by Ben Follows
Patricia wasn’t able to formulate a response by the time Norman got to the second floor.
Amelia was standing in the doorway to a bedroom that had been turned into an office. Norman walked behind her and immediately jumped back.
“Whoa, where did you get that?” he said.
Amelia smiled and waved the gun in her hand. “This thing? Gary left it lying on his bedside table.”
Norman looked past Amelia and the gun at Gary Thorne, who was sitting at a large desk in the center of the room. The blinds were pulled across the window to prevent anyone from seeing him. He must have been hiding out here for days, unable to go outside or see anyone other than his wife.
Gary was pale and had his hands in the air.
Norman swallowed, gathering his wits.
“Hello?” shouted Patricia from the first floor. “Is everything all right up there?”
“I don’t know,” said Norman, turning to Gary. “Is everything okay?”
Gary swallowed and shouted, “Everything’s okay, dear.
“Excellent,” said Norman. He stepped inside the office and closed the door behind him. Gary pushed back from the desk, rolling his chair back a few feet.
“Let’s not be too hasty,” said Amelia.
Gary glanced at the gun and swallowed. “It’s not loaded.”
Amelia flicked her wrist, opening up the chamber with a marksman’s grace. She counted the bullets and snapped it back shut, then pointed the pistol at Gary’s face.
She grinned. “Safety was off the whole time.”
“What the fuck?” said Gary, his face paler than anything Norman had ever seen.
If he was being honest, Norman felt just as anxious and scared by Amelia’s prowess with firearms.
Amelia looked at Norman’s face and laughed. “Everyone needs a release. Robin’s was shooting. I started going with her after Joel died. It was our bonding experience. The rush you get when you pull the trigger and see the impact on your target—” she paused and looked at Gary “—is exhilarating.”
“Okay, shit,” said Gary, pushing his chair against the wall. “You won’t shoot me, will you?”
“You killed two of the people I loved more than anyone else in the whole world,” said Amelia. “Is that really something you want to take a risk on?”
“Jesus,” muttered Norman. “Where the hell did this come from?”
Amelia glanced at him then took a few steps toward Gary.
“Where is Julia?” she said. “Where is Thomas?”
“I didn’t want any of this,” said Gary. “I swear to God. I just wanted to save my sister. You can understand that, can’t you? Thomas just kept getting worse. He kept giving me money and telling me not to ask where it was coming from. I swear I didn’t know.”
“Because you didn’t want to know,” said Norman. “Just tell us what we want to know and we’ll leave.”
Gary swallowed. “I don’t know where they are. I don’t know who Julia is.”
Amelia lunged at him. “Don’t fucking lie to me, you piece of shit.”
“Whoa,” said Norman. “We need him on our side.”
“I don’t fucking care,” said Amelia. “I will destroy him.”
“Amelia, don’t—”
“You haven’t lost anything yet, Norman,” said Amelia, looking at him. “Come back and talk to me when your life is meaningless.”
“Amelia,” said Norman, looking at her with a new understanding. “Is that what you think? Your life matters a lot.”
Amelia glanced at him, then back at Gary. “Gary,” she said. “Anything you want to say?”
Gary swallowed and put his hands in the air. “They’re at a cottage a few hours north of here. There’s a large property where they’re setting up a new lab. They had been meaning to move the lab up there anyway. It’s way more high-tech and can handle a lot more daily production. The demand for the drug has gone crazy.”
“Damn it,” said Norman. “We need to go! Is Julia there?”
Gary nodded frantically. “She’s there.”
“Okay,” said Norman. “Write down the exact address and give it to us. If there is a single lie or deception in what you write, we will come back and put a bullet between your eyes. Understood?”
“Alright,” said Gary. “Can I move to the desk?”
“Slowly,” said Amelia.
Gary slowly moved to the desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. He wrote down the address and slid it across the desk.
“What does the house look like?” said Norman.
“What?” said Gary.
“What does the house look like?”
“It’s a log cabin on a peninsula. There’s a bay.”
“You have a picture.”
Gary stared at him and nodded.
“Give it to me,” Norman said.
Norman looked back at Amelia. She was still holding the gun and had it aimed at Gary’s head.
“It’s on my phone,” said Gary, his eyes darting to the right. “I’d need to go get it.”
“Give it to me,” said Norman.
“It’s downstairs.”
“Where?”
Gary was looking rapidly back and forth.
“You know what?” he said, as though just remembering something. “I left it at work. I plugged it into my computer there and left it.”
Norman frowned. “When was the last time you were at work, Gary? I would’ve figured the police would be keeping an eye on this place and your office. I’m impressed you’ve managed to hide out here this long.”
“I was at work earlier today,” said Gary, sweating. “I snuck over there. I had to grab some things.”
“What did you need to get?” said Norman. He looked back at Amelia, who was stepping closer to the desk, frowning. “What are you hiding from us?”
Norman grabbed Gary’s shoulder. “Where the hell is Julia?” he shouted into Gary’s face. “Where is she?”
“She’s there, I swear,” said Gary. “I gave you the address.”
“Norman,” said Amelia calmly.
Norman looked back at her.
“Check the drawers on the desk.”
“What?”
“He keeps glancing at the drawers on the right side of the desk.”
Norman looked back at Gary, who had become pale as a ghost.
“Do you mind?” said Norman.
Gary said nothing.
Norman walked around the desk and pulled open the top drawer. The moment he did, his heart dropped. Sitting on top of a stack of papers and folders was an iPhone. He picked it up and the screen turned on, revealing the call that was happening and had been happening since before they had come into the office. The call was to a number not listed in Gary’s contacts.
“What is this?” said Norman, turning to Gary.
“Turn on the volume,” said Gary softly.
Norman unmuted the call.
“Hello, Norman,” said a familiar voice. “Can you hear me?”
Norman turned on speakerphone so Amelia could hear and said, “I can hear you, Thomas.”
“Good,” said Thomas, “because I want you to know you’ve just killed Julia.”
The call went dead.
Chapter 46
Norman lunged at Gary, grabbing and throwing him to the ground. The phone bounced along the ground.
“Give me the gun,” he said, holding out his hand behind him toward Amelia.
Gary cowered. “Norman, what are you doing?”
“Give me the fucking gun!” said Norman.
Amelia hesitantly put it into his outstretched hand. As his fingers twisted around the gun, only the third time in his life that Norman had held a loaded gun, he felt a calm tranquility. He slowly turned toward Gary.
Gary was propped up on one elbow, and his nose was bleeding from where he had hit the ground. He looked pleadingly up at Norman.
Norman took his phone from his pocket and tossed it to Amelia. “Call Vinc
e,” he said. “Give him this address. Tell him to send everyone. Then call Detective Franklin.”
Amelia nodded. “Why not call Detective Franklin first?”
“He’ll be faster if he knows everyone else is already going.”
Amelia nodded, dialed a number, and put the phone to her ear.
“Listen to me,” said Norman, turning back to Gary and shoving the barrel of the gun into his chest. “You will tell me exactly where they are! Are they at that cottage?”
“Not exactly,” said Gary, his breaths becoming ragged. “It’s an island. Take a boat from that location north into the lake.”
“Where?”
“It’s called Root island. It's on Lake Rosseau.”
“Like Ruutu? Did they name it?”
Gary panted heavily as Norman shoved the gun deeper into his chest. “No, Thomas’s father thought it was funny.”
“Got that, Amelia?” said Norman without looking back.
She gave him a thumbs-up then started relaying instructions to the person on the other side of the line, presumably Vince.
“I’m going to save Julia,” said Norman, looking down at Gary. “If anything happens to her, I will be back here, and I will put a fucking bullet in your head. Do you understand?”
Gary nodded sheepishly.
“God, you’re pathetic,” said Norman, letting him go and walking out of the room. He slid the gun into the waistband of his pants and walked down the stairs. Amelia followed behind, still talking on the phone.
Patricia was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking terrified.
“Your husband is responsible for several deaths,” said Norman as he passed her. “Call the police if you want to know the truth. Otherwise, do your husband a favor and do nothing.”
Norman and Amelia walked out to the car and pulled out of the driveway. As Norman accelerated backward into the road, Patricia watched them from the front window.
Amelia, from the passenger seat, ended her call and turned to him. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to get Julia back. Call my Uncle Rob and put it on speakerphone.”
“Are we really doing this?” said Amelia.
“Yes,” said Norman, speeding as he entered the highway and headed north toward cottage country. “Do what I asked.”
The phone rang and Rob answered. “Norman?” he said. “Where the hell have you been? Julia was worried sick.”
“I don’t have time to explain, Uncle Rob,” said Norman as he swerved between cars on the highway. “I need to know if you still own that old boat up in Muskoka on Lake Rosseau. I need to borrow it.”
“Jesus, Norman, you sound worried. What’s going on?”
“Julia’s going to die. Do you still have the boat?”
“Yes,” said Rob. “It’s parked at the marina. You need to sign it out to get the keys.”
“Call ahead and tell them I’m taking it. This is urgent.”
Rob waited for a long moment. “Alright. Let me know what happens.”
“Thanks.”
He ended the call just as another call came in. He hit the answer button on his steering wheel and said, “Hello?”
“Norman,” said Vince, “is that you?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Did you get the things Amelia told you to get?”
“I need to talk to you about that. What the hell are you doing, Norman? I’m in a car with Detective Franklin. He says you two know each other.”
“I know him. Are you coming?”
“That’s the problem,” said Vince. “We can’t.”
Norman couldn’t answer for a moment. Then he said, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Norman,” the voice of Detective Franklin said, “the entire police department has been told to avoid anything relating to the Ruutu family. Jacobi Ruutu is one of the biggest donation contributors to the Toronto Police Department. He called the chief at home during a family dinner and said his family was being harassed. The chief has requested everything relating to the Ruutu case be put on hold until a complete internal investigation can be conducted. We can’t do anything. Jacobi has convinced the chief that this entire case, including Julai's abduction, is a smear campaign. I’m sorry, Norman.”
“This is about Julia’s life,” said Norman. “We need to save her.”
“I’m sorry, Norman,” said Franklin, sounding genuine. “We can’t save everyone.”
Norman swallowed. “Please, Franklin, help me save the woman I love. I know I’ve been difficult, and I know I’ve been a quitter. I know I’ve been terrible, and I know you said I shouldn’t take cases personally. But this is someone I love. Can’t you put that aside for now?”
“I’m sorry, Norman,” said Franklin. “If I do this, I would be throwing away the opportunity to save dozens more people over the rest of my career. Why is Julia’s life worth more than theirs?”
“You cold-blooded fuck,” Norman said, slamming his fist against the wheel. “I’m begging you as a friend.”
“Norman, I’m sorry.”
Norman slammed against the wheel. “Vince, what about you?”
“I’m still a reserve officer,” said Vince. “I can’t do it.”
“Goddamn it!”
“I’m sorry, Norman,” said Vince. “Good luck.”
“Amelia,” said Franklin through the speakerphone. “Are you alright with this?”
“Yes,” she said with complete confidence.
“Good luck,” said Franklin. “Norman, I want you to know I was wrong about you. You’re a great detective, no matter what anyone says.”
The call ended.
“We can do this,” said Amelia, looking out the window. “We have to. For Robin. For Joel. For anyone who has died because of this drug. For Julia.”
Norman sighed. “Thank you for sticking with me. I know you think no one cares about you and that nothing matters, but I care. I would miss you if anything happened to you.”
Amelia smiled. “Thank you. You’re not just here because I threatened to investigate on my own and it would be your fault if I died?”
Norman raised an eyebrow. “You know what? I haven’t thought about that in ages. I want you here. We’re going to get this asshole together.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” said Amelia. She reached into the glove compartment and pulled out another gun.
“Whoa,” said Norman, “where the fuck did that come from? That wasn’t here before.”
“I stashed it,” said Amelia. “you don’t check the glove box that often, do you? It was in there when Detective Franklin pulled us over. I’m shocked you never noticed.”
“Jesus,” muttered Norman. “You’re insane. You put a gun in my car while the cops were coming after us. You could have gotten us both arrested, and then Julia would be dead.”
“No, we would be in prison and Julia would have nothing to do with you. That’s some butterfly effect shit, Norman.”
“Let’s just focus on saving Julia. You got a plan?”
“No,” said Amelia, “do you?”
“Yeah,” said Norman, grinning, “I do. We’re going to bring the fight to them.”
“That’s your plan?” said Amelia, raising an eyebrow.”
“Look,” said Norman. “It’s better than anything you came up with.”
“Oh my God,” said Amelia with a smirk, “this is how I’m going to die.”
Chapter 47
They parked at the marina and met up with a worker Rob had called. He directed them to the slip where the boat was parked. He also handed them a map and indicated the location of Root Island. The large island was located in the middle of the lake and had been owned by Jacobi Ruutu for two decades, although he spent very little time there.
The high-speed motor boat was a few years old. Norman climbed in and started up the engine. The boat had been put into the water just a few days earlier, as the ice began to thaw. Norman had left his winter jacket in the car as the sp
ring sun pounded down. The snow and the ice were finally melting, but they was replaced by foreboding dark clouds gathering in the sky.
He looked up at Amelia, who was standing on the dock and staring at the boat with a mix of fear and apprehension.
“What’s the matter?” said Norman.
“I’m not a fan of the water,” said Amelia.
“I would think that after all you’ve been through, nothing can scare you.”
“This is different. You can’t drown in any of those scenarios.”
“Amelia,” said Norman, climbing out of the boat and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t you want revenge for the killing of Joel and Robin? This is the person who ended their lives. He’s right out there.”
Amelia took a deep breath and clenched her eyes shut. “I need you to guide me onto the boat.”
“Are you serious?” said Norman.
“Norman, don’t fuck with me on this. Just work with me. I got the guns, didn’t I?”
“Yes, and I still have questions about that.”
“The owner of the gun range slipped them to me. That’s the entire story. He was into Robin, and she had zero interest in him. He wanted to help with my vengeance. Now, are you going to help me onto this boat or not?”
Norman shrugged. “Give me your hand.”
He guided Amelia onto the boat with her eyes closed. She sat on one of the back seats, where there would be the least motion.
Norman untied the boat and got into the driver’s seat. He pulled away from the dock. The water was calm, but there was a slight rocking as the boat sped up.
“Are you alright?” said Norman, checking his location and looking back at Amelia. She had turned pale and looked like she might be sick as she clung to the edge of the boat.
“Just drive,” she said. “The faster you drive, the faster we can get off this death trap.”
“Don’t like boats?”
“No, why would anyone like the water?” said Amelia, sounding like she was actually offended. “I’ll stay on dry, stable land, thank you very much.”
“You’ve never been interested in scuba diving or seeing the ocean floor? There’s lots of amazing things down there.”