Last Chances Die Softly

by James Bee

  “How do you know he’s gone?” Jason asked. He thought about telling his friend about last night but decided against it. He was likely the last one to see Billy. If he broke the lockdown, it wasn’t a fact he wanted to be parading. Besides, Pullwell’s words were still fresh in his mind: “You can help us, Jason.” He didn’t doubt that the two men had made a similar offer to Hank. He trusted him, but there was no point in tempting the older man. Out of all of them, he had the most to lose.

  “Woke up early, couldn’t sleep much. Heard Kenneth telling Chad about it. Police will be here soon, no doubt. We’ll vouch for each other. We stayed up talking, the others saw us, then we went up the stairs together. That’s pretty much what happened anyways, right?” Hank asked, staring at him.

  “Pretty much, yeah. I just sat around for a bit then went to bed. Billy must have sneaked out after.” Another thought occurred to him, an unpleasant one. “If he’s gone at all.”

  “What do you mean?” Hank asked, looking puzzled.

  “Maybe whatever happened to Mia happened to him. He could still be here, hidden away. Could need help,” Jason said. Hank sucked his teeth, considering it. It was possible, more than possible. Oakview had three floors. The first two were well used, people going in and out of the rooms every day. The third floor, however, was a different matter altogether. No one went up there if they didn’t need to. Not that there was much reason to. The first two floors were big enough, more than big enough for their needs. The third floor was full of junk, stuff that had been tossed up and forgotten. It was a maze of small rooms and big boxes. It would be easy to hide a body up there. Especially bodies as small as Mia or Billy’s.

  In unison, both men stared up at the ceiling. They couldn’t go up and look, that was out of the question. Completely out of the question. Short of running around covered in blood, nothing would be more suspicious. Still, Jason had a sneaking feeling he was right. Maybe he could tell Pullwell his theory. Johnson would be too dangerous; he just saw Jason as a criminal, which he was, of course. Pullwell seemed different, though, more sympathetic.

  Loud voices carried up from downstairs. “Better go. Wouldn’t be good for them to see us conspiring in your room,” Hank said in an admirable attempt at levity.

  “Right.” Jason followed Hank out the door. The hallway was still deserted; no one had heard the commotion yet. Maybe Mac will be gone too. Then they can have a nice manhunt for him and leave the rest of us alone. That hope didn’t last long. One of the doors swung open —Mac’s door. The man followed a moment later. He looked terrible. As bad as Billy had the night before. Beside him, Hank stiffened.

  “Anyone else smell bacon?” Mac said as he walked past them. A choked laugh burst from Jason’s throat.

  “This place must smell like shit with all these pigs sniffing around,” he said. A old joke, tired and well worn, but at least it was something to say. Hank said nothing, just watched Mac walk down the stairs and out of sight.

  “Jesus,” he said once the other man was out earshot. “Doesn’t he scare you, Jase? Gives me the creeps.” Jason pursed his lips, considering the question. It wasn’t fear that he felt when he looked at Mac. It was different. More like the wariness of two predators, of a cougar and a wolf passing in the woods. Sizing each other up. But no, he wasn’t scared of the other man. There was a reason predators didn’t hunt each other. Too much risk.

  “Not much. If I did, I wouldn’t let him know, though. He smells weakness, he’ll be more likely to come after you,” Jason said. “Better follow him, though. No point making the fuzz walk up all these stairs. Figure they’ll probably be in a foul mood enough as it is.” Hank nodded and they began to walk down the stairs. I wonder what they’ll do now if they can’t find Billy. Will it make them more or less suspicious of the rest of us? Why run if he wasn’t guilty? Unless of course he didn’t run.

  Jason wasn’t surprised at who was waiting for them at the bottom of the steps. Kenneth and Chad stood talking with Pullwell and Johnson, with another pair of officers flanking them. Mac stood close as well, leaning against a wall. All seven looked over as they approached.

  “Up early, eh?” Kenneth said. His face was pink with anger, and it was no wonder. Don’t think this will look too good on his resume.

  “You all aren’t too quiet,” Hank replied steadily.

  “Pardon for interrupting your beauty sleep, but seems that someone grew tired of Oakview’s hospitality,” Pullwell said.

  “Who?” Jason asked as nonchalantly as he could. He was aware of the scrutiny that he and Hank were getting. Had they helped Billy escape? Were they covering for him? What did they know? All questions that the police would be asking themselves.

  “Billy. Either of you hear anything? See anything suspicious last night?” Johnson asked.

  “No, sir,” Hank replied quickly.

  “What about you, Jason? Anything to report?” Pullwell said. Jason stared into his not unkind eyes. “You can help us, Jason. You help us and we’ll vouch for you.” What should he do? Lie or tell the truth? Which was safer? Which eased the suspicion more from him?

  “No, sir. Didn’t see Billy at all last night. Figured he was shut up in his room or something. He didn’t talk to me much, kept to himself,” Jason answered.

  “I see,” Pullwell said. Jason couldn’t read anything in his voice.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen now,” Johnson said, pulling the attention of everyone in the room to him. More footsteps from behind announced the arrival of Juni and Robbie. “Until Mia and Billy are found or some new information surfaces, the lockdown will continue. A police officer will be outside at all times. Anyone caught sneaking out will be dealt with with extreme prejudice. I tell you this as a warning and as a threat. If one more thing happens, one more disappearance, Oakview will be closed and you all will be sent back to where you came from.” Johnson paused to ensure that his message sank in. Closed! They’d send him back to jail. Jason had little doubt that the threat had teeth. Panic began to grow in his belly, panic and anger. Rage at whoever had done this. Whoever was snatching his chance at a normal life away from him. His last chance. It wasn’t fair. It was wrong. What had he done to deserve this?

  The answer rose in his mind, a blurry vision of a face. Of a pair of eyes that he’d closed forever. What was it that Mia had gone on about? Karma? How doing good things can bring good things to you in the future. Surely it worked the same with bad things. Maybe this was his karma. To have a life dangled in front of him, only to be snatched away. It did have a certain poetry to it, he had to admit.

  Still, someone had done this to him. Someone had wronged him, and Jason only knew one way to deal with people who had done so. Teeth gritted, he clenched and unclenched his hands.

  His knuckles itched.

  11

  Chapter 11

  “Okay then. Let’s get this shit started,” Kenneth said, closing the door behind him. They were sitting in one of the meeting rooms, the biggest they had. In the middle of the room was a massive table that took up most of the area. Jason had always thought it was a silly thing; all the space in the centre was wasted, couldn’t be used. Now he was grateful for it. The excess wood amply separated those who sat around it. Everyone was there, him, Hank, Robbie, Juni, Mac, Kenneth, Stu, and Chad. Every member of Oakview was present. The table was round, yet they had still managed to separate themselves. Kenneth and Chad were close beside each other, elbows nearly touching. Stu was near to them but still separate enough. Mac sat alone, of course, no one wanting to get too near to him. Jason and the others sat close to each other, huddled for protection.

  “What are we doing?” Hank asked. He was the voice for the four of them. It hadn’t needed to be decided; it was just obvious.

  “We’re going to talk. All of us. We’re going to figure out what everyone knows about what’s happened. About where Mia and Billy are,” Kenneth said. Jason could see that he was nervous. The director’s eyes were darting around the room, mai
nly between Hank and Mac. Beside him, Chad seemed slightly more at ease. Or at least he was trying to make it seem like he was. He was slouched in his chair, one arm hooked around the back. His other arm lay across his stomach, hand resting on his hip. To most it would have looked casual, careless. Yet Jason could tell that he was hiding something, a weapon of some sort. If he could tell, then so could Hank and Mac. Both men had been around long enough to be able to spot it. Just hope he’s not fool enough to take it out.

  “Why are we dancing around the obvious?” Juni blurted. “It’s pretty fucking clear who we should be looking at.” The young man was staring hard at Mac, and everyone else did the same. If he noticed the scrutiny, Mac gave little notice. He was staring at his hands, eyes intent.

  “Well? Mac? Have you got anything to say?” Kenneth said, a little louder than normal.

  Slowly, Mac looked up and around at all of them. “If I did ’em, you wouldn’t find the bodies, nor would I tell you where they were. I would say I didn’t do nothing. And if I really didn’t do nothing, I would say the same. So what’s the fuckin’ point in asking?” Mac said, slowly, enunciating each word. That’s a pretty good argument, Jason had to admit, and the central problem. If someone in this room had killed Mia and Billy, they would deny it, as would everyone who was innocent. A normal person might crack under questioning; their guilt might get compel their tongue to betray them. Not us, though. We’re all used to suspicion, to questioning. Deny, deny, deny. That’s what we know.

  Kenneth looked at a loss, so Chad stepped in. “Whoever did it is putting the rest of you at risk. He’ll get you all sent back to jail before long. Is that what you want? Do you want to go back to jail, or do you want to be free? Eh? What’s better? Look at Stu.” Stu, for his part, didn’t seem to be happy at being the subject of attention. The cook pursed his lips and took a deep breath before answering.

  “Chad’s right. I went through Oakview, as you all know. I was the first. I wake up every morning grateful. Jail was my life, as it has been yours. There’s a better way, a cleaner way. Don’t let this drag you down. If anyone knows anything, now is the time to speak up.”

  “I think I speak for all of us when I say that we all liked Mia and Billy,” Robbie said. “We want to know what happened to them as much as you do. We don’t know anything. No one saw Mia, no one knows what happened to Billy.”

  Juni interrupted him. “Someone knows something. Someone who ain’t said nothing. What happened, Mac? What happened that night?” Jason’s heart started to pump quicker. He could smell a fight coming, like a shark smells blood.

  “The meeting went bad. She ran out of the room as soon as the others left. By the time I followed, she was gone. Didn’t see her since. Billy neither. Not that I expect any of you to believe me. I have blood on my hands, but not theirs,” Mac said.

  “Bullshit,” Juni said.

  “I ain’t killed in twenty-five years, boy. Keep prodding me and that’ll change,” Mac growled. Juni made to stand up, but Robbie grabbed his arm and held him down.

  “Why are we doing this? This is the police’s job, Kenneth, not yours. Nothing good is going to come from us sitting in here and throwing accusations around at each other,” Hank said, defusing some of the tension.

  “No one has anything to confess then? No information that they want to share?” Kenneth said, ignoring Hank’s comment. A few beats passed in silence “Well then. In my eyes you all are complicit in these crimes, and you will be treated as such until more information becomes available.” Various sounds of outrage exploded at these words.

  “That’s fucking bullshit! We haven’t done anything. You can’t lump us in with this psycho! He shouldn’t have even been allowed in,” Robbie exclaimed. Hank and Juni both agreed loudly. Jason continued to say nothing. Instead, he stood. Kenneth and Chad both flinched, with Chad’s hand clutching at whatever weapon he had hidden away.

  “What are you doing?” Kenneth demanded.

  “Leaving. I’ve heard enough of this. Not going to figure anything out in here. Let the police do their job,” Jason said, striding toward the door. Kenneth let him go. It seemed that Jason wasn’t the prime suspect, no matter what he said. As he closed the door behind him, he heard the arguing renew, louder and more angry.

  12

  Chapter 12

  Jason turned the faucet on and thrust his hands underneath. He didn’t care about the temperature of the water. He didn’t even notice. They’d been stuck inside for two days since Billy had left. There was nothing for him to do, nothing but wait. Stuff a bunch of criminals in a house, make them suspicious of each other, and wait to see what happens. Even if all of them were innocent, it wouldn’t last. Juni and Mac were at each other’s throats. A fight was inevitable, and it wouldn’t be clean. Kenneth and Chad weren’t helping things, hiding in their offices and throwing suspicion at everyone. Oakview was a powder keg, and it wouldn’t be long before someone accidentally lit the fuse.

  “Whatchu doing?” Robbie asked, walking into the kitchen.

  “Not much. Just trying not to lose my head. Going fuckin’ nuts cooped up in here,” Jason said.

  “I get that. It’s been too long. Don’t get why the police haven’t done a more thorough search of the place. Could be any number of bodies hidden upstairs,” Robbie said, rubbing the top of his head. The forced confinement was taking its toll on him as much as the rest of them. It was like they were all back in jail. What small freedom they had been allowed to taste was gone, ripped away. That they were innocent made things so much worse. Assuming that they actually were innocent. The thought wormed its way into Jason’s brain. Could Robbie have done it? Or Hank? Really, any of them could be guilty. When it came down to it, they were all capable of violence.

  Jason heard a commotion down the hall, quick footsteps and a shouted word. He didn’t give it much thought, he was too preoccupied. The front door slammed, and then quiet returned to Oakview.

  “I don’t know, Robbie. Nothing makes much sense. Really, they should have dragged us out of here already. Two people going missing, one of them an ex-con. Just doesn’t feel right,” Jason said.

  “Maybe they’re trying to use us as bait. Draw out whoever it is and maybe find out where Mia and Billy are.”

  “Draw out Mac, you mean?” Jason said as causally as he could. If he was getting suspicious of everyone, then Robbie probably was too. Could he think that Jason might be the guilty one?

  “Right. Supposing it was us that did it. Supposing that Mia and Billy disappearing is linked. None of that’s been proven. They don’t have any evidence, none at all. That’s why we’re still here, I bet. The second they get something, we’ll be right back where we started,” Robbie said, scratching his arm thoughtfully.

  “Billy could have done it and pulled a runner. Seems odd that every thinks he’s a victim instead of the perp.”

  Robbie shook his head. “Just can’t see Billy doing anything to Mia or anyone else. Bud was scared of his own shadow.”

  Jason nodded and would have said something else had Hank and Juni not come bursting into the kitchen. Both men’s faces were pale.

  “What is it?” Jason asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I think they locked us in,” Hank said. He sounded on the very edge of panic, and Jason didn’t blame him. Trapped inside with a murderer. Well, technically, three murderers, I suppose.

  “What do you mean?” Robbie demanded, striding toward the doorway.

  “Front door is locked. Back door too,” Juni said, his voice shaking with anger.

  “Why? Why now?” Jason asked, more mystified than angry. What had changed?

  “No idea. Chad was poking around upstairs then suddenly came running into the front, yelling for Kenneth. Two of them then scurried out the front door and locked it behind them. Must have run around and locked the other door from outside,” Hank answered.

  “Something must have spooked ’em,” Robbie said.

  “Ain’t seen Mac either,” J
uni said. Now Jason started to get worried. He wanted Mac where he could see him. Where he could get his hands on him.

  “Did Stu go with them?” Robbie asked.

  “No idea. Haven’t seen him either,” Hank answered.

  “What do we do? Can’t just stand around with our thumbs up our asses,” Juni said

  “Lets go take a look upstairs. See what it was that spooked Chad,” Jason said.

  “I agree,” Hank said, and it was decided. The four of them walked out of the kitchen and started toward the stairs. Jason was listening hard for any hint of what was going on inside or outside of Oakview. They said there would be a police officer outside at all times. What is he doing? Calling for backup? The building was silent, save for their footsteps. The staircase was deserted, and they made it to the second floor without incident. Standing on the landing, Jason stared down to where Mac’s door was. It was open.

  “Fuck. I hate this. I hate this,” Juni muttered, eyes darting wildly around.

  “Calm down,” Hank said. “This is like a prison riot. Just gotta stick together and keep our heads down. They can’t keep us locked in here alone for long. Wouldn’t be a very smart thing to do. They’ll have to unlock the doors, send in some cops in or something. We just have to wait it out. Come on, let’s keep moving.” The older man began to walk upstairs, and the rest had no choice but to follow. No one wanted to be alone, and Hank had a calming influence.

  Going upstairs, Jason thought uneasily. No one in the building liked going to the upper floor. It felt wrong, like desecrating a tomb. Hank pushed the heavy door open. It wasn’t like any other that Jason had seen, tall, thick, and strong-looking, a massive hunk of metal on massive hinges. It had been made to keep things out — or in. As they walked through the threshold, Jason shivered. The lights were on, casting shadows on the abandoned equipment and boxes that littered the floor. The floor was a mess of little rooms, most filled from wall to wall.