Goodbye Forever

by Bonnie Hearn Hill

  ‘Katherine,’ he mouthed back. ‘She’s trying to stir up shit.’

  ‘Pretend you’re kissing me.’

  He grinned. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  Arms around his neck, she whispered, ‘Katherine’s right. If we do this, we’ll never be free of Lucas or the compound.’

  ‘Got it.’

  Theo removed his earbuds and let the hip hop he’d been playing fill the back of the truck.

  ‘I thought Lucas didn’t allow electronics,’ Jessica said.

  ‘It’s not connected to anything but the music,’ Wyatt told her. ‘He explained it today. We can’t risk being traced.’

  Wyatt’s hair smelled like the ocean, like rain water, like the security of a past she had lost. Jessica pressed her face against it.

  ‘Turn up the music, Theo,’ Angel said, ‘and hand me the cards. ‘I’m sick of watching these two lovers.’

  ‘We’re both smart,’ Jessica whispered to Wyatt. ‘We don’t need to stay with these people. It was never our plan.’

  ‘It’s too late to back out.’ He shrugged and pulled a sleeping bag over them like a blanket.

  ‘We need to make him stop the truck as soon as we hit town, and then we’ve got to get help. He’s only one little kid.’

  ‘Is that what Katherine’s been telling you?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s the truth,’ she said. ‘Lucas can’t control us any more than the Weasel could.’

  Wyatt smiled at her, and Jessica could see that he was considering what she had said.

  ‘We need to talk to Ike,’ she said. ‘I think he’s having second thoughts too.’

  ‘What makes you think that?’ he demanded in a too-loud voice. ‘Ike’s the last person who would cross Lucas.’

  ‘It’s not crossing him. It’s protecting ourselves. In a way, we’ll be protecting him too. Lucas is too young to spend the rest of his life with a police record.’

  Wyatt hugged her and rested his head against the camper shell. ‘You only get a record if they catch you,’ he said.

  Jessica didn’t reply. She wanted to believe he would do the right thing, but something about Wyatt was different, and she didn’t know what or why.

  At first, Farley had argued with John Paul about discussing Kit Doyle’s disappearance on the air, but John Paul knew he was right. All of the stations were following the story. Nothing they could add would do more than capitalize on it. Richard McCarthy might be a judgmental asshole, but he had been right about John Paul, and he had sensed his uncertainty even before John Paul had figured it out for himself.

  John Paul and Farley headed for the gym Saturday afternoon. Later that night, they would sit in on Jasper’s weekend gig at the blues club. John Paul drove, and Farley sat silently beside him.

  ‘You still think we should do the segment?’ John Paul asked.

  ‘No.’ Farley stared out the window. ‘I talked to Kit’s dad, and he agrees with you. It just sucks is all. One day, she’s here, and one day …’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You really want to go to the gym?’ Farley asked.

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘Neither do I.’ Farley turned to face him, pale eyes vacant. ‘You feel like a beer?’

  John Paul thought about it. ‘No. Maybe later. Want me to drop you off at your place?’

  Farley nodded, and they drove without speaking. They had pretty much said it all.

  As John Paul walked into up the path to his front door, his phone rang, and Jasper’s number popped up.

  ‘What’s going on?’ John Paul asked.

  ‘A girl in a NorCal convenience store,’ he said. ‘She told the clerk her name was Kit Doyle.’

  ‘Shit.’

  ‘A guy claiming to be her boyfriend threw some cash at the clerk and got her out of there. They took off with some other kids in a pickup.’

  John Paul’s body tensed, and he headed back toward his truck. ‘Description?’

  ‘It matches. And, John Paul, the clerk heard the kids talking about how long it would take them to get to Mendocino.’

  ‘Thanks, man,’ John Paul said. ‘I’m going.’

  ‘Figured you would. Don’t say I’m the one who told you.’

  ‘You know I won’t,’ he said, and reached for the truck door.

  THIRTY

  Lucas hadn’t assigned Kit to the front seat for the view. He probably sensed that the others were having second thoughts. Even the nervous way Angel avoided eye contact with her meant she didn’t want Kit or anyone else to guess her thoughts.

  They drove through Mendocino, twisting around the curves of the highway. The truck shook in spite of Ike’s expert handling of it. Perspiration broke out on his forehead. He shoved his hoodie down to his shoulders.

  ‘Almost there,’ he said in a fake-cheerful voice.

  Sitting between him and Lucas, Kit watched the signs for Caspar and Jackson State Forest fly past.

  ‘I’ve been thinking,’ Lucas said.

  Kit already knew that when he said thinking, he meant planning, so she didn’t reply.

  ‘About what?’ Ike asked, taking the bait.

  ‘That woman at the Mexican restaurant.’ Lucas smiled, and Kit knew it wasn’t because he was thinking about the food.

  ‘Juanita? We can’t steal from her,’ Ike said. ‘She gives us free stuff. She doesn’t charge us.’

  ‘You’re so funny, Ike. I wasn’t suggesting we steal from her.’

  ‘What, then?’ Ike asked. ‘She doesn’t cause us any trouble.’

  The road evened out. To their right, Kit saw a motel and then another. Finally, they would be close enough to people who could help her.

  ‘She hasn’t caused us any trouble yet that we know of,’ Lucas said. ‘But she’s gotten way too curious about what we do, where we live, that kind of thing.’

  Ike bit his lip and stared straight ahead. ‘We already agreed to stop using the restaurant as a meeting place.’

  ‘That avoids future problems.’ Lucas cracked the window, and sea breeze filled the cab. He took a deep breath of it. ‘It doesn’t fix what she already knows, though.’

  ‘No, Lucas.’ Ike gripped the wheel.

  ‘No, what? I thought we should just discuss it. He’s touchy, don’t you think, Katherine?’

  ‘What I think is that you’re baiting him,’ she said, ‘trying to goad him into harming that woman, maybe with one of those fires you enjoy so much.’

  ‘I don’t bait, and I don’t goad.’ Although his tone was pleasant enough, his lips tightened. ‘I’m not the Weasel.’

  ‘You’d like to be, though. Wouldn’t you?’

  ‘That’s ridiculous and unkind.’ His pale cheeks turned pink. ‘I think Ike made a mistake offering you a place to stay with us, Katherine.’

  Kit knew she had pushed him too far, but there was no way to backtrack. ‘I took you seriously when you said we had free will,’ she told him. ‘But I didn’t have free will about whether or not I came along on this trip. I don’t even have free will about where I sit in this truck.’

  ‘I apologize for that.’ Lucas quickly regained his composure. ‘The rest of us knew each other before, and you’re the wild card, so to speak. Until you prove yourself, I have to protect the others in the group.’

  ‘Burning down that woman’s home, nearly killing her, didn’t do it for you?’ she asked.

  ‘It helped.’ His smile grew wistful. ‘But quite frankly, you can be disrespectful in your speech. For that reason, I’m going to ask Ike to stay with you when we complete what we came here for tonight. If you’re truly with us, you shouldn’t have a problem with that.’

  She looked at Ike, who pretended to be watching the road.

  ‘Does that plan work for you, Ike?’ Lucas asked.

  ‘It’s fine.’ His expression didn’t change.

  ‘That’s more like it.’ They pulled into town, and Lucas cranked the window down farther. ‘This is such a pretty place. Once we start back, let’s talk about Ju
anita some more, Ike. If you don’t agree that she’s a problem, I’m sure Wyatt would be willing to help.’

  Ike clutched the steering wheel as if he wanted to rip it out. ‘I can handle it,’ he said.

  ‘I’m sure you can. And I have a puzzle for you.’

  ‘I’m not in the mood.’ Yet Ike raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Two boys are enrolling in a fancy school, and they tell the admissions guy that they have the same father and mother. They also have the same birthday. He asks if they are twins, and they say no. How is this possible?’

  ‘I don’t care,’ Ike said.

  Lucas glanced out the window and began to hum softly.

  ‘They’re triplets,’ Ike blurted.

  ‘Very good. I can’t stump you for long.’

  With Ike back under his control, Lucas seemed to relax. Kit hoped that they would stop in town, but he directed Ike down Main Street. Once they passed a Safeway grocery store, they pulled off Main and on to roads that grew only narrower.

  ‘How do you remember how to get here after so many years?’ Kit asked.

  ‘Technology can be useful on occasion.’ Lucas patted the truck’s glove compartment.

  ‘You have a phone in there?’

  ‘Locked in a foil-covered box. Like any convenience, it has a negative side, so we use it rarely. I did check out the social media pages of all our compound members before they joined us. The first rule: Take no chances.’

  ‘You checked me out online?’ Ike demanded.

  ‘I make use of my technical skills when I need to. The church pics of you with your grandma were cute. And no worries – I deleted your secret stash of porn.’

  Ike’s cheeks blazed. ‘That was a long time ago.’

  ‘If you say so. It’s history now, friend, as are those photos of Jessica in her bikini and much less that I never shared with anyone. In a way, I have to thank the Weasel for making me so careful. Otherwise, someone would have already traced us to the compound.’

  ‘You hated that he took pictures of us when we didn’t know it,’ Ike said. ‘Was that when you got the idea to do the same thing?’

  ‘I wanted only to protect us. The Weasel was trying to analyze us. Analysis destroys, Ike. It breaks you down into pieces.’

  ‘That’s what he tried to do.’ Ike nodded, and his expressive, easy-to-read eyes filled with anger. ‘Bastard tried to break us down into pieces so he could look at them under his fucking microscope. Pardon my English.’

  ‘Well put,’ Lucas said. ‘It felt pretty crappy, didn’t it, Ike?’

  ‘Still does. Why would he do that? We were only little kids.’

  ‘Just little kids,’ Lucas echoed, and folded his hands over his chest. ‘Right down this road, Ike.’

  Even in broad daylight, the trees would have dimmed the place. Now, with the setting sun casting only fragments of light through the shadowed branches, Kit knew it would be dark soon.

  ‘How do you plan to get inside?’ she asked.

  ‘No worries,’ Lucas said. ‘Wyatt and I already discussed it.’

  ‘Wyatt?’ Ike almost lost control of the truck.

  ‘By now, he’s shared our plan with the rest of the group.’

  ‘What about me?’ Ike demanded.

  ‘We’ll need you at the very start to overpower the Weasel.’ Lucas tilted his head as if studying Ike. ‘If you think you can handle it, that is.’

  ‘You want overpower, I’ll give you overpower.’ Ike slowed down as they came to the turnoff leading to Weaver’s camp.

  ‘Take a right down this path.’ Lucas couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice. ‘You and Katherine can go to the door together.’

  ‘Why?’ Kit and Ike asked at the same time.

  ‘You’re in charge of Katherine, remember? Besides, the Weasel doesn’t know who she is. You can have her ring the bell. He usually relaxes with a martini by the fire about this time. You might be able to catch him outside.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ Kit asked.

  Lucas smiled. ‘How do I know anything?’

  Kit could almost hear the energy bursting from the back. Wyatt was the new Ike. At least, that’s what Lucas wanted Ike to believe. He knew these kids better than Weaver ever could have, and he knew how to manipulate all of them. Kit wouldn’t have a chance to escape, but maybe she could warn Weaver in time to stop whatever Lucas had planned.

  ‘Stop here,’ Lucas told Ike. ‘We’ll walk the rest of the way.’

  They got out of the truck, and Ike took Kit’s arm. ‘Come on,’ he said, and stared straight ahead. ‘Lucas. Check it out.’

  Kit turned in the direction Ike was looking and caught sight of a tiny flame in the darkness. The fire pit.

  ‘Beautiful,’ Lucas said. He took his time getting around to the back. ‘We’re here,’ he said. ‘Come on. Let’s get him.’

  The others piled out of the truck. Wyatt and Jessica led them. Kit tried to catch Jessica’s eye, but the girl ignored her and clutched Wyatt’s arm. Sissy followed behind with Angel and Theo. All of them held small bags in their hands. Wyatt carried his knife case.

  ‘I said let’s go.’ Lucas clapped his hands, and Ike pulled Kit ahead.

  ‘You heard him.’

  ‘Not so fast,’ she said.

  ‘Shut up. You’ve gotten enough mileage out of that ankle.’

  As they approached through the thick trees, Kit spotted Weaver in a long-sleeved sweater and jeans sitting by the large antique metal fire pit.

  ‘Don’t even think about warning him,’ Ike said.

  ‘Please stop this,’ she begged him. ‘You’re the only one who can do it.’

  ‘So that Wyatt can take my place? No way.’

  They got closer to the camp, and Kit could hear music, classical piano, a Mozart sonata. For a moment, she hoped someone else might be there with Weaver, but she knew better. Lucas was far too careful in his research to allow for slip-ups.

  ‘You go up,’ Ike said. ‘Tell him your car broke down. I’ll be right behind you.’

  ‘I can’t,’ she whispered, but Ike shoved her ahead.

  ‘Who’s out there?’ Weaver rose from his chair, and the fire pit lit the fear on his face. Then he spotted Kit. ‘Ms Doyle. What are you doing here?’

  ‘Another lie,’ Ike said. ‘You know the bastard.’

  She started to explain, but Ike lunged at Weaver. As if tossing a stuffed toy, he pinned him to the ground. The others ran in, shouting. They ignored Kit, and she wondered if she could sneak back to the truck to the phone in the glove compartment. But Lucas said it was in a locked box. Her only chance was to try to stop what was going on.

  ‘Chain him,’ Lucas shouted.

  Wyatt dropped his case. ‘Chain him to a tree.’

  ‘No. Here.’ Ike ignored the huge trunks of the redwoods and, with Wyatt’s and Theo’s help, chained Weaver to one of the wooden pillars bordering the front of the patio.

  Kit stepped back, closer to the knife case. Ike wiped sweat from his face and stood beside her.

  Wyatt and Theo ripped Weaver’s clothes from him, and he stood in a pair of boxer shorts, weeping.

  ‘Don’t do this.’ He looked at Lucas, not Ike.

  ‘You didn’t spare us,’ Lucas said. ‘And you said we could only heal by saying goodbye forever to those who had harmed us. We’re here to heal from you.’

  Angel stepped forward, her small jacket open over her broad chest. She walked up to where Weaver wept. ‘You tied me up over there.’ She pointed at the trees that hid the camp. ‘You called me an animal. I screamed all night. No one heard me, and no one is going to hear you.’

  She reached into the bag she carried, took out something, and tossed it toward Weaver. He shrieked, and Kit realized it was a dart, now imbedded in his left shoulder. Angel laughed bitterly and walked back to the others. The dart toppled out, and blood trickled out of Weaver’s flesh.

  Kit started to move forward, but Ike pulled her back toward the walkway. ‘There’s not
hing you can do,’ he whispered. ‘You liar.’

  ‘I don’t care what you say,’ she whispered back. ‘You aren’t like this, Ike, not really. Don’t let him manipulate you.’

  ‘Shut up.’

  ‘Jessica?’ Lucas asked.

  She clung to Wyatt. ‘It’s all right, baby,’ he told her. ‘You know what to do.’

  ‘You punished all of us if one of us did something wrong,’ Jessica said, her voice trembling. ‘You gave us Bleeds. When I was late to breakfast, you made everyone skip lunch. When I tried to run away, you took away my shoes. Now we have your shoes. She picked them up, walked back toward the house and threw them into the fire pit.’

  Everyone cheered.

  ‘Do the rest,’ Wyatt urged.

  Jessica glanced at him and then marched up to Weaver. ‘My feet nearly froze.’ She threw a dart at his foot and squeezed her eyes shut.

  The dart fell on to the ground inches from him. The kids booed.

  ‘You didn’t belong here,’ Weaver said, his voice as flat as Lucas’s had been. ‘I should have refused your mother’s request, and I’m sorry for that. Let me go, and I swear I’ll make it right.’

  Wyatt started to pick up the dart, but Lucas shook his head sharply, as if he wanted no more attention given to Jessica.

  ‘Next is Wyatt,’ he announced proudly.

  His jacket tied around his waist, Wyatt walked up slowly to Weaver.

  Wyatt’s long curls, almost to his shoulders, now hid his face from Kit. They didn’t hide his naked shoulders, though.

  ‘You created these scars when you tried to burn me to death,’ Wyatt said. ‘But I survived you, and these scars just remind me how much I hate you.’

  ‘I didn’t try to kill you.’ Weaver moaned. ‘Lucas convinced the others that you were the weakest. What happened to you was because of him. Don’t keep repeating that sick violence.’

  ‘Here’s what I’ll repeat.’ Wyatt tossed a dart that hit Weaver in the stomach. ‘Suffer, you bastard. This isn’t the last you’re getting from me.’

  Weaver screamed. The dart fell to the ground. A thin stream of blood appeared on his stomach. Kit inched closer to the knife case.

  ‘Good job,’ Lucas said, as if speaking to a child or a pet dog. ‘Good job, Wyatt. Who wants to go next?’ He looked behind him at Sissy in her jeans jacket, clutching Jessica’s hand. ‘Come on, Sissy. I have one for you.’