'Kirby got there first. Now they've got her.'
40
KIRBY APPEARS ON CAMERA, NAKED AND TIED TO A CHAIR. Michael Murphy stands next to her. He's furious.
'I told you we'd surrender peacefully! I didn't expect any of you to agree with our actions, but I did expect you to uphold the law.' He takes a deep breath. 'I am very, very disappointed.'
'Oh, for God's sake, shuuuuuuuut uuuuuuuuup,' Kirby says, rolling her eyes.
'Stupid fucking kid,' Brady murmurs. 'Can never learn to keep her mouth shut.' I'd called him back once we knew what we were looking at.
Michael steps in front of her. All we can see is his back and her legs.
'You're in no position to take the Lord's name in vain,' he says.
'Bite me, bozo,' Kirby replies, 'and your God can bite it too. Hard.'
I brace myself, expecting him to slap her, but he draws his arm back and hits her in the face with his closed fist. The smack of flesh against flesh cracks through the computer speakers and Kirby goes over backward in her chair.
'Motherfucker,' I whisper.
The camera had been stationary. It begins to move now, jiggling a bit with the motion. Frances must have picked it up. It zooms in on Kirby's face. She's lying against a hardwood floor, blonde hair sprayed out around her. Her eyes are having trouble focusing. Her lips have been split open in two places and blood runs freely down her chin and left cheek. She shakes her head to clear it and laughs.
'You hit like a girl.'
'Oh, Kirby,' Callie says. 'Stupid girl. Shut up now.'
She won't, I think. This is who she is.
Michael grabs her by her hair and uses it to heft the full weight of her body, to bring her back into a sitting position. Kirby turns her head to the right and spits to clear the blood from her mouth. She turns back to the camera and we all see those cold, awful killer's eyes.
'I'm going to kill you and your sister,' she says. 'Just wanted you to know that. And no one sent me here. One of the people you murdered was an old friend of mine.' She grins. Her teeth are red with her blood. 'Thought I'd return the favor.'
'Murder is a sin,' Michael scolds her. 'We killed for God's purpose. If you kill us for vengeance, you'll go to hell.'
Really? I think. What about Ambrose, the man you murdered for his identity? God's purpose?
It's a useless question; his answer would be yes, of course. Kirby shrugs. 'So sue me. I'm good at it.' Another torn-lipped, red-toothed grin. 'You'll see.'
'You really came here on your own?' Michael asks.
'I'm a solo act, asshole, and I always have been.'
'Unfortunate for you,' he says, 'that you missed the backup security camera. We were waiting for you when you came through the door.'
'Yeah, well. Nobody's perfect. You should have killed me, though. Tasers are for pussies.'
'Knocked you down fast enough,' Frances snarls.
Kirby smiles. 'Down, but not dead, dummy. Bad move on your part.'
'What's your name?' Michael asks.
'Since we're on a religious bender, why don't you call me . . . Eve.'
She chuckles. 'I always liked her style, you know? Eat that apple. Yummy.'
'Very well. Are you Catholic, Eve?'
She rolls her eyes.
'Supreme beings are for suckers. I believe in guns, good beer, masturbation when I don't have a man, and a nice hard cock when I do.' She winks. 'Know what I mean?'
'Blasphemous bitch,' he observes.
'Why, thank you, asshole.'
'Why don't you stop calling me that, Eve. My name is Michael.'
'Nah. Asshole is just fine.'
He sighs. 'I can see getting you to confess is going to be a lot of work, Eve.'
'Ohhhh, torture? Coolio.'
'Why isn't this clip ending?' I ask.
'This isn't a clip,' James says. 'This is live.'
'Sam?' I ask, turning to him. 'We need to get over there now. This is your show. What's the game plan with something like this?'
He examines the video feed. 'Looks to me like they're in the living room.' He grabs the house plans from a desk. 'There's only two ways in. Front door and back.' He cups his chin, thinking. 'Flash-bangs through the front windows, and we breach through the front and back doors. Go in hard, take them down while they're still reeling. Simple is the best way. Get more complicated and you increase the possibility of screwing the pooch.' He nods to the computer. 'They've been kind enough to provide us with ongoing video surveillance. We'll use it. Bring a laptop with wireless capabilities and execute at the most opportune moment.'
Sounds good to me. I glance at AD Jones. 'Sir?'
'Do it. Shoot to kill if necessary. And figure out a way to make sure this video never gets seen. The last thing we need on a high profile case like this is association with a killer like Kirby Mitchell.'
'I have a high speed connection via a cellular network on my laptop,' Callie says. 'I just need the URL for this feed.'
'I'll provide that,' James says.
Brady nods. 'I'll meet you in the parking lot.'
'Before I'm done,' Michael says to Kirby, 'you'll experience the wonder of confession to God. You'll learn what it's like to be purged of lies. Truth is a light, Eve, a light like no other.'
'Bring it on, asshole. But can you stop hitting me in the face, at least? Girl's got to be able to get a date, you know?'
'Let's get moving,' I say. 'If she keeps talking like that, she might not have much time.'
41
'START SMALL, EVE. THAT'S THE BEST WAY, SOMETIMES. BE- gin with the small things and work up to the most shameful. Do you think you can do that?'
We're all in the same car. Alan is driving, following Brady and his team in their van. I have the laptop.
Kirby smiles.
'Sure. I got one for you.'
'Yes?' He sounds pleased, maybe a little surprised that she's agreed so easily.
'The first blow job I ever gave.'
Michael nods. 'Lust, oral sex. Very good. Go on.'
'Well, it was this really cute guy, hunkalicious, you know? I'd heard he had a big old cock, and while I'd seen pictures of them, I'd never seen them in the flesh, so to speak.
'Yes, yes, continue.' He doesn't seem to appreciate Kirby's use of the descriptive.
'Anyway, I told him I wanted to see that big ol' hot dog, and hey--
coincidence--he wanted to show it to me.' She rolls her eyes. 'Guys are funny that way. He had a car, so I snuck out that night and I met him out front and we drove to a parking lot near the beach. I told him to whip that sucker out, pun intended. Turns out someone had added a few inches. I mean, it wasn't small, but I've sucked bigger, you know.'
'Get to the point, please.'
'It was kind of cute. Wearing its little army helmet, all washed up and shiny and standing at attention. 'Sergeant Cock reporting for duty, ma'am!' ' She giggles.
'This slut is wasting your time,' Frances says from behind the camera.
