Last to Die: A gripping psychological thriller not for the faint hearted

by Arlene Hunt

  Jessie rested her head on her knees and sang softly. Somehow this allowed her a moment of clarity. If this man wanted her dead she would be dead already. Leading from that, it was clear he had another purpose in mind, one that required her to have some measure of rest and energy.

  But what could he want?

  ‘No point running you like this,’ he had said. What had he meant by ‘running’ her?

  She sang another song, and then another. She felt herself settle.

  He was strong, so fighting with him was pointless and would only get her injured. She needed to keep her strength and her wits about her. He had an intention, if he hadn’t she’d be dead already.

  Running her.

  Why had he said that? Did he mean that in a literal sense? He wanted to make her run?

  She closed her eyes and sang a little more. She thought of him outside her house, the casual way he had tricked her into approaching him.

  Oh, poor Rudy.

  No, she snapped, not those thoughts.

  She thought about what little she had glimpsed when she had been pulled from the trunk. It seemed they were in the countryside … lots of trees … possibly a farm of some kind perhaps.

  She might only get one chance, assuming she got one at all. If she did, Jessie thought, humming a song Gamma used to hum as she peeled vegetables by the sink in Jessie’s parents’ home, she would make that chance count.

  Some time later she heard noises overhead and footsteps on the stairs. Jessie moved away from the door and stood by the bed. He opened the cell door and slid another tray of food towards her. He stood in the doorway, looking at her in a dispassionate way. Jessie looked back at him. Despite her fear, this time she did not plead with him to let her go; she had accepted that that was a fruitless waste of time.

  ‘What’s your average?’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘You got dirt in your ears? You’re a track runner; I saw it in the papers. What was your average?’

  Jessie blinked, confused by the question. ‘I— I don’t know what you mean.’

  He looked irritated. ‘What was the longest you ever ran?’

  ‘Oh, um, a half marathon.’

  ‘How far’s that?’

  ‘Thirteen miles.’

  He leaned against the doorframe, thinking.

  ‘What speed?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘How fast’d you run it?’

  ‘One hour twenty-five.’

  ‘That’s pretty fast. Them kids you shot, at the school. How far away was you?’

  ‘Why are you asking me these stupid questions? I don’t know, okay, I don’t know.’

  ‘You know. How far?’

  Jessie closed her eyes and took a number of deep breaths. She saw Hector, his wispy moustache, the widening of his eyes.

  ‘I don’t know. Not far, only a few feet.’

  ‘And you was under fire?’

  ‘Yes.’

  When she opened her eyes again he had closed the door and locked it. She waited until she was sure he was gone before she located the tray and brought it up to the bed. She ate, thinking dark thoughts of a kind she had long forgotten, or rather thoughts she had convinced herself no longer inhabited any quarter of her mind.

  50

  Mike called the Sheriff’s department and told Earl what had been found. Earl said he would send a tow truck and that he himself would be by as soon as he could.

  ‘Don’t bother. I’m coming back into town.’

  ‘Say what?’

  ‘I need to organise some people to start a search.’

  ‘I don’t want a whole mess of people up there tramping around.’

  ‘There’s nothing to see here, Earl.’

  ‘That’s for me to decide, I’ll call you when I make my preliminary investigation.’

  Mike and Ace waited for the tow truck to arrive and followed it into town. They drank a cup of coffee while they waited for the Sheriff to return their call and tell them to come by the station, by which time it was past noon and Mike was close to boiling point.

  ‘So it was parked up with the keys in the ignition?’ Earl said, writing in his notebook.

  ‘Parked, yeah, but I already told you I don’t think Jessie did the parking?’

  ‘How’s that?’

  ‘It was left in neutral, we don’t do that, and the seat was pushed too far back for Jessie too.’

  ‘The seat?’

  ‘Yeah, the seat,’ Mike said, exasperated. ‘It was pushed back further than normal. I told you all this when I called you!’

  ‘That all?’

  Mike hesitated.

  ‘If you’re keeping something from me, Mike, I can’t help you.’

  Mike took Rudy’s collar from his pocket and laid it on the desk. Earl lifted it and turned it over in his hand, reading the name printed on the silver bone.

  ‘Ain’t this the name of the dead dog?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Where’d you find it?’

  ‘Out on the rocks by the waterfall.’

  Earl’s expression did not change, but his eyes gave his thoughts away.

  ‘She wouldn’t do that, Earl.’

  ‘What made you think to go up that way, Mike?’

  ‘He didn’t. I found the car,’ Ace spoke for the first time since they had entered in the office.

  ‘Did you now?’ Earl looked at him. ‘How come you happened to be up that way?’

  ‘I need a reason to be places, Earl?’

  ‘I’m just a little curious I guess.’

  ‘What difference does it make who found the car?’ Mike said, irritated by the line Earl was taking. ‘Fact is it was there. And we’re wasting time standing around here yammering about it.’

  ‘I thought the dog was found over in the woods by your house.’

  ‘He was.’

  Earl looked down at the collar for a long moment. Mike shifted his weight from one foot to another. ‘Earl, it’s gone noon, we’re wasting time.’

  ‘I’ve sent Martins up to take a look around.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And what?’

  ‘How about a search party?’

  ‘I don’t have the manpower to organise a search party based on nothing more than a parked car. You said yourself there was no sign of a struggle and the car had a key in the ignition. Now I’m not dismissing your concerns, Mike, but I need you to understand me here when I say I can’t do a whole lot more than give a man or two to this at the moment. I don’t know if you heard about the shooting over in Sioqua Valley – there’s two dead with another two wounded. I’ve got cases coming out of my ears.’

  ‘Goddamn it Earl, I need your help here,’ Mike snapped, his expression murderous.

  ‘You need to dial it down a notch.’

  ‘Dial my ass. She could be up there hurt; she could be lying injured out in those damned woods someplace. I can’t just sit around and wait, Earl. I need to be doing something.’

  ‘Mike, listen to me. I’ve put an APB on her and I’ve called the hospitals and anyone I can think of, but there’s not much more I can do at this point.’

  ‘Jessie was not driving that car and Jessie did not kill our dog.’

  ‘Up until a few days ago you didn’t even know your wife was married before.’

  Mike darted forward but Ace grabbed him and hauled him back to his heels.

  Mike shook his brother off and held out a shaking finger. ‘I won’t forget this, Earl, you better remember that.’

  ‘And you better remember who you’re taking to.’

  Mike grabbed his cap from where it had fallen and left, slamming the door.

  Ace stood for a moment, eyeballing Earl.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ Earl said, smoothing his hair.

  ‘Not a whole lot,’ Ace said. ‘And that’s the truth of it.’

  ‘You need to prepare him, Ace; you need to do that for your brother. Only two reasons folk go up there these days. I doubt Jessie
was courting.’

  ‘You don’t worry about what I need to do.’

  Ace exited, ignoring the slack-jawed Vonda Kelp at reception. He found Mike standing by the truck. His brother’s face was the colour and texture of tallow.

  ‘You okay?’

  ‘That’s one useless son of a bitch back there.’

  Ace lit a cigarette and blew a stream of smoke out of the corner of his mouth. ‘I’ll make a few calls, call in a few favours.’

  ‘She could be anywhere.’

  ‘You really think she’s up there?’

  ‘She wouldn’t do what he thinks she did, Ace. She wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘You sure?’

  Mike looked across the street to the Sheriff’s office. His eyes were bright with tears and muscles jumped in his jaw.

  ‘Quitting’s not her style, Ace.’

  Ace rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

  ‘Then we won’t quit on her neither.’

  51

  Mike went back to his house, gathered some gear and returned to the logging road. As promised – and despite the short notice – Ace had managed to rustle up a large group of men and women and had assembled them by where Jessie’s car had been located.

  Mike was gratified and a little humbled by the turnout. As well as Ace’s friends, there was Lou-Ann Granger and her brother Todd, and Ray from the diner. Mingled among the people, hunting dogs of every stripe and breed strained at their leashes, keening and barking up a storm.

  ‘How are you holding up?’

  Mike turned and found himself face to face with Walter Hynes. Walter wore a snow-white t-shirt, khaki shorts and trainers with coloured gel heels.

  ‘Walt, what are you doing here?’

  ‘Karen called and told me what had happened. I’m here to lend a pair of feet.’

  ‘I appreciate that, Walt.’

  While they shook hands, Ace wandered up with his dog Captain on a retractable line. He looked at Walter for a moment, his mouth twitching softly.

  ‘Hello, Ace.’

  ‘Walt. Nice duds.’

  Walter stiffened a touch. ‘These are trail shoes, designed for this kind of terrain.’

  ‘They designed for snake bite?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Plenty of ’em up this way. Mosquitos too, I reckon you’re gonna end up a buffet in that get up. I got a spray in the truck, if you need it.’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘Suit yourself.’ Ace turned his attention to Mike. ‘Just got a call. Dale’s on his way with a number of guys to help with the search.’

  ‘Decent of him.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Ace said, cutting his eyes at Walter. ‘Might not be a bad thing if you leave him to search the western slope of the range.’

  Mike knew there was more to the request than Ace was saying but he didn’t really give a damn at that point. ‘If that’s where he wants to search he can do so, long as he searches.’

  ‘All right then.’ Ace crushed his cigarette butt under his heel. ‘I’ll take Captain and head up—’

  ‘Mike!’

  ‘What’s she doing here,’ Mike said.

  Ace shrugged. ‘Search me. I didn’t call her.’

  Fay walked up the dirt road towards them carrying a long walking stick in her right hand. She wore beige three-quarter-length linen pants, a cream shirt and sturdy boots. A large floppy hat adorned her head. She stopped before the men, she nodded a greeting to Walter and pulled herself up to her full height. She had a determined set to her jaw that Mike recognised. ‘Where do you need me?’

  ‘I don’t. It’s hotter than hell out here. Go on back to the house and I’ll call you the minute I know anything.’

  ‘I am not going to sit around that house a minute longer. You should have told me you had organised a search. I could have called people.’

  ‘Who did tell you?’

  ‘Karen.’

  ‘Karen sent you?’ Ace said with a twisted smile, ‘Where’s she at?’

  Fay ignored her oldest son. ‘I assume you have a course of action in mind.’

  ‘I do, and it don’t involve you.’

  That hurt her feelings, Mike could see that, but all that served to do was make her tilt her jaw a little more skyward. ‘That’s too bad because I’m here.’

  ‘It’s going to be a lot of walking. I’m not going to have time to wait for stragglers.’

  ‘I am aware of that.’ She glanced at Walter, then back to Mike, her features softening. ‘I want to help. Please, Mike.’

  Mike sighed. ‘Fine, Lou-Ann’s here, maybe you can go with her.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘How many are we?’

  Ace did a rapid head count. ‘Thirty – no wait, here comes Dale.’

  Dale Corrigan drove his jeep along the path as far as he could and parked up. He got out, followed by three other large men Mike knew from around town but did not socialise with. One of them, Danny Winston, had recently been released from a long spell inside. Despite his other concerns Mike wondered about Danny’s sudden civic-minded spirit.

  Dale opened the back of the jeep and a large red-nosed pit-bull jumped down. It was held firm by one of the other men until Dale attached a long lead to his leather breastplate. The other dogs huffed and cried at the newcomer as it approached. Dale stopped a few feet away. The pit stood up on his hind legs, leaning his full weight on the harness, his cropped ears tilted forward. His muscles rippled in the sunlight.

  ‘Better make that thirty-four,’ Ace said, ‘and dog.’

  ‘I hope he keeps that thing on the leash,’ Walter said to no one in particular.

  Mike acknowledged Dale with a nod before turning to the assembled crowd. ‘Folks,’ he said, lifting his voice so that everyone could hear him. ‘First off I want to thank you all for coming…’

  52

  Jessie slept on and off in a fashion until she heard his footsteps again. He opened the door and stood there for a moment, watching her. The light from the lantern he held aloft hurt her eyes, and she folded her forearm across her face until she became accustomed to it.

  ‘You listen good.’

  Jessie said nothing, but she nodded.

  ‘I’m aiming to take you out of here. I don’t want any trouble with you. If you look for trouble you will surely get it.’ He pulled the door closed and locked it again.

  Jessie lowered her arms and sat on the side of the cot. She wondered what time it was. Now that the door had been opened the air in the cell felt cooler by a few degrees. She got up, peed, drank as much of the disgusting water as she could stomach and paced the tiny room until he returned.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  Jessie slid past him and climbed the wooden steps that led to the ground floor. As she climbed she wondered how she could get away from him, what she might be able to accomplish if only her nerve would hold.

  In the end, he didn’t give her much of a chance to do anything. As soon as they cleared the door he bound her wrists behind her and said, ‘Walk where I show you.’

  They exited the barn. Jessie took a long inhalation of fresh pine-scented air. She knew dawn was not far away, although the shadows remained deep. Her eyes followed the pale tinges of light splintering the sky behind the purple-hued mountains to the east.

  ‘Move.’

  He struck her between the shoulder blades and forced her to walk over the uneven ground to an old pick-up truck. He made her climb up onto the flatbed and when she did as he asked he tied her feet together.

  Jessie finally managed to get a good look at him and was shocked by what she saw. He wore full camouflage gear and the skin above his beard had been smeared with dark greasepaint. She flinched when he put his hand on her. This seemed to amuse him. He pulled a spare wheel away, then lifted a wooden panel set into the floor. Jessie saw that there was a narrow space barely big enough for an adult human built into the bed of the cab.

  ‘Get in.’

  Jessie looked at the tiny space and hopped b
ack.

  ‘I can’t go in there. Please, I’m claustrophobic, I—’

  The blow was unexpected and so rapid she had not even seen him move his hand. One minute she was standing, the next her face slammed against the cold metal of the bed.

  ‘I told you there was to be no trouble.’

  He dragged Jessie to the lip of the space and kicked her inside. He put more tape over her mouth and leaned across her.

  ‘Ain’t nobody out these ways, but make sounds and I will kill you. Understand?’ He did not wait to see if she understood. He replaced the wood panel and Jessie was once again in darkness. She felt the truck’s springs sag, heard the engine turn over and a door slam.

  They were on the move.

  She tried to manoeuvre her body into a more comfortable position, but there was little room to do anything. She gritted her teeth as the vehicle bounced over rocks and stones. She tried to keep calm, to figure out a plan.

  She focused on the man who had taken her. Whatever she was dealing with here, she knew she was wasting her time looking for pity. There had been nothing in his eyes, no expression, no anger or excitement. Even when he struck her nothing changed. He had wanted her to do something and she had resisted so he had struck her. She had seen that calmness before. Her first husband Doug had worn it often. She knew she was nothing to him, only a human source for his sick amusement.

  She turned her attention to the journey, trying to list the turns and stops. She heard the rumble of wood again and tried to gauge the distance he had travelled from the cabin, and then from there to the next turn. She felt the truck slow down and turn. Wherever he was taking her, they were now on a poor surface and climbing. She heard him drop down through the gears.

  She thought of the landscape when he had led her out of the cell. What she had managed to view was not encouraging. No one could help her.