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A
“Why didn’t you just leave it alone?” Tammy’s brow tightened. “Why’d you have to push it when you already had your killer?”
A
“The police are convinced. Rocky Shaft killed my husband and the evidence against him is overwhelming. I made sure of that.”
“Yes, you did,” A
“That should’ve worked. In fact it did work. It had you all fooled, but sadly, I never thought you might record the call.” Tammy shook her head, her lips tight. “That was my only mistake, but it’s still something I can overcome.”
“The police will figure it out eventually,” A
Tammy gave a short laugh. “Perhaps he will, but we won’t be around if he does.”
“Where are we going?”
Another short laugh, then, “You’ll see. I’ll come up with a plan. Something to cover me.” She laughed out loud. “I can either frame you, or make you disappear forever. Or both.”
“You tried that already,” A
Tammy sighed deeply. “Punky Brown. That was my last dumb move.” She chuckled. “Hiring a punk to take care of something I should’ve done myself. After that fiasco, I made it my resolve to do my own killing in the future.”
“The police have the recording.”
“But they won’t have me.” Tammy smiled with her lips but the ice remained in her eyes. “And if you disappear as well, who’s going to know the truth?”
“You might kill me, but they’ll find you.”
Tammy’s eyes glimmered. “I have half a million to keep me company and keep me hidden for a good long time. It’s not hard to buy a new identity and start a fresh life elsewhere. It’s a big country.”
“It’s greed that got you into this and it’s greed that’ll get you caught. You have the robbery money, don’t you?”
Tammy drew herself up and sneered. “Of course. Who do you think ran the whole show?” She rolled her eyes. “Do you think I would trust those bozos to do what only I could do?”
“So you double-crossed them. You used them to do your job for you, then killed them because the money got to you.”
Tammy shrugged. “I got tired of waiting, and frankly, I got tired of them.” Her eyes glazed and she motioned with the pistol. “Enough talk. Time to go.”
A
Tammy laughed, long and hard. “Rocky Shaft knows nothing. The poor sap was in the right place at the right time to fall neatly into my plans.” Tammy’s face grew cold and her eyes tightened. “After I got rid of his brother, the idiot came to me with some story about his brother and my husband committing a robbery. He wanted to cash in on his brother’s share. He didn’t know I was the boss and I didn’t tell him. But that’s when I saw him as the perfect patsy.” She shrugged and gri
A
“It’s time to go,” the killer said, waving the gun again. “Back up. Into the kitchen.”
A
The back door was dead ahead. Maybe she could make a run for it. She looked to her left. The kitchen circled back around to the living room. Could she take a chance? She shuddered at the thought of a bullet entering her back as she run. No. That wasn’t the answer.
“You don’t need this anymore,” Tammy said, pulling the handbag from A
A
Tammy took a step back, kept one eye on A
“Where are we going?” A
“You’ll see.” Tammy backed to the counter, picked up a key ring, then moved back and opened a door. She waved the pistol. “In there.”
A
A
“Get in the trunk,” Tammy said, standing well back and motioning toward the vehicle.
A
“Get in,” the killer repeated. “You won’t get away through there. I’m an expert shot and you wouldn’t get halfway to the door before I kill you.”
A
Tammy’s eyes narrowed, a sneer appeared on her lips, and she thrust the gun two inches closer. “In.”
A
Chapter 46
Friday, 10:11 a.m.
WHEN JAKE ARRIVED home, he was surprised A
He pulled the Firebird into the garage and revved the engine a couple of times before turning the key off. He went into the house, peeked into the office, then dug out his iPhone and sent her a text message: “Home now. Miss you.”
When he didn’t get a return message, he assumed she was deep into the interview. The text tone sounded on the phone as he was pushing it back into his pocket. It was A
He wandered into the kitchen to find something to soothe his growling stomach and saw a note from A
He made a cup of coffee, found a leftover chicken drumstick in the fridge, and sat at the table, enjoying his snack and sipping coffee.
When he finished, he put the dishes in the sink and looked at his watch. Unless something else came up, A
After a few more minutes, he tried her number again. There was still no answer and he began to be concerned. This wasn’t like A
Jake booted up the “Find My iPhone” app but A