“I thought it was embarrassing, too. But it reaches people, Theo. The other day when we talked, you seemed interested in building the interactive exhibit. Are you still?”
He nodded again. “I’m good with my hands.”
“I know. You did an awesome job on the paneling in the Great Hall.” Sophie thought of Michael and his blocks and the trebuchet he’d made. “Give me some time to think of a way for you to use your hands and help your-”
Her cell, which she’d tucked inside her bra, vibrated, making her jump. Quickly she loosened the strips that held on the breastplate. “Help me get this off, Theo.”
One look at the caller ID drove every thought from her mind. “It’s my Gran’s nursing home.” She answered, her heart thumping. “Hello?”
“It’s Fran.” Fran was the head nurse and her tone was urgent.
Sophie’s thumping heart stopped. “What’s wrong?”
“Anna went into cardiac arrest and we’ve called an ambulance. Sophie, you need to hurry. It’s bad, honey.”
Sophie’s knees buckled and were it not for Theo’s steadying hand she might have fallen. “I’m on my way.” Sophie closed her phone, her hands shaking. Think.
Simon. Maybe it was a lie. A trap. Conscious of Theo’s watchful eye, she dialed the nursing home, calling the main switchboard. “Hello, it’s Sophie Johannsen. I just got a call and wanted to confirm my grandmother was-”
“Sophie? This is Linda.” Another nurse. Sophie doubted even Simon Vartanian could get two nurses to lie. “Didn’t Fran call you? Get to the hospital. Now.”
“Thank you.” Sophie hung up, feeling sick. “I have to go to the hospital.”
“I’ll drive you,” Theo said.
“No. That’s okay. I’ll go with Officer Lyons.“ She looked around, panic mounting with every wild beat of her heart. “Where is he?”
“Sophie, why are cops following you around?” Theo asked, following her as she moved toward the lobby door as fast as her armored legs would allow.
“Later. Where is Lyons? Dammit.” She stopped at the door and looked out. It was dark outside. The minutes were ticking and Anna was dying. She’d been too late for Elle. She wouldn’t allow Anna to die alone. She ripped at the Velcro that held her greaves on her shins. “Help me get these things off. Please.”
Theo dropped to a crouch and removed the greaves. He grabbed her foot. “Lift.”
She obeyed, balancing one hand on the cold window as he removed her boot. She squinted out the window and saw a cop, his face half turned from view. The red glow of a cigarette hovered a few inches from his mouth. Not Lyons. She looked at her watch. It was after five. Shift change. Theo pulled off the other boot and she raced out the door, waving behind her. “Thanks, Theo. I’ll call later.”
“Sophie, wait. You don’t have any shoes on.”
“I can’t go back for them. No time.”
“I’ll get your shoes,” Theo said. “It’ll just take a second. Wait here.”
But there was no time. She ran toward the new officer, ignoring the shock of the cold sidewalk on her feet. It was only until she got to his cruiser. She’d get slippers at the hospital. “Officer, I need to go to the hospital. Now.” She headed for the curb where his cruiser was parked, hearing his footsteps behind her.
“Dr. Johannsen, stop. I’m under orders to wait with you until one of the detectives arrives.”
“I don’t have time to wait. I have to get to the hospital.”
“Fine.” He caught up to her, took her arm. “Slow down or you’ll slip on the ice. You’re no good to your grandmother if you’re knocked unconscious.”
She opened her mouth to tell him to hurry, then froze. She hadn’t mentioned Anna. Simon. She jerked her arm away. “No.” She’d taken two steps when his arm came around her throat and he covered her mouth with a cloth. She fought like an animal, but he was big, strong, and she heard Susannah Vartanian’s voice, hauntingly quiet. Simon was bigger. “No.” But the word was muffled by the cloth and her vision began to blur.
Fight. Scream. But her body was no longer obeying her command. Her scream was shrill and loud and totally inside her own head. No one could hear her.
He was dragging her. She fought to turn her head. To see where he was taking her, but she couldn’t. She heard a door sliding open and suddenly pain was radiating up her spine. She could feel, but she could move nothing more than her eyes as she lay on her back looking out the side door of a van.
She strained past the blurred double images to see Theo come up behind him. Her shoes. Theo was holding her shoes. The darting of her eyes must have alerted Simon because Theo Albright was leveled with a single blow of Simon’s fist to his head.
Then they were moving. The van thumped as it ran over something big, then sped from the lot with a squeal of tires. Vito, she thought, fighting the pull of whatever had been on that rag. I’m sorry. Then there was nothing but darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Saturday, January 20, 5:30
P.M.
Stacy Savard stared at them defiantly. “I’m not talking to him. You can’t make me. I’ll end up like that.” She shoved the photos. “No fucking way. You’ve got to be crazy.”
Vito swallowed back his anger and disgust. “You could have reported Simon Vartanian at any time and avoided the deaths of more than ten people. They’re on your head. So you will help us. We want you to draw Simon out into the open.”
“Through the telephone,” Nick added calmly. “You don’t have to talk to him in person. And if you don’t choose to help… Well, we can’t always control the press.”
Savard cocked her jaw. “I don’t seem to have much choice. What do I say to him?”
Nick’s smile wasn’t pleasant. “You always have a choice, Miss Savard. This might be your first good one. You noted in his file that Simon ordered more silicone lubricant.”
“Two days ago. He normally gets it from one of those specialty places, but he was almost out, so he ordered some through us because we can get it faster. So?”
“So,” Nick said, “you’re going with us to Pfeiffer’s office, where you’ll call him from the office phone and tell him his order is ready.”
“But the office is closed today,” she said, her voice starting to shake.
“Dr. Pfeiffer will open it up,” Vito told her. “He’s very eager to help us. Setting a trap with the lubricant was his idea, actually.” He enjoyed seeing her jaw drop. “How do you think we found you so quickly, Stacy? We had the airports looking for you, but you didn’t have a reservation and you never even made it to the check-in counter. Pfeiffer had been thinking through things and came to the conclusion you were likely involved. So he followed you this morning and when you got to the airport, he called us.”
The door opened and Liz looked in, her expression unreadable. “Detectives?”
Vito and Nick stood, and Nick fired the parting shot. “Practice your best receptionist voice, Stacy,” he said mildly. “Because Vartanian’s no fool. He’ll spot a nervous twitch a mile away.” Nick shut the door when they were on the other side of the glass.
“Do you hear all that?” Vito asked.
Nick shook his head. “What a piece of work. Prison’s just going to hone her edge.”
“Vito,” Jen whispered harshly.
Vito turned from the window and his blood went cold. Jen was white as a sheet and Liz’s expression was no longer unreadable but stark with controlled fear.
“It’s Sophie,” Liz said. “Her grandmother was rushed to the hospital. She had a heart attack.”
Vito forced himself to stay calm. “I’ll go to the museum and drive her to the hospital.”