man’s chest.
Will said, “Doc told me there’s a big population of escaped pythons in Florida. Last night, before I went to bed, I checked the Internet. Less than a week ago, state biologists caught a ball python that was eighteen feet long. Did you read about that? It was near Miami, I think.”
Tomlinson whispered, “Snakes. Sometimes you’ve got to ride the snake,” his voice sounding far away.
Will said, “It was living under someone’s house. They got suspicious because the neighborhood dogs kept disappearing. The snake was close to four hundred pounds. There was a picture.”
Tomlinson’s voice returned to normal as he said, “I saw the photo. That’s exactly what I was thinking about. A really big boa or python. The egg casings, the bones. It all fits.”
Will said, “I don’t think it’s a snake.”
“I’d be surprised.”
“Then what?”
Will said, “I can’t say for sure. But I have a strong feeling that thing’s headed this direction. It’s sunset now, so maybe we have some time. But she’s on her way back. Probably soon she’ll be here.”
Tomlinson sighed, and whispered,
Will said, “Yeah. After going through all this crap. But maybe I’m wrong.”
After several seconds, Tomlinson said, “A snake, huh?”
“It’s not a snake,” Will said again.
Tomlinson replied softly, “I know, I know. Metaphorically, I’m saying, it’s always a snake.”
Will listened.
Tomlinson said, “Sometimes the bastard assumes different forms. Cops, crazy women, right-wing loonies. Don’t get me started.” He looked at his watch. Will could see the green numerals of the face glowing as Tomlinson added, “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Will replied, “What do you think I’ve been saying?”
“The sun sets in exactly five minutes. I don’t like the idea of having a meat eater poking her head in here hungry for flesh.”
Will pulled his knife from the scabbard. “I wish you would have brought one. Doc kept telling you.”
Tomlinson said, “Don’t remind me.”
Will said, “No point talking about it,” then tried to nudge Tomlinson away to give himself some room. “I’m going to work on this main root. Maybe if I just cut it in the middle, we can bend it down—”
Tomlinson interrupted. “My turn to dig. You rest for a while.”
Too late. Will was already sawing at the root.
TWENTY-ONE
IN WAIST-DEEP WATER, AS I WADED ASHORE CARRYING a fistful of Cuban pesos, I realized that Arlis Futch had escaped. I had switched off the flashlight and was using night vision so I could see what King and Perry couldn’t.
Maybe they hadn’t noticed yet.
The two cons were near the truck, about thirty yards from the grassy area where I had spread the blanket for the old man. The truck was no longer running—they probably wanted to conserve fuel—and its headlights were off, which made it easier for me to decipher details in what was now a starry-bright February night.
The blanket was visible beyond the truck. So were the water bottles I’d left and the folded towel he’d been using as a pillow. But there was no sign of Arlis.
As I continued wading toward shore, I scanned the tree line. There was nothing to see but cypress and palmettos. Unless King and Perry had allowed Arlis to get back inside the truck—which was unlikely—the man was gone.
I decided to say nothing and see how it played out.
As I drew closer, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the cons had started yelling at me, accusing me of helping Arlis escape. Or they might try a different finesse if they had already killed him. If they were feeling guilty, they might accuse me of helping Arlis get away and then pretend like they didn’t care one way or another about the old man.
They did neither, which told me they didn’t know that the man was gone. It also told me that Arlis hadn’t been gone for long. Even though it was dark, the blanket where he’d been lying was in plain sight.
King and Perry had other things on their mind, I discovered.
“We heard that animal again,” Perry called to me as I dropped my fins on the ground. “Just a few minutes ago. That hissing, crashing sound.”
The mysterious beast was back. I wondered if Arlis had used the distraction to cover his escape.
I said, “Get the dredge ready, I’m going back in. I don’t have time to deal with your paranoia.”
“Not until you tell us what’s out there. It’s somewhere on the other side of the lake.” Perry was sitting on the hood of the truck, I realized. King was standing on a running board, driver’s side. Whatever they had heard had scared them enough to seek elevation.
Perry said, “For a while, it was crashing around in the trees. Then we heard that hissing noise again. It’s big—I’m serious! The size of a car, maybe. How big do the snakes get around here?”
I said, “I already told you, it’s probably a wild pig. Or it could be cows that got loose—or a gator. You’re like a couple of children, for chrissake. Come here—I’ve got something to show you.”
The truck was dangerously close to the empty blanket. I wanted to lure them away from the thing before they noticed that Arlis was gone.
I watched Perry slide off the fender of the truck. He took a look around as he shouldered the rifle, then walked toward me but reluctantly. King followed for the first few steps, but then hurried to get into the lead, probably because he realized how that might look to me.
“Perry’s scared of his own shadow,” King called, sounding nervous. “Goddamn, though, whatever’s out there, man, he’s right. It’s got some big shoulders on it. Let me take a look through that night vision thingamabob you’re wearing. Maybe I can see what it is.”
I turned my back to him, switched off the monocular, and tilted the mask up on my forehead. “I trust you about as far as you can throw me. I’ve had enough of your idiotic stunts.”
Behind him, Perry said, “I told him not to do it—push that hunk of junk into the lake. Jesus, what a waste of time. He’s a punk, dude. Nothing I can do about that.”
“What the hell’s wrong with you two?” King laughed. “You don’t have a sense of humor? Shit, it was a joke, man!” Lowering his voice, having fun with it, he said to me, “Did I scare you, Jock-o? That wheel made a hell of a splash when it went in the water.”
I said, “Wheel? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit, you’re lying. It must have scared the hell out of you.”
I said, “I’ve already got plenty of reasons not to trust you. I was talking about busting the hose when you jerked it out of my hands.” I gave it a few beats before adding, “Take a look at what I found. Maybe you’ll understand how stupid it was busting that dredge.”
I was pretending to study the coins—six of them—but was paying close attention to King as he approached. Because King and Perry didn’t know that Arlis was gone, they didn’t realize that they had lost their leverage. It would be better to deal with them now. Now was better because if I waited and if I was lucky enough to get Will and Tomlinson back to shore alive, my options would be fewer. With the boy and Tomlinson watching, I would have to call in the police and leave the fate of the two cons up to the court system.
Yes, now was the time to act. Using the dredge without help wouldn’t be easy, but I could manage.
“What are you looking at? Shine the light so we can see.” It was King’s voice. His pace had slowed, but he was still coming toward me.
I held out the coins. “Here. Take them. Shine the light yourself.” I looked at him long enough to confirm that he was carrying the pistol. Perry, with the rifle, was trailing several steps behind.
When I saw that, I felt a mild surge of optimism. I knew where their weapons were. I knew the distance that separated the two men and it was ideal—close enough for me to strip the pistol from King and get off a quick shot
