are up here. C’mon, move your ass. She’s getting away….”
Leo hadn’t any idea where he was. He’d opened his eyes briefly and noticed a crisscrossed thin steel grid separating the front seat from the back. The car smelled like sour milk and stale coffee. He’d heard the doors shut, and the engine starting up. He’d felt every little bump and divot on the driveway, but he’d remained still.
Up front, they’d started talking about how Allen would take Susan Blanchette and her son out on a boat in the morning. Leo hadn’t really been able to follow the conversation. In fact, he’d blacked out for a spell.
The next thing he knew, he’d been jostled awake by the rough, stomach-churning ride. The windows had been totally black on either side of the car, and Leo hadn’t been able to see a thing outside. After a few grueling minutes, they’d finally stopped and Meeker had gotten out of the car. The cop switched on his high beams, and Leo glanced up again. It looked like they were in the middle of the woods someplace. He felt a cool breeze wafting through the driver’s open window.
He heard someone approaching that same window. “I don’t think she knows anything,” Meeker whispered.
“Bullshit,” the deputy grumbled. “She knows about Prewitt’s mother. She knows someone lured you here to Cullen. And then the kid abducted you. She’s a gnat’s eyelash away from figuring out you’re Mama’s Boy. She’s got to go, Allen.”
Leo kept his eyes closed and remained perfectly still. The cop had just confirmed what Jordan had been saying for most of the day. Allen Meeker was Mama’s Boy.
“We can kill her together,” the deputy said eagerly. “There are plenty of closets over at the old Chemerica plant. We can stick her down the hall from that sweet little bitch I’ve saved for you. We’ll do them both tonight— and take our sweet-ass time about it. But first, a few chores. I’ll need your help changing the tire on Jordan’s Civic, and then you can drive it back to the Prewitts’ cabin. I have a stash of cocaine on me. Wouldn’t it be a nice touch if I planted some blow in Jordan’s glove compartment? When we finish with the girl, we’ll dump her body in the woods behind the house. I’ll torch the place in the early morning and then call the fire department. They’ll find what’s left of the two dead guys inside the burnt-out cabin. They’ll think they were freebasing when things got out of hand. And whatever you and I do to that tasty teenage morsel, they’ll blame on the dead boys.”
“You think of everything, don’t you?” Meeker grumbled.
“Well, I had time to ponder it after I dumped Sleeping Beauty in the back there,” the cop said. “Now, you can take Susan to the Chemerica plant and lock her up until later tonight, or we’ll finish her off right now and dump her body at the plant for safekeeping. Either way, we have less than an hour to get to Rosie’s and pick up the kid. Tell Rosie that Susan’s at home, and I’ll back you up on it. First thing in the morning—while I’m calling the fire department—you go sailing with the little brat. You’ll have a little accident out there on the bay. We’ll go over the details later. But the result is this: Susan’s lost at sea, the dead kid washes up on shore, and you survive. Then you and I can become a team….”
“There’s no reason why Mattie has to be killed,” Meeker whispered. “He’s a toddler, for Christ’s sake. He doesn’t know anything….”
“Okay, okay, fine, we’ll let the kid live,” the cop grumbled. “That’s your thing, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You spare the boy. With every job you pulled, you always left behind a motherless son.”
There was a pause—and neither one of them spoke. Leo held his breath. For a second, he thought Meeker might have been staring at him and somehow noticed that he was awake. Leo’s eyes fluttered open just a sliver, and he could make out Meeker’s silhouette as he leaned close to the driver’s window.
The man heaved a weary sigh. “Okay, let me take care of Susan—alone. I’ll drive with her out to the old plant and kill her there. We’ll come back for the body later tonight.”
“All right then,” the deputy said. “But I get first crack at the girl. Like I told you, I have some cocaine—and condoms, too. We’ll have ourselves a regular party.”
Leo realized the girl he’d referred to—that “tasty morsel,” the “sweet little bitch”—was Moira. He tried to remain perfectly still.
“You know how to get to the plant?” the cop asked.
“Yeah,” Meeker answered. “I remember from when I was here in ninety-eight. Afterward, I’ll swing by Rosie’s and pick up the boy. Then I’ll meet you at the cabin.”
“It’s going to be a long night working and partying,” the deputy said. “How exactly do you plan to keep the kid out of our hair?”
“I’m sure Jordan’s pal didn’t use up all the sleeping pills.” Meeker answered. “We’ll find them.”
The deputy chuckled. “You’re getting into this now, I can tell.”
“See you in an hour,” Meeker said.
Leo opened his eyes. Meeker had walked away from the window.
“Sorry to take so long, honey….” he heard him say in the distance. Then a car door opened and shut. Something was rattling on the other vehicle as it took off down the road.
Leo listened as the rattling noise grew fainter. He carefully reached behind his head and felt for the door handle. He gave it a gentle tug. Nothing. The cop had said he controlled the locks, but Leo had figured it was still worth a try.
“You awake back there, asshole?”
Leo didn’t answer him. He didn’t move.
“Hmmm,” the cop grunted.
After a moment, Leo felt the car moving again—over the bumpy road.
As Susan steered down the crude, narrow trail, she glanced in her rearview mirror at the idling patrol car. She kept waiting for the deputy to start following them. Or had they decided that Allen would kill her by himself?
He said he’d taken so long with the deputy because they’d gotten into an argument. “This cop insists you and I go to the Skagit County Police precinct in Anacortes to answer questions while he files a report,” he explained. “Christ, all I want to do is go home with you and Mattie. Where is he, by the way?”
“He’s all right,” Susan said, watching for rocks and other obstacles in the road ahead. “We were in town earlier today. One of the hotels has a babysitting service. I left him there while I went looking for you.”
She’d be damned if she’d make it easy for him to find Mattie. But then, it really wouldn’t be too difficult. Rosie at the store was probably wondering why she hadn’t returned yet. Susan prayed the nice lady would hold off calling the local police about it.
“Well, you were right,” Allen said, tipping his head back. “It was like you said. What a goddamn nightmare! These two teenagers ambushed me on the road. They were holding me prisoner in the basement of that cabin. I don’t know why—maybe for some kind of sick, cheap thrill. Jesus, it was horrible….”
“You poor man,” Susan murmured.
She wondered if he saw through her lies as clearly as she saw through his. She probably should have asked for some details, but she didn’t want to hear any more fabrications. She didn’t have it in her to feign gullibility and concern.
“The deputy shot one of the kids in self-defense, and the other got away,” Allen said. “Those were the gunshots you heard.”
Susan just nodded. She came to a stop as the dirt trail merged into Carroll Creek Road. She nervously fiddled with the loose indicator handle. “So I take a left here?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Allen answered, cracking his window a little. “The deputy told me about a shortcut. We have to look for Coupland Ridge Trail. It’s another one of these pain-in-the-ass, little dirt trails, but it’ll cut our travel time in half—which is okay with me. I just want to get this over with.”
Susan turned onto Carroll Creek Road. She figured this remote route he talked about was where he planned to kill her.
“Jesus, I need a shower,” he said, sniffing himself. “I also need about four aspirin and a very tall drink. Would you look at the clothes I scraped up? Sons of bitches stripped me. I was gagged and tied up, practically naked….”
All Susan could do was click her tongue against her teeth and shake her head. She figured whatever he’d suffered at Jordan Prewitt’s hands hadn’t been nearly enough to make up for what he’d done to that boy. It was all she could do to keep from spitting in Allen’s face.
