand twitched around the gun.
Macie flinched. “It’s in the chest in the closet.”
Rose shook her head. “I looked there.”
“It has a false bottom.” Macie gambled that Rose hadn’t noticed that.
Rose cocked her head. “Is that so? Well, that explains a lot. I almost thought about setting the place on fire, but you know, too many fires would seem suspicious.” Rose laughed.
“You set my car on fire?” Macie’s muscles quivered with the desire to run.
“I tried to warn you. More than once. It didn’t seem to work. I didn’t want to have to take action, but you were asking so many questions.” Rose pushed her hair out of her face. “You just wouldn’t shut up.” Rose’s bitter smile sent a chill through Macie.
“You left me the note?”
“I had that stupid Jerry do it. He doesn’t want the wifey to know about his affair with Carol. He’s been very useful.”
“He probably already told the police.” Macie hoped that he had, but he might have refused to answer questions.
Rose shrugged. “Leaving someone a threatening note, maybe it was a joke gone wrong. Maybe I never liked you and wanted to get back at you. I’d probably get off with community service.” Rose mopped her brow with her sleeve.
“Listen …” Macie needed to try harder to talk her way out. “Hurting me is only going to compound your problems.”
“I won’t hurt you unless I have to.” Rose relaxed her stance and held the gun at her side. “Shut up. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to stay here, and I’m going to go get the computer. If it’s not there, when I get back I’m going to shoot you. So you better be telling me the truth.”
Macie remained impassive. Rose hadn’t given her an opening yet.
“Luckily, I’m all ready for you.” Rose waved the gun toward the wall. “Walk. Walk toward the corner. There’s a chair there. Sit on it.”
Macie tentative
ly stepped toward the darkness. As she got closer to the wall, she could see an old metal chair resting in the dark, chained to pipes on the wall.
“Sit!” Rose’s composure broke before she brought herself back under control.
Macie sat. “Rose, think about your baby. You don’t want to have a baby in prison.”
“There is no baby,” Rose screamed. “Why do you think I needed the money? I’m going to get one. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity. Everyone thinks I’m pregnant. When I have a new baby, no one will suspect anything.” A dreamy look passed over Rose’s face.
“Rose, you need help,” Macie pleaded.
“No—no, I don’t. It’s all planned. Everything is in motion. There are handcuffs under the chair. Pick them up.”
Macie peered under the chair. Shiny handcuffs were half buried in debris. She leaned over and picked them up.
“Babies are so expensive these days. Do you know college costs alone can be hundreds of thousands of dollars? My baby deserves the best. All my children deserve the best.” Rose snapped out of her daydream. “Put one cuff around your wrist and the other around the arm of the chair. No cheating. Make them tight.” She pointed the gun threateningly.
Macie complied. She wanted Rose to leave. That would give her the opportunity to try to get loose. She left space in the cuffs, hoping she could wriggle free.
“Tsk tsk. I can see what you’re doing. Make the cuffs tight or I’ll do it for you. Just so you know, the chair is much studier than it looks. I checked.” Rose’s crooked grin revealed her madness. She walked toward Macie and grabbed the handcuffs, pulling on them. “Looks good.”
“Rose, please let me go. You’re right, there’s nothing to tie you to anything. End this now.” Macie hoped to appeal to any shred of sanity left within Rose.
“I have to be sure. There have been so many loose ends to tidy up. One thing after another, but this should be the last of it, or close to it. I have so many things to do to prepare for the baby, I really don’t have time for this,” Rose said with irritation.
In that instant, Macie knew Rose would never let her live. The only reason she wasn’t dead now was that Rose wanted the computer and believed Macie knew where it was. When she found that the computer wasn’t at Rylan’s, she’d be back demanding information, and Macie feared for how she might try to get it.
Rose peered at Macie as she moved in close. She reached into Macie’s pocket and took out her cell phone. “Can’t leave you with this.” She snickered. “Now you be good and wait right here.” She backed toward the door and let herself out, pushing it shut behind her.
The thud of metal on wood echoed through the building. Macie tested the handcuffs. They were tight. She pulled and pushed the arm of the chair. As Rose said, despite its old, rusty appearance, it was still solid.
Macie stood and dragged the chair toward the wall. Thick chain wound around the exposed pipes and hooked around the chair. A heavy lock kept her from removing the chain.
Macie sat back down. Come on, Macie, think. Think! Macie set her jaw. She was determined to find a way out. She wasn’t going to let Rose steal anything more from her.
Chapter 13
Rylan rounded the corner, heading toward his building. He needed clean clothes and a fresh razor from his apartment. He wasn’t totally comfortable with checking Macie out of the hotel yet, but he doubted she’d stand for it much longer, especially since they’d turned the computer over to the police.
Macie didn’t see the danger, but Rylan couldn’t risk her well-being, not now after they were finally moving their relationship in the right direction.
He was eager to see Macie, but she wasn’t picking up her phone. He experienced a slight twinge of worry even though she’d promised to take a cab from the police station back to the hotel. She’s fine, idiot, stop hovering.
When the police concluded their investigation, Rylan looked forward to being cleared, really cleared. A cloud of suspicion hung over him far too long. He hadn’t hurt Karen and no one could prove he had, still many believed him guilty and that was hard to live with.
Having Macie believe in him lifted a huge weight off him, but he hoped finding the perpetrator would bring peace to her parents as well. He wanted to move on with his life—with Macie.
Rylan did a double-take when he saw one of Karen’s co-workers on the sidewalk. What was her name? Rose something. She threw an object into the street and ducked into the service entrance of his building. Her actions were so unusual he bent down and retrieved it.
His hands shook as he realized it was Macie’s phone. It blinked, showing she had messages. Probably his.
Rylan ran to the service entrance and stepped inside. No one was in sight. He pushed through the inner door and peeked around the edge. Nothing.
He proceeded through the doorway. A sing-song humming drifted down from above, and he looked up the space between the bare metal stairs. Rose’s hand gripped the railing several flights up. Creeping to the side, Rylan kept his eyes fixed on Rose. She continued up two more flights and stopped.
Rylan counted the landings. Rose was on his floor. He wanted to follow her up, but even more he wanted to know how she had Macie’s phone. He waited in the shadows, straining to hear anything. Minutes ticked past and then a door slammed. Someone stomped down the stairs.
Rylan ducked behind a line of large trashcan bins seconds before Rose barged past, clearly in a fury. He followed her out, peeking out the door as she hailed a cab and leapt inside.
Rylan ran into the street and jumped into an empty taxi. “Follow that car.” He pointed to the taxi containing Rose, which pulled away rapidly.
“Dude, are you kidding me?” the driver asked.
“No.” Rylan took out his wallet and threw a wad of bills on the seat. “Just do it.”
“Whatever, man.” With a chuckle, the driver pulled into traffic.
~ * ~ * ~
Macie banged the chair on the wall again. It was no use. She couldn’t generate enough force to bend the chair, let alone break it.
She examined the pipes as far as she could travel, dragging the chair with her. After what seemed like ages, she found one weak spot, where corroded metal flaked away. She sawed at it with the chain. Eventually, the pipe gave way. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Macie’s fingers probed the back of each pipe without further success. She found another weak area on the first pipe. If she removed a section, perhaps it could be a weapon.
~ * ~ * ~
The hinges on the door groaned as it was pulled open. “You lied!” Rose’s shout bounced off the walls and echoed throughout the empty space.
Macie sat in the chair, gripping the pipe tightly behind her back.
Rose stormed across the floor. “It wasn’t there. Tell me where it is,” she screeched. Rose raised her gun. She aimed at the wall and discharged. The shot reverberated throughout the building.
Macie caught a flash of color and almost yelled as she saw Rylan in the doorway. He held his hand to his lips, and Macie turned away, lest she reveal his presence. Relief at the sight of him warred with concern for his safety.
Rose paced and raged, holding the gun at her side, her attention completely caught up in Macie. “You think I won’t shoot you? I could shoot you in the leg. You’d still be able to talk, but you might bleed to death. Talk! Now!”
Rylan picked up a portion of brick from the floor and crept toward Rose. The floor cracked under his foot, and Rose swung around. He rushed toward her as she brought her weapon up. He knocked her arm away and swung the brick at her head. Rose crumpled to the floor.
Rylan kicked the gun away and ran to Macie. “Are you all right?” He embraced her and pulled at the chains.
“Yes, I’m okay. I couldn’t get loose, not completely.” Macie trembled and a tear slipped from her eye. Her shaking hands ached to touch him.
Rylan hurried to where Rose lay on the ground. He knelt down and searched Rose’s pockets until he f
ound a small key. “I think this is what we need.” He removed the cuffs from Macie’s wrists, rubbing the chafed skin gently.
Rylan called the police, but it seemed like ages before officers swarmed the building. An ambulance arrived and took Rose away. Questions were answered in a blur as Macie clung to Rylan.
The ride to Rylan’s apartment passed in silence. They held hands in quiet comfort as the taxi crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, navigated the West Side Highway and arrived at Rylan’s building.
After stumbling through the door, Macie turned to Rylan and embraced him. “You’ve been a rock through this all and it’s not even over. I don’t know how long it will drag on.”
“Now that we know about Rose, it might move along more quickly,” he assured her.
“Maybe.” Macie still couldn’t quite wrap her head around Rose’s behavior.
“If it doesn’t, I’ll still be here for you.” He kissed her forehead.
“For how long?” Macie asked.
“For as long as it takes, Macie. I don’t plan on going anywhere. You’re the woman for me and I know it. I love you. I realize you might not be ready—”
Macie put her finger on his lips. “I’m ready. I love you, Rylan. You’re the man my heart has been wishing for.”
*THE END*
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Want to read more? Check out the excerpt from Something True below!
Excerpt from Something True
Synopsis
Wish of the Heart Page 7
