“Yeah, maybe not,” Sam forced out at last. “I gotta go. Thanks.”
Maybe James had put Sally up to inviting Maxine out. He looked up the number in his book and called the mansion. If something was wrong, and he could talk to Maxine, he could ask her some strategic questions to make sure everything was all right.
James answered.
“This is Sam Magee, Maxine’s ex—her private investigator. I hear the police were out your way asking questions, wanted Maxine to come out.”
“Sally said there were some people here, but they were gone by the time I got home from the city.”
“Was Maxine there?”
“Yeah. She and Sally went out for a cup of coffee. In fact, you missed them by about ten minutes. I can leave her a message if she comes back in when they return.”
Out for a cup of coffee. That sounded safe and ordinary. “No, that’s all right. Thanks a lot.”
He should feel better. James didn’t sound nervous, as though he were lying or in the middle of something. In fact, he’d sounded sleepy. Why hadn’t Aida answered the phone? Maybe it was her night off. Ah, hell, he didn’t know. All he did know was that no relaxing was going to happen at his apartment tonight anyway. He’d go out to the mansion to see for himself that everything was all right. Maybe he’d even spot the two women at a coffee shop on the way in. Just imagining the sight of Maxine safe and sound spread a rush of warmth through him, but that warmth wasn’t relief. He slid into his jacket and headed out, Romeo on his heels.
“You feel it too, don’t you, buddy?” he said as Romeo jumped into the car before Sam got in. “What does it mean?”
Sally was exhausted when she arrived at the mansion. Exhausted, and thanks to that witch, covered in ashes. She’d dumped Maxine’s car after wiping her prints off the steering wheel. Eventually somebody would find the body, but they’d never connect it to Sally. She had no motive to kill Maxine, nothing anyone could actually pinpoint. If only James would have stayed at work like he was supposed to so he’d have an alibi. It didn’t matter; he was innocent. No one would convict or even arrest an innocent man. Besides, she had a story that would seal everything as tightly as Maxine was sealed in that refrigerator. She’d even pulled the range out and tilted it against the box so Maxine couldn’t push herself up. She was probably dead by now; it had been at least half an hour.
Sally approached the house, her heart thudding. She had to convince James first, and then she would have to put on the show again for the police. Drat, she hated to drag herself into all this, but with Sam knowing Maxine had gone out there and James seeing her at the house, there was nothing she could do. It was the kind of sacrifice that would earn her points in The Big Yonder someday.
She took a deep breath, putting a horrified expression on her face and slumping her body. For effect, she’d tossed her purse out on the street. A small price to pay in the hassle of replacing everything. She banged weakly on the door.
“James? James, please come to the door!”
A few minutes later, he opened the door, annoyance turning to concern. “My God, Sally, what happened to you?”
She fell against him, fearing she was ruining the white shirt he’d had on with her ashes. Heck, he could sacrifice, too.
Those two years of drama in high school were going to come in handy after all, she thought as the tears formed in her eyes, and terror filled her voice.
“Oh, James, it was horrible. Please, just hold me for a second so I know I’m alive.”
“Sally, what happened? Come inside.” He led her into the house, on that pristine white carpet with her dirty shoes. She removed them, then moved back into James’s safe embrace as he said, “You’ve got to tell me what happened to you. Where’s Maxine?”
It annoyed her that he was asking about Maxine, of all people. He should only be concerned about her. She forced a tremor in her voice. “We were going for coffee…this guy was hiding in the back seat of her car. He made us go somewhere, I don’t know where it was…he made us lie down in the car while he drove. He had a gun pointed at us.”
The gun was still hidden in her coat pocket. She was going to put it in a plastic bag and bury it in the back yard in case she ever needed it again.
James’s hold became tighter on her. “A gun? My God. And this is supposed to be such a safe neighborhood. Go on, then what happened?”
She really wished he wouldn’t interrupt her. She wanted to get it all out in one gush, done and over with. “Then he made me stay in the car and he took Maxine away. I…I never saw her again. He came back to the car a few minutes later, and I asked him what he was going to do to me. He said his orders were to get rid of Maxine, and that I was only in the way. We drove for a while—I don’t know where we were. Then he stopped the car in some desolate area and told me to get out. Believe me, he didn’t have to tell me twice. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die.” The more she screamed, the tighter James held her. “I couldn’t save Maxine. I feel terrible that she died and I lived. It’s so unfair.”
James pulled away. “So someone was really trying to kill her. Maybe she isn’t dead. How are you so sure she is?”
“The guy said he’d killed her.”
James nodded, though not convincingly. “He could have thought he killed her and left her there to die. She could be alive. We’ve got to call the police. You have to remember where this guy took you. Did you see what he looked like? Could you identify him?”
Something cold washed over her. “He was wearing a mask, one of those knitted ones.” Her voice was losing that scared quality, turning dull and monotone. “Why are you so concerned about Maxine all of a sudden? I thought you hated her.”
“I don’t like her, but I don’t want her to die. If we can save her, we should do what we can.”
“You haven’t even asked me if I’m all right.”
“I can see that you’re all right, even if you are shaken up. Maxine could be dying right now.”
“She’s already dead! Didn’t you hear me? She’s dead, gone.”
His eyes narrowed. “You said you didn’t see her die. You were knocked unconscious.”
“I know she’s dead. Let me take a shower, and we’ll go down to the police station.” That would buy her more time. She also didn’t want any of that pesky DNA evidence on her.
“Sally, you can’t wash off. There might be some evidence on you, hairs or skin follicles, that could point to this creep.”
Anger bubbled up inside her. Why was he making this so hard on her? She was doing all this for him, and he was turning on her. “Whose side are you on, anyway?” she heard herself scream out at him.
He took a step away, narrowing his eyes at her. “I’m not on a side. Cripes, I’m wondering the same of you. Don’t you want to see this guy get caught? Don’t you want to try to save Maxine? I thought you liked her.”
“I don’t like her because you don’t like her.” Her voice was pitching higher and higher, but she didn’t care anymore. She felt betrayed by the one person she loved in the whole world. He didn’t realize how much she’d done for him. Maybe it was time he knew. Then he’d take her side and help her destroy any evidence that needed destroying. They could stall on calling the police for a while, saying it took her longer to get home.
He took another step backward. “I’m calling the police. Don’t touch anything on yourself.”
“James!” she screamed shrilly. “Wait. Don’t turn away from me!”
He kept going, walking to the phone in the kitchen, picking it up, not listening to her at all. Fear laced his expression as she walked toward him. He was afraid of her. No, this couldn’t be happening. She didn’t want to scare her beloved brother. But at the moment she had no choice. She had to make him understand why she’d done all this. Then he could help her. She pulled the gun out of her coat pocket and pointed it at him, keeping her fingers steady so she didn’t accidentally pull the trigger. The phone dropped to the white tile with a loud thud.
“James, don’t be afraid of me,” she heard her voice whimper. “You have to understand. Let me make you understand.”
He stood there for a moment, his face as white as the counter top behind him, as white as the entire house. Finally he cleared his throat, staring at the gun and not her. “Okay, Sally. I want to understand.”
She smiled but kept the gun held up. “Come in the living room then. I’ll explain everything to you. It isn’t as bad as it looks.”
She followed him to the couch. “Stay there,” she said, maneuvering out of her clothing. “No, light the fireplace first. Now.”
He started the fire, and she fed her clothing into it. If she could get him to lie about the ashes, she wouldn’t even have to give the police that crucial clue in finding Maxine’s body. Then she could say she was simply thrown from the car. Together they could put this together. She’d lied to protect him; he could do the same for her. She was now in her underwear and bra, shivering before the heat reached out to warm her.
“Sit down,” she said, hoping he’d forgive her later for using the gun to force him. He sat, keeping a wary eye on her. She sat down next to him, setting the gun across her thighs. The cold metal made her suck in a breath. “Don’t be mad at me, okay? Promise you won’t be mad.”
“I promise,” he said thickly. “What have you done?”
“It was all for you, James. I knew Maxine was going to take away what was rightfully yours, so I planned to remove her from the picture. Only she didn’t die the first time, or the second. And her boyfriend or whatever that P.I. guy is kept snooping around, and I was afraid I was going to get caught. Or afraid they were going to pin you for something. Believe me, I never wanted them to look at you as a suspect. I knew they wouldn’t pin anything on you because you were innocent. But now we don’t have to worry, unless that P.I. comes snooping around. I was going to say he was the guy who accosted us, but then I figured he might have an alibi, and I’d look like a liar.”
James’s body sagged with every word she said. He rubbed his hand over his face, an expression of shock and horror on it. “Start over, Sally. You’ve lost me.”
So she did, right from the beginning. Not with their mother, of course, but with Maxine and everything James stood to lose and how she wanted to protect him. All of it, but no details about what she’d done with Maxine. Her body was on edge, waiting to see if he’d understand and take her side now.
“So that’s how you know Maxine is dead. You killed her,” he clarified.
He was trying to understand, she knew it. “Yes, I killed her.”
“Where is she? How did you do it?”
She frowned. He was still too interested in Maxine. “I just did, okay? Don’t you worry about it. The less you know, the better. I didn’t want you to know anything, but you kinda pushed me into it.”
“And you did all this…for me?”
“Because I love you. Because you deserve it. Look what’s happened because of all this. You’re now heading up Daddy’s company. He’ll be released soon and he’ll see what a good job you’re doing.”
He leaned closer and placed his palm on her cheek. She closed her eyes for a second and exhaled. He understood.
“I can’t believe you did all this for me. You’re wonderful, you’re amazing—” He grabbed the gun off her legs. “And you’re crazy,” he said, standing up and holding the gun at her.
She felt more annoyed than scared. “James, put that thing down. I know you’re not going to use it. Think it over and you’ll see that I did the best thing I could have done.”
“By murdering people? Sally, you have really lost it. I’m going to call the police and get you some help. They’ll probably only put you away for a little while, somewhere nice where it’s quiet and relaxing. Then you’ll be all better again.”
“James, if they put me away, I can’t be with you. What would you do without me? No, you can’t let that happen. You’re going to have to help me get out of this. It’s really easy; I have it all worked out. Sit down and listen to me.”
Sam killed the lights as he pulled into the Santini drive. The living room light was on, a beacon in the darkness. The gentle lighting of the fancy globes along the road guided him right up to the house. Maxine’s car wasn’t there. Damn. He hadn’t seen it on the way in, either. He’d passed one coffee shop that seemed a logical choice for them to go to, but no luck.
Sam got out of the car, gesturing for Romeo to stay put. He left the keys inside, just in case he needed to make a quick exit. The drapes in the front window were sheer, and he could see two figures inside sitting on the couch. Through a small crack in the drapes, if he tilted his head at an angle, he could see inside better.
His heart felt squeezed when he saw James holding the gun on a half-naked Sally. Her face was streaked with something black. Other than that, the whole scene looked serene, with the fireplace flickering behind them. He searched but found no sign of Maxine. Her absence didn’t make him feel any better.
So James was behind it after all. Sally must have found out, maybe discovered him doing something to Maxine. His chest was so tight at that thought, he could hardly breathe. He had to save Sally first, then find out what happened to Maxine. Now, he was sure she wasn’t at any coffee shop, safe and sound.
Before crashing through the window, he at least had the logic left to try the front door. It was unlocked. Damn, why couldn’t he have decided for violence and bought a gun? He never thought he’d have such a dangerous case. And such an important case. He opened the door and slipped inside, just around the corner from the living room.
Sally’s tremulous voice said, “James, you’re making a big mistake. How can you do this to me?”
“Shut up and move to the kitchen, now.”
Sam made his move just as they walked into view. He lunged at James, knocking the gun across the floor. Sally gasped, but didn’t hesitate as she grabbed the gun and fled. At least the weapon was out of reach now. He hardly had time to see where she went as the two men landed on the white carpet and wrestled for control.
“You don’t know what you’re doing!” James screamed. “It’s Sally. She’s the one who murdered Maxine.”
That word murdered pierced Sam. He held James down but ceased the struggle. “What are you talking about?”
“Sally’s been behind it all. She came home covered in soot telling me how some guy had jumped her and Maxine, but something didn’t sound right. I was going to call the police when she pulled out a gun and told me everything. Then I got the gun away from her until you barged in.”
Sam had to make a split second judgment. Sally behind it? It didn’t make sense, but if she was behind it, she had the gun. If James was bluffing, she still had the gun, and hopefully she’d call for help. Sam let him up.
“Why?”
James looked around the room for Sally. “For me. She did all this for me, so I’d get a chance to run the company. So Maxine wouldn’t take that away from me. She’s crazy, man.”
The lights went out, surrounding them in eerie darkness. “She’s turned off the circuit breaker,” James’s voice said through the black. “Now she’s going to kill us.”
Maxine crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. It was dark no matter what she did anyway. Her breathing was growing more shallow, the knowledge of impending death now calming her instead of panicking her.
Her lungs were tightening, though, aching with their deprivation. She started to say the Lord’s Prayer, very softly. “…and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Unless, of course, You want to give me another chance.”
That’s when she felt it. At first she thought it was her imagination. Then she felt it again, a cool shaft of air. She turned to find the source of it, feeling along the edge of the door. Her finger moved through a tiny draft of air near the top of the door. She couldn’t feel the opening, but somehow the seal had been damaged or melted and let in a tiny bit of air. She felt around th
e rest of the door, but didn’t feel any other drafts. This was it.
She pushed her nose up to the crack at the top of the door where the butter might have been kept and inhaled the crisp air, pulling it into her tightened lungs. It wasn’t a lot of air, not enough to keep her alive for a long time, but maybe enough to make it until the morning when she could scream for help.
She tried to remember the area surrounding this house. There were a few other homes, but she doubted they were within screaming distance.
Tenuous hope swirled through her. She could breathe. The chance was dim that anyone would happen across the house in the near future, but it was a chance nonetheless. She kept praying in her mind, saving her breath for that tiny inlet of air. Sam would never find her, probably wasn’t even looking for her. But maybe someone, somehow would find her.
If, however, she did die before anyone found her, she had to let the police know who did this to her. Sally would be a free woman, living her life with her brother thinking she’d done nothing wrong in protecting him.
Maxine felt along the doorway for the metal bar that kept the jelly from falling in. She yanked it, finding the metal brittle from the heat of the fire. It broke easily, leaving a sharp edge. All the while she kept going back for an inhale of air.
She felt the flatness of the side wall beside her and mapped out the space. With the edge she scraped the words Sally Santini murdered me. Then, on the opposite side, she scratched the words Sam, I love you. She went back to the other side and scraped in some more information, having no idea how legible it was.
All she could feel were the slight scratches in the plastic. Hopefully the police wouldn’t have to rely on that to find her killer. And Maxine’s killer.
Sally’s voice rang through the darkness. “James, get out of the way! I have to get rid of this guy so we can figure out what we’re going to do. Don’t worry; we’re going to work this all out.”
A shot exploded through the living room, but Sam was already rolling away from where he’d just been.
Woke Up Dead Page 28
