The Ultimate Mystery Thriller Horror Box Set (7 Mystery Thriller Horror Bestsellers)

by Perkins, Cathy

  “Yeah. You took a couple of good lumps.”

  Bowden moaned.

  “You going to be okay?”

  “Just give me a minute.”

  Riley looked up and saw Tara at the head of the stairs. He motioned for her to come down and then whispered to Bowden. “Tara’s coming. You want her to see you like that?”

  With a groan, Bowden pushed himself to a sitting position. “This doesn’t help the nausea any.”

  Riley laughed. “I think you’ll live.”

  Tara dropped to her knees beside Bowden and gently touched the bump over his left ear. He winced, drawing away from the gentle fingertips.

  “Does that hurt?” Tara asked.

  Riley laughed.

  “What are you laughing at?” Bowden shot at Riley. “Of course it hurts.”

  “Let me get you some ice for that.” Tara jumped up and ran to the kitchen.

  “You want ice for your groin?” Riley asked.

  “Shut up.” They started to laugh and Bowden stopped, placing both hands on his head. He kicked the coat that lay near his feet. “That’s twice he’s gotten away from me. He was at my hotel when I got out of the hospital.”

  “Well, um, actually that’s the third time. He also got away from you when he kidnapped Tara. But who’s counting?”

  Bowden sat up. “That’s him? Then he’s one of Vincent’s sons.”

  “Kent.”

  Bowden nodded and grabbed the jacket that was on the floor. He was searching the pockets when Tara slapped some ice on the side of his head.

  Riley watched him pull a cell phone out of the pocket and stare at it. The phone was still on and Bowden pushed the redial button. Riley could hear the ringing through the handset and heard another man answer.

  “What now?”

  Bowden’s brows closed together. “Bill?”

  “Who else do you think it is? I’ve been stuck in this hotel room for three days watching this stupid broad while you’ve been out…”

  Bowden pushed the end button and smiled. He wrote the number down in his notebook and looked up at Riley.

  “Brotherly love,” he said. He winked and took his cell phone out and dialed.

  “Hello Detective,” he said into the phone when Cooper answered.

  Riley could still hear both ends of the conversation and he saw that Tara could too. She slid a little closer to Bowden.

  “What’s going on, Chase? I went to the hospital and they told me that you left before they had a chance to check you out.”

  “Yeah, well I was in a hurry.”

  “So where are you now?”

  “I’m back at the Miller house. Hey. I’ve got another favor to ask.”

  “That’s the only reason you ever call.”

  “I need a phone number traced. It’s to a hotel. I need the name of the hotel and the room number.”

  “What’s the number?”

  Bowden gave it to him.

  “Hold on a minute.” There was a click on the other end of the line as Cooper placed him on hold.

  Three minutes later Cooper picked up the line again. “Okay. I’ve got it, but here’s the problem…”

  “What’s that?” Bowden asked.

  “You’re much closer than I am. If I give you the location then you’ll… well….”

  “You want to be in on it?”

  “Of course and I don’t want you blowing our investigation. Something tells me that I should get a search warrant.”

  “You won’t need one. You have exigent circumstances.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Michelle Fonck is in that room, being held against her will.”

  Cooper didn’t speak right away. “You sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Okay. The number belongs to The Longtree Motel. It’s in south Bellevue off I-90.”

  Bowden moved the phone away from his mouth and looked at Tara. “Do you know where that is?”

  She nodded.

  “What room?” he asked Cooper.

  “153.”

  “See you there.” He hung up the phone, then struggled to his feet, his teeth clinched and a groan escaping from his lips.

  “You okay?” Riley asked.

  Bowden nodded. “You coming?”

  “I can’t. It’s almost light.”

  Bowden picked up the gun that Kent had dropped and tucked it behind his waistband. He limped down the hallway to the couch where he had been sleeping and picked up the chart. He held it up.

  Riley recognized it instantly. “Now?” he asked.

  “We’ll be going straight to the island.”

  “Yeah, look, good luck, huh?”

  Tara stared at him for several seconds.

  Bowden opened the door. “Let’s go.”

  They walked out to the car and Riley watched from the window. He saw Tara glance back as she sat down in the passenger seat of Bowden’s latest rental. White smoke escaped from the exhaust pipe and vanished into the air, as Bowden raced the car down the driveway and out onto the road.

  Riley watched the car until it was out of sight and then moved back into the empty house. He ran his hands over the front of his coat and turned in a half circle. He realized that he had nothing to do. Slowly, he walked up the stairs and retrieved the fedora. He lifted it, spun it in his fingers and placed it on his head. He nodded to himself as he ascertained a fact that he had hid from himself for many years. He was alone.

  Bowden was on I-90 when his cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and searched for the little green button. He pushed it to receive the call and raised the phone to his ear. As he did this, he glanced at the speedometer. 93 mph.

  “Hello?”

  Bowden could hear a siren coming from the other end.

  “Chase? Hey, I was headed to my car and saw a marked unit. I’m on my way with one uniform. We just blew across Mercer Island. Where you at?” Cooper was yelling over the noise of the siren and was so loud that Tara heard him in the passenger seat.

  “We’re about ten minutes out,” she said loudly. “Well, the way he’s driving it will be about five.”

  “I’m about five out,” Bowden said.

  “All right, look, we’ll probably be about two minutes behind you. Stop at the desk and verify the room number.”

  Bowden changed lanes and passed another car. “Okay. Tell the uniform to pick it up if he’s not in the triples.”

  Cooper laughed into the phone. “I’m way ahead of you.”

  Tara pointed at a green sign posted along the freeway. “That’s the exit we want.”

  He caught a glimpse of the sign, noticing that the exit was in one mile. He started changing lanes to get to the right side of the road, and seconds later pressed on the brake to slow the car down. He hit the exit ramp at 75 mph and slowed as he approached the light. Tara pointed and gave directions, and a minute later he parked the car at the front door of The Longtree Hotel.

  He jumped out of the car. As soon as he touched the pavement, his right leg buckled. He stiffened it to stop his fall and felt his quads cramp. Spinning around, he grabbed the roof of the car, grimacing as pain swept up his leg to his brain.

  Tara climbed out the passenger side and looked over the roof of the car at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Stay here,” he grunted through clinched teeth.

  “No way.”

  “You’re not coming in.”

  “You can’t stop me.”

  He nodded. He knew she was right.

  He shoved himself away from the car and hobbled towards the hotel entrance.

  The clerk looked up as he came in. “Can I help you?” she asked, as she saw the pronounced limp. “Are you okay?” she added.

  He smiled through the pain. “Doin’ great. Hey, what room is Kent Fonck in? One-fifty-three?”

  He saw the girl glance over at the computer screen. Her head snapped back. “I’m not to disclose that information.”

  “It’s just to kee
p me from calling again. All you got to do is tell me if I remembered the number correctly.”

  The girl tapped a key on the keyboard and glanced back at the screen. “I don’t see him here. Are you sure you’ve got the right hotel?”

  “I’m sure. How about his brother, Bill? Same last name.”

  The girl shook her head and her black hair bounced around her shoulders. “I don’t have anyone here by the name of Fonck.”

  “Well, who rented one-fifty-three? Bill Kent?”

  “No, sir. Um, maybe I should call the manager for you.”

  He could hear the siren of a police car and figured that Cooper was getting close. Suddenly the siren was turned off and he nodded to himself. The officer knew he was getting near enough that the siren could probably be heard. He had shut it off and they would arrive in seconds.

  “Will you tell the police?”

  “If they were here,” the girl replied with too much sarcasm for his taste.

  With his thumb, he pointed over his shoulder at the door. “They’re right here.”

  He heard brakes squeal in the parking lot. The eyes of the girl standing in front of him got really big. She started punching numbers into the computer as Cooper and the deputy burst through the front doors.

  “Confirm that room yet?” Cooper asked as he crossed the foyer.

  “Still working on it,” he answered.

  The girl behind the computer looked up. “Room one-fifty-three was rented to Doug Sanderson.”

  Bowden recognized the name and tried to remember where.

  Cooper paused in mid-stride. “Who?”

  The girl repeated the name much more meekly, “Doug Sanderson?”

  Cooper looked at him. “Are you still sure about that number?”

  He ran his fingers over the stubble on his chin. “Yeah. He’s related.” He felt a chill climb the skin between his shoulder blades as he remembered the night in the rain. Doug Sanderson was the tow truck driver.

  He locked eyes with Cooper. “He’s Kay’s cousin.”

  16

  Bowden checked out the deputy who was with Cooper. The guy had a crew cut and massive forearms. He wore his gun in a holster on the side of his thigh instead of at his waist. Swat team members usually did this. This cop would hold up okay.

  “Here’s what we know,” Bowden said, needing to fill in the deputy and provide Cooper with a little more information. “Michelle Fonck is being held in that room against her will. There is at least one guy in there with her, maybe two. I took a gun off one of them earlier this morning, but he got away. They may have more weapons in the room.”

  He pointed to a map on the wall beside the check-in counter that showed the locations of all the rooms. “It’s on the first floor, second from the end.”

  Cooper glanced at the map. “Got it. You take the back.”

  Bowden’s mouth fell open.

  Cooper spoke again before Bowden could complain. “I’m going through the front door with a uniform, per department policy. You watch the back.”

  “That’s not…”

  “You’ve got no say in it. If you want to help, you’ll cover the back window.”

  “Then I’ve got sanction?”

  “What? Well, yes.”

  Bowden grinned. “Give me thirty seconds to get around back.”

  Tara grabbed his arm as he turned. “What about me?”

  He pointed at Cooper. “He’s calling the shots,” he said, glad that he didn’t have to tell Tara to wait in the lobby.

  Cooper glanced at Tara and scratched his ear. “Wait at the far end of the hallway. If we need you, we can beckon you in.”

  Tara nodded agreeably and Bowden marveled at Cooper’s ability to put Tara in a safe spot and tell her to wait, in such a way that she thought she could be helping.

  “Thirty seconds,” Cooper said as he glanced at his watch.

  Chase turned towards the door when Cooper yelled, “Hey! Take this with you.”

  He stepped back as he saw his Glock in Cooper’s hand. He reached out and palmed the gun. The familiar weight and balance told him instantly that the gun was fully loaded. He pulled the slide back a fraction of an inch and noticed that there was a round in the chamber. That was the way he always carried it because he didn’t want to have to rack a round before using the gun. That extra split second might cost him his life.

  He nodded his thanks to Cooper and loped around the hotel as fast as his injured legs would carry him. A sidewalk ran along the back of the hotel rooms, providing about five feet of room between the building and a row of parking. Beyond the parking lot was a bank of trees that were probably eighty years old. The bushes along the front of the bank had been cut.

  He stopped outside the second set of windows. A heavy curtain had been drawn inside to keep anyone from looking in. He stepped between two parked cars, then stood near the front bumpers and just off the sidewalk. He held the gun at low ready, pointing it at the base of the building, just under the window. Taking a deep breath, he waited for Cooper.

  The window was closed and latched and Bowden knew that the chance of anyone getting out of it before Cooper and the deputy got in was practically zero. He figured the only chance he would come into play was if shooting started and there was more than one person inside.

  He heard the doorframe shatter, and Cooper yell, “Police.”

  The curtain moved and the glass window shattered as a body smashed through it. The glass showered onto the pavement and someone fought to escape the envelopment of the curtain. He could see the room clearly as the early morning light flooded in. In a split second he saw Michelle lying on the bed, covered only with a sheet, and that Cooper and the deputy were moving in quickly.

  He stepped up and used his good leg to kick the form in the curtain. His foot connected solidly and someone grunted, then started swearing. It was a man’s voice, and Bowden kicked him again. The man was on his hands and knees, trying to stand and trying to get the tangled curtains off him. His second kick caught the man in the ribs and knocked him onto his side.

  “Don’t move,” Bowden screamed as he stepped sideways, his heart pounding.

  He kept moving around the downed man, who kept cursing him. He couldn’t tell if the man was armed or not. He couldn’t see his hands. The man continued to flail at the curtain.

  “Don’t move,” he shouted again, stepping around to the other side of the figure. He delivered another kick to punctuate his command.

  The man took the kick and rolled over again. The last movement rolled him out from under the curtain, and Bowden recognized Bill Fonck. This was the man who had followed Andre from his house to his work.

  “Clear!” someone shouted from inside the room.

  Bowden crouched about five feet from Bill, and pointed the gun at his head. Slowly, Bill’s hands came up. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, socks and jockey underwear. The back of the shirt was already soaking up the cold water on the sidewalk.

  “Roll over,” Bowden commanded.

  Bill rolled free from the curtain, landing face down in a puddle. Bowden smiled. This time he was having fun. He backed up to the shattered window and held out his left hand, not taking his gun off his suspect.

  The deputy dropped a set of cuffs into Bowden’s waiting palm. “I got him covered,” the deputy said.

  He glanced over and saw the deputy level his gun on Bill’s back. He nodded and stuffed his Glock into his waistband and realized that Kent’s gun was still there. He knelt over Bill and fastened the handcuffs around his wrists.

  He glanced up at the deputy in the window. “Bring the car around.” The deputy nodded and left.

  Bowden touched Kent’s gun with his fingers and wondered what would happen to Bill if he slid the gun under the curtain. He decided that it would be too difficult to explain if the police dug the bullet out of the wall in the Miller house and did ballistics on it matching it to Kent’s gun.

  A moment later he stuffed Bill Fonck into the bac
k of the patrol car. While the deputy was reading Fonck the Miranda Warning, he walked back to the room.

  Cooper met him in the doorway. “We’ve got a small problem here.”

  He looked past Cooper. Tara was sitting on the bed beside Michelle, who was wrapped in the sheets and crying on her shoulder.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “Apparently these guys threw Michelle’s clothes away. I guess they thought it would dissuade her from running away.”

  “I’ll drive her up to the house and she can get dressed in some of Tara’s clothes.” He stepped around Cooper and asked, “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know yet. She hasn’t said anything. She’s just been sitting there crying.” He put his hand on Bowden’s arm. “I thought we would give them a little time together. Maybe she’ll feel like talking soon.”

  Bowden shrugged off Cooper’s hand and walked into the room. He squatted down in front of Michelle and looked up into her red, swollen eyes. He assumed the non-threatening position for a reason, but the cramp in his leg forced him to stand up and shake off the pain and then take one knee in front of the traumatized girl.

  “How you doing, Michelle?”

  She glanced down at him.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She sniffed and shook her head and started crying again. She buried her head in Tara’s shoulder.

  He placed his hand on her knee to get her attention back. She flinched and Bowden felt the muscles in his jaw tighten.

  “Did they touch you?”

  Michelle let out a loud sob and snuggled closer to Tara. He jumped to his feet and stared out the window at the patrol car. He balled his hands into tight fists and suddenly wished he had been rougher on the bastard in the back seat of the car.

  “Did Bill touch you?” he asked quietly.

  Michelle shook her head.

  “Kent?”

  She nodded.

  “Doug? Was Doug here too?”

  She looked up at him. “I don’t know who the other man was. Kent pushed the sheets over my face so I couldn’t see.”

  He felt Cooper give him a nudge and knew that Cooper wanted him to continue the questioning now that a rapport had been established, and Michelle was willing to talk.

  “How do you know it was someone else?”