by Tom Wood
‘Take me with you,’ Welch begged the emptiness.
SIXTY-SIX
Four corpses on the side of the road was far from an ideal situation, but Victor was sanguine. Better to be alive with such a problem than dead without. He felt guilty for Linette, however, who was going to have a lot of work to do in the coming hours and days and weeks and months.
There was no time to clean up the mess and he had no means to do so either. There was a burning car on the side of the road, three corpses inside and a soon-to-be corpse nearby.
He climbed back into his truck and drove away with smoke and flames in his rear-view mirror.
He called Linette.
‘How much progress have you made with the list?’
‘You mean the list you left with me while you went fishing?’
‘That’s the one.’
She sighed. ‘I’m doing my best.’
‘Have you narrowed it down?’
‘I’m doing my best,’ she said for a second time.
‘I know you are,’ he said. ‘I’m not asking if you’ve identified the boyfriend, but if you’re any closer.’
‘Halfway there,’ she told him. ‘I’ve seen who is married, who cohabits, who lives in the middle of town. I’ve crossed off those and anyone too old and too young. I’ve—’
‘Tell me where you are. I’ll come to you.’
‘I’m not done yet.’
‘I want to take a look,’ he said.
‘You do?’
‘I want to help.’
‘I’m at work,’ she said. ‘I can’t have a civilian sitting at my desk with me, much as I would like the pleasure of your relentlessly witty company. People would talk. They’re already talking, I bet.’
The words were light, but he detected a serious undertone. Perhaps her boss had quizzed her already on why she had been seen sharing information with a member of the public, or maybe she had let some other case slip.
He didn’t want to push it.
‘Besides,’ she said. ‘We’re stretched pretty thin right now with the dead meth cook, the burnt lab and the seven busted-up bikers. I’m still confused how a rival gang rode into the neighbourhood, kicked the crap out of them, and rode out again without anyone noticing.’
Victor remained silent.
‘Hey,’ Linette continued. ‘Since I’m doing you a favour perhaps you can do one for me in return. You seem friendly with Pete, perhaps you can remind him that he’s not doing anyone any favours pretending he didn’t see what went down outside his bar.’
‘Perhaps he didn’t see.’
‘Funny,’ she said without inflection. ‘But how is that even possible?’
‘I’ll talk to him,’ Victor said.
‘Thank you.’
He drove past the motel. The two brand-new Escalades were not parked in the lot. Garrett and his team were on the move.
‘Maybe I can help remotely,’ he said. ‘Can you see who has a firearm registered?’
‘Almost all of them have a licence and own a gun. I can see rifles, shotguns, pistols … We like our toys here in the Great North.’
‘Who has the most guns?’
‘Half have two or more.’
‘Who of that half has a military background?’
‘Let me look … Seven. Maybe more.’
‘Why maybe? Surely they do or they don’t?’
‘It’s not as simple as that. I have two guys on this list who were born overseas so I can’t see if they were in the military or not.’
Victor pictured a man with a lean, strong build, yet who was not limber. He now saw that lack of mobility as the result of an injury. An old war wound, he now realised.
Linette continued: ‘I have a guy from Mexico and one from France.’
Un homme de goût, Victor thought.
He pictured a bartender starting his shift, tired, with dirt under his fingernails. Tired and dirty not from working on a car as Victor had initially deduced, but at the quarry. A man who questioned why Victor had not left as planned. He had not spooked Michelle, but her boyfriend.
‘Look,’ Linette said. ‘I’m going as fast as I can. It’ll be done soon.’
Victor knew that already.
‘Let me know if I can do anything,’ he said.
‘Thanks. I will.’
He hung up and accelerated to the bar, stopping the truck right outside, not taking the time to reverse-park and face the exit.
The door hadn’t swung shut behind him before he said to Big Pete, ‘Where’s the other barman, the French guy?’
Big Pete was standing behind the bar. He tensed when he saw Victor, taking a step backwards in an instinctual, defensive reaction.
‘I thought I told you not to come back here. I don’t care who started it. I don’t care if you threw first or they did, I’ve had my fill of talking to cops about it. Word gets around. Folk get twitchy about drinking in the same place where people get their limbs broken in multiple places. The register is down by half already.’
Victor approached. ‘I need to speak to the French bartender. It’s important.’
‘Did you not hear what I just said? I need you gone.’
‘I’ll go and never come back if you help me speak to your bartender.’
‘I’m not helping you speak to Naël. I’m not helping you do anything. In fact, I’ve already helped you. I’ve covered your ass with the cops, so let’s call it quits.’
‘A million dollars,’ Victor said.
‘Excuse me?’
‘I appreciate you not calling the police last night and I’m sorry my actions have caused you to lose business. To make up for that, I’ll send you a million dollars just as soon as I’ve left town.’
Big Pete laughed. ‘Sure you will. Sure you have a million bucks just sitting around with my name on it.’
‘Naël’s in trouble,’ Victor said.
‘He’s not working today,’ Big Pete said, leaning on the bar surface with his fingers spread out wide. ‘I can pass on a message if that helps. He’s back in tomorrow night. Leave me your number and I’ll get him to give you a call.’
‘I have to speak to him in person.’
Big Pete shrugged to say too bad.
‘Where does he live? I’ll go to him.’
‘I can’t tell you that. I mean, I can. But I’m not going to. I won’t. No way in hell, pal.’
Victor frowned at the blasphemy but didn’t comment. ‘He’s in danger.’
Big Pete was sceptical. ‘Danger?’
‘He’s in danger. His girlfriend is in danger. Her child is in danger. They don’t know it yet. It’s coming for them and it’s close and they have absolutely no idea how bad it’s going to get.’
Big Pete listened.
‘Tell me how to find Naël so I can warn them. If I don’t, if you don’t help me help them, no one else will.’
Big Pete was frowning. ‘What kind of danger are we talking about here?’
‘The absolute worst kind. Worse than the Nameless. Worse than me.’
‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’
He nodded.
Big Pete stared at him for a moment.
Victor stared back.
‘You’d better be legit, pal. This better be serious like a heart attack. It better be life and death.’
‘It is.’
Big Pete exhaled and grabbed a napkin. He started scribbling an address. He glanced up at Victor. ‘Just who the hell are you, anyway?’
‘I don’t even know any more.’
SIXTY-SEVEN
The cabin was set far back from the highway. A single-lane track twisted its way through the dense forest, between thick trees, climbing steadily for almost two miles before it became a driveway of sorts. The building was two storeys of timber beams sealed with pale chinking. The roof of dark tiles rose to a sharp peak. Behind the house the land ascended to form a jagged hill that bordered the lake. Dense trees covered the hill.
A single vehicle wa
s parked outside the cabin. It was a Land Rover, old and reliable. Mud stained the wheel arches and bodywork. Bumper stickers were unreadable.
A diesel generator rumbled at the side of the building. Inside, the cabin was warm and humid. Michelle sat at the dining table. Joshua sat next to her. On the tabletop were specialised learning texts, visual aids, development aids, crayons and colouring books.
‘Honey, if the mouse has three pieces of cheese but one has gone bad then how many pieces of cheese can the mouse eat?’
‘Four.’
‘That’s almost right. It would be correct if the mouse had three pieces of cheese and one more.’
‘I don’t get it.’
‘Just try again. If we take one from three, what do we have?’
Joshua stared at the table. He was silent.
Naël, towelling his wet hair, said, ‘Maybe he’s had enough schooling for one day.’
‘He’s doing great,’ she said without looking. ‘Aren’t you, baby?’
Joshua said, ‘I’m stupid.’
‘No, you’re not. Don’t say that.’
Naël said, ‘Maybe he’s—’
Michelle cast him a quick look. ‘He’s stressed. He doesn’t understand what’s going on. Okay?’
Naël draped the towel over a shoulder and massaged Michelle’s neck. ‘I don’t mean to criticise. I know this is tough for you both.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘My nerves are stretched to breaking point. How much longer do you think it will be?’
‘I wish I knew. These things take time. Driver’s licence is simple, he told me. Passports are a whole other thing.’
She saw Joshua was tense, and stood, guiding Naël away from the table and into the den.
‘What if they just take the money and not deliver?’
‘They won’t do that.’
‘How do you know? It’s not like we can go to the police if they do. We’ve handed over all the money to strangers with only their word to go on.’
He held her. ‘They’re not strangers. My guy vouched for them. Just give it time.’
‘How much time do you think we have? The fisherman is bound to have passed on everything he’s found out. They’re coming.’
‘We have a head start. No one knows you’re both here with me.’
‘You think no one can find that out? They’re coming. I’m telling you they’re coming.’
‘And we’ll be gone when they get here. A little luck and we’ll be in another country.’
‘I’m the unluckiest person alive,’ she said. ‘I don’t think for one second my luck is going to change now.’
‘Have a little faith then.’
‘Faith?’ She sneered. ‘Faith never helped me before. It won’t help me now.’
Naël said, ‘Then forget luck, forget faith. You can rely on me. I’ll never let you down.’
She kissed him. ‘I know I can. I know you won’t.’
Joshua appeared in the doorway. ‘There’s someone outside.’
Michelle moved fast, rushing to him and taking him by the hand.
Naël moved just as fast, grabbing a Benelli shotgun from hooks on the wall and opening the drawer of a sideboard to take out spare shells.
‘Where did you see him, honey?’ Michelle asked, lowering to a squat so she was at eye-level with her son.
‘At the front,’ he said, pointing. ‘I stood on my chair and I saw a man in the trees through the window.’
Michelle looked at Naël, terror in her eyes.
‘It’s going to be okay,’ he told her, stuffing shells into a pocket of his sweatpants and opening another drawer to get his pistol. He took it to her, pushed it into her hands. ‘Remember what I—’
She took it. ‘I remember.’
Joshua said, ‘What’s wrong, Mama?’
She wiped her eyes with a sleeve. ‘Nothing, baby. We’re going to play that game we practised. Like hide and seek.’
‘Do I go first?’
‘Yes, you first. Don’t forget to count to a thousand.’
‘Ugh.’ He threw his hands to his sides. ‘It takes for ever.’
She forced a smile. ‘That’s why you keep winning.’
Naël, shotgun loaded and a shell racked, nodded.
‘Go on now,’ Michelle said to Joshua. ‘Go hide real good or you’ll lose.’
‘I never lose,’ he said, trudging away.
Once he had gone, she said to Naël, ‘If anything happens to him—’
‘I won’t let it,’ he said, peering out of the window at the front.
‘Do you see anyone?’
He shook his head. ‘Maybe he imagined it.’
‘He didn’t,’ she said. ‘This is it. I know it.’
‘No vehicle. I can’t even hear one.’
‘They’d park far away so we didn’t know they were coming. We could be surrounded.’
She raised the pistol and aimed it at the door.
He gripped the shotgun in both hands. ‘Anyone who comes through that door dies.’
‘What about someone who climbed through an upstairs window?’ Victor said from behind them.
SIXTY-EIGHT
Frightened civilians with guns weren’t known for their self-control, so Victor made sure he was out of the line of fire. He stood on the far side of an interior wall and spoke through the open doorway. It wasn’t the best time to announce his presence, but he figured the longer he waited the more anxious they would become, and time was a luxury none of them had.
The French bartender, Naël, shouted at him, ‘Show yourself!’
Victor could not see either Naël or Michelle but he knew they were now facing the open doorway and their weapons were pointed his way. The interior wall was comprised of thick timbers like the exterior walls, so there was no danger of them shooting through it.
‘I’m afraid I can’t do that just yet,’ Victor replied. ‘But I mean you no harm. I’m here to help.’
‘We know exactly why you’re here,’ Michelle shouted. ‘You’re here for Joshua.’
‘I’m not.’
‘I’ll kill you,’ she said.
‘I believe you,’ he said. ‘But you need to be smart about this. I know you’re frightened and I know why, but it’s not me you should be scared of. I’m here to warn you they’re coming.’
‘I know that. I know they are, and I know you brought them here.’
‘I assure you that’s not the case.’
Naël said, ‘You came to the bar. You asked about Michelle, about Joshua. I know you’re not just a fisherman.’
‘For all intents and purposes I was just a fisherman,’ Victor said. ‘But now I’m here to help you get out of here.’
‘You really think that’s going to work?’ Michelle said. ‘You think we’re just going to get into your car voluntarily?’
‘That’s the plan,’ Victor said. ‘The sooner we get out of here the better. They didn’t know where you were before, but if I found out, so will they.’
‘If what you say is true,’ Naël said, ‘then show yourself.’
‘I’m thinking that’s not in my best interests right now.’
‘Who is “they”?’ Michelle said.
‘His name is Garrett,’ Victor answered. ‘He has between seven and eleven men with him in two Escalades. Bounty hunters. They were staying at the motel. They turned up yesterday. They’ve already been to your house.’
‘Why so many?’ Naël asked.
‘Because they know you’re ex-military.’
‘Long time ago. When I was young. And I was a medic.’
‘But in special forces, right? They’ve done their homework. They’re expecting resistance so they’re using overwhelming odds to try to avoid a confrontation. They’ll kill you anyway. They only want Joshua and they don’t want to leave behind witnesses to a kidnapping.’
Silence.
Victor pictured Michelle and Naël looking at each other, perhaps mouthing a brief exchange.
&n
bsp; What do we do?
I don’t know.
We can’t trust him.
What if he’s right?
He said, ‘If I were lying to you, if I wanted to trick you, I would be armed.’
No response.
‘If I was sent by your ex-husband I would have a gun. I could have shot you both in the back without saying a word, couldn’t I?’
‘So?’ Michelle said.
‘But I don’t have a gun,’ Victor continued. ‘I’m unarmed. I’m going to step out now with hands raised to prove it. I wouldn’t do that if I meant you harm, would I?’
Naël said, ‘Do it.’
Victor raised his hands and stepped through the doorway.
Naël had a shotgun, a matt-black Benelli pump-action. Michelle had a Beretta 92F. They held them well, Naël’s military experience showing in his stance, his aim. Michelle was a pure civilian but she had practised. Both muzzles were pointed Victor’s way. Point-blank range.
‘See?’ he said.
They were closer than necessary. Both within four metres. A slight distraction and he could rush one before they could get off a shot. Michelle first, because the Frenchman wouldn’t risk a spread of pellets with his partner in the line of fire.
Garrett’s here, he could say, glancing past them at the window.
They would be compelled to look. Their fear would ensure that.
When they glanced back, Victor would have Michelle as a human shield. Then it would be over.
He stood still, hands up near his face.
Naël said, ‘It’s a trick. He’s trying to keep us occupied while the others get here.’
‘Then we’ll kill him,’ Michelle said, her voice strained but her face stern and resolute.
Victor’s gaze passed between them. ‘I’m here to help.’
‘Help?’
‘Come with me,’ he said. ‘We’ll take my truck. If the Land Rover is in your name, then they know about it.’
‘How?’
‘They’re bounty hunters. It’s what they do. That they didn’t already know about this cabin tells me you don’t have a lease and you pay cash.’
Naël said nothing.
‘Then we’re safe,’ Michelle said.
‘Eight to twelve guys,’ Victor said.
‘You told us that already.’
‘That’s eight to twelve guys asking questions. They have your name. They know about your SUV. They know your military experience. The only thing they don’t have is your address. But the quarry does. Who else does? Is there anyone in town you’ve ever brought back here? Is the owner local? Did you ever have a tradesman out to fix something? Ever had someone drop you off? Ever had a delivery?’