At first, Tony thought he’d been shot, but there wasn’t any pain or blood. He could hear Kate weeping softly. Then he noticed Gerard lying on the floor, his eyes open and sightless. Tony looked over toward the door and saw Bobby standing there, a gun in his hand. His eyes were wild, and the gun shook uncontrollably. If Tony didn’t get it away from him, he was going to accidentally shoot him or Kate. Tony put his wrists together and then yanked suddenly on the zip ties. As he knew they would, they broke immediately. Tony shook them off and left them on the floor. Then he got up and walked carefully toward Bobby. Bobby pointed the gun at Tony, his whole body trembling.
“Bobby, it’s me,” Tony said. “It’s Tony. Give me the gun. Everything’s okay now. We’re safe.”
Slowly, recognition dawned on Bobby’s face. He held out the gun. “Is he . . . is he dead?”
Tony gently took the gun from his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, he’s dead, Bobby. You saved us. We’re safe because of you. Kate’s safe because of you.”
Bobby nodded. “I didn’t want to shoot him. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
Tony put the gun on the kitchen table. He noticed Bobby sway a little. “Here, sit down, okay?” He helped him over to a chair. Once Bobby was settled, Tony went over to Kate, who was still crying. “It’s okay, Kate. Gerard is dead. He can’t hurt you anymore. Do you understand?”
She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. “I . . . I thought he’d shot you. I was so afraid.”
“I’m fine. Thanks to Bobby, we’re okay. I need to get those ties off your wrists, okay?” He went over to the kitchen and got a knife. Within seconds, he’d cut the ties off and freed Kate, who couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Gerard.
“Are you sure he’s . . . dead?” she asked. “Could you check?”
“Yeah, I’ll check.” Tony knelt down next to Gerard and put his finger on his throat even though he knew the man was gone. After a few seconds, he nodded. “No pulse, Kate. He’s dead. He’ll never hurt anyone else.”
He was surprised to see her smile. “Good.” She swung her gaze up to his. “Can you move him outside? Please?”
“I can’t do that, I’m sorry. It would compromise evidence we need to protect.”
“Evidence?” Bobby said. “What do you mean? Am I in trouble?”
Tony stood up. “No, Bobby. Absolutely not. Gerard had a gun to my head, and he was threatening Kate’s life. Trust me. You’ll be hailed a hero. Even so, this scene will be processed. It’s just procedure, as in any unnatural death.”
Bobby nodded slowly, looking relieved.
“What happened outside?” Tony asked. “We thought you were dead.”
“I thought I was too at first. But Gerard told me to get out of here. He fired his gun in the air. I guess he thought I was a coward, and I’d run away.”
“I don’t think that’s it. He knew it would take hours for you to get down the mountain and find help. And he wanted someone to let the world know he’s the Blue-Eyed Killer. With Kate and me dead, no one could be sure it was him. You were his witness.” He smiled at Bobby. “But you weren’t the coward he thought you were.”
“He . . . he said you weren’t supposed to be here,” Kate added. “He was sure you’d left us.” She walked over to Bobby, leaned over, and hugged him. “You saved my life. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
When she straightened up, Bobby smiled at her. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m grateful I could help.” He looked over at Tony. “And glad you made me take that gun, Tony. If you hadn’t . . .”
Tony held up one hand. “Let’s not think about that now, okay? We’re alive and Gerard is dead.” He got a paper towel and picked up Gerard’s gun. Then he carried it into the kitchen. After finding a new plastic storage bag, he gently lowered the gun into the bag and put it on the table. “Not that you planned on grabbing this any time soon, but please don’t touch it.” Although he didn’t want to contaminate the crime scene, he went searching for a clean sheet. Usually, if bodies were covered at all, law enforcement used special paper blankets that wouldn’t add transfer. A clean sheet, washed several times, was the next best thing. CSIs might not appreciate his actions, but he was willing to take the heat. Tony didn’t want Kate to have to look at Gerard any longer. Besides, it wasn’t like they needed to preserve evidence so they could identify the shooter. They knew exactly what had happened. He found what he was looking for in a linen closet and carried it into the living room. He was about to cover Gerard’s body when Kate stopped him.
“Wait a minute,” she said. She walked over to Gerard’s lifeless body and stared down at it. “You lose,” she said. Her voice held a note of triumph. “I’m still here, and I’m gonna make it.” She turned around and smiled at Tony. “Cover this creep up. He’s out of my life now, and I don’t want to see his ugly face ever again.”
Tony nodded and carefully positioned the sheet over Gerard’s body, his knife still clutched in his hand. Kate’s reaction surprised him. “Are . . . are you sure you’re okay?” he asked her after he was done.
Kate walked over and put her hand on his arm. “I’m fine. I guess I’m facing my demons, and I’ve decided I’m going to win this battle.”
Tony felt his heart swell with pride. He was proud of her strength, but he was even prouder of her willingness to stand up to the things that had held her in bondage for so long. She still had a long road of healing ahead of her, but she’d make it. “Good for you,” he said. “It’s perfectly understandable. He’s spent enough time taking up room in your head. I don’t want to look at him, either.”
“So now what, Tony?” Bobby asked. “What do we do?”
Tony walked over to the front door and looked out. The rain had turned to a fine mist. “It’s looking better. I guess we wait it out for a while longer, and then we can try to get back to the car. Or . . .” He looked back at the sheet covering Gerard.
“No,” Kate said. “Oh no.”
“It’s just a car, Kate. If we can get down the mountain, we need to do that. Gerard pulled his car over. It’s much closer, and it’s not stuck in the mud like Bobby’s SUV. It might be our only chance.” He looked at Bobby. “What was Gerard talking about? Some road that could get him off the mountain safely?”
Bobby shook his head. “I have no idea. There are a lot of roads up here, but nothing anyone would call safe after a heavy rain. They’re all dangerous. He had really bad information.”
“I wonder who gave it to him,” Kate commented. “Could someone be working with him?”
Tony shrugged. “He could have simply overheard something. Seems to me he headed up here because he thought he’d have you all to himself. He didn’t count on the rain, and the only reason he found the cabin is because we led him to it. Doesn’t sound like someone who was getting help.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said. “I’d hate to think he has another partner.”
“Well, he said he was free from his mentor,” Bobby added. “Doesn’t sound like anyone else was involved.”
“Regardless, we need to get out of here.” Tony took a deep breath and went back over to the sheet. He lifted it and put his hand into Gerard’s jacket pocket. His hand closed over a set of car keys along with a piece of paper. Tony was grateful he’d found the keys, since he didn’t relish going through Gerard’s other pockets. After pulling out the car keys, he put them on the floor next to the body. Then he grabbed a paper towel, carefully pulled out the piece of folded paper, and opened it. He wasn’t surprised to find the lyrics to “Blue-Eyed Angel.” Thankfully, Gerard had never gotten the chance to use them. Being careful not to touch it directly, Tony refolded the paper and put it back in the pocket where he’d found it. Then he checked the other jacket pocket. His fingers closed around a phone. Once again, he lifted it out with a paper towel. After turning it on, he was disappointed to find it wasn’t getting a signal.
Tony carried it over to the kitchen table and put the phone in a plastic bag. “We should leave this here, but we’ve got to be able to call for help as soon as we can. I’m taking it with me.” He stuck it in his pocket. Then he held up the keys. “This creep might actually help us get to safety. That would be justice, wouldn’t it?”
Bobby stood up, a little steadier now. “I really would like to get off this mountain.” He looked over at Kate. “But what about your feet?” he asked her. “Do you think you can make it to the car?”
Kate smiled. “I feel like I can do anything now. Besides, these shoes are really helping. I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” Tony said. He looked over at Bobby. “Let’s heat up that food and get something in our stomachs. Then if help hasn’t arrived, we’ll try to make it to Gerard’s car, okay?”
“Sure.” Bobby went back into the kitchen. Within a few minutes, the propane stove was going. Bobby opened the cans, plopped the contents into a couple of metal pans, and began heating everything up. When the food was hot, they all sat down at the kitchen table and ate. Tony couldn’t believe how hungry he was now that the danger was past. They finished off the tamales and the corned beef hash.
Bobby had just taken the stew off the little stove when Tony held up his hand. “Okay, I’ve had all I can eat. This might be cheap food, but I can’t remember the last time anything ever tasted this good.”
Kate laughed. “I agree.”
“You’re both delusional, but I’m glad you’re satisfied,” Bobby said with a smile. He plopped the stew into a large serving bowl and put a ladle in it. He grabbed a couple of bowls from a nearby cabinet. “I’m still hungry even if you’re not.”
Tony shook his head and grinned at the skinny man who could eat more than he could. “You go on and eat,” he said. “You deserve it.”
“You’re eating free at the diner from now on,” Kate said. “I’m sure . . .” She stopped talking, and her face fell. “I . . . I forgot. Bella won’t be there, will she?” She looked away. “I’ll just close it. Without her, I don’t want to mess with it anymore.”
Tony reached over and put his hand on hers. “Don’t make a decision like that now. This isn’t the time.”
She didn’t respond but nodded as if she understood.
Tony stood up and opened the front door. The rain had finally stopped. “Thank God. Everyone finish eating, and then get ready to leave. Boy, I love the mountains, but I don’t think I’ll be doing any hiking for a while. It will feel good to get back to civilization. Give me level ground . . . at least for a while.”
“I agree,” Bobby said. “I’ll get this cleaned up and be ready to go in a minute.” He rinsed out their dishes, turned off the stove, and quickly cleaned up. “I’ll come back before Mike arrives and get everything in order. Uh, after they get Gerard out of here, that is. But right now, I just want to get far away from this cabin.”
Kate stood up. “I agree. Let’s go.”
Tony found a trash bag and put their dirty clothes in it. “Can you get this when you come back here, Bobby? I don’t want to carry it all the way to the car.”
“No problem. Just put it in the corner.”
A few minutes later, they were ready to go. Bobby was turning off the battery-powered lamps when Tony cocked his head toward the door. “Ready?”
Kate and Bobby nodded and they headed outside. Bobby made sure to lock the door behind him, and they all stepped out into the clearing.
Tony was reaching into his pocket to check the phone again when someone stepped out of the tree line, pointing a gun at them.
“Deputy Killian,” Tony said, surprised to see the lawman standing there with his weapon drawn. “What are you doing? Put the gun down.”
Killian shook his head. “No way. This is going to stop. Today.”
Tony was trying to decide if he should reach for his own gun when another man ran out of the trees a few yards away from Killian. Dressed in plain clothes, with the words U.S. Marshal stamped on his windbreaker, he had his gun pointed right at Warren Killian.
“You heard the man,” the deputy said. “Put the gun down now. I won’t ask a second time.”
“I can’t,” Killian said. “You don’t understand.”
Killian didn’t have the chance to get another word out. The deputy fired and Killian collapsed.