Live to Tell (Live to Tell #1)(95)

Pop and pay…such an easy, uncomplicated way of doing business compared to what came afterward.

But I did it. I took care of the husband and girlfriend all by myself. And it wasn’t even as upsetting as I expected it to be, once we got rolling.

The first order of business that day was to get into the White Plains apartment building and wait for Nick Walsh to come home. Such a shame that it was impossible to get into his apartment without a key to the deadbolt, or bloodshed might have been completely unnecessary.

That’s what I thought at the time, anyway…when I figured that the stuffed animal was conveniently located on the other side of that locked door.

Of course, it wasn’t. And so there were complications. Too bad. It should have been so easy.

The wait there in the corridor was endless, and when Nick finally arrived midday, he wasn’t alone. A beautiful woman accompanied him. They were both tanned, relaxed, weighed down with luggage; obviously returning from a vacation.

That was surprising. One would expect a man who’d picked up a stuffed animal from a lost and found to be accompanied by a child, and probably a wife. But it was obvious this woman wasn’t his wife—they were too playful and affectionate with each other, pausing for a long kiss as he unlocked the door.

They didn’t even notice they were being watched from the shadows at the end of the hall. They stepped into the apartment, dropped their luggage, and kissed again. Nick Walsh was reaching to pull the door closed when he realized that someone was about to step over the threshold after them.

He paled beneath his summer tan when he saw the gun. The woman opened her mouth to scream, but was effectively silenced with a curt “Make one sound, and I will pull the trigger.”

They assumed it was a robbery. It might have been that simple, were the pink stuffed dog in the apartment.

No.

It would have been a robbery-murder, because Garvey wanted no witnesses. They never had a chance.

Nick claimed that the toy wasn’t there, and it didn’t take long to search the place, thanks to the minimalist decor and obvious bachelor pad setup.

“Where is it?”

Nick, oh so heroic at that point, wasn’t willing to talk. He had probably realized that it would be messy—and loud—for two people to be gunned down in the middle of the day in an apartment building. Not to mention that he had something his adversary wanted—his only bargaining chip if he wanted to stay alive.

“You need to come with me, then. Both of you.”

“Why me?” the woman whimpered. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Not my problem. Let’s go.”

They took the elevator down to the basement and exited onto the side street, where the car was waiting. An SUV, rented, tinted windows.

The drive up to Greymeadow took almost an hour. What came next took five minutes—unless you counted the time it took to drag the bodies over to the pond, weigh them, sink them.

And now I’m going to have to do it all again…with four of them.

At least the kids are smaller. They’ll be easier to move when the time comes.

“Do you remember the boxes you donated for a tag sale, Lauren?”

“Yes…” On the other end of the phone line, she’s barely audible.

“In one of them—the one marked with black letters, your daughter tells me—is the pink stuffed dog. She put it there. Drive over to the church basement, get the dog, and bring it back to your house. Don’t talk to anyone.”

“But…what if someone is there? I can’t just barge in and—”

“Tell them your daughter wants her toy back. Nothing else. It’s very simple.”

It is, almost laughably simple—but it’s doubtful Lauren finds anything remotely humorous about her children being held for ransom.

“What about my kids?”

“When I get what I want, you get what you want.”

“How do I know?” Her voice is trembling, poor thing.

“We’ll just have to trust each other, won’t we.”



Listening to an endless speech about the evils of stem cell research, Garvey pretends to be riveted. He’s gotten quite good at feigning rapt attention.

But his thoughts are on his elder daughter. On the bitter irony that one day, stem cell research might result in a cure for her disease.

But Caroline is going to be all right regardless.

Thanks to me.

After the failed effort to conceive a savior sibling, Garvey knew he had to take matters into his own hands. If he didn’t do something to stop the death march through his little girl’s bloodstream, Caroline was going to die.

And so he made the decision that would come back to haunt him years later.

Yet, looking back, he knows he wouldn’t have done anything differently.

As a lawyer, he was well aware that the legal process to open sealed records was incredibly complicated—and hardly private.

He was on the verge of a congressional career built on family values. If the truth got out, his life would be destroyed.

But he told himself that wasn’t the main reason he opted not to go the legal route. No, it wasn’t about him. It was about Caroline. There was no time to waste.

For a man with Garvey’s connections, sidestepping legality was ridiculously easy.