by B. J Daniels
“Wait!” He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. “We’ll do it your way. I’ll get you a car. You make the pickup. I’ll have the title signed over in your name as soon as you give me the package and her location.” Silence. “And I give you five thousand dollars to end our business arrangement.”
“Make it twenty thousand, you put the title of the car in my name right away and I give you the location after I make the pickup.”
He would kill her when this was over. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t. Make it a red car. I like red. Something nice. Don’t be cheap. You’ll probably want to have it delivered as soon as possible so I can get going. Jenna isn’t anywhere near Seattle. I’ll call you on my cell phone when I have the package, and we can set up an exchange. I’d like that twenty grand in new bills.”
He cursed the turn his life had taken. Women were now calling the shots? He’d been beaten up and hog-tied by a woman, his ex-wife had stolen his daughter and his money, and now this woman was telling him how things were going to be?
“You do realize the fine line you are walking here?” he asked Charlene in his most calm voice.
She chuckled. “I have nothing to lose. How about you?” She let out a long sigh. “The sooner I get the car, the sooner I get your papers back.” She hung up.
He threw the cell phone across the room and immediately regretted it as the phone shattered in a spray of plastic. He’d have to buy not only a car but also a new cell phone.
Picking up the land line, he first called Alfredo, then a car dealer and ordered a car delivered to Charlene’s address, the title in her name, plus a cash payment to be made from his bank account. The only red car the dealer had was going to set him back over ten grand. Lorenzo swore and told the dealer that the car had to be delivered immediately.
The doorbell rang.
“Screw the paperwork. Put the insurance under my name then. Just get the car to that address now,” he barked into the phone, having to raise his voice because of the sudden pounding at the front door. “What the hell?” Lorenzo swore. He hung up and went to the door to look out.
Cops?
RAYMOND VALENCIA HAD SENT Jolly and Rico over to Jenna Dante’s apartment after numerous attempts to reach her had failed. They came back with the bad news.
“Looks like she skipped,” Rico said, playing with the toothpick in his mouth. “Super said she left last night and didn’t come back.”
“How the hell does the apartment super know that?” Raymond snapped.
“Insomniac. Saw her leave with two suitcases, a large one and a small one. Seemed to be in a hurry. Her parking space was empty all night. No sign of her this morning.”
Raymond pulled on his left earlobe, a habit when he was thinking. “No one has any idea where she went?”
Rico shook his head.
“And what about this Rose Garcia woman? Any word on her?”
Jolly shrugged. “Lorenzo scared her off.”
It always came back to Lorenzo.
Rico pulled the toothpick from his mouth. “After a little persuasion, we found out that someone else had been snooping around the apartment.” He paused as if waiting for a drum roll. “Some broad,” he said finally, nodding and smiling. “A cop. Name was Rose Garcia.”
Raymond stared at Rico, his mind reeling at the implications. He tried not to show his surprise. Or his distress at the news. A cop looking for Jenna. A cop whose number was on Franco’s cell phone. Nothing about this situation boded well.
Was Franco working with the cops?
Or worse, was Franco a cop? If so, he’d certainly fooled him. Raymond had always prided himself on his instincts. If he was wrong about Franco, could he also be wrong about Jenna? If so, how did she fit into the picture?
“Tell me something,” Raymond said after a moment. “You knew Franco. Can you see him with Jenna Dante?”
Rico laughed. “That broad was too classy for Dante, let alone a dunce like Franco. No way.”
Raymond wanted to argue that Franco was no dunce. There had been intelligence behind all that attitude. In fact, Franco could have been smarter than Raymond had realized. He’d certainly fooled him. Raymond looked to Jolly. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know, Boss. I’ve never understood women.”
Rico laughed and even Raymond had to smile. “I know what you mean, Jolly,” Raymond said. “I’ve never understood women, either.” But he’d thought he’d understood Jenna. He’d thought he knew her. More important, he’d thought he could trust her. Just as he had Franco.
Now he wasn’t so sure. “You left a man watching Jenna Dante’s apartment and another one watching Lorenzo?” Both nodded. “Rico, I want you on Lorenzo. You know the drill.” Rico nodded. “Jolly, you take the apartment. I want to know if anyone comes or goes. Anyone.”
Rico’s cell rang. He checked the caller ID, looked at his boss, then quickly answered. “Yeah. No kiddin’. Yeah.” He snapped it off. “The guy I left at Dante’s. He just called to say that cops are there. Had a warrant and everything. Got one of them forensics teams in there. And two detectives just took Dante downtown in handcuffs.”
Raymond Valencia swore. Hadn’t he known he would live to regret not killing Lorenzo?
DETECTIVE ROSE GARCIA cupped the cell phone to her ear as her fingers whipped over the computer keyboard at a Ballard Internet café.
“We got a warrant to search Dante’s house, and picked up blood spatters in the tile grout on the living room floor,” Detective Luke Henry said on the other end of the line.
“Franco’s?” she asked scared.
“Maybe. Could be his ex’s. Got the forensics guy on it and Dante in custody. He says the blood is from a cut on his hand. Has a fresh cut. Unless we find more evidence of foul play, we aren’t going to be able to hold him, and he knows it.”
Rose stopped typing and closed her eyes.
“You still there?”
She took a breath, opened her eyes. “Let’s say he did the ex. Where’s the daughter?”
“We found a bedroom upstairs. Had some little girl’s clothes in it. Dante says he has visitation rights. Doesn’t get the daughter again until the weekend. Claims he hasn’t seen or heard from his ex since the last time he had supervised visitation.”
“He’s lying.”
Luke laughed. “You think? But unless we have a body…”
“Yeah. I’m running her credit card right now to see if she’s used it in the last twenty-four hours. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Maybe by some miracle Jenna Dante had escaped her ex-husband. “Still no word from Franco?”
“No. Shouldn’t you be home taking it easy?”
“I’m fine. It was just a little knife wound. The perp barely cut me. It wasn’t like he shot me.” She snapped her cell phone shut and stared at the computer screen.
Jenna hadn’t used her credit card late last night. Rose felt a wave of disappointment. Now what?
Unable not to think about the blood Luke had found at Dante’s house, Rose checked the police wire. If Lorenzo had dumped the bodies, maybe they’d been found by now.
One report caught her eye. A woman and child and elderly security guard had been stranded at an empty hotel in the Cascades. Highway patrol were unable to reach the three, but had talked to the security guard on the phone.
But what had caught Rose’s eye was the model and color of the SUV the woman had been driving, information provided by the security guard. It matched one owned by Lorenzo Dante. But now that Rose thought about it, she realized Dante hadn’t been driving it this morning when he’d almost hit her.
She called Luke. “Is Lorenzo Dante’s black SUV out there?”
“No, hold on.” Luke left the line and came back. “He says it was stolen. He hasn’t had time to report it yet. He’s driving a rental, and guess whose car is parked out back?”
“Jenna’s,” Rose said. “Bingo. I think she took his SUV, for whatever reason. If I’m right, I
might be able to find her.”
“Rose? Listen, I don’t want you doing any thing without backup, and there is no way I can back you up with you being on medical leave, do you hear me?”
“I won’t do anything without backup. I promise.” She hung up. Her instincts told her she was on the right track. If Lorenzo Dante’s SUV really had been stolen, he would have called the cops right away in a fury. But if Jenna had taken it…
Rose jotted down the name of the place. Fernhaven Hotel.
Opening her bottom desk drawer, she pulled out a map of Washington State. Based on the police report, she found the approximate location of the hotel. About two hours from Seattle.
She crossed her fingers as she dialed directory assistance and got the number for the hotel. But when she called the phone rang and rang, each ring causing her more concern. Rose couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman and child stranded at the hotel were Jenna Dante, now McDonald, and her daughter, Alexandria—and that they were in more trouble than they realized.
As the phone rang, Rose studied the map. No close towns around, and according to the latest up date, no way in. The highway was flooded to the east and impassable, and a bridge was out to the west.
Still no answer. She let it ring until it was picked up by voice mail. The message informed her that the hotel wasn’t open for business but would be taking reservations next week, and that a grand opening was scheduled three weeks out.
She would keep trying the number. In the meantime, there had to be a way to get to Fernhaven. That country was crisscrossed with old logging roads. Not the kind of route she could drive in a Mini Cooper, but she knew someone who had a Jeep—and she did need backup.
She dialed Mike Flannigan’s number.
Chapter Ten
Jenna was still trembling after her phone call to Charlene. She had tried to convince herself she’d done the right thing. But now she feared she had only managed to put Charlene’s life in danger.
And all to get the money back to Lorenzo.
Maybe she shouldn’t have even tried. Would it really make that much difference? Something told her it did. No way would Lorenzo have that kind of money just lying around in a duffel bag in the back of the SUV. Especially since he was planning to fly out the next day. He would never have gotten that bag of money through customs.
So what had he planned to do with it?
Since she’d returned to the room, she hadn’t heard any voices in her head. Maybe she’d never heard voices. Or felt someone in the pool with her.
Stress did strange things to a person. And with Lorenzo out there somewhere looking for her…well, no wonder odd things were happening to her.
She shivered at the memory and realized she was still wearing her swimsuit and wrap. Going into the bathroom, she turned on the water and stripped out of her wet clothing. To keep her mind busy she went over the phone conversation with Charlene again in her head.
Charlene had been so understanding. “Honey, the best thing you can do is get out of the country as soon as possible, right? You wouldn’t have run unless you thought you had to, and I got to tell you, some bad-looking guys have been coming around hunting for you. Whatever it is that you accidentally took, give it back. Hell, you don’t want any more trouble from that man.”
Jenna knew Charlene was right. “You’ll make sure you aren’t followed,” she’d said.
“Don’t worry. Your ex doesn’t know me from Adam. I’ll be on my way within the hour,” Charlene had assured her. “It will be great to see you, too. And don’t worry, I’m sure the road will be open by then.”
Had she made the right choice, calling Charlene for help? Jenna prayed so as she soaped her body. She found herself listening for him. Just the thought brought on an ache that was both physical and emotional.
She shook it off as she climbed out of the tub and pulled on the warm guest robe. Then she froze.
He was here. She could feel him in the room. Her heart lodged in her throat. “Who are you?” she whispered hoarsely as she stepped back, grabbing the wall for support.
She stared in horror at the steamed-up mirror over the sink as letters began to slowly appear.
HARRY
BALLANTINE
RAYMOND VALENCIA HAD BEEN waiting by the phone. Jolly had called to say that the cops were still searching Lorenzo Dante’s house. Jolly thought they may have found something.
“Let me know when Lorenzo returns,” Raymond said, ruing the day he’d ever met Lorenzo. What had the fool done? Something bad enough that Lorenzo might try to make a deal to save his sorry self?
Raymond had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but clearly Lorenzo would have to be dealt with. Unfortunately, now that the police were involved, it would have to be done with some finesse. That left out Jolly and Rico.
“There is something I thought you’d want to know,” Jolly said. “Her car is here.”
“Whose car?” Raymond asked impatiently.
“Mrs. Dante’s.”
“Jenna’s? Is she there?”
“I dunno. Doesn’t seem to be. Cops are crawling all over the place and the only other person I’ve seen is Lorenzo. But her car is parked out back. The police just got through searching it. A towing company came to take it away, but the cops stopped them.”
Raymond swore under his breath. “Let me know the minute Lorenzo returns.” He hung up.
The phone rang. More bad news?
“You said to call if anything unusual was going on,” Rico said without preamble. “Well, it’s probably nothing, but the local car dealer just dropped off a nice red Mustang for one of the tenants.”
“That’s nice, Rico, but not exactly—”
“I wouldn’t mention it, but guess who took ownership?”
Raymond wasn’t in the mood for guessing games.
“Stan Palmer’s sister. Stan, the guy who got sent up for jacking that semi a couple of years ago? The guy who used to work for Dante?”
“Stan Palmer’s sister lives in the same apartment house as Jenna Dante?” Raymond asked in astonishment. What were the chances of that in a city the size of Seattle?
“I recognize Charlene from one time when I picked Stan up for a job back when we were both freelancing,” Rico said. “You think she knows Dante’s ex-broad?”
What were the chances Charlene Palmer didn’t know Jenna Dante, he wanted to demand of Rico.
“The dealer just handed her the keys,” Rico said. “She’s all excited about the car, like it’s a present, you know?”
Raymond knew.
“Last I heard, Charlene couldn’t afford bus fare and was living at the women’s shelter. Her lack of looks aside, she’s too nasty toward men to have found herself a sugar daddy.”
Hadn’t Rico been around long enough to realize that not all men wanted sex from a woman?
“She went back inside after signing the papers for the car,” Rico said.
“Go in and ask the super who’s been paying her rent. Persuade him to tell you,” Raymond said. “Then call me right back. Make sure she doesn’t leave before you come out again.”
“You got it.” Rico hung up.
Raymond waited by the phone. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait long. Rico had excellent persuasion skills.
“You sitting down?” Rico said without preamble.
“Just tell me,” Raymond said through gritted teeth.
“Paid through a corporation called L.D. Inc.,” Rico said. “The super gets a kickback for keeping his mouth shut.”
Raymond let out a curse. L.D. Inc. “Lorenzo Dante.”
“You got it. Hey, Charlene just came back down. She’s carrying a bag, like an overnight bag. Should I stop her?”
“No. Follow her,” Raymond said. “Don’t lose her. Call me as soon as she gets where she’s going.” He hung up, wondering what the hell was going on.
JENNA FLED THE BATHROOM and would have fled the hotel if she could have.
Lexi was sleeping soundly, with F
red curled next to her, purring, and Clarice snugged under one arm.
Jenna closed her daughter’s bedroom door. There was no place to run. Charlene was on her way to pick up the money for Lorenzo. Jenna couldn’t leave here even if the roads were open.
She glanced toward her own bedroom, afraid to go back in there. Afraid the letters would still be on the bathroom mirror.
Outside, the day had darkened with the promise of more rain. No. She couldn’t stay trapped here much longer or she feared she would completely lose her mind. If she hadn’t already.
She turned on all the lights in the living room to chase away the shadows and the threat of a storm outside. Then she curled up on the couch, wrapping the robe tightly around her, determined to fight the voice in her head.
But it was silent.
Her eyelids grew heavy from lack of sleep last night, from the hot water of the pool and the shower. She felt herself drifting, and tried to fight it, afraid he would be waiting for her, her defenses down.
And yet a part of her knew he would come the moment she fell asleep. She drifted off, waiting for him, yearning for him the way she’d never yearned for anyone before.
HARRY WASN’T EVEN AWARE that he’d touched her. Not until Jenna let out the smallest of sighs. He wished he could show himself to her. But even now he didn’t understand how he’d been able to connect even this much with her. It was as if after seventy years something had come alive in him.
He focused his energies on his hands, not wanting his touch to be cold. He didn’t want to repel her. He brushed a caress over her temple again, then across her cheek to her jaw. She stretched, arching her neck a little as he skimmed his now warm fingers down the slim column of her throat. She let out a low moan as his fingers stopped at the opening of her robe.
She rolled over on her back on the couch, stirred a little, then dropped back to sleep. He waited before he touched her again, waited until she was in a deep slumber. When he knew she would welcome him. She needed him as much as he did her.
