15 Seconds

Bud Poole got on the phone after the woman from Jacksonville left.

He just wasn’t sure if he should call his lawyer first-or the police!

He chose the police.

It had been a strange conversation right from the start. Showing him those photos-Steadman and that other guy. Hofer. And how she wasn’t even a detective, just some employee at the sheriff’s office down there. No badge, only an employee ID.

Even if he had gotten a little carried away with all the attention about Henry Steadman… he knew it had shaken him up, thrown him off his game.

And then that other guy, the one who was milling around the aisles. He and the woman had come in together. He remembered how their eyes clearly ran to each other’s after he looked at that photo. There was something between them. He saw it. And then the guy looked up and Bud got a good look at his face.

Henry Steadman.

When they left, Bud went to the door and watched them climb into the same car… A white Prius.

This was the biggest news Mount Holly had seen since snow.

The lawyer, he could come later.

He punched in the number, and when the duty officer answered, “Mount Holly Police,” Bud asked for Lieutenant Pete Toms. Shit, he could’ve asked for practically anyone there-he’d sold them all a weapon or two over the years.

“This is Lieutenant Toms.”

“Pete…” Bud said. “Bud Poole. Over at Bud’s Guns… You’re not going to believe who I just saw! That guy from Jacksonville. Steadman. Who’s wanted on those murders?”

“Bud, you seem to be seeing him everywhere,” Pete replied with some levity.

“I know. I know. But this is different! He just drove away in a white Prius. With Florida plates. He’s with a woman. This is for real, Pete,” he said, almost huffing on the words. “They just left my store!”

Chapter Fifty-Seven

I froze, as if a syringe of ice had been injected directly into my veins. “What do you mean she’s no longer here?” I shouted into the phone in alarm.

“What’d you think this was-some kind of game?” Hofer said. “I told you, didn’t I? You go to the police, you knew what was going to happen. Still have your old cell phone? Take a look. Picture coming through now…”

No. No… I almost retched right there. How could he have known? Was it Fellows? But he could have only told him Carrie and I were up there at two different times. I grabbed my cell from my pocket. “I didn’t go to the police. I swear! What did you do to her, goddammit? What did you do?”

My phone vibrated in my hand. I saw the message come through from Hallie. Tears of helplessness started to burn in my eyes-and of fear. Fear at what I was about to see.

My own daughter…

I pressed the open option. The photo flickered for a moment, uploading; then it came in.

It was Hallie. Oh God…

But to my joy her eyes were open and she didn’t appear to be harmed.

Her mouth was taped and her eyes were focused in anger and humiliation, and there was a sign hung around her neck. In her handwriting.

JUST KIDDING, DAD .

My pulse started to calm, like a tide receding, but then the relief turned immediately into rage. “You sonovabitch Hofer.”

Another pause. This time I realized I’d made a mistake. Saying his name. Telling him that I knew. But I didn’t care.

“Oh, relax. I was just trying to get a rise out of you, Doc. You can be sure, the call will be for real soon enough. Maybe even tomorrow. So you know who I am, huh? Well, all congratulations to you.”

I turned back toward Carrie and she noticed the pallor on my face. I mouthed a single word to her. “Hofer!”

Her eyes went wide. I heard her tell her brother she needed a minute, that she’d call him right back.

“Yeah, I know who you are, Hofer. And what you’ve done. I know it was you who killed Martinez. And Mike Dinofrio. I know you bought that gun pretending to be me. That’s where I am now. Up in Mount Holly. I also know you knew Martinez from back when you were on the force, and that you knew Fellows from work-and that you got the license plate from him. I even know why you did it-your daughter. Because you somehow blame me for what happened to her. And I hope it was worth it, Hofer, because however long it takes, I’m gonna find you myself and wring the life out of you!”

He snickered. “You’ve been a busy little bee, haven’t you, Doc. A busy, busy little bee. But hell, there’s only one thing missing. You’re up in North Carolina, and all the fun’s going on down here. And you don’t know where we are.”

“What do you want from me, Hofer? Give me my daughter back. Please… What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to know what a man is truly capable of, when you take everything he has away from him. What it used to mean to be human.”

“I didn’t do any of that to you, Hofer.”

“Oh, yes you did. Yes, you did do it to me, Doc. You may not fully know it, but you damn well did it and profited from it, probably laughed about it at parties or bought some fancy car from it, it’s all the same to me. The man who looks away bears all the guilt of the man who sins. Just like all the rest, Doc, you are accountable…”

“The rest…?” He was rambling. What did he mean by “all the rest”? Who had to be made accountable?

“In fact, you are the very source of it, Doc. The heart of the beast. Whether you knew or not, that’s no matter. It came from you.”

“What are you talking about? What came from me?”

Suddenly I realized what he meant. The OxyContin that his daughter must have been on. At the time of the accident. Had it come from me? Had he traced it?

I felt sickened.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry about what happened to your daughter. I’m sorry if I played a role in it. But let it be over now, Hofer, please. You want me. I’ll go wherever you want. Just tell me where to find you. I give you my word. But Hallie’s innocent. Just let her go.”

“I’m not getting through to you, Doc. A little baby was killed. Along with her mother. They were innocent. Not your little Hallie. They were the ones you made bleed.”

“No. It wasn’t me. Your daughter did that, Hofer. And surely not Hallie. Please, I’ll come to you. I’ll do what you want. Just let her go.”

For a moment I thought I might have him convinced. In the background I heard my daughter whimpering. He might be crazy, twisted with blame and guilt. But there might still be some speck of human feeling left in him.

“Don’t worry, Doc. I’ve got something nice cooked up for her. And soon. But for now… remember, our arrangement’s still on. You remember that, don’t you, Henry…?”

“I remember,” I said, squeezing my fists, feeling the blood come to a stop in my veins.

“I don’t have to remind you, do I? How I’m gonna start with her feet, Doc, by skinning them, and then I’m gonna skin my way all the way along her back up to that pretty, little neck of hers…”

I clenched my teeth. “Oh God, you sonovabitch, please…”

“And I’ll be thinking of you, Doc, thinking of how you poisoned my daughter, every inch of the way. Thinking of how you caused those deaths, and knowing I’m doing good, every second I watch her die. You hearing me right…?”

“Yes, Hofer, I hear you. Just don’t touch her. I’m begging you.”

“But don’t worry. Show won’t start until you’re here to see it. I promise you. I’ll call you again, and we’ll figure how we can pick up on that discussion. About the role you might have played in my daughter’s life. About