Barbara reached him. Up close she saw the mustache of sweat fringing her husband’s smile.
“Stand with them,” he said.
She eased alongside the Danforths. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to them. Obscurely she felt responsible for all this.
“Quiet,” Charles snapped.
She ignored the order. “Where’s Ally”
“I said, be quiet.”
“Where is she What did they do to her”
“Shut up!”
“Is she … alive”
In the beat of silence that followed, she heard his answer.
“God damn you, Charles.”
“We had no choice,” he said as Judy began to pray softly and Philip’s hands tightened into fists. “She saw Cain’s face-the man I hired. She had to die.” The gun lifted. “And so do you.”
Judy moaned.
“You’re going to kill us yourself” Barbara breathed, unable to quite make it real. “All three of us”
“Have to. My friends appear to have left early.” He licked his lips. “So here’s the new story. Philip broke out of the closet, but we were caught trying to call for help. I’m the only one who got away.”
“How lucky for you,” Philip said with cool contempt.
“Yes, well,”-a faltering smile-“I’ve always been quick on my feet.”
Barbara stared at him, full comprehension finally settling in. “You’re serious about this.”
“Yes … dear.”
She lifted her chin, and in that moment she knew she was her father’s girl, an Ashcroft, facing death with aristocratic poise.
“Then,” she whispered, “start with me.”
Charles aimed the shaking gun.
Headlights.
They splashed across the curtained windows as a powerful engine hummed up the drive. Barbara recognized it: the Danforths’ Porsche.
Charles blinked, registering the car’s arrival, and the gun lowered fractionally.
“On second thought,” he said, “I’ll let Cain handle it.” He giggled, a manic, mirthless sound. “That’s what I’m paying him for.”
75
The van rumbled down the dark road, punished by ruts and potholes.
Lilith, one knee on the bench seat, one foot on the floor, trained her Glock and her gaze on Trish. With each rough jostle she smiled.
“Something funny” Trish asked, arms swaying as the handcuff chain slid back and forth along the grab bar.
“It’s just that my finger’s pretty tight on the trigger. We get bounced hard enough, the gun might go off by accident.” She put a mocking emphasis on the last word.
“Cain wants me alive,” Trish said evenly.
Lilith showed a sweet smile. “But I don’t.”
Trish was silent. She didn’t want to engage Lilith in conversation. She wanted the girl to be distracted, to look the other way.
Until now her focused stare had been as unwavering as a cobra’s.
The Kent house wasn’t far. Cain must be there by now. The van was slower, and Tyler had been driving poorly, the knife wound taking its toll, but he would pull through the gate before long.
Still, there was a chance.
Between them, Cain and Lilith had made two mistakes.
Cain hadn’t buckled her in.
And Lilith hadn’t pocketed Wald’s keys.
The key ring dangled from her left hand, loosely held, glinting in the dome light’s glow.
“Cut yourself shaving, Robinson”
Lilith was looking at her left calf, the bandages dark with blood.
“Flesh wound,” Trish said mildly.
“Painful.”
“Not much.”
“Really”
Flash of motion, Lilith propelling her boot into the injured leg, shock wave of agony, Trish biting her lip to stifle a scream.
Lilith smiled. “How about now”
Trish didn’t answer. She needed her full concentration to suppress the waves of dizziness swarming over her.
When her vision cleared, she saw Lilith still watching her, the cool, attentive eyes refusing even to blink.
The keys flashed, tantalizing.
Look away, you sadistic little bitch.
“You don’t cry so easily,” Lilith lisped, “do you, Robinson”
“Guess not.”
Up front, Tyler slumped lower in his seat, the van cutting its speed.
“I hate crybabies.” Lilith’s stare was appraising now, a connoisseur’s scrutiny. “They never last. The other kind, the ones like you, can take much more punishment.” A thoughtful grin. “We can keep you going a long time.”
The van drifted to the right.
Tyler’s head-nodding.
Trish slowly wrapped both hands around the grab bar. “A minute ago you wanted to shoot me.”
“I’m starting to think Cain had the right idea.”
“Are you”
Get ready …
“You’re just too good to waste.” Lilith’s tongue prowled her lips. “I want to hear you scream, Robinson. I want-“
Crunch of gravel.
The van swerving off the road.
“Tyler” Lilith spun toward the front. “Hey, wake up, asshole!”
Hands locked on the grab bar, Trish hoisted herself off the seat.
Lilith shook Tyler alert.
Trish drew back her knees, lower legs extended, feet together.
The van lurched to the left as Tyler cranked the wheel.
Lilith turned.
Now.
Trish pistoned her right leg, slamming a brutal kick into the girl’s face.
Lilith’s nose crunched like a snail. She twisted, fell writhing on the floor, spitting up blood, the gun still in her hand but the keys flying free.
The van skidded back onto the road.
Trish snagged the key ring between her shoes. Flipped it upward, snatched it out of the air.
Tyler released the wheel, clutching at his sidearm holster.
The handcuff key was the smallest one on the ring. Trish inserted it in the left cuff and turned.
Tyler’s gun was out.
