by Matt Hilton
‘You’ve no proof of that.’
Jay listened with a sense of dawning dread. She couldn’t believe what she was witnessing here, or begin to understand the implications of what was being uncovered. She looked from one officer to the other, finally catching Officer Lewin’s attention. He nodded at her, just once, short and sharp, to confirm her suspicions. Then he lifted his gun.
Jay flinched, but the gun was aimed at the sergeant.
‘What the hell do you think you’re playing at, boy?’ The sergeant straightened his shoulders.
‘You’re an accessory to murder and kidnapping. I’m arresting you, Sergeant Logan.’
‘This is ridiculous!’ The sergeant twisted to look back at Jay and found her standing with both hands at her throat, a look of terror on her face. ‘Don’t believe him, ma’am. He’s talking garbage.’ He spun back to stab an accusatory finger at Lewin. ‘In fact, why’d you even call me that? I’m not called Logan! It’s you who’s a goddamn Logan!’
Lewin shrugged his broad shoulders. Then he shot the sergeant, the bullet knocking the man down on the pavement. The sergeant wasn’t dead; his bullet-proof vest saved his life. The impact was enough to stun him, though, and he rolled over on his back and lay there a moment. Jay wanted to run, but the shock of what she had just witnessed held her in place. Oh, my God, she thought, oh, my God, this can’t be happening. She saw the badge on the sergeant’s chest: Sgt Espinoza. Then her gaze tilted up to the young cop, and she saw the family resemblance. He was a younger, fitter version, his hair cut short, his uniform neat, but he could be mistaken for a cleaned-up Brent Logan. Lewin sneered across at her as he moved alongside his sergeant. ‘Don’t know how I’m gonna sort this one out, Sarge, but I’m sure I’ll find a way.’
Sergeant Espinoza craned round to stare up at Jay. His mouth was hanging open in dismay, not just at the realisation that the young man he’d patrolled with had turned out to be a monster, but that he’d failed in his calling. Protect and Serve: it wasn’t something you could do lying on your back at the side of a road. ‘Get outta here!’ he croaked at her.
Jay wanted to run, but everything was moving in slow motion. Officer Lewin didn’t seem so inhibited. ‘Don’t move, goddamnit, or the next bullet’s yours.’
Espinoza grabbed at his gun, but he was partly lying on top of it and it wouldn’t clear the holster. Lewin stamped on his elbow, pinning down his arm. Espinoza reached across with his free hand, trying to push Lewin away. Lewin shot him again. This time the vest couldn’t protect him, because Lewin had aimed low. Espinoza screamed in agony, his left knee shattered.
‘Did you call this in, Sarge?’
‘Goddamn you!’
‘That isn’t helpful.’
‘Yes, I called it in. You’re finished!’
‘Now who’s the liar?’
‘I used the set in the cruiser. Back-up’s coming.’
‘No one’s coming. I had my radio on scan; you didn’t get a line to the dispatcher because of the power lines.’ Lewin moved the gun so it was pointing directly at Espinoza’s face. ‘Sorry things had to turn out this way, Sarge. I kinda liked you, but you know how it is. Blood is thicker than water.’
The crack of Lewin’s gun startled Jay, but also set her in motion. She screeched out a cry as blood spattered next to her feet, and turned her jump of fright into a run for the Yukon.
‘Stop!’ Lewin’s shout was almost as loud as the gunshot of a second before. ‘I’ve just killed my fucking sergeant: don’t think I’ll go any easier on you!’
Jay didn’t stop.
Earlier she’d thought that death would be preferable to being taken again by the Logans, but thinking it was one thing, quite another when a bullet could take out your heart in the next instant. She didn’t want to die, and her body reacted without guidance, making her run faster than she’d ever done in her life. Behind her came the slap of Lewin’s boots on the road.
She made it to the Yukon, and having left the door open when first seeing the police cruiser she was inside it within seconds. The engine was still purring. She pushed it into drive and put her foot on the gas. But it wasn’t enough. Lewin was already there, reaching inside and grappling her. The car shot forwards, knocking Lewin aside, but she had no control of the wheel and the Yukon went down off the road and into a dry ditch. The collision with the opposite bank threw her foot off the pedal and the Yukon’s engine cut out at the same time. Frantic, Jay looked around. Lewin was at the side of the road, stunned, but already clambering back to his feet. She twisted the keys in the ignition and relief flooded her as the engine kicked to life with a low grumble. She gave it throttle, but even such a large vehicle couldn’t push its way perpendicular. She threw it into reverse and tried again.
Lewin reached in and turned off the engine.
‘I told you to stop, goddamnit.’
Jay didn’t fight him this time; she lifted her arms to show surrender. It was all she could do with the muzzle of his pistol against her temple.
23
Once upon a time the Navajo must have lived all over this territory. I recalled passing the commercialised trading post the evening before while travelling over from New Mexico, and noting the ancient caves in the rock face beyond the stores. They had been decorated with vibrant turquoise pictograms, depicting hunting scenes. The cave that I found where Nicole and Ellie could shelter was nowhere near as dramatic, but even there I found signs of ancient occupation. The cave art here was merely scratches on the walls, and I couldn’t really tell what the hands of men had formed and what were the results of weather or geological activity. Some of the pictures were easily identifiable: a spotted horse, a man, the sun, but the rest were nigh-on indecipherable. If I’d discovered the cave on another occasion I’d have been enthralled, but not while more pressing matters held my attention.
Natural steps allowed easy access to the cave, approximately fifty feet up the side of a rock face. It wasn’t a single cave I’d found; that would have been too obvious a hiding place for the girls, but one of many in the pock-marked mountain. I wasn’t sure about the indigenous life forms, or if the cave could be home to something dangerous. As far as I knew there were no mountain lions here and bears were confined to the northern states – I hoped. I checked it out first, just in case, before waving at the girls to join me inside.
‘There could be snakes or scorpions, so be very careful where you sit,’ I cautioned then.
They were too exhausted to care. I’d pushed them solidly for the last half-hour, setting a pace that had robbed them of their breath and slicked their bodies with sweat. They both sat down immediately, and Nicole’s hands went to her feet to massage the chafed flesh under the tatters of blanket. While they groaned and busied themselves with their water bottles, I made my way to the mouth of the cave. From my high vantage I could see all the way back to the ranch. It looked like a cluster of bleached shoeboxes, the watering hole a shimmering ribbon alongside it. I didn’t pay the ranch much heed but looked for the mushroom mountain at the head of the trail. At first I couldn’t distinguish it from the rest of the hills because at this distance and elevation it had lost its distinctive shape. I traced a route from the ranch, to the huddled boulders, to the broken ridgeline and then, at the far end, found what I was looking for. Something glinted in the sunlight. It could only be the pick-up truck, I realised, because nothing else was moving out there. I couldn’t make out the truck, but saw the plume of dust as it raced back towards where I’d fought with Samuel among the ravines.
It was only a matter of time.
I went back inside the cave and saw that Nicole had helped herself to the clothing I’d stuffed into my rucksack. She’d shrugged out of the denim jacket, and I caught her in a state of undress. Her face went beetroot as she covered herself with her arms.
‘Sorry,’ I said, showing her my back.
Her self-consciousness was a good sign. Earlier she had been so down-beaten that her nakedness hadn’t been a conside
ration. She must have been operating on autopilot, the shock of what she’d been through dulling her senses. From behind me I heard her feet shuffle on the floor, followed by the rustle of clothing being hurriedly pulled on.
‘It’s OK, I’m decent now.’
Taking things easy, I approached the girls. Nicole was still standing, albeit on one leg while trying to pull a shoe on to her opposite foot. Ellie hadn’t moved from where she’d collapsed in exhaustion, and she was now sitting cradling the bottle of water to her chest, her dark hair hanging in bangs over her features. My shirt had rucked up on her tiny frame and looked like a tent with her head poking out of the top.
‘Is there something that Ellie can put on?’ I asked.
Nicole delved in my rucksack and brought out a shirt and thick tights.
As Nicole reached for her, I held out my hand. ‘Just give her a few minutes to get her breath back.’ I nodded towards the entrance of the cave. ‘Could I have a word, Nicole?’
The young woman must have understood what was troubling me. She placed the clothes down next to Ellie, then gently ran her fingers over the girl’s hair while whispering soothingly. Ellie nodded in reply but didn’t as much as look my way. Nicole followed me to the exit where I indicated she should sit down out of view of the outside world. I sat next to her so that we could converse in whispers.
I didn’t know where to start. Not that I was a stranger to victims of violence, inhumanity, rape, but this was somehow different. I felt a personal attachment to these girls I’d pledged to save, and broaching the subject felt like I was reinflicting the horror of their situation on them. Nicole must have sensed my reticence, so she said, ‘They both raped me. Carson and Brent. More than once.’
‘Oh God . . .’
‘I’m all right. I’ve survived.’ The way she said it, it was like she was repeating a mantra she’d clung to for the last few days. But I could tell it was not something she believed. I wanted to give her comfort, but physical contact might have been misconstrued. Instead I just sat there, offering a presence she could rely on. Though it wasn’t enough, it was all I could think to do.
‘What about Ellie?’ My voice broke at the end. Jesus, it wasn’t something I wanted to contemplate.
‘They hit her, forced her to watch, but no, they didn’t touch her like that.’
‘Thank God.’ I could have kicked myself for the insensitivity of my statement, but Nicole didn’t appear to pick up on it. In fact, quite the opposite, judging by the way she looked at me. Never throughout her ordeal, I believed, had Nicole wished it was someone else that the Logans assaulted. I could tell by the way she had comforted the girl that she felt protective.
‘I wouldn’t have let them.’
Her words were loaded, and I understood. She’d offered herself to the brutes to keep them away from Ellie. Allowing them to abuse her was a fair trade to ensure the girl was spared. Earlier I thought that, of the two of them, Jay Walker was the stronger, but now I suspected otherwise. There was more to strength than the obvious. I admired Nicole, but I also pitied her. A good person like her shouldn’t have to suffer what she’d endured.
Checking that Ellie remained oblivious of our conversation, I said, ‘I’m going back, Nicole.’
I expected her to argue, to plead for me to stay with them, but Nicole concurred with a nod. I wasn’t the only one who could pick up on a hidden meaning. Nicole understood why I was going back, and knew what it signified if I did. Maybe she wasn’t merely resigned to the idea but actually embraced it.
‘I can’t let them leave, otherwise they might disappear and they’d never be brought to justice,’ I went on.
‘Are you going to kill them?’
I didn’t answer, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out what my silence meant. The moment stretched out, though it wasn’t uncomfortable. We were of like mind.
Finally, I said, ‘If I don’t come back it will be down to you, Nicole.’
Nicole hugged herself, the only sign that she feared such an eventuality.
‘I’ll leave you the shotgun. When it grows dark I want you to lead Ellie to the south. Don’t go back near the ranch. Go that way.’ I pointed across the desert towards a distant range of hills. From the maps I’d studied in my motel room in Holbrook, I recalled there was a small town just beyond those hills. ‘There’s a place called Dilkon. You’ll find it, or you’ll find a road. You’ll be safe when you get there.’
‘They could still come after us,’ Nicole said.
‘Not if I stop them.’
‘When you stop them, you’ll come back for us, won’t you?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Then why are we having this conversation?’
‘Just in case.’
‘I don’t want to think like that.’ Nicole placed her palms over her face. For a second I thought she had started to weep, but when she lowered her hands her eyes were dry. She looked at me with a forthrightness that demanded the answer she sought. ‘You have to stop them, Hunter. Not for me, not even for that girl in there, but for the other girls they’ll do the same to in the future. It’s too late for us now. Stop them for every other girl’s sake.’
‘I intend to.’ I rose from the floor and offered her my hand, not to seal a bargain but to help her up. ‘But if they get me first, then you have to do everything you can to take Ellie to safety.’
We were at an impasse but both glad of it. Nicole took my proffered palm in her delicate fingers. She stood elegantly, as if accepting my hand to dance, and I guided her over the uneven floor of the cave. Ellie still hadn’t moved, other than to lift the bottle and cradle it against her cheek.
‘Can you help her to dress?’ I indicated my bare chest. ‘I think I might need my shirt back, or I won’t have to worry about the Logans: the sun will do their job for them.’
Earlier Nicole’s mind had been in some other place, and as I’d noted, her nakedness hadn’t been an issue. Not until a genuine possibility of salvation was on the cards had her natural instincts kicked in; now it was as if my semi-naked torso was a reminder of her previous situation and she blushed a second time. Or was it that? Her gaze had lingered for a few seconds while tracing the contours of my chest and shoulders. I wasn’t averse to a beautiful woman eyeing me in approval but part of her embarrassment must have rubbed off on me, and I retreated quickly to the mouth of the cave.
I heard a low howl, but couldn’t pinpoint its source, the reverberation effect of the cave making that impossible. It could have been the cry of an animal from somewhere back in the hills but I didn’t think so: more likely it was Samuel’s or Carson’s voice carried on the breeze. All I could be certain of was that it came from some distance away. Behind me I could hear the girls conversing softly, followed shortly by the sounds of clothing being pulled on. For the sake of their privacy I busied myself with the S&W, checking it for dirt and finding it clean. Nevertheless, I kept checking until Nicole returned and handed me my shirt.
I slipped into it, feeling the prickle of sunburn on my flesh. I’d only been out in the direct sunlight for half an hour but it had done its work. I pulled my rucksack back in place, and then took Nicole to the opening to give her a crash course in handling the shotgun.
From this distance there was no way that we could be seen by anyone at the ranch, but I still wasn’t happy about Samuel’s no-show and wondered if he was nearby. The pick-up that had only been a glint in the sunlight earlier had now arrived back at the ranch. There was however, no sign of Carson, and I guessed that he’d already gone inside. I wondered how he’d feel when he found his son lying face down in the mess from his split skull. I waited for a shout of rage, but it didn’t come. Perhaps Carson had cried out while I was busy putting on my shirt and I’d missed it, or that was the odd moan I thought I’d heard. Maybe he wasn’t the type to scream, but had sunk down in silent grief, or, worse than that, was so cold and psychotic that his son’s death had no effect on him. Those were the most dangerous of enemie
s. But then they weren’t the only ones who could be cold, calculating killers.
Taking the shells from the gun, I encouraged Nicole to take a couple of dry shots. I told her to keep the stock snug in her shoulder and not to allow it any play otherwise it might knock her on her backside. I tried to imagine the target she formed in her mind’s eye as she squeezed on the trigger. One thing I knew for sure was I didn’t want to get on her wrong side, not when the steel edged into her irises and her jaw tightened like that.
‘It’s a sawn-off,’ I pointed out. ‘You don’t have to be too specific about where you aim, but the range isn’t that great.’
‘Don’t worry, Hunter. I won’t shoot till I’m looking them dead in the eye.’
I smiled, but it was more of a grimace. Then again, so was the death’s-head grin she returned.
24
The sky had turned to a milky haze on the far horizon, the distant hills purpling into evening, while behind me the sun was a fiery ball in the west. If you stood still, closed your eyes for a minute and opened them again, you’d see that the sun had dipped perceptibly. Not that I had the time or inclination for such games. Recalling other times I’d been in deserts, I knew that night fell rapidly and that darkness would soon be upon the land. The low visibility would help, but I reconsidered the instructions I’d given to Nicole. With luck she wouldn’t take my words literally and set off for Dilkon the second the sun set, because it would take me longer than that to get into position, kill the Logans, and then return for her and Ellie. If my mission was successful, I didn’t fancy having to track them across the desert afterwards. Forget about later, I told myself. Kill the Logans first: that was what I must concentrate on.
The rocks at the base of the escarpment offered plenty of cover as I made my way towards the ranch, but there was an open area of perhaps a quarter-mile where I’d be in the open. I trusted that, having returned to the ranch and found Brent dead and their hostages gone, Carson would be on high alert. He would recognise the killing shots as being from a handgun and correctly assume that someone else had freed the girls. Maybe that was why he hadn’t screamed in rage: he was anticipating a second assault on the house and was even now preparing to defend himself. It could be that he was moving from window to window, trying to detect movement out here.
