He led the way into the house. There was what looked like dried blood on the back of his head. He took him through to a living room the size of an aircraft hangar. Forrest poured them both a drink without asking.
‘That bad, eh?’ Evan said, but even he couldn’t manage a smile. Forrest looked like his dog had just died.
‘You really can’t remember a thing?’ Forrest said again.
Why the hell wouldn’t he just get to the point? He was starting to get annoyed. ‘For Christ’s sake, Forrest, how many more times? I don’t remember a damn thing.’
Forrest leaned back into his chair and lifted his glass to his mouth. Evan couldn’t make out the expression on his face. Was that deliberate?
‘I don’t know where to begin,’ Forrest said. ‘Someone must have switched the drugs.’
No shit, Sherlock.
He’d managed to work that much out for himself. ‘Who?’
Forrest held up a hand. ‘Look, just let me talk. Some of this I know for sure, other parts I’m feeling my way just as much as you.’
Evan doubted it but he just said okay anyway and sat back to listen. He wasn’t very good at listening but he’d give it a go.
‘Someone switched the drugs and you were out for real, but this time it was different. They knew we were coming—’
Evan shook his head. ‘They can’t have. How?’
A vague anxiety nagged at him—he should know the answer but his brain was still woolly from the drugs. Suddenly the hazy fog that engulfed his mind parted and an icy hand reached through and took hold of his guts and twisted.
Gina.
‘Gina,’ he said.
Forrest shrugged. ‘I don’t know—maybe it was her. The thing is, they knew.’
‘But how? She wasn’t at the meeting. She didn’t know.’
‘Evan, I told you I don’t have all the answers. Let me tell you what I do know happened.’
Evan nodded and looked away. It seemed as if Forrest didn’t care whether the truth had been tortured out of Gina. ‘Okay, okay.’
‘They knew what we had planned so they made some plans of their own. They drugged you properly and then two of D’Amato’s men carried you down the fire escape and threw you into their van—’
Evan frowned. ‘How do you know all this?’
Forrest took another sip of his drink and held it there, looking at Evan over the rim of the glass. He put it down and leaned in towards him, his elbows on his knees. Evan did the same. ‘You’re not going to like what you hear,’ Forrest said, ‘but just hear me out. Okay?’
Evan nodded. It didn’t sound like it was going to be okay at all. The feeling of some unidentifiable dread was growing inside him. Forrest wasn’t making it any easier telling him he wasn’t going to like it instead of just getting to the damn point and letting him decide what he did and didn’t like.
‘I was parked around the back,’ Forrest said. ‘I had my suspicions from the start—’
‘About who?’
‘—about Destiny. I knew she was still involved in the scam, whatever she said. They wouldn’t have let her just walk away.’ He prodded his chest with his thumb. ‘I supplied the drugs after all. I knew what was going on.’
Evan shook his head vigorously. ‘No. I don’t believe it.’ Forrest ignored him. ‘No way.’
‘I was suspicious when she just appeared out of the blue to help us. It was too convenient.’
Evan thought about what he was saying, tried to think back to the time he’d spent with her. Had it been too convenient? It was impossible to say. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’
‘To whom?’
‘Me? Angel?’
Forrest met his gaze and didn’t say anything.
‘What? No—’ Evan shook his head. ‘You’re not suggesting Angel’s involved as well?’
Forrest nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Evan’s. ‘There’s a strong possibility.’
‘I don’t believe it.’
‘I said you wouldn’t like it.’ He pushed his face closer. ‘Do you want me to go on? You seem intent on denying everything I say. Maybe I’ll just drop you back at your hotel. Then you can find out for yourself.’
Evan held up his hands. ‘Sorry. It’s just so hard to get my head around it all. Why do you think he’s involved?’
‘I don’t know for sure, okay?’ Evan nodded. ‘Remember when you came here with him the other day?’ Evan nodded again. ‘That was the first time I ever met him, but he seemed familiar. It was bugging the hell out of me, and then it suddenly came to me when we were all in your hotel room—I’m pretty sure I saw him coming out of D’Amato’s office one time. I didn’t see him from the front but I think it was him, something about the way he walks. That cocky, Latino swagger.’ He opened his hands in a you can take it or leave it sort of way. ‘It was enough to make me suspicious anyway.’
Evan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Maybe this was all just a hallucinogenic dream. Destiny and Angel both working for D’Amato? What was he going to say next? Gina too?
‘I was parked up at the back,’ Forrest went on, ‘and when I saw them carrying you down the fire escape I knew I was right.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I followed them.’
It seemed to Evan that Forrest was becoming more and more reluctant to volunteer information. It was like he really didn’t want to go where this was heading. How much worse could it get? ‘Where to?’ he said.
‘D’Amato’s warehouse.’
Evan’s heart missed a beat. D’Amato had a warehouse? That must be where they were holding Gina. There was a chance she might still be okay if Forrest was right about Destiny double-crossing them. ‘Is that where they had Gina?’
Forrest held up a hand. ‘Slow down—’
Evan clenched his fists. ‘What do you mean slow down? Is that where Gina was? Yes or no? Then you can get on with the rest of it.’
Forrest made a point of wiping a fleck of spittle off his chin and gave him a steady look that told him nothing. ‘Yes.’
Evan slumped back into his chair. Thank God for that. At least she wasn’t dead in a ditch.
‘Do you want to hear what happened at the warehouse now?’ Forrest made no attempt to hide the irritation in his voice. It’d be different if it was one of your precious horses, Evan thought.
‘I promise you, you’re not going to believe me,’ Forrest said. ‘Just try to stay calm.’
Evan’s stomach did a flip. He was taking Forrest’s warnings more seriously. He managed to nod.
‘One of D’Amato’s men opened up the back of the van. You must have come around during the journey. You jumped him.’ He paused, his eyes searching Evan’s face for any sign of recollection. ‘Are you sure you don’t remember any of this?’
Evan shook his head. ‘Nothing.’
‘The guy wasn’t expecting you to be awake. He pulled a gun and there was a struggle.’ Forrest hesitated. Evan almost bit his tongue in two stopping himself from interrupting. ‘The gun went off and killed him—’
‘No.’ It came out louder than he expected. ‘It can’t be true.’
‘—the other guy heard the shot and jumped out of the cab. He already had his gun out. He was going to shoot you. You shot him first.’
Evan couldn’t think what to say. Couldn’t think. Period.
‘Is he dead too?’
Forrest nodded.
Evan sat there stunned. He heard the words, but they didn’t seem to make any sense. It wasn’t possible to kill two men and not remember. He looked down at his hands. The hands of a killer? They didn’t look any different. He lifted them up and sniffed his fingers. Horse shit.
‘There’s no smell,’ Forrest said.
‘I thought they’d smell of cordite.’
Forrest gave him a sad smile, the kind you’d give a dog you were fond of but couldn’t teach to sit or beg. ‘They stopped using it around the time of World War One.’
Evan picked up h
is glass and drained it. Forrest took it out of his hand and got him a refill. It looked like a large one. It couldn’t be large enough unless Forrest went outside and dragged a horse trough back in.
‘Where were you when all this was happening?’ Evan asked him as he took his drink.
‘I parked around the corner, then I sneaked up. I was watching from behind the building next door.’
‘And that’s when you came and got me. Brought me back here.’ He took a sip of his drink. He couldn’t taste a thing. ‘What the hell do we do now?’ He looked over at Forrest. He was looking even worse than Evan felt. His face was ashen. It should be him that looked like that. Maybe he did. Maybe they looked like a get-together for the recently disinterred. Forrest coughed nervously and looked away from him. His stomach did another flip. Surely there wasn’t more.
‘That’s what happened, isn’t it?’
Forrest shook his head. ‘If only.’
Evan jumped up from his chair, spilling his drink over the cream colored rug. He couldn’t stand much more of this. Just what had he done that was worse still? He walked over to the window but all he saw was his reflection staring back at him. He wanted to put his fist through the glass.
‘Just tell me,’ he said without turning around. Behind him Forrest got up and walked behind the sofa, putting its bulk between them.
‘You—’ Forrest’s voice cracked. Evan still didn’t turn around. He couldn’t move. ‘You shot Gina.’
Chapter 65
‘WHAT?’ EVAN SCREAMED AND spun around. He lunged at Forrest and stopped dead. Forrest had a gun in his hand. It was pointed at his stomach. He froze, his mouth hanging open, his gut cramping.
‘Stop,’ Forrest screamed back at him. ‘This is the gun you used and by God I’ll shoot you with it if you don’t calm down.’
Evan took a step backwards as Forrest’s scream reverberated around the room. He tried to relax. His mind was more than relaxed—it was numb. He knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
‘Sit down,’ Forrest said. Evan sat back down. Forrest came back around from behind the sofa, put the gun down on the table between them and sat back down himself. Evan stared blankly at the gun. He had an irrational urge to touch it, feel the cold metal in his hand, maybe shoot his foot off with it, to provide some tangible reason for the pain eating him up. He didn’t trust himself to speak. What would he say?
The silence stretched out. He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.
‘When you’re ready I’ll tell you what happened,’ Forrest said quietly.
‘Is she dead?’
‘Yes.’
His voice was so quiet he barely heard him. Not that he needed him to repeat it. He looked into Forrest’s face. He didn’t know what he saw there. Was it sadness? Fear? Or something else? What did shadenfreude look like?
‘What happened?’ he said dully.
Forrest took a deep breath. ‘You were standing like you were in a daze. Just staring at the two bodies on the ground. The gun was still in your hand. I was trying to decide whether to run over to you—’
Evan gave him a quizzical look.
‘I was scared. You had this strange look on your face. I thought you might shoot me as well. Then I heard a car.’
It meant nothing to Evan. It was like he was describing what happened to somebody else. In a way, it was somebody else, somebody who was now ancient history. He’d never be the same person again.
‘A car pulled up and D’Amato jumped out of the driver’s seat.’ He swallowed nervously. ‘Then the passenger door opened and Gina got out. They were together in the car. She wasn’t a prisoner or anything.’
Evan wanted to put his hands over his ears. Put his head down the toilet bowl. Anything so that he didn’t have to listen.
‘D’Amato stood there staring at his men like he couldn’t understand what had happened. You were staring at Gina with your mouth hanging open like some retard. She was staring back at you with a sick smile on her face. Then she laughed at you. You screamed at her to shut up but she wouldn’t stop.’
Evan stared at the gun on the table. He didn’t know if he wanted to grab it and shoot Forrest to shut him up or shoot himself so that he didn’t have to listen to anything ever again. Forrest saw him staring and slowly moved the gun further away.
‘You sure you want me to go on?’ Forrest said.
Of course I don’t. I don’t want to hear another word come out of your filthy mouth.
‘Just get on with it.’
‘You said something to her. Asked her something. Your voice was really quiet; I couldn’t hear. She laughed at you again—it was a really nasty sort of laugh, not really a laugh at all—and said something about it just being part of the plan. You went berserk. I’ve never seen anything like it. Screaming at her again, and she kept on laughing in your face. It was such a horrible sound.’
Evan was having trouble breathing. His chest was so tight it was like his lungs had collapsed. His head felt like somebody had stuck a bicycle pump up his nose and pumped it to the point of exploding.
Forrest’s voice was getting hoarse. He took a sip of his drink and held it out to Evan. His hand was shaking. Evan shook his head. He didn’t think he’d take a drink ever again. Talk about the root of all evil.
‘You stuck the gun under her chin. Told her to shut up.’ He stopped and chewed his lip. Evan wanted to slap him. Anyone would think he’d done it. ‘She spat in your face and kneed you in the balls. You doubled over.’ Evan winced involuntarily. ‘Then she ran off down the road. You screamed something unintelligible, more animal than human, and went after her.’
Forrest stopped talking again and looked into his eyes. Was it pity he saw? Or scorn? Forrest had come to the very worst part of his story. The very worst part of what he’d done. He wanted to be sick, add some color to the perfect cream rug.
Forrest swallowed thickly. ‘You caught her after about fifty yards. You shot her twice in the back as she was running.’
Evan let out a howl of rage and lunged for the gun. Forrest got there first. He jumped up and pointed it at Evan and backed away slowly. Evan slid off his chair onto his knees and slammed his forehead into the glass coffee table. It didn’t hurt enough so he did it again and the glass cracked. He looked up at Forrest, a trickle of blood running down his face, and prayed; Just shoot me. For Christ’s sake, just shoot me.
***
‘THAT’S WHEN I RAN back and got my car and came and got you. By then I didn’t care if you shot me. D’Amato had disappeared in his car. You were just standing in the road, staring at …’ He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.
‘Why did you bring me here?’ Evan said. He wasn’t remotely interested in the answer. His mouth was just on autopilot.
‘Because I knew if the police turned up they’d shoot first and ask questions later. You were wandering around in a daze with a gun in your hand and a pile of bodies on the ground. They’d have shot you like a rabid dog—’
That sounded good to him.
‘—especially if Angel got there first.’
Evan shook his head sadly. Who’d have thought it?
‘You collapsed when I got to you,’ Forrest went on. ‘I tried to bring you round, but you were out cold again. I put you in the back in case there were roadblocks. You must have woken up again on the way over.’
Evan tried to get his head round it all but it was hopeless. He just couldn’t believe how it was possible that his mind was a complete blank. He almost felt sympathy for Jesse. He was still sitting on his heels in front of the broken coffee table. Blood from the cut on his forehead had dripped onto the rug. That’s going to be a bitch to get out. He stood and started to pace.
‘What now? We’ve got to call the police.’
‘In the morning. You need some rest.’
Yeah right. I’ve had a busy night.
He didn’t think he’d ever manage to sleep again. He reckoned it would be a rare night indeed when he didn’t
get a visit from Gina in his dreams. He couldn’t picture her dead. It wasn’t surprising. He hadn’t seen her dead. The last time he’d seen her she’d been about as alive as anyone can be—and naked. But his subconscious mind had seen her dead. It would welcome every opportunity to remind him of it. Would she be naked when she came to him with two bloody holes in her body? Why did your mind hate you so?
‘You were drugged, Evan,’ Forrest said, stepping in front of him. ‘You didn’t know what you were doing.’
He let out a choked bark from the back of his throat. ‘Tell that to Gina.’
Forrest didn’t have an answer to that.
‘I just can’t believe it all,’ he said. ‘Gina and Angel both working with D’Amato.’ He shook his head as if that might make it more believable.
‘And Destiny,’ Forrest said.
‘And Destiny,’ Evan echoed. ‘Let’s not forget Destiny.’ He wasn’t going to forget any of them for a very long time, that was for sure. ‘What are we going to do?’
‘In the morning,’ Forrest said. ‘Things always look different in the morning.’
Different, yes. Better, no.
Forrest led him by the arm, up the stairs and to a guest bedroom. Despite what he thought he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Chapter 66
JESSE WOKE UP COLD and stiff in the cramped back of the rental car. It would have been a lot more comfortable at Forrest’s place but he hadn’t wanted to turn up unexpectedly in the middle of the night. He’d also wanted a bit more time to think through what he was going to say to him. He was glad he had now, because new ideas were beginning to form in his mind. Ideas like going it alone and taking Forrest’s business with him.
He called him from his cell phone. There’d been a long, awkward silence when he’d told him that he was only a few miles away and had something important he wanted to discuss, but then Forrest had recovered and told him to come right on over. Probably just caught the guy in his pajamas.
Everything was peaceful as he turned into the long driveway that led to the house. There was a blue and white pickup truck parked right outside the house which seemed vaguely familiar. Forrest was waiting for him on the front steps just like last time. He’d changed out of his PJs, although he still looked like he’d just climbed out of bed. He hadn’t shaved and he had dark bags under his eyes. He looked like he’d had a rough night.
The Evan Buckley Thrillers: Books 1 - 4 (Evan Buckley Thrillers Boxsets) Page 51