The Dark Side of Town

by Sasscer Hill

  “It’s south of you on the east side. Looking at the county property map, it’s about six driveways after the cutoff to Isolation Lane.”

  “Okay,” I said, “I’m going to drive up to Rizelli’s. He’s only—”

  “Don’t do that. It’s a long dead-end road. You’ll be trapped if anyone comes in behind you. Wait for Calixto and Turner.”

  “It’s okay, Brian. Rizelli’s only seen me once. As a blonde in Pizutti’s restaurant. I’ve got my red Kate O’Brien wig and fake glasses. I can act dumb and lost if I run into him.”

  “I don’t like it, Fia.”

  “I bet Lila Davis likes her situation even less!”

  “Don’t get hotheaded like that. You’ll piss off Gunny.”

  As I drew in a long calming breath, the first drops of rain splashed against my windshield. A wet breeze blew into the car, chilling my face. “I’ll be careful, Brian, I promise. Calixto is probably on his way by now.” I didn’t add that I hadn’t heard from him or Turner.

  “Okay.” Brian’s voice sounded resigned. “You’ve got a GPS tracker on that phone, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  “Good. I’ll call you if I learn anything.”

  I should have known Calixto would hand me a burner with tracking ability. He probably knew exactly where I was. The thought comforted me more than I cared to admit. I slid my window up against the cold rain and drove on, looking for Isolation Lane.

  I found it and turned up the rough gravel road, stopping long enough to shrug into my waterproof jacket and pull out my red wig and glasses and put them on. Just in case.

  Filled with potholes, wet leaves, and twigs, the bumpy road wound up steep hills, down through a wet vale where my tires slid in black mud, before rising up a long incline with the light of a clearing visible through the trees ahead. I stopped the car, cut the engine, and opened my window so I could listen. The rain was light, but the temperature had dropped even more. I heard nothing but the patter of drizzle on the leaves and the drip of water coming off the pine needles surrounding my car.

  I called Brian. “Hey,” I said, when he answered on the first ring, “I’m near a clearing on Rizelli’s land. Do you have me on live satellite?”

  “I do. But I only get glimpses when your car is clear of the tree canopy.”

  “What’s ahead?”

  “A cabin, with smoke coming out of the chimney. Is it that cool up there?”

  “It is today. How many cars do you see?”

  “One. Looks like an SUV.”

  I remembered Lou telling me the kidnappers had been in a blue-green SUV. “Can you see its color?”

  “It’s satellite imagery, Fia, not magic.”

  “Yeah, okay. Anything else?”

  “Not unless you want to count utility lines. What are you going to do?”

  “Drive up and act lost. Brian, can you look at the county map again, and give me the owner’s name on a nearby cottage? I’ll say I’m looking for them.”

  A moment later he said, “If you hadn’t turned off on Isolation, you would have come to Martin Scheinman’s place. Try that on for size, but for God’s sake be careful!”

  “I will, Brian.” I disconnected, cranked up the engine, and drove toward the clearing.

  21

  When I cleared the trees, the first thing I saw was a blue-green SUV. My anxiety level kept rising as I parked next to it, smoothed my red wig, and climbed out of the Mini. I hurried through the rain, across a rough yard of wet leaves, gnarled roots, and pinecones.

  I climbed a few steps up to a wood deck, sheltered beneath a roof, before a cabin built from rough-hewn pine logs. A worktable with a chain saw stood near the door. Inside, an interior door slammed, then the sound of someone unlocking the front door. It opened, and a hard-faced man stared at me. He was probably midthirties with thin lips and cold eyes.

  “You lost or something, lady?”

  “You know, I think I am,” I said, ducking my head and giving him a sheepish smile. “I’m looking for Martin Scheinman’s place, and I must have made a wrong turn. Your road, it just goes on forever, you know? I was worried I’d made a mistake, but the road was so narrow, I was afraid to try and turn around, you know?”

  His stare was stony, but he nodded. “You turned too soon. Scheinman’s is the next drive over back on Desolation.” He started to close the door.

  “Listen,” I said quickly, “I hate to bother you, but I could really use a bathroom?” As I spoke, I looked over his shoulder into the interior of the cabin. Behind a couch and a low bookcase, I could see a closed door with a key in the lock. Was Lila behind it?

  “Sorry, lady, you’re not using my cabin. Use a tree on your way out.” He shut the door in my face, and I heard the sound of a key turning and then a bolt slid home.

  Jerk. Was he the Pizutti nephew, Leonardo? Or some goon attached to Rizelli? I marched back to my car, circled it around the clearing, and headed down the drive. I followed the road, looking for a place to turn off. About halfway to the muddy spot, I spotted a narrow trail that could have been an old logging road. It looked almost made to order, as a short way in, it curved and disappeared around a thick stand of hemlocks. But would the Mini fit on the narrow path? I eased my car past the opening, then started backing in slowly. No way I’d be able to turn around once I was on the narrow trail.

  The rain suddenly hardened, pelting angrily on the roof of the Mini, and I was grateful for my waterproof jacket. As I reversed along the path, the lacy needles of the trees scraped against the car. Then the rear windshield hit the solid wood of a long branch. I grabbed my Buck knife, got out, but discovered I could break the pine branch faster than I could cut through it. The rain pelted like ice on my head as I broke off a few more obstructive branches.

  As soon as I climbed in the car, I turned the heat up full blast before backing far enough around the conifers that the Mini was hidden from anyone traveling on Isolation Lane. I hated having to shut down the engine and heat to avoid discovery, but by now the exhaust was pluming bright white in the cold air. I pulled out my power bar and scarfed it down with sips of water before calling Brian and telling him I thought I’d met Rico’s nephew and that Lila was locked in the cabin.

  “I don’t like this, Fia. You’ve completely disappeared off my satellite picture.”

  He sounded frustrated, but I thought it wasn’t directed at me so much as his inability to do anything but sit in a chair and stare at a screen. It would drive me nuts.

  “Where the hell are you, anyway?” he asked. “You were heading out of there and then you disappeared.”

  “I hid the car behind some evergreens.”

  “That’s crazy. Get off Isolation Lane and wait for backup!”

  I could picture his thin face, anxious and worried, staring at his computer screen through the thick lenses of his glasses.

  “Brian, I didn’t know you cared.”

  “Don’t be flip. You’re on your own up there. Calixto and Turner haven’t been able to leave because there was a bomb scare at the track.”

  “What?”

  “Someone left a suitcase outside one of the simulcast parlors. They had to call in a bomb squad. See? This is why we don’t go off on our own until we know we got backup.”

  Outside my car, a wind had risen, causing a branch to slap against the Mini’s roof. As sheets of rain sluiced down my windshield, a sense of alarm filled me. Brian was right. I should leave while I still could. Yet I could almost feel Lila’s fear and Stevie’s despair.

  “Fia,” Brian said, “please tell me you’re leaving.”

  “I will. But I’ve got to go back to the cabin—through the woods on foot, so that guy can’t spot me. If I can see Lila through a window, we can call in the county police or the FBI, right?”

  “Damn it. Don’t do that.”

  I grabbed the discarded power bar wrapper, held it to the phone, and crinkled the foil against the mouthpiece. “I’m having trouble hearing you. I’l
l try again after I look inside the cabin.”

  I ended the call, removed my jacket, and buckled on my holster. After sliding in the Walther, I stuffed extra bullet clips in a vest pocket. Opening the zipper behind the jacket’s collar, I pulled out the attached hood. After removing my wig, I shrugged into the jacket, slid the hood over my head, and pulled the drawstrings tight. I opened the car door, took a deep breath and stepped into the deluge.

  I worked my away across the forest floor, circling past a deadfall and pushing away the branches that tried to slap my face and block my path. Some of the hardwood saplings grew so close together, I had to turn sideways to pass through them. It was rough going, but I was afraid if I walked on the road, the wind and rain would be too loud to hear the whine of an engine or the crunch of tires on gravel. I’d be a sitting duck.

  By the time I glimpsed the cabin through the branches ahead, my lower legs were soaked, and I was surprised to see only fifteen minutes had passed since I’d left the car. My forced march had left me sweating inside my long jacket, while my wet legs and knees burned with cold.

  Glancing through the forest into the distance, I shivered. A perfect place to commit murder and bury the body. Shake it off, Fia. I eased up behind the trunk of a large birch. Only a few saplings and scrawny pines stood between me and the clearing where the SUV was still parked.

  Motionless, I listened for any sound besides the gusts of wind and rain. Nothing. Ahead, a dim glow from a lamp escaped through one of the front windows.

  I receded into the woods a few feet, before circling around the edge of the clearing to reach the back of the cabin. I could see another dull glow leaking through one of the rear windows. This window was barred. I considered the short glimpse I’d had of the interior. This had to be the room behind the locked door.

  I paused a few beats, gathering my courage, hoping my dark jacket and black jeans wouldn’t stand out in the fading light. I crept across the yard, hurrying to reach the wall next to the window. Eyes and ears straining, I pressed against the pine logs and listened. Nothing. Hugging the wall, I stepped closer to the window until I could peek inside.

  Lila sat on the bottom half of a bunk bed, her knees drawn up, her arms circled tightly around her shins. The sight of her wrenched my heart, and before I could sink out of sight, she saw me.

  Her eyes grew large, she sprang from the bed, and rushed toward the window. Quickly, I shook my head, before putting a finger to my lips, and mouthing the words, “I’ll be back.”

  Disappointment that her rescue wasn’t imminent caused her to sag slightly, but she nodded that she understood. Staying close to the wall, I moved away from the window. Using the overhang of the roof above as shelter, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Brian.

  “Lila locked in cabin. Leaving now.” I knew he’d relay everything to Calixto and Turner. I hoped Calixto was on his way. I would call him as soon as I got to my car.

  I made a beeline for the woods, entering the undergrowth a short distance from where I’d exited. Hurrying around a log that had fallen next to a clump of thick brush, I stopped abruptly. A baby moose lay at my feet. It must have been sleeping and I’d all but stepped on it. The calf raised its head in alarm and bleated.

  Didn’t think I could shush a moose, so I stood perfectly still as it clambered to its feet and dashed into the trees ahead. I had no time to think as a large hairy form with pinned back ears charged straight at me. Mama moose.

  I tried to jump to the side, but she was too nimble. She changed course, knocked me down, and ran over me. Her big cloven hooves hurt like hell as they trampled me, the pain in one shin immense. I’d automatically covered my head with my arms, but a glancing blow struck me on one ear.

  Scrambling to my knees, I looked up in time to see her reverse course and charge me again. I couldn’t help it. I shrieked. This time I waited until the last possible second and half threw myself, half rolled out of her path. She missed me, but the sound of human footsteps running toward me were as frightening as the thump of her hooves. The cow snorted in fear and dashed into the woods.

  Dazed, I glanced up. The man from the cabin loomed overhead, the ugly snouts of six bullets pointing at me from the cylinder of the revolver grasped in his hand.

  22

  “Get up,” he said.

  “I can’t. I—I think my leg is broken.”

  “Bullshit. I saw you jump away from that cow. Didn’t look broken to me. Now get up, or I’ll fire one in your leg and you can see how that feels.”

  I was dizzy from the head strike and my leg hurt like hell, but he was right. It wasn’t broken. I rolled onto my hands and knees and stood up.

  “That’s better. Now walk to the deck.” He kept his gun trained on me as I stumbled up the wooden steps and stopped under the roof’s overhang.

  “Don’t move,” he said, as he edged around me to the worktable and lifted the lid on a metal box. Reaching inside, he pulled out a plastic cable tie, the type that serve in place of handcuffs when the police need to restrain criminals.

  “Turn around. Put your hands behind your back.”

  I did. As he leaned in behind me, I kicked back and ran one boot down his shin as hard as I could, then finished by trying to stomp on his foot. But he was too quick for me, jerking away from the worst of it.

  “Bitch!” he yelled, smacking my already bleeding ear with his revolver. I went down on my knees, gasping and fighting waves of dizziness. He drew the plastic tight around my wrists. “Don’t move.”

  I could hear him pull something from his jacket and fear made me look up, which I instantly regretted as my head felt ready to crack open. His hand held a phone, not some further instrument of torture. His fingers tapped in a number, the call connected, and he spoke.

  “Yeah, Al. It’s me. I just caught some woman up here snooping around.”

  I’d bet my life he was talking to Alberto Rizelli. The old mobster evidently had a hearing problem, because I could hear him yell at my captor.

  “What?”

  “I said, I just caught some bitch snooping around up here. What you want me to do with her?”

  “What do you think, Tony? Get rid of her! I ain’t gonna be implicated in a kidnapping.”

  “Right,” Tony said.

  “And, Tony,” Rizelli yelled, “not my place! Take her down to the lake.”

  “No problem.”

  Tony slid the phone back in his pocket. “Get up. I’m taking you for a little swim.”

  I had to stop him. Slowly, I staggered to my feet, then kicked as hard as I could at his family jewels. But in my dazed state, I was too slow. He’d seen it coming, and my solid strike turned into a glancing blow as he stepped out of the way.

  “You fucker!” He clubbed my head again. Blackness closed in. For a fading moment, I heard the sound of rain and the wind. Then nothing.

  * * *

  When I came to, I was still lying on the deck’s rough wood. I could still hear the rain. Hard to know how much time had passed, but it was getting dark. Trying to move, I discovered a second cable tie bound my ankles. Gingerly, I turned my head and looked around. My gun and cell phone lay on the wooden table. I didn’t care about the gun as much as I cared about the tracking device in the phone. How would Brian or Calixto know where this lunatic took me?

  Nearby, a car engine whined. Tony was backing his SUV to the steps. He opened the rear hatch, jogged up the steps to the deck, and slid my gun and cell phone into his raincoat.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he said when he saw me staring, “you can keep these with you at the bottom of the lake.”

  His sick grin turned into a short laugh. Then he pulled duct tape off a roll and sealed my mouth shut, before dragging me down the steps like a bag of unwanted trash. He hoisted me inside the SUV and slammed the hatch closed. A moment later, I heard the driver’s door open and felt the SUV sway slightly as he climbed in.

  We bumped down the road, my head screaming with every jolt. I could feel t
he tires skidding beneath us when the SUV hit the low muddy spot, hear the engine whine as it climbed the hills on the way to the main road. I felt the car slow almost to a stop before making the left turn off Isolation Lane and onto Lake Desolation Road. The crunching sound of gravel beneath the SUV’s tires faded behind us as we picked up speed on the paved road. Outside the hatch glass, it was dark.

  I was shaking with fear, and desperately began coaching myself. You’ll find a way to stop this, Fia. Someone will see you. Calixto will come.

  The SUV rolled to a stop. The hatch opened. Tony pulled me out, and dropped me on the ground, before grasping the cable tie around my ankles. He dragged me across a stretch of wet ground, while sticks and pebbles struck my head and shoulder blades. Everything hurt. The rain still hammered against the earth, and it was dark, and so cold. Who would see us on a night like this?

  We reached the edge of the lake. Tony grabbed a canoe lying on the ground, flipped it upright, and pulled it to the water’s edge. He slid it partway into the lake before grabbing my ankle tie. I twisted, and wiggled like a bug in a spiderweb, until he smacked my face and heaved me into the canoe. For a moment, I thought I heard the whine of a car engine, and I raised up frantically. But there were no headlights. There was nothing.

  He left me in the canoe and disappeared into the night. When he returned, his hands held a large cinder block. Seeing it, my teeth started chattering, but not with cold. He ran a chain through the hole in the block, then around my ankle ties, fastening it all together with another cable tie. He slid the canoe all the way into the water, not seeming to care that his shoes and pants became soaking wet. His thin lips formed the same sickly grin.

  “Thing is, bitch, I like killing people. Oh, man, look at you shake. This is too much fun.”

  I tried to scream, but the tape covering my mouth turned the effort into a useless moan. Tony heaved himself into the canoe and picked up a paddle. He dipped it into the water. Lying on my back, I stared up, knowing we’d left the shore behind when the dim skyline of trees receded, then vanished.