Chapter Twenty-Three

Nando took one last look at the file open on the desk in front of him. The Rangers’ report on Brody didn’t tell him much he didn’t already know. He’d been hoping they might have included details about Brody’s various bank accounts, information that Brody himself might possibly have needed or wanted to find. But a cursory read had confirmed that the accountants were much too smart to put that kind of data in a report anybody could read. There probably was a report with greater detail somewhere, but he doubted it was in Konigsburg.

He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. Whatever Brody had been searching for was at the heart of this. Somehow it had to be. But he hadn’t a clue as to what that something was.

He glanced around the station. Helen had gone home early at Toleffson’s urging. Ham was patrolling with a new sense of importance since he was one of the few people in the office who claimed he could recognize Brody on sight. Toleffson was off at the wedding rehearsal. Nando was supposed to be doing his eternal paperwork, but in fact he was playing Sherlock Holmes. Badly.

He’d clicked to Google on the office computer, trying to find more information about Brody’s escape, when the phone on Helen’s desk rang. He pushed himself to his feet and ambled over. Whatever minor crisis somebody was having might at least give him something else to think about.

He picked up the receiver. “Konigsburg police.”

“Let me speak to your chief,” a man’s voice said abruptly.

“The chief isn’t here right now. Can I take a message?”

“Who are you?”

Frowning, Nando managed to keep from snarling back. “I’m Assistant Chief Avrogado. What can I do for you?”

“Assistant Chief Avrogado?” The man said. His voice seemed faintly mocking, as if he found Nando’s title absurd.

Nando stiffened. “What can I do for you?” he repeated through clenched teeth.

“Well, Officer, I’ve got a hostage here. She’s all right at the moment. She’ll stay that way if you do exactly what I say.”

Nando grasped the phone so tightly his fingers ached. “What? Who the hell is this?”

“Keep it down, Officer,” the man snapped. “You don’t want to involve anybody else in this, not if you want her to stay healthy. And you know who I am. Or you should if you think about it.”

Nando leaned a hand on the desk. Brody. Had to be. “Yeah. I know who you are, you crooked son of a bitch. Who’s your hostage?”

“Easy, Officer Avrogado. You don’t want to piss me off. My hostage is Ms. Maldonado,” Brody said.

Nando’s breath caught in his throat. “Kit,” he choked out.

There was a pause at the other end, then Brody was back. “No. Allie Maldonado. Still want to save her?”

Nando thought he heard a noise in the background, maybe a gasp. God damn it to hell! “What do you want?”

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” Brody said calmly. “I want the contents of the chief’s desk. All of it. Every drawer. Put it in a sack and bring it to the Woodrose. I’ll have Ms. Maldonado in the Damask Meeting Room. Once I have the sack, I’ll give her back to you. Come alone, Officer, and don’t tell anybody else. You’ve got twenty minutes before she starts getting hurt.”

This time the gasp was definite. “Twenty minutes isn’t enough time,” Nando said hurriedly.

“Maybe. But it’s all the time you’ve got. Better get moving.”

The phone went dead in his ear.

 

 

Kit stood in the back of the event center, studying the decorations. They weren’t great. If she’d had a few weeks longer she might have been able to find people who’d have done a better job. Still, they weren’t awful. They’d do.

The silver swags along the benches glowed in the late afternoon shadows. The pale pink roses with sprigs of lavender were charming and besides they smelled great. The lavender roses at the front were maybe a little over the top, but not so far over that they’d upset Allie.

Allie. She frowned quickly. Shouldn’t she have come back by now? Even if she was having yet another crisis of confidence, she should at least get back here in time for the rehearsal. It wasn’t like Allie to keep other people waiting, no matter how upset she was.

Members of the wedding had already begun to straggle in. Cal Toleffson stood up front with Docia and his brother Erik, the chief of police. She could see Jess and Lars heading down the gravel walk from the parking lot. Maybe it was time to go looking for Allie.

“Where is she?” The voice at her elbow made her jump. She hadn’t seen Wonder come in.

“She went for a walk,” Kit explained, pressing a hand to her heart.

Wonder’s forehead was furrowed, his jaw set. He looked like he was going through a mild crisis of his own. “Was she still upset?”

Kit nodded. “A little.”

“Damn it. All I did was ask her if she’d listed her place with a realtor yet. How does that qualify as pressure?”

“She’s just nervous. I think the whole wedding thing is getting to her.” And, of course, to everybody else. For the hundredth time, Kit gave thanks that the whole thing was almost over.

“Where did she go walking?” Wonder glanced around the parking lot. “I’ll see if I can find her.”

“She’s in the rose garden. I’ll come with you.” Kit walked purposefully toward the main entrance. If she was with Wonder, it might cut down on the chances that Allie would do anything to disappoint everybody. At this stage, she was willing to use any strategy she could think of to keep everything running on track.

After a moment, she heard Wonder trailing after her. “She doesn’t have to sell her house,” he muttered. “She doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to. Hell, we can live there if that’s what she wants. She keeps getting worked up over everything.”

“She’s just nervous,” Kit repeated absently. “Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”

Of course, right now the problem was that she didn’t see Allie anywhere in the rose garden, where she’d supposedly been walking. She felt the first faint stirrings of panic. Allie wouldn’t really bolt, would she? Leaving her favorite niece holding the bag?

“I don’t see her,” Wonder said from behind her.

“I don’t either. Maybe she went into the inn.” Kit turned up the path that led back to the lower inn entrance, then paused. A flash of something bright had caught her eye. She leaned down, pushing aside a rose bush.

Allie’s purse sat half-propped against a floribunda, the gold clasp shining in the sun. A pair of garden clippers lay on the ground nearby along with a trash bag full of dead roses.

“What the hell?” Wonder stopped behind her. “Isn’t that Allie’s? Where would she go without her purse?”

Kit nodded slowly. “And Mr. Didrikson’s stuff. Why would either of them leave these things here?”

Suddenly she had a flash of memory—Didrikson on his mower, riding back and forth across the lawn, his broad back straight above the seat.

His broad back. I’d swear I’ve seen him somewhere before. But I don’t know where or when. It’s just…I’ve seen that back. Doing something. Her chest clenched tight. Suddenly it hurt to breathe.

“Christ,” she breathed. “Oh Christ. Brody. He’s Brody. And he must have taken Allie with him. That’s why she left her purse. He grabbed her.”

“What?” Wonder glanced around the garden, his head swiveling like a turret gunner. “Brody? Where? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he take Allie?”

Kit pressed a hand to her pounding heart. “I don’t know.” Think! “Maybe for a hostage. Maybe he’s kidnapped her to help him get away.” Please let that be it. Please don’t let him hurt her.

“A hostage?” Wonder shook his head slowly. “That’s nuts. She probably just went inside the inn. Maybe she was so frazzled she forgot her purse.” He turned toward the rear entrance.

Kit pulled back on his arm, holding tight. “Listen to me. Please, Steve! Go get Erik. I’ll call Nando. If I’m wrong, it’ll be just another false sighting. You can all laugh at me. But if I’m right, we need them. Now!”

Wonder stared down at her, blinking. “Erik?”

“Please. He’s in the event center. Just do it!” She pushed him in the direction of the building.

He stared back at her for a moment longer, then began trotting back up the path.

Kit pulled her phone from her pocket, running toward the rear entrance to the inn. There was no way she was going to stand outside waiting while somebody threatened her aunt. Particularly not when they had a wedding tomorrow.

 

 

Nando took one frantic glance around the station. Helen and Ham were gone. Toleffson was gone. The night shift wouldn’t be in for an hour.

And he had less than twenty minutes to pick up the stuff and drive to the Woodrose.

He pulled a large plastic trash sack from behind Helen’s desk and headed for the chief’s office. The desk and file cabinet contents lay where they’d left it earlier, spread out on the folding table. Nando grabbed handfuls and threw them into the sack, not taking the time to look at them. He checked his watch.

Seventeen minutes.

He pulled the drawstring at the top of the sack and ran for the parking lot, locking the door behind him, although a fat lot of good that would do. His truck was parked next to the cruiser. After a moment’s hesitation, he unlocked it and climbed in. The less attention he drew the better, and taking the cruiser to the Woodrose would definitely draw attention.

The highway into town was clogged with weekend tourists, but fortunately he was headed the other direction. One part of his brain kept track of the time while the other tried to figure out what to do. Brody would want to hang onto Allie as his hostage. He had to figure out a way to keep him from taking her with him when he left. If only Toleffson…

Nando blew out a quick breath, remembering suddenly just where Toleffson was tonight. The wedding rehearsal. At the event center behind the Woodrose. But there was no time to go and get him before the twenty minutes was up. Nando punched the button on his automatic dial, praying the chief would pick up.

He wouldn’t, of course. He was in the middle of a wedding rehearsal, and he’d probably turned his phone off. The voice mail message came on as Nando turned into the drive leading to the Inn. “Brody’s got Allie,” he barked. “He’s holding her in the Damask Room at the Woodrose. I’m supposed to go alone and bring everything from your desk. I’m almost there. Don’t let him see you when you come over there. He says he’ll kill her. I’m going there directly. Maybe you can find a back way in.”

He snapped the phone closed and tossed it onto the seat, then pulled the truck into the parking lot at the back of the inn, heading for the rear entrance at a dead run.

He looked at his watch. Four minutes.

It would help if he knew which room the Damask Room was, but he couldn’t take the time to ask, and besides, he didn’t see anyone to ask anyway. He headed down the hall that led to the ballroom, noting the names of the other rooms along the way. Floribunda, Bourbon, Gallica.

Jesus. He had no idea what those names meant or if he was even in the right hall. They didn’t look to be arranged alphabetically, unfortunately.

Ahead of him, he saw a card on an easel standing next to one of the doors. Maldonado-Kleinschmidt Rehearsal Dinner, it said. Behind it, he saw the room plaque. Damask.

He took a deep breath, then knocked on the closed door.

“Nando?” Allie’s voice sounded shaky.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

The door opened and he was looking down at Allie’s pale face. “He’s right behind me,” she said.

“I’ve got the sack. Let me in.”

She stepped to the side, letting him slide past. A tall man with silvery hair and a weathered face stood behind her holding a Walther PPK aimed at the middle of her back.

“Cutting it close, Officer,” he said. “I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

“I’m here,” Nando said through clenched teeth. “Here’s your stuff. Take it and get out—I won’t stop you.”

“Of course you won’t. You can’t, as long as I have Ms. Maldonado here. Take the sack, Ms. Maldonado.”

Allie reached for the sack he held loosely in his hand. As their fingers touched briefly, he felt the coldness of her skin.

She swallowed hard. “Here,” she said, holding the sack toward Brody.

“Open it,” he said.

She blinked. “Me?”

“You. Let’s make sure the officer hasn’t decided to do something supremely stupid, like dropping in a couple of dye packs.”

Nando’s jaw tightened. If he’d had more time, he might actually have done that, assuming they had any dye packs at the station. “It’s clean,” he snapped.

“Open it,” Brody repeated. “Tell me what you see.”

Allie pulled the top of the sack open, peering inside. “It’s just office stuff.”

“Tell me what’s in there.” Brody’s voice was sharp. “Now.”

She licked her lips, then looked inside again. “I see a couple of legal pads, a lot of pens and pencils, some gum, some file folders with papers inside, some old computer disks, some energy bars, a bunch of paperclips and rubber bands, some spare change, some envelopes and stamps and some stationery. Do you want me to dig through it?”

Brody’s lips spread into the ghost of a smile. “No. That’s enough.” He stepped beside her, taking hold of her upper arm. “We’re going into the parking lot now. Hold onto that sack. You’ll stay here, Officer.”

“Take me,” Nando said quickly. “Leave her here. She’s got nothing to do with this.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Brody folded the sack under his arm. “Ms. Maldonado is a lot safer hostage than you would be.”

“If she gets hurt…” Nando said through gritted teeth.

“If she gets hurt, it’s your fault. All I want to do is get out of here.”

Brody moved the hand with the gun into his pants pocket. Nando could see the outline of the pistol still pointed at Allie. “Move, Ms. Maldonado. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner this will be over.”

She cast an anguished glance at Nando. “It’s all right,” he murmured, his chest clenching tight. “It’ll be all right.”

Brody nodded toward the far corner of the room. “Get over to the far side and stay there, Officer. Ms. Maldonado will lock the door when we leave. If you start yelling too soon, she’s likely to get hurt. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” he muttered.

 

 

Kit stood in the hallway, her gaze fastened on the door to the Damask Room. Nando had gone in carrying a sack and for just a moment she was sure she’d seen Allie’s white face when she’d opened the door. Which meant that either Nando was in cahoots with Brody or Brody was forcing him to do something by using Allie as a hostage. Since the first possibility was absurd, the second must be fact.

She wiped her palms on her thighs. At least that explained why she hadn’t been able to get Nando on the phone. She could try to run back to find Wonder and Erik, but who knew how long Brody would stay in that room? Yet if she didn’t go for help, what could she do? She didn’t have any weapons and she wouldn’t have known how to use them if she had.

She walked quickly back up the hall again, her hands trembling. Think, damn it, think! It’s not just Allie, he’s got Nando.

“Hey darlin’.” Joe stood at the end of the hallway, holding a large cake in his hands. “Got Ms. Allie’s groom’s cake here. Work of art, I’m telling you.”

Kit stood rooted in the spot for a moment then started trotting down the hall toward him. “Give it to me.”

Joe peered at her doubtfully. “To you? I was just going to put it in the kitchen with the wedding cake.”

“Give it to me now. Don’t argue, Joe, for god’s sake. Lives are at stake.” She slid her hands under the large platter, taking the considerable weight on her forearms.

“Lives at stake?” Joe’s forehead furrowed. “Look, Kit, I know this whole wedding thing has been a strain…”

She turned, moving back up the hall. “Go to the event center. Find Wonder and the chief. Tell them he’s in the Damask Room. Hurry! Please, Joe.”

She had no idea whether he did as she asked. Her whole concentration was on the door to the Damask Room, which was slowly opening.

Allie stepped through first, grasping the black plastic garbage sack in both hands. Behind her, Brody-Didrikson looked deceptively bored. His gray groundskeeper’s uniform was stained around the knees, his hair squashed down where he’d worn his cap. He looked annoyingly ordinary—just your average gardener taking a break. Except for the hand jammed in his pants pocket that probably held a gun pointed at his hostage.

Kit took a breath. “Aunt Allie,” she called, forcing her voice into the kind of hearty cheerfulness she figured she should be using on the day before the wedding. “Look! Joe had your groom’s cake.”

She pattered up the hall, hoping her grin was sunny enough. “Oh hi, Mr. Didrikson. I didn’t see you there. Look at Allie’s groom’s cake. Isn’t it super?”

Didrikson narrowed his eyes as she stopped in front of him, probably trying to decide if she was serious.

“It’s German chocolate, isn’t it?” Kit babbled. “And look at the detail in the frosting.”

Brody shifted his gaze to the cake for an instant.

Kit put all the strength she’d managed to build up from weeks of carrying laden trays and full pitchers of tea into her forearms, pushing the cake up to smash it into his face.

Several things happened at once. Allie screamed. Nando almost leaped out the door of the Damask Room, jerking Brody’s hand out of his pants pocket and bringing his knee up hard in his groin. Brody dropped to his knees, groaning, as Nando pulled the gun free.

Kit had flattened herself against the wall, staring wide-eyed as Brody pulled into the fetal position on the floor in front of them, icing and cake dripping from his face.

From further down the hall somebody muttered “Ouch.” Kit turned to see Joe standing at the bend in the hallway. He shrugged. “They’re on their way.”

Nando jerked the handcuffs from his belt, pulling Brody’s hands behind him none too gently. “You have the right to remain silent,” he droned. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been repeated to you, you asshole son of a bitch?”

Brody groaned again.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Nando looked like he felt an almost overwhelming desire to kick him again, but restrained himself when he glanced at Allie.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded, pressing her fingers to her lips. “I was so scared,” she whispered. “I’ve never been so scared before. I didn’t know if I’d ever make it back to the event center.”

“Allie!” Wonder ran across the hall, his thin hair on end, his glasses slightly askew on his nose. “Allie, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

Before she could answer he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. “Oh, sweetheart, sweetheart, I’m sorry. You can keep the house. You can have anything you want. All you have to do is ask.”

Allie leaned her forehead against his chest, and burst into noisy tears.

Nando stared at Kit where she stood huddled against the wall. After a moment he stepped across Brody’s prone form, dodging around the remains of the groom’s cake that littered the floor, until he stood in front of her. His eyes were burning, his hands trembled. She suddenly realized he was furious. “What the hell did you think you were doing?” he growled.

“I wanted to stop him,” she managed, voice shaking. “It was all I could think of.”

“You could have been killed. He had a gun.” He took a deep shuddering breath, then reached for her, pulling her tight against his chest. “Don’t ever do that again,” he murmured against her hair.

Kit closed her eyes, letting herself sink against him. “I can pretty much promise I won’t.”

“I almost hate to break this up, but somebody’s got to take this asshole to town.”

Kit glanced up. Chief Toleffson stood beside the wall a couple of feet away. He wore civilian clothes, khakis and a knit shirt, but he was holding a gun in his hand. He sighed as he walked toward them. “Got your message, Avrogado. And yours.” He nodded toward Kit, then narrowed his eyes. “You do know what you just did was unbelievably dumb.”

Kit managed a shaky shrug. “Seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, Allie’s probably going to have a new fit of hysterics when she actually realizes what happened to her groom’s cake.”

Toleffson stepped over a lump of cream-colored frosting to reach Brody, taking him by the elbow to pull him to his feet. “Former Chief Brody, I assume, somewhere under all that goop. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while. You tried to kill my sister-in-law, as I recall. And then you did the same thing to my dispatcher.” He gave Brody a very unsettling smile.

Brody blinked at him. “Business,” he muttered.

“Uh huh. I don’t supposed you’d care to tell us just what you were after in my office?”

“Fuck you,” Brody wheezed.

“Right.” The chief turned back toward Kit for a moment. “Sorry about this. Looks like I’m going to miss the rehearsal. Morgan can fill me in later.” He turned back to Brody again, giving him what looked like a slight shove, although it almost made Brody lose his footing. “Let’s take it downtown. I’m sure Helen will be very glad to see you again.”

Kit wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought Brody paled slightly as he stumbled toward the parking lot entrance.

Across the hall, Allie raised her head from Wonder’s chest. “Thank you. Both of you. He could have killed me.”

“That’s okay, Aunt Allie. We weren’t going to let him take you away.” Kit took another deep breath, surveying the fragments of pastry strewn around the floor of the hall. “I’m so sorry about your beautiful groom’s cake.”

Allie stirred in Wonder’s arms, staring down at the smashed bits of cake on the floor in front of her for the first time. “Who cares about a damn cake,” she murmured. “It’s the groom who matters.” She slid her arm around Wonder’s waist, leaning her head against his chest as they headed back up the hall toward the event center. “Come on,” she murmured. “Let’s go get married.”

Kit sighed. “And that’s my cue to head back to the rehearsal. At least, there’s going to be a rehearsal. And a wedding. This will probably all hit me somewhere around the toasts at dinner tonight. See you later, Officer?”

Nando tipped her chin up with his thumb, giving her a fierce kiss that left her lips almost numb. “Count on it, ma’am.”