Lifeguard

Shit, Neddie, think! What the hell do we do now…?

I’ve never felt my heart pounding the way it did for those seconds it took the agents to make their way up the stairs. It was useless to run.

“Neddie, turn yourself in,” my mother said again.

I shook my head. “No, I’ve got to ?nd Frank.” I took my mother by the shoulders, a pleading glimmer in my eye. “I’m sorry…”

I pressed up against the wall next to the front door, not knowing what the hell I would do next. I didn’t have a weapon. Or a plan.

There was a knock at the door. “Frank Kelly?” a voice called. “Mrs. Kelly? FBI!”

My imagination was running wild but coming up with nothing that could help me. Three agents, one a woman. The female was tanned, which probably meant she’d come from Florida.

“Mrs. Kelly?” They knocked again. Through the blinds I could see a husky guy in front. My mother ?nally answered. She looked at me sort of helplessly. I nodded for her to open the door.

I closed my eyes for half a second. Please, don’t do the stupidest thing of your entire life.

But I went and did it anyway.

I barreled into the agent as soon as he walked through the door. We rolled onto the ?oor. I heard the guy grunt, and when I looked up, his handgun had slid out of his hand and was about four feet away. We both ?xed on it. He, not knowing if a vicious killer had just gotten the jump on him. I, knowing once I made a move for that gun, my life as I knew it was over. I didn’t care about the woman, or the guy sneaking around to the back. I just went for the gun. There was no other way.

I rolled off him and wrapped both hands around the gun.

“Nobody moves!”

The agent was still on the ?oor. The woman – who was small and cute, actually – fumbled under her suit jacket for own weapon. The third agent had just made it through the back door.

“No!” I shouted, and extended the gun. The woman looked at me, her hand on her holster.

“Please… Please, don’t pull that out, now,” I told her.

“Please, Neddie,” my mother was begging me, “put the gun down. He’s innocent.” She looked at the agents. “Ned wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“I don’t want to hurt anybody,” I told them. “Now put your guns on the ?oor. Do it.”

They did what I asked, and then I scurried around, picking up the guns. I backed over to the sliding door and hurled them into the woods behind my house. Now, what the hell to do? I looked at my mom and gave her a half-hearted smile. “Guess I need to borrow the car.”

“Neddie, please…” My mother was begging again. She had already lost one son in a shoot-out. Poor John Michael.

I was dying inside, knowing how much I was hurting her. I went over to the pretty FBI agent. I could almost pick her up with one arm. As much as she was trying to look brave, I could see she was scared. “What’s your name?”

“Shurtleff.” The agent hesitated. “Ellie.”

“I’m sorry, Ellie Shurtleff, but you’re coming with me.”

The agent on the ?oor rose up. “No way. You’re not leaving with her. You take anyone, take me.”

“No,” I backed him down with the gun. “It’s her. She’s coming.”

I took her by the arm. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ellie, if this goes right.” Even in that crazy moment, I gave her the edge of a smile.

“I know this doesn’t mean much,” I said, turning back to the guy on the ?oor, “but I didn’t do what you came here to get me for.”

“There’s only one way to prove that,” the FBI man said.

“I know,” I said, nodding, “that’s why I’m doing this. I’ve got something to prove – I’m innocent.”

I took Agent Shurtleff by the arm and shoved open the door. The two other agents hung back as if they were suspended in midair. “I just want ?ve minutes,” I said. “That’s all I ask. You’ll have her back as good as new. Her clothes won’t even be wrinkled. I didn’t kill those people down there. What happens next is up to you.”

I turned to my mom. “Guess it’s fair to say I won’t be around for dinner anytime soon.” I winked a good-bye. “Love you, Mom.”

Then we backed out the door, my arm locked on Agent Shurtleff’s. I took her down the steps. The FBI guys were already at the windows, one of them pulling out his phone. I opened the door to the 4Runner and pushed her in. “I’m just praying the keys are there.” I actually smiled. “Usually, they are.”

They were, thank God! I backed out the driveway. A few seconds later we were careening down Perkins, across the tracks, onto Main.

No lights yet. No sirens. There were a few ways out of town, and I ?gured the best way was north on Route 24.

I glanced behind and breathed a sigh of relief.

Nice work. You’ve just added kidnapping a federal agent to your resume.

Chapter 30

“YOU SCARED?” this thug Ned Kelly turned and asked her, gunning the 4Runner north on Route 24. He held the gun loosely in his lap, pointed her way.

Scared? Ellie hesitated. The guy is wanted for questioning in a quadruple homicide!

Her mind ran through the hostage scenarios. There was probably some textbook thing she should say. Stay calm. Start a dialogue. She was sure there was an APB out on the car already. Every cop within ?fty miles of Boston would be on the lookout. Finally, she just went with what she felt.

“Yeah, I’m scared,” Ellie said with a nod.

“Good,” he said, nodding back, “’cause I’m scared, too. Never done anything like this before. But you can relax. Honest. I’m not going to hurt you. I just needed to get out of there. I’ll even unlock the car. You can jump out the next time we stop… I’m not kidding. Good as my word.”

To Ellie’s amazement, she heard the automatic locks lift. There was an exit approaching, and he slowed at the upcoming ramp.

“Or” – he looked sort of helpless – “you can stick around for a while longer. Help me ?gure out how I’m going to get out of this mess.”

Kelly brought the car to a stop and waited for her to move.

“Go on. I ?gure I’ve got, what, about three minutes before every exit on this highway is covered with cops?”

Ellie looked at him, a little stunned. She placed her hand on the door latch. You’re being handed a gift, said a voice inside her. Take it! She’d been to the house in Lake Worth. She’d seen the blood and the slaughtered bodies. This guy was connected to the victims. He’d ?ed.

But something held her back. The guy had this scared, fatalistic smile.

“I wasn’t lying, what I said back there. I’m no killer. I had nothing to do with whatever went on down in Florida.”

“Taking a federal agent hostage doesn’t exactly strengthen your case,” Ellie said.

“They were my friends, my family. I’ve known all of them my whole life. I didn’t steal any paintings and I didn’t kill anyone. All I did was set off some alarms. Look”-he waved the gun – “I don’t even know how to use this fucking thing.”

It did look that way, Ellie thought. And she did recall a series of house alarms being triggered at mansions