Man Shy (25 page)

Unfortunately, the dispatcher couldn
’
t put her in touch with either man. Kyle had been released already and Brody
’
d left on his dinner break.
“
If it
’
s urgent, though, I can page Detective Hunter and have him call you back,
”
the woman offered.

“
Thanks.
”
Mallory gave her the number.

Time crawled as she paced the floor, waiting for Brody
’
s call. What was taking him so long? she wondered, then realized barely a minute had passed. She knew she had to be patient, but wasting time when Kyle
’
s life might be in danger went against the grain.

He must be home by now. Instead of waiting around for Brody to get back to her, she should be contacting Kyle, warning him. She grabbed the phone again and dialed Kyle
’
s number only to reach a busy signal.

She slammed the receiver down. Dammit!

Waiting any longer was pointless. Kyle was in danger. She had to do something. Grabbing her car keys, she headed out the door.

What a miserable night
. Icy rain streaked down the windshield and battered against the Jeep
’
s metal roof. Shivering, Brody folded himself behind the wheel and stuck his key in the ignition. His pant legs were soaked from his sprint across the parking lot, and water dripped from his hair down his neck in a steady stream.

Flipping on the heater, he turned onto Northwest Fourth and headed for the strip of fast-food places out by the freeway. He
’
d been reviewing the evidence against Kyle for the last four hours. If this was a frame, whoever
’
d arranged it was a damn genius. His stomach twisted in a knot as he considered the alternative
—
the possibility that his friend was guilty, after all.

Jeez. Dinner break. What a joke. At this rate he
’
d be better off with a couple of Rolaids and a swig of Pepto.

His beeper went off just as he hit the road construction on Idaho Avenue. Since traffic was heavy, he decided to wait until he was through the bottleneck before checking in. Hell, it was probably just Hawkins with his hourly report from the stakeout.

Brody pulled into the line at Wendy
’
s drive-through, put the Jeep in neutral, and called in on the car phone. He had two messages, the expected one from Hawkins and another from Mallory. Hawkins could wait a couple more minutes, he decided. He dialed Mallory
’
s number. Odd, he thought when her machine answered. Why leave the house when she was expecting his call?

He punched in the number for the station and asked to talk to whichever dispatcher had fielded Mallory
’
s original call. When Laurie Fisher came on the line, he quizzed her, trying not to sound as worried as he felt.

“
Did she say why she wanted to talk to me?
”
he asked for the second time.

“
Like I told you before, no. She seemed upset, though. Real jumpy. And come to think of it, she may have had a new lead to report in the Brewster case.
”

His heart made a lunge for his throat, damn near strangling him.
“
Why do you say that?
”

“
Because she asked to speak to him first.
”

Brody swore.

“
Excuse me?
”
Laurie didn
’
t take any crap from anybody. Not even detectives.

“
Sorry,
”
he said.
“
And thanks. I gotta check in with Hawkins.
”

The rain was a steady downpour by the time Mallory pulled into Kyle
’
s driveway, and despite her hooded sweatshirt, she was soaked before she hit the porch. Breathing hard from her mad dash to the house, she leaned on the doorbell and tried to think of a tactful way to tell Kyle she suspected his new boyfriend had set him up to take the fall on the fencing charge and might very well be planning to kill him.

“
It
’
s about time!
”
Kyle snapped as he jerked the door open. When he recognized Mallory, he froze, an almost comical look of dismay on his face.

“
Kyle?
”
Mallory said after they
’
d stared at each other in silence for a slow ten count.
“
It
’
s pouring. Aren
’
t you going to ask me in?
”

His face cleared, and he backed out of the way.
“
Sure. Come on in. Sorry to sound so cranky. I was expecting a pizza delivery, and the guy
’
s late.
”

She stepped inside, and he closed the door. She grinned.
“
Probably related to Brody.
”

Kyle didn
’
t say a word, but his grim expression spoke volumes.

“
He
’
s not your enemy, you know.
”

Kyle
’
s right eyebrow shot up.
“
No? Well, with friends like that
c”
Then, as if noticing for the first time that she was dripping all over his polished parquet entry hall, he said,
“
Let me get you some towels. You
’
re soaked.
”
He headed upstairs at a trot.

Mallory dragged her hood down and tried to fluff her soggy hair but gave it up as a lost cause. Her glasses were blurry
—
too bad some genius couldn
’
t invent glasses with built-in windshield wipers
—
but she didn
’
t have anything dry enough to wipe them with. She made do with the tail of her denim shirt, which was only semidamp, having been protected by both a layer of jeans and a layer of sweatshirt. An improvement anyway, she thought as she shoved her glasses back in place.

Kyle came clattering down the stairs two at a time, a stack of towels in his arms. As she turned to take them she noticed the pile of luggage next to the newel post, and her heart fell through the floor. Her mouth went dry.
“
Planning a trip?
”

A rueful smile tilted the corners of Kyle
’
s mouth.
“
Would you believe me if I told you I was going to visit my sick old auntie? No, I didn
’
t think so.
”

“
You
’
re skipping town, aren
’
t you? It wasn
’
t a frame. You were guilty all along.
”
She took a ragged breath.
“
Why, Kyle?
”

He shrugged.
“
I needed the extra income. This house is a money pit. It breaks my heart to leave it behind, though I suppose Rio offers a few compensations.
”
He shoved the towels into her hands.
“
Strip off your wet things and I
’
ll toss them in the dryer.
”

“
No, thanks. I
’
m fine as I am.
”

“
Mallory, don
’
t be silly. You
’
re drenched. You
’
ll end up with pneumonia.
”

“
Pneumonia? A bullet? What
’
s the difference?
”

“
I
’
m not going to kill you!
”
Kyle looked so affronted, she almost laughed.
“
I
’
m not a murderer.
”

“
And I
’
m not stupid. You can
’
t afford to let me go. I know too much.
”

She stiffened at the sound of pounding from the back of the house.
“
What
’
s that?
”

“
Pizza
’
s here.
”

“
At the back door?
”

“
They must have seen your car parked in the driveway. My deliverymen are shy. In fact, it
’
s probably not a good idea for them to see you at all.
”
Taking her arm in an iron grip, Kyle shoved her into the powder room under the stairs.
“
Don
’
t make a sound. Please. I don
’
t want you to get hurt.
”

“
Too late, my friend.
”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“
I trusted you. I cared for you.
”

A shadow of remorse darkened his face.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
he said, and locked her in.

“
Hawkins? Detective Hunter here. Got any movement over your way?
”

“
Big time, Detective.
”

“
Oh, yeah?
”
The hairs stood up on the back of Brody
’
s neck.

“
About ten minutes ago a car drove up. Female gets out and rings the bell. Brewster lets her in.
”

“
A blonde?
”

“
Couldn
’
t tell. She had her hood pulled up. It
’
s been raining like hell.
’
,

“
Any sign of her since she went inside?
”

“
No, but right after she arrived, two guys in a dark-colored minivan eased by dead slow, like they were checking the place out. Parked on the side street and went in through the back gate.
”

“
Descriptions?
”

“
Gimme a break, Detective. It
’
s pitch-dark and dumping rain besides. All I can tell you is I
’
m pretty sure they were both males and one of them was huge, about six-eight and bulky enough for the pro wrestling circuit.
”

Brody swore. Arlo Junior. And the second man was probably Ivanovich. Unless someone else was involved that they didn
’
t know about.
“
Call for backup. Now. No lights, no sirens. And nobody goes in until I get there.
”

“
What if the suspects take off in the meantime?
”

“
Follow
’
em.
”

As Brody hung up he realized he wasn
’
t going anywhere in a hurry. He was boxed in, three cars ahead of him, two lined up behind him, all waiting for their turn at the drive-through window.
Hell
. If he had to wait for the damn line to move, he
’
d be too late for sure. Sweat beaded his forehead; he tasted bile.
Mallory
.

Watching his rearview mirror, he backed up to within inches of the car behind him, hoping the driver would take the hint, but all the guy did was lie on his horn, so Brody went with Plan B. Twisting the steering wheel, he angled the Jeep toward the curb separating the drive-through lane from the parking lot. Then he shifted into four-wheel drive and bounced up and over the barrier without
—
thankfully
—
losing his muffler or his tailpipe. He pulled onto the street with a squeal of tires and was doing forty by the time he hit the yellow light at the first intersection.

“
Whose car is that in the driveway?
”
Even muffled by the heavy wooden door that separated them, Mallory recognized the speaker
’
s voice. Dimitri Ivanovich. His accent was a dead giveaway.

“
My neighbor
’
s,
”
said Kyle.
“
Every time it rains, the storm sewer backs up and floods his parking area.
”
His lie was so plausible, she started to wonder how much trust to put in his assurance that he meant her no harm.

“
I didn
’
t see no flooded driveway.
”
She knew that voice too. Arlo Junior, the last living Neanderthal.
“
You trying to pull some kind of double cross, boss?
”

“
Arlo, shut up.
”
Kyle
’
s voice held just the right degree of irritation.
“
We don
’
t have time for this. Come Monday morning, the cops are going to access my bank records, looking for confirmation of their suspicions. That
’
s why I
’
m leaving tonight, before they freeze my assets. If you two are smart, you won
’
t hang around, either. They
’
ve already made the connection with Dairy-Best, Arlo. Once they discover you
’
re the Dairy-Best driver
c”

“
I
’
m not going nowhere without my money,
”
Arlo said.