Blind Witness (21 page)

“But still, it’s better odds. This time you really have a chance. Have you told Mom and Dad yet?”

“No, I just found out, and I didn’t want to drop either bombshell on them as just a message.”

Her brother nodded, then for her benefit added. “I can understand that. They’re going to be so excited. They’ve tried to figure out ways to come up with the money for you. The bank just won’t help.”

“They don’t need to worry about that. I talked to the insurance company,” Britt put in.

David nodded in understanding again. “So what’s with this psycho guy attacking your company? I saw a little about it on the TV before we left. You know Joann did say you sounded a little different when you talked about Clair … Britt.”

“Why don’t we move into the kitchen, and you can join us for breakfast, and we’ll tell you everything? It started with Rachelle answering the phone and taking the first message when he called.”

“Yeah, Joann knew about that.”

“To make it short, it didn’t take me long to realize how incredible she is. It was a nice surprise to find out Rachelle was falling in love with me, too. My plan wasn’t to hurry her, but the psycho developed an obsession on her, and she became a target. I tried to send her away, but he already figured out she was important to me and still went after her. So the best way to keep her safe seemed to be to keep her with me.”

Now that her brother decided he wasn’t taking advantage of his sister, Britt felt that they got along well. They talked for almost an hour until he had to get ready to go into the office.

Rachelle came awake with the phone ringing. She felt Britt shift, then the arm that rested over her waist moved as he slid away. A feeling of unease seeped in as the warmth of his body faded. There was a click of the light switch before he answered the phone. The unease was swamped by a wave of dread, and she reached for him. Tension radiated from him. His arm was like touching tempered steel. She wanted to stroke away the rigidness but didn’t get the chance.

“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” He swung his legs off the bed, and Rachelle heard the phone drop to the nightstand.

“Britt?”

The mattress sank as he knelt back down. He caught her hand bringing it to his lips. “I’m sorry it woke you. Go back to sleep.”

“What’s happened?” Her trepidation climbed.

“They had signs of a break-in at one of the warehouses. I need to go check on it for a few minutes. It shouldn’t be long.”

“I’ll come.” She tried to slide from under the covers, but he held her down.

“There’s no need. Just go back to sleep. You’ll be safe here. I’ll alert security in the hall." He kissed her, getting off the bed again.

Rachelle followed him up. “I’m coming with you.”

“Rachelle.”

“No, please don’t try to leave me behind.”

“It won’t be like last time, I promise, you’ll be safe.”

“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you. Please, Britt, I have a bad feeling about this.” As she said the words, she knew it was true. She was afraid, afraid that if he walked out the door he would never come back.

Maybe it was just tension from three days of not hearing from the psycho, maybe it was the frustration of not being able to locate the voice though she had talked to almost every man in the company, or maybe it was just the nagging feeling that they were missing something, but she knew something was going to happen. She didn’t want to be away from him. She knew Britt was experiencing similar sensations. It had been in the way he kept her close, the way he touched her, the way he had made love to her. It was as if he was afraid she would be snatched away from him at any minute.

“Please Britt.” The silence was deafening then she heard him move to her. His hands framed her face. “I love you.” He kissed her. “Stay right by me and you follow exactly what I say.”

Twenty minutes later they pulled to a stop. When Britt didn’t move to turn off the car, Rachelle broke the silence that they had driven there in. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure. There’s a security car here but that’s it. I expected more. I think I’m going to drive back to the main building then call security and the police from there.” He shifted the car in reverse and started to back up then stopped.

“Wait a minute, there’s Carlton. He’s at the side door. The others must be parked on the other side of the building.” He pulled the car forward before he turned it off and came around to get her.

“Stay close,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her.

He tensed when he caught Carlton’s sneer as he looked at Rachelle. He knew the man was thinking they had just come from bed, but he didn’t like the derogatory gleam in his brother-in-law’s eye. He was going to have to tell his family soon that they were married. Right now it was a private pleasure he held tight in his heart.

“Britt.” His brother-in-law acknowledged him while ignoring Rachelle.

“Carlton, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I decided that I might be able to help when they called the house. So I headed over and then tried to reach you.”

“Where is everyone?”

“In the upper office.”
He held the door for them, letting them enter first.

Lights flooded the building, but it didn’t feel right. Rachelle clung to his side. There was a slight tremor in her touch. She was as nervous as he was.

“It’s so quiet,” she whispered, leaning into him.

As soon as she said the words, he knew that was what was nagging him. The building was totally silent. It didn’t fit. Even if the men waited in the back office, there should have been some kind of noise, not an echoing nothingness.

“You made good time to beat us here.”

“I had just come in, and there wasn’t any traffic,” his brother-in-law answered.

“I wonder why security called the house? They usually call my cell.” His mind was starting to think of things, and he didn’t like what it was coming up with.

“Maybe it was turned off or the battery’s dead.”

Britt knew neither was true.

“Why don’t you check it?” the man suggested.

Britt slid his hand in his pocket fingering the phone. “I left it in the car.” He stopped with Rachelle beside him. “Carlton, why don’t you go on, I want to go back and get it. Come on Rachelle.” He started to turn. Carlton moved in front of him. For some reason, Britt wasn’t surprised to see the gun in his hand.

“Hand me the phone.” He motioned with the gun. “Or I may have to shoot Miss Harris.”

Britt heard and felt Rachelle’s gasp. He was tempted to make a dive for him but knew before he reached Carlton, the gun would go off, and at the distance, there was no way it would miss him or Rachelle. Britt pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tossed it to the side hoping Carlton would follow the motion. He didn’t. “Yours too, Miss Harris.”

“I don’t have a phone.”

“Tsk, tsk, then what’s that in your pocket?”

“My sonar.”
She lifted out the palm size device showing it before dropping it back in her pocket.

“What is this, Carlton?” Britt drew the attention back to him.

“I think we both know that’s a dumb question. Keep walking back toward the stairs.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I think you can figure it out too. I know how you feel about me. You’d like to get rid of me. There’s no way you would ever let me move up. And now with her …” He motioned to Rachelle. “I’m afraid things are in for a change, and Tiffany may not be set to inherit after you. I dare not wait. It’s just an added bonus that you brought Miss Harris with you. I wasn’t expecting that you would bring her here.”

“So you’ve been planning on getting rid of me for a while.”

“I had thought of it but didn’t think I’d have to worry about it for a while. That was until at the house last weekend. I realized I couldn’t wait.”

“You’ll never get away with this.”

“That sounds so cliché, but I think we both know I will. The police are looking for a psycho. They’ll never look at me.”

Britt scanned the area trying to see something that would give them a chance. He wished he’d insisted that Rachelle stay home. He wanted her away from there. Never had he figured Carlton was the one behind all that was happening. He never seemed like he had it in him to play the games. He always seemed more like the type to take advantage of things. Oh, he’d plot and scheme, but not to take direct action, especially if it was on the messy side, which murdering them would be.

He had to think. He couldn’t let Carlton kill them. He wasn’t going to give up on his life with Rachelle. He wasn’t going to give up on her now that he’d finally found her. Only there was nothing he could see that would help.

“Keep moving,” Carlton ordered, pulling his attention back to the man behind him.

“Carlton−”

“Now!”
Carlton snapped and Rachelle jumped.

Britt eyed a stack of packing crates they just passed and wondered about trying the old trick that always worked in the movies of tipping something over on the bad guy, but again, there was just no way he could do it before Carlton shot him. He needed a distraction. As if Rachelle agreed with the thought, he felt her give a gentle squeeze on his hand letting him know she was with him. He glanced her way, amazed at her calmness. She didn’t question him at all. The look on her face was of total confidence. She was not going to give up her life with him either, and she would back him or help him in any way she could.

Britt glanced back at the crates. Maybe he could do something like the movie move if Rachelle could help him with a little distraction. He shifted his fingers in her hand. When she gave him a little squeeze to acknowledge the move, he was sure she was with him. He straightened two fingers and made a walking movement on them, then tried to demo one of his fingers stumbling and dropping to a knee. When no squeeze came, he made it again. This time Rachelle closed her hand up over his, letting him know she understood what he meant. Britt held her hand tight, judging the distance. He gave a slight jerk on her hand, and Rachelle reacted immediately. Stumbling, she dropped to one knee.

This time Carlton did react. His attention turned to her. He cursed. “Get her up.”

Britt was already moving but in the other direction, throwing his weight into the stack of crates. Pain spiked through his shoulder on contact, but it had the desired effect, the heavy containers tumbled. A shot echoed through the building as Carlton jerked back out of the way. Britt expected to feel a bullet rip into his flesh instead the sound thudded into the containers that fell on his brother-in-law. Britt’s first instinct was to rush him, but one look at the gun swinging back his direction had him grabbing Rachelle’s hands, pulling her up. She ran with him, following him like he was leading her in a dance. He tugged her around some equipment just as another shot sounded, and the bullet hit with a metallic twang.

Britt pulled Rachelle around another set of crates, giving her an extra tug at the last second that kept her from running into them, still she didn’t say anything. She trusted him to lead her. He slowed their pace as they approached the back wall, drawing her to a stop behind a pile of casings. For the first time since they entered the warehouse, he got a good look at her face. Fear shown there.

“It’ll be all right,” he whispered, then unable to stop himself he pulled her to him and gave her a hard kiss. Rachelle clung to his side while he forced his eyes away to search for a way out. A wave of despair hit. The door that they entered was almost at the opposite end of the warehouse. The main entrance with the loading doors was at the far end.

He went over the layout in his mind. There was an emergency exit half way along the wall behind them. The question was, did Carlton know about it, and would he be waiting there for them to make their escape?

Britt listened. Silence again echoed in the warehouse, giving no clue which direction to go. The slight sound on metal steps was like a beacon, telling Britt, Carlton was climbing the stairs to the upper level toward the office. The balcony was in clear view, as they would be when Carlton reached the top. The building was planned that way, so a person up there could get a view of the whole warehouse, especially if he moved out on the cat-walks. The strong lighting illuminated every corner. They would be like ducks in a shooting gallery if they didn’t get out of there before Carlton reached the top.

“Come on,” Britt whispered. “We’ve got to move.”

They raced for the closest exit. Britt knew Carlton had to be close to the top but didn’t dare to glance that way. His attention focused on the path to the door and anything that might trip Rachelle. He released his hold when they reached the door shoving against it. He might as well have hit a brick wall. There was no budge in the door. He pushed again, though he already knew it wasn’t going to move. It had been jammed.

“Britt.” For the first time Rachelle spoke, she kept her voice low, but there was a touch of panic in his name. He pulled her down behind a stack of pallets.

“The door’s barred. I’m afraid the others will be too. We got to make it to the door we came in.”

“Okay.”

“Carlton has to be on the upper catwalk. From there he can see everything.”

She nodded, biting the edge of her lip. “Let’s go.”

Britt knew she understood their odds of making it as well as he did, but she wasn’t any more willing to give up than he was.

He brought her hand to his lips before tucking it back to his side. Their pace was slower this time, Britt moving them with as much shelter as he could. They had made it only about twenty feet when the first shot burst from above. Britt shoved Rachelle down behind some shelving, flattening his body over hers
.

“Britt.” Terror screamed in her voice.

“Are you hit?” Panic shot through him at the thought of her getting shot.

“No.”

He again forced himself to be calm and think. “We’ll never make it to the door. We’re too visible, and he knows where we are.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We can’t stay here. It’s only a matter of time until he picks us off.” He shifted his weight feeling the sonar jab into his leg.

He looked back at the wall by the exit. There was no exit sign above the door, but the breakers were there. The warehouse only had a few high windows, and with the cloudy night sky outside, there wouldn’t be any moonlight to filter in. If the lights went out, it would be dark in the building. Carlton wouldn’t be able to see them.

He glanced back at the breakers making up his mind. “Stay here.”

“Britt.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to leave you. I’m just going to do something about all the lights. The breakers are on the wall.”