Chapter Ten

"Blame it on the Danger"

Dealing with someone who was clinically insane wasn't much different than dealing with any other person. The only difference was that these poor souls lacked the ability to stop themselves from performing a violent act. We're all capable of murder but have obtained the moral guidance required not to follow through with it. We were taught the differences between right and wrong from birth. In most, those lessons stick. In others, they don't.

It was almost unfair. Kade didn't have a choice. I had intentionally threatened him and revealed to him that I knew the truth of what he'd done and where he was headed. The chance of him coming after me in order to silence me is what I was counting on. It was all just a matter of timing at this point.

According to our plan, Ami had phoned for a cab. While we were waiting for it, I prepared Iris.

"Be sure to capture them in the light so we can get a shot of their faces," I told her for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, yes. Seriously, Ben – you need a new camera," Iris pointed out. "You do realize you can buy an infrared lens nowadays."

"If you can afford one," I declared. "Now, seriously. Whoever comes out that door with Kade, we need a good shot of, as well as him leaving."

"Got it," she confirmed. "Afterward, I'm hauling my ass to your apartment just in case."

"No! You can't interfere no matter what. If he suspects we're onto him, it might scare him off. Just let things happen as they will. Trust me, I'll be ready."

"You'd better be," Iris finally complied although she was shaking her head. "If this doesn't work out as you hope, in the best scenario, we're all out of a job."

"You can back out now if you'd like. I won't hold it against you," I told her honestly, although, at this point, I wasn't sure what I'd do. She was a vital part of gathering needed evidence.

"No. I'm in," she replied, easing my mind. "I'll stay hidden in the dark and do what you said. At least this one time."

"Thanks, Iris," I patted her arm before turning to join Ami. The cab was already waiting for us.

A few minutes later, we were standing in my apartment staring at my bed. "Realistic enough?" I asked before adjusting the pillow meant to represent my torso.

Ami pulled the blanket up and over the form we'd created. "It doesn't matter. It'll be too dark to tell," she insisted. "Are you sure you don't want me in here with you? I could hide in the closet."

Absolutely not. I'd already made up my mind, and I reached for both her upper arms to express my sincerity.

"I don't want you anywhere near this guy. He's dangerous and there's no telling what he'll do once he's caught. If he saw you, he'd probably use you as a hostage, and I won't allow that. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," I admitted.

And I wasn't finished. Later, I'd probably blame my vulnerability on the heightened sense of danger, because I hadn't planned on admitting this so soon.

"I love you, Ami," I said, shocking us both. It was a little early to say it. We'd only been seeing each other a few months. Sometimes, you just know. And I knew I was in love with her on our second date. I just didn't have the nerve to tell her. Now, in the face of oncoming danger, I felt it was necessary to tell her. I might not get another chance.

Once the surprise was over and realization had sunk in, Ami stepped forward into my arms. I didn't care if she repeated the phrase to me or not. What was important right now was that she knew how I felt.

She gazed into my eyes for a moment as if she were trying to make up her mind. I smiled and was about to ease her worry and tell her it was okay if she didn't love me back. My entire world would be in shambles, but I'd learn to live with it.

But as soon as I opened my mouth to tell her, she smiled and said the words. So far, our relationship had been filled with joking and teasing, and even though this was a serious moment, I decided to lighten things up a little.

"Pardon me? What was that?" I asked, leaning one ear toward her. "Could you repeat that please?"

"You jerk!" Ami playfully punched me in the arm before I pulled her into an embrace.

"I heard you and I'm happy," I assured her. "Now, we just have to catch this maniac and our joy will be complete."

"I'll be upstairs," she reminded me. "If you need me, just yell and I'll come running."

"Will do," I assured her.

She smiled before switching off the light, leaving me alone in the darkness. Once I heard the front door close and her footfalls travel up the stairs, I relaxed a little.

In the corner of my bedroom, away from the window was a tall dresser. It was behind it that I took my stand. Now, the wait would begin. The moonlight was painting a narrow stripe across the carpet and hit the nightstand at just the right angle so I could make out my alarm clock. Both hands were straight up. It was midnight. By my calculations, and referencing the time of David's death, Kade would be showing up sometime between now and two o'clock.

While I waited, I thought about Ami and her declaration of love for me. I was thrilled about that but needed to focus, so I thought of other things. My gun. I had checked the revolver in my hand several times to make sure it was fully loaded. I needed to think of something else: Mr. Quinn and how much success he was having in Florida. He probably hadn't even arrived yet and I wasn't sure how pleased he'd be to have traveled all that way for nothing. If Kade was going to act as I expected him to, then the case was over. As long as Iris took those photos, we'd have all the evidence we'd need.

I checked the clock again. It was now half-past one. If he was going to show up, it'd be soon.

As if on cue, I detected the sound of metal upon metal and soon heard the slight creak of my front door being opened. It was shut so carefully, it barely made any noise at all. I stiffened my back and leaned further into the shadows when the door to my bedroom was eased open soon after.

A shadowy figure that was too tall to be one of the girls slipped in and a weapon I assumed was a knife from my kitchen was raised over his head. It was thrust down once and then twice before he realized the lump in the bed wasn't a body. That moment was when I emerged from the darkness and pointed my gun at his face.

"Kade Smith, I'm taking you downtown to the police station where you'll be arrested for the murder of David McCoy, as well as the attempted murder of…well…me."

"Aren't you the tricky one?" Kade stood up to face me, the knife still in his grip.

"Drop the weapon," I instructed, "and stand still!"

He was inching back toward the doorway ever so slowly. I couldn't allow him to leave and yet I couldn't shoot him either. He wasn't attacking me and I wouldn't be acting in self-defense. He had unlawfully entered my apartment, but the laws of defending one's property were still undecided in this state.

I had backed him into my living room while he still held the knife.

"You're not leaving here except as a corpse," I tried to bluff him, which only made his smile widen.

"You don't have what it takes to pull that trigger, boy," he replied. "I'm going to walk right out your door and come visit you another time; a time you least expect it, and then we'll see who the corpse shall be."

There was a change in the plan, though I didn't dare mention it. I'd find the time to yell at her later, but right now I had to keep my eyes on Kade. I couldn't give away the fact Ami was right behind him and about to…

"I hope that wasn't anything you were fond of," she told me a few seconds later.

"Not really. It was a gift from Quinn. Don't worry, I won't miss it." There were pieces of colorful marble lying everywhere. The sculpture had served its purpose. Kade was unconscious.

"I'll remove the knife. Ami, phone the police. Ask for Chief Mason Dunn," I asked before kneeling next to the intruder.

Pulling a handkerchief from my suit coat pocket, I lifted the knife from his open hand and placed it on the table, then stood and walked over to the window. I jerked out the long cords that controlled the blinds and returned to roll Kade onto his stomach. I then carefully tied his hands behind his back. It was at that point he started coming to and began to moan.

Ami had returned from the kitchen. "Mr. Dunn said he's on his way. He sounded cranky, probably because it's the middle of the night."

Chief Dunn was always cranky, regardless of the time.

"You don't have nothing on me," Kade began although his words were muffled by the thick carpeting. "Breaking and entering maybe, but that will put me in the can for about a week. Then, I'll be right back at Happy Acres. When that happens, you'd better watch your back, Mr. Noble, because I'll….

"What did you do that for?" I asked as soon as Ami knocked Kade in the head again. This time, she had grabbed a heavy bookend from the shelf behind her.

"Because I'm sick of listening to his threats!" she exclaimed, her eyes widened by excitement and anger. I'd have to memorize that expression. It might prove to be useful during our later lives together.

"Geez, Ami. I hope you didn't kill him." I began to check for a pulse just in case.

Now worried, she leaned over him. "Do you think I did?"

Eventually I found a strong pulse along his jugular. "He's fine," I said before picking up the object she had bludgeoned the guy with. "Put this back on the shelf," I requested, handing it to her. "If we keep this up, I won't have any knick-knacks left."