by Ben Follows
"Melanie, please."
"I don't want to bring this up," she said, "but how is this any different from how you ran away from Amber?"
"That's unfair."
"Is it?"
"Melanie, I'm the best at this, you don't understand--"
"I'm done, Curtis. Either stay with me here and now, be a husband and father who can reliably be here, or walk out that door, be the hero, get the front-page news story, and don't come back."
"Melanie--"
"That's my final offer," said Melanie. "Take it or leave it."
Curtis looked back at her. Melanie met his eyes for a moment then turned back to look at Sophie.
Curtis sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I can't let anyone else's death be my fault."
He didn't look back as he walked into the hallway.
As the door closed behind him, he looked up.
Amber was walking toward him. She frowned when she saw him approaching.
"Hey," he said as he walked up to her. "Can you keep an eye on Melanie for me?"
"Sure," said Amber, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Work stuff."
Amber sighed. "Of course."
"Keep an eye on her," said Curtis.
He walked past Amber and broke into a light jog.
He wanted to get out of there before he changed his mind.
He was the hero of this story.
This was his story.
He burst out the doors and into the parking lot, just as the rain started.
Chapter 54
Frankie parked at the hospital and walked inside. She had her hood pulled up against the rain and was holding two cups of coffee.
She wanted to check on Curtis and meet with him face to face before taking the week off. She was beginning to think a week off was exactly what she needed.
She nodded to the nurses and walked into the observation room of the operating room.
Curtis wasn't there.
Melanie and a woman Frankie didn't recognize were standing at the glass, talking in hushed tones. Frankie looked past the glass. A curtain had been pulled across their line of view, blocking Melanie's view of her baby.
"Melanie?" she said.
Melanie and the other woman turned around. The other woman seemed vaguely familiar to Frankie, but she couldn't place her.
"Oh, hi Frankie," said Melanie. "Curtis isn't here."
"When will he be back?" said Frankie. "I brought him a coffee."
"He's not here."
Frankie frowned. "Where is he?"
"I don't know," said Melanie. "I figured he'd be with you. He got some call then left. He's not coming back."
"I'll take that coffee," said the other woman.
Frankie looked at the other woman.
"And you are?"
"Amber Henderson," said the woman.
"You're Amber?" said Frankie, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I guess that Curtis won't be drinking this." She handed the coffee to Amber.
"Thanks," said Amber with a smile. "I work here. Curtis asked me to keep an eye on Melanie."
Frankie looked Amber up and down, trying to see the woman Curtis had told her about.
She didn't have time to focus on that, however.
"Where's Curtis?" she said.
Melanie shrugged. "He got a call and said something about saving a girl."
Frankie thought for a moment. "He didn't tell you anything else?"
"No."
"Okay," said Frankie. "Let me know if anything happens."
"Sure."
Frankie took a few steps back, but neither Melanie nor Amber was looking at her anymore. She sighed, then turned and walked out.
"Curtis," she muttered to herself, "what the hell are you doing?"
Chapter 55
"You know," said Meredith as she drove out of the front gates of the Eaton estate, "I was there when your father had this place built. He had to do a lot of the work himself, as he wanted as few people as possible to know about it."
Raymond looked up at her from the passenger seat. He chuckled to himself. "Sometimes I forget how long you worked for him."
"I was impressed you were able to do what you did."
"My father died of natural causes," said Raymond.
"Of course," said Meredith, turning down an unmarked dirt road that ran adjacent to the property. "Are you going to be able to do this?"
"Do what?" said Raymond.
"You know what." She gestured to a small cottage on the side of the dirt road ahead of them. It was technically on the Eaton lot and shared the cliffside view where Raymond had sat and looked over the cliff with his dogs, but it wasn't accessible from anywhere else on the Eaton property.
"Gillian Wilson is here?" said Raymond.
"Yes." Meredith parked the car. "You have the gun?"
"Of course," said Raymond.
"I want you to know," said Meredith, "that if you aren't able to do this, I will do it for you. I will tell the generals you were the one who killed the girl, and that you did it without a second of hesitation, as your father would have."
"It won't be needed," said Raymond, making sure his gun was ready. "I'm going to be able to do this."
"You need to kill her," said Meredith, climbing out of the car. "Nothing else will be enough for the generals. Jason Wilson failed to bring us the money. The deal you made with him was clear. Either bring back the money, or Gillian dies. You can't go back on your word. If the girl lives, the generals won't respect you ever again."
"There are other ways," said Raymond. "Aren't there? There are other ways to get the money back. Other ways to get access to Lauren Mavis's accounts."
"It doesn't matter," said Meredith. "You made a deal."
Raymond nodded. He climbed out of the car and walked up to the cottage.
Meredith climbed out of the driver's seat. The windows were blacked out.
Meredith turned the lock, and the door opened. The door slid open, and Raymond stepped inside.
"Meredith!"
Raymond's heart skipped a beat. He looked down. A small girl was sitting in front of the television as it played cartoons. She couldn't have been taller than his waist, and if he had to use one word to describe her, it would be "precious." She had bright red hair and was wearing a frilly black dress and ballet shoes. It was the first time that Raymond had seen the girl with his own eyes.
He was holding the gun in his right hand, and he moved it behind his back to hide the gun from the young girl.
"Meredith," said Gillian, running up and hugging Meredith. "Did you bring me a present?"
"Even better," said Meredith with a smile, "I brought you a new friend. This is Raymond."
"Hi," said Gillian, turning to Raymond and speaking with a confidence normally reserved for adults. She held out a hand. "I'm Gillian, nice to meet you."
At that moment, the enormity of what he had sworn to do weighed down on Raymond, making his soul feel like it was connected to cinderblocks.
"Hi," he said, his hand shaking as he took her small, delicate hand and slid the gun into the back of his pants. "I'm Raymond."
Chapter 56
Frankie barged through the FBI offices and into Johnson's offices. Mason and another agent were there once again.
"I need to talk to Curtis's therapist," said Frankie, barging into the office. "Now."
"Gentlemen," said Johnson, talking to the two agents, "I apologize. Give us a moment."
The two agents stood and walked out of the room.
"Sorry," said Johnson as the door closed and the two agents disappeared into the hallway. "What is it?"
"Curtis is going after Raymond Eaton. He's always been someone who played a bit fast and loose with the rules, but this is blatantly ignoring the rules."
"You know," said Johnson, leaning back in his seat, "I learned quite a few things about Curtis's childhood over the last few days. I've been speaking with the Warden at the prison where Sam Marin
o is being kept. He's told me that Marino has divulged quite a bit of information about Curtis's childhood and his family. The Warden down there happens to owe me quite a few favors."
"You mentioned that before. What's your point?" said Frankie. "Who is Curtis's therapist? I need to talk to them. I need to ask what the hell they were thinking of putting him back out in the field."
Johnson leaned back in his seat. "He went after Raymond Eaton?"
"Yes," said Frankie. "That's what I've been saying! Haven't you been listening?"
"That's a problem," said Johnson, putting his hands together in front of his face. "I may have allowed him to return to the field too early. Perhaps he should have taken a vacation."
"Yes," said Frankie. "His baby is in surgery, and he's running off on a wild goose chase that’s going to get him killed! I need to speak with his therapist."
"That will be a problem."
Frankie walked up to the desk and glared at Johnson. "What the hell do you mean that's going to be a problem?"
"Well," said Johnson, speaking slowly, "to say that he was cleared by the FBI therapist would be stretching the truth a bit."
Frankie stared at him. "What did you say?"
"He hasn't been cleared by a therapist to return to field duty," said Johnson softly. "He was denied and came to me to make his case. I heard him out and told him that as long as he agreed to meet with me and talk through his cases on a regular basis, I would let him go out into the field. Perhaps Nolowinski getting involved caused these issues."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" said Frankie. "You think this is because of Natasha? No, this is your fault." She stepped back from the desk. "Whatever happens is your fault. I'm going to find Curtis. Put a team on finding him and let me know what you find."
She turned on her heel and left without waiting for a response.
In all her time with the FBI, she had never been as angry as she was in that moment.
Johnson, a man she respected and admired more than almost any other, had made a mistake.
An overwhelmingly human mistake.
And it broke her heart.
Chapter 57
Curtis pulled off the highway into a small diner, similar to the one where Lauren Mavis had been attacked by Jason Wilson. He parked and walked up to the diner.
Debra Coleman was leaning against the wall beside the door, a cigarette hanging from her fingers. The rain was light and coming down over them, but she was blocked from the rain by the overhang.
"Nice of you to finally make it," she said with a smile. "Thought I was going to have to scramble the national guard."
"I made it," said Curtis, walking up to her, "and I didn't bring anyone with me. You better know what you're doing."
"We want the same thing, Curtis," said Debra. "We both made promises to Jason." She sighed. "I'm Gillian's Godmother. I promised Jason I would take care of her if anything happened to him. I never thought it would happen, but I don't have a choice now."
"Not a fan of kids?" said Curtis, stepping out of the rain.
"Not a fan of commitment," said Debra. "Come on, we're already running short on time."
"How?"
Debra grinned. "If I ever trust you more than I do right now, then I'll tell you how I know."
"Seems fair," said Curtis. "You trust me now?"
"You came without backup, and without the FBI knowing," she said. "That's enough for now. We'll take my car."
"Why?" said Curtis.
"Because I don't trust you quite that much," said Debra with a playful smile. "They could be tracking your car or something. I didn't stay alive this long by being careless."
She flicked her cigarette into the rain. As it hit the rain, the lit cigarette went out, and the only light that remained was the dim light coming from inside the empty diner.
Curtis turned and followed Debra toward her car.
Chapter 58
Raymond sat on the couch in the small cottage. Gillian was sitting on the ground in front of the thick television, watching Spongebob and laughing along with the antics on the screen.
He could feel the gun digging into his back as he leaned against the couch. Meredith watched him, waiting for him to do what he had sworn to do.
He had no good options. He kept thinking he would be able to go through with it, then he would look at the small girl sitting cross-legged in front of him, and his confidence would evaporate. She seemed so delicate, like she would shatter at the slightest touch.
Raymond reached behind him and took the gun out of his waistband. He kept it on the couch, just outside the view of the small girl.
Meredith watched him. She had her own gun set up on the couch beside her, also outside Gillian's view.
At that moment, Raymond had a realization.
He wasn't going to be able to kill this little girl.
He had thought it would be the same as killing his father or the reporter, but it wasn't.
His father had been a terrible person, and Natasha Nolowinski had been far from an angel. Yet this little girl was innocent. There was nothing about her but sunshine and rainbows.
At that moment, Raymond knew that he wasn't going to kill her, although he had no idea what his alternative was.
"Meredith," he said softly, "do you mind if we talk over here?"
Meredith raised an eyebrow, returned her gun to its holster, stood, and walked to the corner of the room.
Raymond took a deep breath and looked back at the girl once more.
He saw nothing but innocence.
Chapter 59
Curtis sat in the passenger seat as Debra weaved in and out of traffic. She was headed toward the Eaton estate. They turned off the highway and drove down a long road lined with gated houses.
"There's a small cottage," said Debra. "It isn't on the official blueprints, but Lauren Mavis knew about it. She found some records from contractors being hired to build it a few decades back. They were paid by a shell corporation that was connected to Raymond Eaton Sr."
"Gillian is there?"
Debra shrugged. "If she isn't, then I'm out of ideas."
Curtis looked out the window at a cloud as the rain fell.
He thought of Sophie and Melanie, still at the hospital.
He remembered Melanie's ultimatum and checked his phone. He had no new messages of voicemails.
Even though he felt like he should be there, he knew he needed to do this. The doctors would take care of his daughter. He had to save Jason's daughter like he had promised.
He was caught between promises to his wife and his promises to a dead man.
They drove past the front gate of the Eaten estate and took a right turn down a short dirt road, toward a cliff.
A small cabin sat on the side of the road. Despite its small size, it looked expensive.
They parked fifty feet back from the house and climbed out of the car. They couldn't see anything inside the blacked-out windows of the cottage.
Curtis made sure his gun was ready. Debra did the same.
She gestured for Curtis to circle around the house. He nodded and ran, low to the ground, up to the house. He could hear a quiet conversation taking place inside but couldn't make out the words. At least two people were talking inside, and neither sounded like a young girl, so Curtis assumed that there were two people inside who they would need to deal with. He held up two fingers to Debra, who nodded.
He circled around the house to the back door.
He slowly pushed open the door, gun ready at his waist.
Chapter 60
Frankie turned off the highway and drove into the rest stop parking lot. Curtis's car was sitting in the parking lot, just as she had expected. She had put out an APB on his car, and they had come back with the location almost immediately. Curtis, however, wasn't here, and he wasn't inside the rest stop.
She had hoped he would still be here, and she could convince him to go back to the hospital and let someone else go after Raymond Eaton.
> They were close enough to the Eaton Enterprises headquarters that she had no doubt where Curtis had gone.
"God damn it," she said, climbing back into her car and checking her phone. She had a dozen missed voicemails from Director Johnson. She had never ignored a call from a superior officer before today, but she threw the phone into the back seat.
She pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the Eaton Estate.
Chapter 61
Curtis burst into the cabin. Two people were standing in the middle of the living room. One was Raymond Eaton, the other was a woman he didn't recognize.
"Freeze!" he shouted. "Nobody move."
A little girl screamed.
Curtis turned. A young girl was sitting a dozen feet away from him, watching Spongebob on the television.
"Freeze!" said Debra, coming into the cabin from the opposite direction.
They both looked at the occupants of the cabin as they assessed the situation.
Raymond looked stunned, as though he had been focused on something else and was taking a few seconds for his brain to adjust to the new information. Then he focused and pulled a gun out of the back of his pants.
The woman already had her gun out and pointed it at Debra.
"Stop!" said Curtis. "I'm with the FBI."
"No shit," said Raymond. "How did you find us?"
"It doesn't matter," said Curtis. "We're taking Gillian with us."
Curtis looked at the young girl, who looked like she was paralyzed with fear.
"Don't worry, Gillian," said Curtis to the young girl. "Your dad sent us. We're here to help you."
"Where is my dad?" said Gillian.
"We'll get you to him."
"God damn it," said the woman. "Raymond, shoot them all. Let's get out of here."
Debra blocked the door and locked it behind her back. "I can't let you do that."
The woman smiled. "I don't know how you found us, but we have the upper hand. Raymond, kill the girl. Fulfill your promise."