won’t hear us.’’
Diane led the way. Kingsley followed close behind. They hugged the wall with each step. So far, so good. When Diane entered the house she had been relieved to find it bright and well lit. Now she wished it were dark. Each time the steps creaked, a tremor of fear went though her. The lightheartedness she felt when she first saw Kingsley was giving way to dread.
As they descended the staircase the voices grew louder and clearer.
‘‘None of this is his fault, Iris. He made the best decisions he could. It isn’t his fault he ran across that Diane person. She figured this out. I think she would have anyway, even if Joey had made no mistakes. She knew too much about you... about us.’’
‘‘That doesn’t matter now,’’ said an identical voice. ‘‘We need to get out of here and quickly. Whatever we do with them, the marshals are going to come anyway.’’
‘‘This has gone so wrong.’’
‘‘You did this, Iris. This is your mess.’’
‘‘You don’t mind spending the money.’’
Diane couldn’t distinguish the voices; they all sounded like Clymene.
The triplets were in the dinning room and the door was closed. Diane motioned to the back of the house. Kingsley nodded. They tiptoed past the door and down a hallway to the back, where Diane hoped to find the kitchen and a knife along the way out.
Through a set of double doors they walked into the kitchen. It was a modern kitchen with a large island in the middle. There was a breakfast nook in the corner. Joey was sitting with his back to them, eating a bowl of ice cream.
He heard the noise, turned around toward them, and looked startled at the sight, but he was slow to react. Diane ran at him, using her curtain rod as a lance. She didn’t think it would do much more than stun him, but she put her momentum behind it. She aimed for his chest. He dodged, and the point of her improvised spear punched into his throat and he fell to the floor gagging on ice cream. She and Kingsley rushed past him for the door.
‘‘Can you run?’’ asked Diane as they went down the outside steps.
‘‘What does it look like?’’ he said. ‘‘Do you know where we’re going?’’
‘‘Head for the woods,’’ she said.
They ran across the field that Diane had seen when they drove up. It was bordered by a tall wire fence she might be able to climb over, but it was too tall for Kingsley in his condition. She spotted a gap under the fence where it crossed a shallow ditch. They ran for it. It was a low opening, big enough for animals to get through, but was it big enough for them?
They made it to the fence. Diane kicked at briars that grew into the wire. She lay down on her back and wiggled into the opening, pushing at the fence, trying to make the hole larger. After what seemed like too long, she pulled herself out the other side of the fence. She turned to help Kingsley. That’s when she saw the triplets running across the pasture after them. Joey wasn’t with them. Two were carrying guns.
Kingsley lay on his back and wiggled from side to side under the fence as far as he could. He reached for Diane with his good arm. She locked arms with him and pulled hard as he wiggled and pushed with his feet. She knew he was in pain but they both ignored it as he strained to get under the fence. Finally he slid through and stumbled to his feet.
‘‘Run like hell,’’ said Diane.
They ran. Diane heard shots and saw the ground spit out a piece of turf several feet from her. The stand of trees she was aiming for wasn’t tall and thick like Georgia woods, but it would have to do.
Diane ran faster and realized she was leaving Kingsley behind. She slowed down and grabbed him by the arm.
‘‘Go on,’’ he said.
‘‘No, come on. Run as hard as you can. They can’t get under the fence easily in those dresses. We have to get out of range of their guns. You can rest up when we’re safe; now, get the lead out,’’ she said.
He picked up his speed. They were almost to the woods.
‘‘Faster,’’ she said. ‘‘Keep going.’’
There were more shots and one pinged off an outcrop of rocks a few yards away. But they reached the trees.
‘‘Keep running,’’ she said.
‘‘Need to stop. Go on,’’ he wheezed. ‘‘My lungs are aching.’’
‘‘It doesn’t matter. Run,’’ she said.
Ahead there was a road of sorts and a marsh on the other side. She heard a vehicle coming up the road. She ran toward it to flag it down, then stopped. It was the minivan Joey had brought them in.
‘‘Damn,’’ she said.
There was noise behind them. It was the triplets. They had found a way around the fence and were coming in their direction. The van was coming toward them. Across the road was a marsh. No escape in the marsh. The only alternative was to run up the road. And be chased by the van? That wouldn’t work.
Diane picked up a rock and waited for the minivan to draw closer, hoping that if she waited until the last second and threw the rock at the windshield it would make Joey dodge. Kingsley followed suit.
Joey aimed for them.
