Deadly Diaries

by C. E. Waterman

  She was partway downstairs when the back door clicked open. Allie was going to meet this kid. The jingle of keys galvanized Maggie into action. She grabbed her purse from the table and raced outside. Only Allie’s slow walk with the crutches permitted Maggie to catch up. “Allie, wait.”

  “Sorry, Mags. I need to borrow your car.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  Allie hobbled into the garage, Maggie trailing her. “Look at you. You can hardly walk. How will you drive? At least, let me take you.”

  Allie hesitated and then swerved to the passenger side. Maggie yanked open the driver door and hopped in, holding her hand out for the keys. “Where’re we going?”

  “The Hungry Nun’s Donut Shop on Fourteenth and Main.”

  Maggie dug her cellphone out of her purse.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just what you think I’m doing. I’m telling Greg where to pick up his suspect.”

  “Why? I never said you could tell the police.” Allie took a swipe at Maggie, but with her left arm in a sling, she couldn’t reach with her right.

  Maggie leaned away as she punched the call button and backed out of the driveway. Greg answered on the first ring.

  Allie lunged again, nearly making Maggie drop the phone. “You can’t do this. He’ll think I betrayed him.”

  “Stop it. Do you want us to get in a wreck?” Maggie explained to Greg where they were going and then threw her phone in her purse. “He betrayed you first.”

  Allie grabbed her own phone, but before she could hit any buttons, Maggie wrenched it out of her hand and threw it in the backseat. Allie tried to catch it and missed. “I told you he didn’t push me. You’re just an overbearing, controlling maniac who can’t keep her nose out of other people’s business!”

  Maggie swallowed the sharp words she wanted to shout, forcing calm. “Cameron betrayed you when he let you take the heat for Aunt Esther’s death. He knows they want to talk to him. He knows you could be in trouble because they can’t find him. He could clear everything up if he has an alibi.”

  Allie yanked Maggie’s phone out of her purse. “What if he doesn’t? Then they’ll arrest him.”

  “And why is that different from them arresting you?”

  Allie didn’t say anything, just dropped Maggie’s phone, and faced the window.

  Silence radiated through the car for several blocks. As they approached, Maggie tried again, purposely keeping her voice soft. “I don’t care if you’re mad at me. I would rather have you mad than not know where you are and let Cameron finish you off.” She swung into a space. “If he’s innocent, why doesn’t he surrender? The police are very good at finding the right guy.”

  She heard the rattle before she saw the truck jerk into the spot to the right of her vehicle.

  A slender, sandy-haired young man swung out. Clean cut and handsome, not what she expected at all.

  Allie rolled down the window and he leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head. She had this pouty thing down to an art.

  “You’d better not stay,” she said. “Maggie called the cops.”

  He swore and took a couple steps toward his truck then stepped back. “Allie, please come with me. I can’t stay here, and we need to talk. Someone’s been trailing you.”

  Allie reached for the door handle.

  “No! You can’t go with him!” Maggie panicked.

  Considering her broken leg, Allie was out of the car faster than Maggie would have thought possible. She stood on one leg.

  Cameron bent to pick her up, leaving her crutches in the car.

  Maggie threw her door open and flew out, tugging at his arm as he hurried to the passenger side of his truck. “Leave her alone! Put her down!”

  “Do you want to make me drop her?” He yelled. “Knock it off!”

  He shoved Allie in, slammed the door, and ran to the driver’s side before Maggie had a chance to think.

  She yanked open the passenger door and jumped in.

  Allie automatically slid to the middle of the bench seat to make room for her.

  “What are you doing? Get out of my truck!” His desperate voice rose to a high-pitched shriek.

  “She goes; I go. You’d better decide what you’re doing. The police station isn’t far. It won’t take them long.”

  He swore again, threw the truck into reverse, and gunned it, screeching out of the lot. He flew down the street, around the corner, and slowed when he neared traffic. It was as if he were out for a Sunday drive.

  Maggie checked the mirrors several times, hoping to see a police car, but it looked like he had eluded them. She glared at Cameron over Allie’s head. “What did you mean before? Did you see someone following us while you were following us?”

  Red started at the base of his neck and traveled up his face. “I was just trying to get Allie to talk to me.”

  “In this state, that’s called stalking.”

  “I’m not the one you need to worry about. A black SUV keeps showing up. Maybe you should worry about him.”

  “Did you see who was in it?”

  “No, the windows are tinted, and before you ask, I didn’t get a look at the license number.”

  “How about make and model?”

  He shook his head, appearing to concentrate on his driving.

  Maggie focused, trying to remember if she’d seen any vehicles like that in the past week. “How convenient.” She smirked. “Do you know how many black SUVs there are in the mountains?”

  “Maggie, stop, OK?” Allie faced Cameron. “Tell us what you saw.”

  He drove onto a side road, and Maggie wondered where he was taking them. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to get in the truck. She thrust a hand in her purse, all the while looking for street signs. She couldn’t feel her phone. Jerking the bag open, she stared inside. It wasn’t there. It must have fallen on the floor of her car when Allie dropped it. She pictured Allie’s phone where it landed on the rear seat. Great, she and Allie could be in here with a killer and no way to communicate.

  “I haven’t been watching you the whole time.” Cameron calmed. “But I’ve driven by your house, trying to get up the nerve to knock. I’ve seen a black SUV several times. He saw me once and left but not before I saw him get out of his vehicle and go through your back gate. Something must have spooked him halfway through the yard though, because he stopped and left without knocking.”

  “He was in my backyard?” Maggie stopped at the squeak in her voice, took a breath, and tried again. “What did he look like?”

  “I was pretty far down the street, so I didn’t see his face. He had short, dark hair, and a decent build. I wouldn’t have wanted to mess with him.”

  “How tall was he?”

  “Hard to tell from a distance; taller than me though.”

  Maggie counted the guys she knew who fit the description. Mike was tall and well built. Could he have needed something from her and then noticed she wasn’t home? But why go through the back? It could have been Greg. He parked in the alley and came in the gate. But he was a lot taller than Cameron, and he drove a pickup, not an SUV.

  Cameron turned north on a quiet street and pulled over to the side.

  A creek flowed east to west under the road ahead of them, and its tinkle was making her wish she’d visited the restroom first.

  He put the truck in park, left the engine running, and reached for Allie’s hand. “I didn’t kill the old lady, and I didn’t push you down the stairs. I know you don’t like Grady, but you’ve got to believe me, I would never hurt you.”

  “What about Grady? Could he have pushed her?” Maggie perched on the edge of the seat to stare at Cameron, wanting to jerk their hands apart.

  “Grady wouldn’t do that.”

  She slid back and changed her focus. “Allie, what does Grady look like?”

  “He has light, brownish-blond hair like Cameron, but he’s shorter and heavier.”

  Cameron piped up. “What she’s tryi
ng to say is he has a fat gut. Grady likes his beer.”

  If Grady was heavy, then it couldn’t have been him in the model home. Maggie closed her eyes and pictured the guy again. She wasn’t sure how tall he was, but he was lean.

  Cameron interrupted her thoughts. “I want to talk to Allie.”

  “So talk.”

  “Alone.” His face was set, and he stared straight ahead.

  “I’m not getting out of this truck.” To emphasize her point, Maggie yanked the seatbelt down and snapped it in place.

  “Then we’ll get out.” Allie pointed toward a group of trees on the right side of the road, a short distance from the truck. “We’ll stand right by those trees over there. He can’t take me anywhere without his truck, Mags. I’ll be fine.”

  Maggie nodded. “But stay where I can see you.” She was way overreacting, but one look at Allie’s cast firmed her resolve. As they got out on the driver’s side, she wondered how Greg would react when he found her empty car at the donut shop. She knew what he would do: he’d worry.

  Cameron walked with an arm around Allie, steadying her as she hobbled around the front of the truck toward the trees.

  Maggie rolled down her window and stuck her head out. “And make it fast. I don’t want to be here all day.” She didn’t mention the police were looking for them. Instead, she gazed around the quiet neighborhood, enjoying the breeze and listening to every word they said. Obviously, they didn’t realize how their voices carried out here in the stillness.

  The street was clear, but looking in the side mirror, Maggie counted three different black or dark gray vehicles fitting Cameron’s description, driving west on the street behind them. Maybe he was making it up about the SUV. It’d be a good ruse, hard to disprove. As she watched, a green truck rounded the corner behind them, hesitated for a second, then leaped forward, as if the driver stomped on the gas.

  The engine roared behind her. An explosion rang in her ears, and she slammed sideways into the door. The truck backed away, then jerked left around Cameron’s vehicle and backfired. Another bang filled the air and then another as it rocketed back into the lane. Then it dawned on her. The sounds weren’t backfires. They were gunshots.

  ~*~

  Greg circled the Hungry Nun again. No sign of Maggie. He and David had checked every table in the place, and no one had seen her enter the donut shop. He returned to her car and tried the door. Locked. He peered in the driver’s side window while David did the same on the passenger side, but neither saw anything to indicate a problem. So where was she?

  “Her purse is gone,” David said.

  “Yeah, she was together enough to take it with her.” Greg cupped his hands around his eyes. “Is that her phone? No, it must be Allie’s. Maggie’s doesn’t have rhinestones.”

  “What about the other one?”

  “Where?” Greg hurried to the passenger side, and David scooched over to give him room.

  He put his finger on the glass. “There. On the floor between the seats.”

  There was something there. “It’s hard to tell, let me call again.” He dialed her cell number. Sure enough, the area under the seat lit up and faint music drifted from the car’s interior. He disconnected. “Great. It explains why she hasn’t answered my calls.”

  A young boy rode his bike over. A bag with a nun eating a donut dangled from his handlebars. “You guys looking for the smokin’ hot chick from this car?”

  “Yeah, do you know where she went?”

  He shifted off the seat and leaned the bike so he could stand. “Some dude picked her up and put her in his truck.”

  Oh, no. The scenario was worse than Greg had thought. “Picked her up? Physically?”

  “Yeah. Well, she had a cast on, and it made it hard for her to walk, I guess.”

  Ah, he was talking about Allie. “What about the woman with her? The driver.”

  “Oh, yeah, she was hot, too. She tried to make him stop, but before I could get off my bike to help, she got in the truck with them.”

  “Did it look forced?”

  “No, the blonde wanted to go, and the older one didn’t want her to. So she got in with them. Then they hauled out of the parking lot and down the street.”

  David unclipped his phone from his belt. “What kind of truck was it?”

  “It was kind of a cool old truck. A light blue pickup. Looked like a custom paint job, but it had seen better days for sure.”

  “Did you get the license number?”

  He grimaced. “No, sorry.”

  “What’s your name?”

  While David took the kid’s information, Greg called the station, putting a BOLO on the blue truck. When David finished questioning the kid, they got in their vehicle, Greg on the driver’s side. “I want to cruise the neighborhood in case we spot them.”

  David snapped his seatbelt. “He’s had plenty of time to get away. He wouldn’t hang around.”

  “I know, but I don’t know what else to do. Where would he take them? I mean it was in broad daylight, for Pete’s sake.”

  14

  “Get down!” Maggie screamed as she struggled with the seatbelt, regretting her earlier show of authority.

  Cameron threw Allie to the ground and shielded her with his body. The truck roared off, and another crack burst out as it flew down the street.

  Maggie jerked at the seatbelt, ripping her nails on the stiff fabric. She could see Allie’s hand sticking out from beneath Cameron, and red bloomed on his white T-shirt. Was it Cameron’s blood or Allie’s? She dragged her eyes away to focus on the seatbelt latch and stabbed at it again and again. Finally, it clicked loose. She tore the belt off and stumbled out of the truck. “Allie!” she screamed, running toward them. “Are you OK?”

  Allie struggled to get out from under Cameron. “Get off. You’re crushing me.” Her voice was muffled.

  He rolled off her and lay in the grass. Maggie scanned Allie for injuries, but there didn’t seem to be any new ones. She grabbed her under the arms and heaved her to her feet. Blowing out a sigh, she focused on Cameron. His forehead was sweating, and he gripped his upper arm—the source of the blood.

  “He’s been shot, Maggie. He’s been shot!” Allie’s voice escalated to a screech. “Now do you believe he didn’t kill Aunt Esther?”

  Maggie didn’t say anything as she knelt beside him on the grass. “Let go and let me see.” As gently as she could, she eased his hand away from his arm. Through the blood, she inspected the hole in his right shoulder.

  “We need to get you to a hospital, and we need to do it fast, in case they come back. Allie, help me get his shirt off.”

  Together they helped him sit up.

  Maggie half-pulled, half-ripped the T-shirt from his body. Another hole tore open the back where the bullet exited. “Here.” She folded the material and placed it over his shoulder until both ends fell in front of the injuries. “Press on the front.”

  He brought his left hand up to hold it in place, and she pressed against the one on the back. He sucked in his breath.

  Glancing around, hoping to see some neighbors, Maggie helped him stand. “Can you walk?”

  “Yeah, I’m OK.”

  He faltered, and she tightened her grip, trying to help him balance while keeping pressure on the wound.

  Allie hopped along after them.

  The two houses on the street looked blank. If they didn’t come out after hearing gunshots, they either weren’t home or were too scared. Either way, she doubted they’d be a source of help.

  She loaded Cameron first, and then Allie, before running to the driver’s side. A large dent appeared near the front end, but clear of the door. A hissing emanated from the tire. The need to leave swamped her emotions. She tried to block out the image of a green truck coming back around the corner. They would be sitting ducks, with both Cameron and Allie unable to run.

  Maggie climbed in and steered the truck onto the road in the direction of the hospital.

  Allie m
aneuvered the shirt under Cameron’s arm so he could lean against it in the back and she could press against the wound in the front.

  Maggie marveled at the calmness of her actions. A groan escaped Cameron’s lips, causing her to push harder on the accelerator. The truck listed hard to the left and limped forward. Thank goodness the hospital was a block away. She steered into the emergency lot, and with the pedal down as far as she dared, the truck shuddered to the front doors.

  As soon as she stopped, three people dashed from the entrance. She delivered Cameron into their hands and asked them to call the police. She realized she could have called the police with Cameron’s phone on the way over, but in her haste to get away before the shooter came back she didn’t think. With a gunshot wound, they’d call the police anyway, but she wanted Greg. She flipped his card out of her wallet and gave it to the desk clerk. The doctor from the day before was on duty again. Allie said her leg was throbbing, so Maggie asked him to check on her as well.

  “I’m OK, Maggie. I don’t need them to check on me.”

  Maggie’s eyes met the doctor’s over Allie’s head. “Can you just make sure the bone hasn’t shifted? I don’t know if it’s possible, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  The doctor smiled at Allie. “That’s a very good idea, young lady. You don’t want your leg to heal funny, do you? You don’t want to go through all this and then have to rebreak it if it isn’t healing straight?”

  Maggie didn’t know whether the doctor would break the leg or not, but it scared Allie enough to allow an X-ray through the cast. All was well, which made her feel better since she didn’t relish calling George’s secretary again.

  Allie could call her dad tonight and explain.

  Minutes later, Greg and David sprinted through the doors. There was no one she wanted to see more, and apparently, Greg felt the same way. He folded her into a hug. “Are you and Allie OK? What happened?”

  She explained and described the truck.

  Greg scribbled in his notebook. “Did you see the guy?”

  Maggie shook her head.