Night Vipers

by Carolina Mac

“Do you know anyone else he’s been physically abusive with?”

  “No, I don’t. Sorry. And after it happened, I warned my friends against accepting any invitations from him, just to be on the safe side. Better forewarned.”

  Farrell nodded. “Thank you for your time. You’ve been very helpful.” He shook Tony D’Angelo’s hand, placed a card on the table and left.

  3:00 p.m.

  Santa Fe Regional Airport. New Mexico.

  TYLER and his two officer escorts were first off the plane, down the ramp and into the terminal. He jerked on the cuff and pointed at the men’s room a few feet down the hallway.

  The cop attached to him nodded and walked alongside. When they reached the entrance, the other officer indicated that he’d stand outside the door and wait.

  Inside the bathroom, the cop Tyler was attached to pointed at the urinal. “Make it fast and don’t dick around.”

  “I need a stall,” said Tyler. “Take the cuff off me.”

  “No. I can’t.”

  “Jesus, what kind of an asshole are you? You won’t let a person shit when they have to?”

  “Oh, all right. If you have to, I guess you have to.” The cop pulled the key out of his pocket and the second the lock released Tyler drove him in the head. The cop staggered back into the row of sinks. Tyler grabbed him by the neck and bashed his head three times against the granite countertop.

  The cop crumpled onto the tile floor. Tyler leaned down and grabbed the envelope with his wallet in it out of the cop’s jacket pocket. He jerked the gun out of the cop’s holster, shoved it into his pocket and ran out the door.

  The cop standing guard outside the washroom door was on his phone and Tyler blew past him running as fast as he could go. His eyes zeroed in on the closest exit sign and he ran towards it.

  Outside, he headed for a parking area, breathing hard but still running full out.

  A man in a suit had just parked his car in the short term lot and was about to press the key fob when Tyler ran up behind him and grabbed the fob out of his hand.

  “Sorry, but I need your car.”

  “No, don’t take it,” hollered the man, but Tyler wasn’t listening.

  He jumped in the Nissan, started the engine and spun out of the parking lot onto the highway. In his rear view he could see the guy on his phone. He had to make this fast.

  4:00 p.m.

  Bank of America. Albuquerque. New Mexico.

  TYLER walked into the bank and withdrew seventy-five thousand in cash. The teller had to call the manager to verify the transaction and it took a little longer than Tyler was comfortable with, but it was his money and if he needed it, they should fork it over.

  The transaction was completed in the manager’s office and Tyler stuffed the money into a leather briefcase he’d found in the car he stole at the airport.

  That done, he walked down the street from the bank, stood on the corner and hailed a cab.

  “Take me to the airport.”

  6:00 p.m.

  Quantrall Ranch. Giddings.

  JESSE had come in from the barn and was in the downstairs bathroom washing his hands before dinner when he got the call from Dorsay Simic.

  “Mr. Quantrall, I just had a call from District Attorney Cruickshank in Santa Fe, and it seems the two officers transporting Tyler from La Grange lost him at the airport.”

  “Lost him?”

  “Tyler apparently overpowered one of the officers in the men’s room and severely beat him. The officer is in the hospital with serious injuries to his head.”

  “No.” Jesse felt his heart rate increase to an unacceptable level. “No, Tyler. No.”

  “I understand how distressed you are, Ranger Quantrall, but there is nothing we can do now until he’s apprehended. Then there will be a whole new array of charges and legal issues to deal with.”

  “I understand. I’ll do what I can to put some alerts out there.”

  Jesse walked into the dining room and Bobby jumped to his feet. “What is it, Jesse? You don’t look well.”

  “Sit down, Jesse,” said Marnie. She pulled a chair out for him and eased him into it. “Bobby how about a shot of bourbon? He’s white as a sheet and his breathing is all wrong.”

  Bobby ran to the bar in the great room and came back with the bottle in his hand. He poured a generous shot into a glass and handed it to Jesse.

  “Don’t talk,” said Marnie. “Drink the bourbon slowly. Relax and breathe. Everything is okay.” She stood behind him and massaged his neck trying to ease the tension and relax him.

  “Thanks, I feel better.”

  Charity reached for his glass. “Daddy, sip.”

  “No, you can’t have a sip.” He chuckled and the pain eased in his chest eased a little.

  “Tell us after dinner,” said Bobby. “I know it’s Tyler and I know it isn’t good. The details will keep until you’re in a better place.”

  Jesse nodded. “Thanks, Bobby.”

  6:15 p.m.

  Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.

  ANNIE placed bowls of mashed potatoes and vegetables on the table to feed her cowboys and was on her way back to the stove to get the platter of meat when her cell rang. She grabbed it off the granite island and glanced at the screen. “Hey, Daryl.”

  “Annie, this isn’t good news, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

  “Something about Tyler?”

  “Yes, it is. Your husband was being transported back to our lockup and when the plane landed at the Santa Fe airport, he got away from the officers escorting him. Put one of them in the hospital.”

  “Oh, no. He’s in more trouble now.”

  “I’m afraid he is and considering his frame of mind I want you to be extra careful.”

  “I will. And thank you for the warning.”

  Luc focused wary dark eyes on her, and she whispered. “I’ll tell you after dinner.”

  8:00 p.m. E.S.T.

  Pearson International Airport. Toronto. Canada.

  TYLER cleared customs with the passport he always carried with him. He had no luggage but would soon need to find a store and buy himself a change of clothes.

  A rental vehicle at the airport was out of the question because they’d demand a credit card and he couldn’t use one. He’d have to get himself a ride another way.

  He stepped out of the terminal carrying the stolen briefcase full of his own money and walked to the closest taxi stand. He stood waiting and shivering in the freezing wind. All he needed in Texas in January was a jacket, but he definitely needed to upgrade. Colder than he’d ever been, Tyler prayed for a warm taxi as the steadily falling snow turned the airport white.

  “Where to?” asked the cab driver when Tyler hopped in the back seat.

  “Closest hotel will do.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Sunday, January 22nd.

  6:00 a.m.

  Quantrall Ranch. Giddings.

  JESSE slept poorly and woke at the crack of dawn wondering where in hell Tyler had spent the night. What had gone wrong? Why had Tyler become a person he didn’t even know anymore? His younger brother had never been violent. Sure, they’d all been in a few dust-ups at Boots and Saddles, but that’s all they were—bar fights.

  Jesse slipped out of bed without waking Marnie, took his work clothes from the hook behind the door and dressed in the ensuite.

  Carrying his boots in his hand, Jesse stole down the staircase and sat in the kitchen to put his boots on. He started the coffee, then left the house.

  A cold wind hit him in the face as he strode to the barn and he wondered if his brother was somewhere warmer than this. Where would Tyler go? Would he fly to a tropical island?

  “Hey, Jesse, hear anything?” asked Paul as Jesse walked down the aisle between the stalls.

  “No. Nothing. He could be anywhere by now.”

  “Doesn’t seem like we’re talking about Tyler, does it?” asked Paulie. “I can’t get my head around it.”

  “Me neither
,” said Jesse. “Our brother is a person I don’t know anymore.”

  7:00 a.m.

  The Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  SUNDAY morning gave Blaine a chance to catch up in his office. The men weren’t working, except for Travis and Rob who had no weekend plans and volunteered for surveillance at the gym.

  Farrell was sleeping late after their fun night at Stubbs’. They hadn’t taken the girls out in a while and dinner and the show had been relaxing. The band playing there was one they hadn’t heard before but turned out to be excellent. So much fantastic talent in Austin, you just needed time to enjoy it all.

  I need to practice more on my guitar.

  Blaine pushed back in his leather chair and smiled, thinking about Kim and what a sweet person she was. He was sure he loved her, but a part of him missed Misty—a lot more than he wanted to admit to himself.

  Thoughts of calling Misty and catching up entered his head then dissipated when his cell rang in his hand.

  “Mom, is something wrong?”

  “Very wrong, sugar. Tyler escaped from the cops who were taking him back to Santa Fe and he’s on the run. So, unlike him, I think something is wrong with his head.”

  “You know him better than anybody, Annie. Where do you think he would go?”

  “From Santa Fe? I’ve been thinking about it and my first thought was Vegas. He loves it there and we’ve been there a lot together. But then again, if he thought Jesse would read him that way, he’d pick someplace else.”

  “I’m sure Santa Fe PD will check all the regular escape routes—interstate, buses, trains, flights—and they’ll be watching his credit card activity. It shouldn’t take them long to find him.”

  “Tyler is lost to me,” said Annie. “My main concern is what this stress is doing to Jesse.”

  10:00 a.m. E.S.T.

  Don’s New and Used. Scarborough. Ontario.

  THE cab driver dropped Tyler off at the place he’d picked out of the yellow pages of the Toronto phone directory. The huge book had been in the drawer of the nightstand in the hotel. The problem was going to be getting the paperwork processed for a vehicle on a Sunday. He’d have to work something out.

  Tyler ran from the cab to the car lot office. The snow had stopped overnight, but an icy wind had taken its place and snow was blowing and swirling all over the place. He couldn’t believe the weather. His coat wasn’t nearly warm enough, and he hadn’t had time to replace it with anything heavier.

  I’ve got to get a better coat.

  The wind caught the office door and it slammed behind him. Tyler felt the heat in the small room engulf him and was thankful for it. He rubbed his frozen hands together and blew out a breath.

  The salesman looked up from his computer and said, “You need a warmer coat.”

  “And a truck with a good heater.”

  “That I can help with. My name is Don. Have a seat and I’ll tell you what I’ve got out there. Save you walking around in the cold. When you narrow it down the choices, we’ll go out and start one or two up.”

  “Problem is,” said Tyler, “I need it today and I didn’t know about transfers and like that on a Sunday.”

  “I can put it through as if it was tomorrow and mail the ownership to you. Give you a temporary permit for the vehicle in case you get stopped by RIDE.”

  Tyler raised an eyebrow. “What’s RIDE?”

  “Spot checks for drinking and driving. Usually at night.”

  “Oh.”

  “So… you said truck?”

  “Four wheel drive,” said Tyler. “Good in snow. Got anything like that?”

  “Five year old Wrangler in great shape. Good for snow or rough terrain.”

  “My brother had one of those and I liked to drive it. How much?”

  “You haven’t mentioned your budget.”

  “I have no clue on Canadian prices,” said Tyler. “You tell me the sticker price on the Wrangler, and I’ll tell you if I can afford it.”

  “I’ve got twenty-five K on the sticker, but I can do better if it’s a cash deal.”

  Tyler nodded. “Twenty cash and I drive it out of here—as soon as I see that the heater works.”

  “Twenty-two fifty is the best I can do.”

  “Has it got what y’all call winter tires?”

  “Where you from anyway?” asked Don.

  “Texas.”

  “Uh huh. All season radials. You won’t get stuck. Where are you going? Up north?”

  “I am up north.” Tyler laughed.

  “Yeah, I guess you are.”

  1:00 p.m. E.S.T.

  Peterborough. Ontario.

  TYLER was pleased that his new ride had an excellent heater and also a GPS. He programmed in the name of the town near Annie’s cabin—Maynooth—and followed the directions out of Toronto.

  He stopped at an outfitters’ store in a place called Peterborough. He spotted the store’s sign on the highway and went in to see if they had warm coats and gloves. His hands were freezing.

  He walked through the racks on display and spotted some warm looking hunting jackets. Camo on the outside and lined with fleece on the inside. He tried a couple on and decided on one with a hood he could pull up if he needed to. He carried it to the checkout counter and asked the red-haired woman if she had any gloves.

  “Lots of gloves over here. Toques too. Let me show you.”

  He paid at the counter and the woman took the tags off the coat, hat and the gloves for him so he could wear them right away.

  “You’ll be a lot warmer now,” she said with a smile.

  And he was.

  2:00 p.m.

  The Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  LEXI barked and ran to the door. Blaine heard her but he didn’t bother. He wasn’t expecting anyone.

  Then Farrell hollered down the hall, “Jesse is here, bro. Come have a coffee with us.”

  Blaine hurried to the kitchen. “Any news on Tyler?”

  “I keep phoning, and they put me on hold,” said Jesse. “I can’t find out what they know in Santa Fe.”

  Blaine read the stress in his partner’s face and didn’t like it. He’d learned to recognize the danger signals of Jesse’s heart condition. “I can run a program where everything with Tyler’s case number or name on it comes to me. Bring your coffee into the office and I’ll set it up.”

  “Thanks, Blacky. This is driving me crazy.”

  “You’re letting it get to you,” said Blaine. “You can’t do that. This is on Tyler and all you can do is watch it unfold.”

  “Bobby thinks Ty needs a psych exam,” said Jesse as he plopped down in one of the leather chairs.

  “He might,” said Farrell. “He’s acting pretty crazy right now, don’t you think?”

  Jesse nodded.

  Blaine typed like a madman and pressed a few buttons, then leaned back in his chair. “Okay, we’re running now. Give it a few minutes and we’ll get information. I put a sound notification on it too, so a bell will ring every time something new hits.

  Ding.

  “There’s the first one,” said Blaine. “I’ll read it to you.”

  “Vehicle stolen by subject at Santa Fe Regional Airport was found in Bank of America parking lot on route twenty-five.”

  “Jesus in a handcart,” said Jesse. “Now he’s a car thief?”

  Ding.

  “Here’s another one,” said Blaine.

  “V-cams were checked at Bank of America location in Albuquerque and subject’s presence inside the bank was verified. Subject withdrew funds in the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars in US currency.”

  “Fuck,” hollered Jesse. “What the hell?”

  “So… he drove south to Albuquerque,” said Farrell. “Maybe he needed the interstate going west.”

  “The smartest thing to do,” said Blaine, “would be to fly out of the country before they had time to monitor the local airports.”

  Jesse raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if he’s that smart.
”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Blaine. “Look how fast he’s moving, Jesse. He clunks the cop in Santa Fe, grabs a car and bang—he’s in Albuquerque at the bank. He grabs a load of cash, so he doesn’t have to use his cards—that shows he’s thinking because they already know he’s in that area. It doesn’t matter a sweet goddam if he uses his bank card there. Then he dumps the stolen car and he’s gone. He’s rolling and he has a plan. He’s not driving aimlessly around where they can easily spot him and pick him up.”

  “Can you check the flights out of Albuquerque?” asked Jesse.

  “Not legally, but I might have some luck. Go get a refill on your coffee while I give it a shot.”

  Jesse stood up. “Appreciate this, partner. It was making me wild not knowing anything.”

  “Now we know he’s moving like greased lightning,” said Farrell. “That’s something.”

  “Yeah, ain’t it?” Jesse shook his head. “My brother—the new Clyde Barrow.”

  By the time Jesse and Farrell came back with hot coffee and warm zucchini bread, Blaine had confirmed Tyler on a flight to Toronto. “He went to Canada.”

  “Never would have guessed it,” said Jesse.

  “Santa Fe PD will soon know that too, because Tyler used his own passport—obviously. But they won’t be able to do a thing until they go through channels—contact the RCMP and get the ball rolling. Like that.”

  “That will take time,” said Jesse. “Tyler knows nothing about Toronto. The only place he’s been in Ontario is Annie’s cabin in Maynooth.”

  “Maybe that’s his destination,” said Farrell, “if it’s the only place he knows.”

  “Now I’m in a bind,” said Jesse. “Do I tell Santa Fe what I’m thinking and rat out my own brother because I’m a law officer, or do I go up there and try to get him to turn himself in?”

  “There’s a third option,” said Blaine. “You don’t know for sure if he went to the cabin—it’s only a guess—so you say nothing and let them conduct their own investigation.”

  “Yeah, there’s that.”

  3:30 p.m. E.S.T.

  Bancroft. Ontario.

  TYLER parked in the FreshCo parking lot and went inside to buy a bag of groceries. Things he might be able to cook at the cabin. He didn’t know how long he’d be staying so he wouldn’t buy a lot. He could always come back for more.