Page 76 of Cold Vengeance

“You know that the Strangler’s partner is probably nowhere near us,” she said. “Besides, we’ve got the upper hand. So don’t overreact.”

“Overreact? Are you kidding me? What...”

“Would you hush?” River said. “I’ll explain everything later. You’ll understand why I left. But for now, can we deal with what’s happening now?”

“I guess,” Tony grumbled, “but this isn’t over.”

He walked down the hall to the closet and pulled out his duffel bag. Then he grabbed his own gun. River took the extra clip out of her pocket and handed it to him. If this was just the neighbor getting home after a night on the town, this could end up being very embarrassing.

She went over to the window and pulled the drape back just enough so she could get a clear look at the dark car parked outside. An SUV like Tony’s, but a different make. It was the same one she’d noticed earlier when she drove up. She could see that someone had gotten out of the car. He opened the door to the back seat and pulled out a bag. Her stomach turned over whenshe realized what was probably in the bag. She turned to Tony, who stood next to her.

“He’s going to do the same thing here that he did at your apartment if we don’t stop him.”

“You stay here and protect your mom and Mrs. Weyland. I’ll stop him.”

“Tony, you know I’m a better shot than you are.”

“We’ll both go,” Tony said gruffly.

When Tony made his mind up there was no arguing with him. She really was a better shot and felt she was the logical choice to take charge. But they didn’t have time to stand around and argue.

“All right,” she whispered.

River disarmed the security system using the keypad next to the front door. Then she and Tony moved through the kitchen to the door that led to the backyard. River wanted to come up behind this guy. Walking through the front door wasn’t the way to do it. Tony didn’t argue, so he was probably thinking the same thing she was. They had to move quickly. If he was going to do what she thought he was, they had to be perfect. They had to stop him before it was too late.

She crept around one side of the house while Tony went the other way. As the man approached the yard, he removed something from the bag. The front porch light was on and there was a streetlight nearby, but he wore a dark coat with a hood and a scarf around the lower part of his face. Obviously, he didn’t want to be seen. Their mounted outside camera wasn’t a threat to him. He intended to burn everything down. In his mind, nothing would be left to incriminate him.

River quickly walked out into the yard. “Stop right there,” she said loudly, stopping him in his tracks. “If you take one more step, I’ll shoot you where you stand. I’m serious.”

He looked at her and raised his hand. It was then she saw that he was armed as well. She didn’t hesitate. She took aim and hadher finger on the trigger when a shot rang out and he fell. She was confused. Had she taken the shot or had Tony? She looked over at him as he came into the yard from the other side of the house. He looked as confused as she was. Suddenly, the yard was flooded with light. Two police cars were parked on the street, and two officers were standing on the sidewalk, their guns drawn.

“Chief Martin told us you might need help,” one of the officers said.

River was about to thank him when the man who’d been shot struggled to his feet and turned toward the police. Before they could stop him, he held up the object he’d taken from the bag and lit it. Exactly what River had suspected. A Molotov cocktail. He drew his arm back to throw it when both officers fired again. River yelled at them to stop, but she wasn’t fast enough. The man fell again, and the bottle exploded. In only seconds, he was engulfed in fire. River prayed he was already dead. She wouldn’t want her worst enemy to die by burning alive.

His body writhed on the yard, but it was probably involuntary spasms caused by the intense heat. One of the officers came up to them, while two others ran over to the man lying in the yard and tried to put out the flames.

“You need to tell them that he might have another bottle filled with gasoline in his bag,” River said. “They need to stay back. He’s already gone.”

The officer yelled for the other officers to get back. They immediately put distance between them and the man who was still burning.

It suddenly began to snow. It was as if God was putting out the fire Himself. Unfortunately, it would take a lot of snow to accomplish that. Just then a fire truck pulled up behind the police cars. Firefighters jumped out and pulled out a long hose. Instead of using water, they began to spray foam over the fire and thebody. It was the best way to fight a gasoline fire. Water could have actually spread the flames.

Tony put his arm around River and led her back inside the house. “I have a feeling you owe me an explanation,” he said.

She smiled up at him. “I’m absolutely certain I do.”

CHAPTER

FORTY-THREE

Tony sat at the kitchen table with River. Mrs. Weyland had finally gotten Rose back to bed. She’d heard the sirens and woke up confused, afraid someone was breaking into the house. Once she was settled, Mrs. Weyland went to her room. Now that the house was quiet, Tony wanted answers. He was still upset that River had left the house alone, but he was even more confused as to what had just happened outside. Did River’s errand have anything to do with the death of the man in her front yard?

“First of all, as I’m sure you know, the incident outside had nothing to do with the Strangler,” River said. “I’m convinced it was the person who killed Kevin. He may have set the fire at your apartment, but I’m not sure about that yet. He might have copied what happened to you to throw suspicion on someone else. That’s just a guess. We may not ever know the truth about that.”

“And how do you know all of this?” Tony asked.

River took a deep breath. “Okay, let me start from the beginning. I know you’re angry with me for leaving, but I hope you’ll understand once I explain.”

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