Here, I brought you dinner.” He tossed some deli sandwiches he’d brought in a cooler to Marilyn, and she caught them.
Her gaze shot to Alex, who still stood by him. “Come here, Alex. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Alex nodded, then glanced up at him as if to ask if it was okay.
“Listen to your grandmother.” He pulled out bottles of water and tossed them one at a time to her too. “Your girl didn’t come through, but I still got what I wanted. Before I go, tell me the truth. The kid says you know who I am.”
Fear flashed across Marilyn’s face, and she shook her head. “I just said that to help him have courage. I have no idea who you are or why you are doing this. You can let us go. We can’t identify you.”
She’s lying.
He saw it in her face, and regret shivered down his spine. “Eat your dinner. I have to make a call.”
He went out the front door and padlocked it behind him. He slid into his car and yanked off his mask before he reached for his sat phone to call Penelope. Everything in him rebelled at the thought of what he had to do. He could dispose of Marilyn, no problem. The boy was another matter. He liked the kid and always had.
Maybe he could make it painless, though he was out of ideas on how to do that. Drugs maybe, but he had very little time to procure anything.
Penelope answered on the second ring. “I have the plans! I was just looking them over to make sure they’re all here. Lewis always said he stumbled on the earthquake-induction potential by accident, and looking at these drawings, I think that’s true. Lucky break for us, huh?”
“That’s great!” He tried to force enthusiasm into his voice but failed.
“And now it’s all ours.”
“Yeah.” He glanced at Marilyn’s cabin. “We can get out of here tomorrow and never look back.”
“What’s your problem? You don’t sound excited.”
“It’s the kid. I don’t want to have to hurt him. I can handle Marilyn, but I want to take the kid with us. I can give him to someone when we get out of here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I don’t want a kid along on our trip. Besides, he can identify you.”
“I don’t think so. I wore the Spider-Man mask every time he saw me. I think maybe Marilyn recognized my voice, but I’m not positive. I have to do something about her for sure.”
“You’re such a softie. Maybe that’s why I love you so much. Do whatever you think is best. Did you get ahold of the buyers?”
“Yes. They’re insistent that I show up in the morning too. I had no choice but to agree. They wouldn’t put the other half of the money in my account if I didn’t.”
“It’s only seven so you should be able to dispose of your liabilities and get to Lewis’s cabin with no problem. Did you buy our plane tickets yet?”
“I bought open-ended ones as soon as the first half came through. First class too.”
“Whoo-hoo!” she squealed. “I’ve never flown first class.”
He grinned. It was going to be fun to spoil her. He still couldn’t believe he was about to spend the rest of his life with her. “What about your mother? Won’t she wonder where you’ve gone?”
“Probably. I’ll get in touch with her sooner or later, once all the hoopla here dies down. I think she might have suspected something was up when Shauna came sniffing around about the necklace, but I managed to placate her.”
“We can make sure we get a big enough place that she can come visit.”
“What about your wife? Any regrets?”
A pang struck him, but he pushed it away. His wife would survive, and his kids and grandkids would get over it eventually. “Our marriage was over a long time ago. She’ll move on.”
“I hope you don’t say that about me someday.”
“Never,” he vowed. “We’re going to have a great life together. I can’t wait to show you the world. We’ll go on a luxury cruise once we get settled.”
“You’re the best. Listen, I already had to shoot Lewis.”
“What? I thought you were going to make it look accidental. Fire is the best way.”
“He gave me no choice. He was trying to bargain for his grandson’s exchange and wouldn’t give me the plans. I’d had enough of him anyway.”
She’d taken the opportunity to get rid of Lewis. He suppressed a shudder. Her dangerous side was one of the most intriguing things about her. Life with her would never be dull. “So you’ve got the sheriff and Zach contained?”
“Partially. I’ll throw Lewis to the fishes, and then I’ll set fire to this place.”
He frowned. “What about Shauna?”
“What about her?”
“I hate that she’s going to lose Zach now too. And Marilyn.” He rubbed the bee sting on his arm, which had begun to smart again. He reached for the lavender essential oil. “I mean, we had to kill Jack, which I didn’t want to do. It seems cruel to take Zach too.”
“You’re getting all soft on me. We can’t finish this too soon for my taste. Let’s get on with it.”
He rubbed in the oil. “It’s just been a long time coming. You’re right. We need to finish this and get out of here. I’ll take care of things here, then head your way. See you soon.”
He ended the call and got out of the car. This would take some special handling so he didn’t scare the boy. He pulled his mask on again and headed for the cabin.
Zach tore frantically at the knot in the vines, but it didn’t budge. The shot he’d heard couldn’t mean anything good. It had been just a single report from the pistol, followed by the heavy thud of a body falling to the ground. If Lewis had shot Penelope, he’d be out here right now. Which meant Penelope would be back in here any second.
A movement caught his eye, and he glanced to his right to see Shauna ease through the doorway. She had mud on her jeans and boots, and her dark hair was in a tangle. The sheriff stiffened at the same time as Zach. She held her index finger to her lips, then grabbed a paring knife from the kitchen counter on the way to his side.
“Okay?” Her voice was a faint whisper.
“Did you find Alex?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Penelope murdered my dad. I saw the whole thing. She has to be stopped.” She sliced through the vines, then slid the knife into his hand. “I have to get a gun. This puny knife is no match for her.”
He flexed his wrists and palmed the knife. “I’ll go after weapons. You’re liable to run into her.” Penelope could emerge from the bedroom at any moment.
“I’m going now. There’s no time.” She stepped quietly into the hall, then vanished into the gloom before he could argue.
He held his breath and prayed she got to the armory before Penelope opened the other door. No sound came from that direction so maybe she’d already made it inside to the gun room. Then a squeak down the hall told him Penelope had opened the bedroom door. Footsteps came down the hall, and he tried to quickly cut the sheriff’s bonds too, but there was no time. The knife was caked with something, but he slid it into his palm and kept his wrists together behind his back so she couldn’t see he was free.
The gun was in Penelope’s right hand and down at her side as she emerged from the hall shadows. Her left hand held a roll of papers that had to be the plans he’d heard her mention. Blood splattered her right sleeve and boot.
Her eyes narrowed as she took in their proximity. “I figured it wasn’t safe to leave you two alone for long, but you’ll never untie those knots. I know how to make them foolproof.” She brought the gun up and aimed it at them. “I’d be lying if I said I was sorry I had to do this. The two of you are all that’s standing in the way of my perfect new life.”
She’s going to shoot.
Zach nodded toward the plans. “Looks like you got what you wanted, but that’s pretty cold, shooting a defenseless old man. Is he dead or did you leave him to suffer?” It would only take a movement of a few inches to be able to pass the knife to the sheriff without her seeing. He shuffled a bit and flexed his shoulders as if he had a cramp.
“Of course he’s dead. I don’t miss.”
Zach slid the handle of the knife into Burchell’s hand. “Why’d you kill him?”
“He tried to bargain to get back his darling grandson.” Her lips curled as she said the word darling.
“Will you tell Shauna you killed him? She loved him once.”
“She wouldn’t understand. Enough of this. I’m not really going to shoot you. That would be too obvious to investigators. Walk to the bathroom.”
While the sheriff worked on cutting his restraints, Zach flexed his wrists to get the blood circulating again. “You could always take us to my boat and scuttle it.”
A slight smile lifted her lips, and she dropped the plans by the door and reached for a pack of matches. “I’ve got something much better in mind.”
The sheriff shook his head. “Fire won’t work. They’ll find the ropes on us, along with ligature marks. They’ll know it was murder.”
Her brow furrowed and she blinked. “The rope will burn up, and so will the ligature marks.”
“People always think that, but it usually isn’t true. Just last year the police in Seattle tracked down a killer who torched his girlfriend’s house with her in it. The rope remnants were the giveaway that it was murder. Plus, the bodies are rarely fully burned. Look it up if you don’t believe me.”
Zach had to admire the way the sheriff gave out the information. Shauna should be back any moment so the longer they could stall Penelope, the better.
She bit her lip and looked at the matches in her hand. “Fire is clean. It’s always the best way.”
The sheriff shook his head. “Fire leaves more evidence than most people realize.”
“Enough talking. I know what I’m going to do.” She motioned with the gun toward the hallway. “Get moving.”
Had the sheriff managed to free himself yet? Zach would have to risk it even if Burchell wasn’t able to help. Once they were in the bathroom, they’d be trapped unless they managed to break down the door. But the space was so tiny, it would be hard to generate enough momentum to crash through the door.
If Shauna came down the hall now, she’d be an easy target, so he prayed she stayed back where it was safe.