Downton Tabby Page 19

  “They ruined my life.”

  I could see the emotion ran deep, but I somehow didn’t see him and the tech billionaires running in the same circles.

  “How so?”

  “They invented that awful WoofWalker.” He let out a short breath and narrowed his eyes.

  “How is it awful?” I encouraged him to talk.

  “My wife, Lena, bought one.”

  “Yes?” I needed him to keep talking because I needed time to think.

  I wondered if I screamed really loud if there might be neighbors who were close enough to hear. I tried to picture how close the next house was and if I’d seen any cars in the nearby driveways.

  “Lena and our dog, Charlie, started walking every day. They both lost weight, and she lost interest in me. Then one day I come home from work.” His eyes filled with tears again. “And she’d run off with a guy with a Weimaraner that she’d met at the dog park. Left me and took Charlie.”

  Ah, his wife hadn’t died. She’d left him. And the same with his basset hound. I remembered the way his facial expression had changed when I’d mentioned exercise. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

  “Jake and Cash didn’t cause your wife to leave,” I said softly. But in his confused mind, he believed they did.

  Maybe I could use elbow-to-the-gut move we’d learned in self-defense class. I was not going down without a fight.

  “If they’d never invented WoofWalker, I’d still have Lena and Charlie. Now I’ve got nothing. They gotta be stopped.”

  I racked my brain for some way to get away from him and call Malone. If only I’d told someone where I was going.

  “Cash calls me.” I threw out the idea in desperation.

  “Why?” He gave me a hard look, but I had his attention.

  “To check on his cat.”

  He eyed me like he wondered whether to believe me.

  “I can call him, but I’ll need my phone.” Wayne didn’t need to know that Cash never answered when I called. Or that he called me from some unknown number that I couldn’t call back. I needed my phone. My only tie to the outside world. I only hoped it was still in working order.

  “Fine.” He started toward the door, but then stopped and came back toward me. “But I’ve gotta make sure you don’t make a run for it again.” He ripped the electrical cord from the broken lamp.

  “Move.” He pointed at the dining room chair.

  I reluctantly moved to the straight wooden chair. Wayne wrapped the cord tight around my hands and then around the arms of the chair.

  My stomach tightened with fear. The vivid picture of Jake as I pulled him from the pool flashed into my mind. I pushed it away. I gave myself a mental shake. Get a grip. Don’t panic. Keep a clear head.

  Once he was sure I wasn’t going anywhere, Wayne disappeared outside and in short order was back with my cell phone in his bear-like hand.

  He loosened the cord from my wrists and handed me the phone. “Call him.”

  It was risky, but I had to try something. I weighed my options. Maybe I could pretend to call Cash but call Malone instead. But how would he know where to come, unless I could somehow give the address?

  I hesitated. If I gave my location, I knew I’d be dead before help arrived. Probably Heidi too. There had to be a way.

  “Dial the number,” Wayne instructed. “Then hand me the phone.”

  So much for my calling the police idea.

  I called Cash’s cell number and handed the phone to Wayne.

  I could hear his recorded voice mail greeting. Which was what I’d gotten the times I had tried to contact him since he’d been missing. Wayne listened, and his face got redder.

  “Listen, you scumbag. I’ve got your catsitter and your girlfriend,” Wayne yelled. “You better get here fast. Call me back on this number.”

  He slammed the phone down on the coffee table, and it immediately rang.

  Wayne reached for it and answered. “Hello.” He listened. “Wrong number.” He put it back down on the table.

  It immediately rang again.

  I couldn’t see the screen, but I was more than certain it was the persistent little pajama-wearing senior citizen calling from my house.

  Wayne grabbed the phone up and reared back to throw it at the wall.

  “He can’t call back if you break it,” I said quietly.

  He hesitated and dropped his arm.

  “It’s probably another client.” Of course, it was Betty. “I’m afraid, whoever it is, they’ll just keep calling.”

  “Make it stop.” He held his hands over his ears.

  “Hand me the phone.”

  He did and I glanced at the screen. Shoot, just as I thought, it was Betty. I made a big show of muting the sound. But I also hit answer, leaving the line open, and then laid the phone on the TV tray praying Wayne wouldn’t notice.

  “See the ringer is turned down. You don’t need to throw it again. I’m sure Cash will call back right away and you won’t need to kill me.” I only hoped Betty was listening and would call Malone.

  “Wayne, tell me about your dog. He was a basset hound?” I could see now why it had been so important to Wayne to adopt Cheeky.

  He nodded. “Charlie.”

  Ah, that explained the earlier slip of the tongue.

  “We got him right after we got married. I loved that dog.” He wiped his eyes.

  Quite the sentimental guy for a killer.

  If I could keep him talking maybe he wouldn’t realize he hadn’t retied my hands. And maybe Betty would figure out I was in trouble.

  “And your wife, Lena. Have you tried to contact her? Maybe she’d let you share custody of Charlie.” The longer I could keep him calm and talking, the better my chances were. And Heidi’s.

  He grunted. “I don’t think so. I tried and tried to talk to her, and she got one of those no-contact things.” His shoulders drooped. “So now I can’t even visit Charlie.”

  I thought that was probably a very good idea, but I kept those views to myself.

  “Tell me about Charlie. Did you get him as a puppy?” I had to buy as much time as I could. Or figure out a way to escape in case Betty didn’t hear the exchange and call Malone.

  Wayne launched into a story about his basset hound as a puppy, and I worked hard to keep him talking, prompting whenever he seemed to be winding down. I glanced around for a weapon or an exit. If Plan A didn’t work, I needed a Plan B.

  I wondered how much time had passed.

  The path to the front door was blocked, and the dash for the back of the house had been unsuccessful before. I spotted a hammer leaning against the wall by the couch. A potential weapon if I could get to it.

  “No, you don’t.” He stopping talking and followed my gaze. “Let’s get you tied up again.”

  Before he could get me secured to the chair with the electrical cord there was a knock on the front door. We both jumped.

  “You’d better answer it,” I said, watching him closely. “Your van is out front. They will know you’re home.”

  Wayne hesitated. He turned toward the door and then back to me.

  The pounding got louder.

  “Open this door.” Oh good grief. It was Betty. I had so been hoping for Malone.

  Still, you take what you can get, right?

  I screamed as loud as I could. “Betty, go for help!”

  The door, apparently not locked, swung open, and Betty burst in, her usual straw handbag hiked up in the crook of her arm, thin hands waving ready to karate chop the big man.

  And Mr. TV must not have been far behind her. As I looked out the open door I could see a News 5 camera crew setting up on the front yard.

  Betty continued to circle the room and make wide swipes with her arms.

  Wayne cocked his head. He stood immobile in the middle of the room, awestruck. Eyes wide, mouth open, mesmerized by Betty’s crazy dance around him.

  Where in the Sam Hill were the police? I prayed Betty had called them.<
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  Wayne came to and advanced toward Betty. The little pajama-clad lady suddenly stopped her wild arm movements. She planted her feet wide apart like she was readying for The Gunfight at the OK Corral. Except the lady didn’t have a gun.

  I stood and moved toward Wayne hoping to get between them. I had to keep him from hurting Betty.

  Determination on her face, Betty grabbed the handle of her purse, and with a broad swath swung it at Wayne’s head. There was a sickening thud as purse met skull.

  Wayne stopped in his tracks and then went down.

  Unfortunately Betty was unable stop the momentum of her killer purse swing, and I was in the same flight path.

  I felt the impact on the back of my head and then a sharp pain before I crumpled to the floor.

  I tried to focus, but there were two Bettys standing over me and suddenly also two Malones.

  “What’ve you got in there?” I asked Betty. “A brick?”

  “How’d she know that?” The two Bettys turned and looked at the Malones.

  And that’s the last I remembered until I came to on a stretcher in the mobile Medic Unit.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  THEY THOROUGHLY checked me over at the hospital and then released me. The wound on my head was painful but superficial.

  Once he’d verified I was all right, Malone had let me know he had his hands full with Wayne and he’d get my statement the next day.

  I had several offers for a ride home, Betty among them, but I opted to wait for Sam who had just gotten back into town. I was grateful to Betty for her part in saving my life, but I didn’t think I could take any more Betty-type excitement today.

  Sam Gallanos walked into the hospital cubicle, and I felt all the emotion of the past few hours wash over me in a rush.

  I bit my lip. I would not cry.

  Sam framed my face in his hands and carefully kissed me. “How’s your head?”

  “A little sore.” I poked my fingers through the tangle that was my hair and touched the back of my head where there was a sizeable lump. “But given what could have been, I’m great.”

  “Caro.” His face turned pale, and he bent down and rested his forehead against mine. “I can’t even think about what could have been.”

  I squeezed his hand. “Take me home?”

  “Absolutely.” He raised his head. “Ready to go?”

  “More than ready.” I slid off the examination table they’d parked me on and stood, waiting a few minutes to steady myself.

  Sam helped me get situated in his car and, though I knew he was full of questions, allowed me the quiet peace of the short drive to my house.

  My car was parked in the driveway. Malone must have arranged for someone to drop it off. I was glad. I didn’t think I’d be ready to revisit Wayne’s house any time soon.

  “Oh, no.” I reached for my bag. “I don’t have my keys.”

  Sam reached in his jacket pocket and held them out. “I ran into Detective Malone in the lobby.” He smiled. “Wayne Kemper’s injuries had to be checked out too.”

  “Oh, yeah.” I started to shake my head, but then realized that was going to hurt. “Wayne took the brunt of Betty’s brick-filled purse.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to come in,” Sam said as he helped me out of the car and up the steps.

  “If my disheveled state doesn’t frighten you, sugar, come on in.”

  He settled me on the couch and brought me some water so I could take the pain pills the ER doc had insisted I might need later. He was right. This was later, and I needed them.

  “I understand Heidi was found?” Sam asked.

  “Yes. She was okay. He had her tied up in his shed.” I shivered to think what a close call we’d both had.

  I swallowed the pills and handed the water glass back to Sam.

  “I’m still a little confused about Betty Foxx’s part in what happened.” He sat down on the arm of the couch.

  “It’s complicated.” I rubbed my temple and carefully dragged a hand through my hair. “Betty had called me repeatedly while I was at Wayne’s house, but I couldn’t risk an overt call for help because Wayne wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me.”

  Sam flinched, but said nothing.

  “So when Wayne handed me my phone to turn down the sound, I muted the ringer to keep Wayne calm. But I also hit the button to answer Betty’s call and left the line open, hoping and praying that she’d hear what was going on and call the police.”

  “Brilliant. And she figured it out.”

  “She made out enough to know I was in trouble but didn’t know where I was. Luckily, my crazy daily to-do list saved the day. I’d left it on the counter, and I’d listed talking to Wayne about the basset hound.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Betty called Malone from my house but then drove to Wayne’s house herself. She had the address because they’d had some things from Mel’s Bow Wow Boutique delivered to him.”

  “Unbelievable.” Sam shook his head.

  My doorbell peeled and I started to get up, but the pain pills were beginning to work their magic. I felt like my limbs weighed at least eighty pounds apiece.

  “Stay right there.” Sam motioned. “I’ll get it.”

  He went to the door, and I heard low voices.

  Graham Cash hurried into my living room. All that had happened since I’d last seen him flashed through my mind. Again, the emotions of the day got away from me, and I felt the quick sting of tears behind my eyes. I leaned back and took in a deep breath and let it out, attempting to compose myself.

  “Bloody happy to see you’re all right, Caro.” Cash crouched down in front of me. “Are you all right?” He took my hands in his.

  Toria, across the room snuggled up with Thelma and Louise, raised her head, her ears perked up. She knew that voice.

  “I’m fine.” I waved away his concern. “Really. Perfectly fine.”

  The green-eyed tabby’s eyes were round and bright as she jumped down from her perch and trotted to Cash, meowing a greeting.

  “I think someone missed you.” I grinned.

  He leaned over to pet Toria, but continued to eye me. “I cannot begin to tell you how dreadfully sorry I am to have put you in the middle of this horrid situation.”

  “You’ve talked to Malone?” I asked.

  “I have. He and I were going through the files Jake and I had saved of what we felt were credible threats, when he got the call from the woman, Mrs. Foxx.”

  Cash picked up Toria and hauled her inside his leather jacket cradling her against him. “I hope you haven’t caused any trouble.” He touched her nose with his finger and smiled. She purred in response.

  “No trouble at all.” I reached out and touched her soft grey fur. “In fact, I’ll miss her.”

  Cash dropped his head. “I had no idea when I left town on business that the short time I’d asked you to keep Toria would turn out to be so long.”

  I waited for him to continue, hoping for more information.

  He looked up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jake had said he would pick her up from you. He was the only one who knew my unexpected travel plans and that I’d be out of reach for a while.”

  Again, I didn’t say anything waiting for him to explain.

  “On business,” he added.

  “I won’t ask what kind of business.” I slanted a look at him. “Because my guess is you can’t say.”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Caro.” His eyes met mine. “Good grief, after this who wouldn’t? Thanks to you Heidi is alive.”

  “I’m glad she’s safe.” I kept my tone neutral because in my mind Heidi still had some explaining to do. “It was a close call. I think you may have some ground to make up with your girlfriend.”

  Cash gave a crooked grin. “I feel terrible about what she went through, but the truth is she’s not my girlfriend. We had broken things off the day before I left town. I’d figured out she was unnaturally interested in this
dispute and pending lawsuit regarding our dog exercise app.”

  I was glad to know he’d been on to her. “I guess you now know Brody is her brother. And the one suing you regarding Woofwalker.”

  “Yeah. The bloody thing has caused so much grief that I may not fight him. At this point it might be best to be shed of it.”

  “I can understand your feelings, but it’s your work. Yours and Jake’s.”

  “I know I’m probably just talking like a nutter because I feel so gutted over this mess. I feel like I’ve been pretty naïve about people and their motives.” He stood and set Toria on the floor. “Heidi had got this crazy idea in her head that I was related to the British Royal Family. She fancied herself with a title, I guess. I’m afraid I’m disappointingly common.”

  “Really?” I smiled and shifted on the couch so I could see him better. “You won’t believe this, but at one point I got the crazy idea in my head, that you were British Secret Intelligence.”

  I watched his face for a reaction.

  His expression went completely blank for a minute, then he bent over and ran his hands down Toria’s back. “That is crazy, isn’t it? A goofy techie like me.” A broad grin split his face as he straightened. “Too much watching MI6 shows on the telly, perhaps?”

  His sharp blue eyes met mine.

  “I’m sure that’s it.” I smiled.

  “What am I thinking?” Cash slapped his forehead. “I’m beyond sorry to keep you talking. With all you’ve been through, you need to rest.” He took my hand and gave a slight bow. “I wanted to stop by and collect Toria and give you my very inadequate, but sincerest, apologies.”

  “It worked out.” I tried to hold back a yawn. “We can talk more later.”

  Sam had been silent through the whole exchange. He went through to the kitchen and helped Cash gather Toria’s things and then walked him to the door. I could hear them talking quietly, but not what they were saying. By the time Sam came back inside, I had almost nodded off. Between the events of the day catching up with me and the pain pills taking effect, I felt drained of the ability to move.

  Sam helped me get a pillow situated so I wasn’t lying directly on the lump on my head.