Jack Beale 00 - Killer Run

give it to me. And, yes, once I have it, you will never see me again.”
    Alfred put one hand into a pocket. She couldn’t tell if he had a weapon, but she didn’t want to find out.
    The garbage bag with the quilt inside was under the bed. “It’s under there,” she said, pointing at the bed.
    “Go on!” She thought that his tone had softened a bit, but his one hand remained inside his coat pocket and she wasn’t going to test him.
    Slowly, she knelt down and awkwardly reached under the bed. As Max groped around for the bag, Cat walked back into the room. She trotted over to Max, curious about what she was doing. Max pushed her away. “Get away, Cat.” Cat ignored her and came right back, rubbing up against her.
    “Hurry up,” Alfred said, hardly even taking notice of the cat.
    It took a moment before her fingers finally touched the plastic. When she managed to pull it out, she pushed the bag toward him.
    Alfred picked it up, and as soon as it was in his hand, his voice turned cold and menacing again.
    “Stay here, don’t do anything foolish. I have what I want. I don’t want to hurt anyone else, but I will if I have to. Understand?”
    Max nodded her assent.
    He stared at her, patted his pocket, and then started to leave.
    As he turned, Max said softly, “Thomas, I hope you find what you are looking for.”
    He spun back toward her, his eyes wide and his mouth open as if he were about to say something else. He didn’t. He just looked at her and then left the room.
    Max didn’t see Cat trotting after him. She sat on the floor, frozen, her mind racing as she tried to decide what to do to save Jack. Should she rush outside now? Wait till Alfred was gone?
    Then she heard a scream and the sounds of something heavy tumbling down the stairs. Suddenly, all was silent. That’s when Cat sauntered back into the room, purring loudly. She stopped, looked at Max, and mrowed.

CHAPTER 102
    MAX RUSHED OUT OF THE BEDROOM and to the stairs. At the bottom in a most awkward position lay Alfred, still holding the plastic bag. Her hands shook as she dialed Tom’s number, and when he answered, she might as well have been speaking in tongues.
    “Max, take a breath, slow down,” said Tom. It took a few minutes before he understood what she was saying. “Don’t move, I’ll be right there.”
    “But what about Jack?”
    “I’m sure he’s okay. Stay upstairs, lock yourself in the bathroom. I’m on the way.”
    The flashing blue lights from Tom’s car reflected through the windows, followed closely by the reds of the ambulance.
    “Max?” It was Tom.
    She walked over to the top of the stairs and looked down. The twisted form of Alfred was still there, now covered in a blanket.
    “He’s dead,” said Tom.
    “Jack. What about Jack?” she cried.
    “He’ll be fine. The EMTs are with him. It looks like he might have a concussion. He took a pretty nasty hit on the head. May need some stitches, too.”
    Max started to shake. Her legs would no longer support her and her eyes began to tear up. She sat down at the top of the stairs as the tears streamed down her face. Cat bumped her head against Max’s elbow and mrowed as if to say, “It’s okay.”
    Max picked Cat up into her lap and Cat, sensing her distress, began purring and settled in.
    “Tom, when can I come down?”
    “As soon as we get Alfred moved. It shouldn’t be too long. Sit tight. I’ll run you over to the hospital once we’ve wrapped things up here.”
    Max stood back up and went to the window, Cat still in her arms, and watched as the ambulance loaded Jack in and drove off. The phone rang and she answered it.
    It was Patti. “Max, are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Listen, the PD just called me to photograph the scene. I’m on my way over now.”
    “Did you hear about Jack?”
    “Yes. Look, Tom says he’s going to be okay. I called Dave and he’s heading to the hospital to be with Jack. I’ll come up and see you as soon as I’m done.”
    “Thanks Patti. See you soon.”
    * * *
    Max had expected that it would take a lot less time than it did for them to remove Alfred. Eventually, fatigue won out. When they finally took the body away, Patti found her curled up on the couch with Cat, sound asleep.
    Max awoke with a start. Still foggy, all she saw was Patti, sitting on the edge of the couch. She sat up.
    “Patti, is he gone? Jack? What …?”
    “He’s gone. They’re keeping Jack overnight. The knock on his head was pretty bad