I slid to the floor. Whatd you do with Hank?
I didnt do anything with Hank. She looked down and fiddled with her nails, then pointed the gun at the Chief. You. Go against the wall. The opposite wall. I need you.
Youre a liar, I said, my words hot as they spilled from my lips. You killed Hank.
No, the wine killed him. At least thats what I hear.
Howd you doctor the wine? That was Jos bottle, I said. Dont you feel guilty at all for letting an innocent person take the fall for your crime?
What crime? She raised her eyebrows and spoke so sweetly, so sarcastically I wanted to shake her until she told us the truth. They found Jo. Theres no evidence to suggest anyone else killed Hank. Maybe she was sleeping with her or something, who knows.
The tone of her voice was bored; too bored for someone whod been dating him for so long. You never loved him.
I did. Her eyes sparked with an emotion, and I knew as soon as Id said it that Id struck a chord. I loved him. We went through lots of ups and downs.
But something changed, I said. Something changed, and he stopped loving you.
We were together a long time. We just needed to spice up things.
So you proposed a plan, and he didnt like it, I said, wracking my brain for whatever the plan might be. Some sort of hint thatd keep her talking. A plan that had to do with Reynolds construction You wanted whatever was in that secret hiding spot!
What secret hiding spot?
We saw the blueprints. The Chief jumped in from the opposite corner. We know Hank was working on a project for Reynolds. What were not sure of is whether or not he knew what it was for.
Of course he didnt! Trisha shrieked, losing her cool. You think Hank was the brains of the operation? Come on. That man was happy to do what people told him to do. Did he question the blueprint? No.
But he left it sitting out on his desk, and you saw it. You recognized it, I said. I dont know how.
Because of the hints Hank kept dropping. He kept telling me that Reynolds made him sign some confidentiality contract or whatever"fixing toilets doesnt require confidentiality unless theres something hes trying to hide. So yes, I poked around and found the plans. I compared them to other plans.
And you saw the same thing I did, the Chief said. A safe built into the floor and disguised as plumbing. A cubic foot of s.p.a.ce to stash something he didnt want found.
Whats in there? I asked. What did you find?
The safes not finished yet, she said. Which is why Reynolds is still alive. And now, you two will have to join him in getting dead just as soon as we find the valuables. If you hadnt asked so many questions, I might have let you stay alive, since Im going to be disappearing anyway.
You dont have to kill us, I said. You can still disappear.
Yeah, you might let me go, she said. But the Chief"hes got too strong of a moral compa.s.s. Hed hunt me down until he found me.
That I would. He spoke with a level voice. And youre a fool if you dont think the rest of the force will go after you if you shoot me. Its best if you turn yourself in.
Trisha laughed. Ive worked too hard for that. Now Chief, you walk in front of me. Youre going to tear up some tiles for me. Use those manly arms your girlfriend loves so much.
With a hesitant glance in my direction, the Chief took a few steps forward. Are you okay?
Of course shes okay, Trish said, as I nodded. For now. The way to keep her okay is to get to work. I want every tile out of that bathroom floor.
What makes you think the valuables are in the floor? he asked. Why wouldnt they be in a safe or something?
Reynolds said they were in the floor. I believe him, since I used some pretty convincing tactics to make him talk.
I flinched, not wanting to know the extent of those tactics. Is he hurt badly?
h.e.l.l survive. If we get the valuables.
Wait here, the Chief said. Ill get you out of this, just dont do anything rash.
I looked up as Trisha directed him out of the room with the gun. Just before he disappeared into the bathroom, I called toward him. I couldnt do anything if I wanted to with these handcuffs on"its not like I can magically unlock them!
Trisha glared at me, but she must have agreed that magic was complete and utter nonsense because she kept walking. The Chief, however, snuck a glance over his shoulder, and I couldve sworn the corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile. Hopefully hed gotten my hint. Hopefully I hadnt spilled the beans about magic.
Leaving the handcuffs in place for now, I listened as Trisha instructed the Chief to dig up this tile, pull that pipe, move that board. He worked for a few minutes, but he must not have turned up anything at all based upon Trishas increasingly profane words.
Hurry up, she snapped. We dont have all day. You dont find something in the next ten minutes, and one of the other two guests in this house is going to start hurting. Ill probably start with Reynolds and save the girl for last.
I have no clue what Im supposed to be looking for, or where Im looking for in the first place. The Chiefs voice sounded thin with exasperation. Did you even think to ask Reynolds? Its his house.
Hes currently not available for questions.
Not available is he alive? The Chiefs voice was tight. Tell me hes okay.
Hes sleeping, but hes fine.
You didnt think to ask him where he put the valuables before you put him out?
I did ask, she retorted. He told me under the floorboards near the toilet.
He lied.
Well, I know that now, so you can thank him for lying about it. If he hadnt lied, I wouldve already been gone, and neither of you wouldve been in this situation.
The tension levels, which had been high to start, only grew as I sat in my handcuffs. There was no point in waiting any longer. I muttered the same unlocking spell Id used before, catching the metal cuffs before they hit the ground and clattered, giving away my newfound freedom.
Were running out of floor s.p.a.ce to pull up, the Chief was saying as I crept towards the door, carrying my handcuffs with me and keeping my hands behind my back in case Trisha peeked inside the room. If I yank up a few more, were going to fall right through and land on his dining room table.
Pull it up. Well fall wherever we have to.
I stepped closer to the door, holding my breath as one of the floorboards creaked under my weight. The Chief must have heard the squeak because he coughed loud, long, and hard"harder than normal.
Stop it, thats disgusting, Trisha said. Cover your mouth or use a tissue. Dont you have manners?
The Chief spluttered a few more times, his cough muted probably by the crook of his elbow or the back of his hand. Sorry, he said. Bit of dust went down the wrong pipe.
Im not interested in excuses. Im interested in finding out whatevers under those floorboards.
The cough had given me all of the time I needed to close the remaining distance between my spot in the corner and the doorway. I hovered at the edge, my back pressed against the wall. I didnt dare peek around the corner, not yet. But the hallway was situated so that if Trisha took even one step backwards out of the bathroom, Id be able to see her. And thats when Id pounce.
Whats that, there? Trisha said. Youre not trying to hide that, are you?
Like Ive said before, if I pull up anymore floor, well be falling through. If I didnt touch something, its because Id prefer to keep my feet on firm ground.
Youre lying. That shiny thing there, in the corner. What is that?
You might want to take a step back. Ill need a sledgehammer to get that out.
You make one false move and I shoot you, she said. Im not afraid to pull the trigger.
The Chief mumbled a response, but I was too busy watching, waiting for that perfect second. When it finally came, I was ready.
Trisha took two steps backwards, moving from the bathroom into the hallway just above the stairs. Her arms were extended straight from her body, the gun trained towards the Chief as promised.
Then, her head turned to look into the bedroom where shed left me.
At that moment, I made my move.
Lunging, I screamed like a wildcat and flailed my arms at the gun as I shot across the few feet separating us. A loud bang sounded as the gun went off, the bullet thankfully lodging somewhere in the ceiling. A bit of plaster rained down on the pair of us, but I hardly noticed.
Trisha and I tangled on the floor above the stairs, scratching, pulling, screaming. The gun clattered away as I swept my right hand around with a luckily timed punch. Footsteps pounded as the Chief retrieved the gun, training it on the both of us.
Get out of there, Rosie! he shouted. Get away.
But I couldnt move. Trisha had me in some sort of a headlock and my legs kicked and thrashed like a tornado. There was no way the Chief could get off a clean shot. Trisha was smart; shed kept my body between her and the Chief, using me like a shield as she simultaneously tried to choke me.
Somehow, I struck an elbow to her soft stomach and she groaned. I took the moment to leap to my feet, but before I could take a single step towards the Chief, shed whipped me back against the wall. The Chief reached out for me, but Trisha beat him to it, and the both of us tumbled down the stairs, half sliding, half falling all the way down.
She took the brunt of the b.u.mps and bruises along the way, until we got to the bottom. My head landed with a crack on the cement landing so loud it rattled my brains. Stars erupted and flooded my vision, and I couldnt see, couldnt hear, couldnt move.
The next thing I knew, the Chief was kneeling over me, his hands on my shoulders. Can you hear me?
I blinked, but my eyelids were too heavy, so I let them close. I just wanted to sleep Rosie, stay with me. He shook my shoulders. Open your eyes. Can you hear me?
I opened my eyes, my gaze instantly locking on his. Something in his eyes, a pleading, hopeful expression gave me the jolt I needed to sit up. More stars popped and fizzled and exploded in my brains, but I sat still until they slowly faded away. I gave a light test shake of my head. I think Im okay.
Whats my name?
I blinked. Chief.
Good.
Where did she go?
Well find her. The Chief pulled out a phone and started to dial. Ill get people out looking for her. It wont take long.
No, go, I said. Im fine. Go get her, Chief.
But"
No! I hauled myself to my feet. The last thing I wanted to do was stand up, but I knew the Chief would never leave my side if he thought I wasnt capable of handling myself. So I strapped on my big girl shorts and pasted a smile on my face. Go. Im going to go check on Reynolds.
Dont do anything"just leave him be. Wait here. Sit.
No argument. I raised my hands, sitting on the steps. I promise Ill listen this time. Just go.
Are you sure youre alright?
Go!
Im not sure how long I sat on those steps, but it couldnt have been more than ten minutes. Finally, when I could stand up without feeling an overwhelming urge to vomit, I pulled myself up the stairs and let myself into the bedroom on the other side of the bathroom, opposite from where Id been cuffed.
Reynolds lay on the floor, unmoving, and I crossed the room in a second, forgetting all about my own aches and pains. I fell to my knees next to him, feeling for a pulse. It was there. And he was breathing. As promised, Trisha had only knocked Reynolds out.
For a moment I wondered if shed poisoned him too, but quickly dismissed the idea. For starters, Hank had died in minutes after sipping that wine. Secondly, there was no way Trisha wouldve gotten rid of him without first getting those valuables in her hand"whatever they were.
I rested a hand on his forehead, but it wasnt hot. Just when I was about to cover him with a blanket, the trusty sounds of sirens arrived outside, and I forced myself to stand again and move to the top of the staircase.
The front door burst open, and I waved weakly from the bannister. Up here, I called. We have a man unconscious.
Two cops and a paramedic rushed up the stairs, and the second they entered the room, I sat down, overcome with more weariness than Id ever experienced in my life. My bones hurt, my soul was exhausted, my mind was shredded to bits.
I wanted only to sleep.
Until that face appeared in the doorway. Those eyes Id come so used to seeing. That smile Id come to know and love. That man who could make me laugh with a single expression and make me feel safe with a whisper into my ear.
Rosie, he said, climbing the stairs and sitting next to me. Great work in there, Houdini. We got her.
Trisha? Shes done?
Arrested. Youre safe. Well make you all better. Ill take you on so many dates to cheer you up.
Hey buddy, thats what you want. You didnt ask me what I want.
Well? He softly brushed a piece of hair out of my face, gingerly brushing it over the b.u.mp on my scalp from where Id hit the ground. What would make you happy?
I wedged my way as close as I could to his chest, deeper into his arms, so close I could feel the beat of his heart. I want a second date.
Chapter 26.
Sitting in my office a few days later, the pounding headache had finally turned into a dull buzz in the back of my skull, and any remaining bruises from the car incident had faded to near nothingness, much to the Chiefs never-ending skepticism.
My fingers flew over the keyboard, and I didnt notice that the sun had begun its journey downward for the night. Had I even eaten lunch? I couldnt remember. I just typed and typed, the story flowing right on out of me for the first time in a while.