Chapter Twenty
~~~~~*~~~~~
His neck and arm released, Gary rolled over,
startled to find himself staring in the face of Brigatti.
Flustered, she stood up brushing herself off, at the same time
glaring down at him. Gary was a big man to handle but with
her skill and police training Brigatti could handle just about
anyone if warranted.
Gary opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly
when she raised a finger to her lips, ordering him to
be quiet.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered
"Hush!! And get rid of that damned cat will you!" she whispered back.
Suddenly her eyes clenched tight. Drawing in short gasps of breaths
her head began a jerking back motion and she held a finger quickly
beneath her nose to stifle a sneeze.
Watching her, Gary scratched his head and frowned. "Huh? Oh,
yeah, the ah, cat."
Rising to his feet, he shot Brigatti a look, having not expected
such strength to come from such a small package. If he didn't
have broken ribs before, he most certainly had them now!
He made his way carefully over to the entertainment center, where
Cat nestled, then lifted him up with both hands and carried him to
the bathroom. "Some help you are," he scolded as he opened the
door and placed him on the floor. "Sorry buddy."
Closing the door quietly, he turned back to Brigatti who was trying
very hard to suppress another sneeze. Knowing that she wasn't
one for making social calls, especially in the middle of the night,
he was worried. Maybe she knew something more about April
and was there to arrest her.
Sneeze in check, Brigatti removed her gun from her holster and
began casing the place quietly. Puzzled, Gary watched her for
a few minutes as she checked his closet and beneath his bed.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered when she had finished.
He wasn't even sure why they were whispering.
"I don't have time to explain! Get over there on the couch and
pretend that you're asleep!" Brigatti whispered.
Gary glanced at the couch then back at Brigatti. "What for?!"
Brigatti lifted her chin defiantly. "Do it Hobson!" she ordered,
nudged him towards the sofa.
Puzzled, Gary did as he was told. Brigatti had looked totally
serious and he had learned from past experience to trust her.
Settling down on the sofa he watched as Brigatti slipped
quietly behind the door, her gun clutched tightly in both
hands. In the semidarkness, she glanced over at him as she
placed a finger to her lips for silence and they waited.
As he lay there Gary thought about the headline in his paper.
Murder Suicide? No. It just couldn't be. The paper had it
all wrong. It was known to be wrong from time to time, he tried
to convince himself, still, he worried about April. Where the
hell was she? Maybe she had to leave. Maybe she--
Thunk!
What was that!?
Gary's eyes darted over to Brigatti. She had heard it too.
Adrenaline pumping, she raised the gun with both hands over her
head, waiting.
The sound of footsteps coming slowly up the stairs made Gary's
heart skip. What if it was April coming back? He held his breath,
hoping Brigatti knew what the hell she was doing.
This time there was the sound of scuffling outside of
the door. Gary raised his head slightly to take a peek. Through
the bumpy glass window he could make out the silhouette
of two figures standing side by side, one looming much taller
over the other. Lowering his head he closed his eyes and held
his breath again as the door knob clicked then turned slowly and
the door creaked open.
Peering through his lashes, Gary could still see Brigatti behind
the door with her gun raised over her head. God he hoped she knew
what she was doing.
As the two figures stepped inside the smaller one was putting up
a resistance. As they moved closer, both their faces
became more clearer by the light coming through the window.
As he got a good look, Gary's brows crinkled. The smaller figure
was April! Standing behind her was a tall dark figure with a black
hood covering his head. April looked completely terrified and was
making pleading whimpering sounds as the man gripped her arm
tight, forcing her further into the apartment. Gary's heart pummeled
loudly in his ear, so loud he was almost certain they could hear it.
He didn't like seeing April being manhandled and he resisted
the urge to jump up to try and tackle the guy. His eyes shot
over to Brigatti who seemed to be biding her time. What the hell
was she waiting for!?
Once inside April broke free and ran towards the sofa where she
had left Gary sleeping. She stumbled falling on top of him and
instinctively he grabbed her bracing himself for the impact of her
body. Face to face, April's eyes were wide with fear as she tried to get her balance. "Gary." She whimpered, as he
struggled to sit up. Turning around, April spotted Brigatti in the
shadows behind the door way and she gasped.
"Ssshhh." Gary whispered in her ear, and she quickly averted her
gaze.
The intruder stood towering over the two of them, his head darting
around the semidarkness room as he cased the place.
"W-What do you want?" Gary demanded. "Look..if-if it money--"
"Shut up!" The man ordered, cutting him off. "What I want, I know
now that I can never have!"
Confused by the statement, Gary glanced over at Brigatti who shot
him a threatening look, waving him away.
With a curious frown, April studied the intruder. The sound of his voice
was so familiar to her. She was certain she recognized it.
Swallowing hard, Gary waited quietly, his eyes fixed on the man's
gloved hand twitching nervously on the strange looking revolver he
held which looked amazingly like the one April had. Actually, it
was exactly like the one April had!
April spotted the gun too and gasped, "Peter."
Surprised, Gary's brows shot up. "Peter?
The man reached up pulling the mask off over his head. His
dark hair tumbled about his face, his blood shot eyes, disturbing,
as he glared down at them. Anxiously his hand massaged the tiny
revolver feverishly in his hand.
"April." He whispered her name, his voice hoarse and mono-toned.
"Peter?"
"My sweet, sweet April." He whispered again, his eyes filled with
love and adoration for her.
April gasped.
"Please come back to me my bunnie." He
begged shamelessly.
April's heart was pricked at the sight and sound of him. She
looked back at Gary then back at the man she was once
engaged to standing in front of them. There was something terribly
wrong with him.
"Peter, it's over." She whispered trying to keep her voice calm. "It-it was
over months ago."
"NO!!" He shouted, spittle trickling down his chin and he wiped
it away quickly with the back of his hand. He was sweating profusely
his dark eyes flashing with anger causing April to jump, grasping for
Gary's hand.
"It's not over...not yet....you see..." The man began as he moved
closer to them. "I still love you April, and I've been following you.
You're still my pretty bunnie."
April cringed, closing her eyes tight. That use to be
his pet name for her now it made her flesh crawl. The sight and
sound of him frightened her yet she somehow felt pity for him.
"P-Peter it-it's over now." She said trying to reason with him.
"W-We're throu--"
"I-I have been watching you April" He said completely ignoring
her statement. "Y-You see...the others all died because of you.
If you had come back to me, they would still be alive."
April blinked thinking back on the nights when she felt she was
being followed. It was all becoming so clearer to her now. No wonder.
No wonder!
Gary's jaw was clenched tight as he listened to all of this. This
man had gone mad and Gary knew it. He noticed also that the
man was moving closer to them as he spoke, his voice, sounding
more desperate with each step.
"Please April...I-I love you...I can't stand the fact that you're not with
me anymore. I-I can't let you go April."
April frowned, thinking about her months of torment, the confusion,
and headaches that she suffered. "So it was you all the time.
The men that I dated...you...you killed them?! Peter...why!?"
Gary's heart was racing, knowing that this man as capable of
doing just about anything he feared for April's safety. Again his
eyes darted towards Brigatti, this time in desperation.
"If I can't have you, then no one will! " The man grinned a sickly smile
spread across his face, this time his gaze fixed on Gary. "He's next."
he hissed.
"No!" April pleaded, "Peter...no!"
Behind the door, Brigatti was taking it all in knowing she
had a real nut case on her hands. Feeling anxious now she
knew that she had to act and act fast. She felt relieved
knowing that detective Winslow, who had been following the
two of them from downstairs, was close by and was waiting for
her to make her move.
"I-I killed for you April-" the man continued, "but since you won't
come back to me you'll die along with your lover. The police will
think it's a murder suicide. I switched guns with you one night
sweetie when I broke into your apartment. Now the police will think
that you were the one who had been committing the murders. But
I won't hide your bodies like I did the others. Oh no." His breath
was labored and shaky as he moved even closer to them.
So the gun April had last night wasn't her gun at all. Peter had
replaced her unfired gun with his. And Marisa was right! The paper
couldn't report the murders because he was hiding the bodies which
would be discovered days, may be weeks later! He hoped Brigatti
was getting all of this.
"I want them to find the two of you right away, together. You love
being with him don't you! I know! I've watched you! So happy
together--now die together! Give me the gun!" He shouted reaching
for her.
Gary pulled April from his reach, at the very moment Cat sprang
from out of nowhere knocking over a lamp with a loud crash. Peter
spun around quickly. Brigatti in that instant rushed forward, knocking
him to the floor. Almost instantly, Winslow and several other
policemen were there right beside Brigatti and they proceeded to
struggled and scuffled with the distraught man.
Everything was happening so fast Gary jumped up from the couch
pulling April with him as they flew against it. For minutes
the policemen scuffled violently with the man who was putting
up quite a struggle. This man, the serial killer whom all of
Chicago had been searching for, had been finally captured.
Brigatti did not want to make any mistakes.
Before long the man was subdued, handcuffed and lay sprawled
on the floor, writhing like a wild beast. The small revolver at his feet.
Out of breath, Brigatti stood up ruffling a hand through her
short tousled hair. She glanced over at April. "You all right?"
She panted, trying to catch her breath.
Visibly shaken April nodded.
Suddenly, like a scene from a horror movie a loud voice cried out
from the floor, "APRIL!! I LOVE YOU!!!
Like a - a mad man Peter lay there, his hair wild about his head
and his lips bleeding. Unfazed, Winslow checked his cuffs again
making sure he was secure, then pulled him up roughly from
the floor.
Crying, April covered her face with her hands and turned to
bury her face on Gary's chest. She wanted to hide from
every thing! To hide from the world! She felt sorry for what had
happened to those men-- Mr. Danano and the others. Even sorry
for what had happened to Peter. Sorry that she had ever met him.
Sorry for putting Gary's life in danger.
Brigatti bent down to retrieve the gun. "Get him outta here!" she ordered
waving him away, her tone irritated.
It was finally over. Holding April close, Gary ran a hand soothingly
up and down her back. "It's okay..you're safe now." He whispered
against her hair.
Gary glanced up suddenly to find Brigatti staring at them
their eyes locked briefly before Brigatti cut hers away quickly.
A gentle color rising to her cheeks as she composed herself.
Clearing her throat, she cursed herself inwardly. Her dark eyes
looked tired and showed evidence of exhaustion. She had worked
hard on this case.
"Well," she said drawing in a breath. "Looks like we won't be
bothered with lover boy for any more." She directed her gaze
towards Gary and April. "I want to see you two down at my
office some time today." With that she turned to leave.
"Brigatti!" Gary called and she stopped suddenly and turned around.
"H-How did you know?" He questioned.
Brigatti paused, "About Peter Cohelo?"
"Yeah"
"I didn't." Brigatti answered frankly, "It was only later when I
researched Danado's disappearance and came up with--" She
paused to look at April. "Did a check on you Miss Chandler
and quite frankly, everything was pointing to you. Every single one
of the victims had some connection to you in one way or another."
April looked back at Gary to check his response. He didn't offer any.
"S-So how did you know about Peter Cohelo?" He asked scratching
his head and still confused.
"Well....I tracked this man who I noticed following Miss Chandler.
Found out that he was from New York. So, I called a couple of
acquaintances I know in New York to do a little background check
on him. Again, Miss Chandler's name came up."
"We use to be engaged." April said softly.
Brigatti answered. "You were smart to leave--anyway,
I did some more checking around and discovered that Mr Cohelo
dabbled in some pretty shady dealings around New Jersey and New
York. Found out that he had friends in a little underground operation
where they made and sold fire arm of all types and capacity. That's
where we discovered the gun that could have made the type of
wounds that were found on the victims."
"Peter?" April asked, astonished. How could she not have known
these things about the man she was going to marry? She knew
that he was very controlling towards her, but she never guessed that
he would be involved in something so horrendous as this.
"But he was studying to become... a doctor." April said perplexed.
Brigatti let out a tired breath. "Yeah. Peter was a busy boy
all right, and yes he was studying 'biology', but he was also
majoring in a little criminology on the side...if you know what
I mean."
"So you knew that he was following me?"
"Eventually," Brigatti said, her dark eyes piercing
into April's blue ones. She glanced over at Gary. "He was
following you too Hobson."
Gary rubbed the back of his neck. So that explained the strange
feeling that he was being followed. The lone car starting up
and pulling off from beneath his window in the middle of the night.
"So that was your car outside of my window?" He asked motioning
towards the window.
Brigatti blinked. "No. " She said quite frankly. "That was Peter
checking you out. I was checking *him* out. Look, I don't enjoy
being out in frigid weather Hobson, especially in the middle of the
night. Lets just say that I had things under control. Tonight he saw
Miss Chandler leaving the bar and decided to pay you two a little
house call, and believe me it wasn't your health he was concerned
about."
"I'm so sorry Gary." April murmured.
Gary assured her with a smile his face looking thoughtful, "So that's
when you entered the window here." He said, turning towards the
large window. "So you knew that Peter was downstairs and...."
he paused abruptly. "Thanks."
"Yeah, well...you need to get that fire escape prepared
Hobson. " Brigatti complained, "There's a broken step. Somebody
could get hurt."
Gary smiled.
" Well," Brigatti drew in a tired breath, " I have some paper work to
do." Turning to leave she stopped abruptly and turn back around.
"Oh...do you still have that gun?"
April nodded and bent to retrieve her purse that had fallen to the floor.
She reached in and pulled out the tiny strange looking weapon. Cringing
with disgust she held it between her thumb and forefinger
and handed it to Brigatti.
Brigatti took the tiny gun and examined it thoughtfully, resting it in
the palm of her hand for a moment before placing it into a plastic
bag for evidence. "I will need t see you down at police
headquarters today." She said.
April nodded. With that, Brigatti turned on her heel, and was gone.
To be continued.....................
~~~~~*~~~~~
His neck and arm released, Gary rolled over,
startled to find himself staring in the face of Brigatti.
Flustered, she stood up brushing herself off, at the same time
glaring down at him. Gary was a big man to handle but with
her skill and police training Brigatti could handle just about
anyone if warranted.
Gary opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly
when she raised a finger to her lips, ordering him to
be quiet.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered
"Hush!! And get rid of that damned cat will you!" she whispered back.
Suddenly her eyes clenched tight. Drawing in short gasps of breaths
her head began a jerking back motion and she held a finger quickly
beneath her nose to stifle a sneeze.
Watching her, Gary scratched his head and frowned. "Huh? Oh,
yeah, the ah, cat."
Rising to his feet, he shot Brigatti a look, having not expected
such strength to come from such a small package. If he didn't
have broken ribs before, he most certainly had them now!
He made his way carefully over to the entertainment center, where
Cat nestled, then lifted him up with both hands and carried him to
the bathroom. "Some help you are," he scolded as he opened the
door and placed him on the floor. "Sorry buddy."
Closing the door quietly, he turned back to Brigatti who was trying
very hard to suppress another sneeze. Knowing that she wasn't
one for making social calls, especially in the middle of the night,
he was worried. Maybe she knew something more about April
and was there to arrest her.
Sneeze in check, Brigatti removed her gun from her holster and
began casing the place quietly. Puzzled, Gary watched her for
a few minutes as she checked his closet and beneath his bed.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered when she had finished.
He wasn't even sure why they were whispering.
"I don't have time to explain! Get over there on the couch and
pretend that you're asleep!" Brigatti whispered.
Gary glanced at the couch then back at Brigatti. "What for?!"
Brigatti lifted her chin defiantly. "Do it Hobson!" she ordered,
nudged him towards the sofa.
Puzzled, Gary did as he was told. Brigatti had looked totally
serious and he had learned from past experience to trust her.
Settling down on the sofa he watched as Brigatti slipped
quietly behind the door, her gun clutched tightly in both
hands. In the semidarkness, she glanced over at him as she
placed a finger to her lips for silence and they waited.
As he lay there Gary thought about the headline in his paper.
Murder Suicide? No. It just couldn't be. The paper had it
all wrong. It was known to be wrong from time to time, he tried
to convince himself, still, he worried about April. Where the
hell was she? Maybe she had to leave. Maybe she--
Thunk!
What was that!?
Gary's eyes darted over to Brigatti. She had heard it too.
Adrenaline pumping, she raised the gun with both hands over her
head, waiting.
The sound of footsteps coming slowly up the stairs made Gary's
heart skip. What if it was April coming back? He held his breath,
hoping Brigatti knew what the hell she was doing.
This time there was the sound of scuffling outside of
the door. Gary raised his head slightly to take a peek. Through
the bumpy glass window he could make out the silhouette
of two figures standing side by side, one looming much taller
over the other. Lowering his head he closed his eyes and held
his breath again as the door knob clicked then turned slowly and
the door creaked open.
Peering through his lashes, Gary could still see Brigatti behind
the door with her gun raised over her head. God he hoped she knew
what she was doing.
As the two figures stepped inside the smaller one was putting up
a resistance. As they moved closer, both their faces
became more clearer by the light coming through the window.
As he got a good look, Gary's brows crinkled. The smaller figure
was April! Standing behind her was a tall dark figure with a black
hood covering his head. April looked completely terrified and was
making pleading whimpering sounds as the man gripped her arm
tight, forcing her further into the apartment. Gary's heart pummeled
loudly in his ear, so loud he was almost certain they could hear it.
He didn't like seeing April being manhandled and he resisted
the urge to jump up to try and tackle the guy. His eyes shot
over to Brigatti who seemed to be biding her time. What the hell
was she waiting for!?
Once inside April broke free and ran towards the sofa where she
had left Gary sleeping. She stumbled falling on top of him and
instinctively he grabbed her bracing himself for the impact of her
body. Face to face, April's eyes were wide with fear as she tried to get her balance. "Gary." She whimpered, as he
struggled to sit up. Turning around, April spotted Brigatti in the
shadows behind the door way and she gasped.
"Ssshhh." Gary whispered in her ear, and she quickly averted her
gaze.
The intruder stood towering over the two of them, his head darting
around the semidarkness room as he cased the place.
"W-What do you want?" Gary demanded. "Look..if-if it money--"
"Shut up!" The man ordered, cutting him off. "What I want, I know
now that I can never have!"
Confused by the statement, Gary glanced over at Brigatti who shot
him a threatening look, waving him away.
With a curious frown, April studied the intruder. The sound of his voice
was so familiar to her. She was certain she recognized it.
Swallowing hard, Gary waited quietly, his eyes fixed on the man's
gloved hand twitching nervously on the strange looking revolver he
held which looked amazingly like the one April had. Actually, it
was exactly like the one April had!
April spotted the gun too and gasped, "Peter."
Surprised, Gary's brows shot up. "Peter?
The man reached up pulling the mask off over his head. His
dark hair tumbled about his face, his blood shot eyes, disturbing,
as he glared down at them. Anxiously his hand massaged the tiny
revolver feverishly in his hand.
"April." He whispered her name, his voice hoarse and mono-toned.
"Peter?"
"My sweet, sweet April." He whispered again, his eyes filled with
love and adoration for her.
April gasped.
"Please come back to me my bunnie." He
begged shamelessly.
April's heart was pricked at the sight and sound of him. She
looked back at Gary then back at the man she was once
engaged to standing in front of them. There was something terribly
wrong with him.
"Peter, it's over." She whispered trying to keep her voice calm. "It-it was
over months ago."
"NO!!" He shouted, spittle trickling down his chin and he wiped
it away quickly with the back of his hand. He was sweating profusely
his dark eyes flashing with anger causing April to jump, grasping for
Gary's hand.
"It's not over...not yet....you see..." The man began as he moved
closer to them. "I still love you April, and I've been following you.
You're still my pretty bunnie."
April cringed, closing her eyes tight. That use to be
his pet name for her now it made her flesh crawl. The sight and
sound of him frightened her yet she somehow felt pity for him.
"P-Peter it-it's over now." She said trying to reason with him.
"W-We're throu--"
"I-I have been watching you April" He said completely ignoring
her statement. "Y-You see...the others all died because of you.
If you had come back to me, they would still be alive."
April blinked thinking back on the nights when she felt she was
being followed. It was all becoming so clearer to her now. No wonder.
No wonder!
Gary's jaw was clenched tight as he listened to all of this. This
man had gone mad and Gary knew it. He noticed also that the
man was moving closer to them as he spoke, his voice, sounding
more desperate with each step.
"Please April...I-I love you...I can't stand the fact that you're not with
me anymore. I-I can't let you go April."
April frowned, thinking about her months of torment, the confusion,
and headaches that she suffered. "So it was you all the time.
The men that I dated...you...you killed them?! Peter...why!?"
Gary's heart was racing, knowing that this man as capable of
doing just about anything he feared for April's safety. Again his
eyes darted towards Brigatti, this time in desperation.
"If I can't have you, then no one will! " The man grinned a sickly smile
spread across his face, this time his gaze fixed on Gary. "He's next."
he hissed.
"No!" April pleaded, "Peter...no!"
Behind the door, Brigatti was taking it all in knowing she
had a real nut case on her hands. Feeling anxious now she
knew that she had to act and act fast. She felt relieved
knowing that detective Winslow, who had been following the
two of them from downstairs, was close by and was waiting for
her to make her move.
"I-I killed for you April-" the man continued, "but since you won't
come back to me you'll die along with your lover. The police will
think it's a murder suicide. I switched guns with you one night
sweetie when I broke into your apartment. Now the police will think
that you were the one who had been committing the murders. But
I won't hide your bodies like I did the others. Oh no." His breath
was labored and shaky as he moved even closer to them.
So the gun April had last night wasn't her gun at all. Peter had
replaced her unfired gun with his. And Marisa was right! The paper
couldn't report the murders because he was hiding the bodies which
would be discovered days, may be weeks later! He hoped Brigatti
was getting all of this.
"I want them to find the two of you right away, together. You love
being with him don't you! I know! I've watched you! So happy
together--now die together! Give me the gun!" He shouted reaching
for her.
Gary pulled April from his reach, at the very moment Cat sprang
from out of nowhere knocking over a lamp with a loud crash. Peter
spun around quickly. Brigatti in that instant rushed forward, knocking
him to the floor. Almost instantly, Winslow and several other
policemen were there right beside Brigatti and they proceeded to
struggled and scuffled with the distraught man.
Everything was happening so fast Gary jumped up from the couch
pulling April with him as they flew against it. For minutes
the policemen scuffled violently with the man who was putting
up quite a struggle. This man, the serial killer whom all of
Chicago had been searching for, had been finally captured.
Brigatti did not want to make any mistakes.
Before long the man was subdued, handcuffed and lay sprawled
on the floor, writhing like a wild beast. The small revolver at his feet.
Out of breath, Brigatti stood up ruffling a hand through her
short tousled hair. She glanced over at April. "You all right?"
She panted, trying to catch her breath.
Visibly shaken April nodded.
Suddenly, like a scene from a horror movie a loud voice cried out
from the floor, "APRIL!! I LOVE YOU!!!
Like a - a mad man Peter lay there, his hair wild about his head
and his lips bleeding. Unfazed, Winslow checked his cuffs again
making sure he was secure, then pulled him up roughly from
the floor.
Crying, April covered her face with her hands and turned to
bury her face on Gary's chest. She wanted to hide from
every thing! To hide from the world! She felt sorry for what had
happened to those men-- Mr. Danano and the others. Even sorry
for what had happened to Peter. Sorry that she had ever met him.
Sorry for putting Gary's life in danger.
Brigatti bent down to retrieve the gun. "Get him outta here!" she ordered
waving him away, her tone irritated.
It was finally over. Holding April close, Gary ran a hand soothingly
up and down her back. "It's okay..you're safe now." He whispered
against her hair.
Gary glanced up suddenly to find Brigatti staring at them
their eyes locked briefly before Brigatti cut hers away quickly.
A gentle color rising to her cheeks as she composed herself.
Clearing her throat, she cursed herself inwardly. Her dark eyes
looked tired and showed evidence of exhaustion. She had worked
hard on this case.
"Well," she said drawing in a breath. "Looks like we won't be
bothered with lover boy for any more." She directed her gaze
towards Gary and April. "I want to see you two down at my
office some time today." With that she turned to leave.
"Brigatti!" Gary called and she stopped suddenly and turned around.
"H-How did you know?" He questioned.
Brigatti paused, "About Peter Cohelo?"
"Yeah"
"I didn't." Brigatti answered frankly, "It was only later when I
researched Danado's disappearance and came up with--" She
paused to look at April. "Did a check on you Miss Chandler
and quite frankly, everything was pointing to you. Every single one
of the victims had some connection to you in one way or another."
April looked back at Gary to check his response. He didn't offer any.
"S-So how did you know about Peter Cohelo?" He asked scratching
his head and still confused.
"Well....I tracked this man who I noticed following Miss Chandler.
Found out that he was from New York. So, I called a couple of
acquaintances I know in New York to do a little background check
on him. Again, Miss Chandler's name came up."
"We use to be engaged." April said softly.
Brigatti answered. "You were smart to leave--anyway,
I did some more checking around and discovered that Mr Cohelo
dabbled in some pretty shady dealings around New Jersey and New
York. Found out that he had friends in a little underground operation
where they made and sold fire arm of all types and capacity. That's
where we discovered the gun that could have made the type of
wounds that were found on the victims."
"Peter?" April asked, astonished. How could she not have known
these things about the man she was going to marry? She knew
that he was very controlling towards her, but she never guessed that
he would be involved in something so horrendous as this.
"But he was studying to become... a doctor." April said perplexed.
Brigatti let out a tired breath. "Yeah. Peter was a busy boy
all right, and yes he was studying 'biology', but he was also
majoring in a little criminology on the side...if you know what
I mean."
"So you knew that he was following me?"
"Eventually," Brigatti said, her dark eyes piercing
into April's blue ones. She glanced over at Gary. "He was
following you too Hobson."
Gary rubbed the back of his neck. So that explained the strange
feeling that he was being followed. The lone car starting up
and pulling off from beneath his window in the middle of the night.
"So that was your car outside of my window?" He asked motioning
towards the window.
Brigatti blinked. "No. " She said quite frankly. "That was Peter
checking you out. I was checking *him* out. Look, I don't enjoy
being out in frigid weather Hobson, especially in the middle of the
night. Lets just say that I had things under control. Tonight he saw
Miss Chandler leaving the bar and decided to pay you two a little
house call, and believe me it wasn't your health he was concerned
about."
"I'm so sorry Gary." April murmured.
Gary assured her with a smile his face looking thoughtful, "So that's
when you entered the window here." He said, turning towards the
large window. "So you knew that Peter was downstairs and...."
he paused abruptly. "Thanks."
"Yeah, well...you need to get that fire escape prepared
Hobson. " Brigatti complained, "There's a broken step. Somebody
could get hurt."
Gary smiled.
" Well," Brigatti drew in a tired breath, " I have some paper work to
do." Turning to leave she stopped abruptly and turn back around.
"Oh...do you still have that gun?"
April nodded and bent to retrieve her purse that had fallen to the floor.
She reached in and pulled out the tiny strange looking weapon. Cringing
with disgust she held it between her thumb and forefinger
and handed it to Brigatti.
Brigatti took the tiny gun and examined it thoughtfully, resting it in
the palm of her hand for a moment before placing it into a plastic
bag for evidence. "I will need t see you down at police
headquarters today." She said.
April nodded. With that, Brigatti turned on her heel, and was gone.
To be continued.....................