The Reed Ferguson Mystery series Box Set 3

by Renee Pawlish

  I put a hand against the door. “I just want to talk to you.”

  “No way. I’ve got to go before that guy figures out where I live.” She held the door in place, still crushing my foot.

  “Who?”

  Her eyes darted past me. “The guy that was following me.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m alone. And if you were worried about some guy, why’d you open the door in the first place?” I shoved my finger at the peephole in the door. “You should’ve checked through that.”

  “I wasn’t thinking,” she snapped, then gazed at me warily. “Besides, I lost him.”

  “I want to help,” I said through gritted teeth. “Give me five minutes of your time.”

  “I can’t. That guy may figure out where I live.” Fear etched her voice.

  “Who?” I repeated.

  “The guy who was at Pete’s the night he was murdered.”

  “You were there.”

  She nodded.

  “You know who killed Pete,” I said.

  She nodded again. “Yes.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Five minutes,” I said. “That’s all I ask.”

  She suddenly relented and opened the door wider. I almost fell into her, very un-Bogie-like. I righted myself, pulled my foot back and grimaced, then gingerly stepped on it. Nothing was broken, thank goodness.

  “Come on in,” she said.

  “In” was a small, tidy living room with a loveseat, two small armchairs, and a TV on a black stand. A couple of throw pillows with the Rockies logo on them were on the loveseat. A poster of Charlie Preston hung on one wall, and another had Rockies team pictures, a poster of Coors Field and more pictures of Charlie. A sliding glass door in the wall behind the couch opened onto a tiny balcony.

  “I’m kind of infatuated with Charlie,” she said before I had a chance to comment.

  “I know.” I noticed a small carry-on suitcase near what I assumed was a bedroom. I pointed at the case. “Going somewhere?”

  “For a few days.”

  “Hiding?” I asked. She looked away and didn’t say anything. I tipped my head to make eye contact. “Who killed Pete Westhaven?”

  She hesitated, then said, “I don’t know his name.”

  “But you saw him.”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said softly, trying to draw her into my confidence.

  “Haley called me back today, after I had agreed to meet with you.”

  “I figured as much.” I wondered where she was going with this.

  “She said you knew we’d been kind of following Charlie, and that I was trying to find someone who could introduce me to Charlie.”

  I nodded.

  She stepped back to the loveseat, perched herself on the arm, and straightened a pillow. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. Then she began. “All that’s true. I’d seen Charlie with that guy Pete. I was curious about Pete, so I found some online articles that talked about how Charlie and Pete had been friends since high school. I thought if I could get to know Pete, he could introduce me to Charlie. That night – Thursday – I followed Charlie to Pete’s apartment. I went up the stairs and waited in the stairwell. Then Charlie came out of the apartment by himself, and I suddenly felt so stupid that I’d followed him so I ran down the stairs and hid outside. He came out and I almost followed him, but I thought he might’ve seen me, so I decided not to. Then I thought, this was my opportunity to talk to his friend. But I was nervous about approaching Pete, so I kept waiting. Then I finally got the courage to go back inside. I was almost to the third floor when I heard the gunshot. It made me jump. And I saw the guy come out of Pete’s apartment. At first, I didn’t have any idea what had happened, but he had such a hateful look on his face. I thought he’d caught me following Pete, and it scared me. So instead of going on up the stairs, I turned around and left.”

  “And he saw you.”

  “Yes, and he chased me. I ran outside, and I was trying to get my car keys and I dropped them. I couldn’t find them right away, so I left them and ran down the street and hid in some bushes. He didn’t see me, and then he took off.”

  “Did you see his car?”

  “No, he must’ve parked on a different street and walked to Pete’s building.”

  “So when you were hiding from Charlie, you must’ve seen the guy go in.”

  “A few people went in the building, but I wasn’t paying attention. But I did get a good look at him when he was leaving.”

  I nodded. “Then you waited for the police, right?”

  “I stayed nearby.”

  “A neighbor saw you,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell the police what you saw?”

  “I thought about it but I was scared, and a little embarrassed. I didn’t want to tell them about my obsession with Charlie. If I had to testify or something, my parents and friends would find out, and I don’t want them to know….other than Haley and Sharonda.” She shrugged. “Besides, I didn’t know at the time what had happened, just that the police were there and they removed a body. It wasn’t until the next day that I saw that Charlie was a suspect in Pete Westhaven’s murder. Then I knew the killer must be the guy I’d seen leaving Pete’s apartment.”

  “Why didn’t you say something then?”

  “I wanted to find the guy myself and then I could tell the police who he was.”

  Then it dawned on me. “By doing that, you’d be Charlie’s savior and he would be so grateful, he’d go out with you.”

  Her face burned deep red. “It was silly. And now I think that guy might be after me and…” Tears filled her eyes.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “We’ll take care of him.” Whoever he was.

  “He’s killed two people.”

  “Did you see him shoot Maggie Hollenbaucher, too?”

  “Who?”

  “You said he killed two people.”

  “Yeah, I tailed that guy from Pete’s apartment the night he followed that woman who’d gone into Pete’s building.”

  I snapped my fingers. “I knew I’d seen you there.”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed. “I’d been watching that guy, too, ever since he visited Pete. When I spotted him at Charlie’s, I couldn’t believe it. He’d killed Pete, but then he was hanging around at Charlie’s? So I decided to see what he was up to. He drove to Pete’s apartment. That’s when I saw that other woman go into the building. I’ve seen her and Pete going into Charlie’s building. That guy waited until she left, and then he followed her to a gym. And I tailed him.”

  And I, too, was tailing Maggie. I was so intent on her, I’d missed them. We must’ve made quite a caravan through the city.

  “You said you didn’t see him shoot Maggie,” I pointed out.

  “I didn’t. I watched him for a while and then left.”

  I frowned. “Too bad.” Then something else occurred to me. “Wait, you first saw this guy at Charlie’s?”

  “Yeah, around eight or so. I’ve seen him with Charlie. They must be friends.”

  Greg? I wondered. Or someone else? But Greg had an alibi the night Maggie was murdered. Was I dealing with two killers? I shook my head in frustration. What was I missing?

  She sighed. “I know you think I’m crazy, and maybe I am, but I just want to help Charlie.”

  “That’s why I need to know everything you know.”

  “I’m telling you everything!” she said defensively. “I don’t even know why the police think Charlie killed Pete. Just because he visited Pete, doesn’t mean he killed his friend.”

  “Charlie’s gun was used,” I said. “That’s the main reason.”

  “Oh. That wasn’t in the news, just that Charlie was the suspect.”

  “What did the articles say?”

  “Not much. The police didn’t release any information, so all I know is Pete was found dead in his apartment, not anything about the crime scene, like where the body was found or stuff like that. And they said noth
ing about a gun, even though I knew that part because I heard the shot.”

  I nodded. “That’s true. I…wait, what did you say?”

  “About the gun?”

  “The body.”

  “The news didn’t say where Pete’s body was found.”

  “Yeah.” I stared out the glass door to the balcony. And the pieces fell into place.

  The killer had plenty of access to Charlie’s apartment and to his gun. I’d seen the killer’s car outside Pete’s apartment the night Maggie was murdered, I just hadn’t realized it. It was the same car Trisha had followed. And I’d also seen that car parked near Charlie’s condo a time or two. But the most damning piece was that only one guy had known exactly where Pete’s body had been discovered. Since that hadn’t been reported in the news, only someone in the apartment when Pete died would’ve known that.

  “What’s wrong?” Trisha asked.

  “I know who the killer is.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Who?” Trisha asked.

  “Charlie’s agent. Gil Valducci.” I ran a hand over my face as I put it all together. “I ran into him the other day outside of Charlie’s condo, and he said something about not understanding how a man is shot in his own apartment, near the kitchen, and the police can’t find the killer.”

  “So?”

  “Gil couldn’t have known that unless he was in Pete’s apartment when Pete was shot.”

  “Why would his agent use Charlie’s gun to kill Pete? It would ruin Charlie’s career.”

  “Pete was branching out. There were rumors he was selling to more athletes. And Gil is an up-and-coming agent who needs more clients. He wants great athletes because that means bigger contracts and then Gil makes more money. I’ll bet Pete was selling steroids to Gil, too, but Charlie didn’t know.”

  “But why use Charlie’s gun?” she repeated.

  “I’m not sure,” I said.

  Something thumped in the hallway. Trisha bolted to her feet and I whirled around. Then we heard footsteps.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “Must’ve been a neighbor. But I have to get away from here. That guy’s going to come after me.”

  “Hold on.” I tiptoed to the front door and peered out the peephole. “I can’t see anyone.” But what if someone was standing by the wall next to the door, out of view of the peephole? I turned back to Trisha. “Gil will find you. He can’t have witnesses to what he did.”

  “What do I do?” she wailed.

  “We need to get you somewhere safe.” My mind raced. I’d taken a previous client to Cal’s house in the mountains. If I could get Trisha there without being followed, she’d be safe. Cal wouldn’t be happy with me, but I could make it up to him later. I stepped around the loveseat and looked out on the balcony. “Can we get out this way?”

  She followed my gaze. “And go where?”

  “Is there a fire escape?”

  “Why would we need a fire escape?” She pointed to the front door. “You said that guy’s not out there.”

  “He could be hiding.”

  “Don’t worry. I lost him earlier. He hasn’t had time to find out where I live.” She headed toward the front door. “I’ll just peek.”

  “No, wait!” I started after her.

  She reached the door and turned the knob. I hurtled over the loveseat, pushed her aside and collided into the door just as it flew open. I knocked the door back and pinned Gil Valducci between the door and the frame.

  “You!” Gil snarled at me.

  Trisha shrieked and backpedaled. Gil pushed on the door with one arm and I leaned all my weight against him. Then he reached up and awkwardly punched at my face. I jerked my head away, grabbed the side of the door, quickly pulled it back and then slammed it into him. He wasn’t expecting that and he stumbled backward. I launched myself into the door and felt his weight on the other side, but the door closed. The knob rattled, but it was locked.

  I spun around. “Out the balcony!”

  Trisha stayed rooted in place.

  I rushed over and pushed her toward the sliding glass door. “Come on!”

  Behind us, a loud thump rocked the front door. Gil was trying to break it down. I slid the balcony door open and shoved Trisha through. Then I stepped out and frantically looked around.

  “Where’s the fire escape?” I asked. Another thump on the front door.

  “Over there!” She pointed at a ladder that ran down the wall between her balcony and the balcony for the apartment next door. “We have to climb over the railing.”

  “You first,” I said.

  I helped her over the balcony railing and then followed. As I started down the ladder, I listened for a second. The thumping noise had stopped.

  “Hurry,” I chided Trisha. “Gil’s going to figure out what we’re doing and he’ll come running.”

  She scrambled down the ladder, which stopped at the second level.

  “What do I do?” she hollered.

  “It should slide down with your weight.”

  As if the ladder heard me, it suddenly moved. Trisha shrieked again. The ladder stopped three feet from the ground and she hopped off it. I jumped down and landed beside her.

  “Let’s go!” I grabbed her arm and started running down the alley, past some fraternity houses and toward Warren Avenue.

  I glanced over my shoulder. No one was there. We reached the street and hesitated.

  “Which way?” she yelled.

  “Right.” That would take us back toward Josephine, where the 4-Runner was parked.

  We started running, but then Gil rushed around from the front of the building and headed toward us. Trisha stopped short and I plowed into her.

  “This way!” I yanked her with me as I turned and fled in the opposite direction.

  “Stop!” Gil shouted.

  We ran a block to Evans and crossed the street without waiting for cars. A BMW going north swerved to miss us and a Subaru coming from the other direction screeched to a halt. A horn honked and a string of curses filled the air. We dodged in front of the Subaru and onto the DU campus. Behind us, horns blared again. I glanced over my shoulder. Gil had taken advantage of a lull in the traffic and had bolted across the street.

  Trisha and I cut across the grass and into University Hall, a large stone building. I spied a set of stairs to our left.

  “Up here.”

  We took the steps two at a time to the second floor, then raced down the hall. I stopped at the first door I came to, but through a long rectangular window, I saw people sitting inside. Trisha dashed past me and checked the next door, then opened it. She waved a hand at me and ran inside. I followed and pulled the door shut, then flipped the lock. We pressed ourselves against the wall in the corner next to the door and waited. The room was bathed in shadows, the only light coming through the vertical slit window in the door and a couple of square windows on the wall opposite us.

  “Oh my god!” Trisha said as she gasped for breath. “What do we do?”

  I held up a hand. “Sh!”

  She shut her mouth, tried to breathe through her nose, then opened her mouth and drew in deep breaths. It was noisy, but then, so was my own breathing. Over these sounds, I heard footsteps outside the door. Suddenly, a shadow blocked out the light from the hallway. Trisha and I froze. I put my hand against her side, indicating she should stay where she was. She was trembling violently. The door suddenly rattled. Trisha let out a tiny yelp and I glared at her. She clamped a hand over her face, terror in her eyes. We stayed like that for a long minute. Then the shadow finally moved away from the window. I wasn’t convinced Gil was gone, so I sidled down the wall and peeked under the door. A set of feet were positioned just outside and to the right of the door. I held my breath and watched. Voices sounded from somewhere down the hall and the feet finally moved away. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I heard another door rattle down the hall. I stood up and breathed again.

  “He’s not by the door now,” I whispered. �
�But he’s still looking around.”

  “He can’t wait out there forever.”

  “And we can’t stay in here forever,” I muttered. “But he knows he’s been found out, so he’ll run at some point.”

  “He could still come after me.”

  “Which is why we need to get you someplace where he can’t find you.” I thought about calling the police, but what would they do? They wouldn’t be able to protect Trisha around the clock. I had another thought. If I could get Trisha to Cal’s without Gil knowing, she’d be safe while I tracked Gil down. But it would take a long time to get her to Cal’s house in the foothills west of Denver.

  “Hold on.” I made a quick call. “Deuce.”

  “Hi, Reed, what’s going on?”

  “Are you at home?” I said in a low voice.

  “Uh-huh. Ace is at work, though. Do you need us to watch for that woman?”

  “No, I need you to actually watch her,” I said.

  “Huh?”

  “I’ve found her, but I need you to help me hide her for a while, until I can make other arrangements.”

  “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

  “I’m going to have you take her to Cal’s house, okay?”

  “Sure,” Deuce said.

  “And I need you to pick us up now.” I gave him directions to DU. “When you get close, call me and I’ll tell you where we are.”

  “Uh, are you okay?”

  “Someone’s been chasing us, so I need you to be careful. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure we lose him before you pick us up.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

  I thanked him and ended the call.

  Trisha nervously ran a hand through her hair. “You want me to stay with your friend?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if Gil sees us?”

  I grimaced. “We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “How?”

  I ignored her and glanced out the rectangular window. I couldn’t see Gil. Where was he? Searching the rest of the building for us? Or had he left?

  Trisha stayed silent and we waited. I silenced my cell phone and held it in my hand. Then I watched the door, but Gil never came back. I leaned against the wall and mulled over everything. Some things didn’t make sense. Like why Gil would kill Pete, unless he had another source to get the steroids.