Chapter 35

 

As Mitch heard the bolt slide into place on the other side of the shelter door, he pulled the key from the keyhole and threw it behind the water heater. The door was solid. He was pretty sure a bullet wouldn't go through it, but the man with the gun was already breaking in through the basement door and cursing.

Upstairs in the kitchen, Mitch had bloodied him, made him drop his gun. But he didn't do enough damage to stop him before the guy got his hands on his gun again. Now he was coming down here.

Stepping away from the shelter door, Mitch waited for him. He could hear Sammy calling him, and Enrico reassuring her. At the same time Mitch heard that guy's labored breathing and his footsteps as he came down the stairs.

"I was down here before. I know there's no way out. Now come out where I can see you," the guy called out into the dark basement. He obviously didn't feel safe coming down.

Not sure that the guy wouldn't shoot him, Mitch stayed out of sight. "I'm right here. I'm ready to take you to get the paper that was inside the egg. But just me. You do anything rash and the deal is off," Mitch told him. With his hands up, he stepped from the darkness into the dim light that came from the open basement door.

"Where's that other one and your kid?" the guy wanted to know as he walked halfway down the steps and his eyes darted all around.

"You don't need to worry about them. I'll take you to the paper," Mitch told him.

The man pointed with his gun toward the back of the basement. "They're in there, aren't they?"

"If you want the paper, they stay where they are. I want my daughter away from that gun. She's scared enough already," Mitch told him.

The man eyed him suspiciously. "You just want to try and pull something.

"I'm not looking to die. I just want you gone," Mitch told him bluntly. It was the simple truth after all, but that meant nothing to this guy.

"Tell 'em to come out," the man insisted. He looked anxious and his skin had an unhealthy gleam. Mitch could see blood pooling over his right eye where he had whacked him with the cutting board, and he knew there was a good chance he was holding a grudge.

Mitch had thrown a kitchen chair at him too, but this guy wasn't easy to bring down. If he didn't get the better of him next time, Mitch wouldn't be getting out of this alive. That's why he was making damn sure to keep Sammy and Enrico out of it.

"No," Mitch stated firmly. "If you want what was inside the egg, you have to leave the two of them here."

Mr. West cackled hysterically. "You already tried to trick me once. You think I'm going to trust you? Big, tough guy, you thought you could beat a scrawny old guy like me, didn't you?"

He was definitely holding a grudge, but Mitch wanted him focused on what he was after. "I'm not going to try anything as long as my kid is safe. I have no use for that piece of paper. Those four sets of numbers by themselves are meaningless," Mitch said so he would know that he really did have the paper.

The man was still glancing toward the door at the back of the basement. "Sure, sure," he said absently. Then he yelled, "You in there! Come out or I'll..."

Mitch cut him off. "No!" He knew this guy was about to threaten to shoot him if they didn't come out, and he couldn't have that. "Leave my daughter out of this!"

The guy shook his head then grimaced from the pain the motion caused him. "I need her to make sure you behave. If you give me the paper, I'll be gone and no threat to your kid. Until then, she's the only insurance I have."

"You'll still have me," Mitch pointed out. "Do you think I want to die over a useless piece of paper and leave my kid alone in the world?"

Mr. West was blinking fast with one eye and seemed to be thinking it over.

"You keep the gun on me, and I'll lead you to where the paper is right now. We'll trade my life for the paper. Simple," Mitch said to nudge him in the right direction.

But Mitch knew it wasn't that simple. This guy would want to make sure they couldn't call the police on him as soon as he stepped foot outside the door. He had their phones, but he couldn't cut off every way they had of calling for help. Mitch didn't like thinking about how he might keep them from doing that.

For now Mitch just had to get him to take the deal even if it was a lie. After one last, intense look toward the back of the basement, West used his gun to motion for Mitch to come up.

"Don't try anything," West said and backed up as Mitch came up the basement stairs. When he reached the top, he got out of the way and kept the gun on Mitch.

"Where to now, big guy?" Mr. West asked when Mitch reached the top of the stairs.

"The hallway down there, second door on the left," Mitch told him.

"You thought I'd carry off that egg without cracking it open, didn't you?" he accused Mitch as he followed behind him with the gun aimed at his back.

But Mitch didn't. He hoped that opening the egg would be enough of a distraction and give him some kind of opportunity so he could get that gun away from West or at least get Sammy and Enrico out of harm's way. With the two of them safe for now, Mitch still needed to take care of West.

As they went down the hallway and then past the living room furniture he and Enrico had stacked there, Mitch tried to come up with a plan. Anything he might try was risky, but he didn't like his chances of staying alive once West got what he was after.

On reaching the second door, West made Mitch go in first then stopped in the doorway. "Good place to hide a piece of paper," West told him seeing that the room they were going into was the office.

Mitch agreed. He had picked the right room to hide the paper. Since it was an office, the door had a lock with an old fashioned key and Mitch planned to use that to his advantage.

"Where is it?" West demanded.

Mitch pointed toward the roll top desk in the corner. "It's in an envelope. I'll get it," he offered.

"No! Stay back! Which envelope?" West said as he went over there himself and started pulling out envelopes from the cubby holes.

"It's marked 'nest egg numbers'," Mitch told him.

All along, Mitch knew that West wouldn't let him touch the paper and that's just how he wanted it. He needed to stay on this side of the room, closer to the door.

Unlike in the basement, the key wasn't just sitting there in the lock. Mitch had put it away. It was on top of the shelf of the bookcase next to the door. Mitch had put it there so Sammy couldn't play with it, and now he couldn't reach for it without West noticing.

Waiting for West to find the envelope, Mitch got ready for the moment when he was at his most distracted. The envelope was sealed. When West found it and started to tear it open, Mitch moved.

He grabbed the key and in the same motion brought the bookshelf crashing down. It hit a filing cabinet and leaned across the way, blocking West from getting to him.

Mitch wasn't safe though. West could still shoot at him. As he ran out the door, Mitch heard two shots but felt nothing. West likely hit the bookshelf. Rushing to lock the door, Mitch quickly got away from it in case the guy decided to start shooting again.

The china cabinet from the living room was right there in the hall, and Mitch pushed it in front of the door. As quickly as he could, he searched for the hammer he knew he left around there somewhere. He found it and went back to the door. If West came through that door, Mitch wanted to be ready.

Tense and breathing hard, Mitch listened. From behind the door, he could hear West cursing and crashing as he probably tried to move the bookshelf out of the way.

Waiting outside the door with a hammer in his hand, Mitch called out to him, "Mr. West, don't waste your time trying to get through this door. Use the window to get the hell out of here before someone comes to check on us. People will worry when we don't show up at the festival and don't answer our phones."

West didn't seem to be listening though. "I knew you were gonna pull something!" he yelled through the door.

"You have what you came for. Now leave!" Mitch yelled back at him. "You try to come through this door, you won't like what you find. Use the damn window and get the hell out of here. And don't try to come back into this house or—gun or no gun—I'll make you regret it."

There was more cursing then silence behind the office door. Mitch heard more crashing, but it sounded further from the door this time. He was pretty sure he heard the window opening.

To make sure West was really leaving and not doubling back to come in another way, Mitch went to the rose sitting room. He picked up the phone in there and dialed the sheriff's office.

While quickly relaying the information about West, Mitch stared out the window. Through the shrubbery, he only caught a glimpse of West, but it certainly looked like he was getting the fuck out of there.

Mitch still waited and listened. Faintly, he heard the sound of a car starting up then after a little bit the sound of the engine faded to nothing.

Once he had given the information to the sheriff's office, Mitch ran down the basement steps and went straight to the door of the shelter.

"Hey, Sammy, Enrico. I'm back. The mean guy is gone. I'm getting the key now."

"Daddy!" Sammy called out.

Mitch could hear Enrico unbolting the door and telling her, "Your dad is going to open the door any minute now. Then you can give him a big hug." He sounded much calmer than he must have felt, and Mitch was amazed by him. He really held it together.

"I'm here, honey. I'm going to give you the biggest hug in one minute," Mitch promised Sammy as he fished out the key from behind the water heater.

He got it then unlocked the door with shaking hands. As soon as the door was open, Sammy and Enrico launched themselves into his arms. Enrico was holding Sammy, and now Mitch was holding them both so tight he didn't think he could unlock his arms and ever let them go.

For a long moment he couldn't even breathe. He couldn't talk. He just felt them in his arms—their warmth, their relief, their arms around him, and Mitch was sure his heart would burst from so much love.