Come Home: a novel Part 33

"No, sorry, I was just wondering if her murder wasn't what it seemed and-" Jill didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have any evidence and she didn't know if she believed it herself. "I'm on my way back home and I'll see you as soon as I can."

"Fine. I'll see you this afternoon, please, hang up the phone. Drive safely."

"Thanks." Jill hung up, then put the phone on the pa.s.senger seat. She didn't know the route to Philadelphia that well from here, so she started the GPS, selected FROM MEMORY, and pressed HOME, because it was quicker and close enough. She drove straight while the GPS calculated the route, and the farms spread out, surrounded by sun-dappled pastures. Tall oaks lined the street, which narrowed to one lane, the yellow line vanis.h.i.+ng.

The GPS said, "Turn left in fifty feet."

Jill drove on a back road, and her fingers gripped the wheel, her body understanding something before her brain did. If Nina and Martin were murdered by someone else, it could mean that she had been followed to Hoboken. It could mean that she was being followed, even now. She checked her rearview mirror, and there were two cars behind her, a gray sedan and, behind that, a silver one.

The GPS said, "Turn left in twenty-five feet."

Jill drove with her eye on the two cars. The gray sedan looked like the one she'd seen the other night, but she couldn't be certain. The cars were driving in tandem, one close behind the other, as if they were together. She told herself it didn't mean anything. Many drivers tailgated, and people got confused when there was a detour.

The GPS said, "Please turn left."

Jill turned, and so did the silver and gray sedans. Her heartbeat picked up, but she told herself to stay calm, that all the cars had to turn, there was nowhere else to go. The GPS was taking them all back to the main road, with her in front.

The GPS said, "Continue on the road for five miles."

Jill felt her mouth go dry. The road ahead was a long straight stretch of asphalt lined with old trees. She told herself that it was a beautiful drive in the country, that there was nothing to worry about. That n.o.body got killed in broad daylight, in New Jersey horse country. Suddenly the silver sedan sped up, closing in on her rear b.u.mper, with the gray car, right behind.

Jill's heart leapt to her throat. She reached for her BlackBerry. The silver and the gray cars were trying to run her off the road. She pressed 911 and hit the gas, going sixty-five miles an hour, then seventy.

The silver car accelerated, almost on her b.u.mper. The gray car pulled up beside it. They both raced after her, riding her b.u.mper, spraying gravel from the roadside.

Jill sped up to seventy-five, then eighty. She needed both hands to drive. She held the BlackBerry against the steering wheel with a thumb. The call connected, and she yelled, "Help me! I'm being chased by two cars! They're trying to kill me."

"What is your location?" the emergency operator asked, calmly.

"I don't know!" Jill looked frantically for a street or route sign but there wasn't one. She checked the GPS screen but couldn't read it this fast. "I'm near Parkertowne, in Jersey! Can't you find me? I have GPS! I'm in a white Volvo. Help!"

Jill whizzed past cows and horses. The steering wheel jerked and bobbled. A tractor in the field stopped as they flew by. She gritted her teeth and squeezed the wheel to keep the car on the road. One slip and she'd crash into a tree.

The silver and gray sedans formed a solid wall, racing to meet her.

"Help!" she screamed. She needed her hands and dropped the phone. She couldn't hear the emergency operator. Whatever happened was going to happen in the next five seconds. The cops couldn't get here fast enough.

She sped up to ninety-five, then 100. Her heart was in her throat. She began to scream and didn't stop. She'd never gone this fast in her life. The road swallowed her alive. Everything was a blur. She squeezed the life from the steering wheel. She aimed straight ahead with all her might.

The silver and gray sedans rode her b.u.mper at lethal speed.

She floored the gas pedal, screaming at the top of her lungs. She couldn't hear the operator. No one could help her now.

Help me, G.o.d, I have a child who needs me.

Chapter Fifty-four.

BOOM! Suddenly Jill's car was rammed from behind. The impact whipsawed her against the shoulder harness. She screamed and lost control of the steering wheel. Her car went spinning and spinning down the road. Her tires screeched in her ears. She whirled and whirled forever, like a nightmare amus.e.m.e.nt ride.

WHAM! The front of her car slammed into a fence. Her air bag exploded, shoving her back into the seat. She couldn't see anything but plastic. Couldn't smell anything but rubber. Felt dusted by a smelly powder of some kind. Her air bag deflated as rapidly as it had exploded. The car kept spinning in crazy motion, whirling off the road backwards, skidding sideways. A low-lying branch punched through the window on the pa.s.senger side.

"No!" Jill screamed, flattening herself against the seat. Gla.s.s flew everywhere. The end of the branch stopped inches from her head. Twigs and leaves raked her face. The car skidded, finally stopping.

The GPS said, "Please, make a U-turn. Make a U-turn."

Jill sat in the seat, stunned. Her skull throbbed with pain. Blood dripped from her forehead. She put up a shaky hand to stop the flow. Warmth leaked between her fingers. She shuddered as adrenaline dumped into her bloodstream. Her heart thundered. She scanned her legs and arms. Nothing was broken. Her left hand bled from a cut. Blood and broken gla.s.s lay everywhere. Her head hurt like h.e.l.l, but she couldn't see any other injuries. She was alive.

Thank you thank you.

The engine shook, then went silent. She couldn't see through the leaves and the shattered winds.h.i.+eld. She looked around to orient herself. The car was facing backwards on the road. She heard people shouting, then realized with a jolt that the drivers could still be after her.

She twisted wildly around, ready to get out and run for her life, but she didn't have to. The silver sedan was disappearing down the road. The gray sedan had crashed into a tall oak on the other shoulder. Its pa.s.senger side was buried in the tree trunk. Broken branches fell onto its roof and hood. The fence around the pasture lay in splintery pieces. The horses galloped away toward a barn on the hill.

Jill could see the driver of the gray sedan, slumped over his deflated air bag. The sight brought her to her senses. He didn't look like he was moving. The impact must have been horrific. She had to save him. He'd tried to kill her, but she couldn't let him die.

"Miss, are you there?" said an urgent voice, emanating from somewhere. "Miss?"

Jill realized it was the emergency operator. She was still connected to 911. She didn't see the BlackBerry. She moved the air bag aside, spotted it on the floor, and picked it up. "h.e.l.lo, yes?"

"Miss, can you speak to me?"

"Yes, I'm fine. The other driver is still in his car. Please send an ambulance right away. I'm going to check on him now." Jill edged out from under the air bag. Shards of gla.s.s fell off her forearms. She reached for the door handle and pushed, surprised to see that it still worked.

"Miss, please don't attempt to treat the other driver. Wait for the EMTs. I have your location, and an ambulance is en route."

"I'm a doctor, it's fine." Jill eased herself out of the driver's seat. Gla.s.s tinkled as it dropped to the asphalt. She smelled gas and burning rubber. It hurt her arm to hold the phone to her ear. "I have to go."

"Call if you need me. I'll hang up and clear the line. Thanks."

Jill hung up and slid the phone into her pocket. She hustled to the sedan, almost falling, but kept going. Blood dripped from her forehead. She reached the sedan and opened the car door.

The driver lay face-down on the air bag. She could only see the back of his head, and his neck wasn't broken. A gash split his scalp, and he bled profusely from the wound. Blood soaked his hair and ran in rivulets down to the front of his face.

"Sir?" she said, reaching for him. His hands were pinned under the air bag, so Jill probed his carotid for a pulse. "Sir, are you all right? Can you move? I'm a doctor."

"Ooh," he moaned, slumped over.

"Can you move your legs, sir?" Jill didn't try to wedge him out of the driver's seat because the dashboard had crumpled, pinning his knees. She couldn't tell if his legs were broken, but it looked possible. His eyegla.s.ses lay cracked on the deflated air bag. Shards of winds.h.i.+eld littered the seat. Oddly, he had on a suit.

"Sir, can you move?"

"No," the driver answered weakly, turning to her.

Jill gasped. Blood leaked from cuts on the driver's face and pooled around his nose, but she recognized him instantly. It was Brian Pendle, Victoria's friend.

"Brian?" Jill said, aghast, just before his eyes rolled back in his head.

Chapter Fifty-five.

"Thanks," Jill said, shaken, as the brawny EMT helped her step up onto the s.h.i.+ny, corrugated floor of the ambulance. Two more EMTs were on the scene, extricating Brian from the gray sedan. Another ambulance idled near him, ready to go, and the police stopped traffic, staking the street with smoking flares and flas.h.i.+ng cruisers.

"Please, sit down slowly." The EMT steadied Jill as she sat on the gurney. "Now, lie back."

"Okay, got it. Thanks." Jill leaned back, and the EMT eased her shoulders down, lifted her feet, and placed them on the gurney.

"Good job." The EMT fastened wide orange straps over Jill's body. "We need to get going. I'll get your vitals and stop that bleeding on your forehead. You have a wound there, but it looks superficial."

"Thanks, I agree, I'm a doctor." Jill tried to collect her thoughts, but flashes of the high-speed chase burned into her brain. She was still sweaty from sheer terror. It boggled her mind to think that Brian was trying to kill her. She had no idea why he'd do such a thing, or who he was in cahoots with. Was he the one in the black SUV? Was his cohort? Jill didn't know, but she was d.a.m.n sure going to find out.

"Robbie, here's her belongings," called a police officer, hustling to the ambulance. He tucked Jill's purse against the gurney, then turned to her. "Miss, somebody will come to the ER to take your statement. The tow truck is on the way for your car. I kept the ignition key and I'll give it to them."

"No, wait, my laptop." Jill tried to get up but could only lift her head. "I have a computer in my trunk. I can't leave without it. Can I go get it, or can you get it for me?"

"No, you have to get to the hospital. Your car is a wreck, your trunk won't open, anyway. You're lucky to be alive, Miss."

"But I need it, I can't leave it here. It contains evidence of a crime." Jill struggled to get up, straining against the straps, but the EMT pressed her back down.

"Please, stay down. We have to leave, and I have to treat you."

The police officer leaned in. "Miss, you can claim your laptop later, don't worry. n.o.body can get inside that trunk. Robbie, you're good to go." He closed the ambulance doors, and the EMT rose and hurried to twist the handle into a locking position.

"Jenny, locked and loaded!" the EMT called to the driver. He turned and fetched a Rowbotham dressing kit from a cage in the wall, then the ambulance lurched off.

"I'm sorry, I have to make a call." Jill freed her hand and managed to reach into her pocket for her BlackBerry. "Somebody has to meet me at the hospital. Where are we going?"

"Shood Memorial, in Parkertowne." The EMT zipped open the kit, yanked out some cleanser, and swabbed the wound on Jill's forehead, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. "You okay?"

"Yes, thanks. Excuse my rudeness." Jill scrolled for Victoria's number, pressed CALL, and tried to gather her wits while the call connected.

"h.e.l.lo," Victoria answered the call, testy. "What now, Jill? I can't talk, I'm driving to cla.s.s."

"I have some bad news, very bad." Jill watched the EMT tape gauze to her forehead, then he rose and took a blood-pressure cuff and thermometer from a wire basket on the wall. "It's about your friend Brian. He was injured in a car crash when he and another car tried to run me off a road. They were trying to kill me."

"What?" Victoria gasped. "Are you serious? Is this a joke?"

"It's no joke. I'm in an ambulance now, and so is he."

The EMT didn't bat an eye as he checked Jill's blood pressure, and in any other circ.u.mstance, she would have remarked on his professionalism.

"Jill, what are you talking about?" Victoria answered, her tone still disbelieving. "You mean my friend Brian Pendle? It's not possible."

"Victoria, tell me, why would Brian try to kill me? How long have you known this guy?"

"A year, but it can't be him."

"He's a lawyer in New York, right? What firm does he work for?"

"Creed and Whitstone, but what's the difference?" Victoria asked, insistent. "You must be mistaken. It can't be Brian."

"It is, I saw him. Victoria, what does he do there, what's his field?"

"He's a securities lawyer. You could be wrong. It wasn't him. You barely know him."

"I recognized him, Victoria." Jill was trying to think, she still felt upset. The ambulance didn't use its siren, but it seemed louder inside than she remembered from when she went to the hospital with Megan. Its powerful engine seemed to roar, its wide tires rumbled, and the cab in back creaked mightily, the sc.r.a.pe of metal against metal. "So Brian works as a securities lawyer. Does that mean he knows stockbrokers and guys like that?"

"Yes, but-"

"Did he know a man named Joe Zeptien?"

"I don't know, why?"

"Did he ever mention anything about Pharmcen or Memoril?"

"No, is this real? Is it really him? He was in an accident?"

"Come and see. We're being taken to Shood Memorial in Parkertowne. He has a head wound and was unconscious at the scene."

"My G.o.d!" Victoria cried. "I'm turning around. I'll be there in half an hour, max."

"Let me ask you, did Brian know your Dad?"

"They met once or twice. Jill, what's going on? Why are you asking me all these questions? What's going on?"

"h.e.l.l if I know. I'm trying to figure it out. Did you ever hear Brian and your father talk about the drug business or Pharmcen?"

"No, of course not, just golf," Victoria answered, in bewilderment.

"Then what is Brian up to? Why would he try to kill me, do you have any idea?"

"He didn't do that, he would never. I have to go, I'm driving, and there's traffic. I'm on my way."

"Okay, good-bye." Jill hung up, more confused than ever, and her gaze fell on a digital clock embedded in the stainless steel side of the cab, which read 12:30. She thought of Padma and Rahul, and her heart sank. "Oh no. I was supposed to see a patient, half an hour ago."

"Hey, accidents happen." The EMT held the thermometer bulb to her ear. "Please, stay still a sec."

"Okay. One more call, sorry." Jill waited a beat, then pressed P for Pembey Family.