“I had to wait until she was dead to see that.”
“For God’s sake, Natalie…”
She pulled her sweater on over her head.
“He sent someone to kill her, Alex. He’ll kill you, too, in a second. You know that. We can’t run away. He’ll find us and kill both of us.”
I yanked hard on the cuffs. The metal bit into my skin.
“Natalie…”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I’m glad we were together. One last time. I wasn’t lying about that.”
She took her service automatic from her bag, checked it, then put it in her coat.
“Do not do this,” I said. “Please, for the love of God…”
“You’d do the same thing, Alex.”
“No. No, I wouldn’t.”
“If you were me,” she said, reaching into the bag again, “yes, you would. We’re the same, Alex. You understand me perfectly.”
“No. Natalie. Please.”
She brought out another gun. It was a revolver.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Natalie…”
“It’s my grandfather’s favorite gun. It’s an old Webley Bulldog, from World War I.”
“Please, you can’t do this.”
“My grandfather’s gun. It was locked away in the basement. But don’t worry. I know how to clean an old gun.”
She took one step closer to me. I tried to grab her.
“I have to go now,” she said.
She stood there for a moment, just out of reach. She looked at me one last time.
“I love you, Alex McKnight.”
Then she was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I pulled at the cuffs until my wrists were bleeding. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bend the metal bed frame. There was only one thing left to do.
I started yelling.
“Help! Help! Vinnie! Can you hear me? Vinnie!”
I stopped to catch my breath, then started again.
“Anybody! Help! Get me out of here! Help!”
I yelled as loud as I could until my throat was raw. I kicked at the wall again and again, making as much noise as I could. There was no way anybody could sleep through it, and yet when I stopped, everything was silent again.
“Vinnie! Where the hell are you? Vinnie!”
I collapsed in the bed, breathing hard.
God damn it, I thought. I am such an idiot. She’s going to go out there and get herself killed because I’m the biggest idiot who ever lived. Just as I was about to start the noise again, I heard a knock on the door.
“Hello in there!” someone said.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s Mrs. Larusso, from the front desk. Are you okay in there?”
“Mrs. Larusso, thank God. You’ve got to get me out of here!”
There was a pause.
“Are you locked in, sir?”
“I’m handcuffed to the bed! You have to help me!”
Another pause.
“You’re handcuffed to the bed, sir?”
“Please! Just come in!”
I heard her fumble through her keys for a moment. The door finally opened. She poked her head into the room. Then she screamed.
“You’re naked, sir!”
“Please, ma’am. Where’s Vinnie?”
She stayed just behind the door. “The gentleman who was with you?”
“Yes! Please go get him.”
“I put him in the room next to you, sir.”
“Where is he?” There was no way he wouldn’t have heard me, not if he was right next door.
“I don’t know, sir. Can you tell me why you’re handcuffed to the bed?”
“I don’t have time. Please. Do you have a hacksaw?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do here, sir. That woman you were staying with, Miss Reynaud, she’s with the police, isn’t she?”
“Ma’am, please!”
“I thought I saw a badge in her purse, when she paid me for the room.”
Oh God. Think, man. Think.
“Okay,” I said. “Look, I’m a little embarrassed. That badge wasn’t real. We were playing a game here, and it got a little carried away. Can you please help me now?”
“Where is Ms. Reynaud?”
“She must be down at the bar, having a drink. Please, ma’am.”
“The bar is closed.”
“She’s with Vinnie,” I said. “They went out for a walk. It’s all part of the joke, see? But I really, really have to use the bathroom right now, ma’am. I don’t want to ruin your nice bed. Please, please, go get a hacksaw.”
“It’s three o’clock in the morning,” she said. “I don’t like any of this, I have to tell you.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. Please, I can’t wait any longer.”
“I’ll go get the saw and let you out. But if you’ve done anything to that bed frame…”
“Hurry!”
I shifted around my legs to cover myself with the blanket as well as I could while I waited for Mrs. Larusso to find her hacksaw. Minutes passed. Hours. Days. At long last, I heard her coming down the hallway again.
“Are you covered up now, sir?”
“Yes! Please come in and cut this off.”
She peered around the door. “You know, I was sleeping,” she said. “I really don’t appreciate this.”
“Okay, I’m sorry, ma’am. Please hurry.”
“I’m not sure how to do this. Where do I cut?”
“Here,” I said. “Right on this chain, between the cuffs.” I pushed one hand through as far as I could, and pulled with the other.
“My husband is better at this kind of thing,” she said. “He’s on the mainland tonight. He missed the last plane.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” I said. “Just cut right there.” I had to try very hard not to yell at her. That wouldn’t help her move any faster.
“Okay, let me try,” she said. She took one slow drag of the hacksaw across the chain, making a microscopic notch in the metal.
“Give it a little speed,” I said. “It’s all in the motion.”
She tried to saw faster.
“That’s it,” I said. “Back and forth, back and forth.”
