The Cold Kiss

by John Rector

  Behind her, Zack stopped whistling.

  Caroline looked at me. “Butch and I discussed it on our way over. We thought you’d agree that walking away with something is better than nothing.”

  “You want to split the money between all of us?”

  “Why not?” Caroline sat back in her chair. “We’ll all be equal partners, everyone comes out ahead.”

  “And Butch agrees?”

  “He does,” Caroline said. “So does Marcus, once I tell him. And Sara doesn’t want the money at all, but I’m sure she’ll do whatever you ask her to do. That little girl is crazy about you, Nate.”

  “What about Megan?”

  “We’ll talk to Megan.”

  “And him?” I motioned toward Syl. “What’s going to happen to him?”

  “That’s Butch’s area,” she said. “Apparently he knows someone who can help.”

  I looked past Caroline to Zack. He was standing next to the fire, staring at me. His face hidden in shadows.

  Caroline turned her cards over on the table.

  Three queens.

  “Do we have a deal?”

  I smiled, couldn’t help it.

  She asked again, and this time I answered.

  “Yeah,” I said. “We have a deal.”

  33

  Zack went out for more firewood while Caroline and I stayed at the table playing cards.

  I wasn’t winning, but I was getting better.

  I listened to her talk about Marcus and how they’d lost their entire savings in the stock market. I didn’t follow the technical stuff, but it was clear that they needed money.

  This was a good situation for everyone.

  I’d just lost another hand when the chimes over the door rang and Zack walked in carrying an armload of wood. He was sweating and his breath was fast and heavy.

  “I thought you might be Butch,” Caroline said. “I wonder what’s taking him so long.”

  “Maybe someone stole the notebook,” I said.

  Caroline laughed. “At least this time you have an alibi.” She looked over at Zack. “Did you see Butch?”

  Zack ignored her and began stacking the wood on the ground next to the fireplace.

  Caroline waited then turned back to me and rolled her eyes. “Well, he’ll show up eventually, I suppose. Why did you want to find out who checked in after you, anyway?”

  I motioned toward Syl. “The story he told me,” I said. “And because of his fingers.”

  “His fingers?”

  “They’re broken. At first I thought it might’ve happened outside, but someone would’ve noticed when we brought him in.”

  “You think someone around here broke his fingers?”

  I pictured someone leaning over him, snapping one finger after another, asking one question over and over.

  Where’s the money . . .

  I pushed the thought away then said, “It’s stupid, I know.”

  “It’s not stupid,” Caroline said. “I just wonder why anyone would do such a thing.”

  “If they knew he had the money and wanted to find it.”

  “Lilith?”

  I shrugged. “Told you it was stupid.”

  I looked over at Zack. He was adjusting the logs in the fireplace with his hands. Reaching in, moving one, then pulling away fast, cursing under his breath, not paying attention.

  “Everyone here knows about the money,” Caroline said. “So, if Lilith is here, we’ll never find out.”

  “That’s why I wanted to see who got here after us. If she was chasing him, she would’ve come later.”

  “Well, I personally think he’s delirious,” Caroline said. “But if she is real, I hope she can live with a seven-way split.”

  We both laughed.

  Zack stood and took the poker from beside the fireplace and used it to close the spark screen. “That should burn for a while.”

  “I don’t see the point of keeping it so damn hot in here,” Caroline said. “Do you?”

  “I think it feels okay,” I said.

  “If you say so,” Caroline said. “I’m warm-blooded, so I guess I’m always hot.”

  I looked up at Zack and saw him take a step back from the table. He stood for a moment, then lifted the poker over his shoulder and swung down hard, connecting with the top of Caroline’s skull.

  The sound, thick and wet, hung in the air.

  Caroline made a sudden small choking noise deep in her throat then her eyes went wide and rolled over white.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I heard a voice, far away and thin. It sounded like laughter.

  Zack pulled back on the poker, but the curved metal barb on the end had embedded itself in the top of her skull and wouldn’t come loose. Each time he tried to work it free, Caroline’s body would puppet back and forth, dancing jaggedly in her seat.

  Finally, he put one foot on her back and pulled, ripping the poker out. The sound was like splitting wood.

  Caroline fell forward.

  Her head struck the tabletop and a swell of blood poured across the surface toward me.

  I got up fast and backed away until I hit the wall.

  “Give me the gun.”

  I was staring at Caroline, unable to look away.

  Her body shuddered and twitched.

  “Nate, give me the gun.”

  I heard the voice again.

  This time it was close, and it was screaming.

  “Goddamn it, Nate, give me the fucking gun!”

  I looked up at Zack. He had the poker in one hand and was reaching out to me with the other.

  I tried to speak.

  Nothing came out but a moan.

  Zack said something under his breath then turned toward Caroline. He raised the poker over his head and brought it down on the back of her skull, again and again, creating a fountain of blood and bone.

  I felt my legs give out and I slid down the wall to the floor. The screaming in my head stopped and was replaced by blinding sharp pain.

  I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Zack was standing over Caroline’s body, breathing hard. His face was freckled with blood and his eyes looked black and lifeless in the firelight.

  When he saw me, he came at me fast. He grabbed the front of my jacket and pulled me to my feet then punched me hard in the stomach.

  I felt the air rush out of my lungs and I dropped.

  “You just can’t do things the easy way, can you?”

  I wanted to answer, but there was no air and no voice.

  He picked me up again.

  This time he pressed the end of the poker into my neck, just under my throat. I saw thick clumps of skin and bloody gray hair on the metal.

  “What gives you the right to make that kind of deal without me? I’m supposed to be your fucking partner. What the hell were you thinking making that kind of split?” Zack motioned toward Caroline’s body. “That is your fault. She’s dead because of you, asshole, one hundred percent.”

  I closed my eyes.

  Zack leaned in close, and I could feel his breath against my face. It smelled wet and ripe.

  “Now,” he said, slow. “Give me the fucking gun.”

  I hesitated, then reached behind my back and took the gun out of my belt and handed it over.

  Zack let go of me.

  “Is it loaded?”

  I told him it was.

  He looked at it for a moment, then walked back to the fireplace and leaned the poker against the wall. “Are you sure it’s his?”

  “What?”

  He motioned toward Syl, lying unconscious on the floor. “The gun, are you sure it belongs to him?”

  I told him I was.

  “You’re positive?”

  “It was with the rest of his stuff.”

  Zack turned his attention back to the gun, and for a while, the only sound in the room was the soft crackle of burning wood and the slow drip of blood on the carpet.

  We both stayed like that, neith
er of us saying a word, then Zack lifted the gun and pointed it at Syl.

  I tried to say something to stop him, but it was too late. Zack pulled the trigger twice and fired two bullets into Syl’s head as he slept.

  34

  All I wanted was to find Sara and make sure she was safe, but Zack had the gun and a different plan. He took one of the yellow blankets off Syl and tossed it to me. I used it to wrap what was left of Caroline’s skull.

  “Make sure it’s tight,” Zack said. “I don’t want her leaking all over everything.”

  Caroline’s head was a wet jumble of red and black, and I did my best not to look at it as I worked. Once I got the blanket in place, I put my hands under her head and lifted her up from the table.

  It felt like lifting a bag of ice cubes and Jell-O.

  When I got her upright, a wave of blood ran down her back to the floor. I jumped out of the way, and Caroline’s body fell forward, hitting the table and sliding sideways off the chair to the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Zack motioned toward Caroline, then pointed at me. “Stop fucking around. We have to get both of them out of here and start cleaning. We don’t have all damn night.”

  I looked down at Caroline, lying sideways on the floor, and felt my stomach cramp. For a second, I thought I was going to be sick, but I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing until the feeling passed.

  Once it was gone, all that was left was the pain building behind my eyes and a voice in the back of my head telling me that I’d got exactly what I’d asked for, and now I’d get exactly what I deserved.

  I had a feeling the voice was right.

  I knelt down and rolled Caroline onto her back. The blood was already soaking through the blanket, and it took all my willpower to pick her up.

  I put my hands under her arms and lifted her into a sitting position. I started to tell Zack to grab her legs when the bells over the office door chimed.

  Zack and I both turned toward the sound.

  We heard someone kicking snow off his shoes, then Butch’s voice say, “You were right, Minnesota. You weren’t the last one to—”

  He came through the door with his notebook in one hand and his jacket in the other. When he saw us, he stopped and stared.

  I tried to imagine what we looked like, hovering over the bodies, both of us covered in blood and firelight.

  For a moment, no one spoke, then Butch took one tentative step forward. He looked from me to Caroline then over to Zack.

  “You dumb motherfucker.”

  “Now hold on a minute,” Zack said. “There’s a good reason for this, so just—”

  Butch moved fast.

  Zack was still kneeling over Syl’s body when Butch came across the room and kicked him in the chest. It didn’t seem to do much damage, but it was an impressive kick for someone that old. I had a feeling if Butch had been twenty or thirty years younger, Zack would’ve been lying on the ground, too scared to get up.

  “What the fuck did you do?”

  Zack didn’t respond, just stayed where he was and listened to Butch yell.

  “We had everything set, and you go and fuck it all up. Well, I’m not going to help you out of this one, not this time.” Butch pointed at him. “You can fix this one on your own.”

  “I’m not asking for your help.”

  “That’s good.” Butch looked at me. “I guess you got this fucking guy to help. Maybe you’ll both wind up in the same prison.”

  “No one’s going to prison,” Zack said. “Not if we hurry and clean all—”

  Butch reached out and slapped Zack on the side of the head. It connected hard, and I flinched at the sound.

  This time, the look on Zack’s face shifted, grew dark.

  Butch slapped him again, harder.

  I saw Zack’s hand move toward the gun in his belt, but he stopped halfway and let it drop.

  “You think the Cormans are gonna volunteer their pigs again?” Butch asked. “You really think they’ll put their necks out for us this time?”

  “They’ll help.”

  Butch pointed at Caroline. “This ain’t no goddamn truck stop whore no one’s gonna miss, boy.”

  Zack kept quiet.

  “Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

  “They’ll help,” Zack said.

  Butch’s hand went up again, and this time Zack reached for the gun in his belt and pulled it out. He didn’t point it at Butch, he didn’t have to. Seeing it was enough.

  Butch lowered his hand, slow.

  “You got no idea what kind of shit you’re in,” Butch said. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I had a good reason.”

  “I can’t wait to hear it,” Butch said. “While you’re at it, tell me what you’re going to do when her husband comes looking for her.”

  “Her husband?”

  “That’s right,” Butch said. “Don’t you think he might notice she ain’t around anymore?”

  Zack looked at me and for the first time I thought I saw doubt in his eyes. Then it was gone.

  “God has a plan,” he said. “All this’ll work out.”

  Butch stepped closer.

  Zack flinched.

  “God’s plan?” Butch said. “Are you fucking crazy? God doesn’t have a plan for you.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Boy, you are nose-deep in a sea of shit, and the only option you got is to start swallowing. If you think God is going to help you fix this mess then you’re out of your fucking head.”

  “He’s given us a way out.”

  “We had a way out. We had our share of that money. That was our way out. What do we have now?”

  Zack looked at me and smiled.

  “Now we have it all.”

  We carried Syl out first.

  I had his shoulders and Zack took his feet and we followed Butch around the office to the shed behind the building. It was still snowing, but the storm had passed and the clouds had split and the sky was clear and deep. There was a full moon sitting low on the horizon, turning everything a cold silvery-blue.

  “I need to check on Sara.”

  “We’re going there next,” Zack said. “You got the money in the room somewhere?”

  I had no intention of letting Zack have the money, but as long as he had the gun, I was going to play along.

  I told him we did.

  This seemed to make him happy, and we didn’t talk again until we got to the shed.

  This time, the door was locked.

  Zack and I stood outside while Butch fumbled with the combination. After watching him struggle for a few minutes, Zack had enough and dropped Syl’s legs into the snow.

  “Let me do it.”

  Butch stepped aside and Zack took the lock and started turning the wheel.

  I eased Syl down to the ground.

  “That’s not the combination,” Butch said.

  “Sure it is. It’s always been the same.”

  While they argued, I backed away. When I put enough distance between us, I turned and ran through the snow and around the corner.

  Zack yelled after me, then I heard Butch say, “Christ, boy, stop hollering. Where’s he gonna go?”

  Of course, he was right.

  I wasn’t going anywhere.

  Once I got to our room, I fumbled through my pockets for the key. There was no light coming through the window, and no sounds from behind the door. I wanted to believe that Sara was lying in bed, asleep, but I knew better.

  I found the key and went inside.

  The room was dark and empty.

  I stayed in the doorway and didn’t move.

  The mattress had been pulled off the bed.

  The suitcase was gone.

  I stepped inside then crossed the room to the bathroom and pushed the door open. Sara wasn’t there. I stood for a moment, listening to the slow drip of the faucet, then turned around and walked to the table.

  I stood by the window and
tried to think.

  The first thing I needed to do was find Sara.

  Caroline had said she was with Megan, but I didn’t know which room she was in. And since Zack had Syl’s gun, it didn’t seem smart to go wandering around in plain sight.

  But I didn’t see any other choice.

  I got up and moved toward the door.

  I heard a low rumbling sound somewhere in the distance, and I stopped to listen. It was quiet at first, then it grew louder until there was no doubt what it was.

  The plows were coming.

  35

  I stood in the doorway for a while and looked out at the parking lot. When I was sure no one was around, I stepped out onto the walkway.

  I thought Megan’s room was on the other side of the motel, but I had to find the right one. There were several cars parked on that side, all covered with snow. There was no way to tell which one was Megan’s, so my only option was to work my way over and look for signs of life.

  I ran across the parking lot to Zack’s room then around the corner to the back of the building. I wanted to stay out of sight as much as possible, but that meant fighting my way through deep snow.

  I could do it, but it was going to be slow.

  I ran the gap between Zack’s building and the next one over without a problem, but to get to the rooms on the other side of the motel, I’d have to cross in front of the playground. If anyone was watching, they’d see me.

  My legs didn’t want to move.

  I stuck my head around the corner and looked out toward the office at the far end of the lot. There were shadows moving out front. Beyond them, I saw several yellow and blue flashing lights as the snowplows crawled their way up the highway.

  I could taste something thick and sour in the back of my throat and I swallowed hard against it, then I pushed off and ran as fast as I could across the parking lot to the other building.

  I’d made it almost the entire way when my foot hit one of the cement parking barriers under the snow and I fell forward, striking my head against the side of the building.

  For an instant there was nothing but blackness, then a blaze of white light exploded behind my eyes and burned all the way through me. I tried to get to my feet, but the world spun around me and I couldn’t tell which way was up or down.