"Tell him I said that if he ever tries to make contact with me or my son, personally or through an intermediary, I will turn the letters and an incriminating photograph over to every sensationalist tabloid publisher and see to it that the story is smeared on the front pages in every supermarket in the country where his products are sold."
"Ms. Mancuso—"
"I'm not finished. Within forty-eight hours, I want delivered to me a handwritten letter from Howard Hamilton the third, repeating to me what you told him and a sentence stating that he is completely convinced that my son is not related to him in any way. And don't bother to write the letter for him. I now have several letters in his handwriting and I plan to take the letter to an expert to confirm that it's not a forgery."
"This is really—"
"Not yet. You're next. I recorded the conversation in which you threatened me and offered money for my child. If you ever bother me again for any reason, or if you do not do exactly as I have requested, copies of that recording, with an explanation, will go with the letters to the media, as well as to the Bar Association and your esteemed client."
"This aggressive hostility is hardly necessary—"
"I disagree. I think it is long overdue. Just do as I say and your dubious career will continue uninterrupted, by me at least, and Mr. Hamilton's dirty little secret will remain hidden."
* * *
"I'm bored," Matt complained after lunch. "How long do we have to stay inside like this? And why can't Kenny come over after school?"
Barbara closed her eyes and massaged her temples. If she could just take a short nap, maybe then she could come up with answers to satisfy him. "You know what? I'll bet Officer Kravitz is bored, too. Why don't you see if he'd like to play a game or watch a movie with you?"
As she had hoped, the very young man who replaced Harris was relieved to have something to do and she quickly took advantage of the break to lie down for an hour. She pulled the quilted spread off the bed, folded it in half, and arranged it on the floor with the spare pillow she kept in her closet—one Russ hadn't touched. It wasn't as comfortable as a mattress, but it was good enough.
After she was rested, she was going to have to talk with Matt again about Russ's death. His reaction was too indifferent considering the fact that the man had been like a terrifying shadow looming over their lives since he was born. Perhaps she and Matt should seek counseling to readjust to life without Russ in it.
One thing was very clear to her. She couldn't tell Matt the truth about Kyle or Tammy until the events of the past two weeks faded a bit. He had more than enough to digest already.
As her eyelids closed, the computerized music of Matt's favorite video game filtered through the closed door of her bedroom. Despite the irritating sound, it comforted her to know that he wouldn't even notice her absence for the next hour or so.
* * *
Matt handed the game controller to Officer Kravitz. "Go ahead. You try it for a while. I'm gonna go see if I can find my gaming magazine that has the password we need to get to the next level."
He was leafing through the colorfully illustrated pages when he heard tapping on his bedroom window. To his surprise and bewilderment, Tammy was standing outside, trying to get his attention. As soon as he saw her, she put her finger to her lips to keep him quiet. He didn't understand, but her big smile made him feel good inside. Whatever game she wanted to play was okay with him.
When she motioned for him to open the window, he became more curious, but didn't hesitate to do it.
"I have a surprise for you," she whispered. "And I don't want the policeman to know I'm here."
"Why not?" Matt asked quietly. "He's cool."
Tammy lowered her head. "I know it's silly, but police really scare me."
"Oh," Matt said, though he did think it was silly. But then, lots of girls were afraid of things that didn't scare him. "Do you really have a surprise for me?" She gave him another beautiful smile that made his stomach all shaky.
"Yup. But I need to come in there to give it to you. Help me, okay?" At his nod, she dropped a canvas bag on the floor beneath the window.
He swallowed hard as she boosted herself over the sill and her T-shirt pulled way down in front. He wanted to help, a lot, but he didn't know quite where to put his hands. The best he could manage was to hold on to her elbow as she climbed in.
As soon as both her feet were on the floor, she leaned close and put her cheek next to his. "Where's your mom?"
Her whisper tickled his ear and made him shiver a little. "She's asleep in her room."
"Cool. Now close your eyes real tight and put your hands behind your back."
When he hesitated, she gave him a kiss on the forehead that made his stomach feel like he was going down in a really fast elevator.
"C'mon, honey. It's part of the surprise. You're going to love it."
He couldn't imagine what the surprise could be, but he could see she was really excited about it. He stared into her pretty eyes for a second and decided to follow her instructions, even if they did sound strange.
"Good boy. Now don't move."
He opened his one eye a crack and saw her getting something out of the canvas bag, but he squeezed it shut again as she turned back to him. The next instant he felt something leathery being placed around his neck, which made him a little nervous and when it suddenly tightened against his throat, his eyes popped open. "Hey—" The sight of a gun barrel pointed at his nose stopped his complaint.
"That's right, brat," Tammy told him in a hushed voice. "You're in big trouble. But if you behave yourself and do everything I say, I won't kill you or your mummy. Got it?"
Her smile had changed. It looked very scary now. He nodded.
"Good. Put your hands behind your back again."
He obeyed and she pressed a piece of wide silver tape over his mouth. The shaking in his stomach was replaced by a terrible cramp and he was afraid he was going to pee in his pants. He felt something tighten around his wrists and quickly realized that that binding was connected to what was around his neck, sort of like a long belt. When he tried to move his hands, he choked himself. As bad as Russ was, he never did anything like this to him. Tammy must be even crazier than he was. He wanted to warn Officer Kravitz somehow, but he didn't know how without risking all their lives.
Tammy moved to his side and attached one end of a leather strap to a band on her left wrist and the other end to the part around his neck. "I think that'll do it. Let's go say hello to your watchdog." She pressed the gun against the back of his head and nudged him forward. "Go. Remember, you try anything funny and you're dead meat. And your mummy will be right behind you."
Officer Kravitz was having such a good time with the video game, Tammy walked right up behind him and tapped him in the head before he turned around.
"Aw, shit!"
Matt thought the policeman was going to wet his pants. His hand moved toward his holster, but when Tammy cocked her gun and pointed it at him, he raised his hands over his head.
"Smart boy. Now, nobody will get hurt if you do everything I say," Tammy told him in a bossy voice. "Take off the gun belt and put it on the table. Slowly. Then go sit down on the floor next to the recliner."
Matt had to move along with Tammy to keep from being strangled as she got the officer's handcuffs, wrapped them around one of the metal bars of the recliner's footrest then clamped them on the man's wrists.
"Lady, this is nuts," Kravitz protested. "The whole police department is looking for you. They've been in and out of here all day—"
Tammy slapped a strip of the brown tape across Kravitz's mouth before he could finish his sentence.
"I think we can take care of Mummy now," she told Matt with that excited look in her eyes again.
Before she went into his mother's bedroom, however, she tucked the officer's gun into the waistband of her jeans then went back to his room for her bag. Matt had told his mother a hundred times that he wasn't a baby anymore, but that
's what he felt like, being dragged helplessly behind Tammy.
He was also helpless to do anything but watch while Tammy used two more leather things to tie his mother's wrists to her bed frame. She couldn't say anything to him, since Tammy put tape on her mouth as soon as she woke up, but he understood what her eyes were saying—Do whatever she says. Don't be a hero.
But he had to do something! He remembered Kyle's words about needing a partner. If Kyle was let out of the hospital and if he came by and if he remembered the signs... Maybe, if he just wished hard enough—
"Okay, brat," Tammy said, pushing him out of his mother's bedroom. "It's time to make a phone call and I can't have anybody listening in. Let's see..."
Matt stayed close to her as she got a kitchen chair and put it in the living room, but before she could strap him to it, he pretended he heard something outside.
"What?" Tammy asked suspiciously.
He shook his head no and shrugged, but glanced pointedly at the front window.
"You heard something, didn't you?"
She jerked on his leash as she went to peek out the front window. The moment he was close enough, he kicked the ceramic elephant across the windowsill as hard as he could, causing it to shatter against the wall.
Just as quickly, the back of Tammy's hand struck his cheek. "You little bastard! I have no intention of putting up with any temper tantrums from you." She yanked on his leash so hard, he stumbled and fell, only to have her pull on it again to get him back on his feet. He blinked back the tears that filled his eyes and let her strap him onto the kitchen chair without any further problems. But at least he'd already done the only thing he could.
* * *
Simon had to stop half a dozen times during packing to catch his breath, but the pain in his chest wasn't easing. In fact, it seemed to be extending down into his left arm. He'd been thinking about seeing the doctor for months now, but somehow that would have been akin to admitting that he had a serious problem, and with Tammy in his life, he hadn't even wanted to admit he was aging, let alone having a weak heart.
And look what it got him! A man of his stature being questioned in connection with a murder, involved in a shooting by association and now this! How could he have guessed that either Russ or Tammy would go to such extremes? With Russ dead, that miscalculation would not be discovered. But Tammy! How could that possibly be justified?
He was still reeling from the shock of her call. She saw nothing wrong with what she was doing or demanding that he deliver her message. To hold three people hostage in hopes the Hamiltons would pay a five-million-dollar ransom was completely insane. He could only hope denial and the information he'd just called in to the police would save him if Tammy chose to implicate him... which he was now quite certain she would.
As it was, he couldn't imagine how he would ever recover from the humiliation of having to pass on Barbara's ultimatum to Mr. Hamilton and simultaneously admitting that he'd failed to gain custody of the boy. The only saving grace was that he now knew that his client had a secret so horrid that he had agreed to the blackmailing bitch's terms without a moment's hesitation.
He lifted his suitcase and headed for the door, but a pain, greater than any he'd experienced before, seized his whole body and stopped him from taking another step.
* * *
"Dani? Thank God I reached you. This is Kyle—Hamilton—whatever. The elephant's not in the window."
"Maybe you'd better call for one of the nurses—"
"No, no. I checked out of the hospital after you were here this morning. I'm in front of Barbara's house. She and Matt have all these private signals they use and Matt taught them to me. If the elephant's not in the window—"
"—there's trouble inside. Okay. We already know about it. Decker called in about fifteen minutes ago—"
"That son-of-a-bitch! What's he done?"
"We're not sure yet, but the hostage rescue team is preparing to head out there now. There was no answer when I called the house just now. What's it look like to you?"
"Quiet. There's a police car and Barbara's car in the driveway. Who's supposed to be in there?"
Dani took an audible breath. "Decker said Tammy called him demanding an enormous ransom for Matthew—"
"How much? Never mind. It doesn't matter. I'll pay it."
"It may not be necessary. Our team has an excellent success rate. You just get yourself away from there—"
Dani heard the line disconnect and slammed her own receiver down. Damn! She didn't need to be psychic to know what Kyle was about to do. In a heartbeat she was off to warn the team that an amateur had just jumped into the ring and that they'd better get their asses in gear.
* * *
Matt could no longer feel his fingers, but he felt sorrier for Officer Kravitz and his mom than himself. The officer, because he obviously felt really stupid, and his mom, because she was in the other room all by herself and couldn't see that he was okay. Not that there was much to see except Tammy stomping back and forth, waiting for something. When someone knocked at the front door, she practically jumped out of her skin.
"Don't either of you make a sound," she hissed.
Yeah, right. Like we could if we wanted to.
"Tammy! It's Kyle. Decker sent me."
It worked! Kyle left the hospital AND remembered the elephant! Matt would have danced around the room if he could have.
Tammy peeked out the front window. "Why would he send you?"
Kyle laughed. "Because I'm his very silent partner—the Hamilton everyone forgot, or at least tried to. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out. In case he couldn't talk Barbara into selling Matthew, I was the backup plan, but she caught on to me, and that ended that. It looks like this ransom demand of yours may be the only way any of us are going to get our hands on the Hamiltons' millions."
Matt could hear Kyle's words clearly and his stomach started to hurt again. Is Kyle a bad guy too?
Tammy opened the door and waved Kyle inside. His left arm was in a sling and he squinted when he took a step.
Matt's eyes opened wide when he saw Kyle enter and tug on his left ear—the sign that meant, everything I'm saying is a lie just to get us out of this. Kyle did it again and Matt blinked back at him. That wasn't one of the regular signs but he figured Kyle was smart enough to know that it meant he understood.
Tammy looked Kyle up and down in a way that made Matt feel sick inside.
"Surprised hardly covers what I'm thinking right now," she purred. "But I can understand why Simon didn't tell me. Why would I want to play with him, when I could have been dealing with you?"
"From what I heard, you already had more than enough on your plate," Kyle said, looking at her the same way, like she was a huge stick of cotton candy.
"You mean Russ? He was just a distraction. I always knew he wasn't in my league... or should I say our league."
Kyle grinned at her. "So-o-o, where's the rest of the family?"
"You mean the lady of the house?" Tammy said with a laugh. "In her bedroom. Uh-uh," she said, stopping him as he took a step in that direction. "She can wait. First we talk."
Kyle nodded at the gun in her hand. "That's really not necessary. These guys aren't going anywhere and as you can see, I'm pretty much out of commission."
She ran her free hand over the gun barrel. "I like holding it. It's like having my very own dick. And this one never gets soft, either." She eyed his sling and clucked her tongue. "Poor baby. I suppose Russ knew who you really were and wanted you out of the way. This is the gun he shot you with, you know. I borrowed it from him before his, uh, unfortunate demise."
"I heard he was broken into a lot of small pieces," Kyle said as if he were impressed. "Did you do that?"
Tammy smiled. "Maybe. Maybe not. Why don't you tell me about Simon's problem?"
"He wants me to bring Matthew up to the Hamilton estate. They've refused to pay the ransom unless they can get a good look at him in person."
"That's ridicul
ous! They were already convinced that he's their grandchild enough to offer Barbara two million dollars for him."
"But that was different. That money would have bought them legal custody. This way, they'd be paying the money without any guarantee that they'd ever see him once Barbara got him back."
"I don't like it. Too much could go wrong if we move him."
Matt's eyes followed the conversation back and forth while watching closely for any new signal on Kyle's part.
"It's a risk we're going to have to take," Kyle said. "They've refused to pay any other way. Surely between the two of us we can control one boy on a car trip." Kyle walked around behind Matt and pulled on a strap. "There's not much time to spare. How do you undo this?"
"No. Something's not right here. You go back and tell Simon I want to hear this from him personally."
Kyle came back around in front of him and wiggled the fingers sticking out of the sling like he was scratching something. What was he saying? Matt caught Kyle's eye as he was turning toward the door. I don't understand, he thought to himself. As Kyle opened the door, Matt watched him bring his hand up behind him and scratch his own back three times. Run as fast as you can. But he couldn't run anywhere tied to a chair.
Suddenly Matt understood that Kyle was trying to tell him to get out of the way. As hard as he could, he shifted his weight to one side, then the other, toppling himself over.
"What do you think you're doing?" Tammy screeched and pointed the gun at him.
"No-o-o," Kyle cried and lunged at Tammy.
She raised the gun and fired. Then the front door crashed open, and several more deafening explosions followed. It happened so fast that all Matt could do was stare in horror as both Kyle and Tammy collapsed on the floor in front of him.
Chapter 20
"Hi," Kyle whispered as his eyes focused on Barbara and Matt on one side of his bed, and Dani and Detective Butler on the other. The pain in his right side was so excruciating he could hardly feel the ache in his left shoulder.
Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) Page 27
