Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Rage twisted his features, and Elle saw the young man who’d confronted her at a café two years ago. He’d been so angry that day.
He was much angrier now.
Oh. She hadn’t thought her blood could go colder, but it did. Because now that she was standing in front of him, hearing his voice and seeing his face, she remembered the young man in the alley outside the pharmacy. He’d asked her for money. Tried to loom over her aggressively.
That had been Ashton.
She knew he’d been watching and listening. She knew he’d stalked her on her cases. But somehow the realization that he’d been that close to her and she hadn’t known…
It had seemed surreal before. Almost not real.
It was real now.
“You got away with murder. Just admit it.”
“No.” She shivered, the cold wind slicing through her coat. “You said you forgave me, Ashton. I kept the letter.”
He smiled and it was a vicious thing. “That was a lie, that letter. I wrote it to throw you off and to show that I have no beef with you, so no one could say I had a motive for killing all those people who threatened you.”
She took a few tentative steps in his direction. “Look, Ashton, I know how angry you are. When you found me in that café near my house I didn’t recognize you, and for that, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your fucking apologies.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want you to die.”
“I figured that out for myself. But I’m not going to make it easy for you.”
“She’ll die.” He jabbed the gun harder into Eunice’s head. “Just like all the others.”
“I think you’ll kill both of us regardless of what I say or do. I repeat, I’m not going to make it easy for you.”
“I think you will. I think you’re going to walk right off the edge of that cliff.”
She laughed and it sounded surprisingly normal. “You want to make it look like suicide? Why the hell would I do that?”
Ashton’s stare didn’t waver. “Because you’re so upset. You feel so guilty. You killed eleven people, Elle. Plus my parents and your husband. That’s fourteen deaths on your conscience. Fourteen people who aren’t alive when they should be.”
“I didn’t kill them.” But even though she was better at denying her guilt, he’d still hit a nerve.
And he knew it.
His smile grew. “Not with your own hands, but with your actions.”
Gary, do something.
Her hair was being tossed by the wind and she took a moment to slip the hair tie from her wrist and pull it back into a ponytail. It gave her a moment to put her chaotic thoughts in order.
To resettle herself and find her calm center once again.
“Did you really kill all the people in Penny’s SUV? I don’t think you did or you would have taken credit for them, too. You can’t seem to help yourself.”
The smile on his face became an angry scowl. She’d gotten to him as well.
“Start walking, Giselle. Off the cliff. Now.”
“No. You are planning to kill us both, aren’t you? You might as well just do it. I’m not walking off that cliff.”
She couldn’t risk a glance at Eunice. She couldn’t take her eyes off Ashton. But she hoped Eunice knew she was trying to stall for time.
She took a few steps closer. “Face it, Ashton. This is the end of the road. Every law enforcement agency in the state knows your face and your real name. Every airport, bus terminal, train station, and border crossing point has a photo of you with your known aliases.” She quickly searched her memory for those names and hoped she’d get them right.
“Lance Nelson, Brian Bristow—or was it Byron?—and Shane Conlan. Should I go on?”
His face had blanched at the mention of his other aliases. “How did you know that?”
“Your pal in Sarasota narced on you. Gonna get himself a lighter sentence on his fraud charges. You’re in this alone.” One more step forward. “Let me help you, Ashton.”
Ashton had gone deer-in-the-headlights for a moment but recovered quickly, taking a giant step back.
Putting him dangerously close to the edge of the bluff.
Eunice must have sensed how close they were, because she began to struggle. Ashton shoved the barrel of his gun under her chin. “Stop moving or you’re dead.”
“Ashton, you’re too close to the edge,” Elle shouted, not willing to come any closer to the pair. She didn’t want to spook the young man.
“I know where I am,” he shouted back. “You think you’re so smart. You went to college and you’re a lawyer.” His tone was mocking, but there was insecurity beneath. “You’re not so smart if you think I believe anything that comes out of your mouth.”
She needed to get him away from the edge of the bluff. Ashton thought he had plenty of room, but Elle remembered what Ronan had told her about the edges softening because of erosion—especially this time of year when there was so much rain.
“Fine.” She flung her arms out wide. “You want me? Let her go and come get me.”
Mendocino, California
Wednesday, February 4, 9:30 p.m.
“Pick up, Penny,” Ronan pleaded as Penny’s phone went to voicemail yet again. “Dammit, please pick up.”
He was ten minutes south of Mendocino, back in the dead cell zone. He glanced at his phone’s screen, hoping to see Penny’s location, but it only said she’d been in Ukiah forty minutes ago.
She was also in a dead zone. Most of the road from this point all the way to Ukiah was a dead zone.
Dead zone. The words increased his panic and his mind returned to the photo of the SUV, turned on its side.
Then he swore at his own stupidity. “Dead zone.” He grabbed for his sat phone and dialed Penny’s sat number. He should have called on the sat phone first.
His racing heart nearly stopped when she answered on the first ring. “Dad? What’s wrong?”
“Are you okay?” The words came out in a relieved rush. “Are you hurt? Are any of you hurt?”
“No, of course not. Dad, what’s going on?”
I am an idiot. He’d always secretly judged people for acting in a panic. Now he could join their ranks.
“A trap.” He slammed on his brakes, glad he was the only one on the road. He did a U-turn and in seconds was going the opposite direction, pedal to the metal. “I got a text telling me that Ashton Dempsey killed your friends and was holding you hostage.”
“Dad, we’re fine. Kind of strung out from crying at the memorial service, but we’re fine. We’re nearly to Boonville now.”
That was the halfway point. She’d be safely home soon.
He flipped on his lights and siren. “Good. That’s good. Tell Gil to be aware.” The young cop would know how to watch for danger. “I don’t know where Ashton Dempsey is, but he may have set his sights on you.”
But it was more likely that he wanted to isolate Elle.
“Or Elle. Get back to her, Dad.”
“That’s where I’m heading. Gary’s with her. He won’t let her leave the house.”
Penny scoffed. “Get real, Dad. Ashton lured you out so that he could lure her out. You honestly think Gary can hold her back if that killer picks the right bait?”
“No,” Ronan said tightly. “You’re right.”
“I know I am. Just hurry. We’ll get back as quickly as we can.”
“It’s dark. Don’t let Gil take the curves too fast.”
Penny’s tone gentled. “I know it’s dark. So does Gil. Don’t worry about me. And call me when you get back to Elle. Let me know she’s okay.”
“I will. Love you, Penny.”
“I love you, too.”
He ended the call with Penny and had his hands-free dial Elle.
It went to voicemail. Dammit.
He called Gary. His went to voicemail, too.
Dread had him driving faster. He’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book.
Luckily he’d grown up on these roads and knew every curve. Luckily no one was in his way. The few cars he’d come up to had pulled over when they’d seen his lights.
He switched off the siren when he got to the turnoff for Mendocino. He was back in cell phone range now. He called Elle’s phone, but it went to voicemail.
And then his sat phone pinged with a text. A glance told him it was from Gary, so Ronan slowed the SUV and pulled over.
His hands were shaking as he grabbed the sat and read the screen.
It’s a trap. Come back. Dempsey lured Elle out and I couldn’t stop her. He’s got Eunice at the headlands. I’ve got backup coming, silent approach.
Of course Elle had left her safe place to save Eunice. She would have done so for anyone.
He’d work on her save-the-world heroine complex when he was sure she was safe. Because he wanted her to stop taking chances with her life.
He wanted her to spend that life with him.