The Dead Play On (16 page)

“I’m going to be gone for a bit. I’m heading over to the Watson house,” she said. “I’ll take Wolf with me.”

“Wolf should stay at the shop,” he said.

She let out a sigh of frustration. “Well, if I don’t take Wolf, I’ll be in trouble for leaving on my own when a maniac is loose. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”

“Where’s Quinn?” Billie asked.

“Already on his way.”

“Why didn’t you go with him?”

“He left too quickly. I had something I had to check on.”

“Why not just wait for him to get back?”

“Because I want to talk to the Watsons myself. You stay here with Bo Ray, and I’ll take the dog.”

“How about we leave the dog with Bo Ray and I come with you.”

“Is Bo Ray going to be all right with that?” she asked.

“He’s done it the last few nights. And, besides, it’s afternoon. Nothing is going to happen in the daytime. I’m not half as worried about Bo Ray as I am your friends. They seem to be really on edge, especially Jenny.”

“All right,” she said. “Tell the others what we’re doing. I get you, and Bo Ray gets Brad and Jenny and Wolf.”

* * *

Quinn decided he felt a little better about the Watsons when he arrived at their house. Amy didn’t let him in without confirming his identity, and when he walked through the door he found Woodrow sitting in an armchair with his shotgun at his side.

Amy offered him coffee, which he gratefully accepted. Within a few minutes they all had coffee in front of them, Woodrow and Amy on the couch and Quinn in an armchair facing them.

“So,” Woodrow asked, getting right down to business, “do you know who the killer is yet?”

“No, and that’s why I’d like you two to consider leaving here. Just for a while,” he hurried to add. Seeing Woodrow’s silent but firm shake of the head, he took another tack. “Then think about having someone else here at all times, someone who can fight hand to hand if it comes to that.”

“Arnie was a trained soldier. He knew what he was doing,” Amy said. “And he was taken by surprise by someone anyway.”

“There’s safety in numbers,” Quinn told her.

“That’s a fact. We have family coming by during the day, and we have Tyler by night. I have my shotgun and my Good Book by my side. Amy and I are going to be all right,” Woodrow said firmly.

Before Quinn could think of another argument, there was a knock at the door. Amy rose, and Quinn rose with her, drawing his gun.

“Now, young man, don’t go panicking,” she said. “I don’t just open the door to anyone. But neither do I go shooting right off the bat when it might very well be a friend.”

She walked to the door and, as she had said, she carefully looked through the peephole. A smile lit her face, and she opened the door.

“That’s the problem. We all open the door right away to friends and people we
think
are friends,” Quinn began, but he stopped when he saw who it was. As Danni walked in he found himself admitting that she did have a way with people; he had to give her that. She and Amy immediately embraced. Then Billie walked in behind her, and he, too, was greeted with a hug.

“Well, now, I’m betting you two are here to tell us the same things Michael here just did. So you sit down, too, and give us your arguments, but I’ll warn you, they’ll fall on deaf ears. We’ve thought this through. We’re staying right where we are,” Woodrow said.

Danni glanced over at Quinn. He wasn’t sure what he thought of her following him here; he did know that she was as worried about the Watson family as he was.

And so far he had struck out, so he could only hope she would do better.

“I’ll get more coffee,” Amy said.

As she left the parlor, Tyler made an appearance, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he walked in. “Hey,” he said, casually at first. Then, “Hey! Did something happen? Is anyone else...dead?”

“No, no one else is dead,” Quinn said.

“We’re pretty sure the killer tried to get into my place last night,” Danni said. “But Wolf started barking and scared him off.”

Amy came back into the room, cups dangling by their handles from one hand, the coffeepot in the other. “Now, wait a minute, young ’uns,” she said, her tone a combination of affectionate and chastising. “Your house was nearly attacked, but you think Woodrow and I should get out of this one?”

“Because you might be next,” Danni said.

“You think the killer will just give up on you and try us?” Woodrow asked.

“You think they should leave here?” Tyler asked. “I come stay with them.”

Quinn just sat back to see what Danni would come up with. “But you’re not here at night, when things are most dangerous. Look, Mr. Watson—”

“Woodrow, please,” he interrupted quietly.

“Woodrow. I know you’re all intelligent and competent. But my friend was smart, too, and the killer went to her house knowing just what time she’d be there alone. He’s watching us. He knows us, knows our habits. The strongest guy in the world can be brought down by the right kick, the smartest man can be tricked. I believe...” She hesitated for a minute, glanced at Quinn then plowed on. “I believe
he
believed Arnie had his sax that night—his special sax. But he took that sax the night he killed Arnie, using a heroin overdose to make it look like Arnie had turned to drugs because of PTSD. The killer thought he could get away with it, and he almost did. Then he discovered it was the wrong sax, so now he’s looking for the real thing.

“I think something in him snapped, the longer he went looking for the sax without finding it. First he just held up musicians on the street and stole their instruments. Then he realized he was going to have to start taking more drastic measures. He went after top sax players with enough money to have purchased Arnie’s special sax if you had put it up for sale. Now he’s killed three times—Arnie, Holton Morelli and Lawrence Barrett—and he broke into my friends’ apartment and tried to break into my place, too. I don’t know what would have happened if not for Wolf. But you don’t have a Wolf. And like I said, Tyler isn’t here most of the night, so you’re on your own. When you’re sleeping, you’re vulnerable, and Tyler could easily be in danger if the killer broke in and waited to ambush him when he came home.”

Danni stopped speaking, her cheeks flushed, and looked earnestly at Woodrow and Amy, who looked first at one another and then at Tyler.

“I never thought about the fact that we could be risking Tyler’s life, too,” Amy said.

“So it’s settled?” Danni asked. “You’ll discreetly move out of the house, at least for a little while?”

They still seemed hesitant.

Quinn decided it was time to speak up. “Please,” he said earnestly. “The killer is not only escalating the level of violence but also his timing. Jenny was attacked one night, and the next he was outside our place. He’s bound to make a mistake, and then we’ll catch him, but let’s let him make his mistake without losing any more lives.”

Amy looked at Woodrow. “Where will we go? I will not go to any of the children’s houses, because I won’t bring danger down on them. And I don’t think we can afford—”

“Come to my place,” Danni said.

Quinn looked at her, startled, trying to figure out just where they would put everyone.

But Danni had it covered. “There are three bedrooms on the second floor, and there’s a tiny third room up in the attic, next to Billie’s and Bo Ray’s rooms. It was once just storage, but there’s a bed in it. We’ll get it fixed up for Tyler. How does that sound?” she asked cheerfully.

“Like a lot of trouble,” Amy said.

Like a very strange frat party, Quinn thought.

“No trouble at all. We love company,” Danni said.

“The more, the merrier,” Billie added, looking at Quinn.

Quinn glanced at his watch; it was getting late. If he wanted to get the word out the way he wanted to at Larue’s press conference, he had to get going, and Danni did seem to have things covered here.

He rose. “I’ll let you all work out the particulars,” he said. “Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Watson.”

“Amy, please—especially if we’re going to be living in the same house,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am. Well, excuse me, but I have to go. Please lock the door behind me,” Quinn said.

He could feel Danni’s stare boring into his back as he headed for the door. She’d proved her point, and now she thought he was upset. He was, though he couldn’t explain why. She’d managed to do what he hadn’t, but that didn’t bother him.

He just wondered if they were making a mistake, gathering so many people together in their house. If the killer decided to change his MO, maybe go for arson, they could all be wiped out in one fell swoop.

No, he decided. He agreed with the safety in numbers.

He turned back, intending to smile at Danni before leaving. He would even give her a thumbs-up.

But she wasn’t watching him. She was studying her coffee cup.

He left the house and hurried to the one costume rental shop on Magazine that he knew carried almost everything possible and was open every day of the year except Christmas.

But he just didn’t feel right, leaving Danni there with things so unsettled between them.

* * *

Billie and Danni hurried back to The
Cheshire Cat
to make room for their newest guests. She was glad to have Jenny and Brad there to help get everything ready.

“This is great,” Jenny said. “Does it mean you won’t be leaving?”

“I’m still going to leave, Jenny, but just for a day,” Danni explained to her. “I’ll be back before dark.”

“Is Quinn going, too?” Jenny asked.

Danni was glad she and Jenny were alone in the spare room on the second floor, and Brad was helping Billie in the attic. No point in hurting his feelings yet again.

“I don’t know, but even if he does, you’ll be fine. Wolf will be here, Billie knows how to take care of himself and Brad and Woodrow both have guns. In fact, I hope we catch this killer before Woodrow finds out who he is and goes looking for his own justice.”

“The killer should die. I’m pretty liberal, but this guy really needs to die,” Jenny said.

“That’s up to the courts. I just don’t want to see Woodrow locked up for murder,” Danni said, going back to making the bed.

“What if your plane is delayed?” Jenny asked a minute later.

“It won’t be,” Danni said, growing exasperated. Honestly, she really didn’t know if Quinn was going with her or not, and she still had to call Hattie and see if she could set something up for the next day. It was short notice, but now that she had decided to go, Danni wanted to go
now
.

“Danni, do you think—”

Jenny never finished her thought, because Billie and Brad had apparently finished up in the attic and Billie called loudly from the ground floor, “Hey, come on down here!”

The two of them hurried down the stairs to find that Billie had turned on the news on the small set in the kitchen. Larue was on, with dozens of reporters facing him. Quinn was there, as well, standing just behind Larue.

“Oh my God! That’s him!” Jenny breathed, turning pale.

As Larue described the costume worn by the man they were seeking, one of his officers donned a similar mask and a trench coat. The warning was now out all across the city: if anyone saw anyone dressed and masked like the officer, they were to notify authorities.

“Is this how the Sax Murderer has been getting around unseen?” one of the reporters asked.

Danni saw Larue wince; he hated it when killers were given names. It upped their importance, in their own eyes.

“Yes. This is the costume described by several witnesses,” Larue explained.

The conference continued for a few more minutes before the station’s regularly scheduled programming returned.

“That will get him,” Jenny said hopefully. “That creep won’t be able to run around in that sorry mask anymore. The bastard.”

“Here’s hoping. Meanwhile, we should get dinner going,” Danni said. “Tyler will be here with the Watsons soon, and we all need to get ready to head out to work.”

She had to hand it to Quinn; she was impressed by the way the press conference had gone. Descriptions went out as a matter of course, but there was nothing like seeing something with your own eyes to make an impression.

She hoped it would make a difference and the killer would be caught soon. If not, sax players would soon be leaving the city in droves.

Not good for a city that thrived on jazz.

She excused herself and called Hattie, who assured her that she would get round-trip tickets for both Danni and Quinn, though there was no way to send the whole band to play for the vets, as Danni had hoped.

“Thankfully,” Hattie said, “it’s spring, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting home before dark.”

“You’re keeping yourself safe, right?” Danni asked her.

“Sweetie,” Hattie told her, “I couldn’t play a saxophone if you tried to teach me from now until doomsday.”

“I’m not sure that matters now that you’ve been seen with us.”

Hattie laughed softly. “Don’t you worry, Danni Cafferty. I learned my lesson last time I worked with the two of you, and I never count on anything. But I have a brand-new and foolproof security system for the house, not to mention I have Billie to see me home.”

“About that,” Danni said. “There’s safety in numbers, and you’re always welcome over here.”

“And y’all can escape over here whenever you desire,” Hattie said. “But I know you stubborn people. You’re a little army unto yourselves, and you see The
Cheshire Cat
as your fortress.”

“You’re part of that army, Hattie,” Danni assured her.

“Well, thank you. I like that. I’ll email you the flight info as soon as I have it.”

Danni thanked her and walked back out to the kitchen, where the evening news was replaying the press conference.

She prayed it would help.

More than anything, she hoped the visual would keep someone alive.

She had complete faith that the Sax Murderer would be caught and brought to justice. She just didn’t know how many people would have to die before that happened.

* * *

Quinn wished Jenny didn’t see him as the ultimate weapon.