by Crin Claxton
Tony took her foot off the brake and swerved hard.
The deer bounded off.
“What’s happening?” Sergeant Lewis sounded worried.
“A deer jumped in front of the car. It’s all right, though. I avoided it.” Tony’s heart hammered in her chest.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Tony said, breathing hard.
“Get off the phone then. And slow down. You’ll be no help to your friends if you wreck the car. Drive carefully. Let me know what’s happening as soon as you get there. Don’t you dare forget.”
Tony dropped her speed. She kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead, glancing to each side occasionally to check for kamikaze deer. “I won’t. Thank you so much, Sergeant Lewis.”
“Carol. For God’s sake call me Carol.”
Tony glanced at the two ghosts. They were both staring wide-eyed ahead, mouths open, their bodies tense as boards.
“What are you two scared of?” Tony asked. “It’s not like anything can happen to you.”
Deirdre snorted. “My life flashed before my eyes then. I hate it when that happens. Mind you, I did get a glimpse of a hot scene in the St. Mark’s bathhouse that I wouldn’t mind reliving.” She sighed deeply. “Oh well, those days and that particular position will probably never come again.”
*
Maya brought both cuffed hands up to her front right jeans pocket until she could get her fingers inside. She pulled out all the bits of the phone and tossed them onto the bed. She shuffled around until she was in a position to search through the pieces. She was looking for anything she could use as a shim.
With the tips of her fingers, she worked a rectangular bit of thin metal off a chunk of circuit board.
It was her bad luck that the solder was good and the bit of metal was practically welded to the PCB.
Ignoring the pain in her wrists, she worked away until finally she pried it loose.
She lined the shim over the locking mechanism of the handcuffs, resting the top edge against the first knuckle of her right thumb. She pressed the shim down between the lock and the teeth.
With the tip of her thumb, she tightened the cuff one notch.
She pushed the shim down further and heard the satisfying click of the lock opening.
She slipped her right hand out of the cuff and then shimmed the left cuff open.
Glancing at the door, Maya eased out her cramped wrists and flexed her fingers. At that moment she was insanely pleased that Suni and Anita’s modus operandi was to isolate their girlfriends. If Maya had had more contact with them, they might have known about Maya’s escapology skills.
Jade was lying flat out on the other bed. Her eyes were open.
Not daring to speak, Maya stood up. She put a finger to her own lips and walked into Jade’s line of vision.
Jade’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word. Her eyes traveled down Maya’s body. When she saw her free hands, Jade’s eyes widened again and her chest swelled with a deep breath.
Maya sat on the edge of Jade’s bed. She slipped the shim into the lock mechanism on each of Jade’s handcuffs and unlocked them.
Jade sat up, gingerly rubbing her wrists.
“We have to get out of here,” Maya whispered. “How do you feel? Can you walk?”
Jade blinked. “Walk?”
Maya sighed. Jade looked confused. She was staring at Maya like Maya was speaking in a language she didn’t understand. “We’re going to have to climb out of the window. I need to pick the lock first,” Maya said.
Jade slowly turned her head toward the window and peered at it.
Maya grabbed the tiny screwdriver she’d pulled out of the side of the armchair.
At the window, she pushed the small flat blade into the lock. She jiggled it, then twisted it.
Nothing happened.
It wasn’t as cheap a lock as she’d thought. Maya wanted to jam the screwdriver into the lock and try to force it open, but she knew she could break the blade. If her lock-picking tutor had taught her anything it was that patience won the day.
She tried pushing and turning.
Then she bent the blade at forty-five degrees to the lock. She twisted it again.
Click. The lock barrel withdrew.
Maya let out her breath.
She looked out the window and couldn’t see anything except trees and driving rain.
Maya’s jacket was in her rental car. The twins had emptied her pockets and taken the car keys.
“Do you have a coat?” she whispered to Jade.
Jade stared back at her. “I don’t think so.”
“Jesus. Well, we’ve got no choice. We’re going to have to go out in that weather like this. We’re lucky they didn’t take our shoes.”
Cautiously, Maya pushed up the bottom sash window.
There was nobody around.
She beckoned to Jade to come stand beside her.
Jade didn’t move.
Maya grabbed her and pulled her to the window.
“You go first. Head up that slope, straight ahead. Get behind the trees. I’ll be right behind you. If I’m not, keep going. Get help.”
Jade looked at Maya, then she looked out the window. Maya was just thinking she’d have to push Jade out the window when Jade nodded grimly. Maya helped her onto the ledge.
Jade swayed for a moment in the open window.
Then she jumped.
She landed like a cat on the stone path outside.
As Maya heaved herself up, she heard voices outside the bedroom door.
Jade inhaled sharply. Maybe the rain hitting her face woke her up because she began to move slowly away from the house, up the slope.
Maya practically vaulted through the window, then closed it behind her in the hope of hiding which way they went.
Rain soaked her to the skin as she pushed uphill. She grabbed Jade’s hand as she caught up to her, forcing Jade to run.
Maya half dragged Jade behind her as she headed for a thick pine tree at the top of the slope.
*
The wood was dense with no clear paths, and it continued uphill as far into the distance as Maya could see. The forest floor was a knotted mass of tree roots and blackberry bushes. Maya’s lungs were exploding in her chest.
Jade went down.
Wrenched backward, Maya fell too.
She stumbled to her knees, panting.
Jade sat up on the ground looking dazed. She pulled her ankle free from a blackberry stem that had snaked around her ankle. She winced.
“Have you hurt your foot?” Maya was desperate for Jade to say she was okay.
Jade bit her lip. “It hurts. Yes. Why are we running? Where are we?” she asked.
Maya wanted to sob. “Jade, think. Is there another route? Can you remember anything from the journey?”
Jade looked blankly at her.
There was no way they could keep going uphill through the dense woods.
“What’s wrong with me? I feel weird. Am I ill?”
Maya pulled her attention back to Jade. “Those bastards have pumped you full of drugs. That’s why you feel so odd.”
“What bastards? Do you mean the two Sunis?”
“Yeah. The two bitches from hell,” Maya muttered. Maybe the trail was clearer in the opposite direction. They’d have to skirt the cabin. Maya stood up, putting a hand out to Jade.
“They are kinda bitches.” Jade took her hand and pulled herself stiffly to her feet.
“Let’s try this way.” Maya turned.
She led them down the slope. Jade limped beside her. Even though it was downhill, their progress was slower than before.
Maya scrutinized the forest for any other signs of movement. Apart from the steady drip of rain, it was quiet. At least the dense foliage was keeping them relatively dry.
Jade’s skin looked sallow in the weird gray-green light that filtered through the trees. Even though Jade struggling, Maya needed to ask the thing she dreaded most. “Ja
de, did they kill Tony? Is she dead?”
Jade froze. She looked terrified. “Do you think that too?”
Maya bit back a wave of nausea. Her mind couldn’t grasp the idea that Tony had been murdered. The only thing she could do was keep going. She pulled Jade forward.
At the bottom of the slope, the trees began to thin out. Maya branched out to the right, keeping well away from the cabin.
The canopy opened up, throwing more light and more rain at them.
They pushed through a line of trees and came face-to-face with a—
A huge lake.
It was massive. There was no way across, and no boats within view.
Jade stared out over the water. Her eyelids drooped like she was struggling to stay awake.
Maya took a breath and thought. She looked left. A way off was the cabin, and the road. The twins had taken her keys. She couldn’t hot-wire the rental car because it was too new. The immobilizer would kick in if she tried.
“Maybe if we can get to that road…” Maya thought aloud.
Jade followed her gaze. “We can be spotted from a road.”
“Shit. You’re damn right. They’ve got a vehicle. They could easily pick us off on the road. In fact, it’s probably the first place they’ll look. We need to stay away from it.” Maya checked out the route beyond Jade. It looked like the forest gave way a few meters ahead. She nodded in that direction. “That way, then.”
Gently but firmly pulling Jade, Maya picked her way over the sodden ground between the loch and the forest. Their shoes were quickly caked in mud. Rain soaked through Maya’s sweater right to the skin. Her jeans were wet and getting heavier by the minute. Jade was panting hard. She was still limping and looked to be in pain. The wind near the water’s edge was strong. Maya was so bitterly cold it hurt.
They rounded a corner and saw a track ahead cutting through the forest. On the other side of the track, the forest sloped downward.
By the time they reached the track, Maya could see the slope was more of a ravine. It was a steep drop to a raging stream running parallel with the track. The stream was about six meters wide, and white with fast-running foamy water. The track was their only option.
Keeping away from the ravine, Maya led them forward. Maya walked as quickly as she could, checking that Jade was okay with the pace. They needed to keep moving to keep warm.
Maya thought back to her journey. It had been nighttime. She’d felt like she’d been driving for ages in the middle of nowhere. She racked her brains to remember any buildings she’d passed close to the cabin. She hadn’t taken much notice. She’d kept her eyes on the dark, badly lit road. She thought she’d maybe passed an inn just before she’d turned onto the forest road. She hoped to hell the track was running in the same direction as the road. That way they’d be walking vaguely in the direction of the inn.
“Hey, girls. You’re going the wrong way.”
Maya turned.
One of the twins was four steps behind them, a gun trained on Maya’s chest.
“This is Suni’s damn mess. I’d like to shoot you both here, but I can’t. Any fool could come by and see your bodies.” Anita took two steps closer and raised the gun to Maya’s head. “Turn around. Get in front of me. Keep walking till you hit a lake.”
*
Finally, Tony was on the small road to Pine Lodge cabin. The rain was coming down hard. Tony had her headlights on full beam and she still had to crouch over the windscreen to see the road ahead.
She passed a warm and dry looking building called the Lochside Inn. Both ghosts were still with her. Neither had said anything for ages. Tony wondered if that was why people thought ghosts were spooky. Then she remembered, most people couldn’t see them.
A mile after the Lochside Inn, the road turned into two rough tracks. Tony ground to a halt. The sat nav was as silent as the ghosts beside her.
She stared left and right, not knowing which way to go. She wound down her window and got drenched but couldn’t see any signs for the cabin.
She thought that the left fork looked like the straightest route. She started toward it.
“No, go to the right.” Deirdre sprang to life in the backseat.
“Are you sure?” Tony frowned. The left fork looked a lot more likely.
“Yes, I’m sure. Go right.”
Tony didn’t want to waste time. Deirdre hadn’t let her down so far. She took the right fork.
The sat nav woke up from searching for a signal. “Turn around when possible,” it declared.
“I told you,” Tony said.
She stopped again and prepared to do a U-turn.
“This is the right way.” Deirdre leaned over from the back. Tony couldn’t feel Deirdre’s body any closer, but her voice was louder. “You definitely need to go up this road. Trust me.”
Tony released the clutch and continued up the track.
The track carried on straight for about two hundred meters, traveling along the edge of a forest. Then it bent round to the left, running into the heart of the forest. A dark, dense network of pine trees fanned out on either side. The only area of light was over the track itself.
Tony saw some figures on the horizon ahead.
“Pull over,” Deirdre said.
“What?” Tony.
“No time to explain. You need to tuck the car away. Drive onto that open bit, just off the road. Then head through the trees as quietly as you can until you’re nearly on them. Make sure they don’t see you.”
Tony peered into the tangle of pine trees and bracken. Then she stole a look at the sky above. Rain was pouring out of it. “Why?” she asked.
“Just do it. You’ll see why.” Deirdre’s voice was urgent.
Tony pulled the car off the road and jumped out.
“Grab the tire iron from the boot. You’ll need it.” Deirdre padded to her side.
Tony didn’t argue. She opened the boot, pulled off the carpet matting, and prised the tire iron out of the mini spare wheel kit.
Deirdre had said Make sure they don’t see you. Keeping an eye on the track, she headed into the forest slightly and then walked parallel to the road.
The thick overhang kept the rain off, but it was dark in the woods. She stumbled over a branch.
She slowed down. As she walked on, she glimpsed a huddle of people on the track. She stopped.
They were walking slowly. Two in line and one behind. Tony crept nearer.
It was Maya and Jade. Relief flooded through her as she realized they were both still alive.
Then she saw the gun in the hand of the Indian woman walking behind them. That had to be Suni. Now Tony understood Deirdre’s instructions. She needed to stay behind Suni.
Stepping lightly, she threaded between a group of oak trees.
Snap! A twig broke underfoot.
Tony froze.
She leaned into the girth of the nearest tree, praying she couldn’t be seen from the track. She heard the murmur of voices. The group kept walking. Cautiously, she took a step out from behind the oak tree.
Suni was just a few meters away. Gripping the tire iron, Tony edged closer. As she took a step onto the track, Felicia floated past her, slipped through Suni’s body, and whispered something in Jade’s ear.
Jade turned and saw Tony. She looked shocked but spoke to Suni. “Felicia said to say hi,” she said.
“What?” Suni stopped. Her shoulders tensed.
Maya turned. Her eyes darted to Tony. Her jaw dropped. Tony took three steps and smashed the tire iron onto Suni’s head. She went down.
Maya grabbed the gun.
“Christ! I thought you were a ghost till you hit her,” she said.
Jade stared at her with big bleary eyes. “Are you alive?” she asked.
What was wrong with them? “Yes,” Tony said impatiently. “Point that gun at her. I’m going to get the car. Wait here.” She tossed her mobile at Jade. “Call this person—Sergeant Lewis. Tell her what’s happened.”
Ton
y ran back to the car and reversed it.
“I was tempted to run her over,” she muttered as she got out. “Let’s get her into the backseat.”
For some reason, Maya was talking on the mobile phone and Jade was staring down at Suni.
Maya cupped her hand over the phone. “Jade’s drugged. She’s confused.”
“Okay. Tell Carol we’ll meet the police at the proper road, where it forks into the two tracks.”
Maya nodded. Jade walked to the car, limping, and got in. Tony grabbed hold of Suni and shoved her into the back of the car. Maya got in next to her with the pistol in her hand.
“I don’t want you to sit there,” Tony said. “You drive.”
“Don’t even go there, Tony. Have you fired a gun?”
Tony shook her head.
“Well, then.” Maya didn’t wait for an answer. “Let’s go,” she said.
Tony drove as fast as she dared. She wouldn’t be able to relax until the would-be murderer was in custody.
Maya was talking to Carol Lewis. There was a groaning noise from the back.
Tony looked in the rear view mirror. Suni was stirring. Maya pointed the pistol at her. She tossed the phone down, looking grim. Tony floored the pedal. The fork was just ahead.
A woman stepped out of the woods onto the track ahead and stood right in the middle of the road. Tony screeched to a halt.
She blinked. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The woman was Suni. She had a gun pointed straight at the car.
“What the hell?”
“There are two of them. Twins,” Maya shouted as Tony dived out of the driver’s door.
The pistol exploded. The noise rang sharply through the forest. The windscreen shattered.
Tony ran at the other Suni. She was staring into the barrel of her gun and then Suni went down as Jade ramrodded her from the other side.
Suddenly, Maya was standing over the other Suni with the other gun. “On your knees, bitch,” she said.
“Who the hell is that?” Tony asked.
“Suni,” Jade said grimly.
“Well, who’s the other one?” Tony stabbed her thumb in the direction of the hire car.
“Her sister, Anita.”
The track ahead was ablaze with lights and sirens. Armed police ran toward them.