I shook my head. ‘No way.’ I smiled and shook my finger at her. ‘Not falling for that trick. I want you to stay clear of me. Got it?’
‘Yeah, yeah. You’re super-girl. Powerful. Invincible.’
‘And I want you to be invisible.’ I gave her a hug and turned my back on her, making a point, I hoped.
I had a plan.
Well, I think I had a plan. Certain things needed to happen at the right time, in the right place, and with the right people. I could control the time, I think. And I had an idea for the place.
There were a couple of half-finished houses near the container we shacked up in. One had the outside walls up. Good place to bring everyone together.
The killer would be easy. The police, maybe not so much.
I wasn’t completely convinced Kent didn’t know I knew. There was always the danger he was pulling one on me. He was a reasonable guy when I knew him in Australia. He even seemed kinda nice when he ran into me at the cafe. Pretty sure it wasn’t luck, now that I think of it. When he was trying to drown my ass under the pier, though, that’s when I was convinced he wasn’t Mr. Nice Guy.
But he still had a brain in his head. And like any guy, he could be manipulated.
I was so deep in thought as I walked that I almost walked around a corner and straight into Cathy. I recognized her voice before I saw her or I would have flattened her. I pulled up just shy of the corner and peeked around. I was shielded by a rack of tourist t-shirts. They looked great, but they wouldn’t last past the first washing.
She and Sampson were talking.
About me. Of course, I listened.
‘Listen Detective, what are you doing to keep Ellie safe? She’s in a lot of trouble right now.’
‘I know. And I know you’re good friends with her, but this is a matter for the police. Stay out of it. It’s not a matter for a young lady such as yourself.’
Oh, that was a mistake.
‘Listen, you pig. I’m not something if I don’t have a dick? I’ve been her good friend longer than you’ve known her. Would you be talking like this to Bernie?’
‘Where is he? I would have thought he’d come with you.’
‘He’s an asshole. I’m not sure anymore he has balls.’
Oh, shit. Not because of me, I hope. I fought the urge to reveal myself and give her a hug. She was on fire. Sampson was about an inch shorter than her and was out of his depth.
‘Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure you’ll work things out with him.’
‘I doubt we will. He thinks, much like you, I shouldn’t be out here looking for my best friend and, like you, he can go fuck himself.’
Ouch. I heard enough. They were both looking for me. Sampson I’d need when I needed him. Cathy, bless her, needed to stay out of this. I needed to get clear of the both of them. If they split up and I was in the area I’d be toast.
I turned to leave and bumped into Kent. Literally.
‘Ellie.’
‘Shit, you scared the crap out of me. You’re not looking so good. You okay?’
He squinted and gently touched his cheek. I fought the smile which would give me away.
‘That looks painful, mate. You really should see a doctor.’
‘In good time. It won’t kill me.’
‘Are you sure? It’s just screaming infection. I suspect if I touch it you’ll be screaming.’ I raised my hand and he flinched and took a step back. ‘Yeah. There’s got to be a hospital or a clinic around here somewhere.’
He shook his head and wagged his finger. ‘No, no, no. I’ve got something I’ve got to show you.’
Really? He was going to try that line? ‘I’ve got no interest in seeing your dick, buddy boy.’
He took my arm. ‘No, nothing like that. Just come back to my place and let me show you some stuff I found. Might clear you of the Sweeney killing.’
I gently retrieved my arm. ‘I’m doing just fine on that front. Appreciate the offer but I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass.’ I looked over my shoulder. Cathy and Sampson had left, searching for me. Where’s a cop when you need one?
He took my arm again and dragged me into the alley. ‘Come on, Ellie. Seriously. I’ve got some information on this guy. My girl inside the police station has passed on some info.’
‘Sammie, right?’
‘Yeah.’ He held his head. ‘No. Stevie. Stevie.’ He took a breath. ‘Apparently this guy is a stone cold killer and what he’s going to do to you when he catches up to you,’ he shuddered, ‘it’s just horrible.’
‘I bet.’
‘You think I’m kidding?’
‘No, I’m sure you’re dead on.’ I twisted my arm free. ‘Stop grabbing me, okay? It’s starting to freak me out.’ I was getting a little loud.
He backed up a bit and smiled. ‘Don’t want that. Keep your voice down. There are people looking.’
‘Yeah. Don’t want an audience.’ I rubbed my wrist. The asshole was strong. ‘So what is this information? Why can’t you tell me here?’ I had a brilliant idea. ‘You just want to take me off somewhere. Alone. Don’t you? To put the moves on me.’
‘Well.’ He shook his head. ‘No. No, not at all, as tempting as that may be. For reals. You’ll regret this, you know.’
I backed away through the t-shirts on hangers and waved him off. ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’ I turned and started jogging, trying to blend in. I needed to get space between him and me and he wasn’t very fast with his bum foot.
Danny and his puppy were sitting on the ground. He was playing tug-o-war with Damien, and the puppy appeared to be winning most of the time. He stood when he saw me jogging toward him.
‘You okay?’
I slowed and looked over my shoulder. No sign of Kent. ‘Yeah.’ I squatted and gave Damien a pat. ‘Can’t stay and chat. I’ve got a couple of things to do real quick.’
Danny sat back down on the ground. ‘Hey, this older dude with a great looking Golden Lab was by looking for you. Said he was your friend. I didn’t tell him anything.’
‘A cop, right?’
Danny shook his head and frowned. ‘He didn’t identify himself as a cop. What an asshole. He needs to identify himself as an officer of the law when he’s questioning me.’
‘He is a friend, so maybe he was off duty. Don’t worry about it. He’s a good guy.’ I stood. ‘Really got to run. Anyone asks - ’
‘You’re in Oxnard,’ he interrupted.
I laughed. ‘No, not this time. Just say you saw me around here somewhere this morning, but you can’t remember where.’
‘You know what you’re doing?’
‘I hope so. Take care, Danny. And be good to Damien.’
I jogged down to the pier and rested for a minute on the south side, concealed by one of the concrete pylons. My first hiding place three days ago. It would end today, or I’d die trying.
Literally. Enough was enough.
I was fed up with being pushed around. Kent was strong, but I was stronger. And he was sick.
But first the house. I needed to check it out. I backtracked toward the container. Past it, by about half a mile, the two houses were side-by-side and abandoned in mid-construction. The economy was shit.
The first was just a frame. Beams and studs and a real skeleton look to it. Not much point in trying to hide and lay a trap in that. The next one, a two story, had the outside walls built. Temporary stairs led to the front door which was, fortunately, just hanging on the hinges. No lock. Not even a knob. Weather damage made the place a total write-off. The beams were warped and the floor had buckled in places. A rat scurried out the back. A big sucker. If I was lucky I wouldn’t run into it again.
The place would do.
The largest room, probably going to be the living room, gave me plenty of space. I would have the space to do what I needed to do. He caught me by surprise before and couldn’t close the deal. I’d catch him by surprise and finish his ass, then collect the cops.
Boards
, some wiring and general refuse needed to be cleaned away. I pushed the small stuff to the edges and dropped a load of the large crap on the front yard, turned and plowed into Ann.
‘Shit. I told you to stay clear. Come on, girl. This is serious shit.’
She pulled her coat tight and said nothing.
I took her by the shoulders, pointed her in the general direction of the container and gave her a bit of a push. ‘That way. Home. Hide and be safe. I’ll find you later.’
She stumbled forward a couple of steps and turned. The look on her face was heart-breaking. Tears streamed down her face, etching tracks through the dirt. I ran toward her and gathered her in a hug. She was completely non-responsive, physically, but the tears kept flowing. ‘Ann, Ann. I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. Let me get this one thing out of the way and I’ll make everything right.’
‘Not if you’re dead.’
I held her at arm’s length and looked into her eyes. ‘That chump? The punk who hit you in the face? He’s nothing. I know his sore spots and I don’t fight fair.’
‘He’s psychotic. You never know what he’s going to do. He could have a gun.’
‘He would have shot me by now. Don’t worry. I hung out with some pretty tough guys in Australia and learned how to fight there. And I got some excellent hand-to-hand combat training for this movie. He doesn’t have a chance.’ I pointed at her lip. ‘I have extra motivation. I need to pay him back for that. Very ungentlemanly of him, hitting a lady.’
She sniffled and hugged me again. ‘You don’t have to do this. The police can -’
‘The police don’t have enough evidence. I’m going to record him bragging about what he did. I’ll use my phone.’ I held up the phone and external battery pack.
‘You have enough battery?’
I checked and swore. ‘Shit. Less than 10%.’
She pulled a fist full of batteries from one of her pockets and smiled.
‘You’re a lifesaver, Ann. You’ve done more than enough for me. I owe you now. Please get clear. I’ve got a thing with a guy.’ I smiled and pointed past her toward the container. ‘Make sure you lock it from the inside.’
She turned and shuffled away. I watched her go until she was out of sight and returned to the house.
I was ready. I set the arena. Now I just needed to draw the opponent.
I loaded the battery extender with fresh batteries and watched the power bar go up to 100%. Perfect.
I opened the settings and turned on location services and toggled the ‘Find my iPhone’ switch. If I was right it would be like a clarion alarm to Kent.
I placed the phone on the floor in the corner, well away from any potential ruckus. I dialed Sampson’s number and left the screen open. I wanted him to hear what eventuated.
If I lived or died, he’d know what the score was. This was ending today.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kent’s phone buzzed and warbled. He looked at the display. He had a new email. Rare. He received a notification that Ellie’s iPhone had been located. He scrolled through his apps and opened the ‘Find my Phone’ App.
‘Shit, shit, shit.’ He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember her email and password. Not right on the first attempt. Not right on the second attempt. Third time lucky. The timer icon spun for a couple of seconds and the map resolved to a green dot almost a mile north of where he was, south of the Venice Pier. He’d guessed wrong. Not as far as del Rey then. ‘So much for her being smart.’
He mapped out a route keeping him out of the heavily populated areas. The map told him it would take fifteen minutes. ‘Do you have a gimp factor, you fucking piece of shit? More like twenty minutes with this foot.’
He took a deep satisfied breath. Twenty minutes to getting rid of the traitorous bitch.
Cathy pulled her ponytail through the hole of her baseball cap and continued looking south of Ellie’s apartment. Arbitrary decision. No reason to go either direction, really. She’d been on the beach for almost five hours and so far no sign. She saw a perfectly horrible juggling act with a small dog. She came about five seconds away from popping the guy in the nose and rescuing the dog before it dawned on her the dog he was juggling with was not real. The puppy must have been put back in the equipment bag. Clever trick. Didn’t make her any happier.
She looked at her watch. After noon. ‘I’m getting hungry. What is she doing for food out here?’ She stopped at a food cart and grabbed a sausage and coke.
She was close to where the juggling act had pissed her off. She went over to see how the puppy was doing. She squat down and he came running over, back half wagging and front half trying to get a piece of her lunch.
The juggler looked up from his bag at what his dog was interested in and did a double take. ‘Ellie?’
Cathy looked up. ‘Excuse me?’
‘Nothing. Thought you were someone else. You’re too big. And your hair is still long.’
‘Ellie Bourke? You know her?’
‘I think she’s in Oxnard. For the berries’
‘Bullshit, pal. What do you know?’
‘How do you know I know anything?’
‘I’m going to call animal control and tell them you’re putting the life of a tiny, harmless puppy in danger.’
‘I’m not really juggling it. Honest. It’s a sleight of hand thing and I’m really throwing a stuffed dog around. Believe me.’
‘Doesn’t matter if I do or not, they’ll make your life hell. Tell me what you know about Ellie or I call them.’
‘Man, you’re a hard bitch. She’s around here somewhere and half the freakin’ beach is looking for her. I’ve had I don’t know how many cops, a younger dude with a gorgeous lab - ’
‘Jacob Sampson.’
‘Yeah, that’s it. And some other people. I’m telling them what she told me to tell them. She’s in -’ He paused, a confused look on his face. ‘No, wait. The last time we talked she said to say she was in the area. She didn’t want anyone leaving this area.’
Cathy pressed. ‘When was that? When did you talk to her last?’
He scratched his head. ‘Couple hours ago. Maybe longer.’ He screwed up his face. ‘Hell, I don’t know. It was today. I don’t have a watch or a phone or any other way of telling the time.’
‘You’re a waste of fucking space. How do you know her?’
He shrugged. ‘You know. Local. I make her laugh. She buys me breakfast once in a while. She’s a really nice person, for a famous movie star.’
‘Yeah. You’re still useless. If she happens to pop by tell her Cathy is down here looking for her.’
‘Are you related? ‘Cause you’re like sisters. Thought you were her at first.’
‘I’ve heard that before. We’re not, no. We really don’t look that much alike. Very superficial.’ Cathy gave the puppy one more scratch behind the ear. ‘It’s terrible what you’re doing to this puppy. I still have half a mind to call.’
‘It’d be really cool if you didn’t. I’ll let Ellie know, if I see her.’
‘If your drug-addled brain remembers.’
‘That too.’
Cathy left, shaking her head. ‘Fucking hippies down here.’
Ann hated the feeling she was having right now. Danger loomed and she couldn’t do anything to avert it. Hiding in the container with the door barred wasn’t an option. She had to do something to help Ellie. She found a vantage point about two blocks away. She could see both access roads to the houses. If the attacker came in through other yard and over fences she wouldn’t see him, and that was a possibility, but this was better than nothing.
She settled in for a wait when she saw Ellie. Different clothes and different ball cap, but from a distance it was her.
She jumped to her feet and ran out on the street. ‘You’re finished? It’s all okay?’
Kent found progress slow. He had to detour three times to avoid crowds. The end was in sight and he didn’t want to be sidetracked. If anyone recognized him, it wo
uld delay things. He wasn’t in the best of moods. This was far more difficult than he ever imagined it to be.
He turned left on a small side street, a one-way lane with minimal traffic, when he saw the bag lady talking to Ellie. He looked around. Vacant. Nobody was around. This would be as good as any. He looked at his phone. The dot representing Ellie’s phone was still a quarter mile away. She must have dropped it and not realized it, he thought. ‘Fucking lucky running into her.’ The tide was turning.
As he approached the two he started experiencing cognitive dissonance. His brain was insisting the tall blonde in front of him was his target, but his eyes betrayed that thought. It was Ellie, but it wasn’t Ellie. As he got closer she flicked her eyes up at him a couple of times and didn’t display any signs of recognition, then continued talking to the bag lady.
Ann caught the blonde’s glances and turned and let out a scream. ‘That’s him. That’s him. That’s the guy trying to kill Ellie.’
He lashed out and punched her in the side of her head, dropping her like a sack of rice. ‘Fuck, she’s got a hard head.’ He looked at her companion. ‘It’s you. Fuck. You’re not Ellie. That’s twice you’ve fooled me.’
‘Kent?’ Cathy back-pedaled. ‘What did she mean?’
‘What in the fuck do you think she meant?’ he approached slowly, limping on his now very sore foot. ‘I’m the guy trying to kill Ellie. And now, since you know, I’m going to have to shut you up, too.’ He lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat with his left hand and swung his right fist at her face.
Cathy shied away at the last second, turning her face enough that he hit her on the side of the head, stunning her.
‘Fuck that hurt my hand.’ He squeezed tighter. Cathy grabbed at his hand with both of hers, tearing at the skin with her nails as consciousness slowly faded. She was a big girl, and as she dropped he had to follow, not strong enough to hold her up. He dropped her in the alley and looked around. No witnesses. The luck was definitely turning. He wiped the blood off his hand on her shirt then dragged her behind a dumpster. He flipped the lid open, grunted as he picked up the bag lady and tossed her inside and dropped the lid shut. ‘I’ll deal with you later.’
G'Day USA Page 27
