Martinez, Mary - Classic Murder: Mr. Romance (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Mary Martinez

  Katie knew the only person killed in that movie was the father of the girl setting up Cary Grant. Someone had hit him over the head with a wrench and he fell off a roof. Jordan had finally let go of her arm once they were in the elevator. There was probably no cell reception. When they reached the roof, he stepped out and waited for her to follow. With both hands in her pockets, she stepped out. With a prayer it would work, she hit the “send” button.

  “I didn’t know you had a sister. How old is she?” Katie repeated her earlier question. She had to do whatever she could to give her parents time to get the police to her.

  * * * *

  “Hello?” Logan answered the phone. He had a terrible feeling something was wrong. But the voice on the other end of the line wasn’t Katie. It was Adam.

  “No, she’s not. She hasn’t returned from the office yet.” Logan listened in astonishment when Adam asked why.

  * * * *

  Restlessly, Adam prowled his home. He tried to read, but he just kept thinking of Katie. He knew he wasn’t supposed to contact her, but he had the worst feeling. He needed to hear her voice. Grabbing his coat, he left to try to walk off his feeling of frustration.

  He’d walked two blocks when he came across a phone booth. No one could be listening on it. Digging in his pocket for change, he found the right amount and tossed the coins in the slots. He dialed the number and Logan answered it almost immediately.

  “Hi, Logan, is Katie around? Don’t worry, I’m calling from a payphone.” Adam’s heart almost stopped when he heard that Katie had gone to the office.

  “Why on earth did she go there? She’s not supposed to leave your house.”

  When Logan told him that she’d received an email supposedly from him, he knew why he’d had the terrible feeling all evening. His hand shaking, he switched hands on the receiver and looked around the area to judge how close he was to the office.

  “Logan, as soon as you hang up, call Detective Novak and let him know what’s going on. I’m on my way to the office right now.” Adam didn’t wait to hear if Logan said anything. He hung up and started to run in the direction of his office building. He didn’t care what people thought.

  * * * *

  Logan set the phone in its cradle. Before he could pick it up to call, as Adam had asked, the phone rang.

  “Katie?” Her number had been on the caller identification.

  She didn’t answer back and he was about to hang up when he realized he could hear her voice in the background. Someone else was with her. He couldn’t really make out what was going on. He turned up the volume on the phone and listened. Bonnie walked to his side and asked what was wrong. He put his finger to his lip. He heard Katie ask something about a sister.

  Logan found a paper and pen on the desk and scribbled a note to Bonnie, asking her to get her cell phone and call Detective Novak. She paused with a frown on her face. Impatiently, he urged her to go with a waving motion of his hand. She ran to do his bidding. Logan didn’t dare talk—he didn’t want the person who was with Katie to realize she had called home.

  * * * *

  Freda paced the apartment, Oscar on her heels. When someone knocked on the door, she almost let out a little scream she was so wound up. Marching to the door, she threw it open. She’d unlocked it earlier.

  “God, can’t you people be quiet? I’m trying to sleep over here,” Mrs. Newcomb yelled from her door, then slammed it so hard it shook Katie’s apartment.

  Ignoring the neighborly interruption, Freda grabbed Novak’s arm and pulled him in. Detective Jones followed.

  “Tell us what happened,” Detective Novak asked.

  “The message just said you had a break-in.” Detective Jones continued Novak’s thought as usual.

  Freda motioned for them to sit, and then she went over every detail of her evening. It didn’t take very long, and then she sat down to wait for their reaction.

  “Why in the hell didn’t you check the window? You know better than that,” Detective Novak growled.

  “Have you touched anything?” Jones asked.

  “I know you think I’m a complete idiot, but no, I was smart enough not to touch anything. I haven’t returned to the bedroom since the incident happened. Nothing is disturbed.”

  “I’m going to call Katie at her parents’ house,” Detective Novak answered.

  “No one knows she’s there.” Freda clamped her mouth shut at the detectives’ look.

  Okay, so she’d screwed up, she knew that. She’d never hear the end of it at the station. She still couldn’t believe her mistake.

  “Great. Their line is busy.” Detective Novak pressed his finger on the disconnect button and dialed the number to the station.

  “This is Detective Novak—I need a forensic team.” He gave them the address and hung up. He jumped when his cell phone began to ring.

  “Novak,” he barked into the phone. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the other two in the room. He listened as Katie’s mother frantically told him what was happening.

  “Your husband is listening to the conversation from Katie’s phone?” He didn’t understand for a moment what she meant. Then it dawned, Katie had called them so they could hear and get help.

  “Do you know where Katie is?” After promising to send an officer out to monitor the call along with Logan Sinclair, he hung up.

  “Freda you stay here until the team gets here. Ed, come on, we need to get to Russo’s office.”

  * * * *

  Adam saw the lights from the office window before he reached the door. Not knowing what to expect, he gripped the knob and pushed hard. Quiet met him. He rushed to his office and looked in—the same. The empty feeling of the room finally sunk in—no one was there. He looked for a clue. Now what? While he was trying to decide, his cell phone rang.

  Punching the number, he didn’t bother to look at the ID. “Hello.” He listened to Novak tell him what had happened at Katie’s.

  “He was on her fire escape?” Adam asked. The intruder had been dressed all in black, just like the description of Nan Thomas’ attacker.

  Adam hung up in frustration. He started to pace, trying to piece things together so he’d have an idea where the murderer had taken Katie before it was too late. No black-clad figures appeared in Charade and no fire escape scenes. What other French movies could the culprit copy? Then he knew. Despite the fact he’d been told in no uncertain terms by the detectives to stay in the office until they arrived, he raced out. He couldn’t take the chance.

  * * * *

  Katie moved back a little and tried to act offhand. She turned and paced to the center of the roof, Jordan following in her footsteps. Her goal was to keep him talking.

  “My sister’s name is Heather. She went to school with Adam,” he said with a dreamy look on his face.

  Katie frowned. Why didn’t Adam talk to Jordan about his sister then? She could swear Adam hadn’t known Jordan before he was hired. Stay calm, Katie. She brought her hand out of her pocket, holding the phone so that he couldn’t see.

  “You knew Adam before you started to work here?”

  “I knew about him. I was much younger than Heather. She talked about him all the time.”

  Talked about him? Past tense. Jordan wasn’t making much sense. Still, she felt whatever he was saying was important and could be the key to her safety.

  “Where is your sister now?”

  “She’s waiting for Adam. She loves him, you know.” Jordan suddenly grabbed her arm, the one with the phone. “What are you doing?”

  He pulled the phone out of her hand and threw it as hard as he could. Katie watched with a sinking heart as the cell arched over the side of the building. She hoped her father, or whoever had picked up, had enough information to know where she was. She wasn’t even positive the call had been answered. She only had herself to rely on now.

  “Heather loves Adam?” Katie switched back to his sister, hoping to distract him and remove his attention from the phone.


  “She’s waiting for him. He took her to the senior prom. They made love, and he promised he’d always love her.”

  “What?” Katie wouldn’t believe there was another woman. She loved him and she needed to trust him and not listen to the ravings of a mad person. “Jordan, I’m sorry your sister seems to still be in love with Adam, but he’s never indicated in words or action that he has been saving himself for her.”

  “She promised him she’d wait for him. You know, let him build his company. She knew he liked women, so she’s been very patient. But it’s time they were reunited.” Jordan stalked her as she inched backward.

  “Jordan, it’s been over fifteen years since they were in high school. If Adam loved Heather, he would have married her by now.” Katie could have smacked herself—antagonizing him was not the smartest thing to do. Then she thought of something that might distract him. “Jordan, where did you get the money? Like going to Mount Rushmore. You don’t make that much.”

  “My mother left me some money when she passed away, and I knew that Heather would want me to use it to bring Adam back to her. It’s time, and as soon as I take care of you, then I’ll take care of Adam.”

  Something wasn’t right with that statement. Katie came to an abrupt halt against a chimney and she couldn’t move back any further. Jordan stood in front of her, blocking any escape. She looked around frantically, then she stilled as she thought over his words again. Take care of Adam?

  “Jordan, where is Heather?” Queasiness swelled through her stomach. She had a bad feeling she knew the answer.

  “She’s in heaven, and it’s time Adam joined her.” Jordan screamed as if she were stupid and then stepped closer.

  Katie lurched to the side and started to run around him. She felt his hand grab her jacket, bringing her to a standstill. She pulled her arms out and left him holding the fabric as she raced for cover. She stepped behind another chimney, trying to stop her rapid breathing so she could hear. More importantly, he couldn’t hear her.

  “Katie, I can see you behind there.” Jordan jumped around the corner.

  She took off in a lope, but he dived from behind and grabbed her ankle. She put her arms out, but the momentum brought her head down with a thunk. Everything went black for a moment. She shook her head to clear the stars twirling in her vision and blinked. She struggled to clamber to her feet, but Jordan still held her leg.

  He pulled, but she grabbed for a metal air duct next to her. Once she had a good hold, she twisted her body to kick out with her other foot and caught him on the chin. She was up and racing for shelter before he recovered.

  Both of his hands struck the back of her shoulders, the weight of his body propelling her forward. Throwing her hands out, they hit first, her head smacked them, saving her from another bump. She struggled desperately to get out from under him. He was too strong. He grabbed on to her arm and climbed to his feet, pulling her along with him.

  She continued to resist, but to no avail. Then he had her at the edge of the building. He was muscular for how small he was. Her ears started to ring. She gulped in air, risked a glance over her shoulder. Oh God, now was the time if she wanted to live.

  Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed as hard as she could, which was powered with a sudden desperate burst of energy. He staggered back, just enough so she could slip by. Her relief was short lived. His fist wrapped in her hair and yanked her back.

  “Sorry, Katie, but you know what happens. You’ve watched the movie. Time for you to go over the side. I have a wrench to bring with me to hit you first. Dropping all these stories to the ground will have the same effect. You’ll be dead. I sure wish you hadn’t betrayed Heather with Adam.” Jordan actually had a regretful expression on his face. “I liked you.”

  Then he put one arm behind her back and the other behind her knees and lifted her. Katie sucked in all of her breath and let out a blood-curdling scream. Using her fists, she struck him around his face. He wavered a little under the assault but steadily started to lean over the side with her.

  Another shout echoed over the roof from the door. Jordan twisted to look. Katie saw Adam race toward them. Jordan quickly released his hold on her, letting her sail over the side. Because of the distraction, Jordan hadn’t thrown her clear of the building and Katie grabbed onto the edge.

  Hard mortar bit into her fingers. Katie resisted the urge to look down. Her stomach knotted and she didn’t dare breathe for fear she’d lose her grip. Sounds of Jordan and Adam struggling with each other drifted near her. Did she dare call out to Adam? If she did, it might give Jordan the advantage so she remained silent.

  Her hands were becoming numb. How long had she dangled, suspended over the side of the building? Sirens filled the air, a sign they were close. In New York, that didn’t necessarily mean help was on the way. The cement edge dug into her palms. How much longer she could hold on?

  Her feet searched for purchase to relieve some of the strain from her hands. Finally, her toe found a crack between the bricks. She didn’t dare sigh with relief, though the hold had helped. If ever there was a time to pray, this was one. She started to pray. She prayed to every deity she could think of. It couldn’t hurt, could it?

  Great, now what? Her stomach started to rumble. Nausea boiled up, and she swallowed the bile down. Now was not the time to be sick or she’d fall for sure. She couldn’t help it, her gaze went over her shoulder, and the world started to spin when she saw the ground miles below, or it seemed like miles anyway.

  When she thought there wasn’t any hope, she heard the police race onto the roof and into the fray between Adam and Jordan. She couldn’t tell what was happening.

  A hand grabbed her wrist. She was so startled that she lost her grip with the other hand. Her body swung out away from the building as she dangled by one hand. She screamed.

  “Katie, darling, here, grab my other hand.” Adam yelled to be heard over her terrified screams.

  Adam sighed with relief when she finally looked up at him. He watched as realization filtered over her face. Her chest heaved as she took a breath and tried to swing her body around so she could grab on. The hand he was holding started to twist and he was afraid for a moment he was going to lose his grip.

  “Come on, baby, you can do this.”

  He heard her take another deep breath, then she swung her hand up and latched on to his other hand. He started to inch away from the ledge to give himself leverage to pull her up.

  “I told you to wait until we got here, Russo.” Detective Novak stood by the side, seemingly unaware that Katie dangled, hanging on for dear life.

  “Yeah. And if I had, I wouldn’t have made it up here in time.”

  “You should have waited.”

  Good heavens, Katie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They were arguing while she literally dangled for her life. She sucked in all the air she could muster and let out a shrill whistle to catch their attention. Finally, there was silence.

  “Hey, guys, remember me?” she shouted. “I need a little help here.”

  “God, sorry, honey,” Adam said.

  Detective Novak realized what was going on and reached over to help Adam pull her up. When she finally cleared the side to safety on the roof, her legs didn’t have the strength to support her and she sank to the ground. Adam sat down next to her and gathered her in his arms.

  Logan rushed in at that moment to see Katie pulled to safety. Crouching down next to Katie and Adam, she felt her father’s arms circle them both. Katie finally felt safe. It was over.

  Epilogue

  Dottie looked Katie up and down. Then grinned. Her friend looked beautiful. She had never seen Katie so happy. She just wished Adam would get off his keister and propose.

  “Where is Adam taking you?”

  “He won’t tell me. Adam told me when we went to Paris before everything happened, he wanted to do the ‘dating’ thing so I could decide if I really wanted to spend my life with him.” Katie turned to
look at her, and Dottie could see the exasperation spread over her face. “It’s been six months since they caught Jordan and sent him back to the institution. I thought for sure once everything was settled he’d give up on the dating thing and we’d be married by now.”

  Dottie didn’t know what to say to that. She had felt the same way. Maybe Adam just had cold feet. “Who knows what goes on in a man’s head?”

  “True. Well, thanks for taking Oscar while I’m gone. He loves going to your place.”

  “I love Oscar. One of these days I may not bring him back,” Dottie threatened.

  After Dottie left with Oscar, the apartment seemed too quiet. Even Mrs. Newcomb hadn’t complained about the noise when Dottie had left with a barking dog. She must not be home. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She unlocked the bolts. Adam stood there looking more sexy than any man had a right to.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes. Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “Nope.” He took her hand and pulled her out of the door, just as Brady stepped past them to retrieve Katie’s bags.

  “Hi, Brady,” Katie said.

  “Good morning, Ms. Sinclair.”

  “Brady, when are you going to start calling me Katie?”

  “Don’t know.” He grinned and winked.

  Katie watched him for a moment as he struggled to get the bags into the elevator. Then she turned to Adam and smiled. She hoped this trip meant what she thought, but she tried to keep her hopes down. She’d got them up too many times in the past six months.

  Adam rested his cheek on Katie’s head. They had been in the air for several hours. It wouldn’t be long until they reached their destination. He knew Katie was disgruntled with him. She had wanted to while away the time in the bedroom. He had resisted. He didn’t want to make love to her until he had his answer. He realized he was as nervous as a schoolboy on his first date.