Once I got home, the patrol units had been called off the house. They would make their hourly passes, and the precinct was only a phone call away. I sat in the recliner, feeling bad that Marie and Mom waited on me hand and foot. I was the man of the house, yet for the next month or so, I would be completely useless to my family. Marie joked about it, but it didn’t ease my guilt.
We’d had no reason on earth to suspect Danny of anything nefarious, yet he’d orchestrated the murder of his own sister and five other people. I would have been next, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why.
“You hungry yet, Mitch?” Marie appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“Depends.”
She cocked her head. “On what, Mr. Smart Aleck?”
“What’s on the menu, of course.” I sniffed the air. “Smells like spaghetti and meatballs.”
Marie gave Chloe the stink eye. “Did you tell Uncle Mitch what we were having for supper?”
Chloe giggled. “I don’t remember.”
“Uh-huh. Now go wash your hands, young lady, and tell Della we’re going to eat in five minutes.”
Marie grinned as Chloe ran upstairs, then she looked back at me. “We’ll have hot garlic bread and butter, too, as soon as Mom gets home.”
“Where did she go?”
“To the corner store. We didn’t have enough butter for the bread. Speaking of Mom, it looks like she’s back.”
I rubbed my stomach. “Good, because I’m starving.”
Seconds later, Marie called out, “Mitch, that isn’t Mom! There’s a man slinking along the deck!”
“Shit.” I couldn’t get up fast enough, and I was useless anyway. “Get upstairs, lock yourself, the girls, and Gus in the master bathroom and call 911. Hurry! Call Mom and tell her not to come home. Don’t come down and don’t make a peep.”
“Mitch!”
“Go now!”
Marie grabbed her phone and ran upstairs. I heard footsteps on the deck and someone trying to open the slider. I was thankful it was locked. That would buy me some time. Instinctively, I reached for my gun that had been on the side table then realized I’d had Marie put it in my room once the girls got home from school.
“No, no, no.” I looked for my cell and saw it on the charger in the kitchen. I would have to get up and cross in front of the patio doors to get to it. Unless the patrol units that made their hourly rounds were dispatched back here immediately, I was a sitting duck.
The slider handle jiggled again. It had to be Danny. There was nobody else it could be, and that told me he knew we were onto him. He was even more dangerous than before since he no longer had anything to lose. I lowered the footrest and tried to make it to the wheelchair, which had been placed across the room and out of the way. I couldn’t believe how helpless I felt, but I needed to do something.
It took only a second for the patio door to break inward. The sound of shattering glass was deafening as it rained down on the tile floor. I prayed that the girls wouldn’t scream and give away their location. I also prayed for sirens to come down my street, but so far, there was nothing. Then I heard his voice.
“Cannon! Damn it, dude, you’ve got to be the luckiest and the most unlucky cop there is. You lived through the crash only to be killed in your own home.” He looked around.
I tried to keep him focused on me. “There’s nobody here but me, Danny. Before you kill me, though, I want to know why. What have I ever done to you except try to be helpful?”
Danny laughed. “You don’t even remember me, do you?”
I was baffled and had no idea what he meant.
“Of course I know you. Your sister just died and at your hand. We know all about Abraham. We know you were the one who slammed into my Corvette and tried to kill me.”
“You ruined my life, Cannon.”
“That’s impossible. I only met you two weeks ago.”
He waved the gun wildly at me and paced the room. “You met me when I was fourteen. You were a rookie cop trying to be the good guy. You told my parents I was headed down the wrong path and that if I didn’t change my ways, I would spend my life behind bars. Well, look how good that turned out. I was a loser then and a loser now, and everyone knows it. My dad left our family, my mom remarried, and our stepdad adopted Kim and me, but that warning always stuck with my mom.” Danny stormed toward me, even more agitated. “Remember Pete and Barb Wilkins? Remember Danny Wilkins, the punk who beat up everyone who looked twice at him? The Goth kid with dyed-black hair who stole from every store? That was me! When Mom remarried, Darryl adopted us. That’s why my last name is Whitman. When they died in that car accident and their will was read, everything went to Kim!” Danny was becoming unhinged.
“I know, and that’s on you, not me. You had years to clean up your act and grow up. You had your sister killed for the money for God’s sake! You told me yourself that the person who killed her had to be held responsible. I’d say that’s you since you orchestrated her murder.”
“She wouldn’t bail out our business! It’s your fault, and you’re going to pay with your life. A life for a life, Cannon. Are you ready to beg for yours?”
He racked the gun, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the bullet to sear through my body and end my life. Then I heard the blast but felt no pain. Danny dropped to the floor, and I spun to see Marie standing on the stairs with my service weapon in her hand.