“Well, now, I’m betting you two are here to tell us the same things Michael here just did. So you sit down, too, and give us your arguments, but I’ll warn you, they’ll fall on deaf ears. We’ve thought this through. We’re staying right where we are,” Woodrow said.
Danni glanced over at Quinn. He wasn’t sure what he thought of her following him here; he did know that she was as worried about the Watson family as he was.
And so far he had struck out, so he could only hope she would do better.
“I’ll get more coffee,” Amy said.
As she left the parlor, Tyler made an appearance, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he walked in. “Hey,” he said, casually at first. Then, “Hey! Did something happen? Is anyone else...dead?”
“No, no one else is dead,” Quinn said.
“We’re pretty sure the killer tried to get into my place last night,” Danni said. “But Wolf started barking and scared him off.”
Amy came back into the room, cups dangling by their handles from one hand, the coffeepot in the other. “Now, wait a minute, young ’uns,” she said, her tone a combination of affectionate and chastising. “Your house was nearly attacked, but you think Woodrow and I should get out of this one?”
“Because you might be next,” Danni said.
“You think the killer will just give up on you and try us?” Woodrow asked.
“You think they should leave here?” Tyler asked. “I come stay with them.”
Quinn just sat back to see what Danni would come up with. “But you’re not here at night, when things are most dangerous. Look, Mr. Watson—”
“Woodrow, please,” he interrupted quietly.
“Woodrow. I know you’re all intelligent and competent. But my friend was smart, too, and the killer went to her house knowing just what time she’d be there alone. He’s watching us. He knows us, knows our habits. The strongest guy in the world can be brought down by the right kick, the smartest man can be tricked. I believe...” She hesitated for a minute, glanced at Quinn then plowed on. “I believe he believed Arnie had his sax that night—his special sax. But he took that sax the night he killed Arnie, using a heroin overdose to make it look like Arnie had turned to drugs because of PTSD. The killer thought he could get away with it, and he almost did. Then he discovered it was the wrong sax, so now he’s looking for the real thing.
“I think something in him snapped, the longer he went looking for the sax without finding it. First he just held up musicians on the street and stole their instruments. Then he realized he was going to have to start taking more drastic measures. He went after top sax players with enough money to have purchased Arnie’s special sax if you had put it up for sale. Now he’s killed three times—Arnie, Holton Morelli and Lawrence Barrett—and he broke into my friends’ apartment and tried to break into my place, too. I don’t know what would have happened if not for Wolf. But you don’t have a Wolf. And like I said, Tyler isn’t here most of the night, so you’re on your own. When you’re sleeping, you’re vulnerable, and Tyler could easily be in danger if the killer broke in and waited to ambush him when he came home.”
Danni stopped speaking, her cheeks flushed, and looked earnestly at Woodrow and Amy, who looked first at one another and then at Tyler.
“I never thought about the fact that we could be risking Tyler’s life, too,” Amy said.
“So it’s settled?” Danni asked. “You’ll discreetly move out of the house, at least for a little while?”
They still seemed hesitant.
Quinn decided it was time to speak up. “Please,” he said earnestly. “The killer is not only escalating the level of violence but also his timing. Jenny was attacked one night, and the next he was outside our place. He’s bound to make a mistake, and then we’ll catch him, but let’s let him make his mistake without losing any more lives.”
Amy looked at Woodrow. “Where will we go? I will not go to any of the children’s houses, because I won’t bring danger down on them. And I don’t think we can afford—”
“Come to my place,” Danni said.
Quinn looked at her, startled, trying to figure out just where they would put everyone.
But Danni had it covered. “There are three bedrooms on the second floor, and there’s a tiny third room up in the attic, next to Billie’s and Bo Ray’s rooms. It was once just storage, but there’s a bed in it. We’ll get it fixed up for Tyler. How does that sound?” she asked cheerfully.
“Like a lot of trouble,” Amy said.
Like a very strange frat party, Quinn thought.
“No trouble at all. We love company,” Danni said.
“The more, the merrier,” Billie added, looking at Quinn.
Quinn glanced at his watch; it was getting late. If he wanted to get the word out the way he wanted to at Larue’s press conference, he had to get going, and Danni did seem to have things covered here.
He rose. “I’ll let you all work out the particulars,” he said. “Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Watson.”
“Amy, please—especially if we’re going to be living in the same house,” she said.