As Good as Dead

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “All right, then, let’s go.” Angel began jogging, and Cade followed, but within a few feet he faded back. “Can’t run,” he gasped. “Pain in my chest. Go ahead. I’ll wait for you by the boat.”

  Angel hesitated. “Are you sure? I...”

  “Go. I’ll be okay if I rest.” He pulled at the chain around his neck, which looked like it held a vial of nitroglycerine tablets.

  Angel turned and ran ahead, hoping she wouldn’t have to wait long for Callen and Ethan, and hoping Cade would be all right. It seemed strange to be praying for the life of a killer, but God help her, she actually liked the man. Cade had chosen to let Luke go free in that hotel room in Florida. That had to count for something.

  She made it to the road in six minutes—fast for the conditions, but not fast enough. The Camry and a patrol car passed just as she came out of the woods.

  Angel sprinted after the car, waving. With the cloud of dust following them, she doubted they’d see her. The driveway came up far more quickly than she expected. When she arrived at the cabin, she could see that Callen and Officer Denham had their guns drawn. Bernie and Dan were standing on the porch, looking confused. Ethan and another man got out of the backseat.

  Angel slowed and came up beside Callen. “I tried to warn you that they were here.”

  “I saw their limo just as I was turning in.” He turned to Officer Denham. “Go ahead and cuff them.”

  “Where’s Cade?” Ethan asked.

  “In the woods. I can take you to him. But first, I think we need to deal with Penghetti and his bodyguard.”

  “What did I tell you?” The man from the backseat stood with his hands on his hips. Angel didn’t need an introduction. She recognized Alton Delong from the pictures on the Internet. Her gaze darted back to Callen. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Mr. Delong flew in from Florida yesterday.” Callen motioned to Angel. “Alton Delong, this is Angel Delaney.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Angel. I can’t tell you how happy I am that your brother is safe.”

  “You talked to him?”

  “Yes. I was fortunate enough to be chatting with Detective Riley here when Ethan brought him in. I thought it appropriate to come along when Callen arrested the man responsible for killing Stanton and the guard.”

  Callen must have seen the questioning look in her eyes. “Mr. Delong had nothing to do with this, Angel. Bernie was leading you down a rabbit trail. We traced Justin’s cell phone to Richard Penghetti. Rick must have hired Justin and given him the phone, since the phone is registered to him. I’m thinking he sent his nephew out here to finish the job.”

  Angel looked back at Alton, whose face shone with the glow of victory. “So the investigation is over. Just like that.” She looked over to where Bernie and Dan stood handcuffed. “I wouldn’t have thought Bernie and Dan would give up without a fight.”

  “There’s been a grievous mistake here, Angel,” Bernie called out to her. “Please, listen to me.”

  “Right. What are you doing out here, anyway? How did you know to come here?”

  “While you were asleep, I had Dan sew a tracking device into your bag. I apologize, but I wanted to know if and when you found Luke.”

  “So you could kill him?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Save the chatter for later,” Callen said. “Officer Denham, read them their rights.”

  “We haven’t done anything wrong,” Bernie insisted.

  Callen put both men in the back of Denham’s patrol car and called for assistance. He’d given orders to have the sheriff and several deputies on standby.

  “Where did you say Cade was?” Callen asked.

  She told him about having to leave Cade in the woods. When additional officers came to transport Bernie and Dan into town, Angel took Callen and Officer Denham to where she’d left Cade. They walked along the lake but couldn’t find the boat. After more than an hour of searching, Angel came to the conclusion she’d been outwitted. “He’s gone. And knowing Cade, you’ll probably never find him.”

  “Don’t be too sure.” Callen put out an APB and said he wanted to expand the search along the lake.

  Angel opted to go back into town with Ethan and the DA so she could see Luke. Part of her hoped Cade had gotten away and part of her wanted him in prison. She still puzzled over the outcome of the investigation, thinking something just didn’t seem right. She sat in the backseat, listening to Delong and Hathaway discussing old times.

  “Finally,” Alton said, “Richard Penghetti will be going to jail. I’ve waited a long time for this.”

  “I’m glad for you, Alton,” Ethan said. “I find it very strange, however, that Rick Penghetti would purchase a set of cell phones in his own name and give one to the kid he hired to kill Luke. I’d have thought him smarter than that.”

  Angel sat up straighter and caught the professor’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I wondered about that too,” she said.

  “I see your point, but you need to realize that Rick is getting up there in years,” Delong said. “It may not have occurred to him that he’d ever get caught. I suspect he was planning to do away with Justin and take the cell phone back. He probably didn’t think it would ever end up with the police.”

  “Do you think Rick Penghetti had Justin killed?” Angel asked.

  “No doubt about it. That’s how these guys operate. It’s hard to trace anything back to them, but we’ve done it.”

  The professor sighed. “Well, I’m glad it’s over. I have to admit, though, for a while, I thought you might have been the one to hire the hit man.”

  “Me? Why on earth would I do that?”

  “Well, you did have reason to hate Rick Penghetti.”

  Angel leaned back, wondering where the professor was heading. She and Rachael had talked about Delong’s dedication and how he might have been overzealous. Callen needed to hear this, but calling him at this point might be a mistake.

  Ethan cleared his throat. “I seem to remember an accident many years ago—you lost your daughter, right?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  Angel held her breath.

  “As I recall, a young man by the name of Richard Penghetti had been drinking and ran a red light the night your little girl died. He was tried and convicted of vehicular manslaughter, but served no jail time. That must have infuriated you.”

  So Alton Delong had motive. Angel didn’t like Alton Delong’s arrogant attitude. And Ethan had a point. If she were Richard Penghetti, there was no way she’d leave herself vulnerable by putting her own name on a cell phone specifically set up to converse with a hit man. And if Richard was the ultimate bad guy Delong made him out to be, why hire a loser like Justin Moore to do his dirty work? He had family who could do that sort of work for him.

  “Of course it infuriated me,” Alton said, “but you have it all wrong. I wanted to get back at Rick, yes, but not illegally. That family is evil. I just wanted to see justice done.”

  “There is no justice when you take the law into your own hands, Alton.”

  “That’s a lecture you should have saved for your brother.”

  Ethan nodded. “My opportunity came too late, I’m afraid.”

  “What happens now?” Angel asked.

  “The police will question Penghetti and his friend, but won’t have much luck,” Alton answered. “They’ll bring in their attorneys and be on the street before the day is over. But with the cell phone connection, we’ll be able to bring charges up against Richard for the murders of Nick Caldwell, Faith Carlson, and Justin Moore.”

  “It’s all circumstantial evidence.” Ethan said.

  “That may be, but the jury will convict.”

  Angel was still hung up on Alton’s explanation. Nick’s murder? And how did he know about Justin? How much had Callen told him? “How did you know about Justin and Nick?”

  “Detective Riley filled me in on the case on the way out here.”

  T
he professor’s look of surprise told her what she already knew. Alton Delong had just dug his own grave, and unfortunately, he knew it.

  “Stop the car.” Delong drew a gun and pointed it at the professor’s head.

  Ethan glanced at her in the rearview mirror as if asking, What now?

  “Do as he says.” Angel had no idea what Delong would do or what he might be capable of.

  Ethan pulled off the highway, and Alton told them to get out. He yelled at Angel to get into the driver’s seat. “You’re going to be my insurance until I can get out of the vicinity.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  “Then I put a bullet in the professor’s head.”

  Angel eased in behind the wheel while Delong climbed into the passenger seat. Before closing the door, he fired off a shot, striking Ethan in the chest.

  “No!” Like a tennis player with a killer backhand, Angel slammed her fist into Alton’s face. Pain shot up her arm.

  He screamed and brought his right hand up. She took advantage of his confusion and grabbed for his gun with both hands. Not about to give it up, he dove out of the car, bringing Angel with him. She lay on top of him, straddling his waist and still holding tight to the gun.

  Blood spurted from his nose, and he coughed, splattering them both. He loosened his grip, and Angel wrenched the gun from his grasp, then stuck the barrel into his ribs. “Don’t move.” She used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe the blood from her face.

  Pushing herself off him, she yelled, “On your stomach, stretch your arms up in front of you where I can see them. Now!”

  Delong whimpered. “I had them. I had Penghetti where he belongs. You idiot. Do you know how much damage you’ve caused?”

  “Looks like I have you where you belong.” Keeping the weapon aimed at Delong, she pulled her cell from her pocket and dialed 911, asking the operator to contact Callen and Chief Warren and to send an ambulance. Callen was still at the cabin, which was only about five miles away. As she spoke she backed over to Ethan. His tanned face had already turned a pasty shade of gray. The blood pulsing from his chest told her he wouldn’t make it. Still, she dropped the phone and pressed her free hand to his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “Stay with me, Ethan.”

  “I’m sorry.” He covered her hand with hers. There was nothing more she could do. She stood and wiped her bloody hand on her jacket.

  Angel didn’t have to wait long for help. Callen and Brad Denham arrived first. Callen took one look at Angel’s blood stained shirt and went white. “Are you...?”

  “I’m not hurt, much.” She massaged her sore hand. “Delong shot Ethan, and I backhanded him. Broke his nose, I think.” She handed the gun over to Officer Denham, who took over for Angel, cuffed Delong, and read him his rights.

  She told them what had happened and waited in the car for the authorities to manage the scene. At the first opportunity, Callen took Angel back into town in the Camry.

  “Hospital first,” she said. “I want to tell Luke, and I think it’s time to call my mother.”

  “Are you sure?” Callen eyed her bloodstained hands.

  She smiled. “Okay, resort first, hospital next, then I’ll go in and give my statement.

  Callen nodded, seeming especially subdued. “I can’t believe I let you go back to town with that guy.”

  “You couldn’t have known. I didn’t know he had a motive until the professor mentioned that Richard Penghetti had killed Alton’s little girl years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Ethan told me that he and Alton had gone to law school together. Then when Alton mentioned that he planned to implicate Bernie in Nick and Justin’s murders, I knew. He said you’d talked to him on the way up, but Ethan indicated you hadn’t. I knew anyway, since Nick isn’t dead and the person who hired Justin is the only one who would think that.”

  “There’s something I don’t understand. Why didn’t Ethan mention the bad blood between Penghetti and Delong at the cabin?”

  Angel shook her head. “He probably didn’t remember until he and Delong were face to face. That’s the only explanation I can think of. What I don’t understand is how Alton Delong could have hired a loser like Justin.”

  Callen shrugged. “He probably figured he had his tracks covered. Maybe he just got careless.”

  “Or desperate.” She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

  Callen dropped her off at the resort. “I’ll check in with the chief. Then meet you at the hospital.”

  Angel called her mother before taking a shower. “Ma,” she said when Anna came on the line. “I found Luke.”

  “What! Is he okay? Where is he?”

  Angel answered all those questions and more. Thirty minutes later, she was out the door, heading for the hospital to see her long-lost brother.

  Anna Delaney was at her son’s bedside the next day. It thrilled Angel to see her so excited and happy. If Anna was upset with Luke or Angel’s secrecy, she never said. She just thanked God over and over for bringing back her son. Of course, she welcomed Kinsey and Marie with open arms and an open heart, thrilled to have two new family members.

  One week later, in a cemetery in Colma, California, Angel stood with her mother, Callen, and Luke while Ethan’s body was lowered into the ground. His family—a wife, a daughter and a son, and their children—bowed their heads while the pastor prayed.

  Angel’s gaze scanned the cemetery, looking for Cade. He’d be there among the family, students, and colleagues. She knew that for certain. She also knew that neither she nor Callen nor any of the attending officers would be able to identify him.

  Even though she’d be eternally grateful to Cade for letting Luke go free, he should have been the one being laid to rest, not Ethan. But life was full of injustices. At least they had the man responsible for hiring Justin and for hiring Cade to kill the witness and the guard. Already they had more than Angel’s testimony in the case against Alton Delong. They had concrete evidence and motive. The signature and prints on the contract where the cell phones had been purchased bore Richard Penghetti’s forged name and Alton Delong’s fingerprints.

  When the service was over, they headed for the airport. Luke would go back to his job in Coeur d’Alene as Luke Delaney rather than Thomas Sinclair. Callen needed to get back to wrap up the details of this bizarre and complicated investigation. Angel and Anna would stay on at Gabby’s for several days before heading back to Sunset Cove.

  When she got back home, Angel would officially start at her old job with the Sunset Cove police department, where she would put in for detective. Callen hadn’t mentioned marriage since he’d left for Portland. He hadn’t even talked about it when they’d taken the romantic dinner cruise on the lake in Coeur d’Alene the night before coming to California. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe he thought she was too headstrong. Maybe he couldn’t handle being married to a cop.

  She’d have to ask him when she got home—and maybe, just maybe, this time if he asked her, she’d say yes.

  Internationally known author and speaker, Patricia Rushford has book sales totaling over a million copies. She has written numerous articles, authored over forty books, including What Kids Need Most in a Mom, Have You Hugged Your Teenager Today, and It Shouldn’t Hurt to Be a Kid. She also has a number of mystery series: the Jennie McGrady Mysteries for kids and the McAllister Files, the Angel Delaney Mysteries, and the Helen Bradley Mysteries for adults. Her latest releases include: Terminal Nine, Dying to Kill, and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

  One of her mysteries, Silent Witness, was nominated for an Edgar by Mystery Writers of America and won the Silver Angel for excellence in media. Betrayed was selected as best mystery for young adults in the Oregonian (1997) and won the Phantom Friends Award. Sins of the Mother, a romantic suspense, won the Golden Quill for Inspirational Romance Award.

  Patricia is a registered nurse and holds a master’s degree in counseling. In addition, she conducts writers worshops for adults and chi
ldren and is co-director of Writer’s Weekend at the Beach. She is also the director for the Oregon Christian Writer’s Summer Conference. Pat has appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows across the U.S. and Canada. She lives in the Portland area with her husband. For more information, a complete list of her books, or to contact Patricia personally, go to her website at www.patriciarushford.com