“You stay put. Don’t even try to get out until I get there,” I said. “I’d rather not get the police involved right now.”
“Good. The man said if anyone tried to call the police, he’d kill all of us. I believe him. He has a gun and he forced me into the closet, then he hit me on the head with his gun. I pretended to be knocked out. That’s when he locked me in, but he didn’t check to see if I had a phone. I couldn’t think of anyone else to call. I could break out easy enough, but I’m afraid if I do he’ll kill Mister Elvis.”
“Hold on a sec.” I hurried across the porch and grabbed Tanya’s pink bicycle. It was tucked into the corner of the porch and unlocked, so I carried it down the steps and out the gate. I climbed on board and began to pedal the bike before lifting the phone back to my ear.
“Is there a gun in the house?” I asked.
“Mister Elvis keeps three antique pistols in a display case in the library. They wouldn’t be loaded, and I don’t know if they can still shoot.”
Great, I thought. I peddled furiously down the street and wondered what I was going to do when I got there. I was unarmed, and every instinct told me to contact the police. But my thoughts turned to what had happened to Celine, and I couldn’t bring myself to make the call.
I slowed to allow a pedestrian to cross in front of me before turning onto Eaton. Traffic was light. No one seemed to notice when I jumped off the bike and leaned it against a fence two doors down from Elvis’s house. If someone wanted to steal the damn thing, I wasn’t going to worry about it.
I lifted the phone to my ear. “You still there, Dom?”
“Yes sir.”
“How do I get inside?”
“I could break out and let you in the front door.”
“They’ll hear you,” I said. “Is there another way in?”
“The side door facing Duval leads to Mister Elvis’s library, but you have to walk past the windows in the office. I think they’re all in there, at least I haven’t heard anyone walking around the house since I got locked in here. The blinds might be shut, but I usually do that and I never had time to close them.”
“Is the door locked?”
“It’s always locked at night. But we keep a spare key. It’s hidden in the pot holding the cactus. When you face the steps it’s on a stand to your right. Reach behind the cactus and the key is pushed into the dirt right along the edge of the pot.”
“What will I find once I’m inside?”
“You’ll be in the library. The door on the right leads to a hall. The one on the left leads to Elvis’s office. That’s where you met with him.”
“You sure you’re okay, Dom?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m going to hang up and turn off my phone so you won’t be able to call me,” I said. I glanced at my watch. “Give me fifteen minutes, and then start yelling and pounding on the door. I’m hoping the noise will split them up before I try anything. But whatever you do, if someone comes to the door and tells you to be quiet, listen to them. I don’t want you getting hurt. Understand?”
I waited for Dom’s “Yes Sir,” closed the phone, and slipped it into my pocket before moving over to the gate.
The gate creaked when I opened it. I stood still and waited to make sure no one was going to investigate the noise. After a minute or so I scooted through the gate, ran past the porch and around the corner of the house, stopping at the edge of the lighted windows of the office. The blinds were up and I could see Elvis sitting at his desk. Staying as much in the shadows as possible, I peeked around the corner of the window and felt relief when I saw Tanya seated across from him.
The windows were closed and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hear what was being said. I needed to know who was in the room. Dropping down on my knees I crawled forward far enough to see to the side of the desk. Destiny was standing about three feet to the right of Tanya. She had a pistol tucked into the front of her jeans and was saying something to Elvis. He shook his head, and then Willie stepped into view. He slid up alongside Destiny, whispered in her ear, and moved back out of sight.
I slipped back away from the window, stood, and looked around. There were bushes directly under the window and the area in front of the bushes was lit as if by a spotlight. It was not going to be easy getting by without being seen.
The light reached all the way to the fence line. My first inclination was to work my way along the edge of the fence, but if Destiny or Willie looked out across the yard I was pretty sure they’d see me. That meant I could either scale the six-foot fence twice, or take the time to sneak around to the far side of the house. I chose the latter.
The other side of the house and the backyard were unlit. I tripped several times in the dark before admitting to myself that I’d have to slow down. Ten minutes, a bruised knee, and a couple of cactus quills later, I let myself into the library.
My eyes came to rest on the display case that hung across the room, and I grinned. Inside were three antique dueling pistols and a large saber. The case was backlit, which cast enough light for me to see where I was going. The pistols were black powder guns and would be useless, but I’d taken fencing classes in college and the saber might be a godsend if only I could take Willie and Destiny by surprise.
The room itself was perhaps twenty by twenty feet and held a recliner, a sofa and an over-sized oak library table. Three of the walls were covered with books, some appearing to be quite old. Beneath the display case, the forth wall held an entertainment center. There was a large flat screen TV, a CD player, and enough speakers to rock the house. I guess even psychics need to unwind every once in awhile.
As I crossed the room, I was paying more attention to the sword than to where I was walking. I slammed my knee into a low table I hadn’t noticed and bit back a yell. When no one came running I continued on to the display case.
I ran my hand along the outside edges of the case, found the latch, and let out a sigh of relief when I realized it wasn’t locked. I opened the case, cringed when the door squeaked, and took down the sword. It was heavier than I expected. I turned back toward the office and took a couple of practice swings to get the feel of it. As I stepped away from the case, the door to the Elvis’s office swung open and Willie walked into the room.
Chapter 29
I stood still as Willie drew a pistol and pointed it at me. He was dressed in the same clothing he’d been wearing when he left Frankie’s the previous evening, and he looked like his entire world had fallen apart.
“You killed Frankie,” he said. “And Bob. I could maybe forgive Frankie, but not my brother. Now I’m gonna kill ya, and I’m gonna enjoy it.”
I was innocent of both those charges, but the chances of my convincing Willie of that were nonexistent. I had watched Destiny manipulate Frankie. I was pretty sure if she told Willie the sky was falling, he’d take cover.
As if to confirm my suspicions, Willie’s face took on a moonstruck look when Destiny called out from Elvis’s office, “What’s going on out there?”
“It’s Wes.” Willie turned his head toward the office. “I told you I heard something out here. I know you didn’t hear anything, but if we’re going to be together you’ve got to trust me, hon.”
While he was distracted, I looked down at my watch. By my figuring it had been more than fifteen minutes since I’d last spoken with Dom. If he didn’t make his move soon, it was going to be all over for me, and probably everyone else in the house. They couldn’t afford to leave witnesses.
I’d seen Destiny’s propensity for violence firsthand. I suspected she would let Willie do the dirty work before she got rid of him. I almost felt sorry for him. I knew what was in store for him when he was no longer useful.
Just when I thought I was going to be on my own Dom let out a hideous scream. This was followed by a loud crash from the other side of the house. Willie snapped his head in the direction of the noise and started moving toward the office.