Gossip Can Be Murder (22 page)

“Come on, Trudie,” Linda coaxed, “we’re going to get you to your room.”

She stood shakily and we slowly headed out.

A few minutes later, with Linda and Trudie settled into the room next door, I tossed clothes into my duffle. The experiences of this week had been interesting, to say the least, but I wouldn’t be sad to see the last of Santa Fe for awhile. I planned to take a quick shower to wash off the closet grime, then pop in to say goodbye to Linda and to encourage Trudie to file charges against David for assault.

For my own part, I would phone the Santa Fe police on Monday and give them what I knew about David Ratwill and Robert Stanworthy. They could do with it as they wished.

Right on cue, I heard a sharp knock on the door to Trudie’s room. “Room service,” the voice called.

I stripped down and stepped into the shower. My spirits lifted as I soaped off the dust from the supply closet and fantasized about being at home again.

By the time I’d dried my hair, put on fresh jeans and sweater, and packed the last of my toiletries, I figured Linda and Trudie would be finished with their light supper. I phoned Drake and got voice mail. I left a message that I’d be on the road within fifteen minutes.

Leaving my bags in the room, I walked next door and rapped lightly at Room 14. C’mon, c’mon, I thought, tapping my foot. I knocked again, louder. “Linda, it’s me.” A frisson of unease shivered down my spine.

“Linda! Trudie! Open up!” Nothing.

I looked up and down the hall. Nothing seemed out of place. Where had they gone? Linda would not take off without telling me. At the very least she would have left a message on our phone.

I let myself back into Room 12 and found the card key I’d gotten earlier for the other one. Something told me to take along my gun and I tucked it into the waistband of my jeans. Every nerve ending went taut as I stuck the key into Trudie’s lock.

My eyes scanned the room and I knew my fears were justified. Linda’s medical bag had fallen off the desk; stethoscope and vials spilled over the carpet. The room service tray lay on its side against the table’s legs.  Thick bean soup ran down one wall, the bowl smashed in shards on the floor below. The lick of fear at my spine congealed into a hard place low in my gut.

I grabbed the phone, punched 9-1-1. “Two women have been abducted. Get the police here
now
!” I held on just long enough to confirm that they had the address before I slammed the instrument down and dashed out of the room.

Which way did they go? I debated for a second and decided to try the rear exit, the one to the courtyard. I’d just reached the end of the hall when I heard a noise behind me.

Chapter 29

I whirled, reaching for my gun.

Gerald Mayhew’s eyes grew large as he spotted me. I quickly concealed the weapon. “Gerald! Quick, come with me. I can use some help.”

He glanced back once and walked toward me slowly.

“Linda and Trudie are gone,” I said, my breath coming in quick bursts.

He raised his shoulders in a small shrug.

“It’s David Ratwill. He’s got them.”

Puzzlement and anger crossed his face at the same time but he jogged the remaining length of the hall.

“It happened within the last ten minutes,” I said, shoving open the door to the courtyard. “I’m hoping they haven’t gone far.”

Soft landscaping lights highlighted rocks and trees within the short adobe wall. Beyond that, dusk faded to black.

Suspecting that they’d head for a vehicle, I told Gerald I’d take the parking lot and I sent him to check the lobby. “Don’t get physical with him,” I cautioned. “I don’t know what he’ll do. If you can, just keep him there until the police arrive.” I trotted toward the parking area, leaving Gerald looking like he wasn’t quite sure what he’d gotten into.

As I passed the low adobe wall I couldn’t help but look over it, at the place where Rita had gone down. It had to be David. I’d known from the beginning that there was something off when he’d showed up here. Poor Rita had known he was a threat to her, yet she’d been unable to do anything about it. Now he had Linda and Trudie and there was no telling what desperate measures he might take. I scanned the dark slope, looking for any sign of movement. In the deepening gloom I could make out only the dark blobs of trees and occasional tufts of yellow-blooming chamisa.

On toward the parking area I kept up a quick jog, trying to look every direction, watching for motion in the shadows and possible hiding places. The path narrowed, lit only by small sidewalk lights every twenty feet or so.

The overhead lighting in the parking lot was adequate for a person to locate a car, but hardly enough for me to tell whether someone was hiding out here. I skirted the edge, wary of another trap, watching for movement. At the far end of the second row I spotted a woman getting into a car.

“Joanne!” I ran up to her. “Can you help me?” I quickly gave her the same version I’d given Gerald. “We’ve got lots of ground to cover. Can you help me check out this side and the front of the building?”

Bless her, she didn’t question me. She tossed her purse into her car, locked it, pocketed the keys and followed my lead. We edged the rest of the parking area, then headed down the long driveway that led from Casa de Tranquilidad to the main road. Small landscape lights shone up into some of the trees; otherwise it had become pitch dark out here. I wished that I’d thought to find a flashlight to bring. Joanne and I took opposite sides of the wide drive, alert for any sign of movement out in the blackness. How far could they have gone?

I knew a moment later. Ahead, in a wide spot in the road, a tiny light caught my attention.

“Joanne!” I stage-whispered. “Hold back. Get out of sight and be quiet.” I pointed to the light. “If things start to get ugly, head back to the lobby as fast as you can. I’ve called the police already. Wait for them.”

It was good advice and I should have taken it myself, but I couldn’t let David take Linda away. That small dome light told me he was about to force the two women into a vehicle and then they’d be gone. I stepped to the soft grass at the dark edge of the drive and approached carefully, reaching for the Beretta’s grip.

I got to within twenty yards when I heard their voices. I tiptoed closer, trying to make out the words. David held a gun on Linda; he jerked his head toward the Suburban, indicating for her to get inside. She stood her ground, her stocky body and legs-apart stance telling him she wouldn’t go willingly. I felt proud of her.

Trudie stood by David’s side, an eager look on her face. What the hell was she thinking? Trying to curry favor with the man who’d earlier left her for dead in a storage closet? Or going along with her partner? A confusion of possibilities rushed into my mind but I put them aside. Right now I had to get Linda out of this.

I watched David’s body language. He held the gun casually, like a man who wasn’t used to handling a weapon. Although he waved it at Linda, his grip didn’t look firm. Could I disarm him without his getting a shot off first?

Trudie presented an unknown. She might turn on David, but I doubted it. At best, she might cave. At worst, she could easily turn on me. I edged closer, fifteen yards away now. I held the Beretta in front of me and flicked off the safety.

David’s back presented an easy target to me. Despite the meager light, I had the advantage of close proximity and surprise. I could take him out.

Ron had asked me, when he began teaching me to shoot, whether I’d be able to kill a person if the situation arose. I didn’t know then and I still didn’t know. But I knew I’d be making that decision within the next few seconds. My hand wavered then steadied. He’d killed once. If he became more aggressive with Linda or if he turned on me, I could do it.

I went over the steps in my mind, back at the target range. My hands went automatically to my two-handed grip, the gun was hot, safety off. I lined up the sights, gauging distance and angle.

Linda’s gaze flickered toward me.

Oh, god, this might be the moment.

David didn’t catch it. Linda returned her attention to his face, refusing to let her focus come back to me. Good girl.

“I said, get in the car!” he shouted. That time it came through loud and clear. “Both of you!” He shook Trudie off like a mosquito.

This time Linda didn’t resist. She climbed in and slid across to the far side of the big vehicle.

Trudie turned to David, a pleading look on her face. “I want to ride up front with you,” she whined.

“Get in the b—” David looked at her but she was looking at me.

Oh shit. This is it.

He shoved her aside and turned his gun toward me. His frantic gaze darted about, trying to figure out whether I was alone. I couldn’t afford to wait until he got off the first shot. I aimed high, hoping I hadn’t misread him. My shot went right where I placed it, over his head, to the right of him, far into the forest.

Trudie screamed and hit the ground.

David’s face crumpled in an almost comical way. His arms fell to his sides.

“Drop the gun! Way out there, in front of the car!” My voice came out much firmer than I’d anticipated and he obeyed. “Trudie! Face down on the ground, spread those arms!” She, too, followed instructions. I liked this.

“Linda, get out of the car and grab his gun. Come over here by me.” Her white faced peered out of the dimly lit vehicle and she looked pretty shaky. “It’s okay,” I assured her. She did as I asked.

“David, down on the ground too. Over there.” I waved the Beretta toward the front quarter of the Suburban. “Flat on your face, arms out.”

“You can’t—”

“Watch me.” I re-aimed my gun and squinted to align the sights.

“You’ll be in trouble . . . I’m a lawyer,” he blustered.

“Good point.” I fired another shot over his head, pleased to see a wet spot form on the front of his pants. He dropped to the ground with a whimper.

Chapter 30

I’d just about let loose a few choice words for the Santa Fe Police Department when a cruiser rolled up the drive. I slipped my two spent casings into one pocket and the Beretta back under my jacket.

“Lay the gun on the ground and just tell your story as it was,” I advised Linda.

By the time David whined about being fired upon, for which he had no proof, and Trudie babbled on with loads of incriminating testimony about how they’d planned to be together and how she would stick by David and visit him in the pen, the two officers were beginning to look harried. Linda pointed out David’s gun on the ground and explained how he’d used it to abduct her from Trudie’s room. I gave them minimal information and suggested that they check with Detective Gallegos in the morning. Meanwhile, they agreed that both David and Trudie should be held on suspicion until then.

The questions about my gun were starting to get a little tricky when my cell phone rang. I raised an eyebrow to the officer who’d been questioning me and he nodded assent to answer it.

“Where are you?” Drake asked. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago.” He sounded worried.

“Little delay,” I said. “I’m with the police now.”

The officer beside me had heard Drake’s voice clearly. Luckily, my husband knew better than to get into details over the phone.

“So, when will that be?” he asked, lowering his voice. I got the distinct feeling there was something important he wasn’t telling me.

“I’m not sure. Soon?” I looked at the officer who was closing his notepad. “I hope?” He shook his head. “Maybe not.”

“Call me before you leave Santa Fe.” With that, he hung up.

I managed to stay composed until I’d given the officer my card, all my phone numbers, and my planned itinerary for the next two days. I confess that I fudged a little on the importance of my reasons for getting to Albuquerque, but it did gain me a smidgen of leeway.

It occurred to me that I might report some inside information to Ron and Drake. I turned back to the officer. “So, will David be in jail for a few days?”

He wagged his head in a somewhat hopeless gesture. “Don’t bet on it. This guy has connections. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s posted bond before I finish the paperwork tonight.”

That was discouraging.

Linda was still in the middle of giving her statement when I left the driveway and made my way back to the resort. Gerald and Joanne, plus a small gathering of others from the conference, wanted all the juicy details but I put them off.

I managed to stay composed through all of that but as I gathered my bags and started to leave the room, I lost it. I set everything down and gave in to the shakes and the tears. I could have killed a man tonight.

More frightening was the fact that I knew I would have if he’d harmed Linda or turned on me. I’d been damn lucky that he’d shown that flicker of hesitation, that moment that told me he was more afraid of me than I was of him. He’d killed his own wife—I still wasn’t sure of all the reasons why—but against an armed opponent he’d backed down. Some people are like that.

I allowed myself a full ten minutes of self-indulgent blubbering. Then I washed my face and brushed my hair and composed my face.

I was rummaging in my purse for keys when Linda came in. We gave each other a tired stare and I felt the rims of my eyes prickle again. “I need to get going,” I said.

“Nope. I don’t want you out on the road,” she said in her firmest doctorly voice.

“Linda, I already told Drake—”

“I don’t care. It’s an hour-long drive and you’re too upset.”

“I’m not—” But the anger in my voice made her point. I was too upset.

“Stay here tonight. Calm down. Let me give you a sedative.”

Was the answer to everything found in a pill bottle? “No drugs,” I insisted. “I’ll be better off if I just . . .” I didn’t know exactly what it would take.

“Okay then. Let’s go to the meditation session. It’s still going, and we could tiptoe in quietly.”

I just couldn’t envision sitting in a big crowd and managing not to scream in frustration, especially with Celeus Light in the room. My teeth gritted at the very idea.

“Linda, I just can’t . . .” I started to say that I couldn’t stand the phony leader, but managed to couch it in softer wording. She looked disappointed, but didn’t argue. “You go. I’ll be fine here in the room,” I promised.