I stood facing Miriam. I had her full attention. “Your husband seems like a good man. Do you love him?”
“I do.”
“What about all this?” I waved at the house, the furnishings, everything. “Do you love all this, too? Because it’s time to choose.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s time for you and your husband to get out. You’re going to have to leave a lot behind. Artwork, knickknacks, all sorts of stuff.”
“I can do that,” she said. “Staring down the barrel of a shotgun clarifies things.”
“Get your financial stuff,” I said. “Bank records, credit-card papers, mortgage papers, insurance stuff, what ever. And get photo albums and old love letters, too. Everything else you should leave behind. Expect it to be burned to the ground before you get back.”
She nodded and hurried up the stairs. Arlene started to follow her, but I caught her arm. “I have two questions for you: Do you have a reliable car? And if so, can she borrow it? They can’t run away in a tangerine Yukon.”
“Yes,” Arlene said. “Yes, of course.” She went off to help Miriam.
Cynthia and I stood in the living room. She smiled at me and squeezed my hand. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I was glad that she was helping me. I hoped that I wouldn’t have to cut the iron gate off of her, or worse.
Within five minutes, Miriam came back downstairs with a banker’s box in her arms. On top of that was an old leather-bound Bible. “I’m ready.”
“We’ll put them in the back of Arlene’s car. Arlene, we’ll meet you at the hospital. Ready?”
We went out the front door and loaded up the back of Arlene’s Forester. While Miriam pushed the box into place, Arlene tapped my elbow. “Who are you?”
“Raymond Lilly.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question.”
“I’m aware of that.” Miriam shut the hatch. “Go quickly, please.”
Arlene climbed in behind the wheel and pulled away. I made Miriam get into the backseat of the Audi and stay low. I felt silly rushing around like movie spies, but being shot at changes things.
“Where to now?” Cynthia asked.
“We need Annalise.”
“Your place, then.” She pulled away from the curb, and we drove quietly for a few blocks.
Miriam broke the silence. “Do you think Phyllis tried to have me killed?”
“I’m not convinced it was her. The hard hat was a little too obvious. And from what I’ve seen, her guys all carry the same snub-nosed.38.”
“I heard she got a deal on them because she bought in bulk,” Cynthia said. “She’s a real cheapskate.”
“But it was her sort of van,” Miriam said. “And I’m sure some of her men have guns of their own at home.”
I knew how easily a vehicle could be stolen. “It’s pointless to speculate. What matters is that we get you and your husband to safety.”
Five minutes later we had arrived at the motel. My room had been tossed and all of my clothes torn to shreds. I would have to make do with the bullet-hole shirt for a while longer. My detective novel had been destroyed, too. Bastards. Now I wouldn’t find out who the killer was.
Annalise’s room was empty, but it had also been tossed, and everything in it torn apart. Miriam peered over my shoulder into the room. “Mercy,” she said. “Do you think something has happened to her?”
“I’m not worried about her,” I said. “I’m worried about us.”
The van was gone, too. I wished she had given me a damn cell number I could use. I needed her, and I had no idea where she was or what she was up to.
Cynthia tugged on my sleeve. “Are we done here?”
I could have asked the manager where she’d gone, but I didn’t trust him to give an honest answer.
I was on my own.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Here,” I said. Cynthia pulled into a parking lot. “Leave the engine running,” I said. “I’ll run up and run back.”
“What are you planning to do?” Miriam asked.
“If you see trouble, peel out of here without me, understand?”
Cynthia nodded. She and Miriam began scanning the street. I turned and ran into the building that contained the offices of
In the lobby, I scanned the directory. There was an actuarial on the second floor and marriage counselors on the third. The fourth was the editorial offices of
The elevator looked slow and confined to me, so I took the stairs, vaulting up them as quickly as I could. I nearly knocked over a middle-aged couple coming down from the third floor. I mumbled an apology and squeezed past them.
