Death Angel (44 page)

“He drove me over to the Hilton to check
in for the conference. I’m not sure what he did all day. He said he drove
around for awhile after he called to tell you he was going to Milwaukee. I do
know he went to the mall and bought new clothes. He was wearing his bathing
suit under his clothes and he needed something different to wear from the beach
to my car.”

Kate pushed the bread and cheese away,
leaving the cheese knife close to her hand. Mike was watching too intently.
She’d have to wait for her chance.
 

“I never believed Richard would have
chosen to commit suicide by drowning,” she said.

“Too bad. If you’d left it alone, you
wouldn’t be in the predicament you’re in now.” He must have seen the agreement
in her eyes because he chuckled. “Besides, Leidecker bought it.”

He paced back to the table, picked up
the bread and cheese, and put them back on the shelf. Returning, he stared at
her for a long moment, then leaned over and, with deliberation, picked up the
cheese knife and took it over to the shelf, well out of reach. She tried to
keep the disappointment from showing in her body language, but he was far too
interested in cataloging his clever machinations to notice.

“When Richard got to Lake Michigan, he
parked, stripped down to his bathing suit, and then walked along the beach
talking to people. We figured someone was bound to notice him and tell the
police when they started searching the area. Once he felt he’d established his
presence, he changed into the new clothes and walked down the block to my car.
He was to meet me at Chessy’s apartment at 6:30.”

“At Chessy’s?”
 

“Her apartment is only ten minutes from
the Hilton.” His tone was pragmatic. “I explained that she was away and he
could stay in her apartment until I could get him out of town.”

Kate was stunned. Mike had brought her
to Chessy’s apartment after Leidecker told her about Richard’s apparent
drowning. Had he still been alive, when she arrived?

“Now this is the beautiful part.” Mike
went back to pacing. “There was a cocktail party from six to seven-thirty for
the banquet attendees. The moment I arrived, I began talking to people, mingling.
Ten minutes later I left. Outside I found a cab and took it to Chessy’s.
Richard met me in the underground garage. No one was around. He parked my car
in Chessy’s space. I told him I had a suitcase in the storage area. I’d already
unlocked the door to Chessy’s locker so it was only a moment to get him inside.
I knew I had to be quick so I hit him over the head with a hammer and covered
him with a blanket.”

“You beat him to death with a hammer?”
She couldn’t keep the horror out of her voice.

Mike’s face reddened at her question.
“Of course not. All it took was one tap. Once he was unconscious, I gave him an
overdose of Versed. It’s fast acting. Knocked him out immediately. He never
felt a thing.”

At least Kate had one thing to be
grateful for. Richard hadn’t suffered. It was painful but possible to picture
the events surrounding his death. She couldn’t even begin to consider Jenny’s
death. She didn’t know how she’d ever be able to deal with it. Every time she
looked at Mike, she was afraid she’d lose control.

“The timing was perfect. I was back at
the Hilton before the cocktail party ended. I was the main speaker, and I was
so pumped it went without a hitch.”

“What did you do with Richard’s body?”

“When I brought you to Chessy’s I gave
you a sleeping pill. While you were asleep, I put the body in the trunk of my
car and buried it in that patch of woods behind my condo.”

Poor Richard. At least she knew where he
was. If she escaped, he’d get a proper burial. If not, it wouldn’t matter. She
felt a spurt of energy as the rope on her ankles slipped. She’d have to keep
him talking until she could work her feet free. “What about Garvey?”

“You wouldn’t give up on him.” He shook
his head, expression resigned. “I tried to get you to drop it, but you just wouldn’t
leave it alone. Finally I decided it would be safer to keep you focused on
Garvey than have you wander off on some tack that might lead you to suspect
me.”

“But all those things I discovered about
Garvey —” The words trailed away as she shook her head in bewilderment.

“You had a little help,” he smirked.

“I don’t believe it. I found the
ButterSkots wrappers in his office before I ever mentioned Garvey to you. And I
discovered his name on the PF printout.”

He snorted. “I’ll give you the license plate,
but I take credit — indirectly — for the wrappers. I gave Lisa Garvey a tin of
ButterSkots for Christmas. Garvey must have taken them to the office. In any
event it was interesting watching your growing suspicion of him. Luckily there
wasn’t enough so you could go trotting off to your pet cop Leidecker.”

Kate was appalled by her own tunnel
vision. She’d desperately wanted to discover Jenny’s killer and once she found
the wrappers, she couldn’t see anyone but Garvey. Mike’s opposition only served
to stiffen her resolve. She clenched her fists at her own stupidity.
 

“Was the story about Garvey molesting
the girl a lie?”

“Good, huh?” He took a gulp of his beer,
his eyes smiling above the lip of the can.

“It wasn’t Garvey. It was you?”

He nodded. “It was similar to something
that happened when I was in school. But I didn’t get caught.”

Kate shuddered. Mike was silent. His
eyes roamed over her and she tensed knowing he had more to say. Much as she
wanted to shriek at him, she remained still, keeping the repugnance from
showing in her eyes.

“I never meant for any of this to
happen. One mistake. Then everything started to come apart. Leidecker kept
asking questions. I only killed Richard to get him off my trail.”

“God, you’re sick!”

The words were out before Kate realized
her mistake. Mike threw his beer can across the table. She ducked but it hit
her on the side of the head and dropped to the floor as he lurched to his feet,
face purple with rage.

With her ankles tied, she couldn’t run.
She doubled over, wrapping her arms around her shoulders to protect her body
and pressing her face against her arms. Mike grabbed a handful of her hair and
jerked her head back. Kate knew then she was about to die.

Rather than come through the lagoon, Carl
had grounded his boat around the backside of Mike’s property so he could cut
through the woods and arrive at the rear of the cabin unannounced. He wanted to
see exactly what Mike and Kate were doing before he made his presence known.
For a moment, he frowned at the thought he might be interrupting some romantic
getaway.

His shirt stuck to his sweaty back and
his jeans were wet and streaked with mud from wading through the low spots. His
gun was jammed into his waistband and he touched it to make sure it was still
dry and secure. He was sorry now that he’d thrown away the ankle holster when
it caught on a downed tree.
 

Clinging to the cover of the bushes, he
made a quick survey of the area. Hearing voices inside the cabin, he crept over
to the open window at the back. He raised his head slowly until he could see
inside. The bedroom was empty. Looking through the open doorway, he spotted
Kate. She was doubled over, arms wrapped around herself as if for protection.

He’d just glimpsed her when Mike roared
into his line of vision and grabbed her by the hair. A chill of understanding
ran through Carl as Mike swung his arm back and clenched his free hand into a
fist.
 

Suddenly the sound of an outboard motor
broke the silence, signaling the arrival of a boat.
 

“Yo, Doc,” a voice called from the
lagoon. “It’s Daisy Rice. Are you decent?”

Twenty-eight

“
It’s Daisy Rice, Doc
. You guys ready for
company?”

Kate opened her mouth to cry for help.
Mike tightened his grip on her hair, leaning down to speak into her ear.

“If you scream, I’ll kill her. Then I’ll
deal with you.”

She slumped in defeat. It was one thing
to risk her own life, but she couldn’t let him hurt Daisy.
 

Mike tied her wrists again, scooped her
up, and carried her into the bedroom. He dumped her onto the cot. She opened
her mouth to gasp for breath and he shoved a handkerchief inside. Eyes
narrowed, he glared down at her.

“One sound and you’ll watch her die,” he
said as he left the room.
 

She heard him cross the floor and go out
the front door. Then his shout of greeting.

“Howdy, Daisy. Did you get lonely for my
company?” The rest of his words faded away as he walked down to the shore to
meet the approaching boat.
 

Kate choked on the gag, afraid she was
smothering and tried not to panic. This might be her only opportunity to get
loose. She shoved the cotton handkerchief with her tongue, but it stuck to the
inside of her mouth. She tried again. At first, nothing happened, then suddenly
the handkerchief moved.
 

Something scraped at the window, and she
rolled over to face the new danger. The gag muffled her scream. Carl Leidecker
was outside, using a knife to cut the screen out of the frame.

Without much effort, he climbed in over
the low windowsill. He tiptoed across to the bed. His eyes blazed with fury and
his mouth was pursed tight. She held out her hands so he could free her.

He held a hunting knife with a carved
ivory handle. The six-inch blade was sharp, cutting easily through the rope. He
pulled the gag out of her mouth. Her jaw ached from being wedged open, and her
throat was so dry she could hardly swallow. She used the wadded handkerchief to
wipe away her tears.
 

Carl leaned over to cut the ropes on her
legs. “Does Mike have a gun?” he whispered.

“Unless he took it outside, it’s on the
shelf beside the front door.”

She took the knife from his hand and
sawed at the ropes. He crossed the room, and peeked around the edge of the
door.

“The gun’s there.”

“Don’t let him see you through the
windows.”
 

He nodded, dropping to his hands and
knees. The ropes fell away, and she swung her legs over the side of the cot.
Gripping the knife, she turned toward the window, wanting to get as close as
she could to her escape route. She raised her leg, shoving it out the window
until she was straddling the sill. Holding onto the frame, she pulled her other
leg up, ready to drop to the ground. Out front, the boat engine roared to life.

“Hurry, Carl!” she shouted knowing that
Mike wouldn’t hear her above the sound of the motor.

Suddenly her wrist was caught in an iron
grip and the knife was ripped out of her hand. Mike dragged her out the window,
whirled her around and, with one arm around her waist, lifted her clear of the
ground and pressed her against his chest. He raised his free hand, the point of
the knife at her throat.

Carl raced back into the bedroom. He
knew Kate had been captured. He reached for the service revolver at his back.
If every- thing went wrong, he didn’t want Mike to have another weapon. He
couldn’t risk a search, so he shoved his own gun in a gap in the framework of
the windowsill. He gripped the gun he’d found in the other room and stepped in
front of the open window.

“Don’t hurt her,” he said. He held the
gun steady in a two-handed grip, pointed directly at Mike’s head. “Just set her
down easy and I won’t shoot you.”

Mike’s chuckle was almost lighthearted.
“I’m a doctor, Leidecker. I know exactly where to cut her. She’ll be dead
before you finish pulling the trigger.”

Carl was a good shot, but the risk was
too high. The knife dimpled the skin beneath Kate’s chin. As if to emphasize
his point, Mike pressed harder and a drop of blood slid down the blade.
 

“Set the gun on the windowsill, and then
climb outside.”
    

Not wanting to give Mike any excuse for
further violence, Carl followed the instructions. The fading sound of the boat
engine emphasized the hopelessness of their situation.

“Put your hands in the air and step away
from the window.” Mike barked the words.

Carl took three steps, keeping his
movements slow and nonthreatening. Mike jerked his head and he moved back two
more steps. From that distance he could still jump him if he got a chance.

Dragging Kate, Mike shuffled sideways
over to the window. He lowered the knife and immediately threw Kate in Carl’s
direction, effectively blocking any counterattack as Carl tried to cushion her
fall. Over her head, Carl watched Mike scoop up the gun, flick the safety lever
up, and point it at them.

“All right, let’s go around to the front
door.” Mike waved the gun to get them moving.

“Limp.”
 

Carl said the word under his breath.
Kate’s expression didn’t change, and he wondered if she’d even heard him.