Farraday Road

by Ace Collins

  The windshield had broken out on impact, so rather than try a door, he scrambled through the opening, falling into a ditch. The hood and front bumper were wedged in a tree, suspended there. Kneeling, he reached back into the vehicle and found Curtis’s shoulders. Grabbing her under the arms, he yanked her through the hole. He had to move her away from the car, which could explode any second. Exhausted, Lije crawled away from the car, dragging Curtis with him. Once out in the open, he struggled to his feet, took two deep breaths, and pulled Curtis into his arms. He awkwardly jogged to put as much distance as he could between them and the burning car. He managed only twenty yards before the gas tank erupted, sending twisted metal and plastic in every direction. Plunging to the ground, he covered Curtis’s body with his own. Debris fell all around them. Then all he heard was the crackle of the fire.

  He rolled onto his back. After a few deep breaths, he glanced over at Curtis. He saw her chest move, heard her cough, and watched as she opened her eyes. When he was sure she was okay, he leaned over and whispered, “I was going to warn you about that curve.”

  She forced a smile and slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position, then looked toward the highway. “I don’t see the truck.”

  With difficulty, he stood up and looked in the same direction. “I’m sure they thought their work was done. By the way, how are you going to explain this to your crew? I can’t imagine what they’re going to say when they learn you blew up this car.”

  Reaching into her pocket, Curtis retrieved her phone. After tapping in a number, she waited for a response. “Curtis here, we’ve had an incident.”

  Lije shook his head. That wasn’t the word he’d use to describe the last few minutes. A tragedy, a catastrophe, a nightmare, but not an incident. As this latest murder attempt proved, there would be no exit until either the mystery was solved and they got the bad guys or he was dead. Over his head or not, he had to learn to swim in these deep waters.

  A few days before, as he watched Kaitlyn’s body being lowered into the ground, he had genuinely wanted to die. Yet now, after another close contact with the Grim Reaper, he wanted to live. He needed to live. He didn’t understand why his attitude had made a one-eighty. But after this latest brush with death, he was sure that breathing was a habit he wanted to continue.

  LIJE AND CURTIS HAD SOMEHOW GOTTEN OUT OF THEIR horrific car crash with only scrapes, bumps, and bruises. Even though Lije had no broken bones, his shoulders and chest hurt from the seat belt tearing into him at a hundred miles an hour. He felt every step he took as he and Curtis crossed the field toward the highway. Curtis had arranged for Jake Wilson, an ABI agent still working in Salem, to pick them up.

  They had walked about forty feet when he spotted an object in the grass. “What’s that? ” he asked.

  Curtis looked to where he was pointing. “Bear’s computer case. Must’ve been thrown out when we hit. We’d better grab it.”

  “I’ll get it.”

  Lije and Curtis were just crossing over a rusty barbwire fence when Agent Jake Wilson slid to a stop in the shallow ditch in his ABI-issued Impala. The investigator opened his door and jumped out.

  “You all okay? ” he shouted as he jogged over to the fence.

  “We’re alive,” Curtis answered as she swung her right leg over the fence. Even though he was carrying the briefcase, Lije had already managed to clear the fence and was leaning against a post oak tree alongside the road, trying to catch his breath.

  “I left as soon as you called me,” Wilson said. “We still have a few folks in the area. I’ll get guys all over that car in twenty minutes.”

  “Cancel that,” Curtis said.

  “Why? ” Wilson was obviously surprised.

  He wasn’t the only one. If there ever was a crime scene, Lije knew he had just pulled himself from it.

  After yanking her left leg over the fence and wiping blood from her forehead, Curtis said in a hoarse voice, “Get on the horn and cancel it. There’ll be no investigation. At least not at this time. And what just happened didn’t happen. There was no crash.”

  “Why?”

  She looked back over her shoulder at the smoke coming from where the car had come to rest. “I don’t want that car discovered and I don’t want any news releases. I want no one to know it happened. From right here it just looks like a farmer burning brush. Let’s keep it that way.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Make your call!” she said as she dusted off her slacks. “And make sure the locals don’t get wind of this. And don’t tell Hillman either.”

  “You want the boss in the dark on this?”

  “Yep. It never happened.”

  After opening the back door for Lije and watching Curtis find a place on the passenger side of the back seat, Wilson got in the Impala and turned his Chevrolet back toward Salem. Finally, when he got the car up to speed, he demanded, “Okay, now what’s going on?”

  Lije waited for her answer. What was Curtis thinking?

  “Jake, if the scene remains uninvestigated, then whoever tried to kill us is more likely to think they succeeded. It might well be a week or more before anyone happens on the burned-out car. At the worst, we probably have a couple days. That crime scene offers no real evidence that’ll help us catch whoever’s trying to eliminate us. I want to play dead for a while.”

  Wilson shook his head. “But you’re obviously alive and they’ll see you.”

  “If they’re looking for us, that’s true. But with no accident report, nothing in the news, they might not even stay in the area. I think they went after us because they thought we had important evidence. If that’s the case, then they’ll believe their evidence, whatever it is, has been destroyed. When we get into town, we’ll stay low. We’ll go into the house and spend the rest of the night out of sight. But just in case someone tries to search our wreck, keep an eye on the spot. But stay hidden.”

  “Do you think it’ll work?”

  “Not for long, but maybe long enough for me to figure out why Evans is still a target.”

  “Anything else? ” Wilson asked.

  “Keep guard at the base of the hill by the house. I’ll make some calls and do some digging tonight.” She slid down low in the seat and pulled Lije’s sleeve to make sure he did the same.

  The car pulled into Salem and headed for the Evans home. Obviously Curtis was now just as much a target as Lije was.

  They rode in silence for a few more miles.

  “At least we saved Jennings,” Curtis finally said.

  AFTER THEY ARRIVED AT THE HOUSE, LIJE WITHOUT a word went to his bedroom, tumbled into his bed, and quickly fell into deep sleep.

  It was well past midnight when he awoke. Slipping on jeans and a T-shirt, he wandered into the living room. Curtis was sitting on the leather sofa, her computer in her lap, seemingly lost in work. Seeing no reason to bother her, he walked into his study and flipped on the TV. He turned to a news channel and sat at his desk and began going through his email. He heard none of what was being reported until the anchor mentioned a familiar name. “And tonight, convicted murderer Jonathan Jennings used his last words to continue to proclaim his innocence. The forty-seven-year-old man has received worldwide publicity for resisting all attempts to delay his date with the executioner. His former lawyer stated that Jennings suffered from claustrophobia that made life on death row even worse than death. A large crowd gathered outside the prison facility to protest the execution …”

  What was this all about? What was going on?

  “Did I hear right? ” Curtis asked from the doorway.

  “Yeah. You did. I thought your buddy Hillman was supposed to make sure that didn’t happen.” Lije stared at the television. “He let an innocent man die tonight.”

  Curtis pulled her cell phone from her pocket and began dialing. She tried a second and then a third number. On the fourth try, she finally got someone to pick up.

  “Jack. Where’s the boss? … Well, find him.”
r />   Curtis punched another number angrily.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, sir, this is ABI Agent Diana Curtis.” She paused. “I’m sorry about the time, sir, but this is important. Have you spoken with Barton Hillman today?”

  Lije didn’t need an explanation from anyone. Hillman had played them. How was he going to explain this mess away? They had all seen the DVD. The owner of the bowling alley had seen it. Hillman was toast.

  “I understand and I thank you.” Curtis closed the phone. “He never checked in with the attorney general or the office. Something must have happened. Maybe someone went after him like they went after us.”

  Lije was not ready to cut the man any slack. He had no doubt that Hillman had deliberately hatched a plan. Something to cover up what they had all seen on the DVD that would have stopped the execution. Surely Hillman did not feel getting his brother-in-law in the governor’s office was worth an innocent man’s life. But who knew what he was capable of?

  Curtis’s cell phone rang. “What? Where? Well, get up here and get me.”

  “Bad news? ” Lije asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. What could possibly top what they already knew?

  “Barton was in an accident. He’s in a hospital in Calico Rock. Seems he missed a turn and his car rolled down a hill, struck a tree, then ended up in the White River. He barely made it out before the vehicle went under.”

  “Interesting timing,” Lije said.

  “Jake Wilson’s taking us to see Barton, and then we’ll check out the car.”

  “Don’t think I want to go.”

  “You have no choice.”

  An hour later, Lije found himself staring at Hillman. A dark bruise was visible across his forehead. Hillman had obviously been shaken up pretty good. Still, the injuries elicited no sympathy from Lije. He actually began to feel sick. An innocent man was dead, and the doctors were saying that Hillman could walk out tomorrow. It was much too clean.

  Lije was stunned. He said nothing. He tried hard not to show any reaction. How did Hillman know about their accident?

  On the thirty-minute drive to where a wrecker had pulled Hillman’s SUV from the river, Lije remained silent. He watched as Curtis and Wilson examined the vehicle. “It’s not here,” he heard her say. Shaking his head, he walked back to the car and waited for the trip home. Of course the DVD wasn’t there. Just like Jennings, it was gone forever.

  On the trip back to Salem, the two agents discussed the accident in the front seat. Lije remained mute. He was so angry he almost didn’t duck to hide from the press upon arrival. Yet being dead felt right at this moment, so playing dead seemed right too. It was past five in the morning when he and Curtis finally walked back into his log home.

  “He’s lucky he wasn’t hurt worse,” she said.

  He nodded and sat down on the couch. “What were you talking about not being able to find? ” He knew the answer but wanted to hear her say it.

  Curtis sat down in a chair opposite Lije. “Barton asked us to find his coat. Even though he knew it was too late to save Jennings, he wants to clear the man’s name. He knew the DVD would be the only real way because everything else would be considered hearsay. The DVD was in his coat pocket. He asked us to see if we couldn’t find his coat in the car. But it must have washed away in the river. Guess we’ll never find it now.”

  “How interesting. Hillman is in an accident and the DVD is gone. Looks like there are just bad breaks everywhere.”

  “What are you implying? ” Curtis asked, hostility in her tone. “Barton was probably driving too fast trying to get to Little Rock. It was an accident. That’s all it was. It’s horrible that Jennings died, but that’s the way life plays out sometimes.”

  “Maybe he did all he could,” Lije said. “I’m surprised Hillman wasn’t hurt worse. That trip down that rock-covered hillside must have been something. How far was it?”

  “Must have been at least two hundred feet at about a sixtydegree angle.”

  “You and Wilson walked that hill. How many trees did the SUV hit?”

  “I didn’t take any real note, but he couldn’t have hit anything directly until the tree his vehicle struck head-on. You saw what it did to the bumper. That impact caused the car to spin around and slide backward into the water.”

  “But no broken bones.” It wasn’t a question. Lije just wanted to emphasize that fact.

  Curtis shook her head. “Only a few bruises. He was lucky. We could have easily lost him tonight.”

  Lije nodded. “Yeah, how do you suppose he came out so lucky?Must have been clean living.”

  “It’s modern technology. Without the airbags, I’m sure he’d have died. Our ABI cars have them on the side as well as in front of the passengers.”

  “I saw that all of them had been deployed. Must have popped when the car hit that big tree. Kind of like ours did when we hit the ground out in the field.”

  Curtis nodded.

  “Kind of funny though,” he added.

  “What is?”

  “You’re the CSI. I’m surprised you missed it. But you weren’t looking for it, were you? You were thinking of this as an accident, not a staged event. You weren’t looking at Hillman as anything but your boss.”

  “I’m not following you.”

  “No, you’re blinded by your faith—the faith in your boss you had almost lost but somehow regained. The faith you still cling to right now in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

  “You’re talking in riddles.”

  He got up from the couch, moved over to the mantel, and picked up a picture of Kaitlyn. He studied it, then placed it back in its familiar spot. He moved to a bookcase and ran his hand across a few novels. She followed his every move. She still didn’t get it. He couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen what even to him had been so obvious. She hadn’t seen it because she wasn’t looking for the mistake. If she had been, she would’ve immediately spotted it. And it would’ve been so much easier if she had.

  “Diana, what was Hillman’s most obvious injury?”

  “The bruise he got when his forehead hit the steering wheel.”

  Lije smiled. “But it couldn’t have happened that way.”

  “But you could even see the imprint of the wheel stitching in the injury. You must have seen it. He really smashed into it with some force.”

  “Yep, it was there, but it couldn’t have happened during the crash. The airbag and shoulder belt would have kept his head from hitting the wheel.”

  Her look slid from confusion to disbelief. He could tell she was struggling. She didn’t want to acknowledge what her training now forced her to admit.

  “He staged it,” she whispered.

  “LIJE, ARE YOU AWAKE? ” CURTIS CALLED FROM THE living room.

  He felt pretty ragged as he walked to rejoin the agent who had become a fixture in his home.

  For hours Lije had waited in solitude, giving Curtis time to come to grips with the information about Hillman—the staged accident, their accident, the information on the bullet. He had remained in the bedroom he had shared with Kaitlyn, killing time by looking at photo albums and recalling more innocent days. But they all just reminded him how really alone he now was. Even the attempts on his life seemed inconsequential compared with losing the love of his life. Kaitlyn had been his lover, partner, best friend, and even his mirror. He saw himself in her eyes and was always trying to improve what was reflected there. Now there was no reflection, no model, and no reason for self-improvement.

  “You still sore? ” Curtis asked as he joined her and poured himself a glass of sweet tea.

  “More than I’ve been in years. What about you?”

  “Everything hurts, but at least nothing’s broken. Listen. I know what you believe about Hillman, that he staged his accident so he didn’t have to stop the execution. I still don’t know why. And I don’t know how he knew about our wreck. But I don’t trust him anymore.”

  “That’s good. At least we agree on th
at. Listen, Diana, we know that Jennings was set up and your boss had something to do with it, at least at the end. Before they can strike again, we need to learn everything we can about the property. Swope’s Ridge has to be connected in some way. It’s the common link to everyone involved. The only place I know to start is with Dr. Cathcart. We need to find out what he knows about the tracks we found. So, my obviously inept bodyguard—”

  “What?”

  “Hey, a lot more attempts have been made on my life since you took over than ever happened before. I know we’re pretending we were killed in the crash, but can we go over and see him?”

  She shook her head. If that meant no, he didn’t like it and would go anyway. In truth, he was just acting nice. Yet as she spoke, he realized her negative head movement was a reflection of some realization, one she seemed to want to avoid. “How many more on death row are innocent? ” Curtis asked.

  Lije shook his head. “Those on death row are the lucky ones.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “How many innocent ones have been executed? How many are already in graves?”

  She didn’t answer. She headed back to the guest bedroom to pick up her stuff. “Let’s go.” She was out the door ahead of him and into the ABI Impala.

  An hour later, halfway to the small river community of Hardy that Dr. Cathcart called home, Curtis said, “Lije, you caused me to think about what I do for a living. I’ve mentally reviewed all my work since I joined the ABI. I don’t believe I’ve overlooked anything that has led to someone being falsely sent to jail. In fact, I know I’ve kept several innocents from being convicted.”

  Lije hesitated. It was still hard to be open with her, but she was starting to open up to him. “Diana, like you, I hadn’t really considered these things in the past. But now, I think back to law school stories about men and women with inept counsel, and I wonder how often it happens. Jennings was innocent, but he didn’t have the money to hire someone who could prove it. And worse, he was executed because a man working for the state wouldn’t make one phone call. Instead that man buried the evidence that would’ve freed him.”