It was high time the Crain bitch got what she had coming, even if Stick was only worthless highway trash. There was nothing he hated more than a tricky woman. Oh yes, he was going to save her for last. Introduce her to a world of pain she’d never forget.
Most importantly, Marsh felt he now deserved the fortune of gold he was promised. He was getting tired of waiting, of living in the old run down house and not having any money. If he didn’t pay off his debts soon, nosy bill collectors would be showing up at the front door, creating even more problems he didn’t need.
Once I get my hands on one of those maps, it’s mine. Screw Horn and his crazy plan. I’ve got to take care of number one…
Easier said than done, Marsh thought bitterly. What the hell am I doing? How could I be so goddamn stupid?
You couldn’t exactly tell a ghost to go fuck himself, especially if he’d become part of you, had made a little home in one of the cobwebbed corners of your mind. Marsh braced himself for Horn’s angry voice to boom through his skull but nothing happened. He glanced nervously around the room. The ghost wasn’t even there to threaten him.
Bugger must be messing around somewhere else for a change...
He picked up his rifle from the kitchen table where he’d been cleaning it the night before and stuffed some extra bullets into his front pocket.
The house was quiet, except for the beat of the grandfather clock and a moth darting against the screen door.
Marsh glanced cautiously around the room, could hear his pulse beating inside his ears.
He didn’t see any ghosts. Not tonight.
But when he opened the front door to leave, an icy claw sank into his shoulder and spun him around. Marsh trembled at the sight of Horn’s face so close to his. The ghost’s eyes were like portals to another reality, a place you didn’t need to see twice to know you never wanted to go there…
Marsh tried closing his eyes but it was too late. Horn had his eyelids pinched between dark fingertips.
“You must honor the bargain we made.”
“But the women and children have escaped. They’ll find help. And then the police will come and ...”
“Damn you Marsh. Take care of them. Then bring me my rightful kin… Must I teach you another lesson about betraying me?”
Marsh’s guts twisted up into cold knots. Horn had his eyelids stretched to their limit. If the ghost wanted to he could tear them off like the wings of a fly.
I guess the gold will have to wait…
CHAPTER 32
Robert woke to a tongue licking his face. When he heard Nugget’s concerned whimpering, he opened his eyes. He lifted a hand and stroked her chin.
“Hey girl…”
For a moment he couldn’t remember how he’d ended up sprawled out on a bed of fragrant needles. He vaguely recalled his fall from the train trestle, of bouncing downward from one limb of a giant cedar to the next.
Nugget settled beside him and thumped her tail.
“How’d you get out of the truck?”
Nugget gave him her knowing look. Haven’t you figured it out dad? When she didn’t react to the sounds coming toward them through the undergrowth, he finally understood. Will had found him.
“Robert?”
“I’m over here.”
Will parted some sword ferns and bent down under the cedar to join him.
“Jesus Robert, are you hurt?”
Robert didn’t actually know. He hadn’t thought about trying to move anything more than he needed to. He started to gently wiggle his toes, then his legs. They seemed to function normally. But his hip throbbed as if a hot branding iron had been pressed in all the way to the bone. Will bent over and triaged Robert’s injuries. When he saw the wound on Robert’s hip he whistled through his teeth.
“That’s a nasty cut you have, bro. We’re going to have to get it cleaned out as soon as possible… Do you think you can still walk?”
“I haven’t tried… So what happened to the guy who was shooting at me?”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s not going to be a problem. Oh, thanks for the voice messages you fucking jerk. You’re lucky I checked them before I got done with my shift. I was planning to go out with this hot number who’d just started in accounting the other day. I had to give her a goddamn rain check.”
“I’m sorry I lied to you, Will. But this thing is really bad. I promise you I’m going to tell you everything that’s happened.”
Will gnawed his lower lip. His eyes were filled with tears.
“You can tell me all about it later. Right now I think we better get the hell out of here. Before any more of your friends show up and try to kill us.
CHAPTER 33
Peggy was growing concerned. The highway was much further down the basin than she’d realized. In fact the headlights they saw earlier may have come from aircraft flying low on the horizon. Or were they the glow of distant forest fires? This was the time of year when lightning committed its random acts of arson. It burned up acres of drought-stricken pine forests and darkened once green mountains.
Still, there had to be a main road somewhere. With the night sky as clear as it was, there was hope they’d see passing vehicles before long. Early stars began to light up the sky. Bats darted overhead catching moths.
They’d only stopped running a few minutes ago. For the moment Peggy was satisfied no one was following them. Their pace slowed as their lungs worked overtime. It gave them their first opportunity to talk.
“My name is Peggy by the way. And this is Connor.”
A worried smile stretched across the woman’s thin face. Dark circles around her eyes told Peggy she hadn’t slept much lately.
“It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Jan, and my daughter’s name is Krista. Can you tell us where we’re going?”
“We’re looking for the highway. And to be honest with you, I don’t have any idea how far it is from here.”
“When did they take you?”
“Two nights ago. It was really late. They broke into our house. My husband tried to stop them but he’d been hurt in a car accident.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“Only once. The following morning.”
“Did you find out what’s happening? Did he mention my husband?”
“No. He only had time to ask how we were. Then they took the phone away. What about you. How long ago?”
“Three days. My husband went to the store to buy some ice cream. He’d left the door unlocked, thinking he’d be right back. Then these men came into the house wearing ski masks. Krista and I didn’t stand a chance. They tied us up and shoved us in a van. When Steve got back we heard them ambush him. It sounded really bad…”
Jan began to sob. Peggy took her hand and squeezed. Connor was still walking beside her, softly humming one of his own compositions. It was his habit when he was trying to calm his nerves. He’d been doing it since he was a baby. Krista had glanced curiously at Connor, and after awhile she began to join him. They were coping with the situation much better than Peggy had expected. She hoped it would stay that way.
“Listen Jan, we’re going to find help. And as soon as we do, every cop car in this county is going to be screaming toward that old farmhouse.”
“I just wish I could understand what this was all about. We’re good people. We didn’t do anything to deserve this. If it was ransom they wanted, then they’ve got the wrong family. We work hard, but it’s not like we’re rich.”
“It has to be something else. But I don’t believe this was a coincidence. No, this was carefully planned and executed. There must be a connection of some kind, but I’ll be damned if I can find one.”