Promise Me Eternity (33 page)

“It’s a tragedy.”

“Tragedy or no tragedy, the shipment is worth
three mill. I’d like to know who’ll pay for it. It certainly won’t
be me. I paid the money over, but someone will have to compensate
me.”

The man next to him rubbed his hands. “Carlo,
surely we can come to an agreement. Just because this fell through,
it doesn’t mean we can’t do another deal to cover our losses.”

Sandra was trying to hold the awkwardly
shaped eavesdropping device as still as possible. It was the only
way to catch every word.

“No,” Carlo said decisively. “I told him to
send it by road, but he decided to ship it. As he wasn’t willing to
listen, he’ll have to bear the consequences. Tell him that if he
doesn’t return the three million by next month, what happened to
Gowan will happen to him.”

“But Carlo, he doesn’t have that kind of
money. Where would he get it?”

Sandra was astonished. She had arrived at
just the right time. Carlo Vucci had just confessed to killing
Patrick Gowan. She was angry, though, that she hadn’t also brought
a recorder.

A heavy hand pressed on her shoulder. She was
so shocked that the bag containing the eavesdropping device fell to
the ground.

Chapter 66

_______________________

“What a wonderful car.”

“It’s just one of four,” Dr. Robert Miner
replied. “Two are mine and the other two belonged to my wife. I
should really sell them now that she’s dead, but I don’t have the
heart. They remind me of her.”

The woman in police uniform gave him a nod.
She looked about thirty and nearly six feet tall. Her shoulders
were wider than most men’s.

She said, “I sure understand that. I lost my
husband too, and I’ve just about given up on finding another one.
I’m not the sort to look for men, you see.”

Robert Miner glowed with happiness. He had
seen Caroline for the first time the day before, when she was
arresting some youth. Robert was enchanted by her height and the
strong arms that persuaded the boy to stop trying to defend himself
and let her cuff him. Although she wasn’t particularly
beautiful—her hair was cut short and her chin was wide—Robert
admired her and felt his heart beat faster. Luckily, his car was
parked only a few yards away and he quickly followed the police car
all the way to the station, thus finding out where she worked.

That morning, he waited a long time for her
to appear and then he spoke to her. He made up a story about
somebody having threatened him and said that he was afraid for his
life. When she offered to help, he promised her a considerable
payment. She told him she couldn’t take the money but would talk to
her boss and make sure he dealt with this case promptly. Caroline
asked Robert about the person threatening him, and he described one
of his colleagues.

Three hours later, she rang him and said that
she already had a few suspects. They arranged to meet at the police
station and looked at photographs. Of course, none of them were
right, and Caroline was sorry she couldn’t help him. Robert implied
that he didn’t know whether he would live to see the next day.

Finally, she said what he wanted to hear. She
offered to go to his home with him and protect him until the
morning. “It’s not as if there’s anyone waiting for me at home
anyway,” she said, “and you seem really nice.”

Robert thanked her profusely and mentioned
once more that she would be rewarded for her work. This time she
didn’t say no, and told him to wait until six in the evening when
her shift ended.

Like an excited teenager Robert rushed to the
nearest mall, bought a new suit, and wore it immediately. Then he
waited nearly two hours in a bar, drinking two coffees.

Later, while they were in the car, he turned
to look at her, assessing her strong chin which made her face even
harder and more manly. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your
protection.” When she looked at him with her dark eyes, he had to
put his hand on his heart. “You said you lost your husband. What
happened to him?”

She told him he was thirty years older than
her and had died of a coronary. Robert nearly lost control of the
car from happiness.

“You seem a bit tense. What if I drive
instead of you?” she offered.

At first he wanted to say no, but changed his
mind.
Why not let her drive? That way I’ll be able to look at
her.

He stopped a few yards up the road, got out
of the car, and they swapped places.

“Perhaps this really will be best. I keep
thinking about that man and that I may die before tomorrow. I have
to tell you, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be. While I’m here, nothing will
happen to you.”

She turned the ignition and drove off
smoothly.

At the house, he showed her all the rooms
except for the basement. She was impressed, never before having
been in such a pleasant and spacious house.

“It’s really nice here,” she said.

“My wife and I enjoyed it very much,” he
replied. Dr. Miner adjusted his collar as if it were too tight.
“Come, I’d like to show you something.”

Caroline followed him along a hallway whose
walls were adorned with original paintings by famous artists, and
she commented, “I suppose those are worth quite a bit.”

“You could say that, but each one means a lot
more to me than the money I could get for it. I bought them all
over the world when my wife and I traveled. I couldn’t sell
them.”

He opened the closet holding his wife’s
clothes and took great pleasure in observing the policewoman’s
mouth as it gaped wide.

“Oh my,” she said. “You could dress at least
a hundred women with those. And you’ve still got them.”

“How could I throw them away? I haven’t been
able to. One day I may donate them to charity, who knows?”

“That would be nice,” she said.

He flipped the switch of the oval revolving
closet rack. While she watched the clothes moving by her, through
the material of her uniform he could see her firm and pert butt,
admired the strong thighs that gave the impression the trousers on
them would burst at any moment.

He closed his eyes and imagined her with him
in that room in the basement, dressed in her uniform, ordering him
around. He moistened his lips and took short breaths.

After a while, he asked her, “Do you go to
the gym?”

She looked at him with surprise. “I’m a
dedicated bodybuilder. I know it doesn’t look too good on a woman,
but I like it. I can’t help it.”

Robert started feeling so hot that he had to
undo his shirt. “No, that’s not what I meant. I think you look
good.”

“Oh, I know you’re just saying that. Men are
repulsed by it, but I don’t care.”

“I truly think you look good. I’d never say
it if I didn’t mean it.”

Now her cheeks colored. “It’s very kind of
you. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. Most men
avoid me, you see, because of my uniform. They probably don’t like
the fact that I’m often stronger than them, either. Believe it or
not, when we do martial arts, I beat most of my colleagues.”

Robert pressed his hand to his chest and
asked God not to let him have a heart attack. He could feel sweat
running down his neck. “How about we go downstairs and sit? I’ll
make you some tea or coffee. And we can talk about payment and
other details.”

She nodded in a manly fashion and set off for
the stairs with firm steps. At that moment, as he stood behind her
and smelled her perfume, he felt like putting his arms around her
and asking her to stay with him for a whole week. He stopped
himself at the last second and remained cool. But only one thought
filled his head:
I have to have her, however much it
costs
.

Chapter 67

_______________________

When Simon woke up, Christine was gone. It
was five in the afternoon.

A note she had left him on the hall table
said she would call soon. He stretched lazily a few times and
yawned, then set off for the bathroom.

Later, he went out to the nearest drugstore.
There he purchased some insulin on prescription. While the
pharmacist rummaged through the drug cabinets, a voice in Simon’s
head repeated that he would become a murderer and that he shouldn’t
do it. Yet another voice said he should do it, to save Christine
and many others.

He walked home quickly. He decided not to
think about the details, but to be ready, just in case.
There’s
no way I could really kill anybody.
Then he thought about
Christine going to the police and telling them everything and he
felt a stab in his heart, knowing that it would mean losing
her.

Upon unlocking and opening his door, he got a
surprise. Edna Weiss was in the kitchen, putting dishes away.

“Edna, what are you doing here? It’s not your
day today.”

“Hello, Dr. Patterson. I haven’t come to
clean. I came because I was worried. I can’t even sleep anymore. I
know you didn’t kill Helen.”

Simon relaxed and smiled. “Of course I didn’t
kill her. Someone else did and I intend to prove it. But the thing
is, the police are convinced it was me. I’m wondering if they’re
looking anywhere else at all.”

“That really is terrible. What will you
do?”

He raised his hands helplessly. “What can I
do? If they charge me, I’ll find the best lawyer possible and
defend myself. That’s all I can do.”

She covered her mouth with her hand. “How can
they charge you with something you haven’t done?”

“That’s it. They can. I’m beginning to wonder
if someone has framed me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. The police say that only a
surgeon could make such a precise cut on Helen’s throat. They found
a scalpel next to her of the make used by our hospital. There are
too many coincidences.”

“It is strange,” Edna said.

“There’s just one thing that bothers me. Why
was the murderer still in the house when I got home? He was taking
a risk. What would have happened if I had walked into the bedroom
ten minutes earlier?”

Edna looked shocked. “My God, I don’t dare
even think about it. Maybe he’d have attacked you, too.”

“It is odd.”

They talked for another half-hour, until the
phone rang in the hall. Simon jumped up, thinking it was
Christine.

“Hello, Simon, it’s me.”

He was right. “Hi. Where are you? Are you
alright?”

Curious, Edna Weiss was listening from the
kitchen.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She paused a moment.
“Listen, get a bit of paper and a pen. You have to write this
down.”

He found what he needed and said, “OK, go
on.”

“Carlo will come home around eight tonight.
He’ll be in the car on his own. I know that for sure. …”

There was a silence. Simon thought the line
had been cut.

She said, “I don’t think this is a good idea.
It would be better if I went to the police.”

“No, no, Christine, go on, please. I said
I’ll do it. You won’t go to the police.”

Edna Weiss wondered who Christine was.

“OK, Simon, if you say so. … I feel very bad.
You’re not a murderer.”

“Go on, please.”

“He drives along Orm Street, which goes
through a small patch of woods. There’s not much traffic at that
time. I thought that you could go there at around half past seven
and hide your car somewhere in the trees. Then you’d have to wait
by the road so that Carlo could see and recognize you. If he does,
he’s sure to stop. You know what he thinks about you.”

“Yes, I do,” he said dryly.

“You could say that you need a ride home and
he’ll help you. Then all you have to do is inject him with the
insulin. He’ll fall into a coma and that will be that.”

“I see. I wrote the name of the road and the
time. I’ll look at the map. I’ll be there.” At least that’s what he
hoped.

“Be careful,” she said, before putting the
phone down.

Simon returned to the kitchen. Edna eyed him
suspiciously and could see he was tense.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” she asked.

He looked at the window. “Tea? Oh, yes, tea.
Of course I’ll have some. You make it and I’ll sort something out
in the meanwhile.”

He went to the bedroom and sat on the bed. He
wanted to think how he would carry out this murder.

It will be very simple,
he told
himself.
I’ll inject him with insulin and it’ll all be over. And
I’ll save Christine and myself.

He got up and went to get a map. He found the
road and wanted to mark it, but remembered that it could serve as
evidence later. Simon tossed the map aside. It was all happening
too fast. He didn’t have time to think it over.

He heard Edna telling him that tea was ready.
He had to go downstairs.

They chatted for another fifteen minutes in
the garden. Simon tried hard to be nice to her, but couldn’t hide
the tension growing inside him.

When he wiped the sweat off his forehead for
the third time, Edna said, “Maybe it’s best if I leave. I just came
to see you. I think you need to lie down. It’s obvious you’re
ill.”

He smiled. “Maybe I’ll do as you say. It’s
very nice of you to have visited with me. You’re coming tomorrow
anyway, aren’t you?”

“That’s right. I’ll come tomorrow and clean
up all that mess. Bye, Dr. Patterson.”

“Bye,” he said, and rushed to the
bathroom.

He sat on the side of the bathtub and dropped
his head to his hands. His insides felt as if he had swallowed
hydrochloric acid. He had never been so terrified.

Chapter 68

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