Page 50 of Gage
Finally, his body slumped forward, the knife in his hand falling to the ground. Letting out a long sigh, he rolled off Blackthorn, and pulled him off Bas, right as Jansen and several uniformed officers stormed into the room. Funny, he hadn’t heard the sirens until now.
“Please tell me he’s alive.” Jansen holstered his weapon, and leaned forward, offering Gage a hand up.
“He’s alive, but his wife isn’t. He killed her.” Gage pointed to Elizabeth Blackthorn’s body on the other side of the table, blood pooling beneath her.
“You witness it?”
Gage shook his head wearily. “No, but Suzanna did.” He looked around. “Where is she?”
“EMT arrived right behind us. They’re looking at her, seeing if she needs medical attention.”
Bas lumbered to his feet, brushing himself off. “If anybody cares, I’m fine.”
Gage rolled his eyes, knowing Bas was simply blowing off steam now that it was all over, and nobody got hurt. “I’m going to check on Suzanna.”
“Once you’ve made sure your woman is okay, I’m going to need a formal statement. And the evidence you promised.”
Gage reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the flash drive. “Everything you need is on here. Blackthorn sabotaged the company’s launch of the new microchips, which was when Steven Dawkins started digging into his activities. Blackthorn hired a hitman to take out Dawkins, which would put him in charge of the day to day operations at Dawkins, Inc. He didn’t know Dawkins had changed his will, not giving him the additional twenty-one percent, which would have given him controlling interest in the company. Instead, he left everything, including his seventy percent of the company to his wife. He planned on having Suzanna sign a new will, leaving the company to Blackthorn, and backdating it to right after Steven’s death.”
“I guess he was going to eliminate her after she signed.”
“The evidence I’ve given you shows he was going to shoot Suzanna, and make it look like his wife did the deed. Then he’d planned to kill Elizabeth, making it look like a murder suicide.He’s free and clear and with the new launch of the particle light microchips, he stood to control Dawkins and make billions.”
Jansen shook his head, staring at the flash drive. “All of that’s on this drive? Where did you get it?”
“Confidential informant. But you’ve got the name of the hitman, how much he was paid, and everything else you need to send Blackthorn to prison for the rest of his miserable life. That’s on top of the murder of Elizabeth Blackthorn.”
“With everything going on, I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but I received an anonymous tip from somebody who gave me a DVD. No, don’t say anything; I swear I just got it. Anyway, there’s evidence of Blackthorn’s tampering with the microchips, causing the malfunction. There’s also video of him meeting with somebody three days before Steven Dawkins murder. There was definitely an exchange of cash. There’s also copies of bank statements showing the cash withdrawal on the same day as he met up with the person on the video. There’s more but I haven’t had a change to go over everything yet, but I’ve got the feeling this combined with your evidence definitely puts Mrs. Dawkins in the clear.
Bas walked over and slapped Gage on the back. “Looks like everything’s worked out. The bad guy is caught, nobody got hurt, and you get the girl. All’s well that ends well, isn’t that what they say?”
Gage couldn’t stop the eye roll at Bas’ quip. “How do your brothers put up with you? I do appreciate the save in there. Good job.”
“All in a day’s work for Carpenter Security. Now, since you’re probably going to be around here for a while, dealing with all the aftermath, mind if I head out? I need to go check on Ranger. I’m going to need to get an update and call Dad. Believe me, you don’t want Gator Boudreau showing up, demanding answers.”
“Gator Boudreau? Your daddy is Gator Boudreau? How about I have one of my officers drive you over to Parkland?” Detective Jansen frantically waved to one of the uniformed men. “Give him a ride over to Parkland ASAP.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bas’ shoulders shook with suppressed laughter, before he leaned over and whispered to Gage, “Dad’s reputation apparently reaches a lot farther than just Cajun country.”
Gage gave him a little shove. “Get out of here. I’ll handle the cleanup.”
Leaving Jansen and the other cops to deal with Elizabeth Blackthorn’s body, Gage made his way outside, toward the flashing lights of the ambulance. Suzanna sat perched on the edge, a warming blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Sitting down beside her, he nudged her with his shoulder.
“You doing okay?”
She pulled the blanket tighter. “I am now that you’re here.”
“I was terrified I wouldn’t get here in time. Thinking about you at the mercy of Blackthorn, I felt helpless. I don’t think I’ve ever driven that fast outside a racetrack in my life.”
Leaning against him, she rested her head on his shoulder. “I never doubted for a second that you’d find me.”
“You didn’t?”
“It was just a feeling…I can’t describe it, but I felt such peace when I thought about you. Something told me you were on your way, that you’d figure out Donald’s plan. I prayed harder than ever, asking for a miracle, and there you were like an avenging angel.”
“Seems like you were rescuing yourself when I got here.”
