In a move that she couldn’t believe had been so fast, Snoz slapped a hand over her mouth and pushed her back into her house. She tried to scream, but no sound came out, and his grip was like a clamp. Almost at the same time, Goliath clawed at his legs. He roared, then grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck and threw him across the room.
Doreen tore her mouth free and screamed at him. “Don’t you touch my cat like that!”
He slapped her hard across the side of her face. Her head hit the door, and she slowly slid to the floor. Goliath came racing back, and now Mugs was up and barking and growling like crazy. Even Thaddeus flew up at the man, throwing his wings at him and climbing up him.
Her attacker roared. “This place is a zoo,” he said, and he brought out his gun and fired it in the air. Almost instantly the house went dead quiet. She looked around, frantic, but saw no sign of Goliath, Mugs, or Thaddeus.
He looked around too. “Where are they? Where are those damn critters?” he yelled. “I’ll shoot them first and then you.”
“And how does that make it look like an accident?” she asked quietly.
Immediately the gun barrel was pointed right between her eyes. “I’ll take your body and deep-six you in the lake,” he cried out. “I don’t give a shit anymore, and I’ll kill those stupid animals of yours.” He had a great big scratch down his face, and his hand was bleeding. “Where are they?”
“What are you talking about?” she said.
“The animals. Where are they?”
“I’m sure they’re in hiding by now,” she said, reaching up a hand to her throbbing head.
“Well, get up. You’re coming with me,” he muttered, and he forced her to her feet.
Shaky, she moved with him, then stopped. “You could just leave me here, you know?”
“That won’t do me any good, and it certainly won’t get me paid.”
“Penny can’t pay you anything. She’s too broke.”
“Well, she’s apparently not that broke,” he muttered. “It’s already sitting in escrow.”
Doreen didn’t even know what that meant, but he seemed confident he’d get paid somehow. “She can’t hate me that much.”
“What did you think?” he sneered. “That you’ll still be best buds after this? You’re putting her in jail for life.”
“She killed people,” she replied.
“So what? So have I.”
“Are you sure it’s not my ex who’s doing this?”
He stopped, looked at her, and said, “What are you, just stupid?”
She shrugged. “No, I’m not stupid,” she said, “but I’m definitely not terribly happy.”
He looked out the front window, as if wondering if he could get her into the vehicle without a fight.
Just then, with all her might, she jerked free and raced toward the kitchen. When she heard the gun fire and felt her shoulder burn, she knew she was in trouble. She hit the kitchen back door at a flat-out run and tumbled out to the deck, where she rolled and rolled.
He came out behind her, swearing and cussing.
Her shoulder was on fire; the pain was excruciating, and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it. She lay flat on the deck, her hands up, as if to ward him off. “Stop,” she said. “You don’t have to do this.”
“No, I don’t have to,” he said, “but believe me. Now I want to.” He lifted the gun, aimed it at her, and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 27
Doreen cried out, her arms over her face, knowing the bullet would hit her. Instead, it seemed to go wild. When she peered up at him, he was grinning down at her, like a madman. “Right,” she said, “this won’t make it look like an accident.”
“Exactly,” he said, “now get up.”
Wincing at the pain in her shoulder, she managed to get to her feet. None of the animals were in sight. But then she caught a glimpse of Goliath, sneaking through the bushes behind Snoz. She smiled with relief, hoping the cat would stay out of sight and be safe. She never wanted them to get hurt because of her. That would never be an acceptable end to any of this.
She didn’t want to get hurt either, but she just hoped that Richard had actually made the 9-1-1 call and that help was on the way. It occurred to her that people might be of the opinion that it served her right. How many times had she been told to stay out of trouble? Still, even now, under threat of death, she couldn’t stop fighting for justice. While there wasn’t a whole lot she could do to save herself now, she would do anything and everything she could to slow down her imminent demise. So, now that she was upright, she moved ever-so-slowly over to the deck steps.
“I suppose you’ll take me down to the river and drown me,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm and even, yet still appear cowed and fearful. The last thing she wanted was for him to think that the river was somewhere she wanted to go, but, at least there, she thought she might have a chance to get away.
“It’s a hell of a good idea,” he said, “since everybody knows that you’re crazy about the river.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t mean I’m crazy though,” she said, “and I’m certainly not one to commit suicide.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “It sounds good to me.” He stared at her, then down at the river and nodded. “And, given the circumstances, that’s probably the best I can do right now.”
She frowned and, at his orders, headed toward the river—slowly. The last thing she wanted to do was go for a swim, but she’d take that over a bullet any day. At the river’s edge, she looked around. The evening was settling in. It was darker now but not quite dusk. “Almost out of daylight,” she said in a conversational tone.
“I know,” he said. “So it’s perfect. Nobody will find you until morning.”
She twisted around to look at him. “But, if I’m shot up with bullet holes, you can bet they’ll be coming after you.”
“Nah,” he said. “Nobody knows I’m here.”
“You’re wrong there,” she said. “You’ve already been identified as the person who left the threatening notes on rocks at my kitchen door, though I still don’t understand why you did that. And then there’s my neighbor …”
“I did it to distract you,” he said. “As for the neighbor, he’s a problem I can take care of easily enough. Besides, you have so damn many enemies, it was just fun to mix it up a bit. To get you rattled, so you wouldn’t be expecting me when I popped in one day.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you today. That’s for sure,” she muttered. Down at the river, she stopped and said, “Now what?”
“Get in,” he said, almost lethally.
She looked up and down at the river, and, as she did, she thought she caught sight of somebody in the trees up ahead. It was Abner. She frowned and slightly shook her head at him, hoping that he didn’t come to her rescue and get himself hurt. She looked back at her vindictive attacker. “Well, I hope Penny rots in jail for this,” she said.