Erica Spindler - Killer Takes All

“I think I know who he is, Alice.”

“Who? Not Dad.”

“No, not your dad. Dick Danson.”

“Dad’s old partner? But he’s-”

“Dead? Maybe not.” Stacy explained about her trip to California and what she had learned. “I don’t have any proof yet, but I will.”

“Soon?”

“I’m going to try. The first thing we need to do is get Detectives Malone and Sciame in here. Show them what you’ve just shown me.”

A look of panic crossed her features. “What if they don’t believe me? What if they think-”

“They won’t,” she said, gently squeezing her hand. “I’ll be right here.”

“Promise?”

Stacy did, then went to the door and called Spencer and Tony. Malone poked his head out the door of the bedroom on the other side of hers.

“I think you might want to take a look at this,” she said, motioning them over.

They crossed to the computer. Stacy swiveled the monitor toward them, watching Spencer’s face as he scanned the documents, seeing the moment he understood what he was looking at.

He faced Alice. “You have some explaining to do, Ms. Noble.”

Stacy stepped in, filling them in on what Alice had told her: how she had become involved in the game, where she had met the White Rabbit, how the game was played online. And that, if they were right, Kay was still alive. “It wasn’t until her mother disappeared that she realized she was involved,” she finished. “Then she did the right thing and came forward.”

Spencer sent her a look that clearly communicated that he’d be the judge of that. “You have no idea who the White Rabbit is?”

“None.” She looked at Stacy as if for confirmation. She saw that the girl’s lips trembled.

“We’ll have to confiscate your computer,” he said. “We can trace-”

Stacy cut him off. “Can I see you in the hall? Now?”

He nodded, though he looked irritated. He followed her to the hall and faced her, hands on hips. “What?”

“You can’t take her computer.”

He arched his eyebrows in question. “That so? Why?”

“Alice has to respond to the White Rabbit in twenty-four hours or her character is eliminated. And in this game, being eliminated really is the end of the line.”

“Shit.” He looked away, then back. “You have a suggestion, Killian?”

“Copy all her files. I bet she’s got a built-in CD burner, so it shouldn’t take too long. Plug them in downtown.”

“Just leave the door between her and that bastard open?”

“Closing it might be more dangerous for her. It’d also tip him that we’re onto him. In the meantime, get a court subpoena to force her e-mail provider to release the name and address on the White Rabbit’s e-mail account.”

He gazed at her a moment, eyes narrowed, then nodded tersely.

Several moments later, Tony was on his cell, setting their plan in motion. Alice sat slumped on the edge of the bed, arms curled around her middle. Stacy sat beside her, listening to Tony.

“What’s going on in here, Stacy?”

Before she could respond, Alice caught sight of him. “Dad!” she cried.

She ran to her father and threw herself into his arms. “I didn’t mean for this to happen! I didn’t know, I promise I didn’t!”

“Baby, what-”

“Mr. Noble,” Spencer interrupted, “I need to take you down to headquarters for further questioning.”

“No!” That came from Alice. She spun toward Spencer. “He didn’t do anything! Don’t you see-”

“It’s okay, Pumpkin.” Leo separated himself from her. “They’re just going to ask me some questions. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Friday, March 18, 2005

8:10 p.m.

Stacy stayed with Alice, and while the minutes ticked past, she did her best to reassure the girl. Reminded her that her father had done nothing wrong and that as an innocent man, he had nothing to fear.

After a while, it seemed the girl wasn’t even listening. It was as if she had drifted off to a place where she couldn’t be touched. If she had noticed that more than an hour had passed since the detectives had left with her father, she didn’t mention it.

Stacy fell silent as well. She made sure they ate the meal Mrs. Maitlin had left, then straightened the kitchen. All the while, she went over the facts as she knew them, conscious of the ticking clock.

The e-mail from the White Rabbit had come in at 3:00 p.m. Which meant they had until the same time tomorrow to catch him.

Why was Malone wasting time questioning Leo? Danson was behind this. Her gut told her he was.

Now she needed proof.

She glanced at her watch for what she knew was the dozenth time in the space of as many minutes. Why hadn’t Billie called? She had hoped her friend would unearth something quickly.

She called the other woman’s cell phone, left a message, then began to pace.

“I’ve figured it out,” Alice said suddenly.

Stacy stopped pacing and looked at her. Alice sat at the kitchen table, a pen in her hands, staring at what appeared to be doodles she’d made on her napkin. “Figured out what?”

“What the White Rabbit’s up to.” She motioned to the napkin. “Wonderland is a maze, fashioned in a sort of spiral.”

Stacy crossed to her and saw that her doodles were actually a sort of diagram. “Go on,” she said.

“I was playing the game, working my way through Wonderland. Each victim has been a step closer to the epicenter of Wonderland. The Queen and King of Hearts. “ She paused. “Mom and Dad. And me.”

Stacy was amazed at the girl’s calm. “But you’ve already gotten to the Queen. If she’s at the epicenter-”

“The Rabbit left me an opening. I jumped the gothic forest and got to her. I disabled her and vaulted back because the forest was a dead end. No road to the King.”

“What about the Cheshire Cat? The e-mail indicated she was making her move.”

“It makes perfect sense. The Cheshire Cat is a shape-shifter. And a ferocious fighter.”

“With long claws and sharp teeth.”

She nodded. “I put myself in Dad’s former partner’s head. If it’s him, he wants revenge. He wants to punish Dad. And Mom. And what better way to do so than by using the game Dad stole as a means to kill him?”

“Stole? That’s not the way I heard it went down.”

“I’m in his head. Trying to think like him. He’s angry. Resentful. His life went nowhere. Dad’s a huge success.”

“So he’s not crazy,” Stacy murmured. “Just wants to look like he is.”

“Not crazy,” Leo said from behind them. “He’s brilliant.”

“Dad!” Alice cried, running toward him. “Are you okay?”

He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. “Fine, Pumpkin.”

But he wasn’t, Stacy thought. He looked as if he had aged ten years in the past ten hours. The lines around his eyes and mouth appeared more deeply etched than before, the light in his eyes seemed to have been extinguished.

The detectives had put him through his paces.

“How’d it go?” she asked quietly.

“I’m home.” His simple answer spoke volumes.

Alice curled her hand around his. “Are you hungry?”

When he shook his head, she pursed her lips. “I’m making you a sandwich. Or there’s some of Mrs. Maitlin’s chicken gumbo left.”

“Sandwich.”

She didn’t ask what kind. Stacy watched as she fixed her dad a big peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich. She also poured him a glass of milk.

Watching the two interact brought a lump to her throat. It was an oddly sweet dynamic, the child caring for the parent. For all her adolescent bluster, Alice adored her father.