In Seconds

15

Vivian’s hand shook as she used a prepaid calling card Rex had in his pocket and dialed Ellen’s number. She’d agonized over every call she’d placed to her old home since Virgil went to prison. Partially because she couldn’t decide if her mother was as complicit in her stepfather’s murder as she suspected. Partially because reaching out to Ellen felt disloyal to her brother. And partially because any contact increased her desire for resolution, which always seemed to be just one step away—no matter how many steps she took in order to achieve it.

But none of her earlier anxiety could rival what she felt now. Before, the worst she had to worry about was how well she’d be received, and she’d felt fairly confident her mother would, at a minimum, be cordial. Ellen was always cordial, to everyone. Soft-spoken and unconfrontational, she was too indecisive to stand up and fight, even for her children.

Still, the image she projected created an appealing illusion, one of a loving mother wrongfully accused. At times, Vivian was so tempted to believe in Ellen’s innocence, so tempted to reunite and rebuild what they’d lost, that she doubted every decision she’d ever made concerning her mother. Ellen claimed that, at the time Virgil was arrested, she believed the police because of his temper and the fact that he’d threatened more than once to kill Martin if the abuse didn’t stop. He also didn’t have an alibi for the night it happened; he was downstairs in his bedroom, sleeping, and the gunshot didn’t even wake him up.

Vivian hadn’t been home, so she had no idea what happened.

Once Uncle Gary’s marriage fell apart years later, his ex-wife’s conscience finally got the best of her—or she was looking for revenge. Either way, she came forward to tell what she knew and the police began to realize what Vivian’s heart had insisted all along—they had the wrong man. Almost as soon as Gary fell under scrutiny, he confessed that Ellen had asked him to do it. He told detectives that she came to him, insisting Martin would kill her or one of the kids if he didn’t step in. He’d also said she’d offered him half of the insurance money if he’d make Martin disappear for good. Because he was in debt and losing his house, he felt this provided a way out for both of them.

But it was impossible to prove what he’d said. Ellen did give Gary a sizable portion of the money. Was that a payoff for murder? Or because she wanted to help him keep a roof over his family’s heads, as she claimed? It could be either, but Ellen had chosen to give Gary the money rather than hiring a better attorney for Virgil, and that was something Vivian simply could not understand. Considering how often she’d heard her mother tell people what they wanted to hear rather than the truth, she couldn’t trust Ellen. Especially when, instead of being beside herself with worry, Ellen had seemed almost…relieved. Relieved to have a scapegoat, even if that scapegoat was her own son.

When Ellen quickly got involved in yet another romantic relationship, Vivian left home, at sixteen, and had been taking care of herself ever since. But that didn’t mean she never looked back. There were times she sorely regretted the loss of her relationship with her mother. That she was still in contact with Ellen proved it. If she didn’t need to be so careful about her whereabouts, she might’ve called more often.

Now that Virgil was out of prison, holding a grudge felt pointless. The older she got, the more Vivian wanted to purge the anger that’d been trapped inside her for so many years. It was too dark, too negative; sometimes that darkness seemed about to overtake everything else.

And now, just when she’d been closest to forgiving her mother, the doubt was back. Had Ellen let The Crew threaten her or bully her into putting her own children and grandchildren, as well as Rex, in danger? It wasn’t as if Vivian thought Ellen would call Horse or any of the others. She knew her mother wasn’t out to hurt her or Virgil. She just didn’t believe that Ellen would go to much trouble to protect them if her own life or welfare was on the line.

“What’s the matter?” Rex called.

She’d misdialed and hung up. Shoving her sunglasses higher on her nose, she waved him off and tried again.

This time the phone rang. Then her mother’s voice came on the line, but it turned out to be the recorded message.

Vivian hung up and almost walked back to tell Rex they’d have to wait until later. As long as she didn’t know for sure, she could continue to hope that her mother wasn’t the reason she was once again in danger.

But if Ellen had heard from a member of the gang, not knowing could cost Vivian one or both of her own children. She couldn’t be a coward.

“She’s not home?” Rex called.

“No.”

“Can you call another family member?”

“My cousins have moved around so much I’ve lost track of them.” Uncle Gary was in prison. His ex had testified against him, then washed her hands of him and his extended family. But Ellen still lived in the house on Sandalwood Court where Vivian and Virgil had grown up, so Vivian knew quite a few of the neighbors. Were any of them still around?

She’d once had a terrible crush on Junior Ivey, the next-door neighbor’s son. Could she remember the number to his house? She’d certainly called it often enough, much to his annoyance, since he was four years older and in high school when she’d been mooning over him.

She racked her brain for the number but couldn’t come up with more than the prefix, and that was only because it was the same as her mother’s. But she remembered Junior’s father’s name and that meant she could get the rest from directory assistance.

The phone rang so many times Vivian thought she’d wind up with another recorded message, but the breathless voice of the woman who answered told her she had a live human being.

“Mrs. Ivey?”

“Yes?”

Vivian pushed her sunglasses up again. “This is Vivi—er—Laurel Skinner.”

“Laurel! My goodness. Hang on a sec. I was downstairs doing some ironing. Needless to say, I’m not as fit as I used to be.”

She’d been overweight even back then. “Take your time.”

After an audible breath, she said, “I’ll be okay in a minute. How are you?”

“Fine, thanks.”

“It’s been years and years since we’ve heard from you.”

“It has been a while.”

“Too long. Your mother tells me you have two children now.”

“Yes.”

“She’d love to see them, you know. It’s a pity you live so far away.”

The disapproval in those words told Vivian that Sonja Ivey had forgiven Ellen for the murder, if she’d ever held her accountable for it in the first place. Ellen could be quite convincing. That was part of the reason she hadn’t been charged for Martin’s murder along with Gary. The police believed Gary was telling the truth, but the D.A. didn’t have enough hard evidence connecting Ellen to the killing, and he felt she came across as too genuine to try with what he had.

“Maybe someday I will,” she said to avoid discussing why she hadn’t visited so far.

“How’s your brother?”

“Good.”

“Terrible what happened to that boy. So hard to believe.”

“Yes.” Hard to believe Ellen didn’t have a hand in it, or do more to stop it. “How’s Junior?”

“Fabulous! He’s a doctor.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. He was always a smart kid.”

“But we don’t like his wife much,” she murmured.

Vivian would’ve laughed, except she was too anxious to get to the point of her call. “I’m sorry to hear that. Adjusting to in-laws can be difficult.” No one knew that better than she did. Instead of having an ounce of sympathy for what Tom had put her through, his parents had spent most of the time they were together trying to convince her that he wasn’t really a bad person. Never had they taken her side. Instead, they’d acted as if she must be provoking him into acting the way he did. They didn’t care that something as innocuous as making the wrong dish for dinner could set him off.

“She’s a spoiled little prima donna from the rich side of town,” Sonja said.

“Hopefully, Junior is happier with her than you are.”

“I don’t think he is, but…what can you do? It’s not my place to get involved.”

Vivian glanced at Rex, who made a motion that said to hurry up. “Listen, Sonja, I’m really sorry to interrupt your ironing, but I’m calling because I can’t reach my mother. You don’t know where she is, do you?”

“She should be home. I’m standing at my kitchen window, looking out at her car right now.”

“I just tried her. She didn’t answer.”

“She’s been pretty depressed lately. Randall left again, you know.”

Her mother’s latest love interest. She hadn’t married this one, but they’d been together for a couple of years. “When?”

“Maybe two weeks ago? Found someone else.”

That must’ve been a blow to her mother’s self-esteem. It was usually Ellen who became dissatisfied. She was only interested in the initial wining and dining part of a romance and grew bored as soon as the mundane intruded. “Would you do me a favor, Sonja? Do you think you could walk over and see if you can rouse her?”

“Sure, honey. Here, call my cell. I’ll take it with me and let you talk to her.”

Vivian had the feeling that Sonja suspected Ellen was simply ducking her call. They’d had so many problems, almost anyone would think that. She didn’t try to disabuse her of the notion. Instead she wrote down the number Sonja rattled off, hung up and dialed again.

“It’s raining,” Sonja complained when she answered the second time. “Let me grab a coat.”

Vivian covered the mouthpiece to signal Rex that she was making progress. Then she waited while her mother’s neighbor trudged next door. She heard the knock, heard Sonja calling Ellen’s name, but she couldn’t make out any response. Several seconds later, Sonja confirmed that there hadn’t been one.

“Can you see inside?” Vivian asked.

“’Fraid, not. The blinds are pulled. I told you, she’s in a real funk.”

What now? Her mother was retired and living on social security and what she’d been able to glean from her many divorces. If her car was there, she should be, too. “Could you go around back, please? Something isn’t right.”

“Sure.”

Vivian listened to the swish of Sonja’s clothing as she moved. Then Sonja’s voice came through loud and clear. “Oh, boy.”

“Oh, boy?” Vivian straightened. “What does that mean?”

“Looks like the door’s been broken.”

Tendrils of fear slithered around Vivan’s stomach and squeezed until it hurt. That was when she knew her ulcer was coming back. She’d been too anxious this week; it was bound to happen. But that was the least of her worries right now. “Broken as in…someone forced their way inside?” She almost didn’t recognize her own voice…?.

“I don’t want to scare you but…”

She sounded scared herself. “Maybe you shouldn’t go in. Maybe you’d better call 9-1-1.”

That brought no response.

“Sonja?”

“Wait a second. There’s a terrible stench. And I see something.”

Vivian bit her lip and gripped the phone even tighter. “What is it?”

“Oh, God!” Sonja wailed. “Someone’s stabbed her. She’s dead.”

“They didn’t even lock the door. That means we’re basically invited in, don’t you think?” Ink chortled as he let himself and L.J. inside the cabin they’d come across earlier.

L.J. didn’t answer. He hadn’t said a word since Ink dragged him from the edge of the clearing where he’d been watching the pretty teenager sitting on her deck.

Attempting to ignore his partner’s sour mood, Ink visited the kitchen. “Hey, they’ve got enough beer in here to last us a month.” He opened the refrigerator door wide, so L.J. could see for himself. “Look at this.”

L.J. didn’t bother to glance over. Slumping onto the couch, he stared straight ahead.

Ink closed the fridge. “Quit pouting about that little bitch, will ya?”

“I’m just wondering why we always have to do what you want. You can threaten people, kill people, whatever. First you killed that lady in L.A. Then—”

“I didn’t kill her.”

“You told Horse she had information. You knew he was sending a couple Crew over there. What did you think they were going to do? Dance with her?”

“They did exactly what I expected. And, just like I told you, she did have information.”

“A phone number that goes to a restaurant?”

“It’s what brought us here, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, and I bet that old guy at the cabin’s glad we came.”

Ink didn’t want to think about the old guy at the cabin, but L.J. brought it up all the time. “Listen, you can have that sweet young thing when we’re ready to leave the area. Then it won’t matter what you do because we’ll be gone before the sheriff can come after us.”

“And when will that be?” L.J. grumbled.

“I’ve told you. After I kill Laurel Hodges and her kids and send their heads to her brother.”

L.J. grimaced. “That’s sick, man. Are you really gonna cut off their heads? Even the kids?”

“Why not?” Searching for clues that might tell him how many men they’d soon be facing, and what those men were like, Ink limped into the living room and began snooping around. He found a pair of waders, an extra fishing rod, a paper sack with a few pennies, a receipt for bait and a bag of chips.

A joint lay on top of the entertainment system. Ink thought that might come in handy.

L.J. watched him circle the room. “Getting that woman killed was bad enough. But the old guy? After seeing that shit, I wouldn’t put anything past you.”

“What’s the matter?” He grinned. “Can’t handle the violence?”

Two grooves formed between L.J.’s eyebrows. “That’s not it. It’s just…we been here a week and you still don’t know where this Laurel woman lives. Unless she’s dumber than dirt, she’s changed her name, so it’s not like we can just ask around. And it hasn’t done any good to stake out the Golden Griddle. How will we ever find her? Ask everyone we meet to see if they know a woman who’s tall and thin with long blond hair? That could describe lots of women. And she could’ve gained a ton of weight or changed her hair color.”

“Maybe she can change her hair color and her weight, but she can’t change her height. She’s got to be five-ten. That doesn’t describe as many women as you think.”

“Oh, yeah? You might be surprised.” His sulk more pronounced, he folded his arms.

“Besides, I’ve seen her,” Ink said. “I’d recognize her.”

“That might work if she ate at that restaurant, but we haven’t spotted her there.”

“We could spot her somewhere else.”

L.J. barked a laugh. “What’re the chances? You gotta be realistic, man. All you got is the phone number Horse’s men forced out of Laurel’s mother. That’s not much. Maybe if they could’ve gotten the kids’ names, we’d have a chance, but the old lady wouldn’t give that up.”

“I’m going to remember the daughter’s name myself. You’ll see.”

“That’s what you’ve been saying since I met you, bro.”

“I will. I heard Laurel say it once. I was right there in her living room.”

L.J. waved him off. “So we got nothin’, like I said.

We’re just wastin’ time.”

Ink gritted his teeth. As far as he was concerned, L.J. didn’t deserve to call himself a member of The Crew. The Crew didn’t whine like this kid. That was the problem these days. They were letting in guys who had no balls whatsoever. “You’ll see. I’ll think of the name eventually.” But he didn’t have a lot of hope. He’d been racking his brain for the past four years to no avail. All he knew was that it was short and unusual…?.

God, it drove him nuts. At times, it was on the tip of his tongue. And why would she change it? She probably didn’t even remember using her daughter’s name in front of him. He’d only been at her house for one or two minutes. “Pineview ain’t that big,” he pointed out.

“So? Maybe she doesn’t live in town. Maybe she lives out here, in the mountains. These cabins are so spread out we couldn’t find ’em all even if we wanted to.”

“She has to go into town sometime.”

“Who says? Maybe she lives like a freakin’ hermit.”

Tired of the complaints, Ink began to fondle the trigger of his gun. It would be so easy to blow L.J.’s brains out…?. “She has kids. That means they gotta go to school.”

“Not during the summer.”

“They have to get groceries, dumb shit.”

L.J. shot to his feet. “Stop calling me that! I’m tired of it, you hear? I’ll leave your sorry ass to limp around this place on your own if you don’t keep your mouth shut!”

Ink nearly raised the gun. L.J. needed to learn some respect, needed to see how a real Crew member behaved. The Glock he held was all they’d been able to bum off their brothers on such short notice, so it wouldn’t be hard. L.J. didn’t even have a weapon.

But Ink wasn’t about to sabotage his own success, not after getting this far. Once he had what he wanted, he’d cap L.J. Then he’d steal a car, sneak over the Canadian border and get lost in a whole other country. Until then, he had to have someone who could go into town and ask about Laurel, someone who didn’t stand out the way he did. Who else could he trust?

“Calm down before you ruin everything.” Picking up a Playboy from the coffee table, he stared down at the blonde bombshell on the cover. According to the issue date, it was a recent purchase, which meant the guys who were staying here must’ve brought it with them. “We’ve got a nice place to stay, plenty to eat and drink. We even have some naked girls to enjoy.” He tossed the magazine at L.J. “We keep our cool, we can have ourselves a party, once we whack the guys who rented this cabin.”

L.J. let the magazine fall to the couch. He had such a sullen look that Ink wondered if L.J. was contemplating the odds of overpowering him. Ink was fifteen years his senior and couldn’t stand straight anymore but L.J. didn’t have as much experience, or enough nerve to kill a man. The way L.J. had puked up his breakfast after Ink beat the crap out of that Realtor convinced Ink that half the shit L.J. claimed to have done wasn’t true. Ink thought he could beat L.J. despite his handicap, and was eager to do it—but he had other plans for the time being, so he adopted a more conciliatory tone. “What do you say?”

At last the kid sat back down. “If you know where Laurel’s brother is, why don’t we just go there, shoot him and be done with it?”

“Because I don’t know where he is. That’s what she’s going to tell me in order to save her kids.”

“You just said she’s met you before. That means she’ll realize that nothing can save her kids.”

“Then something in her house will give it away. Virgil and his sister were always close. She’ll have his phone number, letters, emails from him, some way to find him.”

L.J. pulled a piece of gum from his pocket and shoved it into his mouth. “What about the other guy?”

“Who?”

“What’d you call him—Pretty Boy? We’re going after him, too, right?”

Just the mention of Pretty Boy made Ink clench his jaw. “You know we are.”

“You haven’t said anything about him lately. It’s been all about the bitch.”

“Doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten him. She’s first. Virgil and his wife are next. Pretty Boy’s last. The order’s important.”

Muttering something that sounded like, “You’re crazy,” L.J. turned on the TV, but Ink grabbed the remote and turned it off again.

“What are you thinking? They hear that shit, they’ll know they got company. You want to face the business end of five rifles?”

“There’re fishing poles in here.”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t do a little hunting, too.”

“Black bear’s the only thing in season. How many black bear hunters can there be?”

“Enough to have a season, right? Who told you it was bear season, anyway?”

“That guy at Walmart. I distracted him while you lifted our shoes, remember?”

He gazed around the cabin again. “So they could be hunters, like I said.”

L.J. scratched his neck. “They could also be a bunch of yuppies who wouldn’t know how to use a gun even if they had one.”

“Like I told you before, it’s safer to assume the worst.”

“Fine. We’ll assume the worst.” With a sigh, L.J. got up and helped himself to a cold beer. “So what do we do until these bear hunters come back? It’s barely noon.”

“We wait until they drag their sorry asses home. They’ll be here for dinner, if not before. With all the food they got, I’m betting they’re planning a barbecue.” A snick sounded as L.J. popped the top of his beer. “That could be five or six hours, man. I hate waiting.”

Ink whirled on him. “Could you quit complaining? I mean, you got any better ideas? Where else are we gonna stay? How else are we gonna get food?”

When he didn’t reply, Ink gestured at the Playboy. “Why don’t you go look at that magazine if you want some tits and ass? Take it into the bathroom. The way you’re actin’, two minutes should take care of your problem.”

“At least I can still get it up,” he snapped.

L.J. was guessing, but he was right. It wasn’t just his ability to have an erection that Laurel, Virgil and Pretty Boy had taken away from him. He wasn’t half the man he used to be. But they’d pay for what they’d done. They’d pay for everything. Soon.

He opened his mouth to tell L.J. the dick he was so proud of wouldn’t work very good if he shot it off when he heard a car pull up outside. “They’re early!”

L.J. checked the window while Ink got behind the couch.

“How many are there?” Ink asked, his voice barely audible.

“Four.”

“They have rifles?”

“Not unless they left ’em in the truck. They’re carrying cameras. Looks like a bunch of dads getting together for some kind of reunion.” At that point, L.J. glanced back as if he wanted to ask Ink not to go through with it. But it was too late. Ink didn’t have any choice. He had to get rid of these guys; it wasn’t like they’d walk away and keep their mouths shut just because he and L.J. asked them to.

The door swung inward. Then L.J. dropped to the floor, and Ink began to fire.