CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

 

Somewhere behind her, two shots rang out.

Teri ran with her mouth open, gasping for breath. The sharp pain in her side made her regret giving up her daily jog through Central Park.

Really out of shape...

She rounded a bend in the trail and encountered a batch of small shops and a number of tourists ambling around. One very large woman held several shopping bags. Her head was turned to her friend and she walked directly into Teri’s path.

“Look out!” her companion screamed as Teri impacted with the largest bag and it went flying out of the woman’s hand to land in the middle of the path. She heard the distinct sound of shattering glass.

“Oh, no!” the woman moaned.

Teri was too out of breath to apologize and too frightened to stop. She glanced back and saw the two women bent over the litter in the path. The sound of footsteps running hard behind her gave her renewed energy. She took off with greater speed but knew she couldn’t last at this pace.

A pond with a large flock of flamingos on the other side lay to her right. A chain link fence separated the flamingos from the path. Further ahead the pink birds were safe beyond a deep moat and a concrete and rock half-wall.

Teri hoisted herself up on the fence, gripping the chain link and gaining a toehold as she climbed. She gained the top of the fence and threw her leg over the rail.

She heard the slap of hard leather on the trail behind her. More than one person was in pursuit.

Teri dropped down inside the fence. The area was marshy and she sank into the mud. Once white, her sneakers were quickly soaked and muddied. She spied a man-made opening in the wall at the far side of the flamingo exhibit and ran toward it. Opting to sidestep the birds, she ran close to the wall and crouched as she ducked into the opening.

Clutching her side when the stabbing pain threatened to bring her to her knees, she ran through the employees section of the bird habitat. She stumbled, fearing to look over her shoulder. The smell of birds in close quarters filled her lungs, gagged her. She ran out into the public area where a few clumps of people strolled the winding paths or sat on concrete benches. She side-stepped them, zigzagging until she reached the far side of the aviary.

Heart pounding in her ears, she made herself as small as possible and tucked into a niche in the concrete wall. A large bougainvillea spilled out of the wall above her and hid her from the casual passer-by. She tried to slow her breathing by inhaling through her nose for a long count and exhaling even more slowly. The ripping pain in her side was abating, but her legs still quivered with exhaustion.

Her cell phone rang. She grabbed it and flipped it open.

“Teri? It’s me.” Bernie sounded excited.

“I...I can’t talk now,” Teri whispered. She peered around the bougainvillea cautiously.

“Okay, just listen. The new janitor isn’t a janitor at all. Our old janitor is coming back next week.”

Teri felt like throwing the phone. “I’ll call you later.”

“But just wait until I tell you. The new janitor is really a policeman and your Angel sent him to watch over me. A man tried to kidnap me and Klaus arrested him. It was so amazing.”

“Okay, great,” Teri whispered. “Goodbye.” She closed the phone and turned it to vibrate before tucking it back in her pocket.

Where was Angel? What if one of the shots she’d heard hit him? What if he was wounded or... No! She couldn’t bear to think of the unthinkable. She peeked out from behind the flowering shrubs, but didn’t see the man who kidnapped Clem. She didn’t see the man who killed Colin either.

A high-pitched scream pierced the air. It reverberated off the high glass ceiling. The hairs on her arms stood on end. She gripped the wall with her palms, listening intently. Another scream, closer this time. Teri flattened herself against the rough concrete. She peered around the edge of her hiding place as the peacock screamed again.

Teri exhaled, leaning her head against the cool wall as she willed her heart rate to slow.

#

Angel heard footsteps falling hard on the sun-baked path ahead of him. He kept up his pace, sensing that he was gaining ground. Teri’s sneakers would make little sound. The footfalls ahead had to be Ludwig.

He rounded a bend in the path and found two large women squatting in the middle of strewn packages. They turned to gape at him and screamed at the sight of a six-foot Hispanic running at them with a gun. He leapt over them, recalling everything his track and field coach had taught him about hurdles. Those are some wide hurdles.

He rounded the next bend, skidding on loose pebbles as he managed to avoid smacking into his father. Arturo stood at the side of the path cautioning him to be quiet, a finger to his lips and the handgun in his other hand.

He tucked in close behind Arturo, giving him a quizzical look.

“She climbed over the chain link fence into the bird area.” Arturo gestured with the gun. “The kidnapper is trying to climb in after her but his feet are too big and his leather shoes slip on the fencing.”

Angel nodded. “Where is she?”

“In the aviary, and she’s running like hell.”

Angel edged forward until he saw Ludwig struggling to climb the fence. He stepped out, holding his gun on Ludwig.

“Hugo Ludwig, you’re under arrest for kidnapping and murder,” he shouted.

Ludwig froze for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at Angel. “You’re out of your jurisdiction here, Garcia.”

Angel reached to drag him down from the fence but Ludwig hoisted himself over the top, landing in a heap on the other side.

They stared at each other for a second before Ludwig took off after Teri. Angel holstered his gun and jumped to grab the top of the fence with both hands. He swung one leg over the top rail and landed in the marsh.

The muddy sludge impeded both men. Ludwig slogged his way toward the flamingos, frightening them in the process. A brilliant panorama of flapping wings sent Ludwig sliding in the mud. He floundered, trying to regain his footing.

Tolliver and his men tried to scale the fence, Tolliver yelling non-stop orders.

Angel caught up with Ludwig and punched out with his fist, catching him on the chin. Ludwig sank to his knees. Angel was filled with a mixture of disgust and relief. “Not such a tough guy now.” He cuffed Ludwig and left him for Tolliver. He followed Teri’s footprints in the mud and entered the concrete hole in the side of the overhanging wall. He couldn’t wait to tell her that she was safe.

The air inside was cooler. Angel followed Teri’s tracks through the employee’s area of the aviary. The tracks faded away, but he found small clumps of mud that may have fallen off her sneakers or they might just as easily have fallen from someone else’s shoes.

Where did you go? He tried to imagine where Teri might take shelter, not knowing that her pursuers had been taken into custody. Come on, Baby. Where did you go?

#

She needed to be in a crowded area. Stepping out of the shadows, Teri squared her shoulders and walked briskly to the aviary exit. A group of school children were assembled in an open area. Half a dozen women stood amid approximately thirty children who appeared to be nine or ten years of age. She edged closer to the group, gazing around all the while.

A young man in a city zoo uniform emerged and handed out programs to everyone. He greeted them and announced that the tour could begin now that everyone was together. The tour guide led them to the entrance of the next exhibit and waited for the children to quiet down. The teacher made shushing sounds.

A shiver ran down Teri’s spine as she realized they were going into the reptile exhibit. She was definitely not fond of reptiles.

The interior of the reptile house was cool and dark. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust after being in the bright sunlight. She pushed her sunglasses up on her head. The smell was distinctively musky.

She listened to the tour guide’s voice droning about the exhibit, but couldn’t focus on his words. She looked around, alert for her pursuers. The children giggled at something the guide said and the sounds of their laughter echoed off the hard surfaces.

Teri spied a concrete bench in front of one large glass window showcasing reptiles from the Rain Forests. She perched on the edge of the bench as fatigue closed in around her like a shroud. Tears filled her eyes as her fingers gripped the edge of the bench.

She leaned forward and concentrated on breathing; trying not to think about the two shots she’d heard. She closed her eyes as the tears fell onto her lap.

Another smell filled her nostrils. A different animal smelling of cigars and tangy after shave.

Teri opened her eyes and found herself staring into the cold eyes of the second man she’d seen when she’d found Colin’s body. She felt her throat tighten. Panic clutched her gut, but she couldn’t move. This man was much more menacing than the others. His close cropped hair was silver at the temples and his eyes a steely blue, devoid of any trace of humanity.

The student group was leaving. Teri moved slightly as though to follow, but a slight shake of his head stopped her.

In a moment, they were alone together in this darkened place.

He stood and held out his hand to her, a hand with a shiny scar across the back.

She cringed away from his touch but stood, swaying slightly. She held his unreadable gaze, staring up at him.

“Your photos don’t do you justice,” he said in the raspy voice she remembered so well. Slowly, he reached into his breast pocket.

Teri held her breath.

He drew out a silver cigar case and opened it.

“I don’t think you can smoke in here,” she said.

“I wouldn’t think of it.” He extracted a small hypodermic needle and jabbed it into her thigh.

Teri stared down at the syringe and screamed, but it came out as a whimper.

“Now, my dear, you are going to come along with me and you will behave yourself.” His voice rasped, but his tone was silky and solicitous.

Bile rose from her core as the room spun around dizzily. She swayed and the man took her arm to lead her from the reptile house. He clasped her close to his side, embracing her as Angel had when they had walked on the River Walk. She glanced around in hopes of getting someone’s attention, but found she was incapable of speech. Her legs felt heavy. She stumbled, but her abductor kept her from falling. He stopped to set her sunglasses down on her nose and pull the baseball cap lower over her face.

“Come, my dear, we have business to discuss.” He walked with her toward the exit.

#

“Angel! Over here.” Arturo motioned to his son.

“I can’t find her. She just disappeared.” Angel stopped beside a primate cage filled with curious monkeys.

“If you can’t find her it means the bad guys can’t either.” Arturo turned around in a circle. “Where are the police? Can’t they help?”

“Tolliver is booking Ludwig. I winged Altman and he’s on his way to the hospital with a police escort.” Angel circled the monkey cage. “Teri doesn’t know they’ve been captured. She’s still running scared.”

“What about the tracking device? It’s still working, isn’t it?”

“I gave the monitor to you back at the car,” Angel said impatiently running his fingers through his hair.

Arturo patted his pocket. “And I brought it with me.”

Angel grinned at him. “And to think I almost made you stay at home.” He motioned to his father who dug the device out of his jacket.

He expelled a sigh of relief as the blinking dot appeared on the small screen. He frowned.

“What’s the matter, son?” Arturo came to look over his shoulder. “Maybe she’s going to the house.”

“I couldn’t be that lucky,” Angel said. “She’s going toward the exit. Let’s catch up.”

The two men started running in the direction Teri was heading. Angel couldn’t wait to hold her. He’d almost lost her. Now they could return to New York and see what they really had between them.

#

Teri felt curiously unafraid, though she knew the man who held her upright had absolutely no compassion in his heart. She concentrated on placing one leaden foot in front of the other. She stumbled, slipped and scraped one knee on the pavement. Her abductor jerked her upright, but she sank down again. She closed her eyes and felt the rough pavement grate against her cheek.

This is the answer; passive resistance. Didn’t it work for Gandhi? No, it was sit-ins in the sixties.

“C’mon! I know you’re faking. Get up,” he hissed against her ear. He pulled on her arms but she remained limp.

Several people stopped to see what was happening. A heavy-set woman stepped forward.

“I’m a nurse,” she said. “Can I help?”

“No! No, she’s fine.” He pulled her to a sitting position. “She got too much sun.” He picked her up and carried her away from the gathering crowd.

Teri’s baseball cap fell off as he tried to lift her high enough to avoid the turnstile at the exit. An elderly guard smiled and swung the crossbar aside to allow him to pass more easily.

They moved from dense shade to bright sunlight. It shone down relentlessly, bringing a rush of perspiration to her brow.

The man was breathing hard.

She hung limply, but her knee throbbed and blood oozed from her scrape.

The pain awakened her and her sense of peril. Teri opened her eyes and realized she was being lugged across the parking lot adjacent to the zoo’s entrance.

A couple unloading a stroller from an SUV turned to stare. A toddler pointed as they passed.

She heard the beep of a remote opening a locked vehicle nearby and she was jostled to a standing position, leaning against hot metal.

The man opened the car door and folded her onto the backseat. The interior was oven-like.

She heard another door open and the man turned on the ignition. The air conditioner spewed more hot air into the airless vacuum. The vehicle was moving and Teri slipped into her former lethargic state.

If I could just keep my eyes open...

#

Angel picked up the baseball cap. His adrenalin surged as he scanned the milling crowd. Where are you?

The guard at the exit smiled and nodded to them.

“Did you see the woman who was wearing this cap?”

The old man nodded.

Angel took a deep breath. “Tell me where she went!”

The old man nodded and pointed to the crossbar.

“Are you telling me she jumped over this bar?” Angel felt his face redden as he glared at the guard.

“No. The man in the suit carried her out. I opened it like this. See?” He demonstrated his previous performance.

Angel’s pulse quickened. “What man?” he demanded.

“The big man in the suit. He said she was suffering from the heat.”

“Did you see where they went?” Arturo asked.

“To the parking lot. He carried her all the way to his car and helped her inside.”

Angel ran to the parking area while Arturo gathered a quick description of the vehicle.

When Arturo caught up with Angel he said, “He said it was a black Mercedes and it headed east.”

Angel stared at a drop of blood on the pavement. His jaw tightened. “Let’s get the car, Pop.”

#

Teri was lying on a soft surface. Someone was speaking but couldn’t understand the words. She inhaled the odor of the fabric under her face. It smelled like people. Lots of people.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes. She was in a room sprawled face down on top of a bed. The fabric of the bedspread was wet. Teri had been drooling.

The man who’d abducted her was talking on the phone. His voice droned on. She caught a word here and there.

“...not what I expected...arrested Hugo and...that detective shot Frank. He could be dead for all I know.”

Teri kept her head down. Clem was safe. She should have let Angel handle things. He would never have allowed her to get into this mess but, at least she’d gotten Clem back.

The man paced as he talked. He came close to the bed and seemed to be looming over her.

“No,” he spoke gruffly into the receiver. “She’s out of it. No, I didn’t hurt her, but she’s the only one who knows where the money is. I’m not letting her get away with it. Yes, I’ll bring it to you when I get it.”

Suddenly the door burst open and she heard yelling. Teri opened her eyes and saw Angel with a gun. The man had his hands in the air and Angel pushed him to the floor.

My Angel’s here. Teri felt a rush of gratitude as she closed her eyes again and dozed.

#