by Matt Hilton
‘So get movin’ goddamnit,’ he muttered.
Outside the shed again he retrieved the rifle and took it with him as he hurried towards the nearest bunker.
TWENTY-TWO
‘These are going to be the longest two hours of my life,’ Tess admitted. She was seated alongside him in the front of Pinky’s GMC. The large SUV was still tucked back off the road between the twin hulking boulders, facing the road and the river beyond.
Pinky nodded his agreement. ‘How long has he had?’
Tess had set a countdown running on her cell phone. ‘He’s already been gone fifty-two minutes. That surprises me. It feels like minutes since he left us, but at the same time an eternity ago.’
‘He’ll be fine, him,’ said Pinky, waving off any concern, as much for his own peace of mind. ‘He’s got skills has Nicolas Villere.’
‘Agreed. But he also has an impulsive streak a mile wide. If he spots Jacob or Elspeth, do you really believe he won’t try rescuing them single-handed?’
‘He promised he wouldn’t.’
‘I suspect he had his fingers crossed behind his back,’ said Tess.
‘Yeah, like that stunt he pulled up in Bangor where he allowed himself to be taken hostage? It was not his wisest idea.’
‘And that wasn’t the first crazy stunt he has pulled, either.’
‘Yet he always manages to pull off a good result, him,’ Pinky said, with admiration in his tone.
‘He has been lucky before. But fortune won’t be on his side every time. This is bad now, waiting for him to return, knowing he might do something reckless and I’ll never see him again.’
‘He’ll be fine, him,’ Pinky repeated, but with less certainty than before. ‘Uh, do you think maybe we should go get those weapons and be ready in case he doesn’t show?’
‘We daren’t leave yet. If he comes out and we’re gone, how’s he going to know where we are?’
‘Drop him a text. Tell him what we are doing, us, and that we’ll be right back.’
‘The signal strength on my cell has fallen off. I’ve had no service for the past twenty minutes. I’m betting the signal’s even weaker where Po is by now.’
‘That tracker app’s useless out here?’ he asked.
‘Oh, Po mentioned that did he?’
‘It would be neat if you could see where he is.’ Pinky turned a rheumy gaze on her. It was obvious that she was torn by indecision, but her desire to be there to greet him when Po returned was greatest. ‘We’ll wait, us,’ he assured her. Then he flicked a hand in the direction of the bridge. ‘If the worst happens and Nicolas doesn’t show, I swear I’ll ram those barricades outta the way, and get us some weapons off those punks standing guard.’
Tess flashed a smile at his bravado. Except Pinky wasn’t kidding. He was a big cuddly teddy bear of a man … until riled. In defense of his loved ones, Pinky could become a remorseless and nigh on unstoppable force. She had no doubt whatsoever that he’d fulfill his promise if it came to it. Hopefully Po would return soon and Pinky’s oath wouldn’t be tested.
‘There’s another vehicle approaching,’ Tess said, sitting up straighter in the passenger seat.
On the far side of the river, headlights flickered between the boles of the trees, heading towards the bridge. They had to both get out the GMC to get a clear look at what was going on. They moved together and stood at the edge of the road.
‘It doesn’t look as if they’re coming across the bridge,’ said Tess. The newly arrived vehicle had stopped and its occupants had gotten out. They mingled with the guards, their voices raised in mirth as the quartet of friends met. A box was transferred from the newcomers’ vehicle onto the flatbed of the pickup truck and more distant laughter rang out. The sound was innocuous and in contention with the concern Tess had for Po. But, on the contrary, the laughter was a good sign, as it meant that those inside the commune were relaxed: Po’s incursion on their land had not been discovered yet.
The two newcomers got back in their vehicle and returned the way they’d come from. As soon as they were out of sight, the guards delved in the box. They pulled out what Tess took to be wrapped sandwiches, or something edible like them. One of the men took out a flask and poured from it: fresh coffee, most likely.
‘Looks as if they’ve been supplied by their buddies for a long night spent under the stars,’ Pinky observed. ‘Don’t know about you, Tess, but I sure could drink a coffee or two right now.’
Tess’s mouth was as dry as chalk too. But she was under no illusion; if she tried drinking or eating the tiniest morsel she wouldn’t be able to keep it down, not until after Po had returned safely. They backed from the roadside, about to return to the GMC.
‘Y’hear that, you?’ Pinky asked.
She could hear what had caught his attention. It was the sound of another vehicle approaching, but this time from the road out of the town of Muller Falls. There wasn’t a curfew on road traffic in or out of town, but this was the first time another vehicle had approached while they’d been parked there. For all they knew it could be somebody returning from town to the commune, and therefore they didn’t want to be spotted. She caught at Pinky’s wrist and urged him back into the darkness. They stood alongside the GMC, listening as the vehicle drew closer, and then passed by.
‘It was those cops from town,’ Pinky said.
The cruiser was slowing as the driver anticipated the turn onto the bridge. Except the maneuver was not completed. The driver braked before reaching the bridge, and the reverse light flashed on.
‘Damnit,’ Tess wheezed, ‘they must’ve spotted us.’
‘So how do we play this, pretty Tess? You going to come clean with them?’
‘Not yet.’ She bit her bottom lip, came to a decision. ‘How do you feel about kissing girls, Pinky?’
‘Well, I’m no virgin, if that’s what’s worrying you.’
‘Get in.’
They both clambered inside the GMC and embraced and not a moment too soon. The police cruiser came to a halt, blocking the fissure between the boulders and their route back to the road. The driver turned a flashlight on them, and as if caught in an illicit tongue-lock, Tess and Pinky reared apart, blinking and shielding their faces at the sudden intrusion of light.
‘Think we fooled them?’ Pinky stage-whispered.
‘We’ll see,’ said Tess, as she pretended to straighten her clothes. ‘Act guilty.’
‘I feel guilty. Nicolas might take me to task for kissing you like that.’
‘He’ll understand it was just an act.’
‘An act I probably enjoyed more than I should’ve, me,’ said Pinky with a shit-eating grin. ‘I enjoyed it so much I want to do it again, just as an act, you understand?’
Tess elbowed him playfully.
The driver didn’t immediately get out of the police car, but his partner did. The black officer approached the GMC, a penlight of his own now flicking over the windshield as he checked them out. His other hand hovered over his service pistol. ‘You in the car,’ he barked, ‘let me see your hands.’
Pinky lowered their windows and they both showed their hands were empty. Pinky called out, ‘Is there a problem, officer?’
‘Are we going to have a problem? Get out the vehicle, let me see you.’
‘We are unarmed, officer.’
‘Get out of the vehicle. Both of you.’ The cop had drawn his pistol. Also, his freckle-faced partner had gotten out of the cruiser and was also approaching with his service weapon drawn.
‘We are getting out. We are unarmed. We are doing as you command,’ Tess called out, and then popped the lock open on her door. To Pinky she hissed, ‘Don’t give them a reason to shoot us.’
‘Sometimes being this color is reason enough.’ Pinky got out, holding both his hands aloft and showing zero inclination to cause trouble. He ensured he had the full attention of the black cop, engaging him brother to brother. Tess showed her hands to the white cop now approaching on the opposite si
de. He was alert, looking for Po, no doubt.
‘There are just the two of us,’ Tess assured him.
The cop still ducked around her, bobbed a look in the back of the GMC, before calling to his partner, ‘Don’t know what became of the cowboy.’
‘Where’s your friend?’ asked the black cop. His name badge read Wilson.
‘Man,’ Pinky responded, with a roll of his eyes at Tess. ‘Don’t you know that three’s a crowd?’
The white cop squinted at Tess. ‘You two are partners?’
‘Is there a reason why we shouldn’t be?’ she responded.
‘When we saw you in the café earlier, I took it you and the cowboy were a couple.’
‘He’s gay,’ said Pinky.
The cops exchanged glimpses.
‘Let us see some ID,’ said the white cop, whose badge identified him as Rossiter.
They had already checked out the GMC earlier, and probably had Pinky’s name and address from the DMV.
‘Got my license and insurance right here,’ said Pinky, pointing at his jacket front. ‘Is it OK for me to reach for it?’
‘Go ahead,’ said Officer Wilson, but he kept his gun aimed at Pinky.
Pinky handed over his documents. Tess also presented ID, but she avoided anything showing that she was a private investigator.
‘Jerome Leclerc,’ the cop read aloud. Wilson used his penlight to illuminate Pinky’s face and compared it with the photo on his license. ‘Got any fines or warrants outstanding?’
‘I’m one of the good guys, me,’ said Pinky. ‘Go ahead. Check and you’ll see, bra.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’ Officer Wilson wasn’t fooling them, it was apparent he’d already checked Pinky’s details out after enquiring about the GMC’s ownership earlier. Currently, Pinky’s sheet was clean. The cop handed him back his documents.
‘That isn’t a Maine accent. You’re from way down south. What brings you north?’
Pinky nodded over at Tess. ‘I’m a sucker for love. My girl lives in Maine, stands to reason I’d want to join her.’
‘So what you doing in Muller Falls?’ asked Officer Rossiter, still acting surly even after confirming Tess’s details with her picture.
‘Sightseeing,’ she said, as it was the story she’d given the server in the café, and who’d passed it on to the cops at the time. ‘We’re on a road trip. Us and our friend Nicolas.’
‘That’s the cowboy’s name, huh? Nicolas?’
‘Nicolas Villere,’ she said, because to lie would only court trouble.
Rossiter slid away his gun and clipped the strap down on his holster. ‘So you left him back at the hotel and thought you’d have a romantic drive out here.’ He glanced over at Pinky. ‘Just the two of you?’
‘He’s our buddy but three’s a crowd,’ Pinky repeated. ‘We have separate rooms, but that hotel has such thin walls, y’know?’
‘Have we done something unlawful?’ Tess asked, feigning naivety.
‘Not yet,’ said Rossiter. His small mouth twisted up at one side. ‘You weren’t perhaps thinking about trying to cross the river, were you? See I’d strongly advise against it. Everything you see on the other side is private property, and the owners aren’t the most welcoming types.’
‘We had hoped to see the waterfalls while we were in town,’ Tess admitted, ‘but Jenny, our server back at the café, told us it was out of bounds. So no, we don’t intend trying to cross the river. We parked here where we can see and hear it, and that’s good enough. Officers, we tucked our car back here out of the way so we weren’t causing an impediment to other road users. Sorry if we gave you cause to find our actions suspicious.’
The officers weren’t stupid, and Tess momentarily regretted laying on the act too thick. She expected them to dig deeper, perhaps decide to search the car for evidence of what they were really up to, and Tess didn’t want them to see what was in her computer’s search history. They wouldn’t need a warrant to search while they had guns and she and Pinky at their mercy. But it seemed that her opinion of them had been partly shaped by Po’s and Pinky’s distrust of backwoods police departments. Officer Rossiter shrugged and said, ‘No problem, ma’am. This has been the highlight of an otherwise uneventful night for us.’
Tess was dying to press the cops for information on the Moorcock family, to gauge their suspicions about what was happening beyond that barricaded bridge, but she fought the urge. She only wanted them to leave and for Po to return. Hopefully the latter wouldn’t occur before the cops had left; otherwise they would have some awkward questions to answer.
The cops walked to their cruiser, but before getting inside Officer Rossiter turned back to them. ‘Maybe y’all should take yourselves on back to town now, in case you draw some unwelcome attention. Some of those backwards folks don’t take too kindly to mixed-race relationships and might make their feelings felt.’
Tess followed his subtle nod towards the bridge. The police activity would have drawn the attention of the guards. Once the cruiser left the scene, the guards might decide to investigate what the police had been up to and discover their hiding spot. Tess doubted that the following discussion would be resolved so peacefully, especially if the guards suspected they were being spied upon, or worse, that they were waiting on somebody already trespassing on their land.
‘Our hand has been forced, Pinky,’ Tess announced as they returned to the GMC. ‘We’re going to have to leave for now, so we may as well kill two birds with one stone.’
‘I should’ve planned this better,’ Pinky opined. ‘You should text Nicolas, and hope it goes through to him.’
‘I will.’ She checked the timer counting down and saw they were now well into the two hours timescale she’d allotted. If it took half an hour to drive to the hotel, grab the weapons and return, it should be approaching the deadline they’d planned for his return.
Pinky drove them away. In the rearview mirror Tess watched the police cruiser’s blinkers come on and it took a right onto the bridge and pulled up at the sawhorse barricade. Hopefully the cops made regular stops to speak with the guards there, and this time was not out of the ordinary. Officer Rossiter had cautioned them about drawing attention from those within the commune, she doubted he’d therefore tell the guards about finding them hiding back there in the ravine. The GMC took a bend in the road and the bridge was concealed from view.
‘I hated lying to those cops like that,’ said Tess, ‘and maybe it showed. Do you think they believed anything we told them?’
‘What? You don’t think I make fine boyfriend material, me?’
‘I promised Elspeth I wouldn’t involve the police, but downright lying to them goes against my grain. What did you make of those cops? Do you think we can trust them or do you still think they’re on Eldon Moorcock’s payroll?’
‘It’s hard to say. Once they’d put away their guns they treated us with respect, but what if theirs was an act too. What if they keep an eye on the outer perimeter of the commune, and they see off any nosey people like us with what just sounds like a friendly warning? How’d you think they would’ve reacted if you’d came clean and told them we are looking for an abducted woman and kid? Do you think they’d have been polite and respectful then, or would they have arrested us for being accessories after the event, or would they have run us off at gunpoint?’ As was often the case when Pinky grew emphatic, he dropped the strange, affected speech pattern he was known for. ‘They came across as stand-up guys, but I still don’t trust them, Tess. For all we know they’ve joined their buddies on the bridge and are laughing about how they caught us in a compromised position and chased us back to our hotel.’
‘It’s probably best to err on the side of caution for now,’ she concurred, although she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was making the totally wrong judgment on this. If they went to the police with their suspicions and the law enforcement community was mobilized to help with the search for Elspeth and Jacob, then none of this would b
e necessary. ‘Let’s get this done as quickly as possible. Who knows what might happen next?’
TWENTY-THREE
He could sense the mass of the hillside looming above him as Po went deeper inside the bunker. At first he’d entered a cavernous space decked out like a loading bay at a large logistics hub. There were several vehicles parked in the area, and Po had wondered if any of them had been used during the abduction of Elspeth and Jacob. A panel van with its rear windows blacked out was a contender, he thought. He had tried checking the van for any clues but it was locked and the tinted windows foiled his view inside; he could have forced the locks with his knife but to what end? Up on the raised loading platform he discovered prints of several distinct pairs of boots and shoes in the dust and had followed them further into the bowels of the bunker. He had hoped to discover where Elspeth and her boy were being held, but the footprints had petered out and since then he’d found no visual clue to where he should try next in the maze of tunnels.
The first chambers he checked turned out to be storage rooms, some of them holding dry goods, others held perishable foods and fruit and vegetables, and one of them had been converted to a butcher’s workshop and cold storage, complete with industrial-sized fridges and freezers. It stood to reason that a community of this size would require stocking up on food, drink and other necessities. Many prepper communities kept similar caches in preparation for the day when society collapsed. It didn’t surprise him when an adjacent storeroom contained all manner of small arms and ammunition. He was tempted to add to his weaponry with a handgun he could tuck into his belt, but in the end he left well enough alone. A gunfight should be avoided at all cost, and besides, if it came to shooting it would be preferable at the distance the rifle already afforded him.
