Ben took a deep breath. “I wasn’t expecting trouble.”
“You’re running around town accusin’ me of some murder, and you weren’t expectin’ trouble? You must be some kind of stupid.”
“I’m just a lawyer.” Ben was trying to keep his voice even, without much luck. Ben wondered how long it would take Vincenzo to cripple him. The time would be measured in seconds. “I’m trying to defend my client.”
“I got no problem with that,” Vincenzo said. The scar above his eye seemed to throb as he spoke. “But when you started trying to pin the rap on me, that’s when you screwed up.” He poked a finger in Ben’s chest. “Big- time.”
“I know you’re behind the new designer drug here in Magic Valley,” Ben said. Flapping his mouth could get him killed, he realized, but he had to try to get some information out of this man while he had the chance. “I know you had contact with Dwayne Gardiner.”
“Is that so?”
“And I know you went after my investigator.”
Vincenzo’s head twitched. “How is he, anyway?”
“He’s fine, no thanks to you.” Ben checked both sides of the alley. If only someone would happen by-like a cop. If only Christina would come zooming up in a getaway car to rescue him. But none of that was likely to happen. He was on his own. “What is it you want from me?”
“I want you to keep your mouth shut!” he barked.
“And if I don’t?”
Vincenzo stepped even closer. His head hovered just above Ben’s. “There is no ‘if you don’t,’ Kincaid. Either you stop talking about me, or you stop talking-period!”
“I have an obligation to my client,” Ben said, breathing fast. “I won’t back away from anything that might save his life.” He raised his chin. “So if you’re planning to kill me, go ahead and get it over with.”
Vincenzo’s neck and shoulders throbbed and pulsated. His face twisted up with rage. He looked as if at any moment he might boil over and explode.
Ben clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the first blow to land.
And then all at once, Vincenzo’s rage seemed to dissipate. He stepped away from Ben.
By the time Ben had his eyes open again, he was startled to see Vincenzo was laughing.
“Damn, Kincaid, you really are a tough customer, aren’t you?” He laughed again, then slapped Ben on the shoulder.
Ben was so surprised he didn’t know what to do or say. “Does this-does this mean you’re not going to kill me?”
Vincenzo shook his head and smiled. “Relax, Kincaid. I’m a cop.”
“No,” Maureen gasped, under her breath. “It isn’t possible …”
But it was. As she watched, horror-stricken, chained to the cement barrel, the man driving the truck shifted into first gear and started toward them. And he was only a hundred feet away.
“Stop!” Sheriff Allen shouted. The rain had picked up, and he and the loggers were getting drenched. “Stop right now!”
But the driver didn’t stop. Maureen doubted if he could hear over the roar of his own engine. And she doubted if it would have made any difference if he could.
Deirdre screamed. She was just to the right of Maureen, so the scream was piercing and startling. Maureen would’ve jumped a foot-if she hadn’t been anchored in place. Trapped like a fly in amber.
“He’ll stop short,” Maureen said, trying to calm the rest. “He’s just trying to scare us. He’ll stop.”
But he didn’t stop. He kept inching forward. Fifty feet, then forty, then thirty, gaining speed all the way …
As the truck careened forward, Maureen could see the expression on the face of the driver. He was wild- eyed, excited. Enjoying himself. And going faster by the second …
“No!” Deirdre shouted.
“Brake now,” Maureen yelled. “Now, or it’ll be too late.”
A moment later, they heard the sound of the driver hitting his air brakes. But the truck didn’t stop.
The front left wheels hit a slick mud slide, a road hazard created by the fresh rain. Despite the hissing of the brakes, the truck continued to careen forward, gaining speed from its own momentum.
Time seemed to slow for Maureen. Even though she knew everything that followed occurred in the blink of an eye, it seemed like a long, protracted horror, like a nightmare that wouldn’t end.
“No!” Deirdre shouted. “Please, God, no!”
Sheriff Allen, standing in front of the barricade, waved his hat and fired into the air. It did no good. The other loggers scrambled for cover, desperate to get out of the way. At the last possible moment Sheriff Allen dived to the side of the road.
Through the windshield, the driver appeared frantic. He jerked the steering wheel to the left, almost jackknifing the truck. But still the cab continued moving forward, coasting on the slick mud. It veered left, aiming toward the side of the road.
But it was too little, too late. The truck would miss the dead center, but was certain to clip the left side …
Where Doc was chained down between two cement barrels.
Maureen saw Doc’s eyes fly open, his lips part. But he was too scared to scream.
Maureen clenched her eyes shut. She did not want to see, and she didn’t. But hearing was almost as bad. She heard the squealing of tires, the hissing of air brakes, followed by the sound of a huge semi impacting on a man’s body, the sickening popping sound as the body was ripped away from its arms, the crunching sound as the body was ground under the truck’s huge wheels.
The horrible thud after what was left of the body was spit out the back and flung seven feet across on the dirt road.
“
But there was no answer.
Chapter 61
“A cop?” Ben said incredulously. “You?”
Vincenzo nodded. “DEA agent, actually.”
“But … but … I thought-”
“You thought what you were supposed to think. What we wanted you to think.”
“But Sheriff Allen said-”
“Unfortunately, Sheriff Allen isn’t in on this. I’m sure you can understand the need for secrecy. We haven’t told anyone who doesn’t absolutely need to know.”
Ben shook his head with amazement. “But if you’re not the one who’s spreading this new drug around town-”
“Who is? That’s the question I’d like to have answered, too. That’s the whole point of this undercover operation.”
“But the sheriff said you had a record.”
“I’ve been maintaining this undercover identity for over two years. It hasn’t been easy, either. It takes a while before the big boys will trust you.”
“But how-”
“This drug didn’t debut in Magic Valley. I’ve been tracking it for almost three years. Started on the southern West Coast, near the border. When I wasn’t able to trace it by conventional means, I went undercover-deep undercover. No one at the DEA or the Justice Department will acknowledge that I’m working with them, so don’t bother trying. To grab the attention of the boys I wanted, I had to sever all contacts and leave no trails behind. It’s been slow work, but I’ve finally managed to infiltrate some of the highest echelons of the mob drug racket. The
