Looking back, he saw two men with flashlights running along the yard. Then one dove into the water. Theo figured he and Michelle had maybe a thirty-second lead to get away. He sat back on the bench and let her get up.
As soon as she lifted her head, she realized they were headed away from civilization. 'You have to turn around,' she told him.
'No,' he answered. 'It's too late to turn back. They're going to come after us. Shine the light ahead.'
Michelle sat between his knees and directed the beam straight ahead. The light saved them from disaster. Another five seconds and they would have crashed into a dead tree stump sticking out of the water. Theo veered sharply to the left, then straightened the boat into a true course.
'Thank God, you grabbed your flashlight,' he whispered.
'There's a sharp bend straight ahead,' she told him. 'Slow down and turn right. Left is another dead end.'
Clasping his knee to balance herself, she turned and lifted up to look behind them. 'I don't see any lights yet,' she said with a wave of relief so intense it was almost painful. 'Maybe they won't follow us. Maybe they'll leave us alone now that we've gotten away.'
When she turned around, he pulled her back against him. 'I don't think they're going to give up. I think they've just gotten started. Did you see the scope on that rifle? They're armed to the hilt. They came to hunt, and they aren't going to give up without a fight. We've got to get to a phone and get help. Show me the quickest way to get back to town.'
'The bayou is like a big figure eight,' she explained. 'If you had headed south from my dock, you would have gone around a wide bend and would have seen The Swan. We have to backtrack.'
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
While Michelle stood by the car talking to Ben, Theo went inside her house. He left his shoes by the door so he wouldn't track in mud, then ran upstairs, stripped out of his clothes, and took a quick hot shower. He was relieved he didn't find any ticks or leeches. He was back outside ten minutes later, carrying both Michelle's and his cell phones and her charger. He had already reloaded his gun and stuck an extra magazine in his pocket.
'Ready to go?' he asked Michelle.
'John Paul got your car started,' she told him as she got inside. 'Keys are in the ignition.'
'Where is your brother?'
She nodded toward the side of the house. John Paul was sprinting toward the pickup he'd left parked on the road.
Theo intercepted him and handed him Michelle's cell phone and charger.
'I don't want that.' There was a look of repulsion on John Paul's face as he stared at the phone.
'I have to be able to get hold of you. Take it.'
'I don't-'
Theo wasn't in the mood to argue. 'What are Michelle and I supposed to do if we need you? Send up a prayer?'
John Paul relented. He grabbed the phone and charger and headed for the pickup. He heard his sister call, 'You take care of Daddy, John Paul. Don't let anything happen to him. And you be careful too. You aren't invincible.'
Theo got in the car and was closing the door when Ben shouted and came running.
'I think we just got a lucky break,' Ben said.
'What's that?'
'Dispatch just called. There's a detective from New Orleans waiting to talk to me. Says it's urgent.'
'Do you know what the detective wants? No way New Orleans could have found out what happened last night. Not enough time.'
'I'm on my way back to the station to find out, but I've got a feeling this,' he said, waving toward Michelle's house, 'and the detective from New Orleans are connected. They might know something that could help us.'
'Call me at the hospital as soon as you know anything,' he said
.
It didn't take them long to get to the hospital. Michelle led the way through the back corridor into the emergency room. She
hadn't looked at herself in a mirror, and it wasn't until she noticed the staff staring at her that she realized she should have taken time to clean up. She thought she probably smelled awful too. Megan, the young, newly certified nurse working the emergency room, did a double take.
'We'll run into them if we do.'
'I know,' she whispered hoarsely. She hadn't been screaming, but her throat felt raw. 'There are at least twenty inlets that loop
in and around. Some of them are dead ends,' she warned. 'And some circle back. If they know about them, they could get
ahead of us and cut us off.'
'Then we'll slow down, and if we see their lights, we'll take one of the channels and hide until daylight.' They were approaching another bend. 'Which way?' he asked.
'I'm not sure. Everything looks different at night. I think this one circles back.'
'Okay, we'll go left,' he said and steered the boat in that direction.
'Theo, I could be wrong.'
Michelle heard the sound of a boat motor roaring in the distance. The sound was getting closer even as they sped around
another tree trunk.
Theo also heard the noise. He spotted a narrow channel, slowed the engine, and turned the boat once again. There were mossy branches hanging down almost into the water. He pushed them out of the way as they passed. Once they had made another turn and he saw how narrow the channel became, he turned off the engine.
Michelle switched the flashlight off. They huddled together and turned toward the sound. It was as black as the inside of a coffin. The downpour had subsided, and a soft drizzle was falling.
The swamp pulsated with life. Theo heard something splash into the water behind them. The bullfrogs suddenly stopped croaking, and the crickets fell silent. Something was moving, though. What the hell was it? The boat struck something then. He thought it might be another tree trunk, but he couldn't be sure. The boat bobbed back, then stopped.
Michelle reached behind him, pushed a lever, and told him in a whisper to help her swing the motor up out of the water. 'If we have to keep going in this channel, the blade could get caught in the mud. It gets shallow in some of these.' The boat tapped the obstacle once again. 'There they are,' Michelle whispered.
They could see the light from the motorboat scanning the thicket like a lighthouse beacon, swinging back and forth in a wide
arc, searching for them.
The light didn't find them. Michelle took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. They had just gotten over another hurdle, and she
took a minute to thank God for that blessing. They weren't out of danger yet, but Theo had been right when he'd told her they could hide out until daylight and then get help. Soon there would be an end to this nightmare.
The hunters had gone on. The noise from their boat fading now. Michelle guessed that they would continue on for several more minutes before they'd turn around and backtrack, searching more thoroughly.
Theo's mind was racing. Were they professional hitters? If so, who had sent them? Could the mob have tracked him to Louisiana? Were they here to retaliate for his part in convicting so many of their leaders? Had his being here put her in danger?
