“Come along, sweetheart,” Jake said.
For the first time since my arrival, I almost balked. Hearing Morgan’s endearment coming from this man made me nauseous. My face must have registered my revulsion—if Jake’s reaction was anything to go by.
“Don’t,” he said. “I’m a lot nicer when I’m in a good mood.”
We crossed the first trash-filled chamber only to enter an equally wretched space. And there on the filthy floor sat Joshua, with his hands and feet tied and his back pressed against the wall. The look of relief on his face when he saw me made me forget about my own discomfort and become completely absorbed by his. I rushed to his side and dropped to my knees.
“My sweet, precious darling, what have they done to you?”
“Lucky kid,” Jake said.
Tommy Boy sneered. “Not so lucky.”
I started to untie Joshua’s hands, until a sharp pressure on my shoulder brought me to a halt. “No,” Jake said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tommy Boy hand Jake a rope. I jerked around and directed a gaze of pure hatred their way. If I’d been the super-hero Joshua had mistaken me for, the beam of energy emitting from my eyes would have neutralized the enemy. As it was, it only seemed to egg them on.
“Why’d you tie him up?” I asked, my only defense, apparently, words. “He’s only a kid. What has he ever done to you?”
“Nothing yet,” Jake said, reaching for my hands.
I slapped at his grimy paws. “What are you? Crazy?”
When Tommy Boy attempted to grab me from behind, I jammed my elbow into his midsection, twisted around, and slapped his face.
“Bitch,” he screamed, covering his cheek with both hands.
“Coward,” I said.
For the first time I understood the urge to hurt someone, I mean, really hurt someone. If I’d been holding a gun, I think I would have pulled the trigger. “What kind of monster are you, picking on a woman and a child?”
“Are you sure she ain’t Vonnie?” Tommy Boy squealed.
“Fights like her,” Jake said as he pulled back my hands from behind.
I started to struggle, but he jerked my arms up, sending a jolt of pain to my shoulders that temporarily disabled me.
“Why?” I asked, the one word covering so many questions. Why did Jake deal in drugs? Why did Veronica associate with him? And most of all, why had they kidnapped Joshua?
Instead of giving me an answer, Jake dealt me a swift shove. I landed on my knees next to Joshua, and when I looked into his eyes, I almost cried. Instead of seeing fear, as I’d expected, I saw an expression of hatred. Directed at Jake. The child had already been introduced to this dark and destructive emotion.
I didn’t hear Jake and Tommy Boy leave the room.
Chapter Thirty-seven
TOMMY BOY HAD BEEN RIGHT about one thing. I did get used to the smell. Would I also get used to the fear? Occasional stirrings in the adjacent room confirmed that Jake and his sidekick were still hanging around but gave no clue as to what they were doing. Whatever; I was grateful that, for now at least, it didn’t include Joshua or me. I was also grateful that the child was sleeping, releasing him, if only briefly, from this frightening ordeal.
About to drift into that welcome state of ignorance myself, I was startled back to awareness by a woman’s angry voice. “What the hell have you done?”
“Hey, Vonnie. Where’ve ya been?” Tommy Boy said.
“What are you two smoking?” she demanded.
“What’s up babe,” Jake said, his voice sluggish.
“Where is she?”
“In the back with the kid,” Jake said.
“Are you nuts?”
“Caught her snooping around,” Tommy Boy said.
“So, why didn’t you just send her on her way?”
“Cause she caught on to us,” Jake said.
“She was looking for Joshua, for Christ’s sake.”
“Too late now,” Tommy Boy said brightly. “What’re we gonna’ to do with ’em?”
“You know, Tommy, if you weren’t either drunk or high most of the time, maybe you’d use your brain once in a while. But what’s your excuse, Jake? I thought you at least had some smarts.”
“Back off, Vonnie.” Jake was yelling now. “Since when do you get spooked about anything?”
“Since right about now,” she said. “God, it stinks in here.”
“Lighten up,” Tommy Boy said. “You used to be fun.”
“Quit whining,” she snapped.
“You’ve got a real problem,” Jake said.
“I’ve got a problem?” Her voice was pitched high, not Veronica-like at all, causing chills to trail through me like a tribe of marauding army ants. “You kidnap the kid. You kidnap my sister. You’ve got a shack full of pot. And I’ve got a problem?”
For several moments, all was quiet. Then Tommy Boy said, “We had no choice.”
“You always have a choice,” Veronica said softly.
“When Pete asked if I wanted to earn some extra cash,” Jake said, “he didn’t say anything about guiding a kid. Of all the rotten luck. Then the twerp recognized me. I just needed a little more time.”
“To get rid of the grass?” Veronica asked.
“We’ve got to keep the kid out of sight for a couple of days,” Jake said, “so he doesn’t spill the beans.”
“Yeah,” Tommy Boy said. “Till we sell the goods and split.”
“Without telling me, right?” Veronica’s voice sounded amazingly calm. Bet she was mad as hell.
“You’ve been acting weird ever since your sister showed up,” Jake said.
“He don’t trust you anymore,” Tommy Boy added.
Jake didn’t correct him.
“So now what?” Veronica asked.
“We didn’t figure on the cops,” Jake said.
“So, what did you figure on? That Morgan, Ben, Marjorie, and the doc were just going to leave the kid behind? Come on. You can’t be that stupid.”
“We’re only talking a day or two,” Jake said.
“So, what’s everybody supposed to do in the meantime? Take a nap?”
“Shut up. I need to think.”
“Think about what? Just let them go!”
“Can’t.”
“Says who?”
“The boss,” Tommy Boy stated.
“You mean someone who scares you more than the law does?”
Jake didn’t answer.
“Now why, I wonder, would your boss want you to keep the kid?”
“For a hostage,” Tommy Boy said.
“Wow, I’m impressed.” Veronica’s voice sounded closer as if she were headed our way. “You’ve really outdone yourself this time.” When she entered the room, I sagged in relief. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted Joshua and me huddled on the filthy floor. “Crazy fools.”
Joshua—awake now due to the yelling match next door—smiled. I didn’t question the child’s faith in Veronica. Light-headed relief replaced any questions I harbored about her presence in this god-forsaken dump.
Veronica untied Joshua and rubbed the circulation back into his hands and legs. “You okay, little guy?” She wiped his face with the tip of her shirt.
Jake entered the room without making a sound. Quite a talent, really. Too bad, he’d picked the wrong side of the law. Some kind of cigarette dangled from his lips, and I was willing to bet it didn’t have a brand name.
Veronica’s full concentration remained on Joshua. “Are you hungry, my friend?”
The poor kid probably hadn’t eaten since Thursday night.
“All we have is booze,” Tommy Boy announced.
He apparently didn’t mean this as a joke, demonstrating that the state of his mental health was worse than I’d originally thought.
Veronica snorted, an apt assessment of the ridiculousness of the situation. “I brought food and water, which I’ll eve
n share with you fools if you can force something nutritious down.”
She untied my hands and feet and helped me stand.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jake asked.
Veronica stared at him with what appeared to be pity. “All you two do is sit around and blow smoke. At least, when you’re not selling the stuff.” She blew out her breath as if she, too, were doing a bit of cannabis puffing. “One of these days . . .”
“One of these days, you’re going to miss me, baby,” Tommy Boy sang. Off key to boot.
“Been drinking, too?” Veronica said.
Jake’s usually languid face turned into a portrait of anger and disgust: his eyes became slits, his lips stretched over clenched teeth. “The breakfast of champions.”
“More like embalming fluid.”
“And your berry juice is better?”
Another snort from Veronica. “Come on, sweetie,” she said, helping Joshua to his feet. “Let’s get some fresh air.”
Once outside, I pulled air into my lungs as though emerging from a forced dip into a toxin-filled slough. So many questions competed in my head for attention. You’d think I’d suddenly developed ADD.
Anyway, Jake had followed us out. “What’s the plan?” he asked.
“We’re surrounded by people searching for the kid, including the cops,” Veronica said. “If they find this place, you’re screwed.”
“I suppose your hotshot friend’s still asking questions about his sister?”
“He knows she disappeared around here, which sort of leads to reasonable curiosity on his part.”
“Has he figured out about the kid?”
Veronica glanced at Joshua and didn’t answer.
“About him being her son?” Jake said, directing his cruel gaze at the child.
My head spun with sick realization, a realization I dared not put into words in front of Joshua.
Tommy Boy, who had joined us outside, now asked, “Does he suspect us?”
“What do you think?” Veronica said.
Tension continued to build, feeding on fear and frustration. I wasn’t the only one scared half out of my wits. Everyone was scared. Except maybe Joshua. He was currently too full of hatred to be scared.
“Sober up and listen,” Veronica said. “I’ve put up with a lot of your screw ups, and I’ve covered up for you because—”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Tommy Boy said, too drugged or plastered to recognize the desperateness of their situation.
Jake slammed his fist into Tommy Boy’s chest. “Shut up, you dumb fuck, this is serious.” His eyes met mine, kicking my heart rate up a notch or two and making me wonder what went on in a mind such as his.
“I should let you crash and burn Tommy,” Veronica said.
“Can you get us out of here?” he asked.
As Jake watched Veronica, I half expected to see a forked tongue flick out of his mouth. For snakes, the tongue serves as an organ of smell, for people an organ of taste, which Jake obviously lacked.
“You might try doing a disappearing act,” she said.
“What about the kid and your sister?” Jake asked.
“Joshua can’t speak. Remember?”
“Oh, yes, he can.” Jake glared at Joshua with the eye of a brawler in an amateur boxing match. “He said the cat’s name. I heard Marjorie tell the doctor about it. And that means he can identify me. We’ve got to do something.”
“Like you did with his parents?” Veronica asked softly, her words confirming the worst of my fears. I looked at Joshua. His eyes glinted with even more hatred, if that were possible.
“Tell me,” I said, unsure if I was talking to Joshua or Jake.
Jake stared past me, his hands opening and closing.
“You might as well fill her in,” Veronica said. “I get the feeling you’re not going to let her go anyway.”
He didn’t blink, didn’t move a muscle.
“It was an accident,” Tommy Boy whimpered.
Jake’s face twitched. “Shut up, you stupid shit.”
“We put them on some stuff to settle them down,” Tommy Boy continued, “but we didn’t kill ’em. The fire killed ’em.”
Joshua moaned, and although it came out no louder than a sigh, it sounded so sorrowful I feared for his sanity. I sank to the ground, drawing the child with me. “My baby. My precious baby.”
Veronica’s face was set in a mask of aloofness. “If you can prove that, you won’t spend the rest of your life in jail.”
“Was Theresa Alameda Morgan’s sister?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” Veronica said. “Around here, Teri was known as Theresa, and when she married Paul, she became Theresa Alameda, though I think Alameda was an assumed name.” Veronica glanced at Joshua, likely trying to gauge how this information was affecting him. “Joshua is Teri’s son, therefore Morgan’s nephew.”
Joshua trembled in my arms.
After the many tragedies that he had already suffered, to discover, out-of-the-blue, that Morgan was his uncle was probably beyond his capacity to absorb. I wondered if Morgan had been clued in on the details by Veronica, and if so, how she had learned of Morgan and Theresa’s relationship.
“If you kill the kid, or my sister, you’ll get the death penalty or life,” Veronica warned.
“If we get caught,” Jake said.
“The authorities are all over the place!” she said.
“What about you?” Tommy Boy asked. “Are you going to jail?”
Veronica glanced my way, didn’t meet my eyes. “I’m sure they’ll reserve a special place for me.”
“Are you going to turn us in?” Jake asked. Something I was wondering about, too.
“If you play your cards right, you might still be able to get out of this.”
“We’re listening,” Jake said.
“First, you’ve got to get rid of the weed.”
“So, we’re not caught with the evidence. Right?”
Veronica nodded.
“You could help us smoke it,” Tommy Boy suggested.
I couldn’t believe the verbal garbage coming out of his mouth. Booze and drugs had severed the connection to his brain, if there had ever been one.
“Might do your sister and the kid some good,” Tommy Boy said, apparently warming up to his less-than-brilliant idea. “Looks like they could use a little cheering up.”
“Joshua doesn’t need drugs,” I snapped. “Maybe, if you looked really hard, you’d see a very brave young man. Unlike the two of you.”
No sooner had the words come out than I regretted them. Up until now, Jake and Tommy Boy had focused little attention on the child, and I’d been the only one aware of the animosity in his eyes. Now they noticed it, too. Tommy Boy seemed to repel backwards. A flicker of worry crossed Veronica’s face. I broke into a sweat.
“It’s not the marijuana I’m worried about,” Jake said, “but the ecstasy.”
Veronica didn’t even attempt to hide her shock. “What?”
Jake’s mouth curled. “Our little secret.”
“He didn’t think you could handle it,” Tommy Boy added.
Tommy Boy’s childishness and undeveloped conscience, coupled with his lack of responsibility, equaled a dangerous combination. A combination obviously not lost on Veronica. Her face paled in the semblance of Morticia Addams, which might have been comical in another situation but now filled me with dread. “You’ve been selling it around here?”
“Didn’t get a chance,” Tommy Boy whined. “We just got it.”
Jake tolerated Tommy Boy, his attention on Veronica. “10,000 tablets, which amounts to about a week’s supply on the street.”
“How—” Veronica began.
“Our source in San Francisco gets it directly from the ‘Cook,’” Jake said.
Veronica sagged to the ground and dropped her head into her hands. “Crap. That makes you a Class A supplier, which me
ans fourteen years in jail.”
“That’s why we didn’t tell you,” Tommy Boy said, shifting from one foot to the other.
“If we slip up and don’t pay our dealer, the cops won’t need to arrest us,” Jake said. “We’re screwed either way.”
Which meant they were desperate. It didn’t matter if they committed murder. They were already in too deep.
“Why?” I asked, addressing Jake.
“How would someone like you understand?” he asked.
“I probably won’t, but try me.
He met my eyes, and I wondered how he could possibly care what I thought. “If we don’t distribute it, someone else will. You’d be surprised at the law-abiding citizens using it.”
I made no comment; certain this was true.
“Did you know that ecstasy started out as an appetite suppressant? Then it became a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Pretty legal stuff, wouldn’t you say?”
I nodded, feeling sweat trickle down my back.
“Our good old government even considered it as a possible weapon for the army. I was never clear on what kind of weapon—maybe they thought they’d make the enemy all soft and cuddly. Marriage counselors used it to reduce hostility between spouses. Nice, huh?”
Again, I nodded.
“All of a sudden, the Feds decided it was a controlled substance and made it illegal. Do you think everyone just stopped using it?”
“But why take the risk?” I asked.
“The money!” he blurted. “Why else?”
I waved my hand at our surroundings, brows raised.
“This was our chance to get out of this hell hole,” he said. “Our last chance.”
“Until you came around and brought the kid,” Tommy Boy accused.
Jake’s eyes grew hard. He glared at me as if I rather than he was the cause of his misfortune.
A question still nagged at me. “How did Joshua get away during the fire?”
“We’ve been wondering about that, too,” Jake said, eyeing Veronica.
“They found him wandering in the woods,” Tommy Boy said.
A quick glance at Jake confirmed that he was still looking at Veronica. What did he suspect?
“Tell you what,” Veronica said. “I’ll stay with Marjorie and Joshua, while you two find a place to hide your wacky weed and scooby snacks.”
Between Will and Surrender Page 24