Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries) (55 page)

Maddox cleared the kitchen while I was in the bathroom and when I came out
,
I found he had set up the DVD player on his laptop. "This doesn't seem like you," I said as the credits rolled. "Shouldn't you be watching hardboiled detective shows or Die Hard Twenty
-
Nine
?
"

"I don't watch a lot of TV. Work doesn't leave
much
room for a life."

Not what a potential girlfriend want
s
to hear. "So what do you do in your spare time?" I asked.

"Go to the gym. Catch a movie once in a while."

"You're such a man."

"I like cooking, too."

"The surprises never
cease
. What do you cook?"

"Meat."

"Ahh. Man cooking."

"I'll cook for you some time
,
then you can eat your words."

"
I like them sautéed.
"

“Do you now?”

“You know I’m going to hold you to that?” I answered.

"Do that," said Maddox, leaning in and I was suddenly aware how close I was s
i
t
ting
to him
.
I could feel his body heat radiat
ing
against me. The evening was certainly looking up now
, and
I thought he was about to kiss me
.
T
hen he leaned back, frowning.
"Do you hear that?"

It was a tinny beep from his laptop. He pressed a few keys and the film disappeared, leaving the four
-
screen display of the outside cameras. One quarter fiz
zled with static. "The feed on
camera three is down. I've got to check it out."

"Is that safe?" I asked. "Won't someone from your team come?"

"Sure," he said. "It happens sometimes. These are only temporary units. I can fix it before anyone from the team gets here." All the same, he took a small gun out of his ankle holster and laid it on the coffee table. "I'm going out the kitchen door. Watch the feed and shout when it's back on." He pulled a screwdriver out
of
his bag, slipped it into his pocket and walked out. I
stayed
in the hallway until I saw him exit the back door
,
then returned to the living room to wait for him. As I watched the screen, the upper right camera blinked out, replaced by static.

It struck me as very unlikely that both feeds would have loose wires at the same time. Instantly
,
I was on alert. Angling the laptop so I could see the screen from the doorway, I crept to the door and peeped out. As I did so, a loud crack sounded outside
,
then the
thud
of something heavy dropping.
I
fell
to the floor, my breathing fast and shallow, crab-walking until I was next to the
sofa
.

Instinctively
,
I knew what I heard
was a gunshot.
I wasn’t sure about the heavy thud.

The back door opened and closed and I held my breath, waiting to hear Maddox's voice
,
but there was nothing.

I looked around for some place to hide
,
but there w
ere
barely any hiding places, j
ust the couches and the coffee table. Behind the couch would be the first place they looked in this room.

Soft footsteps came through from the kitchen into the hallway and stopped.
I heard them move into another room. Gr
abb
ing
Maddox's cell
phone from the coffee table, I
huddled into the far corner,
vanishi
ng into
the shadows. It took me a couple of attempts
,
but I managed to scroll through until I found Solomon's number, my heart pounding as it connected.

"Solomon."

"It's me." I whispered. "I need help."

"Why are you whispering?"

"Someone's in the house."

"Where's Maddox?"

"I don't know. He went outside."

"Can you get to a gun?"

"Yes." I
shot forward, grabb
ing
the gun Maddox placed on the coffee table and checked the small barrel. It was fully loaded.

"I'm on the way."

Solomon didn't disconnect, so neither did I. Instead
,
I placed the phone in my back pocket
, scuttl
ing
backwards until my back hit the wall,
and prayed that Solomon had no problem with breaking the speed limit. I knew I didn't have any way out. My only exit
s were
the front and rear doors
, which
involved moving through the hallway
,
where someone now stood
, the floorboards creaking
with every step
.

I looked around.
The windows were locked, the room sparse. All I could do now was wait
and hope Maddox overcame whatever was stopping him
.
Unless, the bullet… No, I couldn’t think about it.

The footsteps grew closer and the door creaked as it
suddenly
pushed wide open. A man stepped into the room. Shorter than Maddox and bulkier, he wore all black. Black camo pants, a hooded top and a knit cap pulled
down
low over his brow.
Despite being
in the shadow of the doo
r
, ominously, in his gloved hands
, I could see
he held a gun, the shape of it
quite
clear
in his hand
. I saw the whites of his eyes flicker as
t
he
y
swept the room and settled on me. With my hands behind my back, I stuffed Maddox's small gun up my sleeve and tried not to quake with fear.

"Stand up," said the man, his face
hidden in the
shadows. "Stand up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them."

I raised my hands above my head,
as
the gun jolt
ed
down my sleeve, and stood up slowly, my knees protesting after being cramped.
There was something awfully familiar about his voice.

"Palms flat," he said, stepping forward into the light.

I uncurled my fingers and my mouth dropped open. "Vincent?"

Green Hand's accountant took another step
closer
,
his
gun pointed at me. His eyes darted around,
scanning
the room
, registering that we were alone
. He stepped to one side, and, with the gun still aimed at me, checked behind the couch just in case anyone else was concealed, repeating the
strategy
with the other couch.

"Where's
Adam
?" I asked
, trying not to panic
. My best bet was to stall for time. If Solomon got here before Vincent shot me, I would be okay. If he got here moments after I was shot, I stood a better chance of surviving
;
and that's what it all boiled down to now: Solomon's speed and my oral skills. I was so glad I hadn't said that out loud. Lily would say it was totally Freudian.

"
Shepherd?
Shot him in the yard," said Vincent bluntly.

My breath caught. "Dead?"

Vincent ignored my question. "You're my last loose end," he said. "If it wasn't for your meddling, I'd have my money by now and I'd be outta here. Where is it?"

The final puzzle piece
clicked into place. Vincent was the fifth man. The unnamed suspect responsible for blackmailing, then killing the rest of the fraudsters.
I saw it so clearly now.
He was the man Maddox chased
down
the alley, the man who forced Tanya Henderson to Flames. He was also the one person who knew how to access all the cash
,
and as an accountant
,
he knew how to hide it
.
It was more than e
nough to buy his precious Spyder and
and then some
.

"I'm not alone," I stalled.

"Yes, you are. I've been watching the house. I knew
Adam Shepherd, or whoever he really is,
was mixed up in this somehow. I saw him earlier
,
when he was supposed to be out of town
,
and
all I had to do was follow him. Imagine my surprise when I saw him talking to a couple of detectives, thinking no one spot
ted
him. Actually, I wasn't surprised at all.
I’m smart, see?
I'd already figured out he was a cop and when I saw you at Flames, I figured out you were part of it too. Everyone thinks I'm just Vincent the dull accountant, but they're wrong. They're all wrong!"

"I never thought that."

"I asked you out
a bunch of times
and you turned me down."

"I...
was seeing someone else."

"No, you weren't. You just didn't want to go out with me
,
even after I left you all the gifts to show you how much you meant to me."

"What gifts?" I asked, confused.

"The flowers, the screensaver I put on your computer. The chocolates. Is nothing good enough for you?"

"You left the dead flowers on my car?"

"They weren't dead!"

"They didn't have heads!"

Vincent sucked in a breath,
and
his mouth pinched
in frustration
. "Those punks! T
hey must have ripped the heads
off when I left.
The good for nothing little assholes!
I left you twelve red roses!"