“So where do you live?” I asked, and started looking around myself.
“Not too far from here,” he said, and that was all he said. He wouldn’t even make eye contact with me, and that made me the most uncomfortable. In fact, thanks to the vast number of hours I’d spent watching cop movies, my internal alarm revved up. Something was seriously wrong with this picture. This had been a bad idea. Maybe my worst.
Fuck the tickets. Even though I had only been there a few minutes, I decided to cut my visit short.
“Hey, man, I forgot,” I said, looking back toward my house, “I was supposed to –”
I didn’t hear him stand up. There was no rattling of the swing’s chains, no crunching of the mulch when his boots hit the ground. But before I’d turned back, he was on me, his arm around my neck before I even knew what was happening. A surge of immediate pain shot down my spine as he bent me backward, pulling me up against his chest. His breath was hot against the side of my head, making it easy to hear his grunting as he squeezed my throat harder.
The veins in my head bulged and when I tried to take a breath, the air wouldn't come. I swung wildly with my elbow, trying to connect with his stomach or anything soft and sensitive, but all I found was empty space. I fought for air, and through it all, my mind was racing, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Arashk didn’t make me wait long.
His voice hissed in my ear. “Barnes has something really special planned for you!”
Chapter 40
His balls would never be the same. After many times coming up empty, I got lucky and my elbow finally connected to something soft and sensitive. Arashk would regret giving me that opening for quite some time. He should have never tried to get me down on the ground. All that did was bring critical targets into play for my wildly swinging elbow.
Arashk released his grip around my neck and fell to the ground beside me. A sudden rush of air flowed into my lungs, and like a greedy child who is finally allowed to have candy, I gasped for more. Ignoring the ache it caused, I took in all I possibly could.
With my hands on my knees, I started to regain the senses I’d temporarily lost, and it made my head spin. Arashk and Barnes were connected. I didn’t know exactly how, but that fact alone shook me to the core and set the wheels turning. There was no basis for them to be working together, but it sure as hell explained the sudden attack. I had a feeling it explained a lot more, but I didn’t have the time to think about it now. One reality that was obvious, though, was the true extent of the danger I was in. Not just as a whole, but right that very second.
There was no time for screwing around.
I left Arashk writhing on the bed of mulch, a long and frighteningly full syringe lying beside him as I took off running as fast as my bad ankle would allow. There wasn’t much pain from my old injury at this point, but there was no grace to my gait, either. Or speed, for that matter. Thankfully, the shot I’d given Arashk’s nutsack was affording me a pretty good head start.
It wasn’t until I’d cleared the dirt of the baseball diamond’s infield that I risked a quick glance behind me. Arashk was on his feet and heading in my direction, but his strides didn’t look to be any better than mine. I imagined it was hard to run, all doubled over and nursing his groin the way he was.
The edge of the creek came quickly, and I almost didn’t see it in the darkness. I tumbled down the six-foot embankment more than I actually scaled it. When I hit the bottom, I found myself on my knees in a few inches of cold water. I didn’t stay there long, though, and scrambled my way up the embankment on the other side. Only when I had made it to the top did I risk a second look behind me. What I saw made my heart skip at least a beat, if not two.
Arashk was approaching quickly, only a few steps from the edge of the embankment leading down into the creek. The gap was closing. Without hesitating further, I turned and headed in the direction of the Richter’s shrubs, and beyond that, the beckoning safety of my house.
“You’re gonna die, motherfucker!”
The shout came from behind me, and while not entirely original, the desperation infusing it wasn’t lost on me. In fact, there was something in his voice that took my fear to another level completely, as impossible as that seemed to be. I didn’t know if Arashk had a weapon of some kind. I’d seen the syringe he’d dropped, but I wasn’t sure if he had anything more lethal on him, like a gun or a knife. Knowing that Arashk was working with Barnes, I could only imagine what he might have up his sleeve. The Spanish Tickler flashed before my eyes. Adding that to the fury in his voice just now, I shuddered at what might happen if he were to catch up to me.
I’d always been taught that the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. As my lungs burned from the inside out, I took that education to heart and busted my way through the neighbor’s shrubs, trampling their purple pansies in the process. I would apologize later, but it simply couldn’t be helped. I just hoped I was still capable of apologizing after this was all said and done.
A beacon of light called to me from above my back door, encouraging me to keep running and not look back. I wrung every ounce of motivation from it I could while continuing to put one foot in front of the other. Only a few more seconds.
I couldn’t remember if I’d left the back door unlocked, but I sure as hell hoped so. I didn’t even want to imagine the alternative. Over the last week and a half, I’d accepted the fact that one way or another, I was going to come face to face with Corwin Barnes. In his demented way of thinking, I had to answer for the things I’d done to him a year ago. But I never expected it to go down like this, caught off guard with no weapon or notice, ambushed by a lackey on an elementary school playground.
My wet shoes slipped out from under me as soon as I stepped up onto the brick patio. Luckily, I was able to regain my balance quickly enough by grabbing onto a plastic Adirondack chair, but the slip still cost me a precious second or two. Hearing Arashk’s labored grunts behind me, it was a second or two that I feared I didn’t have to spare.
Chapter 41
The door was unlocked.
Thank God!
I stumbled through and slammed the door behind me as Arashk leapt onto the patio. I was amazed at how fast he'd closed the gap between us. If he’d had another fifty yards...
As he crashed into the wooden door with the shoebox-sized window my eyes flared wide, and I sucked in a heavy gasp of air. With groans of protest, both the latch and hinges threatened to give in to the impact, but ultimately, they held firm. Once again, I thanked God, this time for quality craftsmanship.
I had just thrown the deadbolt lock when the handle on the door started jiggling. I looked up at the pane of glass, afraid that he might try and smash it. There was no way he would ever fit through, nor could he reach the lock from its height, but having even that thin pane of glass between us meant everything.
Breaking the glass didn’t seem to be a part of his plan, though. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure he had one. I think he just wanted to get at me, one desperate way or another.
With only inches separating us, our eyes met. His blazed with a fury I hadn’t seen since that night almost a year ago. This was a different set of eyes, but the rage was the same. Arashk’s damp black hair was trapped between his forehead and the pane of glass as he stared at me like a caged animal with its prey hanging just out of reach. Steam formed a large, oblong circle where his hot breath was hitting the glass in short, rapid succession. This wasn’t the Arashk I knew. But then, I reminded myself, I obviously didn’t know him very well.
I stood there with my heart pounding at a horrific and painful pace, uncertain what would come next. I half expected him to break into evil laughter. But he never did. Or, if he did, I didn’t remember.
“What the hell’s going on?”
The voice came from across the room, groggy and disoriented. It interrupted the quiet and made me jump. That’s when I realized I was no longer standing at the door, but si
tting on the floor with my back against it. My knees were drawn up against my chest with my arms embracing them. I shook my head to regain clarity, a frightening clarity that said it had happened again.
I cursed myself with genuine venom.
The verbal tirade continued as I scrambled to my feet. My father stood in the doorway in blue and green plaid boxers, cleaning his glasses with the front of his white undershirt. Interrupting his sleep like this was becoming a habit, but I didn’t have time to feel bad.
I turned back to the window. Arashk was gone. The only visible evidence that he had ever been there was the fading circle of steam on the glass. A very small part of me felt relief. At least I hadn’t been out long this time. Leaning my own forehead against the glass, I looked out into the moonlit night. Arashk’s dark form was just turning the corner leading around to the side of the house.
Shit!
“Is the front door locked?” I was still breathing so hard, I barely got the words out.
“I’m sure it is this time of night. Luke, what’s going on?”
My father’s voice was more vigilant now, and I heard it trail behind me as I hobbled down the hallway, making my way through the front room and into the entryway. I went for the door handle and allowed myself to breathe when I found it to be locked. I still grabbed one of the antique walking sticks my father kept in an umbrella stand beside the door. It wasn’t much, but it was the closest thing to a weapon within reach.
The front door was steel and lacked a window, so I watched for Arashk through the long, narrow sidelight beside the door. With the exception of a few lit porch lights across the street, the world beyond the glow of our front stoop was slumbering under a blanket of darkness. I pulled out my cell phone and checked the time.
12:09 pm
“Luke, you wanna tell me what’s going on?”
I took another look through the window, but there was still no Arashk. There was also no unmarked sedan. I turned from side to side, looking as far in each direction as I could. Where was Stine, I wondered? What the hell was he doing? Had the guy made a run to get something to eat? Had he left his shift before the next guy got there?
I felt my father’s hand come to rest on my shoulder, and I jumped. Only then did I realize he had asked me a question.
“It’s happening!” I said, still fighting to catch my breath. “He tried to grab me!”
“Barnes?”
“Yes,” I said. “I mean, no. He had someone do it for him.”
“Honey?”
My father and I both turned to see my mother standing at the top of the stairs tying the belt around her light purple robe. I’d gotten it for her for Mother’s Day a few years back. The fabric was faded and unraveling. She never got rid of anything.
“It’s okay, Dear,” my father said, leaving my side and heading to meet her on the stairs. I took the opportunity to look out the window again. Still no sign of Arashk or Officer Stine. I was just starting to think that maybe Arashk had given up when a flat, grey paver stone came crashing through the living room window.
The scream escaped my mother’s throat before the rock had even stopped tumbling.
Chapter 42
My father sat on the top step beside my mother, one hand rubbing her back, the other holding the telephone to his ear.
“Yes, I’d like to report an attempted break-in.”
I’d spent the last five minutes running around every room on the ground floor, making sure all the windows were locked. At each one, I stopped to take a look out into the darkness for any sign of Arashk, but only briefly. He didn’t seem to be anywhere. No strange shadows lurked behind the Japanese maple between our house and the neighbors. The bushes out front and on the side were likewise free of predatory shapes. As far down the street as I could see, the driveways were all empty, as well as the yards. Since the moment the rock had come through the window, there had been no sign of Arashk.
Like a ghost, he’d simply vanished into the night.
I had just sat down at the dining room table to collect my thoughts when my cell phone buzzed. My heart immediately seized in my chest, and my shoulders tensed. Someone didn’t want me to take a much-needed break. A voice in my head begged me to ignore the phone altogether. But I couldn’t. I was pretty certain it was Arashk, and I wanted to hear what the son of a bitch had to say.
But I was wrong. The message wasn’t from Arashk, and I was happy as hell I’d decided to check. It was looking like this was the night Barnes had been planning for all along.
“Dad!” I yelled, rushing into the entryway. My parents were still sitting at the top of the stairs, and my father stood abruptly at the urgency in my voice.
“What is it?”
“It’s Dallas,” I said, grabbing my truck keys off the small, wrought iron and glass table beside the front door. The text message had been short and to the point. In so many words, it told me that I needed to get my ass to Tipsword’s Automotive ASAP. “He’s in trouble. We have go to the shop! Now!”
“Whoa, hold on.” My father put his hands out like fathers do when they’re about to explain something they know you don’t want to hear. “We’re not leaving this house. Not until the police get here and make sure that psycho is gone.”
“He is gone,” I said, trying to ignore the landscape paver sitting amid a spray of shattered glass. “I’m sure of it. Let’s go.”
“Luke!” my father shouted, interrupting the thoughts racing through my mind. He didn’t continue his own thought until I had turned and was giving him my full attention. “I am not leaving your mother here by herself. When the police –”
“The police haven’t done shit!” I shouted, before recoiling at the indignation in my voice. It wasn’t like me to get this angry. “I’m sorry. I’m sure they’re doing all they can, but we can’t wait on them anymore. Someone tried to get to Dallas at the shop.”
“Is he okay?” my mother asked, still clutching her robe.
“I think so. Dallas shot the guy. He’s assuming it’s Barnes, but he’s not sure.”
My father just stood there looking at me like a deaf puppy, like I hadn’t just given him the biggest news since all this began. I guess he was taking his time processing this bit of information, because it took him a moment to find his voice.
And it was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“Then he needs to call the police as well.”
At least I think that’s what he said. By the time I heard the word “police,” I had already thrown open the front door and was making a beeline for my truck.
As I pulled away from the curb, I passed Officer Stine pulling up in the unmarked sedan. Raising a Styrofoam cup, he offered me a head nod and a smile. But I left him hanging. I had somewhere to be, and didn’t have time to play nice.
Chapter 43
As usual, Dallas’ Jeep was parked next to the tire dumpster, and as usual, I pulled the truck into the spot beside it. Once I shut off the headlights, the alley went dark. The only streetlight in the area had been busted out weeks ago, and despite several irritated calls from Dallas, the city had yet to come fix it. Thankfully, the moon was out, and I could at least see where I was walking.
I made my way to the rear entrance and knocked on the metal door before entering. I didn’t know where in the building Dallas was, and I didn’t want to startle him by walking in without warning. He’d already pulled the trigger once tonight, and I didn’t know how well his nerves were responding to it. I suspected it had been awhile.
“Dallas?” I asked, poking my head into the storage room. The door was unlocked despite the break-in and our discussion that afternoon. Old habits die hard, I guess. “Hey, Dallas.”
No answer. I stepped into the room and eased the door shut behind me. The other door in the room, the one that separated the storage room from the office, was always kept open. In fact, there was usually a thick, outdated telephone book propped against the bottom of the door to make sure of it. That night was no differe
nt, and because of that, I wasn’t going into the office blind. The office lights were on.
“Yo, Dallas,” I shouted, louder this time as I made my way across the room. The papers and files that were scattered all over the floor earlier in the day were gone. The desk drawer was back where it belonged. Even the mass of outdated magazines with greasy black fingerprints all over them had been stacked in an orderly fashion on the corner of the desk.
This must have been what had kept him here so late. While it certainly wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to spend long hours and late nights at the shop, they were usually spent under the hood of a car. Quite frankly, since the divorce, I don’t think he loved having the house to himself as much as he claimed.
I stepped out of the darkness and into the brightly lit office.
At this point, I had called Dallas’ name several times and his lack of response was unnerving, to say the least. I was still in shock from being jumped at the school, meaning my already frayed nerves were clocking back in to pull a double shift.
I crossed through the office, suddenly uncomfortable with it being so well lit. Unlike the shop area, the large front window of the office remained uncovered by white paper and the glare of the lights on the glass made seeing out into the night nearly impossible. Like a two-way mirror, someone could have been standing out front looking in from the dark, and I wouldn’t have seen them to save my life. All I could see was myself, and I looked like a target in the middle of the room.
With that thought in mind, I opened the door to the shop. In comparison to the office, the large bay was dimly lit since only one section of the overhead lights was on. Add the fact that the sheets of white paper covering the overhead door windows allowed very little light from the streetlights to penetrate, and the shop was murkier than I’d ever seen it.
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