Page 54 of Savannah Heat
“You will figure it out because right now as we stand here, my associate has a gun on your friend, Dan Kelly. My associate will take great pleasure in pulling the trigger if you don’t do as I say. You can save lives tonight, Miss Myers, by using your special skills.”
“What skills are you talking about?” Jenna turned her head a little, feeling the sweat running down her back, but the gun was pushed harder into her back.
“Don’t turn around. Last warning. I know who you are, Miss Myers, and I know what you have done and what you can do. Let’s not waste time in a battle of words. You will get me the necklace or Dan Kelly will die tonight, and we’ll take the necklace anyway. Others might die, too. It’s up to you.”
Jenna felt her anger conquer her fear. “If you have all this worked out, what do I do?”
“You go back upstairs; we will cut the lights. It will give you the chance to get the necklace. Once you have it, make your way back here to this same spot. I’ll be here, waiting. Once I have the necklace, my partner will join me, and Dan will be safe, as well as the others. It’s all up to you. People can live, or they can die. You must remember that.”
“How much time do I have?”
“You have seven minutes from the time you leave here until the lights go out. And let me warn you, if you alert Dan or anyone else, he, or they, will be as good as dead, as will you. Once the lights go out, you will have only three minutes to get the necklace from Mrs. Roseland. I don’t care how you do it, but if what I’ve heard about you is true, it shouldn’t be too difficult. The auto generator will kick on in three minutes, leaving partial lights in the hallways. Enough for you to find your way back out. Do you understand?”
“Yes, and I’ll do my best.”
“Please, Miss Myers, I know you can get the necklace off her and disappear in seconds, so don’t trick me. I know how long it will take you to get to back down the stairs too. The clock will be ticking. No foolish games, please.”
The gun stayed wedged in her back all the way back down the path and to the back door of the house.
Sal Amato shoved the gun hard against her back. “Don’t turn around. Go inside, and go back the way you came. The clock will be ticking.”
Jenna made her way back up the stairs, through the kitchen, and out to the main room, frantically looking for Marta Roseland. She saw no sign of Dan or Harper. She thought she saw Gail go out onto the patio, but the lights were dim, and she couldn’t be sure. She was terrified Dan was somewhere with a gun to his head, and Amato was telling the truth. Five minutes left. She kept scanning the room, feeling a little faint. Where was Marta? At least the necklace was the fake, and it was fortunate they didn’t know it. She saw Harper edging her way toward the door leading to the kitchen, but no Dan and no Gail.
Ah, Marta. “Marta, over here.” Jenna called out, louder than she meant to. She was waving like a mad woman, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Jenna, what’s wrong?” Mara rushed over.
Jenna could feel her heart beating in her chest. “Oh nothing, I wanted to chat for a second, woman to woman. Do you have a minute to spare?”
“Well, of course. Let’s step out to the patio so we can talk and out of this cigar-smelling room.”
Jenna followed her out to the patio, now feeling sick because of what she would do.
Three minutes, twenty seconds.
Marta stopped at the doorway leading out to the patio as she opened the door, fanning at her face. She adjusted the necklace and pushed at her hair. “It’s warmer in here than before, like the A/C is slowing down, don’t you think?”
Two minutes, thirty seconds. “Hmm, yeah, so…” Jenna reached for Marta’s hand.
“So, what did you want to talk about, Jenna?” Marta stepped onto the balcony.
Jenna took a deep breath. “I wanted to thank you for being such a good sport about the necklace and backing me up, and Dan, too, of course, when the insurance inspector lady made those claims.”
“Oh, think nothing of it, Jenna. I am so glad it all worked out,” Marta said.
Then time ran out.
All the lights went out, and chaos soon followed. A few shrieks of surprise sounded, some laughter, and a lot of stumbling around as everyone moved to find some light.
Time was up, and Jenna had the necklace off Marta’s neck and in her hands within seconds. She made her way across the room and toward the kitchen as the lights flickered back on and then off again. She knew the generator was gearing up, and she kicked off her shoes and ran like her life depended on it, knocking against anything in her way as she eyed the backdoor. Just as she exited the kitchen onto the back stairs, the lights flickered again, and she heard a scream from above, but she kept going. She ran out into the night not knowing what awaited her there. As she stepped from the last step onto the yard, she stumbled, but recovered, clutching the necklace in her hand.
Sweat streamed down her back as she looked around. Where was he? Then her world went dark as someone grabbed her around the waist. A needle jabbed into her right arm, and she went down, still holding the necklace. Her last thought was to wonder if Dan was still alive.
When Jenna opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the stars…the real ones in the sky. She was lying on the grass beside the gazebo. She struggled to put her thoughts together, and she lay there until her mind cleared. She sat up, but her head was spinning, making it impossible to stand. She looked at her watch. But the hazy numbers meant nothing. She had flashes of memory, the gazebo, damp grass, and a gravelly voice in her ear. Her head throbbed.
Feeling disoriented and unsteady, she half crawled, half stumbled to the back door of the house and pulled herself up using the stair railing. She stood on shaky legs until her vision cleared and she thought she could walk. She still couldn’t focus on her small watch, and had no idea how long she was out of it. She staggered up the back porch stairs and into the kitchen. No one was in sight. Then she heard voices coming from the living room, and she made her way there. She pushed at the door and slid through, trying not to draw any attention to herself.
The police chief was with the Roselands in one corner, and several other people stood with two more officers in another corner.