Was that fair on Rachel?
“Yes,” Kate said. “You know what you have to do.”
Cody felt like crying. Poor Rachel. It would crush her. Would she ever forgive him for letting her down if they turned up at the airport and the plane was gone? He looked at her in the mirror. She was asleep – a perfect and innocent child in this god-awful world. She could stay that way – asleep. What sort of father would allow his child to wake up in Hell?
It was so cold in the car.
“Drive fast and hard,” Kate said.
Cody looked through the windshield, up at the sky. It was rotten and purplish-black, like a bruise.
“No,” he said. “You don’t know what you’re asking.” But his voice was weak. And he found himself wanting her to speak again. He craved the texture of her voice – telling him, reassuring him that it was the right thing to do.
“Kate,” he said. “Where are you?”
“I’m here,” Kate said. The voice was soft and soothing. “And I’ll be there on the other side, waiting for you both. It’s so beautiful here Cody – it’ll be the three of us, driving around the Santa Monica Mountains, surrounded by the California sun. Forever. You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” Cody said. He sounded sluggish. “I’d like that.”
“Drive fast and hard,” Kate said.
Cody nodded. “Yes. Fast and hard.”
He knew she was right. And yet there it was – this voice, somewhere at the back of his mind trying to fight her off. It was screaming from a distance, like the voice of someone falling into a deep hole.
“No,” he said. “No I can’t do it.”
He pointed a stabbing finger at the radio.
“I don’t quit,” he said. “You’re the one who quit. You’re the one that let us down. And why? Did being a big star in Tinseltown really mean more to you than being a mom to your little girl? More than being a wife? You just couldn’t accept it could you? We blew it baby! We drank and snorted our way to the bottom of the Hollywood dung pile. Rachel was our last chance at happiness. Real happiness. A family – we were supposed to be an ordinary family. But you couldn’t do it. You brought Hollywood with you.”
The words gushed like hot lava out of a volcano.
“I don’t quit,” he said, looking at the radio. “That Hollywood golden couple label was on both our heads. I was drowning in the same ocean Kate but I swam out of it. You think it wasn’t hard for me too? And when everyone tried to get me to stay in LA, telling me that perfect comeback role was right around the corner, don’t you think I was tempted? We had a baby on the way – a real baby. The only way we were going to give her a chance was to get the hell out of Los Angeles.”
He’d said the same things to her so many times in his mind.
“This is our chance to start all over again,” Kate said. “I can’t come to you. But you can come to me.”
The voice sounded closer. Like she had her lips pressed up against his ear.
Cody looked in the rearview mirror and saw Kate sitting in the backseat. She was looking at Cody while stroking Rachel’s hair with a long pale finger.
It wasn’t her sudden appearance that shocked him the most. More than anything else, he was taken aback at the sight of them together – mother and daughter, like it was supposed to be. Rachel hadn’t even been a year old when Kate died. He’d imagined so many times what it would be like to see them together had Kate lived.
“My family,” she said, not taking her eyes off Cody.
Cody’s eyes returned to the road. “Family,” he said.
He looked in the mirror again.
Eddie Faldo was sitting in the backseat next to Kate and Rachel. It was the young Eddie Faldo, eleven years old, looking exactly like he’d done in 1985 when he’d starred in The Forever Boys alongside Cody. His jet-black hair was slicked back in a greasy fifties style. His olive skin was smooth and flawless, and he wore the same stripy red and white t-shirt and skin-tight jeans that his character, Ziggy, had worn in the film.
“Just do it man,” Eddie said, talking in Ziggy’s wise-ass Brooklyn accent. In The Forever Boys, Cody had played a character called Jared – a shy kid with a stutter and the exact opposite of Ziggy’s confident street kid persona. Actors loved stutters – they were Oscar bait and indeed the role had netted the young Cody his first and only Academy Awards nomination. He’d lost out to some old fart actor who’d played a dementia patient in a care home.
Eddie was holding an Oscar statuette in his left hand. The 24-karat gold-plated award was looking at Cody or at least it seemed to be. Look at what you could have won. Eddie Faldo had won an Oscar in his early twenties playing an on-screen junkie, a role that Cody had been perfecting in real life around the same time.
“A-a-asshole,” Cody said. “Get the f-fuck out of my car.”
“Do it Jared,” Eddie said. “Drive fast and hard.”
Cody felt like he was falling into a deep hole. It felt like his mind was slipping beyond his control. He saw no future. No point in going on, not when it was this hard.
“You’re right,” he said. “I can end this.”
His eyes roamed the side of the highway. There were plenty of trees lined up along the 281 but most of them were tucked in behind a short metal fence. If he drove the car into that little fence, even at high speed he’d be lucky to get whiplash. The utility poles however, those caught his eye. They stretched out along the highway very nicely. Slamming the Dodge into one of those babies, now that would cause some damage.
Cody had already unbuckled his seatbelt by the time he’d decided to go after one of the utility poles. He slowed the car down and stopped in the middle of the highway. Turning around, he reached a hand into the back seat area. Quickly, he found the buckle at Rachel’s waist and unclicked it.
Cody checked to see if she was awake. She was still out of it, bless her. Kate and Eddie Faldo, still sitting beside her, urged him onwards with eager, gleaming eyes.
“Do it,” Kate said.
“Do it,” Eddie said.
Cody turned on the engine and put his foot down on the pedal. The 1970 Dodge Challenger roared as it built up speed and charged forward down the lonely 281.
No more pain. It was for the best.
If the utility pole didn’t finish them off there was always the gun. As long as he was still conscious, Cody would reach for the Glock and put both of them out of their misery.
They would be a family again. Driving around the Santa Monica Mountains forever.
The car raced down the highway, picking up speed. The road was like an empty runway, allowing Cody to bring the Dodge up to top speed, almost one hundred and forty miles-per-hour. It was going to be the ultimate takeoff when he hit that pole.
“Dad?”
Rachel sounded far away.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Cody said. “It’ll all be over soon. I’m taking care of it.”
“Dad!” Rachel’s voice was louder this time. She was getting closer. “Why are you driving so fast? Slow down. I’m scared.”
The voice pulled him back. Cody looked in the mirror and saw Rachel sitting alone in the back seat. There was only Bootsy keeping her company now. He saw the fear and confusion in her eyes and his foot immediately released the accelerator. The Dodge, which had been speeding along at over a hundred miles-per-hour, slowed down quickly.
“Oh my God,” Cody said. It felt like he was opening his eyes after a deep sleep only to find that he was lying on the edge of a tall cliff, inches from toppling over the side. “I was going to…”
He wiped the sweat off his face. His skin was burning.
“Rachel,” Cody said, trying to pull himself back together. “Put your seatbelt on okay? I think it came off by accident when you were asleep.”
“Okay.”
As he spoke, he fastened his own belt. Quietly.
“Did you see that?” Rachel said, fixing her seatbelt.
“What? See what?”
/>
“There was someone standing at the side of the road,” Rachel said. “I think it was a hitchhiker. We just passed her by a second ago.”
Cody looked in the side mirror and saw someone standing at the edge of the highway. A woman was holding a thumb out, looking towards the Dodge with hopeful eyes.
It was not the Black Widow.
Cody pressed the brake and the Dodge slowed to a stop in the middle of the road. Now that the engine was quiet he could hear his heart thumping. He wanted to shout, to punch a hole in the roof of the car – to do something. His head shook back and forth as he tried to understand what had taken place just moments earlier. What happened? It had felt so real – Kate, Eddie, and the certainty he’d felt about killing his daughter, not to mention himself.
Rachel leaned forward in the back.
“Are we giving that woman a ride?” she asked.
Cody looked in the side mirror again. The woman was walking down the road towards the car. The Dodge’s bright taillights allowed him a good look at her. She was between fifty and sixty years old with long red, wavy hair that fell down past her shoulders. Her face was pale with strong, handsome features. With her plaid shirt, blue jeans and knee-high boots, she looked the part of a stranded country and western singer. All that was missing was the guitar case in hand.
She had no bags.
“Yeah,” Cody said. “Let’s help her out. As long as she’s going our way.” What he didn’t tell Rachel was that he would welcome the distraction. That was his main reason for stopping. With any luck, there’d be less interference from malevolent forces if someone else was in the car.
Cody glared up at the black sky. Fuck you.
“But you said nobody else was going to be riding with us,” Rachel said.
“We can’t leave a woman on the side of the road like that,” Cody said. “She’s likely to get run over or worse. Look she won’t interfere with our plans honey. We’re going straight to the airport and if she wants, we can drop her off somewhere along the way. That’s the best we can do. Okay?”
“Okay,” Rachel said.
Cody smiled at Rachel. Then he listened as footsteps approached the driver’s side of the vehicle. As he waited for the hitchhiker, Cody closed his eyes and saw Kate’s gaunt and waiflike face in the back seat, begging him to die. Begging him to kill their daughter.
Chapter Five
Cody rolled down the window and the hitchhiker leaned in.
“Going my way?” she said. She was smiling, showing off a set of large front teeth – massive ivory monoliths that glowed in the dark. Her eyes lit up when she noticed Rachel sitting in the back of the car. It was as if the sight of the child reassured her that Cody wasn’t an axe murderer and that it was safe to approach.
“Depends,” Cody said. “What’s your way?”
“Oh Lord,” she said, leaning in closer. “Whatever way you’re going is my way. I just want to get off this damn highway for starters.”
“We’re going to the airport,” Cody said. “No further. Sorry.”
The woman’s eyebrows stood up, turning her face into a question mark.
“Well I ain’t going that far,” she said. “I live in one of them cute little suburbs further down the highway. Came up to Spring Branch to see if there was any food or water left in the stores. Figured it was quieter up there – thought they might have some supplies lying around, you know? Came out empty-handed as you can see. Ah sure as hell wasn’t walking into San Antonio though. That city’s gone up in hellfire and I hear they’re all batshit crazy or fleeing in droves. Don’t know about the airport though.”
Cody looked towards the horizon where a blip of violent color lingered over San Antonio.
“The airport is okay,” he said.
The woman pointed a finger at the sky.
“So you’re getting on a plane?” she said. “That might be the craziest thing I’ve heard yet.”
“Staying on the ground is crazier,” Cody said. “You got a better idea?”
“Nope,” the woman said. “I do not. Crazy ideas in crazy times are probably the sanest choice. God speed my friends. All I’m looking for is a little haul further down the highway, that’s if you don’t mind. I’ve seen some selfish assholes driving up and down this road and you’re the first kind-hearted people who’ve stopped to help a lady out. What do you say? Can you help old Mary Jane get home?”
Cody smiled. “Mary Jane?”
The woman offered a hand to Cody through the gap in the window.
“That’s me darling,” she said. “Mary Jane Labelle. Housewife and part-time adventurer. Just trying to get through the Black Storm so I can get back to my man and kids who’re probably worried sick.” She winked at Rachel. “And my dogs of course. I probably miss them most of all.”
Rachel giggled in the back.
Cody took the woman’s hand and shook it. Her skin was like sandpaper and the grip was strong.
“I’m Cody,” he said. “That’s my daughter Rachel.”
“Well hello there Rachel,” Mary Jane said. She reached through the window and greeted the young girl with a warm handshake. “How are we doing this evening? Is it evening?”
“It’s morning,” Rachel said.
“Right you are.”
Mary Jane, still smiling, turned back to Cody. He saw the hopeful look in her eye.
“Mind if I search you for weapons?” Cody said.
Mary Jane nodded. “Absolutely not,” she said. “You’d be crazy if you didn’t.”
She stepped back from the car and Cody got out. Mary Jane stood on the side of the road. She held her arms out, waiting for him to begin.
Cody hesitated.
“Don’t be shy Cody,” Mary Jane said. “I ain’t going to accuse you of trying to cop a feel or nothing like that. You got a beautiful little girl there and it’s only right you want to protect her. Go on and search me. I ain’t armed but I understand you gotta find that out for yourself.”
“Alright,” he said. “Can you put your hands on your head? Fingers interlocked if you don’t mind.”
“You a cop?”
Cody shook his head as he patted her down. He wasn’t a cop but he’d played one in several straight to DVD movies back in the nineties. Thanks to a short spell of research undertaken with the LAPD he knew exactly what he was doing when it came to conducting a standing search.
He started the search from Mary Jane’s back because doing it that way reduced the risk of an attack. He asked her to widen her stance, which she did. Afterwards he thoroughly searched the areas on both sides of Mary Jane’s body – those parts where it would be easy for her to reach for a weapon if she had one stashed away.
Now it was time to search the more delicate areas. Once again, she seemed to sense that he was uncomfortable.
“C’mon,” she said. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years.”
Cody ignored her and got on with it. He felt around the perimeter of her breast using the side of his hand. When it came to the breast’s underside he used the outside of the thumb like he’d been taught to – he recalled this was done to avoid accusations of cupping. He didn’t get the feeling that Mary Jane was going to accuse him of anything.
He could feel Rachel’s eyes watching him from the car.
“You’re pretty good at that,” Mary Jane said in a deep, almost masculine voice.
Cody’s hands dropped to his sides.
“All done,” he said. “You ain’t packing.”
“I can get in?”
“Sure.”
She looked at him, long and hard. Cody got the feeling that she was trying to flirt with him. Maybe he was better at conducting a standing search than he realized.
He backed off towards the driver’s door.
“Alright let’s go,” Cody said.
He climbed back into the car and waited. Mary Jane walked at a leisurely pace and eased her way into the passenger seat.
“I like your style,” she sa
id to Cody, looking around the inside of the car. “Is this an old-school Dodge Challenger? Or is it a Charger?”
“Challenger.”
“Man, these cars rock.”
Mary Jane turned around and smiled at Rachel.
“Going on a plane sweetheart?” she said, buckling up her seatbelt.
Rachel nodded, then looked away shyly. “Yeah.”
“How exciting,” Mary Jane said. When she turned back to the front, Cody saw her glance nervously at the black sky.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Cody drove the Challenger back onto the highway. He barely bothered to check for oncoming traffic anymore because the roads were so quiet and empty. Maybe that would change as they got closer to the city.
An uncomfortable silence lingered. It felt weird having somebody else in the car and Cody didn’t like it. But the risk of another encounter with the Black Widow was greatly reduced in company. And with no cup of coffee likely to appear in the near future it would help him stay alert too.
Fortunately the silence didn’t last long.
“Say you look familiar,” Mary Jane said. She was looking at Cody, her eyes gleaming like he was something sweet and sugary sitting on a supermarket shelf. It was a little unnerving but it was a look that Cody had encountered many times during his film career from giddy fans.
Cody shook his head. “Don’t know about that,” he said. Ever since moving to Texas a decade ago, he’d heard those four words all lined up in that exact same order, more than anything else.
Say you look familiar.
“What did you say your surname was?” Mary Jane asked.
“I didn’t,” Cody said.
But Mary Jane didn’t seem like the type of woman to take a hint. Her eyes were bulging with curiosity.
“I do know you though,” she said. “I’m sure of it.”
“Maybe I’ve just got one of those faces,” Cody said. “I probably look like someone you knew once.”
Silence followed but he could hear Mary Jane’s brain at work. She was sizing him up from the passenger seat. It was something he’d gotten used to a long time ago – strangers gawking at him. At first, back in the 1980s, it had been glorious but as things had gotten worse in his private life, those starstruck eyes had been replaced by looks of pity and the occasional look of disgust. Nowadays he was happy with being Mr. Invisible.
The Exterminators Trilogy: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Box Set Page 4
