Killer Cannoli (A Terrified Detective Mystery Book 2) Page 9

  Corrigan picked up on the first ring. “Is everything okay?”

  “No.” I whispered, pouring out my frantic worries about Alex’s call.

  He listened without interrupting then said, “I’m on my way back to Cannoli’s. I can be there in five minutes.”

  A warm feeling of gratitude spread through me. “Thanks Brian.” But he didn’t waste any time destroying my good will toward him.

  “Maybe now you’ll listen to me and stay away from these underworld creeps and their associates.”

  I ignored his dig. “Yes, well I better go—”

  “Claire…” He blew out a deep breath like he’d resigned himself to me being up-to-my-neck involved. “Be careful.”

  I tried Dad first to let him know about Corrigan, but his phone was off. “Damn.” Aunt Lena was my last choice to call. I didn’t want to spook her any more than she already was, so Ed was next, but like my father, his phone was off. “Double damn.” I muttered.

  Alex shouted from the other room. “Having problems?”

  “Just another minute.”

  “Promise it’ll be before the sun rises?”

  My worries multiplying, I punched in the number for Cannoli’s, but it rang until the message came on telling me the place’s hours and location.

  In desperation, I was just about to call my dad’s land line to see if Aunt Lena had gone home with him when Alex strolled in.

  Think fast. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go…back to Cannoli’s. My aunt needs her car.” A five-year-old wouldn’t be fooled by that lie. I was sorry, sorry this gorgeous hunk of a CPA turned out to be a threat to my aunt. He could have added a lot to my love life.

  His eyebrows knit. “Really? Now?” He picked up his jacket from the chair on which I’d draped it. “Seems to me like you said yes, but really meant no.” He shook his head. “I’m disappointed. I thought you were a woman who says what she means.”

  My eyes darted everywhere but to his face. “I do. I am, but it doesn’t matter. It’s late and I don’t want her to wait.” I tried not to feel let down. Once more, the Romance Fairy had passed me by.

  He gently ran the back of fingers down my cheek. “Yeah, me too. Very sorry. I guess I read the signals wrong.” He tossed his coat over his shoulder and gave me a smile full of regret. “I can see myself out.”

  I stood there wringing my hands like I’d been caught stealing money from the collection plate until the door closed behind him. When I no longer heard his footsteps, I called my dad’s landline and said a prayer he’d answer.

  “Claire!” My dad’s voice was so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just wanted to know if Aunt Lena was with you.”

  “She left Cannoli’s with Ed. He was going to bring her back here, but she just called. They stopped to get something to eat. Why?”

  My body loosened as relief flowed through me. My aunt was with Ed and safe. I sat down on the sofa. I tried to sound casual. “Just making sure she’s okay.”

  “Spill the beans, Claire. What’s really going on?”

  I told him about Alex’s family ties, about the call Alex received and who it had come from.

  “I’m calling your aunt. Her cell phone died, so I gave her mine.”

  I cleared my throat. “I already called your number. Phone was off.”

  He muttered, “Holy Mother. And to top this all off, there was some guy in a black sedan watching Cannoli’s.”

  My head jerked. “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know. I told Lena I’d lock up for her. I turned out all the lights and spotted this car at the end of the lot, sitting there. I saw a spark, like a match to light a cigarette and I could see a shadow of a guy. Figured he was casing the place to rob it, so I turned on a light and he took off.”

  I jumped up. “Could you describe him or the car?”

  “Couldn’t see him.” Paper rattled. “But Old Eagle Eye here got the license plate number.”

  My voice sounded like it was coming from someone else. “Read it to me.” I scribbled the number down on the back of a grocery receipt. “Got it. Call you back, Dad.” I hung up before he could say anything and punched in Corrigan’s number. My insides shifted around, leaving me queasy. Corrigan answered and I told him my father’s tale.

  “Okay.” He paused, probably writing the information down in his notebook. He then asked, “Have you been able to reach either Lena or Ed?”

  The phone shook in my hand. “I’m trying them again when we hang up.”

  His voice grew serious. “Let’s hope you reach one of them. I’ll see what I can find about the car and driver. And Claire, for now, stay put.”

  After I filled my dad in, I paced back and forth in my office. When I tired of that, I looked out the window, up and down the deserted street; repeated this three more times until I’d peeled the polish off three of my fingernails.

  I had to do something, regardless of Corrigan’s order. I remembered the Owl. Maybe Ed took her there.

  I grabbed my purse and got ready to go. Before I made it out the door, though, my phone rang and I almost dropped it trying to answer.

  “Claire? It’s Ed.”

  “Where are you? Your phone was off.”

  “Hey, quit stomping on my grapes. Lena and me turned our phones off. We didn’t want to be disturbed during dinner. Anyway, we’re at her house. She ran out of her pills. So we’re picking more up and she’s grabbing some clothes. I’ll bring her to your dad’s place as soon as she’s done.”

  My heart pounded in my ears. “You two need to get out of there this minute, please! It’s dangerous. I’ll explain when you get here.”

  He exhaled loudly. “Okay. We’ll—Ooph.”

  I heard a clatter, like maybe a phone hitting the floor and my hand tightened around my own phone. “Ed? Ed, are you there?” A deadly silence.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “No!” My heart skipping beats and my fingers trembling I managed to call 911. I gave them my aunt’s address. “Please hurry.” I grabbed my purse and headed toward the office door. Knowing I shouldn’t, I cut off the 911 call and phoned my dad. “Meet me at Lena’s house. Go now.”

  I dashed out to the car, fumbling to find the car key on the ring of many keys. I cursed under my breath at them and at the realization that, with my dad meeting me, I had his safety to worry about. Still not knowing what I’d find at my aunt’s place, I welcomed his company.

  I screeched out of the driveway and down the road. Ordinarily, I’m a model driver obeying stop signs like they were Department of Transportation Holy Grail. Tonight, though, I sped through each one, praying for empty intersections.

  My phone lay on the car seat and now I groped around for it. I had to get hold of Corrigan. When I did, he’d already heard the bad news. “On my way to Lena’s.” His voice was terse.

  On the main roads, I ran through some yellow-turning-red lights, my heart racing so fast I was afraid it might get to Aunt Lena’s house before my car did.

  My aunt lived on a quiet street of mostly brick houses build in the 1940’s. Hers was toward the middle of the street and ordinarily didn’t get much traffic. That is, except for Sundays and Saturday evenings when St. Mary’s Church, whose parking lot backed up to her yard, held Mass. I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t see another car go by. Of course too, it was after midnight.

  My dad came up behind me. An ambulance and Corrigan had gotten there just ahead of us. We all dashed to Aunt Lena’s front door. Locked.

  I groaned with frustration. The paramedics and Corrigan were ready to break it down, when my father pulled out a set of keys. One fit her door and we all practically tripped over each other getting inside.

  There in the foyer we found Ed, slumped on the floor, his back against a floral-papered wall, groaning softly. He tried to push the paramedics away. “Is Lena okay? She was headed to her bedroom…”

  Corrigan, gun in hand, took off to explore the
rest of the house and I dug around in my purse, found my gun and followed him. When we reached the hallway, I could feel a slight breeze. It was coming from an open door in her bedroom. Corrigan made a beeline toward it, but I dashed through the door before him and into the empty darkness of Aunt Lena’s backyard.

  Despite the cool air, I felt as hot as if it were mid-August in Florida. Where was Aunt Lena? Was she even still alive?

  Corrigan said something, but his words didn’t register. What kind of a PI was I? I couldn’t even protect my own family. I stumbled back inside and slumped to the floor, weighted down by my failure.

  I might have stayed like that the rest of the night except Corrigan squatted beside me. “We’ll get her back, Claire.” He stuck out his hand and pulled me with him. We went back to check on Ed.

  The paramedics and Ed were engaged in an argument. They wanted him to go to the hospital, but he refused. After he signed a release form, they warned him of the symptoms of a concussion and departed. Ed rubbed the substantial knot on the back of his head. “There weren’t any cars around and we were only here five-ten minutes.” He closed his eyes and I thought he’d lose consciousness again. But he opened them and whispered hoarsely, “I let Lena down, didn’t I?”

  My dad, silent until now, growled, “Yeah, you should’ve had more sense than to bring her here.” He huffed and added begrudgingly, “But I know how stubborn that woman can be…”

  “I should’ve resisted her charms.” Ed tried to stand and stumbled, almost falling.

  Dad caught him. Corrigan dragged a chair over and motioned for Ed to sit and said, “I’m calling in a missing persons report and then, Ed, I need you to reconstruct what happened just before you went down.”

  Ed coughed and Dad went into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water. I took it as his way of forgiving Ed. “Thanks, Frank.” Ed took a sip. “We pulled up and I checked the perimeter of the house to make sure nobody was around. Lena went down the hallway saying she’d only be a minute and she’d have to make sure she’d locked that door. Why the hell would you have a door to the outside in a bedroom? Anyway, I called to say we’d be home soon. Next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor and Lena was gone.”

  All the while Ed told his story, I tapped my foot. When he finished, I said, “We can’t just sit here while who-knows-what is happening to Aunt Lena.” I pointed at Corrigan. “Haven’t you found out yet about the driver in that black sedan? I’m betting the guy works for Bucanetti. That’s probably who has her.”

  Corrigan responded in a calm, even tone. “They’re working on it. As soon as the information comes in, we’ll have our first lead. If Bucanetti is behind this, I’ll get him.”

  A knock on the door stopped me from arguing. Police swarmed in and Corrigan ushered us outside. “The best thing you can all do is go home, get some rest. Ed, I still think you should have a doctor take a look at you.”

  As if remembering the knock he took, Ed reached up and massaged his head. “I just might.”

  Corrigan nodded, “Good. Everyone, I’ll be in touch in the morning.”

  Ed and Dad both looked like ads for sleep aids and while my brain wasn’t fried, I was sure it’d only produce half-baked ideas. I didn’t want to just walk away though. “But—”

  Corrigan held up his hand. “Claire, you can’t do anything else tonight. Go home, please.”

  My dad put his arm around me. “Come on, pumpkin. The man’s right. We need some shut-eye so we can think straight.”

  I stomped to my car and drove to the end of the street. Then down the next street to check out St. Mary’s parking lot. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I saw clearly. Another car was parked in the lot.

  I might have known. It was Corrigan who had parked there, looking for clues, like I’d planned on doing. But he had an advantage; a flashlight that lit up so bright someone could believe the sun had come up early. I, on the other hand, only had a pen light attached to my apartment keychain.

  Corrigan’s flashlight plainly showed his scowl. “Why aren’t you on your way home?”

  Although relieved he was here with me, I didn’t want him to know that. “Have you found anything?”

  “Yep. Report on the sedan came back, a rental from Luxury Autos. They’d filed a report it’d been stolen.”

  He turned off the flashlight, leaving only the moon and a distant street lamp to provide the dimmest of light. Now I could only imagine a smug look on his face. “And a real coincidence. Luxury Autos is owned by the very organization where your friend, Alex Carpenter works.”

  I closed my eyes. Alex had certainly turned out to be a toad in a prince’s body. “You think he set it all up?”

  “No, but I do think he’s got some part in it. Like first, he had to act as if he was interested in you.”

  I smoothed my dress. “Yeah, that must have been real hard.” The sarcasm rolled off my tongue.

  He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just awfully coincidental that first, he’s Bucanetti’s nephew and second he works at the same place a car is used in the kidnapping of your aunt.”

  “I know what you meant, mean.” All the vinegar drained out of me. “I just want her back safe.”

  He stepped forward and gave me a one-armed hug. “We’ll find her. Every cop in the city and beyond has her description and the stolen car’s license plate number.”

  I leaned into the hug hoping to draw some reassurance or strength from it. But I didn’t. “I’m so worried you’ll find the car abandoned somewhere with no sign of my aunt. Or worse, her body.”

  He didn’t disagree. Not that I would’ve believed him if he had. But his silence plummeted me into a state of hopelessness I was on my own to crawl out from.

  He shifted his weight to come into a full embrace, but I stepped back and his arms ended up like he was a basketball hoop. He pretended to stretch and look at his watch.

  “Anyway, you’re right. I should just go home.” I had no intention of doing that, but he didn’t need to know.

  He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Some sleep will do you good.”

  What I really needed was to find Aunt Lena unharmed, but I managed a weak smile and went back to my car. I wondered if Luxury Autos kept nighttime hours. I started the engine. Only one way to find out.

  As soon as I was out of Corrigan’s sight, I pulled over to look up the phone number for Luxury Autos. I’d just found their address when I got a text. Probably Corrigan electronically ordering me to stay out of ‘his’ investigation.

  But it wasn’t from him or from anyone I knew. It said, “For Lena’s sake go home. Alone.”

  I shivered, suddenly cold, and dialed the texting number. No answer. I started up the car with only one thought. Get home. I drove there in a haze of worry and fear. In a luckless evening, I got a small break. Very little traffic.

  In my apartment parking lot, I called Corrigan and told myself to breathe, in and out, in and out. When he answered, I filled him in on the latest twist to this nightmare.

  “I’ll be there fast as I can. Claire? Don’t go inside alone.”

  I hung up and checked the time. 3:45 a.m. Two hours since Aunt Lena went missing. I waited a minute, then five. I drummed my fingers on my steering wheel.

  Should I go inside or keep waiting? The kidnapper might be lurking around my apartment at this very moment. I have a gun. Maybe I chould hold him until Corrigan gets here. At least see who he is.

  Of course, that was the teensy brave part of Claire talking. The timid, afraid part of me argued that I should wait.

  Another minute dragged by. My determination to see my aunt’s kidnapper was greater than my fear. But that didn’t stop my heart from racing at the thought.

  Scanning the parking lot, I didn’t see any activity, but I pulled out my gun just in case. I scooted out of my car and my stomach jumped into my throat. I crept up the stairs to my second floor apartment. I slipped off my shoes so the kidnapper, if he was still there, wou
ldn’t hear me. I didn’t want to startle him into shooting. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the numbing-cold tile floor. Once I rounded the hallway corner, my apartment would be visible. I flattened myself against the wall and listened.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A big, fat nothing. Nobody in the hallway. My heart returned to its normal pace, but disappointment clouded my relief. I slipped my shoes back on and took the few steps to my door. That’s when I spotted a folded piece of paper shoved in the crack between my door and its frame. Something told me it wasn’t a note announcing repaving of the parking lot. One hand held firm to my gun and I gingerly pulled the paper out by one corner and shook it open. My head buzzed as I read it.

  Your aunt is safe. Her staying that way depends on you. Return Joey’s evidence in 48 hours and you’ll get her back alive. I’ll be in touch. Talk to the cops and I’ll slit your aunt’s throat.

  What evidence?

  My hands started to shake so badly the paper rattled. I hadn’t felt this helpless since my mother’s cancer.

  At the sound of footsteps behind me, I shoved the note in my purse. If the steps belonged to Corrigan I didn’t want him to see the note.

  “I thought I told you to wait outside.”

  I put a brave face on and leaned against the wall so I wouldn’t collapse. “This is outside. Outside my apartment.”

  Corrigan scowled. “You don’t do well with instructions, do you?” Before I responded he added, “Let’s go in, but me first.”

  He did a quick tour of my place and gave me the all clear. I hadn’t expected to find anything else inside, but I must have let my feelings show. Corrigan’s eyes traveled from my head on down, then back to my eyes. Searching. “Are you all right?”

  I broke away from his gaze and nodded.

  “Did you get another text, or a call?” When I shook my head he asked, “Are you sure?”

  The words, “slit your aunt’s throat” rang in my head. I couldn’t tell him. “Of course I’m sure.” It was practically a snarl. My lightheadedness was getting worse. If I didn’t sit down, I was scared I’d fall down. “Sorry. I’m not at my best.”