He had released her mouth or she had broken free. “It was a sham, Michael. You were a sham. You used me.”
“You should have come alone like I told you, Kathy, then the child would have been safe. We’d have been off, across the bridge to Brooklyn before anyone came looking for us. Now we have to take care of them first.”
It didn’t take much intelligence to know what he had in mind. Would it be possible to survive a fall into water from this height? I wasn’t sure how high we were, but surely too high to survive a fall. I wasn’t even sure if we were over water yet.
“Why do you want me with you?” she demanded “You don’t really love me. I’ll slow you down.”
“Insurance, me darlin’. You’re my insurance.”
He pushed her closer to Bridie and me. The catwalk swayed and shuddered. Bridie whimpered again. Then, for the first time in my life I found myself face-to-face with Michael Kelly in the flesh. He was watching me with an arrogant smile at that handsome mouth. Cocky. Sure of himself. Delighted that I had been so stupidly na?ve. I tried to make my brain work in an orderly fashion. Maybe I could protect myself, but how could I possibly defend myself and a small child on this gossamer thread so high above the world?
“How did you find us?” I asked, stalling for time.
“Easy.” Again that cocky grin. Enjoying this almost. “You think the Eastmans don’t run this city? They know all about you.”
I felt Bridie’s little body brush against me and was terrified that she’d cling onto me, sealing our doom.
“Bridie,” I whispered to her. “Hold on very tight to that wire and don’t move or let go until I tell you to.”
Michael had released Katherine from his grip. “Wait there,” he said as he moved past her. “I don’t need your help, but don’t think of moving. I don’t want to get rid of you too, but I will if I have to.”
“Just let us go, please,” I said in my most submissive voice. “We can’t do you any harm. At least let me take the little girl back to the tower.”
“You’ve already done me harm,” he said. Then he came at me. The one thing in my favor was that I was ready for him. While I talked I had released one hand quickly to hitch up my skirts enough to move my legs. As he came toward me I held on grimly with both hands and kicked out backward, like a mule. I heard the grunt of air escaping, letting me know that my kick had been high enough to do damage. I had brought one of my brothers to his knees once with a similar move. He teetered for a moment, fought to regain his balance, then as he teetered backward he made a grab for the foot that had kicked him. His hands fastened around my ankle, almost jerking me off the catwalk. I clutched at the wire as his full weight tugged at me. Bridie screamed, the catwalk swung wildly, and then there we were, poised at the edge of eternity, Michael hanging over nothingness and about to pull me with him.
“Let me up again,” he shouted. “If I go, I’ll make damned sure you all go with me.”
My brain was racing, trying to work out how I could pry his hand loose without sacrificing my own balance. In the short seconds that I hesitated Michael grabbed at the planks with his other hand and hauled himself back onto the catwalk.
“You’ve made enough trouble,” he gasped, clambering to his feet. “Why couldn’t you have left us alone? I might have spared the child, but not now.” He looked past me to Katherine. “When I give you the nod, we throw her down. Ready?”
“No,” Katherine said. “No, Michael, I’m not doing it. I’m not helping you again.”
“Don’t be a fool, Katherine. Don’t think you’ll get off free. You won’t. I’ll tell them you begged me to kill that woman. I’ll tell them it was you who made me do it.”
“Thank you for making up my mind for me,” Katherine said. “I would have done anything for you once, Michael, but not now. But then I really loved you once. This proves that you never loved me. Why don’t you go, while you still have time? I’ll grant you that much.”
“You’ll grant me? You are in not in a position to grant me anything, Katherine. If you won’t help me, I can do it alone. I don’t need your stinking help to get rid of a couple of scrawny females. But, by God, you’re going to be sorry.”
Katherine stuck out her chin defiantly. “I’ll help her. It will be two against one and likely enough we’ll all go down.”
At that moment a light shone out from the tower, cutting an eerie swath through the mist.
“You out there,” a big voice shouted. “Police! We know you’re there, Kelly.”
“Take one step out here and I throw them down—all of them,” Michael shouted back.
“We’ve got sharpshooters aiming at you. We don’t need to take a step,” the voice shouted back. “Come quietly or you’re a dead man.”
Michael grasped at Katherine.
“Come with me, Katherine,” he pleaded. “We’ll get away. We’ll escape. If they catch you, they’ll send you to jail. They’ll send you home.”