Bank building. He had no idea what he would do there, but at least he could step in the alcove where they kept the ATM machines. That was still open. He pushed through the swinging glass door, shivering. He wasn’t dressed for this kind of weather. The wind was bracing, unforgiving, especially downtown. OKC was a windy city, even windier than Chicago. Most people didn’t know that, but Carl did. Especially today, when every burst of cold air made him catch his breath. Worst of all, the cold seemed to exacerbate the aching in his arm. It had been different when he was with Tommy. Then he had focused all his attention on pleasing the boy, trying to make him happy. He had tried to forget about the pain, tried to forget about the deep gash that had practically torn his arm in half, but it wouldn’t let him. The bleeding had stopped, thank God, but the pain hadn’t.
He rolled up his sleeve and looked at it. It had matted into an ugly black mess. He wondered: could he get gangrene? Did people still die of things like that? He didn’t know. He probably needed to have this looked at. But frankly, that wasn’t an option at the moment. He had more urgent business.
As soon as he had gotten away from The Snow Pea, and he was certain no one was following him, he had ditched the truck. He didn’t know who the woman in the suit was, but he saw her write down his license-plate number. He could be absolutely certain the police had it by now. They’d be looking for him. From here on out, he had to make his way on foot.
Make his way where? That was the killing question. He had to get to Tommy, had to get him back. But how? He could be certain now that Bonnie wouldn’t let him out of her sight. What was he going to do?
He needed inspiration. And the only way he knew to find inspiration was …
He pushed himself through the glass door, reentering the bracing cold. Yes! There it was, just down Main. Tony’s Bar and Grill, except there was no grill, not that he’d ever noticed anyway. He used to be a regular, before he joined the force and-
Well, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t welcome at Joe’s anymore, but no one at Tony’s had a grudge against him. Not that he knew, anyway. And hallelujah! The place appeared to be open.
He pushed through the door, feeling the sudden rush of warmth and comfort. The smell of alcohol was thick in the air and it pleased him.
Maybe there were Christmas spirits, after all. He laughed. Maybe they were the kind of spirits you found in a bottle.
He sidled up to the bar and ordered. He felt better already. The pain was subsiding, his head was clearing, and ideas were flashing. Just another drink or two. Maybe three. Four at the most.
And then he felt confident he would know what to do next.
11
Megan had thought that perhaps, this being Christmas Eve, and everyone on earth having Christmassy activities to attend to, the county courthouse would be deserted. Wrong.
The courthouse was packed. Only one courtroom in the Family Division was open, only one judge was on duty, and roughly fifty billion people were jockeying for her attention. The small waiting room outside was jam- packed with mothers, fathers, and unhappy children who wanted to be anywhere but here on Christmas Eve. And of course each of them had a lawyer. Maybe two.
In short, it was a madhouse.
Megan found two seats in a relatively quiet corner and tucked Bonnie and Tommy away there. Before she had a chance to find a seat herself, her cell phone buzzed.
She pulled the phone out of her shoulder bag and flipped it open. “Megan McGee.”
“This is Barney Palmer, over at the police station. Toxicology.”
Megan glanced at Tommy out the corner of her eye. He was talking to his mother, unaware of what Megan was saying or doing.
She took a subtle step away and pressed the phone close against her ear. “Have you had a chance to test the food sample the police brought in?”
“Oh, yes. It’s not a time-consuming process. Especially not with such a plentiful sample. Sergeant Conner asked me to phone you the results. I can fax a copy of the report to your office.”
“That would be wonderful. But can you tell me over the phone?”
“You mean, the results?”
“Right. Was the food poisoned?”
She listened to several moments of staticky air. “I’m really not supposed to give this information out over the phone, but”-his voice dropped to a shadow of what it had been before-“the test was positive.”
“You mean-”
“That’s what I mean. The food was poisoned. Rat poison, we think. Enough to kill an elephant.”
Megan felt as if her heart had been crushed in someone’s fist. A cold chill rippled through her body. She had known all along that Carl was bad news, desperate, irrational. But somehow she had never quite believed he was capable of killing his own child.
Until now.
“You’re absolutely sure about this, Barney?”
“No doubt about it. When we have a sample this large to work with, it’s pretty impossible to make an error.”
Megan nodded. “Thanks for calling. I appreciate it.” She pushed the End button and disconnected the line.
Bonnie and Tommy still weren’t paying any attention to her, and she was glad for it. She would in time, of course, have to share this dreadful news with Bonnie, but not now. Not while Tommy was here. He had enough to handle without knowing that the dad who had kidnapped him had also tried to kill him.
“Will you two excuse me for a moment?” Megan decided to blaze a trail through the crowd so she could check in with the judge’s clerk. She was starting to make some progress when her feet suddenly disappeared out from under her.
She slammed down on the floor hard, briefcase first. “What the-”
Twisting her neck around, she saw nothing behind her except a boy, maybe ten or so, who was working a little too hard at not looking in her direction.
“Did you trip me?” Megan said in a voice more than sufficient to turn many heads, including the boy’s mother’s.
The kid continued to look away, suddenly very interested in the dot pattern in the ceiling panels.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.” Megan pushed herself to her feet. “Did you trip me?”
The boy’s mother, a large woman who seemed plenty stressed out already without taking on any additional problems, intervened. “I’m sure it was just an accident. There are so many people crowded into this tiny room.”
“If it was an accident, let him tell me so.” She placed her hand on the boy’s jaw and turned his head to face her. “How about it, kemo sabe? You think it’s funny to trip people?”
The boy affected a pained expression. “Mommy, she’s hurting me.”
The mother slapped Megan’s hand away. “Leave him alone!”
Megan was outraged. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but after all she had been through today, she didn’t need this. “Why are you defending him? He could kill someone like that.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“I don’t think I am.”
“Leave us alone!”
“Your kid is a menace!”
The mother’s voice was becoming fluttery and semi-hysterical. “I want you to leave us
“I want an apology.”
“If you don’t leave my son alone, I’ll call the police!”
“Call away. I may decide to file charges for battery!”
