Mystery Bride Part 12

"I thought we were going to order a pizza," Zack said from the doorway behind them. He held the phone book in his hands.

"I a.s.sume you've already decided what kind you want," Will said.

"Pepperoni-and-sausage with extra cheese," Zack said still waiting in the doorway.

"You'd better see to Zack." She smiled.

He nodded and smiled back at her. "Maybe another time," he whispered. "Just holler if you need me."

Oh, she'd needed him, all right. But she hadn't hollered. He'd just been there, saved her, and she'd probably never know exactly how he'd done it. She didn't want to need him. Couldn't. When the time came and he was no longer around- She didn't want to think about that now.

All she knew was that she'd underestimated this man.

Just as she'd underestimated just how dangerous this case was. She wouldn't make either mistake again.

Chapter Nine.

By the time she came out of her bath, she felt a little better, though still shaken, still confused. But more determined than ever to keep Zack safe and find out what was going on.

And yet she couldn't shake the memory of the kidnapper lying in his own blood, having tried desperately to leave a message. Where was Ca.s.sie? And Lucas? They both seemed to be missing now.

This case had gone from what she thought was a simple abduction by a parent to...murder. Every instinct told her to turn this over to the authorities. Legally, she was required to come forward. She could lose her P.I. license, maybe even go to jail, if she didn't. But she also couldn't take the chance that the authorities would give temporary custody to Zack's birth mother. There was no hard evidence against Ca.s.sie. Yet.

Because of that, Samantha couldn't be sure that Ca.s.sie wouldn't avoid arrest and somehow get her hands on Zack.

But she couldn't forget the glimpse of blond hair she'd seen just before someone had hit her, drugged her and stuffed her into that bag. She hugged herself, chilled to her soul by the memory. Ca.s.sie was slightly built, blond, and had said she would stop by Sam's office if she missed Sam at the mall. And hadn't Sam known as well as anyone what Ca.s.sie was capable of?

But murder? murder?

"Do you want some pizza?" Zack asked, looking at her with concern as she came out of the bathroom.

She smiled to rea.s.sure him and went over to see what kind of pizza they'd ordered. Loaded. She took a slice to be polite and prove that she was fine. Even Zack didn't eat with his usual enthusiasm. He appeared worried about her, and her a.s.surances didn't seem to help.

"Can I watch TV in my room?" he asked, leaving some pizza uneaten.

"Sure," Will said, and ruffled the boy's hair as he pa.s.sed.

Zack tossed a smile at him over his shoulder as he went into the other room, jumped on the bed a few times, then settled down to watch whatever was on the tube.

"You're good with him," she commented.

Will laughed. "Believe me, I'm just winging it. I know nothing about kids."

"But you've always wanted some of your own."

Subtle, real subtle.

He looked away. "Oh, yeah. Someday."

A heavy silence fell between them. She wondered what she'd said wrong. "Well, you're a natural. You should have a half-dozen."

He began to clean up the pizza mess. She watched him, wondering about his sudden evasiveness. There was so much to wonder about Will. He'd saved her life. But she felt a lot more than grat.i.tude. Not good. Will wasn't the kind of man who'd ever let himself fall for a P.I.

And that's what she was, wasn't she? She reached for her purse and dug out her cell phone. When the dispatcher at the police department answered, she asked for her father.

"Where are you?" he demanded, obviously trying to keep his voice down.

She heard him shut his office door.

"I've been worried sick about you," he said in a more normal voice.

"Why, what's happened?" she asked innocently.

"A man was murdered tonight in your office."

Someone had called the police. "You're kidding."

"Where are you, Sam?" her father asked again.

"On my way to Seattle. Is Andy-"

"He's fine. He wasn't there at the time, fortunately, and he says he doesn't know anything."

"Who called it in?" she asked, ignoring her father's skepticism.

"Anonymous caller."

Big surprise. "Any idea who the dead man is?"

"Al Knutson, better known as Al the Ox, a former professional wrestler turned small-time crook. I a.s.sume you didn't know him?"

"No."

"He's from the Seattle area. But we didn't find any vehicle around your office. Pretty odd, since no one in his right mind would walk around in that neighborhood at night. Sam?"

She braced herself. "Yes, Dad?"

"You're sure you don't know anything about this?"

"It's a mystery to me," she said truthfully. She hated not being more honest with him, but she couldn't put him in a position where he'd have to keep anything from his chief, and she wasn't going to turn Zack over to the cops. Not yet. Especially now that she feared Ca.s.sie was involved.

"But I'll keep in touch, Dad. I should be back in a few days." What were a few days, anyway? Then she'd tell him everything. He wouldn't be happy about it, but soon she'd have some answers. At least, more than she did now. "I'm sure Andy can handle anything that comes up."

She hung up and looked at Will. He was waiting expectantly. "Someone called the cops. They know about Al." She took a breath. "Can you drive?"

"Seattle?"

She nodded. "It's the last place Lucas was seen."

And Lucas was the key to this mess. "But first we need a different vehicle. We'll borrow my cousin Tommy's pickup."

THEY WERE OUTSIDE Missoula, the wind howling, snow turning to rain and splattering on the winds.h.i.+eld, when her cell phone rang.

She shot a look at Will. He frowned. Almost afraid, she answered it before it could ring again and wake up Zack.

"h.e.l.lo?"

Silence. "Sam? Oh, thank G.o.d, you're all right," Ca.s.sie cried. "I was so scared when I saw the police cars and heard there had been a murder."

Samantha looked at Will and mouthed Ca.s.sie. Ca.s.sie. "I missed you at the mall," she said into the phone, unable to keep the accusation from her voice. "I missed you at the mall," she said into the phone, unable to keep the accusation from her voice.

"I was there at eight," Ca.s.sie said quickly. "When you didn't show up by eight-fifteen, I got scared and left. Is Zack all right?"

"He's fine. Where are you now?" she asked tersely.

"You don't think I had anything to do with what happened at your office?" Ca.s.sie sounded flabbergasted by even the notion.

"You admitted you were there tonight."

"No-I mean, yes, I went by by there." there."

"Alone?" Sam asked.

"What are you getting at?"

"I went to my office because you said you'd check there if you missed me at the mall. I found a man dead behind my desk." She didn't mention the letters Al had written in his own blood. "Someone attacked me. The attackers were a man and a woman. A woman with blond hair."

"It wasn't me." Ca.s.sie sounded scared.

"Why do you suddenly want to see Zack so badly?" Sam demanded, checking first to make sure the boy was still sound asleep between her and Will.

"I told you. I need to see my son."

"I don't believe you. I think you'd better level with me, or I'm going to go to the police with what I do know, which is that you were at my office tonight."

"I told you-"

"It doesn't matter what you told me," Sam snapped. "Maybe the police can get the truth out of you."

Silence. For a moment, she thought Ca.s.sie might have hung up.

"I'm scared, Sam." All the bravado was gone from Ca.s.sie's voice. "I'm afraid someone is after me."

"After you?" Sam said, not buying this. "Why would someone be after you? you?"

"Because of what Lucas did."

Sam's heart thudded. "I'm listening," she said, and glanced over at Will. In the faint dash light, he looked worried.

"Lucas called me a few weeks ago. He said he'd done something stupid. He owed some people money and had promised them his latest project. But he said he couldn't go through with it. He sounded desperate. He said he was working on something big-so big that he thought they might try to kill him for it."

Outside the pickup, large wet drops of rain smacked the winds.h.i.+eld, spiraling out of the darkness like comets. "You have to be kidding."

"No. He told me he'd taken precautions to protect his design."

"What kind of precautions?"

Again Sam thought she heard hesitation in Ca.s.sie's voice. "He planned to divide the game into pieces."

"And do what with them?"

"Hide them, I guess, until he was free of the men who were after him," Ca.s.sie said. "I thought he was just being paranoid. Then Zack was kidnapped-and I got one of the pieces of the game in the mail. And a note."

Sam caught her breath, her heart pounding. "A note?"

"It says, 'In case something should happen to me, and you receive this package, take the CD to the police and tell them it is one of five pieces. They will understand why the game is so important once they put the pieces together. For your own safety, do not keep this piece of the game.' 'In case something should happen to me, and you receive this package, take the CD to the police and tell them it is one of five pieces. They will understand why the game is so important once they put the pieces together. For your own safety, do not keep this piece of the game.'"

Sam swore under her breath. If it wasn't for Zack's kidnapping, she'd think this was just a publicity stunt for the new game.

"Don't you see, Sam, if this game is as big as Lucas said it was, then anyone who gets a copy is in danger."

"Not if you turn it over to the police as Lucas instructed," Sam pointed out.

Silence.

Sam took a breath and held it, a terrible feeling pus.h.i.+ng against her chest with the force of an elephant. "That is what you did with it, right?" she asked.

"No," Ca.s.sie said in a small voice. "I can't. I heard from the men who have Lucas. They are demanding all the pieces of the game. Or they will kill him."

"Kill him over a computer game? computer game?" Sam cried in disbelief.

"Obviously you don't know anything about the computer game business," Ca.s.sie said. "If this game is as big as Lucas thought it was, then it could be worth millions."

Millions for a game? She guessed she didn't didn't know anything about computer games. But Ca.s.sie sure seemed to know a lot about not only computer games but Lucas, a man she'd dumped five years before. know anything about computer games. But Ca.s.sie sure seemed to know a lot about not only computer games but Lucas, a man she'd dumped five years before.

Sam closed her eyes, her head aching. She didn't know what to believe. Why would Lucas send a piece of the game to his first ex-wife? And how would the men who had Lucas even know about Ca.s.sie?

"I think these men were behind Zack's kidnapping," Ca.s.sie was saying. "I think they planned to use Zack to get the game pieces but now that you have Zack-"