by Amy Cross
He grabbed two mugs, before turning and seeing that his mother was just standing in the doorway, as if she had no idea what to do next.
“Sit down,” he told her.
“But -”
“Just sit down.”
After pausing for a moment, she made her way to the breakfast bar and sat on one of the stools.
“Where’s Beth?” he asked.
“She went home to pick up some things. She’ll be back soon. She’s not holding up well, but…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “Why would someone do this? Who would ever want to kill Jack?” She paused. “It was always girls who died. They never killed a man until now.”
Setting some mugs down, Ben paused for a moment. Part of him felt it had just been a turn of phrase, something to ignore, but at the same time he couldn’t quite let it go. “They?” he asked finally.
He waited.
Silence.
Turning to her, he saw that she was staring at the dark window. Again, he told himself he was reading too much into his mother’s words, but after a moment he realized there was a hint of darkness in her eyes.
“You know, don’t you?” he said finally.
Again, he waited.
“You know about the Border.” He took a step toward her. “You, of all people, know about that place? How?” He paused. “Please, tell me you weren’t one of those girls who -”
“Of course not!” she hissed, as if the idea revolted her. “Don’t even suggest such a thing!”
“Then what? How do you know about it?”
“Oh…” She sighed. “I’m not a fool, Ben. I see things, I hear things. Anyone in this rotten little town would know about it if they just kept their eyes open and thought about all the discrepancies. It’s ludicrous to think that something like the Border could stay hidden without the complicity of everyone in Bowley. I’ve never been there, of course. I’ve never really seen what happens, but I know enough.” She paused. “I know you know too. I know you worked down there for a short while, just general dogsbody work.”
He waited for her to continue. “What else do you know?”
“Ben -”
“What else do you know?” he asked again, more firmly this time.
“I know that…” She wiped tears from her eyes. “I know… I know the basics. I know Garland Packer -”
“What do you know about Garland Packer?”
“Never mind.”
He watched her for a moment, before stepping closer. “What do you know about Garland Packer?” he asked again.
“Don’t push me, Ben.”
“Do you know how he died?”
She froze.
“How did he die?” he asked.
“Some passing vagrant -”
“How did he really die?” He waited. “Don’t spew out that passing vagrant garbage that Alex comes out with every time he needs to explain something. Tell me how you think Garland Packer died.”
“Well, you killed him, didn’t you?” Audrey said with a sigh. She glanced toward the door, to make sure that no-one was listening. “Don’t worry, no-one else knows. Not as far as I’m aware, anyway. I just put two and two together.”
“When?”
“Ben -”
“When did you work it out?”
“When it happened.” She paused. “It wasn’t exactly hard to spot, not for anyone who actually had their eyes open.”
“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
“What would be the point? You seemed to have it all under control.”
“I did?”
“You did.”
He made his way closer to her. “Let me get this straight,” he said after a moment. “You knew that I’d murdered Garland Packer, and you did absolutely nothing about it?”
“What should I have done?” she asked. “Marched you down to the police station?”
“You should have done something,” he replied. “Realizing that your son is a murderer is not something that most people would be able to sweep under the carpet.”
“You had your reasons.”
“I had my reasons?” he asked incredulously, clearly struggling to believe what he was hearing. “What the hell does that mean? I’m a murderer but it’s okay because you figure I wasn’t just doing it for fun?”
“You’re a smart boy,” she replied, her voice trembling a little with fear. “You’ve always been a good person, and moral too. I never knew Garland Packer very well, but I knew enough to understand the malign influence he had over this town. The last thing I wanted was to ruin your life by implicating you in what happened to him.” Getting to her feet, she headed to the cabinet and took out a bottle of gin. “I always told you I was the opposite of your father, didn’t I? Now there’s a man who never made a decent decision in his life. The day he got turned down by the Border…”
Her voice trailed off.
“He got turned down?” Ben said after a moment.
She shrugged.
“I guess it’s starting to make sense now,” he continued. “I knew he was lying when he said he hadn’t heard of it. Still, how could you never mention that you knew what I’d done? Do you realize how much danger I’ve been in ever since that day? Even now, I’m certain they’re going to come after me.”
“Then you’d better run.” She took a swig of gin. “Again.”
He shook his head.
“Ben -”
“I’m not running,” he told her. “I’m not turning a blind eye and I’m not pretending I don’t know what’s happening.”
“What’s the alternative? Try to expose it?” She paused. “They’ll never let you.”
“I don’t need them to let me,” he said firmly. “I didn’t let them kill my brother, but they still did it. They still sent their stag-headed man after him. Why did they do that, anyway? Was Jack finally starting to work out what was happening?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Audrey replied, taking another swig from the bottle. “He never mentioned anything about it to me.”
“This is insane,” he said, heading to the door. “Paula was right, I never should have come back. I should have stayed away and let this whole place rot.”
“Who’s Paula?”
He glanced back at her. “Never mind.”
“Is there someone in your life?” she asked, with a hopeful smile. “Please, Ben, sit down and talk to me. Tell me about yourself. Do you have a girlfriend? My God, you could be married for all I know. Do you have children?” She waited for a reply. “Don’t you think it’s time for us to actually talk for once? We’ve got a lot of catching-up to do.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” he replied, “except I can’t. To be completely honest, I don’t think I could spend another moment in your company without throwing up.” With that, he headed out into the hallway, leaving her standing alone with the bottle of gin.
***
“Jack didn’t hate you,” Beth said several hours later, as she and Ben sat on the steps at the front of the house. The morning sun had risen a while earlier, and Christmas Day had somehow arrived in the middle of the family’s horror. “He was just messed up,” she continued. “He was so desperate to understand everything, he latched onto the first explanation that remotely made sense.”
“Did you read the paper?” Ben asked.
She nodded.
“He thought I was a serial murderer,” Ben continued. “He thought I was a monster. Frankly, I’d rather he’d hated my guts than…” Sighing, he put his head in his hands. “Well, this is turning out to be a fine Christmas, isn’t it? Will the funeral home be open tomorrow, or do we have to wait for the twenty-seventh?”
She put an arm around his shoulder.
“No-one believes that you killed Jack,” she told him. “I think even Dad couldn’t quite twist his thought processes into such a knot that he got to that conclusion.”
“Speaking of which,” Ben replied, turning to her, “is there any word from the old man? Gi
ven the events of the past twenty-four hours, don’t you think he might decide to come along today?”
She sighed. “Bob’s driven over to see if he can get him to change his mind. I don’t think he’ll have much of a chance, though.” She checked her watch. “It’s half past nine, we should -”
Suddenly she froze, and a moment of shock filled her features.
“We should what?” Ben asked. “Go back inside and try to salvage Christmas? Put on happy faces for the kids? Jesus Christ, the kids… What are we going to do about the kids?”
“It’s half past nine,” Beth whispered, trying not to panic as she remembered the arrangement she’d made with Luke at the diner, a little over twenty-four hours earlier. Somehow, in all the madness that had followed, she’d forgotten all about the deal. “Half past nine, that means it’s thirty minutes since…”
“Beth?”
“Oh Jesus Christ!” she shouted, scrambling to her feet and racing into the house. As soon as she reached the kitchen, she grabbed her phone and brought up Luke’s number, desperately trying to get in touch with him to call off the hit. “Pick up,” she whispered, almost breathless with fear, “pick up, please, for the love of God -”
The call failed to connect.
Trying again, she got the same result.
“No,” she stammered, starting to hyperventilate as she stared at the screen, “this can’t be happening!”
“Beth?” Ben asked from the doorway, having caught up to her. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Hang on,” she replied, bringing up Bob’s number and waiting for him to answer. “Come on, you son of a bitch, answer your goddamn -”
“Hey,” Bob said suddenly on the other end of the line, “I’ll be home in a bit. I tried your Dad -”
“Where are you?” she asked frantically.
“I’m… just on the other side of town. I’m outside the garage on Bleeker Street, but -”
“Oh God,” she continued, trying to work out what to do next. “You have to get home. Bob, I need you to get home right now!”
“I’ve got a flat tire. I’m just changing it now and -”
“Get home!” she shouted.
“Beth -”
“You have to get home! You have to -”
Stopping suddenly, she realized she could hear another voice on the other end of the line, a woman’s voice.
“Bob?” she asked cautiously. “Who are you with?”
“Um, no-one,” he replied, clearly lying. “Honey, I’ll be right back in an hour or so. Wait, I have to go, there’s someone stopping to -”
Suddenly the line went dead.
“Bob?”
She waited.
“Bob?” Frantically, she tried to call him again, only to find that his phone was off. She tried a couple more times before freezing up, and for a moment her mind felt completely blank, as if her level of panic had reached an unprecedented level. All thoughts, all emotions, had come to a grinding halt, waiting for her to somehow find a way forward.
“Beth?” Ben said, making his way over to her. “What’s wrong? Is Bob okay?”
“If, on the other hand,” she remembered Luke telling her a little over twenty-four hours earlier, “you don’t send me a message during the twenty-four hours, I will know that you want me to go ahead. Your decision will be irrevocable, and I will strike fast and I will strike hard, and you will never hear from me again. Your husband will be history within minutes of that deadline passing.”
“Oh God,” she stammered, trying once again to get through to Bob, but finding that his phone was still switched off. “I have to find him, I have to stop all of this before it’s too late.”
“Stop what?” Ben asked. “Beth, you’re starting to worry me.”
“I need your help,” she continued breathlessly, turning to him, “but first I have to tell you something and…” She paused. “Ben, you have to promise not to get mad at me. I’ve done something terrible.”
V
“It’s lovely,” Candy said, forcing a smile as she held up the ugly, silver and gold necklace in the shape of some kind of beetle. She turned it around, frowning as she briefly considered that it was meant to be a rabbit, before deciding that, no, it was definitely a beetle, which was a shame. She liked rabbits. “It’s… really lovely.”
“I just saw it and thought of you,” Bob replied with a cautious smile. “Happy Christmas. I know it’s not much, but you know what they say, it’s the thought that counts.”
“I didn’t think to get you anything,” she replied.
“Well, that’s okay. You give me lots of things, all year round.”
Leaning closer, he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Do you want me to help you put it on?” he asked.
“Um, sure,” she said, letting him take the necklace and then turning her back to him. “I really have to get back soon, though. My parents -”
“I’m sure they can wait a few more minutes,” he replied. “After all, I’m keeping my entire family waiting.” Feeling his phone vibrate, he pulled it from his pocket and sighed. “Speaking of which, I have to take this. It’s the old ball and chain.” Chuckling, he answered the call. “Hey, I’ll be home in a bit. I tried your Dad -”
“Where are you?” Beth asked, sounding stressed.
“I’m…” He glanced at Candy. “I’m just on the other side of town. I’m outside the garage on Bleeker Street, but -”
“Oh God,” Beth replied, interrupting him. “You have to get home. Bob, I need you to get home right now!”
“I’ve got a flat tire.” He smiled. “I’m just changing it now and -”
“Get home!”
“Beth -”
“You have to get home!” she said firmly. “You have to -”
“Someone’s coming,” Candy said, frowning as she watched a man walking toward the car from the direction of the closed and shuttered garage.
“Bob?” Beth asked, sounding worried. “Who are you with?”
“Um, no-one,” he told her, waving Candy away as he turned to face the man. “Honey, I’ll be right back in an hour or so. Wait, I have to go, there’s someone stopping to -”
Before he could finish, the man punched Bob square in the face, smashing his phone at the same time and sending it crashing to the ground. Grabbing Candy’s shoulder, the man twisted her around and clamped a hand over her mouth.
“One word from either of you,” Luke said firmly, “and you’re both dead.”
***
“I don’t have a lot of money,” Bob said a few minutes later, terrified as he drove the car away from town, “but everything I have, I can give to you. Please, if you’ll just let us go -”
“Keep driving,” Luke replied, watching from the passenger seat with a gun aimed at Bob. After a moment he glanced at Candy, who was sitting petrified in the rear. “What’s your name?”
Too scared to speak, Candy simply stared at him.
“I asked your name,” Luke continued, fixing her with a firm stare. “Tell me.”
“Candy,” she stammered. “Please don’t hurt me! It’s Christmas!”
“Candy?” Luke frowned. “For real?”
“I don’t want to die,” she whimpered. “Please, I want to go home…”
“Do you want the car?” Bob asked, checking in his wing mirror for a moment. “I can give you the car. I won’t even report it missing, I promise. I’ll just -”
“Drive,” Luke sneered, leaning over and pressing the gun against the side of Bob’s face. “I swear to God, you’re the most irritating man I’ve ever met, and I only met you five minutes ago. No wonder -” He caught himself just in time, and after a moment he leaned back in his seat. “Just drive. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
“I’m nobody,” Bob continued. “Really, truly… I mean, are you sure this isn’t a case of mistaken identity? Maybe you’ve got me mixed up with someone important?” With tears in his eyes, he struggled t
o keep from sobbing. “I have a wife and a child, Do you realize that? You can’t kill a family man on Christmas Day, it’s inhumane!”
“You’re a family man, huh?” Luke replied with a faint smile. “Then who’s this beautiful young lady I found you with, huh? Just a friend you were helping out?”
“Absolutely,” Bob said. “We’re colleagues, that’s all. We work together at -”
“I know where you work.”
“I’m just -”
“I also know what you’ve been up to. I know a great deal about you Mr. Bob Hague.”
“So…” Bob paused. “So this isn’t some kind of random carjacking?”
Luke smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He glanced out the window. “In about two miles, you’ll see an abandoned gas station at the side of the road. Pull in there.”
“Why?” Bob asked.
“Because if you don’t, I’ll shoot you in the goddamn face.”
***
Letting out a cry of pain, Bob fell to the ground. He winced and rolled onto his side, but already the searing pain in his chest told him that the punch had broken a couple of ribs. When he tried to get to his feet, the pain doubled and he gasped, and finally he looked up and saw Luke towering over him, blocking out the sun.
“This man is nothing,” Luke said after a moment, before turning to Candy. “You’re a beautiful woman, why are you fooling around with someone who is more worm than man?”
Too scared to speak, Candy simply stared at him from the car’s back seat, where she had sections of rope around her wrists and ankles.
“What a world we live in,” Luke continued, looking back down at Bob. “How is it that a piece of garbage has two women, huh? A beautiful wife, a beautiful mistress… I mean, it doesn’t seem fair, does it? Look at me, I’m a handsome man and I haven’t had a steady girlfriend in years, whereas a miserable wretch like you… God, no offense, but I’m really starting to question my faith in the universe. I just feel sorry for your wife, having to put up with you.”
“Leave my wife out of this,” Bob stammered, even though the pain in his ribs was worse every time he took a breath. Somewhere deep inside, a broken section of bone was jabbing at his meat. “Please, for the love of God, what do you want with me?”
