Jack turned to Lonetree. “What the hell were you doing?”
Lonetree sat on the lower bunk and started to take off his boots. “Some of that stuff was just to make him mad, but there was a lot of truth to it. You can tell Janney hates playing second string to Huckley. I’m just trying to help that resentment along.”
“So what does that do for us?” Jack said.
“Two things. First, a wedge between Huckley and Janney is something we might be able to exploit later. I wanted to put it in the front of his mind. Second, he just confirmed where they are all going to be tonight, right?”
Jack replayed the conversation in his head. “At the Source. In the cave. But we knew that.”
“Not really. They could have called it off because of the police presence. The storm. Anything. We assumed they were going to the cave but now we know. Not only that, but we know they’ll all be there together. He told us both Huckley and the Boss will be in the cave. It’s a great opportunity. Once again our interests match up, Jack. All the bad guys I want and the little girl you want will all be in the same place tonight.”
“Great. Good information to have while we sit here in jail.” He turned to look at Lonetree tugging at the heel of one of his boots. “And what the hell are you doing with your boots?”
The heel snapped off. Lonetree held it out toward Jack who shrugged his shoulders at the solid piece of black rubber. Lonetree grinned as he slowly turned it over to reveal a hollowed out interior filled with a light grey substance. He stuck one of his fingers into the heel and scooped out some of the contents.
“What is it?”
“This, my friend, is C-4 plastic explosive.”
“You walk around with plastic explosive in your boots?”
“Sure, doesn’t everyone?” Lonetree grinned. “The Navy told me it was guaranteed to put a spring in my step.” He lowered his voice and turned serious. “Now that we know where the bad guys are going and that Janney’s already left, what do you say we break out of this shit hole?”
Jack grabbed Lonetree by the arm. “Wait. You had the ability to break out of here all day and you didn’t tell me about it?”
“I needed the Boss to think I was neutralized. Otherwise he might have disappeared. Besides, if I had told you about the explosives this morning Huckley might have been able to read your mind and the whole thing would have been blown. Besides, would you have been willing to wait all day like we needed to?”
“You son-of-a-bitch. They could have killed Sarah already.”
“But they didn’t.”
“You didn’t know that for sure.”
“Listen, nothing is ever for sure. I figured it would be hard for everyone to sneak away until the night. There has to be media everywhere out there. Kind of hard for the sheriff to disappear in the middle of the day for a quick human sacrifice. Look, we can keep talking about this, which will accomplish exactly nothing, or we can break out of here. What do you want to do?”
Jack forced himself to let go of his anger. Lonetree was right. It was already done. “OK. Just promise me that you’ll keep me in the loop from now on. Agreed?”
Lonetree nodded, but Jack knew his companion would continue to inform him of his plans on a need-to-know basis. Without any other option, he realized he would have to live with it.
“Before I ask what the plan is to break out of here, I want to point out that the last two times you were in charge of our strategy things didn’t turn out so well. One plan left behind a decomposing body and the other landed us both in jail.”
Lonetree smiled. “Let’s hope the third time’s the charm.”
SEVENTY-ONE
Lauren didn’t know where to turn. Her visit to the jail that morning had been a disaster. Jack’s raving story only made things worse. He saw enemies everywhere he looked, enemies with supernatural powers. He believed that he, alone, had the information that could stop terrible events about to destroy them all. Clearly her husband was suffering from paranoid delusion. Even a first year med student could have made the diagnosis.
It didn’t make sense. Even with the problems in California, there had never been anything like this. Jack had never acted paranoid before or reported hallucinations of any kind. She thought there would have at least been warning signs. Something to indicate a meltdown this extreme was possible. She searched her memory but came up blank. And that’s what scared her. There must have been some sign and she had missed it. Coils of guilt wrapped tightly around her. She was stunned by her failure as a mother and a wife. How could she have been so oblivious? How could she have let this happen?
She shook her head to clear her bout of self-pity. The hospital cafeteria was empty now. The police and sheriff’s deputies had moved out once they took Lonetree and Jack into custody. As far as they were concerned, the police had the kidnappers and now it was just a matter of making them talk. The police had all avoided making eye contact with her as they packed up their things. She wasn’t sure if it was pity for her lost child or scorn for her helplessness.
Even the hospital staff was uncomfortable around her, scurrying by with heads down. She didn’t fixate on it. It wasn’t like she was being shunned by lifelong friends. In reality, the people here were strangers to her, more associates than friends. And that’s what made her feel so alone.
She tried to call Sushma to check on Becky but reached her answering service. She left a short message for her daughter assuring her that everything was going to be all right. Lauren’s throat constricted as she told the lie into the lifeless machine. Everything wasn’t going to be all right. Nothing would ever be all right again. She hung up the phone. The halls were silent as she walked up to her office. She closed and locked the door. She needed privacy.
She sat at her desk, her thick padded chair wrapped comfortably around her. Without thinking, she snatched up a pen and started twirling it in her hand, a nervous habit left over from medical school. With a kick, she spun the chair around so it faced the credenza covered with framed photos of her family. She leaned forward, picked up a large metal frame and laid it on her lap.
The photo was from their trip to the Grand Canyon. Taken from the canyon’s edge, it showed all of them together, even Buddy with his long tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. They’d gone in the late fall when the desert air had a cold edge. The girls’ cheeks were red from the chill. Both Sarah and Becky beamed with jack-o-lantern smiles as they waved at the camera.
Lauren turned the picture over. This wasn’t helping.
She picked up the phone, hesitated, and then punched in Dr. Mansfield’s extension. After five rings she hung up and called the on-duty nurse.
“Yes, Dr. Tremont?” the nurse answered.
“I’m looking for Dr. Mansfield. Is he in the hospital?”
“Let me check.” There was a muffled noise as Lauren heard the nurse ask someone if they had seen him. She came back on the line. “He’s downstairs. Said he wanted to be notified when they came to get the Rodriguez girl’s body.”
“That can’t be right. He told me they took her yesterday. That she’d already been cremated.”
Again, muffled voices before the nurse was back on the line. “I’ve got the file right here. Felicia Rodgriguez. TOD 22:14 hr on Thursday. She’s being picked up today. I’m sure if it.” The nurse paused. “Do you want me to send someone down to get him? Dr. Tremont? Hello?”
But Lauren was gone, already out her door and headed for the stairwell. It was only two flights down to the morgue and she meant to get there fast. Lauren took the stairs as fast as she could, her mind running full speed as she clambered down the stairs.