No Rest For The Wicked

by James, Harper

  Todd spun back again at the sound. Luca launched himself at him, ducking low, his head butting him in the gut, crashing across the room into the island in the middle. Todd’s back slammed into it, his gut caught between the solid wood and Luca’s hard head. The wind exploded out of him as the two of them rolled onto the floor.

  On the other side of the room the chef slammed the fridge door on Sonny’s face a third time. Sonny howled, dropped his gun.

  Gina dropped to a crouch, holding Emily by the shoulders. She mouthed one word. Run. She turned her towards the back door, gave her a gentle push. Emily ran.

  The second she was clear, Gina dived for Sonny’s gun.

  She smacked into the cold, hard tiles a foot short. Sonny swung his foot wildly at her head, trying to stomp on her outstretched hands. He caught the gun with his foot, sent it clattering across the room towards Todd and Luca grappling on the floor.

  With his head wedged tight Sonny watched it sliding away from him. A sudden panic-fuelled spike of strength ripped through him. He brought his hands up to his chest, jerked his arms out straight, pushing the chef backwards, making enough room to squeeze out. He pulled a bottle of wine out of the door as he slipped free, smashed it onto the edge of the counter. The bottle shattered, cold white wine and shards of glass showering Gina on the floor.

  Sonny whirled around, the broken bottle in his hand. He jabbed it at the chef’s face. The chef jumped sideways, the jagged edges of the bottle missing his ear by an inch. Sonny lunged again. Chef jumped back the other way, turning his head to the side, searching for something, anything on the counter to use as a weapon or protect himself.

  He should have kept his eyes front.

  Sonny whipped his arm backwards, catching him on the side of the head, opening up his cheek, splitting the flesh to the bone. The chef screamed, his hands clutching desperately at his shredded face.

  Sonny pulled back his arm to slash again.

  From across the room Todd yelled at him.

  ‘Sonny, get the kid.’

  Sonny paused mid-strike as he saw Emily open the back door and slip out. He threw the bottle aside, started moving towards the door after her. Gina scrambled to her feet. She dived at his legs, her face smacking into the back of his skinny thighs. A dirty, unwashed smell filled her nose, made her glad she hadn’t hit the front of his pants. She clamped her arms around his legs, sending them both flying into the wall. His nose hit first, a sudden explosion of bright red on the gleaming white wall, then his teeth as his mouth opened in an angry shout. It wasn’t nearly hard enough to stop him—but it was more than enough to annoy the hell out of him. She bit the back of his leg, came away with nothing more than a mouthful of greasy denim. He shook his head, flicking blood and snot from his nose. Twisting from the waist, he drove his elbow backwards, down into her cheek.

  White light exploded in her head. A sea of red hot pain engulfed her, the room spinning crazily around her. She let go of his legs, her face sliding down them to the blood-spattered floor. He pulled his legs away from her angrily, like he was pulling them out of a sucking swamp, then turned and kicked her.

  Behind them Todd reversed the sawed-off in his hands. He clubbed Luca savagely on the side of the head with the butt as Luca tried to keep his grip on the forestock. Luca’s palms were sweaty, his soft, manicured hands not accustomed to physical work. Todd was younger, stronger. He wrenched the gun out of Luca’s grip with ease, kept on clubbing him until he rolled off. Luca’s head flopped onto the floor as if it was too heavy for his neck, his eyes glazing over. He stared vacantly across the bright white tiles to where Gina struggled to sit up.

  It was all over.

  Todd picked up Sonny’s gun, pushed himself to his feet. He thrust it at him, jabbing him in the stomach with the barrel.

  ‘That’s twice now you’ve lost that. Next time you won’t get it back.’

  Behind them the back door slammed in the wind, Emily now long gone.

  Todd looked around the kitchen. The chef sat on the floor, slumped against the cupboards, a wet cloth clamped to his face. Luca was still only semi-conscious. Gina sat with her back against the wall, knees up, her head resting on her arms, waiting for the noise in her head to subside.

  ‘You want me to go after the kid?’ Sonny asked.

  Todd shook his head.

  ‘No, I’ll go. You stay here. If anyone moves, you shoot them. I don’t care where, just so long as it’s painful. Jeez.’

  He made his way to the back door, then stopped.

  ‘Here, you take this.’ He held out the sawed-off towards Sonny. ‘I don’t want to be running around the woods carrying that. Give me your nine-mil.’

  They swapped weapons and he headed off after Emily. He didn’t want to think about what might be waiting for him when he got back, now that Sonny had a shotgun in his hands—teeth and hair and eyeballs all over the place—but at the moment he didn’t really care. If they didn’t end up in jail, or worse, he wasn’t ever going to take the crazy-assed kid along again.

  Chapter 6

  EVAN BRUSHED THE SNOW off a tree stump and sat down, rested his forearms on his knees. After two hours of tai chi high stance, he’d worked up a good sweat. His mind was clear, the kinks worked out of his body. He felt ready for anything. He’d tried to convince Gina of the benefits of tai chi, particularly after the trauma she’d been through two months ago. It didn’t make any difference, she was determined to be a couch—or in this case—bed potato. It had been difficult dragging himself out of bed this morning, leaving her behind in it. She’d rolled into the warm spot he vacated before he had his boxers on and was asleep again before he was out the door.

  It wasn’t all bad.

  He’d found an idyllic spot, a hollowed out natural clearing in the woods, down by the lake. He’d completed his set as the low winter sun came up through the trees. The air was crisp and cool and he felt it all the way down to the bottom of his lungs. Okay, he’d kept his boots on but he wouldn’t tell her that. He didn’t want to tarnish the image she held of him.

  There was a sharp sound from behind him. He was instantly alert, every muscle in his body tense. It was the sound of twigs snapping underfoot. Somebody was running through the woods. He got off the stump and turned to face the direction of the noise, the low sun directly in his eyes. Against the brightness, the trunks of the trees were in silhouette. He raised his hand and squinted into the light.

  Who on earth would be running in the woods at this time of day?

  The sounds were closer now. He strained to hear. Two different sounds. One, a lighter pitter-patter scampering, making him imagine something young and agile, the other heavier, less nimble on its feet. He had the impression of something small running scared, pursued.

  He waited on the edge of the clearing. They were close now, but he couldn’t see them for the sun. It reflected off the snow, blinding him. Then a man burst out of the trees and stopped dead at the edge of the hollow, looming over him, backlit by the dazzling brightness, something held loosely in his hand. Wisps of steam rose from his body in the cold early morning air, and his breath came in great clouds of smoke.

  He gave a sudden shout and leapt down into the hollow, landing a few feet away.

  ‘Wow. Did you see that white-tailed deer? I almost tripped over it.’

  He took a long swallow from his water bottle and fired out a sticky, sweaty hand.

  ‘You must be Evan. Scott Harris.’

  Evan shook his hand. Scott saw the look on his face.

  ‘The manager at the hotel told us who else was staying. Our daughter, Emily, is dying to meet you.’

  ‘I hope I’m not a disappointment.’

  Scott leaned back, looked him up and down and grinned again.

  ‘No, I think you’ll pass. She is only seven, after all.’

  ‘Luca told us.’

  Scott’s face lost some of its enthusiasm.

  ‘Yeah, I think he’s worried about his priceless antiques. It’s a
hotel for Christ’s sake, not a museum. Amazing place, though. Haunted too, according to him.’

  ‘Really? He didn’t say anything to us.’

  Scott’s face took on the sour cast again.

  ‘No, I think it was just for Emily’s benefit. Probably hoped she’d be so scared, we’d have to take her home. Didn’t work though. She loves all that creepy stuff.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘Apparently the guy who built the place bought the land from the local Iroquois tribe. For a handful of glass beads no doubt. He also bought himself a wife, called her Lucinda. But she kept running off, back to her own people and the man she really loved. You know the sort of thing. It’d make a great movie. In the end he kept her locked in a room, right at the top of the house. But she used to jump off the balcony, slide down the roof and get away. That’s when he started chaining her to the bed.’

  Scott paused, gave Evan a quizzical look.

  ‘I think it’s the room he put us in,’ Evan said. ‘There’s a big old bed in there as well. The posts are scarred. Probably why he didn’t mention it to us.’

  Scott nodded and gave him the smile of a man who’s kept the best part until last.

  ‘But that’s not all.’ He dropped his voice. ‘She escaped one last time. She knew it was pointless running back home, he’d only drag her back again. So she took herself to the only place he could never find her. Drowned herself in the lake. Went down screaming her Iroquois name, not the name he’d given her.’

  Evan laughed nervously. Not that he believed in all that nonsense, but he couldn’t help thinking about the doors to the balcony he’d left open all night.

  ‘As you say, it’d make a great movie.’

  ‘Yeah. And you can only hear her screams on’—he made a big show of looking at his watch, checking the date—‘what’s the date, today?’ He laughed and slapped Evan on the back. ‘Only kidding.’

  ‘Right. I won’t bother telling Gina, though. You heading back or on your way out?’

  ‘No, that’s enough for me for one day. Just enough to work up an appetite for breakfast.’

  ‘Me too,’ Evan said.

  They climbed out of the hollow and started back.

  ‘If you don’t mind, I’m going to jog some more,’ Scott said. ‘I’m cooling down fast already. I don’t want to catch a chill and spoil the weekend. Linda would never forgive me.’

  ‘Go ahead. I’d jog with you, but . . .’

  He pointed to his heavy hiking boots and shrugged. He hated jogging anyway.

  ‘See you at breakfast then.’

  Evan nodded, raised his hand. Scott disappeared around a bend in the trail and Evan enjoyed the return to silence. As it turned out, Scott wasn’t much of a runner and Evan could easily have kept pace with him even in his boots. By the time he reached the edge of the trees at the bottom of the lawn leading down from the lodge, Scott was still only half way across.

  Evan stopped and leaned against a tree. He’d give him a few minutes. If he turned up at the lodge less than a minute behind, when he’d only been walking, Scott’s athletic pride would take a dent.

  A door at the back of the lodge suddenly burst open and a little girl ran out, looking around behind her like she was playing tag. Emily. She looked like a cute kid. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad being her hero.

  Scott was working hard on the uphill slope towards the lodge. He looked up and saw his daughter and stopped mid-stride. He waved but she hadn’t seen him. She veered off to the right, towards the woods that flanked the lodge on that side.

  The back door flew open again and a guy ran out. Even from where he was, Evan saw it wasn’t anybody he’d met already.

  And he sure as hell didn’t look like he worked there—unless the dress code had been dropped overnight and they’d been issued with sidearms. The guy had a gun in his hand. He looked left and right, trying to guess which way Emily went.

  What the hell was going on?

  Scott saw the guy the same time as Evan did. He started running again with a lot more vigor.

  ‘Hey. What the—’

  He never got to finish. The guy’s head whipped around almost as fast as his gun hand came up. There was a sharp crack. Scott dropped to his knees, stayed there a couple of beats and then toppled forwards, face first into the snow.

  The guy with the gun hesitated, looking left and right, and then turned and went back inside.

  At the bottom of the lawn, Evan melted slowly back into the thickness of the trees.

  Chapter 7

  EVERY HEAD IN THE kitchen looked up at the sound of the gunshot.

  Gina’s insides went cold, a sour taste in her mouth. There was no good outcome, unless he’d missed completely. It was Emily or Evan. She blanked her mind, refused to listen to it. Emily or Evan. What if it was her choice? What would she do?

  The door opened and Todd came in, stamping snow off his shoes, anger and frustration twisting his face.

  ‘Who’d you get?’ Sonny said, pushing himself off the counter. A sick grin formed on his lips. It was just a bit of sport.

  ‘I don’t know. Some guy. A big guy.’

  Gina couldn’t breathe. Evan. Six foot one, a hundred and ninety-eight pounds. She closed her eyes and dropped her head to her knees.

  ‘What about the kid?’

  Todd shook his head.

  ‘Gone.’

  Thank God for that, Gina thought. Whatever else might happen, Emily had got away. That’s how Evan would have wanted it.

  ‘Is the guy dead?’

  ‘I don’t know. We’ve got to get him back inside.’

  ‘Leave him there.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why not? The snow’ll keep him on ice.’ He sniggered. ‘Stop him going off, making the place smell.’

  Gina’s stomach lurched. She swallowed hard, keeping it down.

  ‘Because once the police realize they’re not going to catch us at a roadblock, they’ll widen the search. They’ll call in a chopper.’

  ‘Yeah. I suppose.’

  ‘Exactly. And I don’t want a guy lying spread-eagled on the ground, bright red blood soaking into the white snow to give them a big clue where we might be. Even the cops would be able to work that one out.’

  Sonny nodded.

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Go find one of the others,’ Todd said. ‘He’s too big for one of us to carry and we can’t leave this lot alone.’ He looked around the room at them all. ‘Even in the state they’re in.’ His gaze settled on Gina. ‘Especially her.’

  Gina’s stomach flipped again. She lifted her head and stared right back at him, refusing to cower or let him see what his words had done to her.

  Sonny stood in front of her, his groin level with her head, thrust provocatively towards her. She could have punched him easily but she couldn’t concentrate, her mind full of images of Evan lying in the snow outside.

  ‘You shouldn’t have stopped me from having some fun with her,’ he said.

  Todd wanted to say he hadn’t stopped anything, Sonny had fucked up all on his own, but it wasn’t worth it, it really wasn’t.

  ‘Just go find one of the others. Where the hell are they? They should have finished searching the place by now. They better not be asleep in one of the rooms.’

  ‘Maybe they found mommy in her nightdress.’

  ‘Go! Now.’

  Everybody relaxed as soon as Sonny was out the door, Todd included. Not that it made any difference. They’d killed the store manager. Now they’d shot and maybe killed a second man. They’d made no attempt to cover their faces. The police had identified the lunatic Sonny but that was all. The others wouldn’t want to leave any witnesses behind.

  And the only hope of rescue or escape was lying dead or dying in the snow outside.

  Five minutes later Sonny came back with Mason and Loyd. Mason dragged a bleary-eyed woman by the arm, wearing nothing but a skimpy nightdress. She wasn’t as shapely as Gina but there was a whole lot
more of her on show through the thin fabric.

  ‘I think we found mommy,’ Mason said.

  ‘You could have let her get dressed,’ Todd said although his tone of voice suggested he liked her just the way she was.

  ‘No time. Junior said it was an emergency.’ He looked around. ‘Where’s the kid?’

  ‘She got away. She’s outside somewhere. She’ll come back when she gets too cold.’

  The woman in Mason’s grip twisted away from him, tried to get free.

  ‘What have you done to my daughter? You better not have hurt her.’

  Todd grinned.

  ‘Uh oh. Movie dialogue alert. Or what? What’ll you do if we have?’ He waited for her to say something. ‘Exactly,’ he said when she didn’t reply. ‘Nothing.’ To Mason he said, ‘Where’s the husband? Don’t tell me he’s missing too.’

  ‘He wasn’t in the room with her.’

  ‘Where is he?’ Todd demanded.

  She shook her head. Todd suddenly laughed, an ugly sound.

  ‘Doesn’t matter. We’re about to find out where one of them is. One of you two ladies is in for a nasty surprise.’

  Gina felt a mixture of relief and horror. The chances of the guy outside being Evan had just halved. That was the relief. The horror was, she was going to find out in the next two minutes. The prospect turned her insides to liquid.

  ‘Mason, Loyd, there’s a guy outside in the snow. We need to get him inside.’

  ‘In case the police call out the choppers,’ Sonny said.

  Mason looked at him.

  ‘You work that out all on your own?’

  Sonny gave him the finger and Mason pushed the woman down onto the floor next to Gina. Then he headed outside with Loyd.

  ‘What are they talking about?’

  ‘She’s okay,’ Gina whispered to the terrified woman next to her. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Linda. Linda Harris.’

  ‘I’m Gina. Emily’s better off out there, believe me.’

  ‘Did they hurt her?’

  ‘No. She bit them.’

  Linda laughed and smothered it with her hand.

  ‘Keep it quiet over there,’ Todd called from the doorway where he was watching the other two drag the body up the lawn.