The Next Accident - Lisa Gardner [134]
“How did you get this number?” she asked.
“I looked up the hotel.”
“I never told you where we were staying, Luke.”
“Sure you did. When we met with Mitz.”
“No, I didn’t. And Luke knew better than to ask where I would be. Nice try, Super Freak. Wanna try again?”
The voice changed instantly, from an almost dead-on impression of Luke Hayes to the silky, smooth voice Rainie remembered from yesterday on the phone. “Why Ms. Conner, you don’t trust your own friends. How interesting. You know Bethie surprised me, too. She actually requested a background check on me. What do you suppose it means that all the women in Quincy’s life are so suspicious?”
“That he values common sense. Where are you?”
“Now Rainie,” the caller chided. “After all this time you wouldn’t take this fun from me, would you? I truly deserve an A for effort.”
“You did deserve an A for effort. But Glenda Rodman lived, and I got you pegged.”
“Glenda Rodman was supposed to live.”
“What, you got a weakness for stern gray suits?”
He laughed. “Come now, we both know Albert Montgomery is incompetent. You were a police officer, Rainie, you know the importance of understanding your fellow officers’ strengths and weaknesses. I let Albert have Glenda. He really has such a deep-seated rage for anyone in law enforcement. I think it goes back to his father, a washed-up security guard. A little too strict, Albert’s father. He produced a son who desperately needed to prove himself better than his own dad, and yet despised himself all the more for following in his father’s footsteps. But that’s neither here nor there. Albert’s conflicted, Albert’s incompetent. Therefore, it stood to reason, Albert would fail.”
“You bet against your own pawn,” Rainie said.
“Of course, although it hardly matters. If Albert succeeded, Pierce would stand accused of Glenda’s shooting and would have to return to Virginia. If Albert failed, Pierce would need to question Albert and he’d have to return to Virginia for that. Either way, I win my game.”
“You lured Quincy back home so you could kill him.”
“No, I lured Quincy away, so I could kill you.”
“Oops, I’m sorry. But now that I’ve given it some thought, I don’t feel like dying today.” Rainie made another motion to Kimberly. The girl nodded, and headed straight for each window, cautiously raising the sash and inspecting the outdoor fire escape. Kimberly looked both up and down. When she was done, she left the windows open as they had planned, nodded to Rainie that the fire escape was clear, and headed for the bedroom to do the same with those windows there.
“Are you afraid of hell, Rainie?” the man asked. Rainie could hear static now. He was definitely calling from a cell phone, which meant he could be anywhere. Riding up the elevator. Creeping down the hall. He thought keeping her talking would keep her distracted. He would learn soon enough that talking was his mistake.
“I’m not afraid of hell,” she answered. “I pretty much figure that’s what life is for.”
“Suffering here on earth? Come now, surely you have some notion of spiritual reward and punishment. Given everything you’ve done, that must make you wonder where you will spend your end of days.”
“You’re one to talk. Your whole life is about punishing Quincy. To do that you’ve killed how many people? It therefore stands to reason,” she mocked him, “that you’re not one for religion, since your eternal punishment is gonna be one helluva long suntan session.”
Kimberly returned from the bedroom, shaking her head. So far, nothing on the fire escape. She started toward the door, but Rainie hastily waved her away. She’d read of people getting shot as they peered through the peephole. She didn’t know if that could really happen, and she didn’t want to find out. She gestured to the carpet. Kimberly got the hint and peered beneath the door instead. No sign of feet.
“Are you going to kill me, Rainie?” the man asked.
“I’m thinking about it.”
“Oh, thinking’s not good