Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Volume III (Books 7-9) Page 56

  Was Riley right? Did the kidnapper have Linda too? If so, I was going to kill her twice. Maybe even three times, for Philby.

  Linda met us at the door and ushered us into her kitchen. In spite of the fact that she'd been working on this for twenty-four hours at least, she looked rested and fresh. I, on the other hand, had dark circles under my eyes and unruly wet hair from a quick shower. And I was wearing yesterday's clothes.

  "I think I've got it," she said excitedly. "I took all the numbers from the corner boxes and compared them to their corresponding letters of the alphabet. Since sudoku uses only numbers one through nine and there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, every number has more than one letter. For example, the number one stands for letters A, J, and S."

  "But if each number stood for three letters, how did you know which one was which?" I asked.

  Linda smiled. "There are only five vowels. Words need vowels. So I went for A instead of J or S. Once I filled in the vowels, deciding which corresponding consonant went with it was pretty easy!"

  Riley and I exchanged glances. "You could be a code breaker for the CIA!" I gushed. "What made you think of using the letters in the corners? I'd go with the ones in the center."

  Linda shrugged. "It just made sense to me to do that." She handed me her notes.

  Bells are ringing and children singing.

  There's educating to be done, in the spot where you once had fun.

  All is waiting there for you, come along if you dare, when you've solved this clue.

  "What do you think it means?" Riley asked.

  "Bells ringing could refer to the wedding," I mumbled. "Children and fun may be related to Girl Scouts. We've had a lot of fun at camp, and I've taught the girls things there."

  "I don't think the last sentence means anything more than come and get it," Linda said.

  I nodded. "I agree. It's the first two sentences we have to work on."

  "The time is up," Riley said. "They're not messing around anymore. I think you have one shot to get this right. You can only go to one place."

  I felt that in my gut he was absolutely right. The clue could be talking about a number of places, from the church we were supposed to get married in to Girl Scout Camp, to…

  "I got it!" I screamed. "I know where Rex is!"

  "Should we call Ted?" Riley asked.

  I shook my head. "I don't think he's ready for another shootout. This one is for you and me. And we're going to need more weapons."

  "I should go too," Linda said.

  "No," I said gently. "These are dangerous people. I don't want to drag you into this."

  "I can help," she insisted.

  "Not this time." I hugged her. "But you've been amazing. I couldn't have done it without you."

  Linda smiled. I loved having her help. But she couldn't get mixed up in a shootout.

  Riley and I cleaned out his weapons cache. By the time we hit the road, it was late at night. We had two shotguns, two handguns, and four knives between us. My bloodlust was roaring. I was ready to get my fiancé and wreak some havoc on these people.

  "You didn't tell me," Riley said as he slapped the magazine into a 9mm and racked the slide, "where are we going?"

  I smiled. "Back to the beginning. And I think I know who the villain is."

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  "This place?" Riley asked as I pulled into the old elementary school.

  The building was condemned, but for some reason the city still hadn't demolished it. And it was the scene of a major shootout a few years back. One that involved me.

  "You think it's Lana," Riley said.

  I nodded. "I think it's Lana."

  We got out of the car and walked up to the front door. The knob came off in my hand. On the way over, we'd toyed with going stealth on this…parking a few blocks away, sneaking in through a window.

  But I was sick and tired of messing around. This time, I was going to confront things once and for all. Riley and I were taking this psycho out, permanently. Let her know we were coming. She wasn't going to kill us until we found Rex. There was no point in hiding.

  It was dark inside. With his flashlight, Riley lit up the corridors with the sagging and rusting lockers.

  "The gym?" he asked.

  "We'll check there first," I agreed.

  The school was laid out in a square. One hallway wrapped around the gym. A simple layout. There were two doorways into the gym, and Riley took the one on the left, while I took the one on the right. We'd agreed that he'd wait a few minutes after I'd entered before he made his appearance. It was a small thing, but it might catch Lana off guard, if even for a second.

  The gym was brightly lit. There was no sign of Juliette, Rex, or their captor, but the lights meant we were in the right place. Bells ringing meant school bells. Children singing pointed to the elementary school, as did educating. And while I did have fun here as a kid, I knew she was talking about a very different kind of fun a couple of years back.

  "Lana!" I shouted. "Lana!"

  A voice close behind me said, "Why are you shouting?"

  I jumped and spun in the air to find a confused police officer behind me. Ted was looking around, sweeping the room with his gun.

  "What are you doing here?" I hissed.

  "I followed you," he said, red color creeping up his neck. "I told you not to do this stuff alone!"

  Damn. And I was going to murder Lana in cold blood. Now I'd have to wait for her to come at me first so it would look like self-defense. Not only that, Ted was in way over his head here, and I didn't want the rookie getting hurt.

  "You shouldn't be here," I said as menacingly as possible while my mind raced for a reason why. "I'm not even sure that this is the right place." I didn't mention my concern that he'd just shot someone for the first time and might not be able to pull the trigger.

  He didn't buy it. "I can't let a couple of civilians get hurt on my watch."

  Riley walked in on the other side, stopping in his tracks when he spotted the policeman. That was when the curtains went up on the stage. Spotlights shone down on a body in a burlap bag as it strained against the ropes and chair it was tied to.

  Instead of coming to me, Riley ran for the stage and landed in a single leap next to the chair. His hands worked furiously, and I ran to the stage, hopped on (with considerably less grace), and checked the wings. There was one door in the back that led down into the basement.

  "It's Juliette, isn't it?" I said as I joined Riley on stage.

  He removed the last rope and the bag fell. An angry redhead with duct tape on her mouth scowled at us, squeaking what I can only assume to be cuss words.

  "How did you know?" Riley asked as he pulled the tape free.

  "The body size. She's too small to be Rex. Which means we aren't done here yet." I kept my gun up and watched the gym. Ted was gone.

  Officer Weir shouted from the hallway. "I see him! This way!"

  Oh no! He'd run off half-cocked. This kid was going to get himself killed unless I caught up.

  I looked at Riley. "Stay here with her."

  He shook his head. "No. I'm coming with you."

  Juliette shrieked a high-pitched flow of words I couldn't understand. I got in her face and held her shoulders.

  "You stay here," I commanded. "It's not safe."

  The woman looked from me to Riley and nodded. She was angry but scared enough to listen.

  I ran into the hall to see Ted's back disappearing through another door that led to the basement.

  "That idiot is going to get shot," I mumbled under my breath.

  "He just wants to help," Riley said.

  We started running, but I drew up short at the door. "Take the door on the stage," I whispered. "It goes to the basement too, but you'll come out in the middle."

  Riley nodded, and I steeled myself before running into the rabbit hole. Halfway down the stairs I could hear Ted running and shouting, "Stop! In the name of the law!"

  Yeesh. I was a
lmost embarrassed for him. We'd have to work on his lingo. I hit the bottom stair. I knew where I was going. The basement was divided into food storage—which no longer existed since the building had been abandoned—boxes of old memorabilia, and one room that was used for theatrical purposes.

  I knew this because I was in exactly one play in school. It was The Wizard of Oz, and I'd been a tree. If Rex was here, that was where he was. I knew it.

  A door slammed ahead, and I heard Ted scream. Damn! I ran to the door, but it was locked. Rearing back, I threw all of my weight against the area where the doorknob was. The rotting door splintered easily.

  In the middle of the room, tied to a chair and slumped over with a bag over his head, was my fiancé, the love of my life, Detective Rex Ferguson. I didn't run to him, because this was a trap. In my head I warned him not to move.

  Where was Ted Weir?

  "You solved the last clue!" He sprang from behind the door, gun trained on me.

  I leveled my gun at his head. "You?" I shrieked. "You're the bad guy?"

  Ted gave me an ugly smile. "You didn't see that coming, did you?"

  I shook my head. I really didn't. "Not Lana?" I asked. I could've kicked myself.

  He frowned. "You didn't know it was me? I thought for sure you'd figure it out."

  "How could I have known it was you?"

  "I guess we really are that good." Ted grinned. "Right, Dad?"

  Dad?

  Prescott Winters III stepped out from behind a wardrobe. Dang it! I should've checked the wardrobe. He had a shotgun aimed a few inches from Rex's head.

  "Drop the gun, please, Ms. Wrath," the murderer said.

  I didn't mind a gun aimed at me, but a shotgun aimed at Rex was too much to bear. I did as I was told and turned to Ted. "You're working with the man who killed your mother?"

  "Not my mother," Ted said. "My mother was Dad's first wife. A lovely Turkish lady named Reza."

  "Turkish?" Something popped into my head. The first clue! The very first crossword listed Marco, the man who died under my watch years ago. It wasn't Lana at all. The fact that the kidnapper knew about that made me think it was another spy. "You knew Marco?"

  Prescott nodded. "My brother-in-law. My first wife's baby brother. When he died, Reza couldn't live with it. She killed herself."

  Ted snapped. "And it's your fault!"

  I needed to stall until Riley found us. It was kind of amazing that Ted had forgotten about him.

  I spoke up quickly and a little louder than usual. "How did you even find out about that? That mission is still classified!"

  Ted turned and shut what was left of the door. I thought about rushing him, but Prescott winked at me and pushed the gun closer to Rex's head. Riley! Where are you?

  "I had a few drinks with your old pal, Frank," Ted said. "The guilt of my uncle's death nearly killed him."

  Prescott piped up, "Actually, it did kill him."

  "Oh, right." Ted nodded. "It killed him."

  My jaw dropped, and my heart twisted. "Frank's dead?"

  "Alcohol poisoning. A nasty way to go," Prescott answered with a huge smile. "And now that I have you two here, in the same room, we can wrap up everything and avenge our family."

  "You are the mastermind," I said to Prescott.

  "Hey!" Ted whined. "I helped! He couldn't have done it without me!"

  His father rolled his eyes, but I didn't think Ted saw that. "Of course, son." He gave me a wink. "It really was my idea. I spent a long time in prison, which gave me all the time I needed to come up with revenge. When I found out my boy here was perfectly positioned to carry out my plans, well, it was a no-brainer."

  Ted frowned. Something about what his dad said upset him. Was it because Prescott implied he'd used Ted for his own gain?

  Where was Riley? I could really use him right now. I looked at the door and drew Ted's attention.

  He squinted at me. "Are you looking for your other handler? I'm afraid he's probably dead. I set a trap on the other staircase in case you two split up. I knew you'd follow me. I just didn't know for sure if he would."

  "What kind of trap?" I folded my arms over my chest. "Don't you remember Riley in the flower shop? He watched for that trap. He's found and disarmed this one too."

  The room shook with a nearby explosion.

  Prescott's eyebrows went up. "You were saying?"

  No! Riley couldn't be dead. He was too smart for that. Wasn't he?

  "I've been working with Dad on this plan for so long. I couldn't possibly have left anything to chance. In fact, once I finish you two off here, I'm heading over to see your old teacher, Linda Willard."

  My mouth dropped open. "What? Why? She doesn't know anything! I didn't even tell her where we were going!"

  Weir stopped and stared at me like I was an idiot. "Because I can." He rolled his eyes. "She knows enough, so she has to die, and you need to know this."

  There was a flash of something outside the splintered door.

  I threw my hands into the air. "I have to admit, you had me fooled."

  "And the CIA. After Frank told me about my uncle's untimely murder, he named you. The only problem was, I was looking for Finn Czrygy. Not Merry Wrath. Bravo, by the way." Ted's smile was genuine. Genuine psychopath. Prescott had taken full advantage of it. And I'd missed it.

  "Thanks," I grumbled, my mind racing to put together a plan that I wasn't sure I'd live to carry out.

  "Very proud of you, my boy," Prescott said. "But I think we can leave the teacher out of this. Remember what I said about overkill?"

  Ted stomped his feet and turned red. "I want her dead!" he sputtered. "I want all of them dead!"

  Oh yeah. Prescott was definitely the mastermind. And Ted's behavior was a ray of hope. I could work with a meltdown. There was that movement behind the door again. Was it Riley? A vagrant? A very large rat?

  "Son," Prescott said firmly, "we still have other schemes in motion. Killing too many people would increase the risk. I warned you about that."

  My eyebrows went up, and I looked to Ted.

  "Dad didn't want me to kill that florist or your replacement at the CIA." Ted shot his dad a sullen glance. "Said it was too much. That we shouldn't kill anyone but you and Rex once we got you in here."

  Ah. So that was the plan. Reunite the couple and kill them.

  "Why drag it out?" I asked. "Why have me run all over town for nine days? Why keep Rex alive?"

  Ted rolled his eyes. "Duh! Because it tormented you! Dad wanted to finish you both off quickly, but I was enjoying it too much." He glared at his father. "It's what a real villain would do!"

  Yeah…a Bond villain. Not anyone in real life. But I wasn't about to tell him that. Ted was right—these last several days were torture. And looking at the shape Rex was in, I'd say it was that way for both of us.

  "It's called creative license." He beamed. "And I nailed it."

  Prescott sighed like a parent with a naughty toddler. "I know you think so, son. But now we've got two murders on our hands. In a moment, it'll be four. You need to learn—less is better. You can't get greedy in these situations. It's tacky."

  Ted narrowed his eyes. "Don't call me son! You were never there for me! You left me in foster care way longer than you should have!"

  Whoa. He snapped quickly. While I was entertained by this family tiff, I needed to exploit it. I held up my hands and walked slowly backward, toward Rex. The two men didn't even notice.

  "I told you," the older man said evenly, "I married Jeannie for her money. I wasn't abandoning you to foster care." His words were nice and all, but the way he said "abandoning" sounded a bit sarcastic. He really did use his son.

  This relationship was seriously messed up. Awesome! I stepped back once more and felt Rex's knee connect with the back of my leg. Prescott's shotgun was wavering as he tried to calm down his lunatic son. Ted was waving his arms, and his gun all over the place.

  "Foster care was awful!" Ted screamed. "I was shifted around five
times in one year! And all that time I was waiting for you to kill your wife, collect the inheritance, and get me!"

  Prescott held up the hand that wasn't on the gun and spoke soothingly. "Which I did, remember?"

  I was about four feet from the shotgun. Prescott's finger was still on the trigger, but the way he held it with one hand was just unsteady enough that I might have a chance. My chief concern was Rex. If I got the shotgun, Ted could regain his senses and shoot Rex. I couldn't risk that.

  "Don't patronize me, boy," Prescott's voice was like iron. "This is my plan. You're lucky I let you participate."

  Ted was purple with rage. "I should kill you too and be done with it, Dad!"

  The door slowly opened, and a hand appeared near the floor, holding a homemade explosive device. The men didn't see Riley set it on the floor, but they could at any second. I lunged for the shotgun, surprising the older man, who just gave it up.

  Boom!

  An explosion went off just as Ted and I were drawing a bead on each other, but from what I could see, Ted was no more.

  "Why didn't you use your gun?" I snapped at Riley as he trained his pistol on Prescott.

  He shrugged. "I thought this was better."

  "And the explosion we heard?" I started untying my fiancé, who was still unconscious.

  "My shotgun," Riley said. "I always travel with one souped-up shell overloaded with powder."

  Rex fell forward into my arms, and I pulled off the mask. He was dazed and maybe a bit dehydrated and starved. But he was okay.

  "Merry?" His eyes fluttered open.

  "Hi, honey!" I nearly crushed him in a hug. "You're a little late for our wedding, but you can make it up to me."

  "Oh good," he said weakly. "How long have I been gone?"

  "Nine days," I answered.

  "Oh no!" He gasped. "The fee on my rented tux is going to be outrageous." Then he smiled at me, and I knew everything was going to be okay.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  It wasn't a church, and there weren't three hundred guests, but four days later, Rex and I tied the knot with a justice of the peace at the courthouse, surrounded by Robert and Riley as groomsmen, Kelly and Soo Jin as bridesmaids, and ten little girls in the ugliest flower girl dresses imaginable.