With a bit of effort, I was
able to get my cuffed hands in front of me. Then, before calling the cops, I
collected the gun and the knife, unlocked the car trunk, and disposed of them
there.
As it turned out, I didn't
have to call 911. The cop that Tom had assigned to watch me showed up, gun
drawn, just as I wrestled my phone out of my pocket.
He took one look at the
Donatis, shaking his head. "And Detective Sharp thought you might need my
help why?" Then he apologized for not getting here sooner. "After
sitting at the restaurant for ten minutes I figured maybe something had
happened, so I beat it over here."
"Just in time to help
with the clean-up," I said dryly. "Think you can find the keys to
these?" I held out my hands. "Maybe in his pocket?" I nodded
toward Ben.
He did, freed me, and then
used them to cuff Ben, before putting his own pair on Carlo's wrists. Finally,
he called in for a pick up and an ambulance. The ambulance showed up first, of
course. I got checked out by one of the EMTs who said there was more blood than
real damage from the cuts on my throat. He cleaned them, slapped on couple of
bandages, and then went to check on Carlo, while his partner was dealing with
Ben's broken nose and what turned out to be a cracked jaw.
Tom showed up by the time
the EMTs were ready to transport Carlo and Ben to the hospital. After he
collected their weapons from my car trunk and bagged them, we went into the
house where he sat me down and made me give him a blow-by-blow of what had
happened, while he took notes.
I finished up by saying,
"The only thing Ben didn't do was admit to the murders."
"Unfortunate, but not
too surprising. We have the knife though, and my bet is we'll be able to prove
it was the one he used on the women."
"You know, I almost
feel sorry for Carlo. Despite everything, he did his best to bring Ben up right
and he succeeded—until Ms Engel got greedy again. I wonder when he finally
realized that it was Ben who had murdered her, and the other women."
"Best guess, the next
day, if he's the one who was watching your place and shot at you. Whether he
figured it out for himself or Ben told him is still up for grabs."
"With Ben living right
here in town, it's fifty-fifty which one did what," I said. "It's
pretty obvious though that Carlo had no intention of turning Ben in. Pop
psychology, but on some level he was probably glad she was dead and felt it was
justified. If he knows about the other murders, and I'm betting he does, they
still didn't factor in to his need to protect Ben."
"Or they made him even
more protective." Tom shook his head. "From the outside looking in,
he was almost psychopathic in his need to do that. I hope to hell I never get
that way with my kids."
"Hopefully you won't
need to. I don't see either of them turning into homicidal maniacs."
"I'm betting he didn't
think Ben would—until it happened. I'm sure we'll find out in time, one way or
the other." He got up, putting his notepad away. "You'll need to come
down to the precinct to sign your statement, once I get it typed up. Now, I have
to get to the hospital and question the Donatis, or"—he smiled
dryly—"try to while their lawyer fends me off, if they've gotten
one."
"Have fun with that.
Oh, and where are you hiding Ricky so I can go get him?"
He chuckled. "You know
that's a state secret, so I'll have one of my people bring him home."
We shook hands, he thanked
me for my help, I thanked him for his, and he left.
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