The sight startled her. The man on the floor looked like Ray-Ray Dildy. No, it looked like a slightly younger and different version of Ray-Ray Dildy.
What is this, some kind of maniac crime family?
“Police!” Muffled voices came from downstairs.
Diane walked around and picked up his gun. She looked down at his face. He was scared and suffering. She could see he was wearing a bulletproof vest, but one of her bullets had managed to hit him through the arm opening and another in his leg.
“Help will be here soon,” she said, and walked out of the room, down the attic steps, and out to the stairs. She stood his shotgun in the corner of the stairwell.
“I’m up here,” she called.
She heard running through the house from the rear. They had found the broken back door. She walked down the stairs, her hands held high where they were clearly visible to the police. The first person she saw was Douglas Garnett. He met her at the base of the stairs.
“The intruder is wounded on the attic floor,” she told him.
Diane sat on the living room couch, leaning forward with her head in her hands while the police secured the house. The intruder had wanted her to answer the door. He was going to shoot her and walk away. Frank would have come home and found the door open and her lying on the floor, dead. She took a deep breath and stood up when she heard the paramedics coming down the stairs with a stretcher. They were the same ones who had been making the runs to Marcella’s house.
“Didn’t we just take this guy last week . . . and wasn’t he dead?” one of the paramedics asked Diane as he and his partner passed with the stretcher.
“Must be the same family,” she muttered.
As they went out the front door, she thought she heard one of them mumble that he was going to write a book.
Frank came in a moment later, alarm and bewilderment on his face. Diane looked at him with tears in her eyes. He had gotten away early. What if he had arrived when the intruder came blasting through the door? She put a hand over her mouth, trying to gulp back the fear.
“Sweetheart, are you all right?” He ran over to her and she hugged him hard.
“There are a couple of doors you’re going to have to fix,” she said.
“What happened?” he asked.
Garnett came down the stairs with the police officers. He stayed inside and sent the other officers to search the grounds. Garnett, Diane, and Frank sat down in the living room.
Diane sat trembling on the sofa. “Jeez,” she said, “I can’t seem to stop shaking.”
Frank put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.
“Can’t say as I blame you,” said Garnett. He was wearing a suit. She wondered what he was doing in a suit this late. He should be in pajamas. He handed her her cell phone. “It was on the floor.”
“Oh God, Vanessa,” she said. “She must be worried sick. She called just before . . .”
She dialed Vanessa’s number. It was picked up at half a ring.
“Diane, are you all right? We could hear the gunfire. Harte is here with me,” she said.
Diane remembered now. She had dropped her phone as the intruder came into the room. Vanessa must have heard most of it. Damn.
“I’m fine. I had an intruder, but he’s gone now,” said Diane. “The paramedics took him away.”
“You had an intruder? Dear, it sounded like a fire-fight.”
“There was an exchange of gunfire, but I’m okay. I’m sorry to have hung up on you,” she said.
“I think you need a good stiff drink, girl. You are sounding way too calm, and that’s not good,” said Vanessa. “What? Just a minute. Harte is mumbling something.” She paused. “Harte says she will bring you one of her special tonics if you need it. I can recommend them.”
Diane smiled. “Thank her for me. I’m fine. Just rattled. Did you say your mother remembered something?” Diane asked.
“Yes, but I can talk to you later about it. I’m sure the police are there,” said Vanessa.
“They are, but I’d like to give them the information,” she said.
“Okay. Mother remembered Edith Farragut. Farragut was the woman’s maiden name. Mother didn’t know her well. My grandmother said the family were merchants, and she didn’t associate much with them. Grandmother could be a bit of a snob. Anyway, she also said Edith’s husband gave her