by John Hart
“Jessup, we’ve discussed this.”
“You’re married, I know.” He smiled, and was suddenly the same old Jessup. “It’s just that I’m torn.” He met her eyes, then lifted the gun. “Do I do what you want me to do? Or do I do what’s right?” He put the gun down. “What I know is right.”
“You’re speaking of Michael.”
“He’s dangerous.”
Abigail saw it, then. She understood what he wanted to do, and why he was so torn. “You want to give the gun to the senator.”
“To his people,” Jessup said. “The gun. The photographs. Everything we know about him and Otto Kaitlin.”
“You can’t do that.”
“His arrest would take the pressure off everybody. The cops would have a warm body and the media would have its story. A year from now, this would all be a fading memory. Our lives would go on.”
“And what of the truth?”
“No one wants that.”
“Maybe I do.”
“Then call it a sacrifice for the greater good.”
Abigail sat beside him, the gun between them. “Such a sacrifice would be my decision.”
“And yet, you don’t always make the right choice.”
She put her hand on the gun; his hand settled on hers.
“You are a good and decent man, Jessup, but you’ve never told me no, and this is not the time to start.”
His hand tightened. “They’ve pulled three bodies from the lake, Abigail. How long before they link them to you?”
She smiled, but it was tired. “I didn’t kill anyone, Jessup.”
“But you brought them here. You tracked them down; you paid them. The cops will figure that out.”
“What I did, I did for Julian. No one here had ill intent.”
He shook his head. “There will be witnesses somewhere. A paper trail. A girlfriend. Someone at the law firm you hired. Something will lead the cops here, to you.”
“I didn’t kill those men, and neither did Julian. That’s all that matters.”
“You should let me do this, Abigail.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because Michael matters.”
“I don’t understand.”
“And I don’t expect you to.” He peered down, his deep eyes filled with strong emotion. She stared back until he lifted his hand. Then she kissed his cheek and stood with the gun. “It’s been a good twenty-five years, Jessup.”
“It’s been grand.”
“As for what might have been…”
He swallowed hard, and let two fingers brush her leg. “In another life,” he said.
She pressed a palm to his face, felt her own eyes soften.
“In another life.”
* * *
Michael met Abigail at eleven o’clock in a drugstore parking lot on the far edge of town. The building was tired, with a flat roof and lime-white streaks that ran from the mortar. An empty lot stretched away to the left, and another ran out behind the building, both of them overgrown and littered. Traffic was sparse. Michael approved of the choice. Few people around. Good sight lines. Easy to find.
He parked in back.
Abigail came in the beat-up Land Rover. Damp mud coated the wheels and splattered paint as high as the mirrors. She swung out, dressed in high boots and crisp khaki pants. A green vest hung over a white shirt that clung damply. She saw him looking at the truck. “Reporters,” she said.
He understood. The rear of the estate was un-walled, protected only by three thousand acres of woods. She’d gone off-road to slip out unseen. He looked at his watch. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Tell me what’s happening.” Michael hesitated, and she spoke bluntly. “You want a gun. I brought it. Now, tell me why.”
They stood at the rear of the Land Rover. Her gaze was unflinching and he was out of time, so he told her about the phone call, the screams, the threat and the white-knuckle drive he’d just made.
“Are you sure it was Elena?”
She’d accepted every word he’d said. No hand wringing. No judgment. Her head was tilted up, jaw set.
“I’m sure, yes.”
“And this Jimmy person will do what he says? He’ll kill her?”
“Without hesitation.”
“And kill you, too, when he gets the account numbers.”
Michael shrugged. “He’ll try, yes.”
“Who’s more dangerous?”
“I am.” No hesitation.
“But he has Elena.” Michael nodded. “And you don’t know if he has other men with him. Other guns. Going in there alone is not very smart.”
“I have no choice.”
“Do you really have sixty-seven million dollars?”
“More like eighty.” Michael opened the trunk and pulled the Hemingway from his duffel bag. He ran his hand over the cover, smiled. “This was Otto’s favorite book. He’d read it so many times he could quote entire passages. Toward the end, when he was failing, I would read it to him. It was a thing we shared, a love of the classics.” Michael opened the book and showed her the inscription.
For Michael, who is more like me than any other …
For Michael, who is my son …
Think well of an old man …
Make a good life …
The writing was spidery and thin, a dying man’s scrawl. “He wrote that eight days before he died. It was the day I told him I wanted out of the life.”
“I don’t understand.”
Michael opened the book to the middle and riffled the pages. Numbers blurred past. Pages and pages in the same loose hand. “Twenty-nine different offshore accounts. Different countries. Different banks. He never wrote the numbers down; kept them all in his head. Then he did this. For me.”
“A generous man.”
“I loved him.”
Michael closed the book, touched it to his forehead, then put it in the car. Abigail went silent for a long minute. “He’ll kill you, Michael. You know that. He’ll kill the girl. He’ll kill you.”
An ironic smile touched Michael’s lips. “It’s not in my nature to call the police.”
“Perhaps my husband’s men. They’re professional, highly trained.” She thought about it, then said, “It’s not an option. They’re looking for a scapegoat and you’re tops on the list.”
Michael saw it. “They’ll implicate me to protect Julian.”
“Julian. Me. The senator.”
“It’s a good plan. You should let them do it.”
“That’s not how I am.”
Michael held out his hand, asking for the gun. “I need to do this, now. It’s not far. They’re waiting.”
“I could go with you.”
Michael lowered his hand. “To what end?”
“To buy your life as well.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ll offer him another ten.”
“Ten million dollars?”
“Or twenty. It doesn’t matter.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re Julian’s brother.”
“That’s not good enough.”
She shrugged, unmoved. “Because I chose a long time ago the person I wished to be. Because ten million dollars is pocket change.”
“And that’s it? That’s the only reason?”
“What else could there be?”
Michael stared down at her for long seconds. His face was naked, as rare emotion stirred; but, for once, he didn’t fight it. He let it move him, let it show. “Do you know what fantasy all orphans share? Strong, weak, young, old. Do you know the thing they have in common?”
Abigail’s head moved, but she kept her jaw clenched tight. Cicadas called from the scrub, and sweat rolled on her cheek as the bright sun beat down.
“Why did you come for us?” Michael asked.
“I wanted children, but couldn’t bear them. The senator and I agreed—”
“Why Julian? Why me?”
“We were too old to be cute, or easy, too long in the system to be anything but damaged goods. So, why did you want us?”
“I had my reasons.”
“Personal reasons?” A touch of anger showed on Michael’s face.
“Yes.”
“And now? You don’t need this. You barely know me.”
Abigail tried to stand tall, but a weight was pushing down. She looked at the scrub, the high blue sky. “I chose a long time ago the person I wished to be.”
“And what person is that?”
“The kind that’s brave enough to do the right thing. Always. No matter what.”
A thing remained unspoken, something large. He saw it in the line of her jaw, the way she drew her shoulders back. It was a big decision she’d made, and a hard life to live. Something caused her to make that choice, and Michael thought he knew what it was. “Are you my mother?”
Abigail’s mouth opened, eyes wide and green above it.
“That’s the fantasy,” Michael went on doggedly. “That your mother will come back for you. It’s what we all dreamed, day and night: that it was a giant mistake, that we’d been misplaced, and the error might be fixed. The math works. I’m thirty-three, you’re not yet fifty. You’d have been young, but kids make mistakes. No one would blame you for walking away. I wouldn’t. I would understand.”
Abigail felt momentarily overwhelmed. She looked up at this tall, strong man, this rawboned killer with his beautiful face and his wide, naked eyes. She felt so many things, but first among them was the disappointment she was about to deliver. “No, Michael.” She touched his arm. “I’m not your mother.” He looked away, nodded. “But I am Julian’s.”
He nodded again, blinked twice, and the emotion was gone. “You should stay here,” he said.
“Everybody has a price, Michael. Jimmy will have one, too.”
“How can you know that?”
“I’m a senator’s wife.”
She was right about Jimmy. He would do anything for that kind of money: kill his own mother, put personal vendettas aside. He would take the money and come back for Michael later. No question. No doubt. “Do you propose to write him a check?”
Her mouth tilted. “Do you still have that bag of cash?”
“Yes.”
“All we have to do is give him a taste.” She let the words sink in. “Human nature will do the rest.”
“I can’t guarantee your safety. You understand? This man is not like other men. There’s no balance in him, no limits.”
“If you don’t take me, Elena will die and so will you. It’s a setup, Michael. It’s why he called you in the first place.”
“Then I’ll take the cash. I’ll arrange it.”
“The cash is just the start. We’ll need to settle on the price, then it’ll take a wire transfer that only I can authorize. I have to be there. It’s not optional.”
Michael looked away, torn. “It’s not your fight.”
“I lost you once.”
He shook his head. “I was a child. You were there for a reason.”
“I’m a big girl, Michael. I want to do this.”
He studied her face, which had become very familiar. “Someone is liable to die,” he said.
“Then let’s make damn sure it’s Jimmy.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Abigail’s false confidence melted off as she turned for the Land Rover. She felt disconnected, the sky too blue, the metal too hot when she put her fingers on the truck. She swallowed away a bitter taste, and realized she was afraid—not a little bit, not in theory, but truly frightened. She drove the feeling down, disgusted with herself, then slipped inside to retrieve Michael’s nine millimeter from under the seat. It was heavy and warm, the metal smooth as butter. For an instant she saw Jessup’s face, and wondered what he would think if she failed to come back. Would he think she’d left after all these years? Or would he know that something bad had happened? Would he feel anger or grief? Seek revenge if her body were found?
She studied Michael through dirty glass, then opened the glove compartment and took out Jessup’s gun. It was old with a nicked, wooden grip and a shine on the hammer. It was a nasty, ugly little weapon. Words stamped in the metal said COLT COBRA .38 SPECIAL. She fumbled open the cylinder, saw it was loaded, closed it. She took a deep breath, then slipped the gun into her waistband, covered it with the vest and joined Michael at the Mercedes’ trunk. The duffel bag was open inside, the cash visible. She handed Michael the nine millimeter, watched as he ejected the clip and worked the action. “You ready?”
“I think so.”
“You need to know so.”
She felt the thirty-eight, smooth and hard against her skin. “I know so,” she said.
He handed her the cash.
* * *
The road Michael followed took them around the south edge of town. Abigail sat beside him, the duffel bag heavy enough to drive metal against the bone of her hip. The taste was back in her mouth; pressure behind her eyes. She tried to blink it away.
“Are you okay?”
His voice sounded distant. She licked her lips, nodded. “Just warm.”
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“Just drive, please.”
“You sure?”
She touched her thudding chest, felt vibration at the back of her skull. “Just let me think.”
* * *
Michael found the turnoff exactly where Jimmy said it would be. A narrow, dirt drive three miles past the Exxon station. It was on the left, a gash in the trees next to a mailbox with blue reflectors.
He nosed in and stopped the car.
Took out his phone.
“What are we doing?”
Abigail didn’t look great. She was flushed and sweaty, her breath shallow. “The only way this works is if the guns don’t come out.” Michael spoke softly; he wanted her calm. “Jimmy’s good and he talks a big game, but he’s scared of me deep down. He’s got something to prove here, something that matters in ways you and I can’t fully appreciate. That makes him even more unpredictable.” Michael held up the phone. “I’m going to let him know we’re coming in.”
She flicked a glance down the long stretch of dirt road. Her eyes lingered on the forest wall, the places light cut in. “Are you sure that’s smart?”
“All I can do is go in there, hands open, and hope for the best. He either likes your idea or he doesn’t. He makes a mistake or not. Maybe he’s alone; maybe he’s got ten guys in there.” He gave her time because he thought she needed it. “I have two fine weapons and can use them better than most, but this will probably not end well.”
She looked skittish, got control. “How good are you?”
He showed steady eyes. “It doesn’t really matter.”
“Because he has Elena.”
Michael saw no need to answer.
He dialed the phone.
* * *
It was hot in the barn, and Elena hurt in ways she’d never imagined possible. Her foot. Her bones. Her soul. The wire at her throat cut deep, and breath came at a price. She looked for Jimmy, could not see him. She tasted gun oil and blood. Her mouth ached; she could not move. For long minutes, she wondered if she’d made the right choice. She thought of the baby, and of Michael’s dark eyes. She wept and thought of dying.
Behind her, a phone rang.
* * *
Jimmy answered, and there was a smile in his voice when he spoke. “Michael, my friend. Where are you?”
“I’m at the end of the drive.”
“Well, come on down. Someone here’s very eager to see you. Wait. Here. Say hello.” Michael heard muffled noises, then a muted scream. “Sorry.” Jimmy had the same smile in his voice. “She can’t talk right now. She has something large in her mouth.”
“I’m doing what you asked—”
“Well, you’re late!”
The smile was gone. Tight anger in his
voice. Impatience. Michael forced himself to stay calm. “I’ve brought someone with me.”
“That wasn’t our deal.”
“It’s a better deal. More money. No trouble.”
“How much more money?”
“Another ten.”
“Million?”
“Plus what Otto had offshore. It’s a lot of money, Jimmy. Let me come down. We’ll work out the details.”
“Who’s with you?”
Michael told him.
“Ah, the good senator’s wife. I’ve seen her picture. Pretty lady. What does she hope to buy with her extra ten?”
“The lives of everyone involved.”
Silence for a full minute, then, “Why does she care about you?”
“She just does.”
“Anyone else with you?”
“No.”
“All right, Michael. We’ll talk about it. I’m in the barn with your lady-friend. No windows; one door in. So, let’s make this nice and simple. You both come in. I tell you what to do. I want your hands where I can see them.”
“I want to talk to Elena—”
The phone went dead.
* * *
Elena heard the phone click shut. Jimmy was right behind her; had been right behind her the whole time. How long? She’d not seen him in over an hour. He’d been behind her and dead silent.
Then the pain!
God …
Such terrible pain. She fought to control herself, felt breath on her ear, fingers where the wire cut into her throat. Her eyes settled on Stevan, spread on the tractor. She had no idea if he was dead or alive. No movement or sound.
Black flies buzzed the open wounds.
“Sorry about that.”
Jimmy’s voice was intimate; his mouth so close that if he stretched his lips he could kiss the shell of her ear. She sobbed around the metal lodged in her throat, choking, barely able to breathe. Wires cut her skin in a dozen places. His hand slid down her shoulder, traced the edge of her breast, then ran down her arm to the finger he’d just broken. He touched it lightly, and her whole body locked in anticipation. But he didn’t hurt her further; he took her palm in his hand and gently squeezed.
“Don’t go anywhere.”
He stepped where she could see him.
“Michael’s coming.”
* * *
A killer’s calm descended on Michael, and he knew the feeling like an old friend. The way time slowed, the clarity of his perceptions. His thoughts ordered themselves, as muscles loosened and possibility stretched out like lines on a graph.