Amy Maxwell & the 7 Deadly Sins (The Amy Maxwell Series Book 2) (25 page)

Roger grunts as he crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the wall. “Yeah, you definitely don’t want to underestimate her ability in
that
category.”

“Shut up, Roger,” I snap.

He shuts up and sits back in the chair.

“It’s probably not a good idea to get you all worked up before surgery. I’m sure the doctor would agree.” Jason is craning his neck and parting the curtains as if he is searching for the doctor to come swooping in and rescue him.

“Stop treating me like I’m a baby!” I slam both of my balled up fists into the mattress (or whatever you call the cheap crap they put on hospital gurneys…a combo of sawdust and fabric).

“Fine. Just remember, you asked for it,” Jason mutters as he runs his hands nervously through his hair. “Kevin shot himself in the head.” He sticks his hand behind my body, as if to catch me when I fall.

~Seventeen~

I don’t pass out this time. I’m just so stunned by Jason’s words that I can’t speak.

“Splattered his brains all over the window. Blood, guts, and glass everywhere. That was the shattering noise we heard before the gunfire,” River informs me.
Now
I gasp.

“Jesus Christ, River!” Jason yelps while smacking him in the back of the head. “Really?”

River shrugs as he leans out of his cousin’s way. “Sorry. She wants to be a cop, Jason. She’s going to have to stomach these things.”

“You don’t have to be so damn blunt,” Jason mutters.

“Oh, wow,” I finally manage to say. All three men are staring at me expectantly like I am going to sob or throw a tantrum or pass out. But I’m not. I don’t even really care, actually. I know that sounds heartless, but I didn’t
know
Kevin. Yet, I ran the gamut of emotions in his presence tonight and it is sobering to think that he would have done something that drastic to get out of the situation he was in. Well, to tell you the truth, the whole situation was pretty drastic from start to finish, but I am certain that killing himself was not the only way to solve the challenge he was in.

“Is that how Beth got the gun? She took it after Kevin shot himself?” I ask, my voice cracking on the edges of the sentence. I feel tears stinging at my eyes, not for Kevin, but for Beth. For all she did to get herself into this mess with this horrible couple, nobody deserves to have the night that she did.

Jason nodded. “We’re not sure of the particulars yet; that’ll hopefully get cleared up when they finish interviewing Beth…and of course, as soon as Claudia is able to speak about it. From what we have gathered so far, Kevin shot himself and the gun dropped out of his hand. Apparently Claudia was stunned and Beth acted pretty quickly. That was probably the difference between life and death for her.”

I nod as I blow out the air that I’ve trapped in my throat. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath. River adds, “But you know how eyewitness accounts are. Especially traumatized eyewitnesses who have shot someone or have been shot at. We’ll probably never know exactly what happened in that car.”

“That’s not exactly true,” a booming voice from behind the curtain retorts.

Who let the Wizard of Oz in here?

As the men swivel their heads toward the voice, the curtains part and a heavy set, older gentleman with several chins, very closely cropped silver hair, a perfectly tailored suit comes gliding into the makeshift hospital room. I would have assumed it was nearly impossible for someone that bulky to enter a room so gracefully but he manages to make it look effortless. He stands next to Jason and River, completely dwarfing them and making the tiny area feel even more claustrophobic. I am trembling from his presence. He appears calm, but he reeks of authority.

Is he here to share bad news about Beth? Or even Claudia?
Not that I really care about Claudia, but what happens to her may directly affect my sister’s fate.

“Detective Joe Neville, ma’am. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” he remarks while clasping my shaking hand into his giant paw. He pumps my hand enthusiastically, a huge grin spreading across his broad face. I guess he isn’t here to share devastating news of my sister’s fate because he wouldn’t be so friendly, right?

“Um, hi,” I answer oh so eloquently.

“What do you mean,
that’s not exactly true
?” Jason asks with his eyebrow raised and his head cocked to the side as he stares questioningly at Detective Neville.

Detective Neville grabs Jason’s hand and also pumps it with vigor. Jason looks like he is going to vomit from the fierce up and down motion. “Hi! You must be Agent Collins. I’ve heard fabulous things about you from my boys. We really do appreciate your fast acting and take charge attitude. A
pleasure
to meet you.”

Jason studies the detective with suspicion, attempting to discern whether the man is pulling his leg or not. “Um, yeah, right,” is Jason’s response as he inches closer to the head of the bed. It almost seems to be a protective move, one that does not escape Roger’s notice. He also moves toward my head on the opposite end of the bed.

“Mrs. Maxwell, we have a few questions for you regarding your ordeal this evening,” Detective Neville remarks while glancing at his watch. “Well, actually I can see I’m incorrect. It’s actually
last
evening that’s in question.” He stares at us, beaming as if he has made the world’s wittiest joke.

“Just one second,” Jason intervenes with a wave of his hand. “What did you mean by,
that’s not exactly true
?”

Detective Neville appears perplexed as he scratches his head. “What’s not exactly true?”

“That’s what I want to know,” Jason replies with an air of annoyance.

“Why would I know what isn’t true?”

“Because that’s what you said!” Jason retorts, his anger building.

“When did I say it wasn’t true?” Detective Neville is pursing his lips, his eyes turned upwards as if he is trying to recall the exact moment he uttered those words.

As amusing as this rendition of
Who’s on First
is, I have to interject and stop the madness. “Detective Neville, when you came in, River,” I sweep my hand toward my youngest guest, “was stating that we probably would never find out what happened in the car last night. That’s when you said,
that’s not exactly true
.”

Detective Neville’s face lights up as he recalls this piece of the conversation. “Yes, yes, I did!” He clasps his hands together like a child who got exactly what he wanted for Christmas. He continues to gaze around at us with a big dopey grin on his face.

“Are you gonna tell us what you mean by that?” Jason snaps, annoyance mounting to an explosive level. Jason does not appear to have any patience for this jolly man.

“Oh yes, yes,” Detective Neville replies, bobbing his head up and down and causing his chins to wiggle. “Apparently the car that you were riding in this evening had a video recording device in it. It’s a black box of sorts and it recorded everything that occurred during the drive from the point that Claudia Fox and her husband left the house to the point where Claudia was shot.”

There is a collective gasp that circles around the room, almost like we are doing the wave in some major league baseball stadium. I’m pretty sure I started it.

“Are you kidding me?” I ask in a very high pitched voice.
I hope it didn’t capture any of my bad angles,
is unfortunately my first thought. And then it dawns on me…this video camera could have captured my sister shooting Claudia and it may not look like self-defense! This might be very, very bad for her.

“Why would they have something like that in a car they planned to commit a crime in?” River asks with confusion.

It does seem rather stupid. We all gaze at Detective Neville awaiting his explanation.

He simply shrugs. “Who can figure out these rich folks? They do crazy thing just because they can afford it. Maybe it was a security measure for their car or something.” He adds another shrug.

That hardly makes sense because the car we were kidnapped in was probably the least expensive one in the garage. Their Lexuses and Benzes and BMWs were worth a ton more. But who knows, maybe they had security cameras installed in them, too.

“So this video camera angle…it’s a good thing, right?” I ask with trepidation. If it’s a possibility that it’ll end up biting Beth in the butt, I want to know now. Not that the detective would be able to tell us exactly what the camera showed but…

“Oh,
completely
!” Detective Neville remarks with marked enthusiasm. “Claudia was threatening her on camera, even as your sister held the gun.” Okay, scratch that, maybe he
could
share.  “She didn’t look like she wanted to shoot, but Ms. Fox also had a knife,” the detective continues.

“What?”
I didn’t see a knife. Where was this knife?

As if he could read my mind, the detective answers, “She had a Swiss army knife in the back of her yoga pants. Apparently there was a little tiny pocket back there for keys.” He shrugs as if to say
who knew?

“Mrs. Maxwell?” A scrawny looking attendant is now standing at the curtain with a chart in his hand. He looks nervous and uncomfortable by the large crowd gathered at my bedside, especially since their eyes are now all trained on him.

“Yes?” I ask. I’m really tired of people with questions. I’d really like to just take a nap.

“I’m here to take you to surgery?” the scrawny dude says, but it comes out more like a question than anything else, as if he is unsure whether his statement is true or not.

“Just one moment,” Detective Neville says as he pulls a notebook. “I need to get your account of the events that led up to you and your sister being kidnapped.”

Oh, crap
.

I am suddenly feeling like the room is shrinking and all the men in it are staring at me. Roger is anxiously awaiting my answer. Poor guy has no clue
why
we were even kidnapped to begin with. It was like an unfortunate row of dominoes, one toppling after another due to one screw up or another. And now I’m going have to admit one disaster after another…out loud…to a police officer. This is the part where I have to confess that I forgot to pick up my niece, my sister was cheating on Derek, that she was having an affair, that we were trespassing on Kevin and Claudia’s property, that we were stupid enough to fall into Kevin’s trap, that…

“Your sister told me that Claudia had picked up Jillian from a playdate and when the two of you went to pick her up, Claudia told you she was in the garage and then that’s when they overpowered you and put you in the trunk.”

I glance up and see Detective Neville staring at me expectantly.

Um, that sounds much better than what actually happened.

“That sounds about right,” I lie. “I’m a little hazy on the details…hitting my head and all,” I add, pointing to my busted face for effect.

Oh please! Don’t judge me! That’s
basically
what happened in a nutshell except for the part where I look bad for forgetting my niece and Beth looks bad for screwing up to begin with. If Beth wants to go with that version, who am I to correct her? Besides, nothing
we
did was illegal (minus the trespassing) and it’s all about reprimanding the kidnapper who attempted to murder you, right?

“Sounds great,” Detective Neville chirps as he slaps his notebook closed.
Really?
That’s the whole inquisition? Why does it take
hours
in movies and on TV? I am starting to wonder if this Neville guy isn’t completely bonkers.

“I really need to take her to surgery,” the scrawny guy suddenly interjects with a newfound confidence.

“I guess we will let you get to it then,” the detective states as he offers me a handshake and then retreats to the part in the curtain. “We will follow up if we have any questions next week.” He hands Roger a business card. Roger stares at it blankly before shoving it in his pocket. “Try to stay out of trouble, ok Amy?”

I offer him a halfhearted wave as he steps out of sight. I see Jason raise his eyebrows out of the corner of my eye. I guess word has gotten around about my inability to stay away from trouble.

“I guess we will be going, too,” Jason says as he stands up stiffly, tapping his
much
younger cousin on the shoulder.

“Uh, sure,” River remarks as he too stands up.

Jason places his hand on my shoulder, sending an embarrassing tingle through my body. “I’ll be seeing you, Amy,” he tells me in a sultry voice. Ok, maybe it wasn’t really sultry…I highly doubt he would speak in such a voice in front of my husband, but I perceived its sexiness at any rate.  I blush as I attempt to look away, hoping that Roger doesn’t see my embarrassment.

“Ok, Mrs. Maxwell,” the attendant says. “Mr. Maxwell, I will show you to the waiting room once we get to the OR floor.”

Roger nods his head as the attendant pops the break off the gurney and begins to wheel it into the hallway toward the elevator. I catch one last glimpse of Jason as he is leaving the ER area. He must feel my stare because he turns, locks eyes with me, and offers me a halfhearted wave.