Dark of Night

by T. F. Walsh

  Driving into the expensive neighborhood, Lu tamped down the nauseous rumbling in her stomach. That was good. If she was nervous, she’d be alert. She parked a block away. Obviously she couldn’t pretend to be anyone official driving her old Chevy. Damn, she should’ve brought a package or something to look like a delivery person.

  Lu clutched the clipboard to her chest and strode purposefully down the street. She stopped outside of the first house she came to, glanced up at the address and then scribbled a few words on the pad. Then she proceeded to the next building and did the same. This way if she got caught on any sort of security camera, it would look like she had some purpose in being there. The road bent slightly and then Lu could see the house. It was similar to the last grow ops. The building was a distance from its neighbors with the blinds pulled tight and the lawn and garden showing telltale signs of neglect. There were few cars parked on the street. Lu wondered if any of them could be part of another of Byron’s sting operations. God forgive her if she walked into another one. In fact, to hell with God, Byron might never forgive her. No. he would’ve said if it was coming up so soon.

  Lu stopped outside of the building next door, writing while a plan took hold. She wasn’t even sure if it was possible, but it seemed like her best shot at getting inside. Lu concentrated on the biggest and newest of the dark cars parked in the driveway outside the grow op. She wasn’t sure how to do it, so she just focused on her anger, visualizing poor Susan being terrified, the woman they’d previously let burn in the fire on Baker Street, people dying of overdoses. Meanwhile she kept staring at the monstrous black SUV, knowing that it was the root of all this damage and despair.

  Lu’s breathing came sharper as the familiar pain built at the base of her neck. She needed this one to be a big one, the motherfucker of all the goddamned fires. She internally yelled at the fucking car as the throbbing heat tore through the back of her brain.

  No! Wait! She needed to be closer to get in!

  Lu stumbled to the left side of the house, ignoring her watering eyes and hoping she wouldn’t trip. The pain was unbearable and her legs started to give out. God, she hoped they weren’t watching her on any security cameras. She reached the building just as she heard the massive explosion behind her. She turned to watch the SUV erupt into an impressive fireball. The heat blasted against her skin. Within seconds the car behind the SUV blew up and she ducked against the wall in reaction.

  Well … Something should happen.

  The door crashed open and two guys barreled outside. Lu ducked behind the door.

  “Holy fu — !” The voice cut off as the young Asian man sprinted toward the cars. Another beefy white guy followed him, spewing profanities. Lu waited a few seconds to see if any more people would come out, then ran into the house. The overwhelming stench was unmistakable. She sprinted to the right and then ducked low as she came to a hallway. She could still hear the two men yelling outside.

  The smell was like a combination of skunkweed, vinegar, ammonia, and decomposing vegetation, all in a hot, wet blanket smothering her entire body. How could those men stay in here? Her brain cells were frying already. Lu covered her face with her hand, but it wasn’t much better. Looking up, she saw row after row of what Ace called “frankenplants,” the short top-heavy marijuana plants with their limbs bending from the oversized buds. The lights glared down, giving the precious crop a glowing aura. The walls and windows were all covered with some white plastic material.

  Staying crouched, Lu ran as stealthily as possible along the edges of the shelves. She kept expecting someone to see her and yell something, but so far there only seemed to be the two men on the premises. And hopefully Susan was here somewhere …

  When she reached the end of the rows of plants, Lu was faced with a decision. A hallway led away to the right. Or there were a series of unmarked doors on the left. A clock ticked loudly from the wall. You’d think the moisture would’ve killed it long ago.

  Lu went for the door furthest to the left and gently twisted the door knob. It was locked. She ducked down and slid her purse around to the front. Digging in, she retrieved a loyalty card from the main bookstore in Springfield and her nail file. She’d watched a documentary about an ex-burglar, now home security advisor, as he’d shown how easy regular locks were to open. With any luck these guys hadn’t seen it and upgraded.

  She edged the card into the doorway at the latch, then angled it against the door frame. The nail file followed on the inside to find any nicks or dents in the bolt. A little abrasion to the dent to give better traction, then slowly force the bolt back into the door. Use the card to slide under the edge of the bolt to secure any gained ground. And continue to shift with file and card. She bent closer to the floor when she heard the door front slam. Sweat slid from her hair line, but she couldn’t remove either hand from her job to wipe away the liquid stinging her eyes. Concentrate.

  The bolt jumped back into the door and Lu winced in response to the loud click. No one else seemed to react. She turned the door knob. Her throat was bone dry as she tried to imagine what she’d say if someone was inside the locked room. “Cleaning lady?” “Can I put you down for five boxes of Girl Guide Cookies?”

  The room was dark so she slid inside and closed the door most of the way behind her. Hell if she was going to accidently lock herself in! Turning on the light, Lu had to stop herself from reacting to the sight of a person slumped on a chair. Despite the pillowcase thrown over her head, Lu recognized Susan’s bright colored shirt and tight jeans. At first she wondered if she was already dead, she was so still, held up only by the ropes binding her to the wooden kitchen chair.

  Lu ran to the chair and after a quick check for a pulse — alive, thank God! — worked on the knots tying Susan’s wrists behind the chair. She stopped part way through and removed the pillowcase. Although it might’ve helped block the noxious smell. At the last grow-op, Byron had pointed out the filter that had kept the smell to a bearable level. Maybe they were getting cheaper with every crop they lost?

  Lu switched to untying Susan’s ankles. She looked particularly vulnerable wearing only one gaudy high heeled sandal. The coarse rope was biting into Lu’s fingers as she tried to force the damned stuff back through the knot. There ought to be a law against Boy Scouts if this was the stupid kind of skills they’re teaching. With a quiet grunt, she got Susan’s feet free and went back to her wrists. Lu heard a muffled moan. Maybe Susan was coming to. At least with the gag still in her mouth, she wouldn’t make too much noise. The last of the rope slithered to the floor.

  Since she didn’t know if both of the men she’d seen earlier had returned to the house, or where they’d be hanging out, she figured her best bet was still to make a run for the back door. God, this was nuts! Lu knelt down in front of Susan’s chair and pulled on her arm until Susan’s stomach was across her shoulder. Lu locked her arm under the back of Susan’s knees and stood up.

  Okay, now or never. She cracked opened the door and looked. No one was there.

  She was so pumped with adrenaline and fear, Lu hardly even noticed the extra weight she was carrying as she walked quickly down the hallway. More plants were in the room to the right. There was a loud humming noise from either the lights or fans. Lu took a sharp left into a filthy kitchen littered with half-eaten takeout containers and cigarette butts. She heard footsteps and suddenly a stocky man with a shocked expression screeched to a halt right in front of her.

  Without thinking, Lu swung around sharply aiming Susan’s one spiked heel at the man’s face. There was a sickening crunch as it connected and the man fell to his knees clutching his head and screaming. Lu ran for the back door, not worrying now about any noise she might make. She made it outside slamming the door behind her and ran to the side of the house. She screamed as she ran into the solid figure of a man.

  CHAPTER 19

  “Reynolds, what are you — ?” Lu as
ked trying to catch her breath. She suddenly noticed the awkwardness of standing with a semi-comatose woman draped over her shoulder.

  “We got message that you were here and in danger. Let me use your phone to call the chief.”

  Lu inclined her head to indicate her back pocket.

  Reynolds retrieved the phone and punched in a few numbers. “Yup, she’s here. And safe … okay … will do.” He flipped her phone shut and slipped it into his own pocket.

  “Where’s Byron and the rest of the team? We’ll need an ambulance, too. I might’ve blinded a guy.”

  “I’m supposed to take you and … uh, her,” he looked vaguely at Susan, “to headquarters. They’re coming in for the arrests and don’t want any collateral damage.” Reynolds steered her quickly toward his Lexus and opened the back door. “Put her in here.” He helped to lay Susan down on the back seat.

  “But if you don’t know — ” Lu’s head began to spin. “Wait … Give me my phone back. I’ve got to call — ”

  “There’s no time. Get in the car,” he hissed, as he closed the door on Susan and pushed Lu to the front passenger seat.

  “No!” Lu spun away. Something was off. Reynolds wouldn’t have been sent by himself to find her; there’d be police back-up. Her heart leapt with relief when she saw Byron’s little black car barreling down toward them. So Reynolds was telling the truth. Reynolds followed her gaze.

  He turned her quickly to face him and she felt something hard dig into her abdomen. His face was uglier than she’d ever seen on him before. “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll shoot you and then the second shot will be right through Morgan’s head. Understand?”

  “Uh-huh.” Oh fuck! She watched as Byron parked and started to walk toward them.

  “Throw your arms around my neck and kiss me like you mean it.” Reynolds jammed his revolver into her stomach a little harder to punctuate his demand.

  Lu put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss Reynolds. His free hand grabbed her butt and held her against his body as he opened his mouth against hers. “Make it passionate and real looking, because if Morgan comes over to say anything, I’ll gladly blow that bastard in two.”

  Her mind was racing in so many directions while trying to ignore the lips urgently pressed against her own. If there was some way she could signal Byron — but she couldn’t risk Reynolds shooting him. Reynolds ground himself against her and she realized he had a fucking hard-on. The man was turned on by this! Her disgust turned to fear as she glimpsed Byron’s shocked expression, then furious glare as he turned and strode back to his car.

  No! God, Byron couldn’t believe she would actually cheat on him with Reynolds, could he? Reynolds lips turned up in a satisfied smile. He’d obviously seen Byron’s expression, too. Lu tried to back out of the embrace but Reynolds held her in a vice grip.

  “Not so fast,” he murmured. “We both know you like it, so why fight me, Lu?” He backed her against his car then slid his hand up under her shirt. His tongue slithered into her mouth again and she stopped herself from gagging. Could she wrestle his gun from him now that Byron was out of danger? She moved her hands down his chest and he immediately pressed the gun back into her flesh.

  “Don’t even think it. I want you, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” He watched Byron’s car until it turned the corner, then he dropped his hand to the passenger door and opened it. “Get in.”

  At her hesitation, he added, “Of course, you could just desert your friend in my car …” His icy smile sent a cold chill down her back. How could this be the same man she’d worked with all these months? Lu lowered herself into the car seat. Was he planning to take her somewhere to kill her? Now that she knew he was crooked, he couldn’t let her live. But even if Byron thought she was involved with Reynolds, he would still wonder if she disappeared. Wouldn’t he?

  Reynolds eased into the driver’s seat, his normal friendly smile back on his face. “I’m glad you’re seeing things my way now, Lu. It will make it much easier.”

  What? Make what much easier, she wanted to scream. She took a deep breath. Keep calm and ready for action. Now that she was getting better at directing her fires she was tempted to set his car ablaze. But then they might all die. Not her best option …

  “Where are we going?” Lu asked nonchalantly.

  “You’ll see.”

  “I don’t want to be out too late. I do have work tomorrow,” Lu said with a sidelong look at Reynolds.

  “I think you might’ve already called in sick.” He smiled at her and seemed almost normal. “You’ve become so unreliable since that accident while you were working for Morgan.”

  “What about Susan? She doesn’t know anything. Can’t you just let her go?”

  “No. That would make me have to watch you closer.” He merged onto the highway, his car barely rumbling as he overtook the car beside him. If she was lucky, he’d get pulled over for speeding.

  “Can I take her gag off?” Lu asked turning to look at Susan still passed out in the back seat. She mostly wanted to keep the conversation flowing. Then maybe when it came time to kill her, he might hesitate. Wow. Weird thinking that Reynolds might be psycho enough to kill her, but what were his other options?

  “No.” Reynolds slowed down to the same speed as the cars around him. Damn.

  “If you let us both go …” Lu tried to think quickly. “I don’t actually have any proof that you’re involved, and it’s not as though Byron would believe anything I say now — ”

  Reynolds laughed. “And then we’ll all pretend this never happened, right? Nice try.”

  He took an exit and she glanced quickly at the signs. She’d need to know where she was if she got away. God, Reynolds was right, she should’ve gotten to know the Seattle area better.

  “You know — ”

  “Shut up.” Reynolds shot her a withering glance. Maybe he’d guessed her strategy.

  Lu looked out the window. Now what? She sure as hell didn’t want to think about Byron. How could he have been fooled by their kiss? But the look on his face had been pretty definite. So now she was going to die and he was going to think she’d cheated on him.

  Not that she’d care after she was dead, but still … Lu’s eyes filled up with tears. It was so unfair. Three years with the jerk Paul, and she only got a couple of months with Byron. Still, if he’d really loved her he would’ve trusted her. She wiped a tear away trying to keep Reynolds from seeing. But Byron hadn’t believed her fire-starting ability, either. Maybe he’d been just stringing her along.

  Reynolds turned onto a smaller street. The trees in this neighborhood were much bigger and the lot sizes were more impressive too. He drove over a speed bump and Lu looked back in time to see Susan slide onto the floor behind the front seats. Oww, that would hurt. A hand-made street sign proclaimed, “We love our children. Drive Slow!” Obviously these residents gave a few bucks to local politicians to get traffic calming devices. And from the look of the ever-increasing mansions, they still had some bucks left over. Where the hell were they? You’d think he’d take them to a seedier area to kill them.

  He pulled the car into a treed driveway and up to the security gate. In response to a low mumble from the speaker phone, he merely said, “Reynolds.” The gate swung open to a winding driveway up to a beautiful, red-brick mansion. Lu’s jaw dropped. Well, I guess the drug business pays really well.

  Reynolds seemed familiar with the place. It couldn’t be his, could it? No, Ace would’ve mentioned, and that would’ve tipped everyone off to Reynolds’ extra-curricular activities. He pulled up to the back door, and put the car in park. “Stay,” he commanded as he jumped out of the car and went to the back seat. Lu looked around the front seat for anything she could use as a weapon, but the glove compartment was locked and, strangely enough, he didn’t have a spare gun hidden under the seat
. Shit.

  “Okay. Help me carry her.” Reynolds had removed Susan’s gag and was sitting her up on the back seat. “Make it look like she’s just had too much to drink.” He lifted Susan and draped one of her arms around Lu’s shoulders. They were both so much taller than Susan that her one shoe didn’t even reach the ground. Reynolds closed the car door and beeped the lock shut.

  “Don’t say anything to anyone or I’ll just start shooting,” he warned.

  They carried Susan between them up to the door. It opened just as they got close and a small oriental woman looked at them curiously before signaling with her hand that they should enter the room to the left. Lu glanced at the massive industrial sized kitchen as Reynolds pulled them along. What the hell was the place? They walked into what seemed to be a pantry room with five wooden chairs around a rough oak table. Heavy wooden cabinets covered three of the walls and small leaded-glass windows overlooking the spacious back lawn, the fourth. Staff dining room? Wine cellar? Or maybe it was a chopping area. Reynolds pulled out a chair and then let go of Susan into it. Lu quickly followed suit, putting her hand on Susan’s shoulder to keep her from falling forward.

  “What the hell did you guys give her? Shouldn’t she be waking up yet?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Reynolds answered as he plunked himself in a chair next to Susan. “Sit.” He indicated the chair next to him so he’d be between the two women.

  “But — ”

  Reynolds kicked Susan’s feet in front of her body so her head slumped over the back of the chair. She snored. Did that mean she was coming to? Lu sat wondering what was supposed to happen now. The door opened and the man Lu had watched Byron interrogate strolled into the room, his face a stony mask. Reynolds suddenly appeared less confident.