I repeated the message and Brandon, who had started the car as soon as the phone rang, pulled out and headed south.
“This seems kind of unreal,” he commented.
“I know. You don’t think of anything like this happening in a place like Little River,” I agreed.
“Or to someone you know personally. Gina and Kayla were always together when we were young. I think she spent more time at our place than she did at her own. Man, you never heard two girls giggle as much as they did. Nearly drove me nuts when they were at that giddy stage. I can’t picture Gina ... I don’t know ... not being alive.”
I was silent, thinking about how strange it must be to lose a friend — someone your own age — while you’re still young. I’ve had relatives die, but they were pretty old, so it was expected.
“Okay, he’s turning! He’s turning! Left, go left on Chester Avenue. We’ll turn left one street over and try to stay parallel. Let us know when he leaves Chester.”
“Got it,” I said after carefully repeating the instructions to Brandon.
“He’s probably just running an errand,” Brandon said. “Or stopping by a friend’s house or something.”
“Almost everything is closed,” I pointed out, though I knew there were convenience stores and social spots that were still open for hours.
Brandon didn’t answer. He was concentrating on keeping Lenny’s car within sight without staying too close to him. Once, when Lenny was stopped at a traffic light, Brandon signalled and pulled into a parking place about half a block before the intersection. When the light turned green, he pulled back out onto the street and kept following at a distance.
“Nice manoeuvre,” I said.
Brandon looked a bit embarrassed. Then he laughed and said, “I might as well admit this: every time I watch a show where a driver is tailing someone, I think they should do tricky stuff like that. I was kind of hoping I’d get a chance to do that.”
“Well, it was a good idea,” I said. “If Lenny was watching to see if there was anyone behind him, he’d never suspect someone who pulled over to park.”
“What’s he up to?” Brandon asked a moment later when Lenny made a sudden right turn on Station Street and sped up. It was near the outskirts of town, but there were still a few houses and the speed limit didn’t go up until you were outside the town limits, so there was no reason for the sudden burst of speed.
We let Annie know that Kayla should turn that way while we drove past and then swung through the parking lot of a gas station and doubled back. We passed Station again and turned up the first street past it, heading the way Lenny was going while Annie kept us posted.
“He’s slowing down ... it looks like he’s going to turn in at Wheeler’s farm ... no, he just ... uh oh ... hang on ...”
This was followed by some odd sounds, kind of grunting and scrunching all at once. “Sorry,” Annie said after a moment of this. “I had to get down out of sight because Lenny pulled over and stopped on the side of the road and we had to keep going and drive past him to make it look natural. But if he saw me, he’d know something was going on, which is why I’m crammed here between the seat and the floorboards, and if we get stopped I am definitely getting fined for not having my seatbelt on!”
I laughed nervously, wondering why Lenny had pulled over next to the Wheeler’s farm. Brandon looked at me questioningly, but I didn’t have time to relay anything before Annie continued.
“I think he just wanted to make sure no one was following him,” she said. “Kayla can see his headlights in the rear view mirror and he’s coming this way again. Only now he’s behind us.”
“We’ll switch to Station Street up ahead and pick him up,” Brandon said after I’d quickly brought him up to speed.
I told that to Annie and she kind of grunted. “Okay. We’re speeding up to make it look even less suspicious.” I could tell by the way she was talking that she was climbing back up into her seat.
There was no sign of Lenny when we got to Station Street, but we saw his taillights in the distance after a couple of moments. They bobbed along over a series of bumps and then slowed again and took a sharp turn off the road, disappearing almost immediately.
“It looks like he’s pulled off the road that passes the old foundry,” Brandon said. “That place has been closed up for as long as I can remember.”
I knew the building he was talking about — a tall stone structure in the early stages of decay. Its few small windows had been replaced with boards and the grounds had been taken over by weeds and bushes. This time of year the place looked totally forlorn with nothing but clusters of spindly brown branches and snow all around the forsaken edifice.
We drove by, making note of Lenny’s car, which was parked on the roadside next to the foundry. In the dark, it was impossible to see whether Lenny had gotten out of the car or what he was doing. Seconds later, we rounded a bend and couldn’t even see his car any longer.
I told Annie what we’d seen, not that there was much to tell, and passed on Brandon’s suggestion that we all meet after the bend so that we could decide our next move. Kayla and Annie arrived within moments and, after a hurried discussion, we decided to walk back to the foundry to see what was going on.
“If he puts anything in his car, we call the police and let them take over from here,” Brandon said firmly. “But he might have something else in mind, in which case we need to be close enough to observe what he’s up to.”
Once we rounded the bend and the foundry was in sight we left the roadside and headed through the field, using trees for cover until we were close enough to watch both his car and the entrance to the building. We all figured that if he was going to move a body he’d probably put it in the trunk of his car and take it to an entirely new location.
I wondered how Annie would react if we saw Lenny carrying something large enough to be her mother’s body. She’d sworn she could handle it without freaking, but I had my doubts.
“There’s another entrance around the back of the building,” Brandon whispered as we hunkered down, hoping the darkness and brush were providing enough cover. “I’m going to work my way around there, just in case.”
If you’ve ever been in a position where you had to be really still and quiet, you’ll know how difficult that can be. All of a sudden you’re plagued with the need to cough or sneeze, and chances are good that you’ll develop an itch that will nearly drive you crazy.
I willed away the scratchy feeling in my throat and did my best to ignore the tickle of sweat on my back. It seemed unfair that I was sweating when it was so cold outside, but I suppose the combined fear and excitement had something to do with that.
Time passed — I have no real sense of how much time. It could have been five minutes or half an hour. It seemed long, but I knew that in a situation like this it feels as though time is standing still. Now and then I’d think I saw something moving, but when I focused and looked harder there was never anything there.
And then there were sounds — the first one sharp and loud, sending a shot of adrenaline racing through my veins, jolting my heart into furious action. To my left, I could hear sharp intakes of breath from Kayla and Annie and I knew that I, too, had gasped.
“It’s just a door,” Kayla said in the lowest of whispers. And she was right, but there were other sounds that followed: shuffling, footsteps, and then a voice, low and intense.
“I don’t know who you are or what you take me for, but you’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life, fella.”
“Lenny,” Annie said, her voice so low I could barely hear her a few feet away. “Is he talking to ...”
Kayla’s hand reached out involuntarily and grabbed my sleeve as two men came into view: Brandon in front, Lenny close behind, looking around as they made their way toward Lenny’s car.
“I’m not about to argue with a man who has a gun,” Brandon said. I knew instantly that he wasn’t really speaking to Lenny — he was telling us, warning u
s, that Lenny was armed. He was telling us to stay out of sight.
It didn’t matter. Kayla burst upward, crying out her brother’s name, her voice an agony of terror.
“What the ....” Lenny swung toward Kayla and then, in a flash, back to Brandon. “Don’t get any ideas,” he snarled at Brandon and then added, speaking to Kayla. “And you, get over here where I can see you!”
I was just thinking that if only Lenny didn’t come over, didn’t look to see if anyone else was hiding, Annie and I would be able to call for help as soon as he was out of hearing range.
And then the phone in Annie’s pocket rang.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Annie froze, though one hand had begun to head toward the phone, moving reflexively
Lenny took a few quick strides in our direction, meeting Kayla halfway and spinning her around. “Anyone moves and she’s dead,” he said. I couldn’t see the gun, but by the way his arm was positioned behind her it wasn’t hard to tell where it was.
Then he walked toward us, pushing her along while darting looks at Brandon to make sure he wasn’t trying anything.
The phone was still playing a happy little tune when he reached us, looked down, and snorted. “You!”
“I thought I set the phone to vibrate,” Annie said. “I’m so sorry.”
She’d been looking at Kayla but it was Lenny who responded with, “Give me that thing.”
Obediently, she passed it to him. He took it, waited for it to stop ringing, and then snapped it open and punched the off button. He shook his head and kind of laughed. “This is what I was dealing with — this three ring circus? Man, this is unbelievable.”
“Look, we were just ...,” Brandon began.
“Shut up! I don’t want to hear a word from any of you. I gotta think here.” Even though he wasn’t yelling or anything, there was panic in his voice.
Annie and I were on our feet by then and when Lenny motioned for us to move, we did what we were told. He herded us over to where Brandon was standing and then, after looking at his car and apparently deciding against stuffing us all in there, he ordered us inside the foundry.
It was damp and very dark inside, but Lenny fixed that when he picked up a flashlight he must have brought with him and flicked it on. It was really bright, and we could see that we were in a small room — probably an old employee room or maybe an office.
“Over there — go sit along that wall,” he said gruffly, pulling a package of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and lighting it.
“What are you going to do to us?” Kayla asked. Her chin was up and she wore a defiant expression, even though her voice was trembling.
“Who sent the letter?” he asked, ignoring the question.
“I did.”
“So, the whole thing was a trap. There was no blackmailer?”
I said nothing, but it was pretty obvious he had it figured out.
“I was sure no one saw me,” Lenny said, shaking his head. He seemed to be talking to himself. “I should have known this was a set-up.”
“Is this where my mother’s body is?” Annie’s voice was quiet, but there was a hard edge to it and I could almost feel the anger radiating from her.
Lenny didn’t answer or look at her. “
Is it?”
“Shut up, kid,” he said, but he still didn’t look at her.
“I want to know why you killed my mother,” she said.
“You’ve got no proof that I did anything to your mother,” he yelled. “I don’t even know why we’re all here right now. You set me up to think some crazy is out to get me and you follow me here ...”
“I know what you did,” she said.
“Yeah? So tell me: what did I do?”
“You ... know ...”
Annie could get no further. The sorrow she had been holding in broke, pouring out of her in tears and anguished sobs. Lenny looked uncomfortable, and then angry. He waved his gun at Annie and told her to knock it off, but all she managed was to cry a bit more quietly.
“It’s pretty hard to kill someone and get away with it,” I said, pulling his attention from her. “There are always mistakes. The only reason that no one found them before is because no one was looking.”
Lenny sneered dismissively, but I could tell he was nervous.
“It’s even harder these days — with forensic evidence and all.”
“So?”
“So, what are you going to do next? Kill all of us? That’s four bodies to get rid of. And you’ve got tracks in the snow, two cars to dispose of ... and through it all one hair, one flake of skin, is all it will take to give you away.
“And what about the people we’ve talked to — who know all about this? We disappear, they’ll be lined up at the police station pointing their fingers straight at you,” I continued. His face told me I was getting to him. “Or are you going to try to figure out who they are and kill all of them too? Where does it stop? You can’t get away with it. You can’t.”
Lenny seemed to shrink (though I can’t say that for the gun in his hand). He took a couple of steps backward, his arms falling to his side. He mumbled something but I couldn’t make out the words.
“Where’s my mother?” Annie asked again.
Lenny looked around at the four of us, his eyes pleading. “I swear, it was an accident. I never meant to hurt nobody.”
“The court will take that into consideration,” Brandon said. “And your best chance of getting a fair deal is if you turn yourself in.”
“But now I’ve got this ....” Lenny waved a hand, taking us all in. “That thing with Gina just happened ... but this is bad.”
“Maybe we can all agree that this doesn’t have to go outside the building,” Brandon said. “After all, nothing happened. We came in out of the cold; we talked. That’s it.”
Kayla and I nodded to show Lenny we agreed, but Annie had something to say.
“Hold it! Before I agree to anything, I want to know exactly what happened to my mother.”
Lenny’s head and shoulders slumped forward. He stepped back against the wall and let out a long breath. “That’s fair, I guess,” he said. “Only I never talked about this before, to no one, so give me a minute to collect my thoughts.”
I wondered if he was stalling, trying to come up with a whitewashed version, but less than a minute passed before he began to speak.
“It wasn’t long after your mom put you to bed that night,” he said. “I was flippin’ through the channels, trying to find a game of some kind on TV, when Gina came back downstairs and started in on me for having my boots up on the coffee table. We hadn’t been getting along too good for a while, and it didn’t take long for things to get out of hand.
“I called Gina, uh, a few things that weren’t too nice, and told her to get off my back. That was when she flicked the dishtowel in my face. The corner of it hit me in the eye, and that stung and really made me mad. I got up and she could see that I was pretty steamed up. She told me to leave her alone and ran out of the room, but I went after her, into the kitchen.
“It gets a bit confused after that. She threw some things at me — a plate, a can of peas ... maybe a couple of other things. I just kept going until I got to her, and I grabbed her wrists and shook her. And I slapped her a couple of times, which I ain’t proud of. Then she slammed her foot down on mine and screamed in my face that she hated me and she was leaving. Gina was always saying that — talking about going to the city, taking courses, getting away from a loser like me, anything she could come up with to make me feel small and stupid.”
He paused, averted his eyes, and went on. “I shook her again, kind of hard and then I just ... I guess you’d have to say I flung her across the room. It was harder than I meant to — well, I shouldn’t have done it at all, I know, but I never meant to do it so hard. And she kind of twirled, like a ballerina out of control, and then she went down, crashing into the corner of a cupboard.”
There were tears flowing down
Annie’s face as he went on.
“I heard a sort of crunch and I could see that she’d slammed headfirst into that cupboard and I think I knew, before I even went to her, that it was bad.”
He paused, shook his head like he couldn’t quite believe it. “She was just laying there in a heap, her eyes staring out without seeing anything. She was dead.”
He lifted his head and looked at Annie. “You might wonder about that — but I can tell you for certain, there was nothing that could have been done. I swear, if I hadn’t been one hundred percent sure that she was gone, I’d have called for help.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t. I was scared and I panicked. And I guess you know the rest.”
“Where is my mother’s body?”
“Here, on the grounds. There’s an old well out back, boarded in. I’m real sorry, kid. For everything.”
I hadn’t noticed Brandon moving closer to Lenny, but suddenly he was right beside him, taking the gun from his hand. Lenny made no move to resist.
“So, now what?” Lenny asked. “I’m going to take you to the police station,” Brandon told him, “and make sure you turn yourself in. Kayla, are you okay to take the girls home?”
She nodded and we made our way back to the car. No one said much of anything as we drove along. Mostly, I just held onto Annie’s hand as she wept quietly.
It was late, well past my curfew, and I was totally wiped out from the evening’s events. I knew I had to tell my parents the whole story, but I thought if I could just get into my house without disturbing anyone, that could wait until the next day. For now, all I really wanted was a quick, hot shower, a warm pair of pyjamas, and to crawl into my bed.
But the lights were on in the house when we pulled into my driveway. My folks were up — obviously waiting up. For me.
Looked like I was going to have to face the music right away.
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