“Hey, smiley,” Blake said, patting my head. “You finished with your tying there?”
I glanced down to see one section of rope drooping around Angelo’s ankles. I stuck my tongue out at Blake and then got to work. Really, I hadn’t even gotten started.
First, I knotted the rope into several sections around his feet. Then it was on to tying up his ankles, and then his legs. But no matter how many sections and knots I made, it didn’t seem to be enough. It was only until I tied a final section around Angelo’s upper legs and sat back, exhausted, that Blake burst out laughing.
I glared at him. “How long have you been watching?”
“Must be four minutes now,” Blake said with a grin. “Didn’t want to disturb you when you were so deep into your work.”
I eyed my creation with a proud smile. Angelo’s legs now resembled a loosely disassembled mummy, with rope extending up and down almost every inch of his legs. Okay, so I might’ve done a slightly too-good job.
Clasping my hand, Blake said, “Just in time too; look who’s here.”
I looked up to see a police cruiser, lights and siren blaring, barreling down the street toward us. The car shot into the parking lot and skidded to a stop a few spots away. A thin, angular man stepped out of the driver’s side of the car, and a broad, pyramid-shaped man stepped out of the other side.
“I’m Officer Sherpe, and that’s Officer Broag,” the thin man said.
After we shook their hands, they turned their attention to Angelo’s splayed form, and Officer Sherpe said, “This the guy? Angelo Monti?”
Blake nodded.
“He just tried shooting both of us. He’s been trying to hurt Claire here. He set a bomb in her car.”
Their heads nodded, then, simultaneously, swiveled in the direction of my burned-out wreck of a car, and froze.
“Christ almighty,” Officer Sherpe said softly.
After another minute of staring, his head swiveled back to face me. “We’ll get a fire crew on that. Are y’all okay for transportation in the meantime?”
Before I could answer, Blake said, “Yeah. We’re just going to be heading back to my cabin up the hill. That is, unless you want us for questioning today and as long as that’s what Claire wants.”
“Questioning y’all today shouldn’t be necessary,” Officer Sherpe said, nudging Angelo’s body with his foot. “Have to get this guy in for processing and all.”
He got out handcuffs and paused, the metal things hanging over Angelo’s prone form. He and the pyramid exchanged a glance and then broke out laughing.
“Y’all did this—this tie-up business?”
Blake held back his own smile. “I can’t take credit for all…this. The legs are Claire’s doing.”
Officer Broag lifted one side of Angelo, while Officer Sherpe helped with the legs and grinned at me.
“Well, little lady, you did quite a job on this guy. It’s not every day we don’t need to use cuffs.”
I smiled, and they opened the back door and heaved Angelo in.
Officer Sherpe returned, his squinty eyes on a pad of paper in his hands.
“We’ll get this guy down to the station, but we’re gonna need a statement from you in the next few days. What did you say your name was?”
“Claire Bell.”
“Right. This Angelo Monti, he’s your husband, correct?”
“Correct.”
“And just now he was trying to kill you, and before that he was chasing you?”
“Yes. I saw him kill another man about a week ago.”
“All right. Now what’s a number we can reach you at?”
“609-768-3736.”
“All righty. And this man here, this Blake, he’s your…”
Blake and I exchanged an awkward look. What was he really? He was definitely not my boyfriend, and yet he was much more than just a friend.
“A friend,” Blake said after a minute.
A knowing smile played on Officer Sherpe’s face.
“Right, friend.”
He closed his pad and walked back to his car.
“Well, Claire Bell, we’ll be in touch.”
We waved and they left us, me, Blake, and my burned-out car.
Blake cast a glance over its charred hulk. “Do you want to check if anything is salvageable?”
I shook my head. “I’ll let the fire crew do that. Anything in there is from my old life. I don’t need it anymore.”
Blake nodded again, still not looking at me directly. “And you’re fine with…coming back to the cabin?”