The crime scene squad would be here soon and John knew better than to disturb the scene, but what he was able to see was bad news. The intruder had dropped his flashlight and gun to claw at his throat. The gun was a silenced .22 Colt Woodsman. A raw-looking rectangle on the side told its own story. John’s jaw clenched.
A Colt Woodsman was the standard assassin’s gun.
John’s fists closed at the thought of a .22 bullet hitting Suzanne. The .22s were subsonic rounds, perfect for silencers. You can get in close with a .22. The bullet is guaranteed to bounce around inside the victim’s body doing massive damage instead of passing through. He pushed out of his mind what a headshot would have done to Suzanne and spoke into the phone.
“I think we’ve got ourselves a hired hand here, Bud.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“He’s got a Colt Woodsman with the serial number filed off. With a suppressor. You don’t carry a weapon like that to make off with the silver tea service.” John rapped a knuckle on the guy’s shoulder. It echoed hollowly. He’d been right. “And he’s got body armor. That’s not standard B & E fare, either.” Something prickled on the back of John’s neck. He knew that prickle, trusted it, and it wasn’t good. “Hurry it up, Bud.”
“On my way, big guy.”
John hung up, picked the bedroom lock, easily dispensed with the chair under the handle and screwed in the light bulb on the lamp nearest the door.
Good girl, he thought as he saw the closet door on the other side of the room. She’d followed his instructions to the letter.
He picked the lock on the closet door and looked inside. Two huge gray eyes in a white face looked up and he felt something in his chest clench hard. They stared at each other for a long moment then Suzanne launched herself into his arms. He held her close, closer.
She was safe.
And she was going to stay that way.
Suzanne couldn’t stop trembling. Finally John held her so tightly against him it was as if he absorbed her shock into his system. She was able to draw in a deep breath for the first time in what felt like hours.
“Better now?” His voice was a deep rumble against her ear. She nodded jerkily.
“Yeah,” she whispered. Biting her lips, she stepped back.
“Good,” he grunted. He held her at arm’s length and looked her over carefully. There was absolutely nothing lover-like in his gaze. It was cool, impersonal and very thorough. Suzanne understood he was studying her to judge what shape she was in.
Well, she was alive, for starters, thanks to him. That was good, that was certainly better than she thought she’d be a just few minutes ago. The panic was subsiding and any second now she’d get her trembling under control. She tried on a smile and he nodded and dropped his arms.
It hadn’t been much of a smile but it seemed to satisfy him because he was backing away, while taking in her room, observing everything carefully, then moving on. Looking for another intruder, maybe? He still had a gun in his hand. He held it loosely, barrel pointed toward the floor, but he held it like an extension of his hand. He stood lightly, almost on the balls of his feet like a dancer limbering up. She got the impression that he was ready for anything. That nothing would or could catch him unawares.
He pushed open the bathroom door, gun up beside his ear, a lightning-quick perusal inside, and then closed it. Moving quietly, he checked everything, every point danger could come from, before coming back to her. He was studying her again, taking in her nightgown and bare feet.
“I called it in, so the police will be here soon. You might want to put some clothes on. Dress warmly and comfortably. Pants, sweater, boots. And Suzanne, while you’re at it, put together a small case with a couple of changes of clothes.”
Small case? Changes of—Why? She started to ask but then looked at the grim expression on his face.
O-kay.
He’d come to her rescue, big time. She could pack a bag.
“All right,” she said quietly and he nodded. Pleased at her acquiescence, but with that air of…remoteness about him, as if he were listening to sounds in the distance.
And now she heard it too. A siren, faint at first, then two, quickly rising in tone, almost unbearably loud until they were suddenly cut off. Two police cars, lights flashing, stopped in front of her building and the muffled slam of the car doors filtered through the night air. Another car pulled up behind them and a tall, familiar figure climbed out.
The cavalry had arrived.
“I’ll wait outside,” John said as he disappeared through the door. “Hurry.”
Suzanne quickly dressed. She did exactly what he’d said, and pulled on a thick heavy sweater, comfortable wool pants and cold-weather boots. Pulling her small suitcase slider out of the closet, she packed quickly. Again, exactly what he’d said. Two pairs of pants, three sweaters, another pair of boots, underwear and two nightgowns. Beauty case on top and she was ready.
There were low voices in the other room, but everyone stopped talking as she opened the door. Suzanne stepped into the living room, pulling her suitcase behind her, then stopped.
Just stopped, and stared.
He had fallen to the right of the door. Any further to the left, and he’d have blocked it.
The only dead body Suzanne had ever seen was Granny Bodine, who had died peacefully in her sleep at ninety-three, gently laid out in her casket. This man hadn’t died peacefully.
He was sprawled facedown on the floor, hands curved into claws, one clutching the big black blade handle sticking out from his throat. The knife must have severed the jugular. Blood pooled under the head of the man and sprays of it surrounded the body.
Suzanne took a deep breath, then another, desperately trying to get her stomach under control. She blinked, as the dead man seemed to rise up from the ground and float toward her. A dull roar filled her ears.
A hard hand cupped her neck, pushing her head gently down. “Breathe.”
She didn’t need to see him to recognize John’s voice, recognize his touch. Obediently, she bent and tried to breath past the shakiness. Slowly the stars before her eyes receded. There were people in the room, talking, moving around, but she only registered John’s presence. Large and solid beside her. “Come on now, breathe deeply.”
She swallowed heavily and looked away, down. Breathed. Deeply. In and out. Concentrating on that and not on her stomach trying to come up.
“Suzanne?” Another male voice. Not John. She risked looking up and almost regretted it. Any movement made her stomach swoop.
Tyler Morrison. Everyone but her friend Claire called him Bud. He looked like a Bud. Tall and powerfully built, with light brown hair and light brown eyes which turned soft whenever he looked at Claire. His eyes were hard now, all business.
“Hi, Bud.”
“You okay?”
“Peachy,” she gasped and swallowed again. Her stomach seemed to have lodged itself somewhere in the middle of her chest but at least it wasn’t sliding greasily upwards. She was released and a moment later John took her hand, wrapping it around a glass. “Here, drink this.”
Suzanne gulped the ice water down gratefully. It went down in one chill rush, soothing the overheated feeling that accompanies a wave of nausea. “Thanks,” she murmured. She tried on a smile for John but got no answering smile back. “I needed that.” She turned to Bud. “You got here quickly.”
“It’s our new citizen-friendly policy. We aim to please.” Bud smiled faintly but it was clear that he was here as “The Police” and not as her friend Claire’s boyfriend, a man she’d had drinks and dinner with. His face was serious, his manner sober. “Okay, honey. There are some things we need to go over. But before we do, I need you to do something for me. Come over here.”