Chapter 27
The End of the Road
It’s five-thirty-two in the morning and still dark when I step into Rhys’s backyard.
The rain has stopped falling, and a thick fog has replaced it, which is good news for me.
I remove the shoe covers and latex gloves before cutting through the hedge separating Rhys’s yard from his neighbor’s.
Then I start walking back to my car, duffel bag slung over my shoulder.
The route I take leaving Rhys’s house is different than the one I arrived by last night, but it’s just as circuitous.
To make it in time for my first patient, I have to be in the office by eight-twenty at the latest, and I need to stop by Vaughn’s house to drop off the bag before then.
Minus the tranquilizer gun, of course, because I’m keeping that until I’ve dealt with Garret Fischer.
Vaughn volunteered to get rid of everything for me, and having him dispose of it is better than throwing it into the dumpsters at my office building—especially now that Garret knows enough to be suspicious of me.
I also need to swap out the fake license plates that are currently on my car for the ones that actually belong on it.
Time is ticking, so I put my head down and walk faster.
I’m sweating under my raincoat by the time I get back to my car and strip it off, shoving it into a garbage bag in my trunk.
The duffel bag goes in with my raincoat, although I pull the case with the tranq gun out and tuck it into my spare tire compartment, next to the jack and my real license plates.
Then I close the trunk and climb into the car.
Katie knows I was planning on going after Rhys Steichen this morning.
As soon as I leave Vaughn’s and am on my way into the office, I’m supposed to call her to let her know I’m still alive and everything went according to plan.
Then she’s going to talk to the next reporter who shows up outside Erica’s house.
I’m guessing they’ll figure out Rhys is dead whenever the security detail’s shift change arrives—probably around noon, since they showed up not long after midnight.
It’ll give Katie an ironclad alibi—there’s no way she could’ve driven from Portland to Redding between when Rhys arrived home and when she’ll be speaking to the press.
It’ll also confuse the situation even more.
After I talk to her, I should call Mark and say good morning to him as well.
I took a nap after work last night prior to going to Rhys’s, but I’m going to be dead on my feet by the time this afternoon rolls around and I make it to Mark’s place.
And Garret Fischer is back in town now too, I remind myself.
I have to move through the world behaving as if someone is actively trying to kill me because they are.
Hell, I should keep a tranq dart filled with enough Telazol to take down a male grizzly on me at all times just to be safe.
The lights in Vaughn’s house are already on when I park in his driveway at six-fifty-five. By the time I’ve grabbed the trash bag from my trunk, he and Marjorie are waiting at the door.
“See, I told you she’d be fine,” Marjorie tells Vaughn once I’m within earshot. He gives her a brief glare but says nothing. “There’s not even a scratch on her. Alyssa, come inside and have some coffee.”
“Hi Marjorie, good morning. Coffee would be great. Vaughn, where do you want this?” I question, inclining my head to the bag in my hands.
“Just drop it there. Glad to see you’re still breathing. Any problems?” he asks gruffly.
“No. None at all. The security detail never noticed a thing. He admitted to everyone except Janelle Hayes.”
“Huh,” Vaughn murmurs as we trail down the hall after Marjorie. “I’m glad you’re okay. You’re staying with Mark tonight?”
“Yes. Bag’s already packed. I don’t even have to go back to my condo.”
“Good. Fischer is going to be gunning for you, Alyssa. It might not be the worst idea to cancel your patients until after he’s been dealt with.”
I shake my head. “I can’t do that, Vaughn, and not only because it would be suspicious if I suddenly cleared my books for the next couple of weeks.”
“How do you want your coffee, Alyssa?” Marjorie asks, interrupting our conversation.
“Milk and sugar are fine, thanks.”
“Alyssa—” Vaughn begins.
“Vaughn. It’s fine. The other four are dead, and I’m still here. I’ll be fine.”
He sighs. “I’ll be out of town from Sunday until Thursday. You’d better be alive when I get back,” he grumbles.
“I will be.”
“Wait here. I’ll get you everything I’ve been able to put together on Fischer. It’s not as much as I would like, but I doubt it matters since the circumstances are different with him. You’d be better off if you let me get you a handgun. You could shoot him from ten yards away and be done with it.”
“That’s better than he deserves. Besides, it’s also more likely to get me caught than anything I’ve been doing,” I scoff. “The only reason they have no idea who’s behind all this is because I haven’t been doing things like that.”
“Because your stunt on Halloween was so different?” Vaughn snaps.
I shrug, taking the cup of coffee from Marjorie as he stands and leaves the room.
“Don’t mind him,” she says. “He’s cranky because he hasn’t slept. He worries about you, you know.”
“I know,” I tell Marjorie. Vaughn and Marjorie never had children of their own. I’m the closest thing Vaughn has to a daughter.
A minute later, Vaughn returns carrying a folder. “Don’t take what’s in here as gospel. Now that he knows what you’ve been doing, he’ll likely behave differently.”
“I know.”
Vaughn nods and then says, “Give me your keys. I’ll switch your license plates back while you finish your coffee.”
“You’re alive!” Katie says, answering the phone on the first ring like she was waiting for my call. She probably was. If our situations were reversed, I would’ve been awake all night waiting for hers, but it’s seven-thirty in the morning now. Calling any earlier than this would look suspicious.
“Yes, I am. He’s not,” I reply as I turn on my blinker and move into the left lane to get around the city bus that’s slowing for the stop up ahead. The fog has receded, but the gloom doesn’t show any sign of dissipating.
“Good. When I get home, I want you to tell me everything.”
“Alright,” I agree. “Are you still going to talk to the press?”
“Yes. Once we get off the phone, I’m going to go drink my coffee on Erica’s porch. I’ll be ready and waiting for whoever shows up first.”
“He admitted to everyone but Janelle Hayes, Kay,” I tell her. “If nothing else, the police will know that it wasn’t only you they hurt. Maybe the other women will talk about it once they’re all dead.”
“Maybe. Either way, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“What’s your plan for Garret Fischer?” Katie asks.
“I’m still working on it. I’ll let you know once I’ve figured it out.”
“Okay. I’ll stay here until the Monday before Thanksgiving, but after that I’m coming home. And before you protest, it would look way more suspicious if I’m not there for Thanksgiving than it will if I am.”
“Alright,” I agree. She has a point. That gives me ten days to sort out what to do about Garret. Hopefully, I won’t need that long.
“Plus,” she continues, “I’m going to try going back to work after that.”
“That’s great, Kay,” I state. She’s been considering it for a while. I’m glad she’s finally feeling up to it.
“Thanks.”
“How’s Erica?” I ask as I come to a stop at a red light.
“She’s good. She mentioned moving back to Portland, though. I guess she’s sick of dealing with the wildfires every year.”
“Who isn’t?” I mutter. The smoke this summer from the fires in the southern part of the state was almost constant, but at least we haven’t had to worry about fires close enough to destroy property or cause evacuations to the same degree California has.
“Okay, well, I’ll talk to you later. I need to call Mark before I get to the office.
Good luck with the media. Let me know when you’ve talked to them. ”
“Alright. Remember to let me know as soon as you decide anything about Garret Fischer,” she reminds me.
“I will. Love you. Bye.”
“Love you, too,” she says, ending the call.
“Hey, good morning,” Mark greets as he picks up the phone. Unlike Katie, it took a few rings for him to answer, and his voice sounds more gravelly than normal. I probably woke him up.
“Hey, good morning. How are you?” I ask.
“Looking forward to seeing you.”
“Yeah. Me too. I should still be there around five. How was the trip back?”
“Uneventful. Sorry, I just woke up. I promise to be a better conversationalist later,” he tells me.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for calling so early. I just wanted to say hi before I got sucked into work. You’ll be at the arena all day tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, from ten in the morning until around ten at night, most likely. Sunday is completely free, though.”
“Okay. Good to know. Well, I’m at the office now. I’ve gotta go. But I’ll see you later,” I say as I spot Teresa’s car and park next to it. It’ll make leaving easier this evening.
“Okay. Have a good day.”
“You too,” I reply as I end the call.
It’s not quite eight, and the office building’s lot is about half full. I don’t recognize most of the cars in it. Why would I? Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to say whether Garret Fischer is parked somewhere, waiting for me. Watching me.
The thought definitely makes me uneasy.
I’m so much taller than the average woman that I’ve never wished I were bigger, but now I do. Which is stupid. I’ve demonstrated four times now that size doesn’t matter.
Oh well, I think as I take a deep breath and fling my door open, already surveying the parking lot to make sure no one else is suddenly emerging from their cars. Everything looks the same as I rush toward the building.