Promise Me Eternity (32 page)

He thought for a while. “You know, I
sometimes get excited even when there’s no reason for it. I don’t
really trust those machines.”

“It can’t be used as evidence. You’d only be
helping me to eliminate you as a suspect.”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll gladly take
the test.”

Surprised yet pleased, Sandra pulled out her
business card and wrote an address on the back. “Could you go to
this address today, if possible? Would that be OK?”

He nodded and took the card.

“And you can call me anytime.”

“Good. I’ll call you if necessary.” He walked
her to the door.

As he watched her walking down the drive to
her car, his eyes glazed over. He went to the drinks cabinet and
poured himself a drink. After two long sips, he puckered his lips
and let out a long breath.

He said aloud, “I’ll give you a lie detector.
If you want, I can stick it up your ….” He took a deep breath and
closed his eyes. He pictured her in a police uniform. “Oh yes, that
would be the right thing.” Quickly, he took another two sips.

He could see her walking toward him with
handcuffs in her belt. His arousal grew. He raised his hands as he
imagined her hitting him.

Then he gathered himself, strode to the
window, and followed her car with his eyes. He smiled. “We’ll see
each other again, Ms. Grant.”

Chapter 64

_______________________

Around one in the afternoon, when Simon had
finally cooled down and he was lying on the sofa watching
television, he heard some loud scratching at the back door. He
muted the volume and pricked up his ears, thinking the murderer
might have returned. He ran to the kitchen, grabbed the largest
knife he possessed, and went to check out the strange noise.

What if the murderer is already
inside?
The solid oak door led to a small anteroom with an
antique desk and a tall, wooden, free-standing closet.

He heard another scratch. “Who is it?” Simon
asked.

No reply.

The noise repeated, this time louder.

Simon asked, “Who the hell is it?”

“It’s me, Christine. Please, open up!”

“Oh my God!” He quickly unlocked the door and
let her in. “Christine, what are you doing here? And why are you
dressed like that?”

She was wearing cheap brown and gray clothes.
On her head she had a crumpled cotton scarf. She looked like a
stall holder at the food market.

“I had to see you. I know how you feel, so
I—”

“But someone might have seen you. If
Carlo—”

“No one saw me, Simon. Someone did follow me,
but I managed to lose him.”

“What, you were followed?”

“Yes, Carlo clearly suspects something.”

Simon put his hand to his head. “But that’s
terrible. First, somebody follows me and then you. It must be
someone your husband hired.”

“I think so too. That’s why I had to come. I
wanted to see you. I don’t know if it will be possible in the
future.”

He looked at her apprehensively. “Are you
sure you were being followed?”

“Yes, he was behind me all the time, until I
went into a small shop. I had an agreement with the shop owner. I
changed clothes there and he let me out the back door. I paid him
well. I ran for a few blocks and then called a taxi. No one
followed me then. And I walked the last half-mile.”

Relieved, Simon said, “Come on, I’ll make you
a coffee.”

They went toward the kitchen. Christine
walked behind Simon, looking at the old-fashioned furniture.

“How much time do you have?” he asked
her.

“I’m not in a great hurry. I have to be home
by evening.”

He fixed her a coffee. “Would you like
anything else?”

She thought of sparkling wine. “A glass of
water, please.”

He filled a tall glass from the fridge
dispenser and sat next to her in the dining room, saying. “I’m very
glad you came. I’m afraid of everything, as if the whole world is
against me.”

Christine flashed him an encouraging smile.
“I know, Simon. I know what you’re going through and that’s why I
had to come. I couldn’t just sit at home.”

He lowered his eyes. “I don’t have anyone
left but you.” He let out a strange laugh. “I was so obsessed with
my research that I long ago lost all my friends. And then, after
Helen was killed ….” His voice broke.

“Shh.” She stroked his cheek with a smooth
hand.

“I’m very lonely and have nobody left. I
lived under an illusion …” His eyes teared up and his words became
slurred.

Christine gently cradled his head with her
hands. “Poor Simon, it’ll be alright. Come here.”

He was like a small child, hardly able to
wait for his mother to hug him. As soon as his head was on her
chest, he started sobbing. “What shall I do, Christine? I can’t do
what you asked me. I’m not a murderer.”

She put a finger on his lips. “You won’t have
to do anything, calm down.”

“I’d do anything for you, truly anything, but
I can’t ….”

She stroked him gently, rocking him. “You
won’t have to do anything, I’ll sort it all out. I have another
plan.”

He stopped crying. “You do? What plan?”

With her jaw set, she said, “I’ve decided to
tell everything to the police.”

He lifted his head and blinked his wet eyes.
“Are you crazy? You can’t do that.”

“But that’s exactly what I’ll do. It’s the
only way to save myself. I’ll tell the police that we were together
and you’ll be let off. I’ll demand that they give me protection
until they convict Carlo.”

“Hang on. … If you do that, he’s sure to kill
you. He’ll pay your murderer in advance.”

“But he’ll have to pay for what he’s done.
The most important thing is that they put him in prison. The rest
doesn’t matter.”

Simon put his hands on her shoulders and
shook her gently. “That isn’t a good idea. We’ll have to come up
with something better. That’s completely unacceptable. It’s better
that I go to prison than you telling the police. I’ll be let out in
ten or fifteen years with good behavior.”

“You won’t go to prison for something you
haven’t done. I won’t allow that to happen.”

He was truly surprised. “There’s no way you’d
put your life in danger.”

She smiled. “That’s what I thought too,
because I was afraid for myself. But what about all those people
Carlo has killed? What about them? And who knows how many others
there will be? I must stop it. My life doesn’t matter here.”

She was so beautiful and alluring that he
wanted to kiss her. “Christine, you’re the only one I’ve got. I
can’t lose you. I wouldn’t be able to stand it. You mustn’t do
it.”

“But I will,” she said with sadness. “I’ve no
other choice. Someone has to make the sacrifice.”

He couldn’t stop himself any longer. He
kissed her eyes, her cheeks, her neck, her lips. “I won’t allow it.
I can’t lose you.” He continued kissing her and undoing her
buttons.

“Oh, Simon, everything’s so complicated.”

He opened her blouse and saw her pert
breasts. “We’ll find a way, we’ll—” He pressed himself to her.

She said, “Let’s stay like this. I like it
when we’re close together. I can feel warmth all around me.”

“Oh, Christine, I like it too. I don’t want
to let you go. We’ll stay like this forever.”

They embraced, gasping loudly.

“Your kisses are making me faint.”

Smiling, he kissed her even more
passionately.

After a while, hand in hand they walked to
the living room, to the large sofa. There, he slowly removed the
rest of her clothes while caressing her body.

“How lovely it is to be with you,” he
whispered.

She was shaking as if she had a fever. She
had risked her life to come to him and now she knew it was worth
it. She longed for him and gave herself to him with pleasure.

Simon was so scared and at the same time so
aroused that he kept groaning. She was all that he had left,
nothing else mattered. He treated her as if she was very fragile,
afraid to lose her and be alone again.

They swayed in the rhythm of love, sighing
and moaning.

When they had finished, they remained in each
other’s arms.

“It’s so lovely with you,” he whispered in
her ear. “I could eat you.”

“And I could eat you,” she said, kissing his
nose.

“I wish you’d never leave.”

“I’d like that too, but you know ….”

He heaved a sigh.

“What if we ran away together?” she
asked.

“What do you mean?”

“After I tell the police, they’ll put Carlo
in custody. We could escape somewhere, where no one would find us.
What do you say?”

He didn’t like the idea. “You said yourself
that Carlo would find you anywhere in the world. You’d never be
able to get away from him.”

She sighed helplessly. “We could at least
try. I think it’s worth it.”

He embraced her passionately. “Not only are
you as beautiful as a goddess, you’re good-hearted, too. You’d risk
your life to save me and others. I can’t allow that.”

“I’ll do it, whether you want me to or
not.”

He slowly kissed her forehead. “I’ll wait for
him by the road and do it. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

“No, Simon. I can’t let you become a
murderer. You’d never forgive yourself.”

“I’d be even less able to forgive myself if
anything happened to you. I’ll do it. It’ll be best for both of
us.”

She said decisively, “No, I’m sorry. None of
it is your fault. You didn’t do anything. I got tangled up in it
and I’ll resolve it.”

He took her face in his hands. “I’ve decided
I’ll do it. It will be a good deed, in fact. God will be
grateful.”

“Oh, Simon, you’re so stubborn. But you
simply won’t be able to do it.” She stared at him angrily.

“I said I’d do it.”

After a long sigh she said, “OK, if that’s
what you want. But I still think—”

“Shh.”

She gave him a passionate kiss. “I love
you.”

Simon returned the kiss. “And I feel
something I’ve never felt before. I don’t want to lose you.”

They made love for another two hours, until
they fell asleep, exhausted.

Chapter 65

_______________________

She held a white plastic cup in her hand,
sipping water. Her thoughts kept revolving around Dr. Miner. “I
don’t like that man, there’s something in his eyes.”

She threw the plastic cup away and dialed her
phone. After a while, she said, “Hi, it’s Sandra. I’m calling about
test number 245218.”

A male voice replied, “Hi, just a moment,
I’ll check.” In half a minute he was back. “I’ve got it in front of
me. His name is Dr. Robert Miner, isn’t it? It’s OK. He’s obviously
not the right guy.”

“So there’s absolutely no chance of him being
the murderer?”

“According to the test. But you yourself know
it’s not 100 percent reliable.”

“I see. Thanks.”

Steven walked into the office, late, as
usual. His cheeks were flushed, as if he’d been drinking all
night.

Sandra glanced at him and said, “I see you
had a wild night.”

He ignored her. After a while he asked, “Any
news?”

“It seems that our Dr. Patterson really is a
killer, though I would never have thought it possible. They just
let me know that Dr. Miner passed his lie detector test. And I was
hoping so much that it would be him.”

“I told you,” Steven said. “Have you got an
arrest warrant?”

Deep in thought, she merely shook her head.
After a few moments Sandra turned her attention to Steven. “I want
to look into a few more things. I have to do it alone. Be back in
three hours. I think we’ll take Dr. Patterson in tomorrow.”

He nodded his approval. If Sandra was busy,
it meant he could take it easy.

An hour later, Sandra was at the zoo, dressed
in navy sweats and sneakers and wearing a long-haired red wig. She
pretended to be looking at the animals through large, dark
sunglasses.

Searching for somewhere to hide, the special
agent decided on the reptile house. It stood on a small slope
thirty yards from the bear enclosure. Sandra carried a plastic bag
containing an electronic listening device. Normally she would have
to inform the zoo management about this, but she didn’t dare. In
any case, she had no permission for what she was doing.

Within half an hour the person she was
waiting for, Carlo Vucci, appeared. He was talking to a man who was
slightly taller than him. Behind them were two other men with broad
shoulders.

A few days earlier she had heard that Carlo
Vucci often went to the zoo. She was even told the time and decided
to take a risk. Everything she was doing was on her own initiative.
If she were caught, she’d lose her job since Richard Ross had taken
her off this case.

She turned on the listening device and
directed it at Carlo. The earphone made a loud whistling noise.
Some people nearby turned around to look. All she could do was
ignore them. She set the wavelength and perched the bag with the
eavesdropper on a railing, steadying it with both hands.

Finally, she heard a voice. At first it was
incomprehensible, but then it got clearer. Although she was a
hundred yards away, she could hear very well what he was saying.
The hairs on her neck stood up.

“The damn fool, he ruined everything,” Carlo
complained.

The man next to him said, “There was no other
way. The police knew about it. I think we have a snitch,
otherwise—”

“I’ve had enough of having to work with total
incompetents. I told him a boat was out of the question because it
was too dangerous, but he wouldn’t listen.”