Hour Game skamm-2

by David Baldacci

  “Was Savannah Bobby and Remmy’s child?”

  “Oh, yeah. I think Dad believed Mom was really going to divorce him this time. So she suddenly ended up very pregnant. Whether the sex was consensual or not, you’d have to ask her.”

  “Why the hell didn’t they just divorce?”

  “Bobby Battle’s wife leaving him? No way that control freak would ever let that happen. That would’ve been a sign of failure. The great Bobby Battle never failed. Never!”

  “Remmy could have divorced him if she’d wanted to.”

  “I guess she didn’t want to.”

  King debated whether to ask the next question, deciding this might be the only chance he got. He was also thinking that the longer he kept Eddie talking, the longer he and Sylvia would stay alive. And who knew, he might just be able to persuade him to let them both live. “Why didn’t you kill the boy, Eddie? Tommy Robinson?”

  “Figured he’d set up his old man, make my life easier.”

  “Come on, you couldn’t be sure of that.”

  “So there was no reason to kill him. So what? You think that makes me a Boy Scout because I managed not to kill one stinking kid? You saw what I did to Sally. What the hell did she ever do to me, huh? I smashed her face down to the bone.” He looked down and eased back on the throttle.

  The storm was growing fiercer by the minute, and even the FasTech was having difficulty cutting through the now massive wakes. Formula built some of the best boats in the world, and King prayed the fiberglass of this boat could withstand the beating it was taking. Yet they were only one lightning strike from being incinerated when the fuel tank ignited.

  “And Junior?”

  “That one I felt really shitty about. That stupid Sally. Why didn’t she come forward? Hell, I liked Junior.”

  “He wouldn’t let her tell the truth. He didn’t want to hurt his wife.”

  “See, there you go. Always better to tell the truth. They’d both be alive if they’d just done that.” Eddie sucked the last drop of beer out of the can and tossed it overboard. He rocked his head back and forth, loosening the thick muscles in his neck. “You’ve killed people before, Sean.”

  “Only when they were trying to kill me.”

  “I know that, I wasn’t lumping us together. What did it feel like, right before you saw them die and you knew you’d done it?”

  King at first thought Eddie was making light of this, but when he caught the man’s gaze locked on the darkness ahead of them, he understand exactly what Eddie was really asking.

  “It felt like a piece of me died with them.”

  “I guess that’s where you and I are different.”

  “You mean you enjoyed it?”

  “No, I mean I was already dead when I started killing.” He flexed his arms and shook his head clear. “I wasn’t always this way. I never hurt anyone or anything. I wasn’t one of those people who started out torturing animals and worked my way up to humans. The kind of crap Chip Bailey went on and on about.”

  “I never thought you were a run-of-the-mill serial killer.”

  “Is that right?” Eddie smiled. “I wanted to play in the NFL. I was good enough, a damn good college player. Could’ve made it in the pros. Well, maybe I could, maybe I couldn’t. Strong as an ox, good wheels, and I hated to lose—man, I hated that. But it didn’t happen, just wasn’t in the cards. You know, you’re right. I was born too late. The 1800s would’ve suited me a lot better. I’m freaking lost in this century.”

  “When did you find out the truth about your brother?”

  Eddie eased his gaze over to King and then checked the rear, where Sylvia had once more perched on the edge of the stern seat. Looking back at King, he said slowly, “Why are you asking that?”

  “I think that’s where all this started, that’s why.”

  “Oh, what, my big excuse?”

  “Most men in your position would be begging for justification, a legal defense, something to explain it.”

  “I guess I’m not most men, then.”

  “Syphilis. When did you know that’s what it was?”

  Eddie pulled back on the throttle some more, and the FasTech slowed to thirty knots. Still fast, but at least the boat’s props weren’t coming out of the water every furlong.

  “When I was nineteen,” Eddie said slowly, still looking out over the bow into the distance as though he were attempting a dead-reckoning calculation. “They didn’t know I found out. They were just feeding me lies about why my brother was dead. But I learned the truth—oh, yeah, I did. They weren’t going to slip that shit by me. No way.”

  “So shortly before the kidnapping scheme.”

  Eddie smiled. “I can’t believe I was able to keep that secret all these years. I guess Chip was really surprised.”

  “To put it mildly.” King glanced at Sylvia, but she was simply looking out over the dark waters, flinching at every burst of lightning and clap of thunder. King could feel his dinner coming back up on him, the seas were so rough. He fought through this urge to retch and said, “Did you ever confront your father about it?”

  “What was to confront? He was the indomitable Bobby Battle. Bastard could do no wrong. He never admitted what he did to his own son. He rubbed his crotch against every hooker around, brought the shit home, killed Bobby and didn’t even give a crap. That sure as hell didn’t surprise me. He didn’t give a shit that he’d murdered his own flesh and blood. Damn brain dissolving, eyes falling out, teeth rotting. His last years he was in agony all the time, I mean all the time. It was like someone had taken this beautiful painting and wiped turpentine all over it. I knew Bobby was still in there, but I couldn’t see him anymore.” Eddie blinked rapidly. “Every day, man, I just watched him waste away. When he started getting really ill, I said, take him to the doctor. Damn it, help Bobby, help him. Please! And they never would. I was just a kid, they said. I didn’t understand, they said. I understood, man. I sure as hell did, just too late for Bobby.”

  “I’ve heard your brother was a really wonderful person, even with all the pain and hardship he suffered.”

  Eddie’s features brightened. “You should’ve seen him, Sean. The sweetest guy. He was everything I wasn’t. Before his brain started going, he was smart, man, I mean really smart. He taught me shit, helped me, took care of me. He was my big brother. There wasn’t anything we wouldn’t do for each other. The times we had together.” King watched as salty tears started to slide down Eddie’s cheeks to mix with the rain. “And then he just started getting sicker and sicker. Mom finally took him to a specialist; she never told me what the person said, but Bobby just kept getting worse. He died four days after our eighteenth birthday. Dad was gone on some business thing. Mom wouldn’t come in the room. I held my brother, held him until he passed, and then I just kept right on holding him till they made me let go.” He paused and added, “Bobby was the only real friend I ever had. He’s the only person I know who ever really loved me.”

  “You said your father’s reaction didn’t surprise you. Did something else?” King asked curiously.

  “You really want to know what surprised me? You really want to know?”

  To King, Battle seemed like a little boy desperately eager to share a long-held secret.

  “Yes, I really do.”

  “That my mother, my steel-backboned dear mama, didn’t raise one finger to save her own son. Her own damn son. Now, explain that one to me, will you?”

  “I can’t, Eddie. I don’t know why.”

  Eddie took a deep, replenishing breath. “Join the club.” He throttled back even more. “Okay, we’re here.” As the boat slowed, King looked around to see if he could tell where they were. It was very dark and his bearings were off-kilter, but something looked very familiar about their location.

  Eddie pulled a knife out of his watertight pouch and pointed it at King, who flinched back in panic.

  “Eddie, you don’t want to do this. We can get you help.”

  “I’
m beyond help, Sean, but thanks for the offer.”

  Sylvia cried out from the back. “Please, Eddie, don’t do it.”

  Eddie stared at her, suddenly grinned and motioned her toward him. When she didn’t budge, he pulled his gun. “Next one goes right into your brain, Doc. Get your ass up here.”

  She hobbled forward trembling with fear. He sliced through the fishing line binding her and pushed her down the stairs and into the forward cabin and shut the door behind her. He then slipped the knife blade under the line binding King’s feet and cut through it cleanly.

  “Move to the back of the boat, Sean.” He shoved his pistol into the man’s back for emphasis.

  “What are you doing, Eddie?”

  “Just coming full circle, man, full circle. Now step up on the gunwale and turn around.”

  “Are you going to shoot me here or while I’m in the water?”

  In answer Eddie took his knife and sliced cleanly through the bindings around King’s wrists, freeing him. King looked at him warily.

  “I’m not getting this, Eddie.”

  “No, you’re not getting it, at least from me.” With a sudden thrust Eddie hit King hard in the chest with one of his massive forearms. King shot backward out over the water and went under headfirst.

  Eddie raced back to the cockpit, slammed the throttle forward, and the FasTech shot off before King even had a chance to break the surface.

  When he did come up, he saw the FasTech circle around and head back toward him.

  King turned and started swimming away. Why hadn’t the bastard shot him and left it at that? Why run him over with the boat? As the FasTech bore down on him, King could almost feel the massive props eating into his flesh, turning the lake water red with his blood.

  At the last instant the boat veered away and passed him. Eddie called out, “Thanks for asking about my brother, Sean. It just saved your life. Have a good one.”

  The boat roared away, quickly turning into a speck before completely disappearing into the darkness.

  King screamed, “Sylvia! Sylvia!” but it was useless. He turned, looked around, and it finally struck him why his surroundings looked so familiar. The dock he was now staring at was his dock. They were in his cove! And there sat his jet boat in its slip.

  And yet the FasTech was already out of sight. How could he possibly find them in time?

  And then it hit him, what Eddie had said. Full circle. He’s coming full circle.

  King swam toward the dock with all his might.

  Chapter 97

  Michelle was flying through the darkness on the Sea Ray heading toward Sylvia’s home when Williams came up beside her.

  “The connection was lost on your phone,” he said glumly.

  “It’s probably the storm.”

  “Yeah, probably,” he said.

  She looked to the sky. “I don’t see a chopper.”

  “Damn, Michelle, in this weather? What’d you expect? You can’t risk a bunch of people’s lives like that.”

  “Why the hell not? I spent nine years of my life doing that at the Secret Service!”

  “Come on, we’re doing all we can—”

  “What’s that?” she said suddenly.

  “What’s what?”

  “It’s the phone!” she screamed. “My phone, where is it?”

  “Back on the seat.”

  “Take the wheel.”

  She snatched up the phone and hit the answer button. Her heart leaped when she heard his voice.

  “Michelle, could you hear anything on the phone?”

  “Yes, Todd and I are in a boat heading to Sylvia’s right now. We called out everybody.”

  “Listen, Eddie’s still got Sylvia. He’s headed to the cove below where the first body was found. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m heading there in my boat right now.”

  Michelle raced to the cockpit with the phone pressed to her ear, grabbed the wheel and plowed the Sea Ray into a thunderous turn, pitching its deck almost perpendicular with the water. Williams fell down again.

  “I’m on my way. Ten minutes. We’ll send everybody there. Oh, and Sean?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for being alive.”

  Eddie aimed the bow right at the ring of red clay that stuck out from the cove he was in, cut power and ran the FasTech right up onto it. He started to open the door to the cabin.

  “Okay, Doc, let’s go.”

  The stream of fire extinguisher fluid hit him flush in the face. He staggered back and was hit on the head with the canister. Blinded, he grabbed at his face and dropped to his knees. But he sensed Sylvia racing past him, and reached out and tripped her with one of his big arms.

  “Get away from me, you bastard, get away from me,” she screamed.

  Eddie wiped his face off with his hand, his eyes stinging like crazy. He grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt, lifted her completely up in the air and threw her onto the hard clay shore, where she landed with a thud and lay still.

  He opened a storage bin and lifted out the short-handled ax, jumped off the bow, and his feet hit dirt. He waded out into the water and dipped his head below the surface to clean off the crap she had shot him with. He stood, gazed out at the lake and the lightning crackling in the distance, took a deep breath, turned and walked over to her.

  “Get up.”

  Sylvia said nothing.

  “I said get up.” He emphasized this point with a foot in her ribs.

  “I think my arm’s broken,” she whimpered.

  “Which one?”

  “My left.”

  He reached down, grabbed her left arm and pulled her up as she shrieked in pain.

  “Damn it, you’re killing me, you bastard!”

  “That’s right. I am.” He dragged her along into the woods.

  King’s boat flew through the water. He glanced behind him and saw the wink of lights about five hundred yards behind. He clicked on his phone, which had somehow survived its dunking in the water.

  “Is that you behind me?” he asked.

  Michelle answered, “And coming up fast.”

  King slowed the boat as he maneuvered into the narrow inlet. As soon as he saw the beached FasTech, he cut his running lights.

  “Okay,” he said into the phone, “looks like they’re out of the boat.”

  Michelle’s cruiser appeared at the mouth of the inlet. She powered down, cut her lights and coasted into shallow water next to the jet boat.

  “Are you armed?” she called across.

  He held up his pistol. “I stopped at my houseboat before I headed back out.”

  Michelle and Todd grabbed flashlights out of the Sea Ray’s cabin, and the three climbed off their boats and waded to shore, their pistols aimed at the FasTech just in case Eddie was lying in wait.

  Covering each other, they quickly made a search of the boat and found nothing except a used fire extinguisher.

  They headed to shore and then into the woods.

  “We’ll spread out,” said King, “but keep visual contact. No lights yet. He could pick us off easy that way.”

  A bolt of lightning hit on the hill opposite them with such force that the ground seemed to shake.

  “If the damn lightning doesn’t get us first,” muttered Williams.

  They threaded their way up to the crest of the hill and peered over.

  “Two hundred yards and to the right is where the first body was found, if I’m not mistaken,” whispered King.

  “About that,” said Michelle.

  “We’ll take it slow and easy,” said Williams. “This guy’s nuts but cagey as hell. I’m not looking to end up like Chip—”

  Sylvia’s scream hit them all right in the gut.

  King tore down the hill, Michelle right on his heels, with Williams rumbling along in the rear.

  Chapter 98

  “Please, god, don’t do it.” Sylvia was on her knees, head flush against the top of a r
otted stump, with Eddie’s knee in the middle of her back holding her in this position.

  “Please,” she continued to wail. “Please.”

  “Shut up!”

  “Why are you doing this? Why?”

  He stuffed his pistol in the gear belt he’d put on in the boat and pulled out a black hood from the inside of his wet suit. He donned the hood, adjusting the eye holes so he could see. It wasn’t the circle-with-crosshairs one the police had confiscated, but it would do just fine for this impromptu execution.

  He swung up the ax in one strong hand.

  “Any last words?”

  Sylvia was nearly unconscious with pain and fear. She started to mutter something.

  Eddie laughed. “Are you praying? Shit! Fine, you had your chance.”

  He raised the ax over his head. Yet before he could bring it down on her neck, the handle of the ax exploded.

  “Helluva shot, Maxwell,” muttered Williams as they hurtled forward.

  If they thought Eddie was simply going to surrender, they quickly saw that wasn’t the case.

  He jumped sideways, far enough to reach a steep incline, and he rolled and slid down to the bottom. He was up in an instant and sprinted off.

  King ran up to Sylvia and cradled her.

  “It’s okay, Sylvia,” gently whispered King. “You’re okay.”

  There was a flash of motion.

  “Michelle!” screamed out King. “Don’t!”

  She cleared the crest, rolled down and hit the bottom. Up just as fast as Eddie, she sprinted after him.

  “Damn it,” screamed King. He handed Sylvia over to Williams and raced after his partner.

  As King ran along, he could only tell where he was heading when the pitch-blackness was lit by lightning. Or when he heard the crash of footsteps up ahead.

  “Why the hell are you doing this?” he called out to Michelle even though he knew she couldn’t hear him.

  After spending the last hour with Eddie Battle he had no desire to ever go near the man again unless he was behind bars with twelve guards surrounding him. And maybe even then he’d take a pass.