Nowhere to Turn Read online

  She’d given him the hardest problem and he’d done it almost without thinking about it. He knew what a lot of people thought, including teachers. Deaf kids weren’t supposed to be able to grasp some of the abstract concepts he’d mastered. Especially eleven-year-old deaf kids.

  He glanced at the sea of faces before him. Confusion on a few. Resentment on others because he’d shown them up. Sheer boredom on most because the subject was above their heads. Only Mitchell Lee looked interested. And impressed. But Mitchell was like Simon. He didn’t fit the mold hearing people had made for the deaf.

  Simon took his seat and looked at the clock again. 2:45. As the minute hand ticked closer and closer to 3:15, his heart beat with the dread of going home.

  Dani stepped back to let her brother-in-law in. He loomed over her, his big frame dwarfing the area. Stuart had always been nothing but kind to her. Gentle, sweet. But definitely creepy. She could just never get comfortable in his presence no matter how kind he acted. It was his eyes. They never matched his outward behavior. She said, “You know where the safe is.” Go, go. She shot a glance toward the door. Just a few feet away, freedom waited.

  “I do.”

  As soon as Stuart went for the safe—which he’d find empty—she’d have to grab the keys and race to the school to get Simon. A kink in her original plans to be sure, but she could do it. If he’d just go upstairs.

  When he simply stared at her, she kept her face expressionless. Play the game, Dani. Do it! On shaky legs, she moved toward the kitchen when all she wanted to do was race for the door. Stuart followed her and she ground her molars, grasping to control her runaway pulse and stuttering nerves. The seconds ticked away. And every second counted.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked because she knew he expected it. She always offered food and drink when he came over. The steadiness of her voice shocked her.

  “No, thanks.” Stuart settled himself at one of the kitchen chairs, and while she wouldn’t have thought it possible, Dani felt her tension escalate. Her head beat with the stress of trying to figure out how to get rid of him without making him suspicious.

  The clock crept toward 2:55. The school was ten minutes away. When Stuart found the safe empty, she couldn’t be here. Which meant she needed to leave now to get Simon before the dismissal bell. Otherwise her escape plan would be nothing but an epic fail. And it might even cost her and Simon their lives. “Can I get you anything?”

  “No thanks, Dani, I’m fine. What time does Simon get home?”

  “Around 3:30. Why?”

  “Just thinking.” He paused. “You could have done better, Dani.”

  His out-of-the-blue statement spoken ever so softly made her stare. “Done better?”

  “I know Kurt doesn’t treat you right.” He stood and stepped toward her.

  Dani took a step back as her pulse ratcheted up several notches. If this continued she would self-combust.

  She forced a laugh. It came out more like a nervous titter. “What? I don’t know what you mean.”

  Stuart’s jaw tightened then he gave a short laugh. “Sure you do, but—Forget I said anything.” He walked toward the steps. “I’ll just get what I came for and be on my way.”

  A little breath of relief puffed between her lips. “Okay, you do that.”

  Dani waited, listening. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, she raced through the laundry room and into the garage.

  She climbed into the Navigator and reached for the keys she’d swiped from the hook just inside the back door that led to the garage.

  But wait. She froze. Stuart’s car. He’d know exactly where she would go from here. He knew she’d never leave Simon. And he would follow. She went out the door that led to the driveway and hurried over to Stuart’s vehicle, opened the driver’s door, and popped the hood. Seconds continued to pass at a disturbingly rapid rate. Did he have the safe open yet? Had he discovered her theft?

  Almost sobbing with her desperation, she reached under the hood and yanked whatever wires she could get her hands on. One of them came loose. She hoped it was enough to stall him. She raced back into the garage and stopped just before she got into the Navigator. Her purse! She’d left it on the counter. She ran back into the house.

  “Dani?” She froze as his voice filtered downstairs from her master bedroom. “Hey! Where’s the stuff from the safe? Is this one of Kurt’s stupid practical jokes?”

  She snatched her purse from the counter and bolted back to the garage, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. She climbed into the Navigator, and reached to start the car.

  “The key! Where’s the key?” she whispered, panting, blood humming, nerves so tight she thought she might throw up. She looked down at the cupholder and nearly sobbed with relief as she pulled the key out, jammed it into the ignition, and started the car.

  The dash clock said 3:02. Stuart would be looking for her any second. She pressed the button to open the garage door and put the car in reverse. “Please … please …”

  The garage door opened behind her as did the door leading from the house. Stuart’s face appeared and he lunged for the car door. Heart pounding, tears threatening, Dani slapped the lock button and pressed the gas pedal.

  “Dani! Stop! What are you doing? Where’s the stuff in the safe? Dani! Kurt’s going to kill you!”

  She ignored him, desperation fueling her. Dani backed out of the garage, tires squealing as she pressed the brake and threw it into drive. Within seconds, she arrived at the exit to the subdivision. In the rearview mirror she could see Stuart in the street, watching her. She knew he would head straight to the school once he got his car started. And she knew he would be on the phone to Kurt as soon as he could punch in the numbers.

  Dani pulled out of the subdivision and into the median, waiting impatiently to merge with the traffic. Finally an opening. She shot into the opening and drove fast, weaving in and out of the traffic, but not so fast she’d get a ticket. As desperate as she was to get to the school, she simply couldn’t afford to get stopped. She’d gotten her driver’s license renewed online on a trip to the library two months ago. Kurt had been out of town for something and she’d accepted Jenny’s offer to take them on the little outing.

  Dear, sweet Jenny. But even Jenny didn’t know everything. Dani finally turned into the school parking lot. Cars already waited in line. She bypassed them straight to an empty spot near the office. Simon was deaf, but he was mainstreamed into the regular education classroom. He had an interpreter that followed him from class to class. And two of his teachers signed. He liked school, but Dani knew he was bored with it.

  She parked and raced into the building. At the office, she waited impatiently while the secretary helped a man in front of her. The bell would ring in three minutes. She waited, praying she’d pulled enough wires to stall Stuart long enough for her to get away. She wondered if he’d called Kurt. Her stomach cramped.

  Two minutes. Dani stepped up. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but we have a family emergency. Could you please buzz Simon’s teacher and have him come to the office?”

  “We don’t allow early dismissals after 2:00, Mrs. Harding.”

  The lady looked like she wished she could help. Dani jumped on that. “Please! I’ve got to get him now! It’s an emergency. A family crisis and I need to go. I have to catch him before he rides home with his friend.” She knew she was begging, but Dani would have gotten on her knees if she thought it would help get her son. Because she sure wasn’t leaving without him. Please, God!

  “Come on, it’s an emergency.” The deep voice of the man she’d interrupted. Dani shot him a grateful look.

  Again with the hesitation that had Dani ready to climb out of her skin. Then a faint nod. “Let me see if I can catch him.”

  Only a partial relief filled her. She hoped Simon would tell Mitchell he wasn’t riding home, but frankly she didn’t care, she just wanted to leave. Now.

  The bell rang as the woman
picked up the phone and Dani sucked in a deep breath. The secretary spoke, but the blood whooshing through her veins kept her from hearing what she said. Please, God, oh please …

  As though in slow motion, the phone clicked back on the cradle. Dani looked at her as the woman smiled. “He’s on his way to the office.”

  Now her knees felt weak. Wanted to buckle beneath her. Somehow she stayed on her feet and managed a nod. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I hope everything will be all right.”

  “I do too.” Grim, she stared at the door her son would enter, willing him to hurry.

  Simon raced down the hall, his backpack slapping against his hips as he weaved in and out of the students scrambling to go home. He’d read Mrs. Brown’s lips when she spoke into the phone. She’d looked straight at him and frowned. “Family emergency? I’ll send him right down.” Simon had gathered his things and was out the door before she hung up.

  Worry gnawed at him. Family emergency? Had his dad finally hurt his mother bad enough to send her to the hospital or had he even kil—

  No. Tears clogged his throat. He burst into the front office and felt the air leave his lungs.

  His mother stood there. Whole. Healthy. Alive. His eyes caught hers. She must have seen something in his expression because she reached for him and gave him a brief hug before turning to say something to the secretary. Simon didn’t bother trying to understand her, he just let the relief flow through him.

  Within seconds, she ushered him from the building. He could feel the tension vibrating through her body. His relief at finding her physically intact fled and the fear returned. What was wrong? When they stopped at the Navigator, she motioned for him to get in. He turned and stared at her. Signed, “You drove?”

  “Yes,” she signed back. “Get in and hurry.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “In,” she signed. “Please.”

  Her tight, drawn features drove his fear and confusion to new heights. Without another question, he climbed in and slammed the door while she did the same. Movement in the side mirror caught his attention.

  “Why is Uncle Stuart here too?” he asked her, using his voice. He didn’t like speaking in front of the other kids or adults, but with his mother he didn’t care.

  She jerked and slapped the locks, jammed the keys into the ignition and cranked the vehicle. Simon checked the mirror again and saw his uncle running toward them. But the car pulled from the curb and his mother drove with careful deliberation until they were free of the school zone.

  She tapped his arm and signed, “Watch for him. Tell me when you don’t see him anymore.”

  Realization dawned on Simon.

  They were running.

  Running for their lives.

  3

  3:15 P.M.

  “Birthday parties are a bore,” Special Agent Joseph Duncan said as he slipped up beside Kurt.

  “I agree.” Kurt took a sip of Coke and watched the proceedings with interest. Kurt hated conferences and thought they were a waste of his time when he should be working a case, eagerly pursuing the next notch on his belt.

  However, this conference wasn’t as distasteful as others. At least here, he was going to have a little fun and do a little business on the side that would rake in a nice chunk of cash.

  They were off duty as of thirty minutes ago and were at the bar. “Whose idea was this anyway?”

  “Jack Fletcher’s.” Joe leaned against the wall and checked his phone. “You get Faraday a present?”

  “Yeah. I did.” Something in his tone must have caught Joe’s attention.

  His fellow agent eyed him warily. “What’d you do?”

  Kurt lifted a brow—all innocence and light. “What do you mean?”

  Joe snorted. “You know what I mean. You’ve got one of your famous practical jokes up your sleeve, don’t you?”

  “Why, Joseph, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Joe laughed. “Don’t even try for the innocent look, you don’t have one.”

  Kurt simply smiled. He loved practical jokes. The kind that people tried to laugh off, but underneath were seething because he’d “gotten” them. Practical jokes were even good for payback.

  Gordon Faraday, the fifty-six-year-old birthday boy who was one year shy of retirement, grinned as he opened the packages and cards. Kurt couldn’t stand the man. He was such a suck-up even when the situation didn’t call for it. Kurt only sucked up when it benefited him.

  Word had filtered down that Gordon had gone to the SAC about him to say he didn’t feel like Kurt should have gotten his latest promotion. Kurt hadn’t told Dani that they would be moving to Houston, Texas, that he was getting ready to be promoted to a squad supervisor. They would move in one month when the current one retired. Gordon’s meeting with the SAC had been two months ago and Kurt had been waiting for a time to initiate some payback.

  “What are we waiting on?” Joe glanced at his watch. “We’ve got stuff to discuss.”

  “Patience, my friend. Just a little bit longer.”

  Finally, Gordon reached for the blue-and-white-striped box that measured about two feet by three. He ripped the paper off.

  Kurt tensed in anticipation.

  The box opened, triggering the spring that released three hundred rubber snakes in all shapes and sizes. Time slowed for Kurt. He savored each second as the snakes flew in the air and then fell one by one to land on the now screaming Special Agent.

  The man screamed again and ripped at them, flung them from his shoulders, his neck, his face. He danced to the side and screamed when he stepped on them. And then he froze for a brief second.

  His eyes went wide and he grabbed his left arm.

  His eyes fluttered closed and he slumped to the floor.

  Kurt smiled. “Gotcha,” he whispered.

  Chaos ensued. Kurt listened to the voices. “Call 911!”

  “Gordy! Hang in there, buddy, help’s on the way!”

  “Who did that? Who would do such a thing?”

  Joe stared, then turned to look at Kurt, disbelief stamped on his square-faced features. “That was pretty intense. You know Gordon’s deathly afraid of snakes.”

  “Yeah. Getting bit by one will do that to a person. His reaction was priceless, wasn’t it?”

  Joe blew out a slow breath and looked back to where Gordon lay.

  Kurt nudged him. “Come on, I told you what he did. You know he deserved it.”

  Joe chuckled, but Kurt thought it sounded forced. “What if he dies?”

  Kurt snorted. “Then he dies.”

  Wimp.

  Joe watched the chaos, a slight frown on his features. Kurt followed his gaze and saw Ralph Thorn doing CPR. The next time Ralph lifted his head, his gaze locked on Kurt’s, then his eyes slid to Joe. Then he bent back over his friend and continued to try to save the man’s life.

  Joe’s phone rang. No one else noticed it in the chaos. Joe grabbed it and listened.

  Kurt watched the color drain from Joe’s face. When the man did an about-face and stomped from the room, Kurt followed. By the time they stepped into the hall, Joe had hung up.

  “What is it?”

  “We lost the guns.”

  Kurt stilled, sure he’d heard wrong. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  Kurt held in his rage with a rarely exhibited control. “What do you mean you lost them?”

  “They had people waiting for us. We had to get out or be caught. I thought they were going to be able to get them back, but that was Liam. They didn’t get them.”

  “Do you know how much those weapons are worth?”

  “Yes, I know,” Joe snapped back. He paced forward four steps, then back three. “We can get them back.”

  “How?”

  “I have a contact. I’ll get in the evidence room and get them.”

  Kurt scoffed. “You could probably find a way to remove money, drugs, whatever, from the room, but that many guns? No
way.”

  “Then we’ll just have to get more from somewhere else.”

  “I’ve already paid the supplier. I’m out fifteen grand, you moron!” He curled his fingers into a fist. “No, I’m out thirty grand because I was going to double my money. Then I need to pay for—” He broke off and lowered his voice. “I can’t afford that kind of loss.” He sighed. “Well, at least tell me you got rid of the witness.”

  “Yeah. She’s taken care of.”

  “Then Kabakov will be sending payment for that.”

  Joe swore. “And I need it too.”

  A slight noise to the left had Kurt swiveling and dropping his voice, looking at the door. “You hear that?”

  “Yeah.”

  Kurt gestured for Joe to follow him. He moved toward the door and, in one smooth move, swung it open. Alan James leaned against the wall, checking his phone. He looked up with narrowed eyes. “What’s up?”

  Kurt reached out, grabbed the man by the collar, and yanked him into the room. Surprise was on Kurt’s side for a split second before Alan could try to bluff his way out of this one.

  Kurt slammed him up against the wall. “Like to eavesdrop, do you?”

  “Like to pull pranks that kill people, do you?” Alan snarled. He brought his foot up and rammed it into Kurt’s knee.

  Kurt screamed and dropped back. Alan lunged at a recovering Kurt and his punch caught him on the jaw. Kurt rocked back and lost his grip. He snagged his gun from his holster and spun to see Alan pull his weapon in response. Joe came from the left and tackled Alan to the floor. Alan rolled and a shot sounded. Joe cried out, grabbing his left ear. Kurt stood and swayed.

  Alan bolted to his feet and Kurt went after him. He jammed a fist in the man’s gut. Air whooshed from his lungs, but Alan still held tight to his gun.

  Kurt swung his weapon up and aimed it at Alan. “You should have minded your own business.”

  Alan raised his weapon and fired. Kurt jerked. He pulled the trigger and saw the bullet hit Alan between the eyes. Kurt’s vision blurred and he blinked. His blood pumped and he felt a sticky wetness under his shirt. The warm wetness moved down, soaking the waistband of his pants. He wondered why he noticed that. Yells reached his ears. Voices coming closer. They’d heard the shots.