“Oh of course,” Wendell said. She looked far too eager to oblige, wanting them to leave her alone. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s it. Thanks very much.”
As Wendell closed the door, Ava stepped back and instantly noticed Pawlowski’s look of confusion. “What the hell?” she asked. “We can’t just let her—”
“Head to the back,” Ava said, interrupting. “Someone was moving around quickly in the bathroom. If there’s a window back there, maybe they’re trying to get out of it. I’ll stay here in case anyone tries sneaking out of the door.”
Pawlowski’s eyes lit up with excitement. She nodded and raced to the left, quickly rounding the corner of the motel. When she was gone, Ava pressed herself lightly against the side of thebuilding, positioned directly between Elizabeth Wendell’s door and window. She readied herself, her ankles and calves ready to spring into action if the door opened up. Of course, she knew there was no guarantee that the movement she’d seen had been Kathleen, but ithadseemed as if Wendell had been doing her best to block the sight of the room. And the motion hadn’t occurred until after Ava had made it clear that they needed to speak with Kathleen Branson.
As it turned out, though, Ava didn’t have much time to doubt her instincts. It took less than ten seconds before she heard Pawlowski cry out from behind the building.
“Gold! She’s out! She’s out and she’s on the move!”
Ava pushed herself from the side of the building and ran in the same direction Pawlowski had gone just moments before. And when she came around the back of the building to see Pawlowski giving chase, she found that if this woman was indeed Kathleen Branson, she was incredibly fast—and she apparently wasn’t going to go down easily.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
It was hard for Ava to tell if the woman—who she assumed was indeed Kathleen Branson—was very strategic or had no idea where she was going. When she ran away from the Norman Hotel, she took an almost immediate left down an alleyway that was hidden by a small, ramshackle building and a construction site. She cut through the construction site, which Ava thought was a smart move because it presented both Ava and Pawlowski with numerous unpredictable obstacles. By the angle she was headed, Ava assumed the woman was going for the newly installed subway on this side of the city, but she ended up veering west of that location.
She supposed it didn’t matter where she was headed. She was running—and as far as Ava was concerned, that was an indication of guilt. Not only that, but she was runningfast.Ava had managed to catch up with Pawlowski, trailing her by about three paces. But Kathleen was easily half a block ahead of them by the time Ava and Pawlowski had cleared the construction site.
For a blinding moment when the world seemed to be nothing more than a blur of motion around them, Ava felt almost dizzy. The tall and still-growing part of Manhattan loomed large ahead of them, the towering buildings like some strange and exotic animal, welcoming them into its folds so it could devour them. Ava loved her city, specifically Manhattan, but she did sometimes feel that it was growing too quickly. It was a feeling that was reinforced as she and Pawlowski did their best to chase down Kathleen Branson.
Branson was heading toward Morningside Park, but Ava was starting to think she may not make it. She’d started running too hard too soon and it was clear that she wasn’t used to such strenuous activities. And while even Pawlowski seemed to beslowing a bit and growing winded, Ava had managed to keep her breathing calm and collected. It came from some of the stamina training she’d done with her father in the boxing gym, making sure you never got winded by the time the third round came along.
As Ava slowly overlook Pawlowski, she could easily tell that Kathleen was getting tired. Not only was she slowing down, but she was hunching forward slightly as she continued to draw in huge, gasping breaths.
“Stop running!” Ava called out. “You’re only making it harder on yourself, Ms. Branson.”
Kathleen continued to sprint on, but just for a few more strides. She glanced over her shoulder, saw how much faster Ava was covering her same ground, and then hit her knees. She did so on the sidewalk in front of a small delicatessen about half a block away from Morningside Park. There were only a few people milling around on the streets, all looking at the fallen woman and the two others that were rushing toward her. Ava noticed that a few men were grinning at the situation, as if wondering what these three daffy dames were up to.
Only one man on the street seemed to have any real heart to him. Having seen Kathleen fall to her knees, he removed his hat in a chivalrous gesture and approached her. He was speaking softly to her when Ava approached. He took up an almost defensive posture as Ava came in fast and aggressive.
“What’s the meaning of th—” he started.
“New York Police Department,” Ava said, angling in toward Kathleen. “Move aside, sir.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. You expect me to believe that you—”
Pawlowski filled the distance, taking the last few strides to join with Ava. She wasn’t having any of this man’s interruptions. She flashed her badge at him and, for a moment, Ava thought she might actually shove him.
“Out of the way, you stupid lug! NYPD!”
It wasn’t so much the sight of the badge, but also the tone of Pawlowski’s voice that caused the man to take two large steps back. If there was any remaining hesitancy in him, it vanished when Ava pulled out her cuffs. Satisfied that he’d seen enough and knew he wasn’t needed, Ava was finally able to ignore him.
She began to apply the cuffs, but Kathleen still had some fight remaining. “Oh, for God’s sake, is that really necessary?” she asked as she tried to struggle away.
It was the first solid glimpse she’d gotten of Kathleen during the entire chase. She was small with bobbing blonde hair. She was pretty in a plain sort of way, but her lips were the true star of the show. They were luscious and plump, the sort most men would stare at as they spoke with her as opposed to her eyes. As for her eyes, they were currently fuming with anger, the blue of them almost stormy.
“When you make us chase on you on foot for nearly half a mile, yes, it is,” Ava said.
“Doesn’t help that you escaped through a bathroom window, either,” Pawlowski added.
“Well, what the hell is this about anyway?” Kathleen asked.
With the cuffs already slapped around the woman’s wrists and locked, Av asked: “Is your name Kathleen Branson?”
“It is.”