“Because you’re the expert lifeguard-scuba diver,” Perry shot back. “What’d you tell me, we can sell these coins for about two grand apiece? We’ve got ten now, that’s only twenty grand. Plus what we took from the farm. Fifty thousand? That’s not enough to get us out of the country and buy a place in Mexico. You’re the genius, you figure it out.”
It was the first time they had referred to robbing a farm, and I now knew for certain they had killed the five people near Winter Haven, three children included. I could picture Perry pulling the trigger, maybe using the knife, too, while King urged him on.
I was watching King and trying to think of a way to distract him as he held the mask to his face. He had finally found the switch.
“This thing’s amazing,” he said softly. He was framing the mask with both hands, staring across the lake.
“See anything?” Perry asked. He sounded like he didn’t much care now, one way or another, his confidence coming back. “The professor’s probably right—what we heard was probably just a wild cow or something.”
I got to my feet, hoping for a reaction. “When are you two going to stop wasting time? There’s enough gold down there, we can all retire. Toss me the mask and let’s get to work.”
As I stepped toward them, Perry yelled, “Hold it, Jock-a-mo!,” which caused King to chuckle as he began a slow pan of the lake’s perimeter, his body pivoting toward the truck.
“Goddamn it,” I said, looking at Perry, “you know what this guy’s like. He’ll break the lens and pretend it’s an accident. Who’s in charge here? You? Or him?”
Perry was stuffing the coins into his pocket as he said, “Give him his mask back, King, before you break it.” He sounded like an irritable father speaking to a child.
King ignored him and began to give us a play-by-play of what he was seeing. “Those lizard-looking bastards have run off somewhere, I guess. I don’t see ’em, anyway—maybe that thing we heard scared ’em. There’s a couple of birds sitting in that tall tree . . . Hawks, you think? Other than that, it’s like we’re the only living things for miles. Everything else just sorta disappeared.”
King’s feet were moving now as he pivoted toward the truck and the empty blanket. I started toward him again, saying to Perry, “Maybe you’re willing to let this idiot screw us out of the gold but I’m not.”
Perry hollered, “Goddamn it, Ford, you stay right where you are.” He looked at his partner. “
It was too late. King was facing the truck now. I watched him lean forward to focus as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. “Jesus Christ,” he whispered.
The tone of his voice caused Perry to lower the rifle. “What do you see? What’s out there?”
“He’s gone,” King said, his voice rising.
“What?”
“The old man—
“Gone where?” Perry was fumbling in his pocket, and a couple of coins went flying as he pulled out a flashlight. He painted the trees with light, searching, until he found the truck. Next, he found the empty blanket.
“Shit!” Perry yelled, and he began running. “I’ll check the truck—you watch this asshole.”
King waited until Perry had the truck door open, the dome light on, before saying to me in a surprisingly calm voice, “You knew the old man was gone the whole time, didn’t you? You helped him. Maybe cut him loose when you knelt down to give him that water or left a knife or something for him. Which is it?”
I said, “What’s it matter? We don’t need Captain Futch to salvage the gold. He’s an old man. Let him live.”
“Let him hike out to the road and flag down help, that’s what you mean.”
“If I wanted the police involved,” I said, “I would have waved in that chopper. Remember?”
“Perry’s dumb enough to fall for that routine but I’m not. You’re setting us up somehow. Don’t think I don’t know it.”
I said, “All I want is my share of the gold. Perry understands that. If he’s dumb, then you’re dumber.”
I ducked reflexively when King hurled the mask at me but recovered in time to snatch it out of the air with one hand before it sailed over my head.
“You met your match when you met me,” King said, his voice still low, keeping the conversation between us.
“Did I?”
“You think you’re so smart but you’re not. All my life, I’ve hated you superior-acting dweebs. You, with your know-it-all attitude. But I can guarantee you one thing—if anyone leaves this shithole with a bunch of them coins it’ll be me, not you—and not Perry, neither. It’ll be me all by my lonesome.” He let me hear his smile as he added, “Why share these pretty little things when I can have them all?”
“How do you think Perry will react when I tell him what you’re planning?”
“He won’t believe you. Go ahead and try. He’s dumb as a damn post and he takes orders from me, not you.”
From the truck, Perry was now calling to King, “We’ve got to find the old bastard before he gets to the road. That mouthy old fool, he won’t get a third chance with me!”
His voice still low, King said to me, “Perry’s about to decide that it’s best if we tie your sorry ass up while we go looking, want to bet?” Then he hollered to Perry, “What should we do with numbnuts here?”
“Bring him along, we’ll take the truck.”
King’s patient chuckle was infuriating. He yelled, “And risk both of them getting away? Okay, if that’s what you want.”
“No! Leave him there. That sack of tie wraps is somewhere near that little bag of his. Put the pistol to his head and use them. Hurry up, goddamn it!”
King grinned. “See? What did I tell you?”
I said, “If you tie me up, you can kiss the gold good-bye.” I was watching Perry as he used the flashlight to look under the truck, then search the bushes beyond the stand of cypress.
“Oh, you’re going back into that lake,” King said. “And you’re gonna bring us a bunch more of these coins. Want to bet on something else? Yours truly is not going back into that goddamn water. Not tonight, not ever. Want to know how I’m so sure?”
I stood my ground as he pointed the pistol at me and stepped closer. He said, “Get down on your belly. You know the drill. Hands behind your back. Watch and learn, Jock-o, watch and learn. I’m about to suffer a debilitating injury.”
Confused, I said, “What?”
Before I had a chance to move, King pulled the trigger twice. I dropped to the ground automatically even as my brain registered what was obvious: The man had intentionally shot high. The little pistol made a sound like wood smacking wood, the gunshots still echoing through the swamp, as King yelled to Perry, “Shit, this asshole just tried to jump me! Are you happy now?”
King repeated the lie.
“How the hell did that happen?” Perry was jogging toward us, using the flashlight to find King, then me.
King began limping, shaking his head as if in pain, but was still aiming the gun at me as he pretended to test his right leg. “Your girlfriend just tried to body-block me—that son of a bitch is
I said, “He’s faking. Take a look and see if there’s any swelling—” But Perry cut me off, screaming, “Shut your goddamn mouth or I’ll shoot you myself!”
King suddenly became the peacemaker. “Take it easy, Per, not so quick. I don’t think he’ll try it again. And we want that gold, right?”
“Jesus,” Perry said, “I’m getting sick of this whole business. Maybe you were right. Maybe we should just take what we got and get the hell out of here.”
