Page 93 of The Other Lady Vanishes

“Yeah, after he sobered up.”

“I don’t think he was drunk,” Jake said.

The screaming started again. Hysterical shrieks echoed up from the water below the pier.

Jake moved to the edge and aimed the flashlight beam downward. Luther came to stand beside him. Together they looked at Massey, who was clinging to one of the pier uprights. He stared up into the light, his eyes wide with terror. He screamed again.

“Demons,”he yelled. “Stay away from me.”

“He’s still alive,” Luther observed. “But I’m not sure he’s going to do us any good. Sounds like he’s lost his mind. He’s hallucinating.”

“Got a hunch someone slipped him a drug before putting a gun in his hand and pointing him at me.”

“A human weapon, huh?” Luther sounded intrigued. “It’s an interesting method for committing murder, but obviously a little unpredictable. One thing’s for sure. Massey will never make it to shore on his own.”

“I doubt that he was intended to survive tonight. I think the planwas for him to kill me and then make it appear that he took his own life by jumping into the cove. When things veered off course, the guy in the Ford tried to adjust the details of the scheme.”

“If we don’t get him out of the water, he’ll drown,” Luther observed.

“He won’t be any use to us dead.” Jake peeled off his jacket and unbuckled his shoulder holster. “It was my plan that went wrong. My job to clean up the mess. If he recovers from the delirium, we still might have a shot at getting some information out of him.”

“I’ll give you a hand.” Luther shed his coat and gun. “I’ve seen men panic like this when the firing starts. That kind of fear gives them an unnatural strength. Massey won’t even realize that we’re trying to save him. He’ll fight you.”

“I’d appreciate the help.” Jake picked up a coiled rope and a boat hook and started down the wooden steps. “This job just gets crazier and crazier.”

“Job?”

“Adelaide says I need to find a job. For now, this is it.”

“Sort of similar to your old line of work, isn’t it?”

“Sort of.”

“You were good at it, as I recall.”

“It got old,” Jake said. “Or maybe it was me who got old.”

“You and me both. Burning Cove is a good place to start something new.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that feeling.”

Chapter 44

“In the end I had to clip him one on the jaw just to get him out of the water,” Jake explained. “We got him tied up and the bleeding under control while he was groggy. But when he came to, he was in this weird state.”

Adelaide gripped the bars of the jail cell and studied Conrad. She and Raina had arrived a short time earlier, escorted by two of Luther’s security people. Jake and Luther were standing nearby. Detective Brandon and one of his police officers were also present. So was the doctor that Brandon had first summoned to examine Madam Zolanda’s body.

Dr. Skipton had managed to get Conrad’s shoulder bandaged while officers restrained the patient. He had offered to inject Conrad with a strong sedative to try to quell the hallucinations, but he had warned them that it might not work. He had no idea how the sedative would react with the unknown drug. That was when Jake had telephoned the Paradise Club, where Raina and Adelaide had been anxiously waiting.

Conrad was huddled in a corner of the cell now, whimpering. His wrists were secured with handcuffs. His shoes and belt had beenremoved. Detective Brandon had explained that it was for Conrad’s own good. Dr. Skipton had said that if they set Massey free, he might try to harm himself or anyone who got close.

At the moment he did not appear to be a threat, Adelaide thought. Conrad murmured softly and rocked back and forth. He seemed oblivious of his injured arm as well as what was going on around him.

“He’s trapped in a nightmare,” Adelaide said quietly. “He’s almost paralyzed with fear. He’s making himself as small as possible, trying to hide from things that only he can see.”

Raina watched Conrad with a grim expression. “It would serve him right if he gets permanently trapped in that other world.”

Adelaide tightened her grip on the jail bars. “I know what it feels like to be lost in a nightmare. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”