“Now you of all people should know what is going to happen.” The familiar voice echoed out from the darkness.
Dixon’s heart slammed fast and hard against his chest wall. “Why are you doing this? We’re partners.”
“Let’s say I’m tired of playing the game with you. I’m ready to play alone.”
“But it’s been going well.” He wanted to keep his voice calm, but a shrill of panic twisted its way around the words.
“It suited for a while. I did have a lot to learn from you after all.” The voice circled around the table, but the blinding light made it impossible for him to focus.
“It can still be great. Look, I know I got a little over the top today. I see that now. But we can take it back to the way things were.”
“You can never go back. You said so yourself.”
“I wasn’t thinking straight. I was frustrated. But I’m not frustrated anymore.”
“Neither am I. And I had been for a very long time. I ached to be who I once was and to regain what I’d had before, but I was afraid. You gave me the courage to take what I craved. And for that I want to thank you.”
The cool tip of a knife blade traced his eyebrow, making him flinch. “We’re partners!”
The Other smiled. “It is never wise to trust a scorpion.”
“You are not a scorpion. You are a man. You can reason and see beyond this moment. You know this does not have to happen.”
The knife lip pricked the top of his scalp. Within seconds warm blood oozed from the spot.
Dixon screamed. “You need me.”
“I do?”
“You said you needed me to make a call.”
The Other snapped his fingers. “That is right. That is right.” He pulled a phone from his pocket. “And I have your phone.” He started to type a text.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m telling him to meet you at the corner of West Braddock and Route Seven in the basement of the burger joint that went out of business.”
“Is that where we are?”
“Yes.” The Other hit send. “Good.”
“So you’re letting me go?”
The Other snapped the phone closed and tucked it in his pocket. “No. I’m not.”
“Shit! Don’t do this!” Dixon pissed on himself.
The Other wrinkled his nose. “I wish I had time to strip all your bones. They’d make a nice addition to the chess set. I was thinking the bishop.”
“Don’t!” Dixon twisted at his bindings.
“I wanted a memento of our partnership. But your body needs to be found by the cops.”
Dixon yanked at his bindings. They didn’t budge. “Why?”
“They need someone to pin these murders on, and I’m going to give them you.”
“If you kill me they’ll know there is someone else.”
“You just texted your ‘accomplice’ and told him to meet you here. You both will go down for this.”
“You don’t have to do this! Let me live, and I will help you.”
“Help me?You tried to steal Angie from me. And you know how much I’ve wanted her.”
Dixon rattled against his bindings as his partner moved behind him and set down his knife. “You can still have her. We both can. Let me help you!”
His warm breath brushed Dixon’s ear. “I promise to take extra time with her bones and fashion them into the finest queen.”
He picked up an ax and walked to the foot of the table. Before Dixon could scream, blinding pain sliced across his calf as an ax cut through his anklebone. Dixon screamed, railing against his bindings.
“I can clean these bones later and make them into something special.”
The pain overwhelmed Dixon’s senses, blinding him to his desires for Angie, his anger, or reason. His partner unstrapped his hands and foot. But he didn’t care. There was only the pain.
And then a knife blade sliced across his throat, severing his jugular.
“Good-bye, James.”
As the blood drained from Dixon’s body, the strong scent of gasoline grew. “I do want to thank you. I’d still be asleep now if it wasn’t for you. You’ve showed me just how wonderful and full my life could be again.”
The Other lit a match and stared at the flame before blowing it out. “As soon as our friend gets here, it’ll be a party.”
* * *
Angie spent a long tedious Wednesday at the office, and by the time she was ready to quit she was exhausted. She’d promised that as soon as she finished her work, she’d call for an escort and head to King’s, where her sister waited.
Angie rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was ten o’clock. “I’ve got to get out of here.”
Charlotte also worked late, and when Angie heard Charlotte move down the hallway to the back door, she realized the time to wrap things up had arrived.
She rose, listening to Charlotte clicking the back door’s dead bolt back and forth, back and forth. It was Charlotte’s custom to do this several times until it sunk into her mind that the door was truly locked.
Angie had been aware of Charlotte’s quirks for a long time, but in the last week, with the deaths of Sierra and Lulu, they’d grown worse.
Angie shut off the light at her desk, grabbed her purse and coat. She found Charlotte standing by the back door, frowning. “It’s okay. It’s locked.”
Charlotte startled and turned. “I know. It’s locked.” A hint of panic wove around the words.
“Do you want me to check it for you?”
Charlotte glanced at the door. “No, no. It’s fine.”
“It’s been a hard week for us all. All our nerves are on edge.” She’d not told Charlotte about the photos. “It’s okay to be scared.”
Charlotte frowned. “I’m not scared.”
Angie shook her head. “Charlotte, I’m scared too.”
Her boss stared at her a long moment and then sighed. “I guess all that’s happened has made me remember. And when I remember I start to obsess about things.”
“You and me both.”
She arched a brow. “You don’t seem to worry about much.”
A crooked smile tipped the edges of her lips. “I’m great at faking it.”
Charlotte laughed. “Welcome to the club.”
“Hang tough.”
“It’s the only option.” She drew in a breath. “I’ve got to get a little sleep. Tomorrow’s a long day. Are you leaving soon?”
“I’m right behind you.”
“I can wait.”
“Don’t.” Angie didn’t want to mention the police escort she was supposed to summon before she left. “I’ll be fine. I’m parked right out front.”
“And you’ve got the mace I gave you for Christmas?”
“Yes.”
After Charlotte left the office, the rooms grew so quiet she could hear the air flowing through the ducts. Outside a horn blared. Suddenly she felt so alone, as if she were the only person in the world. At King’s there would be plenty of noise and conversation there for hours to come.
The idea of crowds didn’t appeal, but what she wanted didn’t really matter. Dixon was on the prowl, and she had to be practical. Better to go to King’s.
She called the number Kier had given her for an escort and waited until a marked car pulled up in front of the office. She grabbed her purse, shut off the last of the office lights, and headed out the front door. She waved to the waiting police car, set the alarm on the office, and climbed into her car.
The drive from her office to King’s only took ten minutes. She found a spot down the street from the pub under a street lamp, waved to her escort, and hurried down the uneven brick sidewalks to the front door. Her hand on the front door, she glanced up toward Kier’s place. His lights burned bright. His muscular frame passed in front of a shaded window.
The ache of loneliness grew stronger. Suddenly she dreaded the crowd inside the pub. She stepped inside and watched her escort drive away.
/> The music, laughter, and conversation blared and grated her nerves. She glanced up again through the front window at Kier’s.
On impulse Angie gripped her purse, pushed out the front door, and crossed the street. She climbed the side staircase to his apartment. Sweat pooled at the base of her spine. Her stomach fisted tighter with each new step.
What the devil was she doing? Leave the man alone. His day had to have been longer than hers.
As logic nagged her, she kept climbing until she reached his apartment door. Just ask him about the case and leave. Maybe he’d have a few reassuring words.
Immediately, she feared if she took one more moment to think, she’d dash down the stairs.
Heavy footsteps echoed down a hallway, and after a brief hesitation the door opened.
Kier stood in the doorway, his hair damp and his shirt-tail out. His face was hard with suspicion. She glanced down and noted he had his gun in hand at his side.
Chapter 25
Wednesday, October 12, 11 P.M.
“Sorry to bother you. I know this is unexpected.” She felt silly now and wished she’d stayed at King’s.
“Angie. What are you doing here? Everything all right?” No missing the confusion and concern.
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Really. Impulse drove me up here. I thought I’d ask about the investigation. And I can see that I caught you at a bad time.” She wanted to dash down the stairs and forget this lapse in judgment.