“It will only take a minute,” Sam persisted. Alvin stared at them for a few beats then opened the door. “Fine. Come in.”
Alvin’s place was decked out with the finest furnishings. Granite counters, a huge flat-screen television, and leather furniture.
“Nice place. I didn’t realize the postmaster’s salary was so high,” Sam said.
“I save. I don’t spend much.” Alvin sidled toward an oak sideboard.
“I see ...”
Meow.
Sam’s heart skipped as a long black cat slunk into the room and curled against Alvin’s leg. Sam glanced at Jo, and they both tensed, their hands hovering around the guns at their hips. “That your cat?” Sam asked.
Alvin’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. So?”
Sam’s eyes drifted to the coffee table, where a new shoebox sat. “Something happen to your shoes?”
Alvin didn’t answer. Instead, he whipped open the drawer of the sideboard, pulled out a gun, and jabbed it in Jo’s direction. “Why did you people have to come here and be so nosy? Now I have to change my plan.”
“Plan?” Sam’s hand hovered near his gun, but he couldn’t draw. Alvin was already pointing his gun at Jo. If he made a move for his gun, Alvin would shoot her.
“Don’t you even think about it,” Alvin warned, his eyes narrowing on Sam’s hand.
Sam moved his hand away. Better keep Alvin talking. “Why’d you kill Dupont?”
“I had my orders.” Alvin laughed. “That’s right. We’re one step ahead of you and about to take you down.”
“But why leave the gun at the scene?” Sam asked.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from tampering with the crime scene.” Alvin’s eyes glinted. The man was clearly unhinged. “Were you trying to make it look like a suicide? Yeah, I figured you’d try to obscure evidence and eventually dig your own grave by creating evidence against yourself.”
Sam caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Kevin outside the window. Hopefully, he’d seen the situation they were in. If it were Sam out there, he’d go around back, pray that the back door was unlocked, and sneak up behind Alvin, whose back was to the kitchen. Hopefully, Kevin would do the same.
“And what about Scott Elliott?” Sam needed to keep Alvin talking, distracting him in case Kevin did sneak in the back as he hoped.
Alvin scoffed. “That candy ass? He got nervous, and I had to stop him from talking.”
“What do you mean?” Sam asked. “Did he run when you shot Dupont? We found his print in the woods.”
“Nah, he didn’t run. We came to the mill in separate cars in case any of those busybody neighbors saw anything. We figured the more cars, the better to make it more confusing. His car was parked down the dirt road at the end of the path. Mine was on Bartlett Street. We came in through the woods and snuck out the same way.”
“So you pulled the trigger and took the evidence on Thorne that Dupont had,” Sam said.
“Then I left the gun to frame you. I saw you moved it when I noticed the photos at the police station. I figured you would. How stupid.”
“What about Tyler Richardson? Did you kill him too?”
“Yeah, that stupid Scott Elliott got real nervous about that one too.” Alvin was almost boasting now. “But Richardson had to be dealt with. He was causing a problem for the big guy.”
“Thorne?” Sam asked.
“Maybe. Maybe I’m the big guy. Enough talk. Now I need to figure out how to stage this.”
“Stage?”
“Yeah. You guys were trying to frame me for Dupont’s murder. See, you and Sergeant Harris here killed him. You were all dealing drugs together, along with Tyler Richardson. Corruption in the police ranks. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
The back door cracked open silently. Kevin slipped inside and tiptoed toward Alvin, his gun leveled at the postmaster’s head.
Sam held up his hands. “Now hold on. You don’t have to do this. If you tell us everything you know about Thorne, we’ll see that you get protection. New name. New job. And you’ll go free.”
Alvin laughed. “You think I’m going to fall for that? Nope. I have to shoot Officer Harris here and then shoot you with her gun. Make it look like there was some kind of a disagreement between the two of you when you came over to frame me. She shot at you, and I had to shoot her to protect you. Too bad her shot was fatal.”
“I don’t think so, Alvin. Put the gun down.”
Alvin Ray barely flinched when Kevin spoke behind him. He turned just enough to see Kevin holding a gun pointed straight at his head.
“Oh, a third one. Perfect. Now what if you two were in cahoots and the third one found out? Yep. And what if there was a shootout but not because of me? Because one of you found out the other two were working for the bad guys. He’d have to be silenced, right? It wouldn’t be too bad if you all ended up dead, especially with each other’s guns. Then there’d be no story to believe but mine.”
Sam’s gut churned. Alvin was crazy if he thought he could pull that off. But the look in his eye told Sam he just might be crazy. “No one will believe that.”
“Oh no?” Alvin scoffed. “Just ask Detective Deckard here.”
The statement surprised Sam, and he glanced at Kevin. What was Alvin talking about? He was probably trying to confuse him.
“Yeah, that’s right. Well, enough talk. Time for Officer Harris to die.” Alvin jabbed the gun straight toward Jo, aiming high at the center of her forehead. Sam’s heart skipped, his eyes focusing on Alvin’s trigger finger.
Sam reached for his own gun. He had no choice. He couldn’t let Alvin shoot Jo.
Behind Sam, something crashed through the window. Glass rained down on the floor as a blur of black and brown catapulted between Jo and the gun.
“No!” Kevin lunged between Lucy and Alvin.
Sam’s eyes were still glued to Alvin’s finger as he brought his own gun up.
Alvin squeezed the trigger as Sam fired at Alvin.
The two gunshots exploded at almost exactly the same time.
* * *
The impact knocked Jo to the floor. Time seemed to both slow down and speed up. Her ears rang from the blasts, deafening her to everything else. The air was spiced with the heavy scent of gunpowder and the coppery smell of blood.
Was she hit? No. She felt no pain, but something heavy lay on her.
She reached down, and her hands sank into soft fur.
Lucy!
The last thing she remembered was Lucy jumping in front of the barrel of Alvin Ray’s gun. Was Lucy hit?
The dog scrambled off her, and Jo looked her over quickly. She appeared to be fine. Then her eyes fell on what lay beyond Lucy. Kevin lay unmoving, a pool of blood spreading beneath him.
“Shit!” Jo raced to Kevin’s side and looked for the wound.
Her eyes darted around the room, catching Sam’s. He crouched in front of Alvin, his fingertips pressed to the postman’s throat. Their eyes locked. Sam shook his head slowly and reached for his phone.
Jo focused on Kevin as she heard Sam call 911. Kevin didn’t move. She pressed on the wound in his neck to stop the blood flow.
“Stay with me, buddy,” Jo said.
Kevin’s eyes fluttered, and his mouth moved as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. His hand faltered toward his pocket. “Don’t move. Just focus on staying alive.” Jo pressed on the wound harder, and Kevin’s eyes stopped fluttering.
How had he gotten hit? A whine from Lucy brought her memory back. Lucy had crashed through the window between Jo and Alvin. Kevin had jumped in front of the gun to save her and Lucy from getting hit.
As the ambulance sirens split the air, Sam rushed to Jo’s side, feeling for Kevin’s pulse. “It’s faint.”
“Oh no.” Harry stood above them.
Sam looked at him sharply. “I told you to stay at the station with Lucy.”
“I’m sorry, Sam. I just thought maybe I could help out. And now look what’s happened. I’ve ruined everything.”