Hotline to Murder Page 22

  “I need your help…” Shahla began, and then she saw the second door open. It was Tony. “Tony, thank God,” she cried. She jumped off the woman’s steps and ran over to Tony. At least she remembered to use the sidewalk instead of the flower garden. She leapt up his steps and into his arms.

  CHAPTER 33

  To say that Tony was surprised to find Shahla in his arms would have been the understatement of the century, but before he could say anything she cried, “That man is trying to kidnap me.”

  She pointed past the pool where the running form of a man was visible, heading at top speed away from them.

  “I’m going to get him,” Tony said, releasing her. He jumped off the steps, but as soon as he landed, his face contorted in pain, and he almost fell. He let out a yell and croaked, “I forgot about my damn knee.”

  He grabbed the knee and stood bent over. All they could do was watch as the man, now some distance away, reached his car and got into it. A few seconds later, the car disappeared behind the buildings of Peaceful Ocean Townhomes.

  As Tony turned to hobble back up the steps, he saw his neighbor watching them with her mouth open. “It’s okay, Muriel,” he called to her. “Everything’s fine.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “Do you want me to call the police?”

  “We’ve got it under control. We’ll handle it.”

  Muriel looked dubious, and she continued to watch them as Tony herded Shahla into the house, limped in behind her, and closed the door.

  “She’s a busybody,” he said. “This will be all over the development by tomorrow.” Before he could say anything more Shahla came into his arms again and started crying on his shoulder.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, awkwardly, as he could feel her body racked with big sobs. She couldn’t talk, so he just stood and held her, forgetting about the pain in his knee. At least she was alive and in his arms. He was thankful for that.

  Several minutes passed before Shahla could say anything. When she had calmed down a little, Tony led her to the couch in the living room and sat her down. Then he got her a glass of water. He coaxed the story of the attack out of her.

  “Did you recognize him?” Tony asked when she told about the man getting out of the car.

  “No. He was wearing a baseball cap. I never got a good look at his face.”

  “Like the Chameleon. How big was he?”

  “Tall—and fairly thin—but he has a strong grip.”

  Shahla showed Tony what looked like a burn mark around her right wrist, which she had received when she pulled free of him.

  “Your hands are cut too.”

  “I hit a car when he tried to get me the second time.”

  “My God. How many times did he attack you?”

  “Three, including just now.”

  “Jesus. But that doesn’t sound like a description of the Chameleon. He’s short, and I wouldn’t credit him with a lot of strength, in spite of his job as a security guard.”

  Shahla was talking more freely now. The words tumbled out as she told the rest of the story. But she told it backwards, and it took Tony a while to figure out that the attack had started near her house.

  “So you were home,” he said. “Have you talked to your mother?”

  “My mother isn’t home.”

  “No, she’s with her sister in Carlsbad.”

  “She didn’t leave me a note.”

  “We’d better call and let her know you’re all right,” Tony said. “Then we have to go to the police.”

  Tony was still confused about what had happened to Shahla, but he could sort out the facts later. He had the number of Rasa’s sister written down. Rasa and Kirk were staying with her sister because she was too freaked out by Shahla’s disappearance to remain in her own house. He called that number. A woman answered who sounded something like Rasa. Tony asked for Rasa. The woman asked who was calling. Tony said, “Tell her it’s Tony.”

  “Tony?” Rasa said, emotion in her voice. “What is happening?”

  “Shahla’s safe.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful.” She repeated the word “wonderful” several times, her voice breaking. Finally, she asked, “Where is she?”

  “She’s right here. I’ll let you talk to her.” Tony handed the phone to Shahla.

  “Mom? I was worried about you. I went home, and you weren’t there.” Shahla was crying on the phone.

  There had obviously been a royal mix-up. Rasa had driven to Carlsbad last night. The police hadn’t wanted her to go, especially in her distraught state, but she had said she couldn’t stay in her own house. But at least the police knew where she was. And she had left her sister’s number on Tony’s answering machine.

  “I called your cell phone, but you didn’t return my call,” Shahla said through her tears. And after a pause, “You forgot to take it with you?”

  “I can’t stay in the house tonight,” Shahla told her mother. “The kidnapper knows where I live.” After listening, she said, “No, don’t come home tonight. We don’t know where he is. Nobody should stay in the house.” And after a short pause, “I’ll stay with Tony.”

  Besides, Carlsbad was a couple of hours away, by car, near San Diego. Shahla told Rasa that Tony had an extra bedroom. They talked for another minute, and then Shahla said, “I love you,” and hung up.

  “Are you okay?” Tony asked Shahla.

  Shahla nodded. She said, “I was worried about her.”

  “That must have been very difficult…”

  “If you complete that sentence, I’ll punch you in the nose,” Shahla said, smiling through her tears.

  Tony was relieved. He asked, “Are you up to going to the police now?”

  ***

  They arrived at the police station ten minutes later and found out from the female officer at the desk that Detective Croyden wasn’t on duty. Tony thought for the second time that at least he didn’t work twenty-four hours a day.

  “I’ll get Lieutenant Stone,” the desk officer said, perking up after they told her who Shahla was. She had looked bored when they came in. “She’s the officer in charge.” And then to Shahla, “I’m glad you’re all right. We were worried about you.”

  “You were?” Shahla turned to Tony after they entered the conference room and said, “Were the police looking for me?”

  Tony nodded.

  “But I was right here all the time.”

  Lieutenant Stone walked into the conference room. Although she wasn’t exceptionally big, she looked impressive in her blue police uniform, with the full belt, attached to which were a gun, handcuffs, a nightstick, a cell phone, and a number of other implements of the trade that Tony couldn’t identify. That belt must weigh plenty. And the lieutenant looked as if she could take care of herself.

  Lieutenant Stone shook hands with both of them. She said to Shahla, “Your hands are cut. Do you need medical attention?”

  “It’s nothing. I’m okay.”

  “Be sure to clean them up and disinfect them. I’m glad you’re safe. Sit down and tell me what happened.”

  “The first thing is that a man attempted to kidnap her within the last half hour,” Tony said. “He may still be in the area.”

  The lieutenant flashed into action and asked key questions. When she asked what kind of car he was driving, Shahla said, “It was silver, not too big. I don’t know what kind.” Tony, who had seen it only at long range, couldn’t identify it any better. Shahla’s description of the suspect was a little more helpful, but not much.

  Lieutenant Stone said, “That isn’t much to go on, but I’ll put out an APB and tell everybody you’re safe.”

  She went out of the room. Tony ached to question Shahla some more, but he would hear it all soon enough. He felt a great sense of relief that she was all right. She looked okay, if a little bedraggled, except for her wrist and hands. He wondered whether the broadcast went out to more than just the two or three cars that he imagined were patrolling in Bonita Beach, but whe
n Stone came back, she was all business, and he didn’t get a chance to ask.

  “They’re keeping an eye on your mom’s house,” she said to Shahla, “and yours too, since he knows where you live,” indicating Tony. “We can have a car drive you home, Shahla.”

  “I’m staying with Tony tonight,” Shahla said. “My mom’s out of town, you know.”

  Stone looked dubious. “Is that all right with her?”

  “I talked to her. She said it was okay.”

  Tony didn’t want to get involved in this discussion. He had that guilty feeling he got when he thought he was going to be accused of doing something immoral.

  Stone said, “Maybe that’s for the best. I suspect some news crews may be on their way to your mom’s house now. It’s probably better if you can avoid them for one night. We just gave out your picture a short time ago. They’ll pick up the APB and know you’re safe, so they’ll want to talk to you. But they can do that tomorrow. For now, tell me what happened to you since yesterday morning.”

  Shahla hesitated and then blurted out, “I went to a party.”

  “An all-night party?”

  “No. I left before dark. But then I got a phone call from him.”

  “Who’s him?”

  “Probably the man who tried to kidnap me. I didn’t recognize his phone number. And then I broke my phone. I don’t remember what it was.”

  When, in response to probing from Lieutenant Stone, Shahla said that the caller sounded something like the Chameleon, the lieutenant said, “An officer from El Segundo talked to the Chameleon last night at his apartment. He was home with all his girlie pictures. So I can tell you for sure that he wasn’t out harassing you. In fact, he doesn’t even own a car. And he has an alibi for the night of Joy’s murder.”

  Shahla told how she had been too scared to leave Jane’s basement. When she started telling what she had done that morning, Stone asked her why she hadn’t contacted the police after she found her mother gone.

  “Because I didn’t know you were involved,” Shahla said. “I just thought my mother and Kirk had taken off to someplace.”

  “You’re greatly undervaluing yourself by thinking your mom wasn’t worried about you,” Stone said. “She’s been calling here every hour since last night to see if we have any information on you. I don’t think she slept at all.”

  “Why didn’t you at least return my phone call?” Tony asked.

  “Like I said, I broke my phone. I didn’t know you called. My mom said she left a message on my phone about going to my aunt’s house. I didn’t get that one either.”

  “Can’t you retrieve your messages from another phone?” Stone asked.

  Shahla looked puzzled. “I don’t know. I’ve never been without my phone before.”

  Tony said, “Your mom must be in the same boat because she didn’t get the message from you.”

  Lieutenant Stone nodded. “We get situations like this all the time. You would think that since we’re in the age of communication, people would be able to communicate with each other. But we depend too much on technology. However, I want to give you kudos for foiling your kidnapper. It’s a good thing you’re not a docile little doll. If you were, you wouldn’t be here right now. Of course you shouldn’t have gone to the party without telling your mother. But this whole thing sounds like one of those old slapstick comedies where everyone is in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Stone was an adept questioner, and she wrung every possible bit of information out of Shahla, including as much of a description of the kidnapper and his car as she could give. Shahla answered readily, but she was getting visibly tired. Finally, it became evident that she had nothing new to add to what she had already said.

  “We’ll let you go and get some sleep,” Stone said, looking meaningfully at Tony. “Let me see if any reporters are here.”

  She went out and returned within a minute. “They’re starting to gather. Do you want to speak to them tonight, Shahla? You are one terrific story, and they’re going to hound you until they get it.”

  Shahla shook her head. “I can’t take any more tonight.”

  “Okay. Tony, is your car parked in front? Drive it around to the back. I don’t think they know you, do they? I’ll distract them and then sneak Shahla out the back door.”

  ***

  “How did you know I had a spare bedroom?” Tony asked as they went from the carport through his back door.

  “I didn’t,” Shahla said. “I didn’t want to tell my mom I was going to sleep on the floor. She wouldn’t have liked that.”

  “So you didn’t know that Josh left.”

  Shahla looked surprised. “What happened?”

  “He didn’t like the fact that I turned him in.”

  “Oh, Tony, I’m sorry. Is he still a suspect?”

  “Not really. It seems those panties are about ten years old. They date from college. I vaguely remembered something about them after he accused me of betraying him.”

  “I guess I can’t say that the situation must be difficult for you.”

  Tony laughed shortly. “No more than I can say it to you. We have to make up the bed in what was Josh’s room for you. Fortunately, I actually do laundry once in a while, and I have clean sheets.”

  “May I take a shower? I haven’t had one in a couple of days. And I need to wash off his touch. And my clothes are dirty.”

  “We should have gone by your place and picked up some clean clothes.”

  “And fight the reporters? No thanks. I’ll manage. But my leg started to hurt when we were at the police station.”

  Shahla pulled up her shorts and pointed to a bruise on her upper thigh. But when that didn’t uncover all of it, she impatiently pulled her shorts down. She was wearing a bikini bottom underneath. Tony forced himself to concentrate on the colors of the ugly blotch, ranging from red to black and blue, like a poorly executed abstract painting.

  “How did you get that?”

  “When I was trying to get away from him, I hit a parked car. That’s when I hurt my hands.”

  “I have some disinfectant for the cuts,” he said. “But I don’t know what we can do about the bruise. Do you want to put ice on it?”

  “No. It will be okay as long as nothing touches it. May I take a shower now? I’ll wash it off.”

  Tony gave Shahla towels and a washcloth and made up the spare bed while she was in the shower. He felt like a housewife. He was glad he had a cleaning lady who came on a regular basis so that the house wasn’t too dirty. He also found a first aid kit.

  He had an urge to open the bathroom door and ask her if she needed her back washed, but he was the parent here, and he couldn’t do that.

  He was in the spare bedroom when Shahla poked her head out of the bathroom door and yelled, “Do you have a T-shirt I can wear?”

  He had forgotten about nightclothes for her. He limped down to his bedroom, passing her on the way and came back with a T-shirt. She reached out a bare arm and took it from him, then closed the door. Tony retreated to his bedroom so she would have a clear path to her room when she came out.

  However, several minutes later she appeared in his doorway and said, “I borrowed your comb. Do you have an extra toothbrush?”

  The T-shirt was long enough on her so it served as a mini-dress. Tony said, “My dental technician always gives me a toothbrush when I get my teeth cleaned. I think I have a couple of extras.”

  He went into the bathroom and saw her clothes sitting on the toilet seat. He said, “I have a washer and dryer. I’ll wash your clothes for you.”

  “I see this is a full-service hotel,” Shahla said, really smiling for the first time since she had shown up at his doorstep.

  “Do you want the swimsuit washed?”

  “If you don’t mind. That’s my underwear until I go home.”

  Tony took her clothes downstairs and put them in his washing machine. The washer and dryer were located in a small utility room off the kitchen. When he
came back five minutes later, Shahla had gone into her bedroom but left the door open. He waited until the wash cycle ended and placed the clothes in the dryer. Then he went to bed. It had been an exhausting day. And his knee hurt.

  He was trying to settle himself down to sleep when he felt, rather than heard or saw, something in his doorway. He turned his head and barely saw Shahla’s silhouette against the dark background of the hallway.

  “I don’t want to sleep in there alone,” she said. “It’s too dark with the light out. I’m afraid.”

  “Do you want a nightlight?” Tony asked.

  “No, I want to sleep in your bed.”

  “You mean, you want to trade beds?”

  “No.”

  “That’s not a good idea. I’m just down the hall from you. You can call if you need me.”

  “The stairs are between us. He might…come up the stairs.

  “The police are watching the house.” Tony was getting a little perturbed. He needed a good night’s sleep. He said, “I guess I could sleep on the couch downstairs.”

  “No, I want you nearby. Stay in the bed. I won’t take up much room.”

  Shahla lay down on the bed beside him and pulled the sheet and light blanket over her. She lay on her side, facing away from him. He normally slept in his briefs and a T-shirt. Sometimes he took the briefs off if they were too constricting. Fortunately, he hadn’t done that tonight. It was an old-fashioned double bed, not queen or king-size. There was no extra room. Tony turned his back to her and found himself on the edge of the bed.

  “After my father was killed, I sometimes slept with my mom, and we would cuddle together like spoons,” Shahla said.

  It was clear what she wanted him to do. He turned over and carefully arranged his body so that, although they were touching, it didn’t go beyond that. He tentatively placed his arm over her. She snuggled against him and then lay still. He felt tense and wondered how long he could stay like this. He would never fall asleep. At least not for a long….

  CHAPTER 34

  When he awoke, Tony was facing his window, which faced toward the east. And the rising sun. Which had already risen. There was something wrong with this. Oh yes, it was a workday, and he hadn’t set the alarm. He was late already. He carefully got out of bed, trying not to disturb Shahla. It had been a while since he had slept with a woman. What was the proper etiquette? Let her wake up at her own speed.