She hurried into the kitchen to see that Shamus had arrived, along with Eric Lyons.
“Hey,” Eric said to her. “I couldn’t get through to Sharon, but her roommate told me that she went out of town to see family after I told her we were closing. And I...well, I decided that I didn’t want to be alone. Not when we know that Gus is still out there.”
“You’re just in time for lasagna,” Jenny told the newcomers cheerfully.
“Hey, guys,” Danni said. She wasn’t sure why, but she suddenly felt even more uneasy.
Gus was in the house somewhere. Gus, with all that evidence against him.
Claiming he’d been set up.
And now she had even more people to keep safe.
“Hey, where are the rest of the troops?” Shamus asked.
“The rest of the troops?” Danni said. Then she realized that Jessica wasn’t there, and neither were the Watsons.
“Craig needed changing,” Tyler explained.
Danni heard a voice coming from her side. “Danni?”
It was Gus. She’d forgotten he was still on the phone.
“Excuse me,” she said, and fled to her studio. “Gus, where are you—exactly? And why the hell should I believe you?”
“Because it’s true, and I’m begging you. And I’m right here.”
She turned around. And there was Gus, filthy, his clothes marked by several tears, standing in the doorway of her studio. He brought a finger to his lips, begging for her silence.
Then he closed the door.
*
It was easy, so easy. Because he was magic. Invisible in plain sight.
He took out Tyler first, because he was the biggest, the strongest and the most capable of putting up a fight. He pretended to compliment Jenny on her cooking as he slammed the butt of the gun down on Tyler’s head so he fell without a sound. Spinning around, he caught Bo Ray with a hard thwack to the jaw. After that he pointed the gun at Jenny, and warned Shamus and Brad that she would be dead before they could move their lips if they didn’t listen.
They listened then did as he said, tying up the fallen and then each other. After that he moved up the stairs and took old Woodrow by complete surprise. All he had to do next was threaten the kid to get the old woman to do anything he wanted.
And then he had Jessica...
Downstairs now for Danni and the sax, and then the fun of killing them all, one by one.
*
Wolf had led them to Bourbon Street and then to La Porte Rouge.
It was locked up, of course, but Wolf stood at the door and barked without stopping.
“Great. Now what?” Billie demanded.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what he wants, but Wolf is always right on,” Quinn said.
“We can break the door in,” Father Ryan suggested.
Quinn looked at the old, heavily bolted door then at the windows, whose shutters had been drawn down and locked.
“Wolf really wants in,” Billie said.
“We could call Larue and get the cops to open it,” Father Ryan said. “Or go back to plan A and break it down.”
“We may have to—if we can,” Quinn said.
But as he spoke he heard the heavy inside bolt sliding open.
The door opened, and Max, the bouncer, stood there looking down at them. “What’s going on? I heard we were closed tonight.”
“Right. So what are you doing here?” Quinn asked him suspiciously.
Max shrugged sheepishly. “I lost my apartment. I’ve been sleeping here. No one knows, but with what’s going on...well, I looked out from upstairs, saw it was you and figured I had to open to you.”
Wolf rushed past Max and stood at the bar, barking.
“What the hell?” Billie muttered.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Max demanded.
“I don’t know,” Quinn said, following the dog. “There’s no one else in here with you, is there?”
“No, sir, I’m alone,” Max said.
Quinn walked around and behind the bar. The cash register was closed. He couldn’t begin to understand what was making Wolf so crazy.
Then he noticed a locked drawer beneath a row of call brand 285 rums. “Max, what’s in here?” he asked.
“Stuff. Stuff that belongs to the employees,” he said. “I don’t know. I don’t keep anything in there. Don’t really have anything worth locking up. Guess the girls leave their purses or wallets or whatever when they’re working.”
It was just the bar itself that seemed to have Wolf worked up. But Quinn was curious about the drawer. “You got a crowbar or anything anywhere?” he asked Max.
“You want me to break the lock?” Max asked him.
“If you will.”
“You’ll be responsible?”
“I will,” Quinn said.
Max joined him behind the bar, opened another cabinet and took out a toolbox. He took out a hammer and a screwdriver, and used them to force the drawer open.
There were just a few papers—invoices.
Father Ryan called his name to get his attention, and Quinn turned. In the drawer where the tools had been there was a cigar box. Father Ryan took the box out and opened it.
“Sweet Jesus, I guess now we know,” Billie breathed. “I guess now we know the truth about the killer.”