Everglade, p.14
Everglade, page 14
The men looked at one another but neither of them spoke.
I was tired of the pussyfoot routine. Whoever’d hurt this beautiful girl needed to die soon. As far as I was concerned, they were all a part of it. “River,” I said. “Why don’t you ask the spirits?”
She looked at me.
I nodded at her, trying to send encouragement.
“Okay,” she said.
Carmi cast a sideways look my way.
“Just go with it,” I said with a soft voice.
River stood up from the chair. She looked up at the ceiling, closed her eyes, looked down, then looked up again. It would have been comical if men’s lives weren’t at stake. She extended her arms out in front of her, then brought them over her head, the palms of her hands open and held to the ceiling. She closed her fingers, all except the index finger on her right hand. With her eyes still closed, she brought that hand down and blindly pointed toward one of the men.
“You,” Carmi said to the guy by the door. “Get in here.”
The man closed the door and complied with Carmi’s command.
“Join them over there.”
The guy got in line with the other men.
River opened her eyes. “This one,” she said, pointing directly at the short Hispanic man with the gray mustache.
Carmi took his pistol from his shoulder holster, pointed it at the man, and shot him through the face.
River jumped at the sound of the gunshot.
The dogs in the back room began barking.
“Who else?” Carmi said.
River closed her eyes, pivoted, and pointed at the man who’d been holding the door.
He tried to move out of the way, but her body turned this way and that, her finger fixed on him.
“No. No,” the man said.
Carmi shot him twice through the chest.
“This one,” River said and pointed at one of the two remaining men.
Carmi shot that man once in the chest and once through the face.
River dropped her hand to her side. She looked directly at the last man standing. She studied him with her cool gaze.
“I didn’t hurt you,” the man said. “It was the others. I told them to stop. You might have heard me?”
River raised her hand and pointed her finger at the man.
“Please, no.” A dark stain spread across his lap. He started babbling in another language. Probably a prayer, I thought.
Carmi’s bullets shut him up.
I took Carmi by the arm. “We need to get her to a hospital,” I said.
Carmi changed out the magazine and put his pistol back in the shoulder rig. “Yes, we must.”
River held up her hand. She was looking at one of the men on the floor, his face a smear of blood. “Wait,” she said.
“Honey, you’ve—”
“I want to see what happens to their spirits,” she said.
A shudder ran through me.
THIRTY-FOUR
“I’m free,” I said to Carmi. It wasn’t a question.
“It’s all behind you now.”
“Do I need to worry about those guys in St. Louis?”
“No,” Carmi said. “I will take care of that for you.”
River and I left him to clean up the mess. We got in the car, and I asked her if she knew where the nearest hospital was.
“I don’t want to go,” she said. “Please don’t make me.”
“How bad are you hurt?”
“Nothing’s broken.”
“Can you see okay?”
She nodded.
“Do you need emergency contraception? I can get you a pill.”
“They didn’t…you know.”
The men had beaten her and threatened her with the dogs enough to get her screaming over the phone—bad enough, but thankfully nothing beyond.
“They deserved what they got,” I told her.
“Thanks for getting me. I just want to get home to Chris, though. She’ll take care of me.”
I pointed the car toward home.
A couple of miles down the road, my phone vibrated against my thigh. I took it out, looked at the screen. “Shit.” I tapped the icon to accept the call. “What?”
“Guess who I just saw go by your house?” Arsen Kemp said.
“I have no fucking idea.”
“It was your man. I thought you should know.”
“Yeah? What did he want?”
“We didn’t talk, but it appeared he wanted to make his affection for you known.”
“I told you already, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Well, he left some flowers on your porch.”
“Not all guys are creepy, perverted spies like you.”
“You like him, don’t you?”
“He’s alright, I guess.”
“What about his little girl?”
Ice ran through my veins. “What about her?”
“Imagine what would happen to her only guardian if his parole officer found out he was hanging out with a known felon? You know, a drug dealer? Prostitute. Murderer. Escapee from prison. Someone in possession of illegal substances and firearms.”
He had my attention, but I wasn’t ready to respond.
“I’d imagine Child Protection Services would get involved,” he said. “Probably the best thing for her in the long run. Foster care and all. I mean, can you imagine a man like him leaving her in the care of someone like you?”
“I didn’t—”
“No? Let me read you part of the note he left. Hang on, let me get my glasses on. It says, ‘Glade wants to know when she can spend another day with Mandy.’ That’s what it says. He also says something about falling in love with you. I thought that was especially sweet.”
“Look, Arsen—”
“No. You look. Do I have to draw you a picture? Actually, I have one. It’s much better quality than that shit I took of you the other night. I’ll message it to you. It’s him, standing at your door, holding flowers. I have another of him taken in the same spot a couple of days earlier. It shows you opening the door wearing only a tiny pink shirt. And you aren’t wearing any underwear in that one. And honey, I gotta say, you look like shit in that picture. Damn. You partied hard that night, didn’t you? Yeah, Child Services is the right place for her. I know it’s rough as hell on a child, but Jesus, anything’s better than what she’s going through with you two.”
“Don’t threaten the girl, Arsen. She’s got nothing to do with this. You wouldn’t stoop this low.”
“Wouldn’t I? Fortunately, there’s a way you can change my mind.”
I checked my speed. I was going too fast. I eased the pressure on the accelerator.
“You win, Arsen. Alright?”
“I always do.”
“It’s not like I feel any loyalty toward the sheriff. Just between us, he’s a real son of a bitch. And I’ve got enough dirt to hang him with. You won’t believe the shit I’ve got.”
“Glad to see you’re cooperating.”
“I don’t like being extorted. It’s not in me to give up easy.”
“You were a tough nut to crack. I must say, maybe the toughest ever.”
“Let me get some things together. I’ll meet you tonight. Come by my place.”
“No. We meet in public. A place of my choosing. I don’t trust you.”
“Tell me when and where.”
“I’ll text you the details. We’ll set it for eight o’clock tonight. I’ll send you the address before then.”
“Look, I’ll turn it all over to you. But I want you to bring everything you have on me, and on Danny. We’ll do an even swap. That’s fair.”
“I can do that. But there’s more I want now besides dirt on the sheriff.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you.”
“You want to fuck me? Is that it?”
“I want what I want, and I want you to do it when I tell you.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll do whatever you want me to do to you, but I don’t think they’ll want us doing that in the public place you have in mind.”
“Once I know you’re not armed, I’ll take you somewhere close by.”
“Okay. I’ll do it. Anything else?”
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
My jaw dropped. That son of a bitch. I swallowed the words I wanted to say, instead I just said, “Okay. Done.”
“We have a deal then?”
“Just one more thing. I want those flowers and that note. I want them on my porch when I get home.”
Arsen laughed into the phone. He had an ugly, high-pitched squeal of a laugh. “Holy shit, honey,” he said. “You really believed that? Flowers? Oh my god. Mandy, that man can’t fucking stand you.”
“You said—”
“Yeah, I said all kinds of shit. I just can’t believe you’re so gullible. Goddamn, lady. You’re just pitiful, you know?”
My mouth went dry. I blinked back tears. “How do you know the girl’s name?”
“Oh, baby. I told you I was a private investigator. You’re not that smart, are you?”
“Yeah, you sure played me, Arsen. Well done.” I ended the call.
“What the fuck was that all about?” River said.
I shook my head. “Just some asshole.” I blinked fast, wiped an eye with the back of my hand.
River opened my glove box. She rummaged around inside. “You got any weed to smoke?”
“No. No weed, dear.”
“Can you get some?”
I looked over at her, patted her thigh with my hand. “You’ll need to get some from Chris. I don’t have any at all.”
“Okay.” She started to close the glove compartment.
“Hey, can you hand me that slip of paper there?”
“This one?”
“Yeah.”
It was the Arsen Kemp address that Carmi had gotten for me.
THIRTY-FIVE
I dropped river off at her apartment. Chris was home and helped get her settled.
I went by my house, grabbed the cash Arsen wanted and a flash drive that contained all the digital files I had on the sheriff. A lot of the footage included me and Enola as well, but we’d blurred our faces when saving the files.
I checked my messages. Arsen hadn’t sent the location yet, but I wasn’t going to hang around and wait.
On my way out to the car, I stopped long enough to check the trash can. I lifted the lid and peered down inside. No flowers from Danny inside. No note.
I got in my car and punched in the address for Arsen Kemp. His apartment wasn’t far away. I made the drive in silence, thinking over what needed to be done. It didn’t matter what happened to me. And I really didn’t give a shit about the sheriff either. Danny, on the other hand, and Glade—I couldn’t allow him to hurt them, no matter the cost.
I pulled in at Arsen’s complex. Two separate buildings, both two stories, with a shared parking lot. Based on the address, I could see that Arsen had an upstairs unit around back of the building. The parking lot wasn’t well lit. I parked around the corner of the building. A set of wooden stairs led up to the upstairs units, and a walkway wrapped around the brick building.
I took the pistol out of my purse and slipped it inside my jacket pocket. I left the money and other items in the car.
I walked around behind the stairs in silence. It was dark underneath the steps. I found a clean spot of cement and sat down, pulled my knees up and stayed still.
I thought about my options. I’d brought danger to Danny and Everglade through my connection with Arsen Kemp. Their exposure to harm came only through me. Due to my past I’d always be vulnerable. People would always be looking for me. It would take one spark of recognition from a casual encounter. Or a cop taking my prints for any reason. I’d spend the rest of my life trying to keep a low profile. I couldn’t expose the two people I cared most for to the risks that came along with loving me.
But I could remove the threat of Arsen Kemp. I’d clean up the mess I’d made and leave.
I wanted to smoke, but resisted the urge. The smoke would drift up through the stairwell and people would know I was there.
My phone vibrated. I slipped it out of my pocket and checked the display.
Arsen: Meet me at 1102 Market St. I’ll be at a table in the pizza parlor. Wear something nice. You’re going to love our alone time.
I tapped out a response.
Me: On my way. Bring the stuff.
I heard a door open above me. Footsteps on the walkway. I put my phone away.
The wooden stairs creaked with weight as he descended. I watched his shadow pass by me on the ground to my side. Once he was lower than the stairs I sat under, I stood. I held the pistol at my right side.
He hit the bottom stair, and I stepped out of the shadows. His back was to me, but I could tell it was Arsen. I raised my sweatshirt hood over my head.
I took a step forward, raised the pistol, and fired a round into the back of his head. Arsen dropped to the ground, limp and lifeless. A paper grocery sack fell by his side. I stepped closer. Blood spread in a pool around his head. I aimed carefully and fired another round into his skull.
I slipped the pistol in my back pocket and knelt by his side. I checked his pockets. A folded piece of paper in one along with his mobile phone. I grabbed both and stuffed them in my pocket. I grabbed the sack and ran to my car. I kept my head low, the hood covering most of my features. I got in the car and got the hell out of there.
THIRTY-SIX
I’ve read enough romance novels and watched enough movies to know how those stories end. They end with the race to the wedding. The hero rushes to the church to stop his lover from marrying the wrong man. He breathlessly bursts in just before the elder clergyman pronounces them husband and wife. All eyes turn his way, and he declares his love.
Or they end with the race to the airport. The young woman realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. Thinking she was doing the right thing for them both, she’d crushed her lover’s heart by breaking it off with him. Now he’s ready to board a plane for a far off land, and she must rush to stop him, arriving just as he’s handing his boarding pass to the gate attendant and stepping into the jetway.
That’s how love stories are supposed to end.
As I drove through the night, I realized mine would end with a race to leave town.
That’s how all my stories end, and this one would be no exception.
I realized I’d never been in love before. Now that it was over, I could allow myself to think of it that way. Love.
What was the cliché? Better to have loved and lost…
Outside the city limits I took a small, rural road. I stopped halfway across a bridge over the wide, muddy river that marked the edge of the county line. No other cars on the road. I put the car in park and turned on my hazard lights. I grabbed the paper sack I’d taken from Arsen and got out of the car. I walked around in front of the vehicle and, without checking the contents of the bag, threw the whole thing over the side into the river below.
I went back to the car, removed the flash drive from my own bag. I left the cash in the trunk, took the flash drive, and dropped it over the edge to the river.
I reached in my pocket, took out Arsen’s mobile phone, and tossed it over the side as well. I slipped my hand back in my pocket and took out the folded piece of paper that had been in his pocket. I started to toss it, but curiosity got the better of me. I unfolded it and looked at the writing by the light of my headlights.
The stationary letterhead listed a local florist.
Mandy,
I don’t even know if you like flowers or not, but I thought of you when I saw this bouquet. They are beautiful just like you. I’m sorry for treating you terribly. I had some things to think through. I know you have secrets, and I have some of my own. I’d like to get to the point where we can share our secrets with one another without fear. I won’t rush it. We may never get there, and if we don’t, I’m okay with that. The truth is I’m falling in love with you and have been from the moment we met. I can’t imagine life without you. Please forgive me for acting the way I have. I want you in my life, and I want you in my granddaughter’s life. You mean the world to Glade, and you belong with us.
All my love,
Danny
Tears slipped down my face. I stood there on the bridge in the dark reading the note over and over and over.
I was so caught up in Danny’s words, I didn’t notice the headlights approaching until they were right behind me. The car parked behind my Mustang on the bridge. I looked up just as the flashing blue lights on top of the car turned on. No siren sounded, only the lights.
The door to the police cruiser opened and Sheriff Bobby stepped out.
I folded up Danny’s note and slipped it in my pocket. I dried my tears with my sweatshirt sleeves.
He walked across the bridge until he was near me.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” I said.
“Why not?”
“I figured you’d be personally cleaning up the mess at Arsen Kemp’s place. I imagine he has backup files, shit stored up in the cloud, who knows what else still in his apartment.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. I’ve left it in good hands.”
He leaned over the rail of the bridge and spit down into the river below. “Hell of a thing that happened to him. Looked like a mugging gone wrong.”
I nodded.
“You ain’t planning on jumping off this bridge, are you?”
“No. Things aren’t that bad yet.”
“Good. ’Cause it ain’t high enough. You’d just break a leg.”
I felt like shit but I chuckled.
“So where you running off to, Mandy?”
“I don’t know. I’m just going away from here.”
“You know you’re safe here, don’t you?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not safe anywhere.”
“Safer here than anywhere else.”
“This is your second chance to arrest me. Make yourself famous. Win the election. Everything I ever had on you is at the bottom of the river down there.”
