by Loyd, Sandy
When Jason pulled into the parking lot, he glanced at his watch. Almost six o’clock. He hopped out, praying her office assistant hadn’t left for the day.
He encountered only one person on his way to the assistant’s desk, yet she was nowhere in sight. Things appeared to be closing down for the weekend.
Next he headed for Claire’s office and knocked softly. Knowing it would be empty, he went inside.
“Jason?” The soft voice came from the shadows.
“Elise?”
“Her sister did it,” Elise whispered, sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. Tears streamed down her face. “I came to confront her, but she’s gone. No one would listen. They thought I was delusional. They thought it was me.”
“Shush. It’s okay.” He sat down and pulled the crying woman into his arms.
“No. She tried to kill me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Crystal Grayson, your lawyer. I saw her before I passed out. If Jimbo hadn’t found me in the pool . . .” She shivered.
Stark terror slammed into Jason. Claire was with Crystal on her boat.
He grabbed his phone and punched in Claire’s cell number. Please answer.
Chapter 60
“I had to do it. She’s blackmailing me, okay?”
“And?” Jimbo prodded, narrowing his eyes to slits to urge Myers to continue.
“About six months ago, she caught me slipping something into someone’s drink. Asked me to supply her with a few pills. But I didn’t kill anyone.”
“You were her alibi, right? She wasn’t with you the entire night, was she?”
“No. We split up when she left the bar.”
Jimbo closed the door to Myers’s office, rubbing his hand and wishing it didn’t hurt so much from pounding his fist into the side of the jerk’s head. But maybe the bastard will think twice before he drugs another woman. He definitely planned to inform the authorities about Myers’s extracurricular activities.
When he got to his car, he turned on his cell and noticed the message indicator. After listening to Jason’s message, he punched in the return number while backing out.
“Jason? It’s Jimbo,” he said as he pulled onto the highway. “I’m on my way to Claire’s Collections, but it’s not Elise. In fact, she may be in danger. I found some holes in Gwen Anderson’s alibi. If you see her, stop her.”
Chapter 61
“Claire? Come on.” The person speaking patted her cheek. “Wake up.”
“Gwen?” Claire sat up, feeling groggy and slightly nauseated.
“It’s okay. You’ve been out for several hours.” She handed her a bottle of water. “You should drink something. You’ll feel better.”
“Why’re you here?” The wave of nausea passed and Claire inhaled deeply several times, trying to think. The sun had dipped in the western sky and was only minutes from setting for the night.
“Intuition? I got worried, so I drove down to make sure you’re okay.”
“Where’s Crystal?” She brought the bottle up to her lips.
“I don’t know,” Gwen said as she headed below. “She wasn’t on board when I arrived.”
The thought of water turned Claire’s stomach. Instead of drinking, she lowered the bottle and set it on the ledge. The bottle tipped over, emptying before her shaky hands caught it.
Glancing around, she noticed the dinghy bobbing behind the stern. The fine hairs on the back of her neck lifted. Another sense of familiarity swept over her, making her shiver with dread.
“What’s going on?” Still holding the bottle, she stood on wobbly legs and followed Gwen below. Once in the salon, she quickly sat to avoid losing her balance.
Gwen didn’t answer, just gave her a piercing look.
Now that her eyes had accustomed to dusk, Claire took a cautious look around and spied what could only be Crystal’s form lying in the V-berth.
Gwen’s eyes narrowed and she smiled. “We’re waiting.”
“Waiting?”
“Should take effect in minutes.”
Claire shook her head. “What should take effect? You’ve lost me.” She nodded at the V-berth. “I thought you said Crystal wasn’t on board.”
“I lied.” Gwen leaned back against a hatch, crossed her arms, and indicated the bottle in Claire’s hand. “The water’s drugged. In moments, you’ll be out cold.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Then I dump your stabbed body overboard, just like I did Carl’s. It is rather messy. But I promise to wait until you’re out before I slice, so you won’t feel anything.”
“You killed Carl?”
Gwen ignored the question. “We should’ve killed you in the very beginning and framed your bitch of a sister. But Carl couldn’t stomach murder. What a laugh!”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t. Everything’s always come easy to people like you. I’ve worked like a slave, giving my best for a mere salary while the company’s sales kept doubling.”
“You make a good salary.”
“It should’ve been mine. Carl promised.” In an angry burst, Gwen spat out, “That inept, double-crossing bastard couldn’t do anything right. Not only couldn’t he follow plans without screwing up, he cheated on me.”
Claire gaped. Gwen couldn’t be serious. Didn’t she realize cheating was the only thing Carl had ever been good at?
“Why did you torch my house? That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. You were getting too chummy with Crystal. I wanted you dead before you changed your will and left her everything.”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“That just means I’ll get even more revenge.” Gwen’s smile hardened and a distant look came into her eyes. “On all of you. Crystal will wake up with no memory and a bloody knife in her hand. And the company will be in my hands. This plan actually works better than my original.”
“Original?”
“To drain your company of assets while you were distracted with Carl’s disappearance. But Carl was too impatient and short-sighted to use restraint.”
“Why Crystal?”
“For that clause. He would’ve been all mine if not for that.”
A perfect match. Too bad Carl died. The two deserved each other, she thought as Gwen paced.
“Her little add-on to the contract caused me grief.”
Think! I have to get out of here. Claire let her mind spin as she watched Gwen’s agitation increase. Thank God she hadn’t drunk the water.
She furtively scanned the small room and glimpsed the paperweight used to hold charts. She stretched, reached farther, and grasped it.
“I’m starting to feel drowsy,” she lied. “What was in that water?”
Gwen spun around and eyed her cautiously.
Claire moaned and bent over, pretending to collapse. She prayed the woman couldn’t hear the thumping of her heart. Prayed harder that her plan would work.
Remaining motionless, Claire sensed Gwen moving her way. Still, she held her breath, not daring to let it out.
When Gwen poked at her, Claire didn’t respond. She waited instead for that perfect instant to strike. When that moment came, she fisted the weight and slugged with all her might, utilizing her body’s force as momentum.
Once in action, Claire didn’t stop, drawing fuel from adrenaline. She jumped, running as fast as her rubbery legs would carry her. Up the stairs she ran, and grabbed her handbag on the way. She pulled the dinghy close and stepped in, untied the line, and pushed away from the stern. Then she rummaged through her bag, staying hidden in the inflatable, and pulled out her cell.
Her fingers trembling, she hastily punched in Jason’s number
“Jason? I need you,” she said softly once he answered, realizing she needed him with all her heart. Her only thoughts while facing death had been about him. If she died, she’d never see him again. She couldn’t let that happen.
“Claire?”
The love an
d tenderness in the one word touched her deeply. Why had she been so stupid? Jason was real. What she had with him was real—as real as what she’d had with Carl had been false.
“Gwen’s going to kill us,” she whispered. “I can’t die. I have to see you again.”
“Where are you?”
“My cove. Same place I was that day we met. Please hurry. She’s crazy.”
“I’m close to the marina now. Stay safe. I’ll alert Snyder and call you right back.”
The line went dead. She dropped the phone, praying softly while focusing on the motor. “I need you. Please, Lord. Don’t let me die. He needs me. His girls need me.”
When she reached for the cord, she realized the pulley to start the outboard was cut.
“Looking for this?” Gwen stood at the stern. She was holding the vital piece from the motor, along with a knife.
Chapter 62
“Gwen’s got them on the boat.” Jason threw his cell phone to Jimbo and pressed the accelerator to the floor. “Make yourself useful. Call Snyder again. Tell him they’re in danger.” The investigator had already informed Snyder of his earlier findings.
Thankfully, Miami’s rush hour was over and no cops stopped them as they neared the turnoff for the marina in Key Largo. He’d caught up with Jimbo outside Claire’s Collections. At that point, they’d both come to the same horrifying conclusion that Gwen Anderson was responsible for everything.
They’d all been so wrong.
Thank God for Jimbo’s digging. When he realized Gwen had used Myers for a false alibi, he zeroed in on her as a suspect. Jimbo also uncovered the fact that Gwen could dress to look just like the Grayson twins. Given the right props, his program created a picture from Gwen’s that strikingly resembled Claire. The clever—certifiable was a better description—woman had been busy. Her one mistake was calling Claire from a cell phone the night Carl died. That one-minute call tied her to Carl through the cell phone Carl had given Elise.
Maybe the bastard suspected something, but they’d never know. What they did know was that Claire had called Gwen back, but Gwen’s home line had been forwarded to the cell. Hell, she’d probably killed Carl while talking, and Claire hadn’t even known it. Because of her airtight alibi, no one had looked deeper.
Time was of the essence.
“Can’t you make this thing go faster?” Jimbo asked after finishing his call to the sheriff’s office.
“I got it to the floor. The marina’s just up ahead, about a mile.”
“Snyder’s on his way. Said he’d meet us at the marina.”
Jason grunted and slowed the car enough to make a turn into the parking lot. The moment they stopped, both men hopped out and ran.
A sheriff’s car pulled in behind them.
“We got it from here,” Snyder yelled as he stepped out of his vehicle. He headed for the docks.
“We’re going with you,” Jason called out as he and Jimbo made a beeline for the sheriff’s boat bobbing in the water.
Snyder didn’t say anything as they jumped into the boat. Two other deputies stood ready to leave, one at the helm.
“It’s against regulations,” Snyder said as he untied the lines and stepped onboard.
“You think I give a shit about regulations?” Jimbo asked. “I’m riding with you, or you can arrest me for stealing a boat.”
“Maybe you can bend the rules a bit,” Jason said desperately, going for diplomacy. “I know where the sailboat’s anchored. Do you?”
“No.”
“Claire’s not answering her cell. I don’t think you have the time to look. I can guide you there.” Jason didn’t add the fact that it was in the same spot Claire had been anchored when the deputy first investigated Carl’s disappearance.
“I could lose my badge,” Snyder said a little louder.
“And I could lose my life. She’s out there, and I’m going with you,” Jimbo yelled, getting into the deputy’s face. “Is a life worth more than a freakin’ badge?”
“He’s got a point.” Jason prayed they wouldn’t have to commandeer the deputy’s boat. Lawyers with felonies on their records couldn’t practice law. But Jimbo’s declaration spoke volumes. The woman who was his whole life was out on the water with a crazy person, and nothing was going to keep him on this dock.
Snyder swore under his breath. “Come on. You’d better behave yourselves.” He pointed to the gun Jimbo wore in a shoulder harness. “You know how to use that?”
“Yeah, or I wouldn’t be wearing it.”
“Keep it holstered,” Snyder said with a glower. “I mean it. You’d better not give me any shit, or I’ll have your asses in jail so fast you won’t know what hit you.” He turned to the deputy at the helm. “Let’s go.”
Seconds later, they headed out to deeper water at a fast clip.
Chapter 63
Gwen stood on the stern, holding the cord high. With her quarter-sized eyes glazed over, she appeared absolutely stark-raving mad.
Claire swallowed her fear and reached over the boat’s side to paddle with her hands, desperate to get away from the sailboat.
When Gwen disappeared from sight, Claire breathed a sigh of relief and kept paddling.
Get help. Crystal needs help.
Terror broadsided her the moment she saw Gwen drag Crystal’s lifeless body to the sloop’s edge.
“I’ll just push her over, then come after you. Makes no difference how this goes down. You’ll both die now.”
“Jason knows it’s you,” Claire called out.
“He won’t have proof, and I’ll be gone.”
“You still won’t get away with it.”
“Then I need to make sure I get my revenge, don’t I?”
Horrified, Claire watched as Gwen pushed Crystal over the edge. Her lifeless body sank beneath the water’s dark surface.
Without thinking, Claire dove in and grasped a handful of Crystal’s shirt, using it to haul her to the inflatable. With great effort, Claire tried to shove her unconscious sister onboard, only managing to get her halfway.
All of a sudden, her hair was yanked from behind. Gwen had obviously jumped in right after she dumped Crystal overboard. Thrashing about, Claire tried to break free.
She felt a sting on her arm and looked to see crimson pouring from a long slice on her arm. Gwen had stabbed her and was drawing the knife back to plunge it again. Claire grabbed Gwen’s wrist to keep her from doing more damage, but the effort took enormous energy.
Claire fought with all her might, working to keep her head above water, yet Gwen seemed to have the force of ten men. Her former best friend shoved her under, zapping even more strength.
After one long submersion, Claire came up gasping for air before Gwen had her back underwater. Her lungs felt like they were bursting. Gwen’s hold was too strong.
Oh God! I’m going to die.
Claire’s last memory of Jason that morning flashed through her mind, filling her with bittersweet regret. She’d never see him again, or get the chance to tell him how much she loved him.
Chapter 64
Frustrated, Deputy Snyder could do nothing more than watch as Jason and Jimbo dove into the water just as the sheriff’s runabout pulled alongside Claire’s sailboat.
Jimbo reached Gwen Anderson first and yanked her off Claire by the hair. The woman jabbed the knife at him like a crazed druggie.
As Jimbo tried to subdue Gwen while avoiding her blade, Jason grabbed Claire’s lifeless body and swam with her to the dinghy, where another body was slumped over the side, its head facedown in the boat. He managed to climb onboard and pulled Claire with him before working on getting Crystal fully into the boat.
One of the deputies dove into the water to help Jimbo with Gwen Anderson, but both struggled in their efforts to disarm her and get her under control.
“Damn,” Snyder ground out. “Go help him,” he said to the third deputy.
Snyder then turned to assist Jason, who was hefting Claire from the dinghy
onto the sheriff’s boat. Next, Snyder jumped onto the dinghy to lift Crystal’s inert form with Jason’s help.
With Crystal safe, Snyder’s attention went to his deputies, who had finally subdued the assailant. He helped pull Anderson’s limp, bleeding body onto the boat while Jimbo and the two deputies climbed aboard.
The driver revved the motor and steered in the direction of Key Largo, going as fast as possible while three men practiced CPR on three unresponsive bodies.
Chapter 65
“What’s taking so long?”
Jason stopped his worried pacing and glanced at the closed door. “I don’t know.”
Jimbo shoved a hand through his hair. “This sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.” Though it had only been minutes since a trauma team hauled both Claire and Crystal behind that door, shutting them out, it felt like hours. During that time, he’d kept his mental dialogue with God going. Claire had to survive.
Gwen Anderson hadn’t. The crazed woman had fought Jimbo to the death, trying the entire time to inflict damage with the knife. Jimbo had no choice but to use an evasive move to keep the blade from piercing his heart. With Jimbo suddenly out of the way, Gwen had accidentally stabbed herself, hitting a major artery, and bled out in minutes while heroic efforts to stop the blood loss did no good.
The door finally opened and a doctor walked out, pulling off latex gloves. After he disposed of them, he untied his mask, uncovering a warm smile.
Jason’s breath expelled in one long sigh, and he and Jimbo rushed toward the man.
“Well?”
“They’re both fine. Both awake and asking for you two, if your names happen to be Jason and Jimbo.”
“Thank God,” Jason said as he shook the doctor’s hand.
“Of course, they’ll have to spend the night for observation. Just to make sure. If you’ll check at the desk, the nurse will give you their room numbers.”
When he found her room, Jason hesitated at the door, not sure how Claire would greet him. He silently observed her before wiping worry off his face. The movement drew her attention.
