As Good as Dead (21 page)

“Did Mr. Sinclair seem upset or give you any indication something was wrong?”

“Not really.”

“Can you give me a description of the man Mr. Sinclair went with?”

“The cops asked me that too. I wasn’t paying that much attention. I think he had, like, gray hair, and he was kind of big. Bigger than Mr. Sinclair. Older too. They seemed to know each other.”

“Did the man say anything? Did you notice anything else?”

“He was tan—like most people around here in the summer. But it’s early yet, so he was darker, like he was from Florida or Southern California or someplace down South. We get a lot of retired people out here.”

Angel’s imagination pulled up an image of Luke’s law professor.

Marty chewed on his lower lip for a moment.

“Anything else?”

He shook his head. “Sorry. If I’d known there was something wrong, I’d have done something, you know? Like I told the cops, they got into a white Lexus and drove off.”

Angel thanked Marty and headed back to the dock to wait for the water taxi to take her back to the hotel. She had no idea why she’d thought of the professor. The description sounded like a thousand men.

Anyway, what would Ethan Hathaway be doing here? On the other hand, why wouldn’t he come here? He’d said he was on vacation, and this was one of the most popular destinations in the Northwest. In fact, the golf course here was world renowned. She didn’t remember Dr. Hathaway mentioning golf, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a golfer.

She sat on the dock and stared at the royal blue lake.
Say it was him; maybe he didn’t know Luke was here and it was a chance meeting.
The man who’d visited them in Sunset Cove resembled the photo of the professor she’d seen on the Internet, and Angel felt certain Professor Hathaway was who he said he was.

She shook her head. “It couldn’t have been Dr. Hathaway,” she murmured. She could see Luke having coffee or a meal with his professor, but he certainly wouldn’t have stayed away this long. And if Luke wasn’t in any trouble, wouldn’t he call Kinsey?

It was entirely possible that he left the golf course with someone he knew and was abducted later. That had to be it. Angel made a mental note to ask Kinsey where Luke liked to eat. She’d make a list of his favorite places and enlist Chief Warren’s help in finding out if Luke had been seen around town before he’d disappeared.

THIRTY-FIVE

W
hen Angel heard a powerboat approach, she glanced up to see the water taxi pull to the dock. There were no passengers getting off this time. The pilot was a different woman, and she was wearing a white sweater and slacks with a nautical theme. She waved at Angel. “Did you need a ride back?” She had a throaty, sultry tone like that of a smoker.

“Yeah, thanks.” Angel glanced around, but no one else was waiting. She’d have felt better if there were others going aboard with her, but she chided herself for being overly cautious.
What am I thinking? Not everyone is going to attack me; besides, this is a woman.

Angel climbed aboard and sat in back, as she had on the way out. Two men coming down the plank waved at them, apparently wanting a ride. The pilot must not have seen them as she ripped away from the dock, leaving a huge wake that threw the men off balance and nearly into the water.

“Hey!” Angel turned to look at the pilot. “You had a couple more passengers. You’d better go back.”

“There’ll be another taxi in a few minutes.” The woman glanced at Angel, then went back to steering the boat, which she’d pushed into full throttle.

How rude.
Angel thought about telling her that kind of attitude could get her fired but didn’t.
It’s not my business
, she decided, turning to face the wind and enjoy the scenery. The ride back seemed particularly long. Angel looked around and could no longer see the dock. And the destination marina where they should be docking lay far off to their right. Too far off.

“Isn’t that the marina over there?” she yelled above the motor noise. Concern rose like a tide. “What’s going on? Where are you going?”

The pilot cut the engine, throwing Angel forward. She caught the rail to steady herself.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The woman was now holding a gun and waving it in Angel’s direction. Her heavy makeup looked out of place, especially out here on the water, but then some women didn’t know when to quit.

Only this wasn’t a woman, Angel realized. The makeup was thick, but it couldn’t completely conceal the marks on the man’s cheek—the scratches she had put there with her keys.

Why hadn’t she paid closer attention? Angel swallowed back the bile rising to her throat.
Keep your cool. Don’t let him sense your fear. You got him before, and you can do it again. He’s not all that strong.

But he’s mad.

“That’s a pretty good makeup job,” she said. “A little too heavy, though.”

“Yeah, well it fooled you.”

“Yes, it did.” Angel sat back on the seat, trying to look relaxed. She needed time to assess the situation. To assess him. “You’re quite clever with disguises.”

“How come you recognized me, then?”

“I’m observant. I have to admit, you had me fooled this time. I didn’t think you’d turn feminine on me.” Angel eyed the marina in the distance. The nearest boat had to be five miles away. She could swim, but not that far. Besides, he’d probably have a bullet in her before she could dive off the boat. And in water this cold, she’d die of hypothermia within half an hour.

He smiled. “Gotcha.”

“So now that you’ve managed to
get
me, what are you going to do with me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” He waved the gun at her. “Come up here and steer the boat.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You won’t. You’ll do exactly as I say if you ever want to see that pretty lady at the art gallery.”

Angel bounced to her feet and set the boat to rocking. “What did you do to her?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” One side of his overly red lips lifted in a sneer. “Just get up here and do what I tell you.”

Figuring she had better play along, Angel joined him at the wheel. He took the adjacent seat and trained the gun on her. “That’s better. Now, head for that inlet on the far side of the lake.”

She tracked to where he pointed. From here, the area looked uninhabited. No cabins, only thick fir trees and pines for miles. Scanning the horizon, she saw no boats in the vicinity. No way to signal for help.

Angel steered the boat as he directed, looking for an opportunity to disarm him without taking a bullet. Her arm was still sore from the last bullet, and even sorer after having to fight off this freak. Still, she’d go down kicking, no matter what it took. For now, though, it looked as if she had no option but to do what he told her. Several minutes later as they approached the shoreline, Angel could see just how rugged the area was.

“What are you planning to do?” she asked again.

“Get you out of the way. You’re the only one who can recognize me, except for your cop friend back in Sunset Cove.”

“Are you going to get rid of me like you did Nick?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I thought he was dead.”

“Lucky for you he isn’t. Otherwise you’d be wanted for murder. You’re kind of new at this killing stuff, aren’t you?”

“Why would you say that?” he growled.

“I can tell. You seem nervous.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“Huh. Since you’re planning to kill me, could you at least tell me who you are and how you figure into this mess?”

“Just get out of the boat.”

“Why?”

“’Cause I said so, and I got a gun.”

Angel looked over the side. The clear water showed a mass of roots, rocks, and mud.

She imagined he’d kill her once she got off the boat. That way there’d be no blood evidence on the boat itself, or on him. She wondered how good a shot he was and how hard he’d try to catch her if she ran. The forest came nearly to the shore, leaving only a narrow shoreline. If she did run, it would have to be into the woods, and they didn’t look all that inviting.

Angel climbed over the edge and dropped into the water, sucking in a sharp breath as the cold mountain water covered her hips. She slogged through it, glad for the tennis shoes. She’d start running the second she stepped out of the lake. With any luck, she’d get far enough into the woods to be protected from the bullets.

“Don’t try anything.” He was in the water too, something she hadn’t expected, and close behind. There was no way she could outrun his bullets at this range.

They stepped onto the shore at about the same time. He was holding a coiled rope in his free hand. “Now sit down with your back against that tree over there.”

“You’re tying me up?”

“You got a problem with that?”

“Yeah, a big one.” She didn’t, really. Being tied up here would at least give her an opportunity to get away. With any luck at all, she’d be able to loosen the knots, but she didn’t want him to know that. “I won’t have a chance out here,” she wailed. “I’ll die of starvation, if the wild animals don’t get me first. There are coyotes and bears and mountain lions.”

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh yeah.” He seemed to think his reference to
The Wizard of Oz
was funny.

Angel sat at the base of the tree and put her hands behind her back as he’d asked. He wrapped the rope around her wrists and then secured her to the tree. With another piece of rope, he tied her ankles together.

“Please don’t do this,” she pleaded, already working at the knots. She wasn’t too worried at this point, preferring to be tied up to being shot.

“Or what?” He backed away, examining his handiwork. “You’re lucky, you know. I was going to kill you right away, but I changed my mind.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t need a reason.”

A chill ran through her. He had Kinsey too—was he planning to demand a ransom? Did he know about her wealthy brothers? And what about Luke? Had he gotten to him as well?

She lowered her head to her knees, wishing he’d leave so she could work more diligently on escaping. She shivered from her cold, wet clothes. Fortunately the sun was overhead, and he hadn’t insisted on taking her deeper into the woods. She just hoped that when she did manage to get loose, she’d be able to hike out.

Whatever this creep had in mind, she intended to do whatever she could to thwart his plans.

THIRTY-SIX

H
er captor let out a shriek along with a string of obscenities that shocked even Angel. And working around cops, she’d heard a lot of profanity. Glancing up, she saw the object of his anger moving stealthily away from them and into deep water. He’d forgotten to drop anchor and secure the boat.

Angel suppressed a chuckle as she watched him high step into the water. At about ten feet out, he dropped out of sight.

Arms and legs thrashing, he came up for air and yelled, “Help! I can’t swim!” before going under again.

Angel almost felt sorry for him and worked harder at the knots. He came up again, still thrashing around in the water. If he really was drowning, she’d never be able to reach him in time. She managed to free her hands and began working on the ankles. He must have hit solid ground by then, as he was able to keep his head above the water for several seconds before going under again.

The guy had to be the most uncoordinated mess of humankind she’d ever seen. He thrashed around in the water for several minutes, and Angel was sure he would drown himself in the shallow water trying to get back onto shore. He eventually found his footing and staggered toward her. Once he cleared the water, he collapsed, panting and heaving up the lake water he’d swallowed.

Free now, she walked down to the shoreline and hunkered beside him. “Looks like you’ll live.” Smudges of mascara circled his eyes, and he’d lost his wig.

He groaned and turned away from her. “How’d you get loose?”

She shrugged. “Call me Houdini. My brothers used to tie me up when they wanted to get rid of me for a while. It never worked.”

He coughed. “What now?”

“Well.” She pulled the gun from the small of his back, where he’d tucked it into his waistband. She doubted it would work but wasn’t about to tell him that. “Looks like we’re stuck here.”

His shoulders shook, and he started to whine about dying out here in the wilderness. He didn’t even try to move when she went back for the ropes and tied his hands and feet together as if she were trussing up a calf.

With the knots secure, Angel stood at the waterline and looked out at the boat. Unfortunately, her bag was still on board along with her cell phone. If she didn’t want to spend the night out here with Baldy, she’d have to go after it. She could still reach it but didn’t relish the idea—mountain lakes in springtime could be killers.

“Where are the keys to the boat?” Angel asked.

“In the ignition.” He coughed. “You’re not going to leave me here, are you?”

“Why shouldn’t I? You were going to leave me.”

“Please. I was going to let you go after I got the money.”

So he was planning a ransom. “Don’t worry, you won’t be here for long. Rest assured, tonight you’ll be booked into a nice warm cell, with a bed just your size.”

She took off her shoes and stepped into the water, her bare foot landing on something furry. She yelped and looked down for a moment, thinking it was a dead animal, then realized it was the guy’s wig. She snatched up the hairpiece that now resembled a waterlogged ferret and tossed it up on the narrow beach, where it caught on a tree branch.

Angel shivered in apprehension before taking several steps across the rocks and roots, then dove in. The icy water must have lowered her temperature at least ten degrees. High octane adrenaline propelled her across the water, and she felt certain she must have broken several speed records on the thirty-yard trip. Even in that short a time, her arms and legs ached from the cold.

Angel used the small ladder at the back to climb aboard. She grabbed her cell phone and started the engine at the same time. She had no phone signal—not surprising.