Three days later
I winced. “Take it easy, will ya?”
Rue slammed my leg against the door of the elevator. “Sorry, man. My vision is still blurred.”
I huffed. “Your vision was never blurred. You got smacked in the back of the head.”
We were on our way up to Danny’s ICU room. There had been complications after his surgery, and he wasn’t doing well. He said as long as he was capable of talking, he wanted to tell his story. I imagined guilt and the thought of dying helped clear his mind. He said he wanted to come clean—to finally do the right thing for once in his life. He made it understood that he wasn’t apologizing, only saying why he did what he did.
I told him that we were going to record his confession.
After some red tape in getting the doctor’s permission, we were allowed thirty minutes with Danny. It could very well be a deathbed confession.
Rue wheeled me into the room where Danny was hooked up to every type of machine and monitor. He wore a nasal cannula in his nose to aid him in breathing. The doctor said his right lung and other major organs in his right upper quadrant had been injured by broken ribs.
Danny looked pale. He needed more operations that he might not live through. I wondered whether getting a confession even mattered if his chances were slim, but not only did I deserve an explanation, so did the families of the people he had killed.
When we entered, he held up his hand. “No need to chitchat. I’ll tell you what I can, and it’s up to you, the cops, to do what you will with it.”
He looked at Rue. “Apparently, you survived.”
“No thanks to you.”
Danny’s eyes darted to me. “And you wouldn’t have, but that woman—”
I interrupted. “She’s my sister.”
“Fine, your sister saved your life. I’m not saying I regret what I did. I’m merely confessing my sins. Maybe I’ll get a break when I pass on. Kim was the first to die, and I already told you why. She wouldn’t share the money that rightfully should have been divided equally between the two of us. She was a bitch and wouldn’t help save our business.”
I needed to speak. “There was a reason your business was doing poorly. What was it?”
“Assholes that hung me out to dry. Bail skippers that I ended up on the hook for. My bounty hunter who overstated all his expenses. You name it.”
“So nothing was ever your fault? Is that what you’re saying, Danny?”
He ignored me and continued. “I didn’t know the old couple who owned the pawnshop, but they were part of my grand plan. After Abraham robbed them of everything he could, he shot them. I wanted the police to think there was a serial killer in Savannah who was murdering people indiscriminately.”
“There was a serial killer in Savannah, but you told him who to kill.”
Danny coughed into a tissue then continued. “I chose John Keller and Brandon Ellis because they skipped out on their court dates. I had to pony up the entire bail amount. They served time later for their transgressions, but I never forgot them.”
I shook my head. “And that was worth killing them over?”
“Shit happens. I’m tired of always being the loser. I wanted someone else to feel loss.”
“With their lives?” I groaned. “Why did you kill Abraham, the man who was doing your bidding?”
“I gave him every penny I had. I didn’t pay my mortgage for months. My house was about to be foreclosed on along with the business, and it’s all because of Kim’s selfishness. He came back to my house and wanted more money.” Danny glared at me. “Because of you.”
“Me?”
“He said you had security and a police presence at your house. You would be a tough nut to crack, but five grand more would make you easier to kill. I suddenly had an epiphany. I’d kill him, get all my money back, and finish the job myself.”
“Wow. So did you get your money back? Is that why you took him back to his motel?”
“Yeah, but that sucker did something with the cash. I never found it. I became desperate and messed up by pawning the stolen goods. The only thing I found in his motel room was his journal, so I took it.”
“Which we have in our custody,” I said. “We also knew you pawned the stolen goods in Wilmington. The shop owner called us.”
“I figured as much.”
“What was so important about May 15? You had that date circled on your desk calendar.”
“Kim’s birthday. If I didn’t get that cash by that date, it would automatically roll over into some annuity that she had earmarked for a charitable organization. I couldn’t let that happen. I wanted her death to be chalked up to that serial killer, but I needed you, the cops, to deem her death and the others as unsolved and close the case before the fifteenth. Why do you think I bugged you so much? You know the saying, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ I had to know every step you were taking.”
I shook my head. “Murder cases are never closed unless they’re solved.” I nodded to Rue, who stood up. I’d heard and said enough and wouldn’t waste one more minute of my life with Danny Whitman. “And now the case is solved. We have the recording to prove it, so I’ll let the right people know that they can fulfill Kim’s wishes by giving that money away.” I glanced at him before we left the room. “There’s one thing I know for sure.”
“Yeah, Cannon, what’s that?”
“No bail bondsman would ever be stupid enough to post bail for you. Either you’ll die from your injuries right here in the hospital, or you’ll die from a lethal injection, but either way, you’re still a loser, and you’ll never be a free man again.” I smiled at Rue. “Come on, partner. Let’s get the hell out of here and go to my house. I need to get this vile taste out of my mouth, and I hear a couple of beers calling our names.”
THE END
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Thanks for reading Beg for Your Life, Book Four in the Detective Mitch Cannon Savannah Heat Thriller Series. I hope you enjoyed it!
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