Page 34 of Love on the Run

Jake looked down at her. “We’ll see about that.” He gently touched her face, brushing away her tears. “You saw him kill somebody?”

“He killed Ed Bellamy,” Callie said simply.

Many things fell into place. Jake let out a long breath. “That’s why you were so surprised when the car was reported.”

“I saw him die. He couldn’t have done it.” Callie’s eyes were vacant.

“No wonder you haven’t been sleeping. No wonder you were scared.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“You can give your statement, for starters. This guy killed someone, and tried to kill you. He needs to be put away.”

Callie inhaled, and Jake couldn’t miss the expression on her face. “No, that’s just it. He’ll never go to jail.”

“Callie, you’re an eyewitness. He can’t get away with what he did.”

“He will. You don’t get it. Malcolm’s not just some guy.” Callie threw up her hands, turning away in frustration.

“Who is he, then?”

“I shouldn’t even tell you. Can’t you just let me leave here?”

“Callie,” Jake reached out and put his hand on her own. “You know I can’t do that. Please tell me.”

“Is this part of your training?” she asked suddenly.

“What?”

“When you were in the army, or the marshals, or the Boy Scouts. Did you take some kind of class in interrogation?”

“I know it sounds hard to believe, but I never had a class called Pretty Girl Interrogation. Promise. I just want to know what happened, and you need to tell someone what you saw, for your own good. Start with Malcolm. Who is he, really?”

“Okay,” Callie felt the warmth and strength of his hand over hers, and breathed in deeply. “He called himself a producer, but that’s not true. That’s one percent of his business. Malcolm was involved in a lot of shady stuff. Drugs. Girls. Boys. He could get anyone what they needed. That kind of stuff. He knew everyone…that’s how I met him. I wanted to break in. He saw me, and he liked the way I looked. He thought I’d be good in film,” she added hastily, seeing Jake’s expression darken. “He said he could give me an in. And I wanted to be an actress.” She laughed a little, sadly. “Guess I kinda was. I acted like Malcolm didn’t scare the hell out of me half the time. I didn’t know about him at first. Most people don’t. By the time I did, it was too late. You know quicksand? You try to get out, but you just sink in deeper? That was my life.

“Anyway, I was with him a lot, and I heard things. I know a lot of things I wish I didn’t.” She looked down at the ground. “Malcolm said I couldn’t leave him. That’d he’d never let me go. But I saw….” She laughed oddly. “Oh, God. I’m going to cry again. Damn it. You must think I’m crazy.”

“I think you’ve been through a lot in these last couple of days,” he responded, instinctively pulling her close again. He wrapped his arms around her for a moment. Callie, despite her tears, reveled in it.

“Now tell me what exactly happened, Callie.” He hadn’t let her go, and she didn’t want him to. God, she actually felt safe for the first time in months.

“Malcolm and I were at this party, at his house by the ocean. The usual. But then he must have gotten an unexpected call, and we went to the garage to meet someone.” She frowned, trying to bring back details. “There was another man there, Ed, who I’d seen a few times before. He worked for Mal. But they got into an argument—about a load of drugs Malcolm was receiving, or was supposed to receive. I think something got messed up with the shipment—like someone found out about it and diverted it? I’m not sure. Ed was really angry. They both were. They were each blaming the other for the screw-up.

“Anyway, Malcolm had already had a few drinks, and probably something harder, and he got real angry. Insane. He pulled out a gun and just…” She choked off. “For what it’s worth, he didn’t plan it. It just…happened.

“I think I screamed. I don’t remember. Malcolm was crazy, he was just yelling. And then he came at me, and I saw the gun. I ran. And the rest of it I told you. Everything else happened the way I said it did. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, but the truth…you wouldn’t have believed it then, and God, why should you believe me now, after I lied to you…”

“Callie, I believe you,” Jake said simply.

“You do?” she asked, staring at him in amazement.

“Yes. Your story makes sense. It fits now. There’s just one thing you left out.”

“What?”

“His full name.”

Callie inhaled. Closed her eyes. Then she told him.

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