I swung the bat, catching her in the ribs. I heard a crack that sounded like bones breaking. Hennessy screamed and slumped to the ground. Her head bounced on the asphalt as she landed.
Chapter 40
Mike walked out of the store as his men crossed the street and melted into the dark night.
I ran over to him. “Is CJ okay?”
“Seems to be. Strong pulse, but still out.”
I hurried into the store and threw myself down by CJ’s side. Someone had stuffed a coat under his head and thrown a blanket over him. I laid a hand on his cheek. His skin was clammy, and his breathing seemed shallow. I leaned in and kissed his forehead and smoothed his hair. “Be all right, CJ.” My voice choked. I turned to Mike. “Was anyone else here? A man?” I wondered where Ryan was, what his role in all of this was.
“No one.”
“CJ’s car is gone. Maybe Ryan moved it.”
Mike looked around, like he was making sure we were alone.
“How did she get away?” I asked him, pointing outside toward Hennessy.
“I thought you should join in the fun.”
“But what if I’d missed her?”
“We had her. This will help your story.”
“What story?”
“The one you’re going to tell the cops. Because we were never here.”
“I’m going to have to lie? To the cops?”
Mike nodded.
“But Hennessy knows I wasn’t alone.”
“From the looks of it, you can just tell them she’s concussed and rambling.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Okay. I’d better call the cops before she comes around.”
Mike gave me a small nod as he left.
* * *
After I called 911, I flipped on the store lights and looked over CJ again. There was bruising on his cheek and around his left eye. A little blood ran out of his nose. My hands clenched into fists, and the urge to hit someone gripped me. As much as I wanted to stay by CJ’s side, I couldn’t leave Hennessy out there alone. I couldn’t risk her coming to and getting away.
As I exited the store, I heard a moan. I lifted the bat and realized I wouldn’t mind whacking Hennessy again. I crept closer to her, bat raised. Another low moan sounded, but it wasn’t coming from Hennessy. I held myself still, barely breathing, wondering where the moaning was coming from. My hands grew slick at the thought that I wasn’t here alone. I heard another moan, from over by Hennessy’s car. A fourth moan was followed by some thumping. Someone was in Hennessy’s trunk.
I dashed over to Hennessy and found her car keys in her coat pocket. I got close to the trunk, clicked it to unlock, and stepped back, bat ready as the trunk popped open. Ryan, curled in a fetal position and blindfolded, moaned again.
He held up a hand, shielding his face. “Please don’t hurt me, Hennessy. I’ll do whatever it is you want.”
“It’s okay, Ryan. It’s Sarah. The police are on their way.” I helped him sit up and took off his blindfold. He had a massive bruise on the side of his head.
“Where is she?” Ryan’s voice trembled when he asked the question.
“She’s over there. I, uh, knocked her out.”
“She’s a lunatic. She was fixated on destroying you.” His voice caught. “She tried to make it look like I was stalking you.”
“I thought it was you. I’m so glad it’s not.”
“She made me call you tonight. She had a gun pointed at CJ, so I had to call. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” I glanced back over to make sure Hennessy wasn’t moving.
“She forced me into the trunk at gunpoint. The last thing I remember is her whacking me on the side of the head with her gun. How did you stop her?”
Time to try out my story. It was better to have a run-through with Ryan before the police showed up. “Grace of God and a bit of luck. I cupped my hands and lowered my voice. I yelled, ‘Police. We’ve got the place surrounded.’ She burst out of the store like demons were chasing her.”
“Thankfully, it worked.” Ryan ran a shaky hand over his head. “Otherwise, we’d all be dead.”
Convincing Ryan, who was shaken up, was one thing, but convincing a steely-eyed police officer would be a whole different story. We both turned as sirens screamed toward us and two police cars screeched into the lot.
Pellner and Officer Awesome leaped out of their cars.
“Hennessy’s over there.” I pointed across the parking lot. “CJ’s inside.”
“Check on Hennessy,” Pellner said to Awesome as he trotted toward the store.
I followed Pellner in, and we both ran over to CJ, who was still out on the floor.
“What happened here?”
I checked CJ’s pulse and told Pellner the same story I’d told Ryan. I watched CJ instead of looking at Pellner. “When she came out of the store and realized it was just me there, she ran at me. I swung the bat and whacked her in the ribs. She fell and smacked her head on the ground. It knocked her out.”
I glanced up at Pellner. His dimple was deep, and his face serious, but he nodded. He had no reason to believe I’d lie to him, which made me feel even worse.
“Do you think CJ will be okay?” I asked him.
“He’d better be.”
The EMTs arrived, and I hopped in the ambulance with CJ, grateful to get away from Pellner and his dimple. I knew more questions would come, especially once Hennessy woke up and started talking. I rehearsed my story over and over on the way to the hospital and as I sat in the emergency room waiting area. The EMTs wheeled Hennessy and Ryan by shortly after we arrived. Ryan gave me a thumbs-up.
* * *
Once they moved CJ to a room, I sat by him, holding his hand, as the doctor told me they suspected he’d been drugged. She thought CJ would come around by morning. She was concerned enough about the bruising that she had ordered scans and would let me know when the results were back. His nose was broken.
After the doctor left, I held CJ’s hand to my cheek. His long lashes looked dark against his pale skin. He was so very still. “I won’t let you die a lonely old man, CJ.”
Pellner came in just then, and by the embarrassed look on his face, I knew he’d overheard me. “Hennessy’s drugged and babbling. She said a bunch of men burst into the store, and she ran out. She doesn’t remember seeing you,” he said.
I jerked my head up. “A bunch of men? She must have hit her head harder than I realized.”
“Awesome said there’s a bunch of footprints in the slush and mud around the back of the store.”
“Who knows how long they could have been there? Any footprints in the store?” I hoped not, because explaining that away would be difficult.
“No.”
“She must be making it up, then. Trying to look innocent.”
“We found a burner cell phone in her coat pocket. It has the pictures you’ve been getting and the threatening messages on it.”
I held CJ’s hand a little tighter. “What else did she say?”
“She got so riled up, she almost fainted from the pain of the broken ribs. They sedated her, so we’ll have to talk to her later.”
“Thanks for letting me know.” And by letting me know, I meant telling me what Hennessy had said so I could make sure my story was more convincing. “Have you had a chance to talk to Ryan?”
“He corroborated your story. Said he would have heard if there was a bunch of men running around.”
Oh, thank God. Mike and his men had moved so quietly.
“Do you want to go home, and I’ll sit with CJ?”
I looked over at CJ’s pale face. “No. I’ll stay.”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Pellner said.
I shivered. Pellner looked around and found a blanket for me. I wrapped it around myself. “Could someone bring my car over? It’s behind the sandwich shop. Near Hennessy’s.”
“Why there?”
“I didn’t want Hennessy to hear me coming.
” That, at least, was true. I dug my keys out of my pocket and handed them to Pellner.
“You should have called us when you knew she had CJ.”
“I figured she had his radio and phone. I was afraid she’d find out.”
Pellner studied me. “I’ll have someone leave your keys at the nurses’ station.”
* * *
A movement in the room woke me. I still held CJ’s hand. My cheek was pressed into the waffled blanket. I opened my eyes. Seth stood at the end of CJ’s bed. I had no idea what time it was.
“How is he?” Seth asked, his voice low and tired. He wore his beautiful wool coat, a tie loosened around his neck, like he’d been working for hours.
I looked over at CJ. His face had a little more color, but he still slept. “He’ll be okay.” I tried to inject some confidence into my voice.
“And you?”
“I’ll be okay, too.” My voice choked up as I said it. Seth took a step toward me, but I waved him off.
He studied me and looked back at CJ. Seth turned to go, and I noticed his pants and boots. My eyes widened. The pants were black cargo pants, not the pants that went with his suit. The cuffs were muddied, as were the steel-toed boots he wore, instead of his usual Italian leather wing tips. He had been with Mike’s men.
“Seth?”
He turned and saw me staring at his pants. He shook his head and pointed at CJ. Then he brought his finger to his lips. I stared at him but nodded.
Seth mouthed, “Thank you,” and left.
Chapter 41
By 10:00 a.m. CJ had been awake a couple of hours. He alternated between upset and angry. By the time he’d gotten to Hennessy’s store, my wedding ring wasn’t in the case. Hennessy had offered him a drink, and he’d accepted to give him a reason to mill about the store. That had allowed Hennessy to drug him, which made CJ angry. Then he was upset because the drink was the last thing he remembered until he woke this morning. He was furious I’d put myself in danger to save him. If only he knew the real story . . . And he was angry because he was still connected to the IV and he wanted to go interrogate Hennessy.
“You look exhausted,” CJ said when he finally calmed down. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
“Who will take care of you?” The doctor had come in earlier and had told us that the scans didn’t show any lasting damage.
“The nurses, the doctors, Pellner.” Pellner and Awesome had looked in a number of times. It had looked like they wanted to talk privately with CJ but didn’t have the nerve to kick me out.
Frankly, getting away from the police and all the questions sounded good to me. I had stuck to my story and was almost to the point of believing it myself. I kissed CJ’s cheek, retrieved my car keys from the nurses’ station, and rode the elevator down to the lobby. Ryan sat there.
“Ryan, how are you doing?”
“A bit of a headache. But I’ll be fine.” He winced. “Could I borrow your cell phone to call a cab?”
“I’m leaving. I can give you a ride home. Where do you live?”
“In the apartments by the Ellington-Billerica line.”
“It’s barely out of my way.”
He stood but wavered slightly.
“Are you sure you should be leaving?”
“I’ll feel a lot better once I get home.”
I pulled my Suburban around so he didn’t have far to walk. “Do you need anything from the grocery store?”
“Could we just stop and get a couple of things? I just need some milk and stuff to make fluffernutters.”
I grinned at him. “My favorite sandwich.”
“Mine too. Although I’m a pretty good cook when I have the time.”
“I’m a terrible cook.”
“I could teach you some easy dishes.”
“If I thought it would help, I’d give it a try. But trust me, I’m hopeless. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened with you and Hennessy last night?”
Ryan held his head for a minute. “She called me and said she needed me to look at her furnace. All that was wrong with the furnace was the pilot light was out. I relit it. Like I told you, she pulled the gun on me. Made me make the call. Next thing I remember was waking up in the trunk of the car. Scared to death. If you hadn’t been there . . .”
We both sat for a minute, lost in our own thoughts.
Ryan broke the silence. “Something was going on with that cleaning lady, too.”
“Frieda Chida?”
“No. The one that was murdered.”
“Juanita?”
“Yes. Juanita stopped by the shop a lot. Whenever Juanita showed up, Hennessy would send me on an errand, or they’d go in the office, close the door, and talk. And she brought stuff to her.”
“What kind of stuff?” I asked.
“Stuff Hennessy would sell . . . jewelry, cameras, computers.”
“Do you think they were stealing things and selling them? I saw my wedding ring for sale at Hennessy’s last night. That’s why CJ went over there.” Did Hennessy kill Juanita for some reason? But why would she kill Margaret? Unless she thought she’d get all of Margaret’s stuff for her store.
“Your wedding ring was there?” Ryan’s voice rose to almost a shout, and his face was so red, I worried.
“Ryan, this can’t be good for you. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“She’s not who I thought she was.”
“I’m so sorry.” I, of all people, understood being betrayed. “You told the police all of this?”
“You bet I did. Even though I didn’t want to believe it.”
We stopped at a small market. I steadied Ryan when he got out of the car. “Are you sure you don’t want me to just run in and get the stuff?”
“I think I’ll feel better once I’ve moved around. I still can’t believe Hennessy whacked me with her gun.” We both shuddered a bit at the thought of Hennessy.
We walked around the market companionably. “Want some chips?” I asked. “Those always make me feel better.”
“Sure. Which are your favorites?”
I pointed at a bag. “Those Cape Cod ones.”
Ryan tossed them in the cart. “Hmm, maybe I need some cookies, too. Chocolate chip.”
“A man with great taste,” I said.
He paid. We left the market and I drove the short distance to his apartment building.
Ryan pointed to his parking spot right in front of his door. He got out and reached for the bags but almost fell back into my Suburban.
“Let me get those, Ryan. I really wonder if I should take you back to the hospital.”
“No. Sorry. I’ll be fine.”
I grabbed the bags and followed him into his apartment. “I’ll just unpack this stuff, if you point me to the kitchen. I can make you a quick sandwich. Go lie down.”
“Thanks. I’ll take you up on that.”
I went into the galley kitchen and set all the stuff on the counter. I turned to put the milk in the fridge and noticed it was covered with photographs. Of me.
Chapter 42
I dropped the carton of milk, and its contents flowed out onto the floor. Some of the photos were from my missing photo album, and some must have been printed from my computer, the one that had been stolen. My mind said, Run, but my legs weren’t on board with that thought. They felt like concrete pilings reaching deep into the earth and anchoring me to stare in horror at the pictures.
“I hope you’re going to clean that up,” Ryan said. I turned. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, blocking my exit. “That’s what girlfriends do.”
“I’m not your girlfriend.” My voice came out low and mean. And scared. So very scared.
“Yes you are. I sent you gifts. Things I knew you loved.” He moved into the kitchen, hands behind his back, and stood beside me. I tried not to shrink away. Not to show any fear. But my legs, which had felt like concrete, now felt like dust. “You wore the necklace I sent you everywhere. My love.”
R
yan had no idea what love was. No idea.
“It wasn’t Hennessy? None of it?” And really that made more sense. Ryan would have been the one to overhear me talking to friends or the DiNapolis about things I loved. The thought made me ill.
“I’m the one who knows you, Sarah. Not Hennessy or Seth or CJ.” He brought his hands out from behind his back. In one hand was my aqua sweater, but in the other was a hunting knife just like the one that had been stuck in my tire. “See? I even have your favorite sweater, in case you get cold.” He put it to his cheek and breathed in. “It smells like you.”
I was cold. I was freezing, but no sweater could warm me up. I gestured toward the milk on the floor. “I’ll clean this up, Ryan.” It would give me precious minutes to figure a way out of here. “You’re right that’s what I should do for you. And then I’ll make you a sandwich so you can rest.”
“I’m not tired, Sarah. Not at all.” Ryan smiled at me as he put the knife and the sweater on the counter beside him. He moved back and leaned against the counter. He pulled a stun gun out of his pocket and put it next to the knife.
“Why didn’t you just ask me out?”
He looked startled at the question. “Because girls want to be pursued. To feel cherished.”
I hid my revulsion by looking around the kitchen. It had one doorway and a small window over the sink. If it were an open kitchen, I might have been able to vault over the counter and into another room. Fat chance. I wasn’t exactly athletic, but at least it would have given me some hope.
“Where are your paper towels?” I asked. Ryan pointed to the counter behind me. I ripped some towels off the roll and scanned the counter for weapons. No knives out on the counter or a rolling pin or anything besides the damn paper towels. I paused in front of the window, hoping someone would notice the fear on my face. The Magda Toilet Cream jar Ryan bought from me at the February Blues Sale sat on the sill. He’d bought it for me.
Ryan yanked me by the hair away from the window. I screamed as loud and as long as I could. He slapped me and pulled down the shade. “What are you doing?”
“I just wanted to look at the view.” Which neither of us believed, because the window looked over the parking lot. I held my hand to my cheek. “You don’t have to hurt me.”
All Murders Final! Page 22
