dull glow of the overhead lights.
A few minutes later he met up with Carlos and Daryl.
'Did you take care of Kurt's body?' he asked solemnly.
Daryl looked down but Carlos said, 'We buried it on down the south shaft. Said a prayer over him and everything. Real respectable.'
'Good.' Quarry glanced over at his son. 'You learn anything from this, boy?'
Daryl nodded stiffly. 'Don't never lose control.' His tone didn't imply that he had actually learned anything. This was apparently not lost on Quarry.
He clapped his son on the back and then his strong fingers dug into the younger man's skin. 'Every time you think about losing your temper, you think about the price Kurt paid. You think about that real good. 'Cause let me tell you, I could've easily let Kurt be the one walking away. And him and Carlos could've been saying the Lord's Prayer over your hole in the dirt. You hear me?'
'I hear you, Daddy. I hear you.'
'Little piece of me died with him. Maybe more than a little. I've damned myself to hell for all eternity by doing that. You think about that too.'
'Thought you didn't believe in God,' Daryl said quietly while Carlos looked on, his features inscrutable except for the fact he was slowly rubbing the St. Christopher's medal he wore around his neck.
'I might not believe in God, but I sure as hell believe in the devil.'
'Okay, Daddy.'
'I don't make many rules, but the ones I do make I expect to be followed. Only way any of this shit works. Okay?'
'Yes sir,' said Carlos, who'd stopped stroking the medallion and slipped it back under his shirt.
Quarry left the men and continued on. A minute later he was sitting across from Willa, who was dressed in corduroy pants and a wool shirt Quarry had provided.
'Got everything you need?' Quarry asked.
'I'd like some books,' said Willa. 'There's nothing else to do so I want to read.'
Quarry smiled and opened his knapsack. 'Great minds, you know.' He lifted five books out and passed them over to her. She studied them carefully.
'You like Jane Austen?' he asked.
She nodded. 'She's not like my absolute favorite, but I've only read Pride and Prejudice.'
'That was my daughter's favorite book.'
'Was?'
Quarry stiffened slightly. 'She doesn't read anymore.'
'Is she dead?' Willa asked with the bluntness of youth.
'Some might call it that.' He pointed to the other books. 'I know you're real smart. So I didn't bother with crap you're probably way past. But you let me know what you like or not. I got plenty.'
Willa slid the books aside and studied him carefully. 'Can I have some paper and a pen? I like to write. And it would take my mind off things.'
'Okay, that's not a problem.'
'Did you talk to my parents? You said you would.'
'I sent out a message, yep. Told 'em you were okay.'
'Are you going to kill me?'
Quarry flinched back like she'd sucker-punched him, and maybe she had. He found his voice. 'Where the hell did that come from?'
'Sometimes kidnappers don't give the person back. They kill them.' Her wide eyes remained steadfastly on his. She was obviously not interested in retreating off this subject.
Quarry rubbed his jaw with a callused, weathered hand. Then he glanced down at it, as though he was seeing it for the first time. It was the same hand that had ended Kurt's life, so maybe the girl had something. I am a killer, after all.
'I appreciate that. I can see where you're coming from, sure. But if I were planning on killing you, I could just lie and say I wasn't going to. So what does it matter?'
She was ready for him in this little logics duel. 'But if you tell me you are planning on killing me it's probably the truth, because why would you lie about that?'
'Damn, I bet sometimes people say you're too smart for your own good, don't they?'
Her bottom lip trembled just a bit as she transformed from Einstein to the frightened preadolescent she was. 'I want to go home. I want to see my mom and dad. And my brother and sister. I didn't do anything wrong.' Tears spilled from her eyes. 'I didn't do anything wrong, and so I don't understand why you're doing this. I just don't!'
Quarry looked down, unable to confront the wide, wet eyes and the terror they held. 'This isn't about you, Willa. Not really. It's just… it's just that this is the only way it'll work. I thought it through a lot of different ways and this is the only one that made sense. It's the only chance I had. The only cards I had to play.'
'Who are you mad at? Who are you trying to get back at?'
He rose. 'You need any more books, you just let me know.'
He fled the room, leaving Willa to cry alone. He had never felt more ashamed.
A few minutes later Quarry was eying Diane Wohl as she sat on her haunches in the far corner of her 'cell' from him. He should have felt sympathy for her too, but he didn't. Willa was a child. She hadn't had a chance to make choices. And mistakes. This woman here had done both.
'Can I ask you a question?' Wohl said in a shaky voice.
Quarry sat down at the small table in the middle of the room. Part of him was still dwelling on Willa. But he said, 'Shoot.'
'Can I make a phone call to my mother? To let her know I'm okay?'
'Can't do that. These days they can trace anything. Government eye in the sky. Sorry. Just the way it is.'
'Well, then can you let her know I'm okay?'
'I might be able to do that. Give me her address.'
He handed her a pencil and a slip of paper. Her brow furrowed as she wrote it down and then handed him back the paper. She asked, 'Why did you take my blood?'
'I needed it for something.'
'What?'
Quarry looked around at the small space. It wasn't a fancy hotel, but Quarry had lived in worse. He had tried to provide everything the woman needed to be comfortable.
I'm not evil, he told himself. If he kept thinking it, maybe he'd start believing it.
'Can I ask you a question?'
She appeared startled by this but nodded.
'You have any kids?'
'What? No, no, I never did. Why?'
'Just wondering.'
She drew nearer to him. Like Willa she had changed into fresh clothes. Quarry had brought along the outfits she'd purchased from Talbot's. They fit nicely.
'Are you going to let me go?'
'That depends.'
'On what?'
'On how things turn out. I can tell you that I am not by nature a violent man. But I also can't predict the future.'
She sat down at the table across from him and clasped her hands together.
'I can't think of one thing I've done in my life that would make you do this to me. I don't even know you. What have I done? What the hell have I done to deserve this?'
'You did one thing,' said Quarry.
She looked up. 'What? Tell me!'
'I'll let you think of it yourself. You sure got some time to do that.'
