Footprints (17 page)
Annja edged over to the wall and Jenny followed. I hope Joey's okay, she thought.
"Your friend Joey has been taken care of," Tom said.
"You killed him?" Annja shouted.
Tom shook his head. "I gave him a rap on the head and he's likely got a concussion. He won't be a problem for a while." He sighed. "Eventually, though, we're going to have to make a decision about what to do with him."
"He's a child," Jenny said.
"He's a pain in the ass," David replied. "Just like that damn wolf of his before I shot him. Things'll be better when they're both gone." He got up from the table and walked over to Tom. "You got any bandages or something? I'm going to have to get this thing set down in Maynard at the clinic," he said, holding his wrist.
Tom eyed him. "You're going to leave now to get that set?"
David held up his useless hand. "What would you suggest I do? I can't handle my piece if my hand's useless."
"You won't be able to handle it, anyway, once you get a cast on it," Tom said.
David shrugged. "So just kill them all now and be done with it."
"If you'd done your job properly," Tom said, "they'd already be dead and we'd be finished with this thing."
David sighed. "Look, like I told Sheila, I did my best. They must have somehow gotten help to get free. I made sure that the tranquilizer drug you shot them with was strong enough to knock them out cold."
Annja looked at Tom. "You shot us last night?"
Tom smiled. "I suppose I ought to come clean about that.
Name's Tom Slackmore.
Former sniper with the Marines.
It's kind of a skill of mine."
"That explains the gillie suit," Annja said.
Tom raised an eyebrow. "You know about gillie suits?"
"I met a Marines sniper once—a far better man that you'll ever be apparently—who taught me about what it meant to do his job. He had honor about him.
Courage, too.
Both of those traits seem absent in you."
Tom laughed. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I served my country and my country forgot about me. I got wounded in a little war no one ever wanted to know about, so they kicked me out and I wound up in this dump with nothing to show for all my hard work. You think honor's something special? It's not. At the end of the day, it doesn't get you a damn thing, except a flag on your casket when you die."
"Touching," Annja said. "I'm sure that will go over real well with the judge and jury when you're brought up on charges."
Tom laughed louder. "And who exactly is going to do that?"
Annja smiled. "Day's not over yet."
David grunted. "This damn thing's killing me."
Tom glanced at Sheila. "Get his gun."
David looked at him. Tom smiled again. "Relax. No sense in you having it if you can't even use it, right?"
"Yeah. Guess so."
Sheila unholstered the automatic pistol and slid it into her waistband. She looked at Tom. "What now?"
Tom motioned at David. "Didn't I tell you this guy was going to be trouble?"
"We needed him. How else could we bring the stuff in?"
"Yeah, well, he's a liability now."
David looked up. "What did you say?"
"Uh-oh," Annja said.
But her voice was drowned out by the sudden explosion in the dining room that took David clean off his feet as the shotgun barked once and cut him open at the midsection. He fell over backward and lay there in a spreading pool of blood.
Sheila gasped. "You know, I used to like him.
A lot.
Now you killed him!"
"You never did have good taste in men," Tom said. "And he's served his purpose."
"You just killed a cop," Annja said. "That's not going to go over well with the authorities."
Sheila stared at David's body. "She's right."
Tom shook his head. "What difference does it make? By the time anyone clues in we'll be long gone. They can chase us all they want but they'll never find us. Not with what we've got."
Annja looked at Sheila. "You could stop this right now. Just shoot him and be done with the whole thing. Jenny and I will back you up. We'll tell them that it was
all his
plan. That you were just a hapless wife who got herself mixed up in something she couldn't control."
"
Hapless wife."
Tom chuckled. "That's a good one."
Annja looked at him and then back at Sheila. "You can do it, Sheila. Just shoot him now and set us free. Come on. We can call in the State Police."
Sheila looked at her and frowned. "I can't do that. I love him."
Annja shook her head. "But I thought you just said you liked Dave."
"I did."
Annja sighed. "Man, things sure get weird in these small towns."
Sheila frowned. "Tom's my brother."
"Weirder still," Jenny said, rolling her eyes. "And people thought rednecks were inbred."
"Don't be gross," Tom said. "We only pretended to be husband and wife in public. It helped create the illusion we needed."
"
Illusion for what?"
Annja asked.
Tom shook his head. "Aren't you supposed to be some type of scholar? And aren't you a teacher or something?"
Jenny nodded. "I am a teacher."
"Well, both of you are a little dense."
"You should see it from our perspective," Annja said. "We've almost died several times in the past few days. People are stalking big foot and we don't know what the hell is going on."
"Drugs," Tom said.
"The ultimate entertainment product."
"
This is all about drugs?"
Tom shrugged. "Does it need to be about anything else? We bring them in from
"And what happens after that? You sell them?" Annja asked.
Tom smiled. "Every few weeks we have a visitor come in to stock the hotel kitchen. They bring us supplies, they take back the drugs. And they leave us a little extra cabbage, as well."
"
A little?"
Sheila smiled. "It's more than that."
"Well, they get the picture," Tom said.
"And what about Simpson and Baker?
What are they—your hired muscle?"
Tom shrugged.
"No idea what those two idiots are doing."
He looked at Sheila. "Didn't you say that Ellen said they were here to trap big foot?"
"
Yep."
Tom shook his head. "Damn fools. There's no big foot in these hills."
Jenny cleared her throat. "There isn't?"
"
Of course not.
But it helps keep folks from buying up land and settling here. Plus, the state's real big on conservation land. That enables us to have a ready space to store our product until it gets picked up."
"How do you get it from the cavern to the hotel?"
"
Nothing that a little hike can't help."
"And no big foot?"
Jenny asked.
Tom smiled. "Sorry, sweetheart. I've been all up in these woods for years. I know every inch of the ground and I've never seen a big foot in all my travels."
Jenny fell silent. Annja wanted to scream at her to forget the damn big foot and concentrate on getting out of there alive, but she could see that Jenny's hopes were dashed.
"What are you going to do with David's body?" Annja asked.
Tom gestured with the gun. "You two are going to drag him into the back so he's out of view in case someone happens to wander by."
"There's a lot of blood on the wall and the floor. Anyone who sees that will know what happened," Annja said, stalling for time.
"In that case," Tom said. "You and your friend had better be real good at using sponges to clean up. Because if it's not perfect, there will be two more blood splatters on that wall."
"And two more bodies to clean up after," Annja said. "You're not that stupid, are you?"
"Don't try to find out," Tom said. "Now get to work."
Annja glanced at Jenny. She's not going to cope well with this, she thought. But they walked over. Annja reached down and got her hands under David's armpits and pulled. Jenny vomited and Annja blanched, choking back the rising tide of bile in her throat.
"Hurry up," Tom said. "Drag him in the back."
Annja tugged David's body into the kitchen. The corpse left a trail of blood behind, staining the floor a brownish red. It was all Annja could do not to heave her guts all over the place.
Jenny followed her into the kitchen with Sheila bringing up the rear, David's gun trained on them both.
Tom gestured with the shotgun.
"In the back there.
Just leave him be."
"The smell's going to let everyone in town know you killed him," Annja said.
Tom shook his head. "Don't matter. We'll be gone after tonight. And then as far as anyone knows, we just left."
"Cop killers will provoke an international manhunt," Annja said. "They'll find you."
"I don't think so," Tom said. "It will be too much trouble and they'll eventually give up."
Sheila pointed with her gun. "Get the sponges under the sink and the bucket that's in there, too. Fill it with hot water and follow me back outside."
Annja leaned under the sink, looking for anything that might help them. Tom kept the shotgun trained on her. If she tried to pull the sword out, she'd risk taking all that buckshot in the face. She had to wait until Tom had his focus diverted.
But when?
She got the sponges and tipped the bucket under the sink, running hot water into it. She'd never cleaned up after a corpse before, and it wasn't something she was looking forward to doing.
In the dining room, Sheila went to the front door and put the closed sign in place on the window, pulled the blinds and then turned and smiled. "So we won't be disturbed by anyone."
Annja and Jenny got down on their hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. Jenny gagged several more times.
"Keep it together," Annja said. "I don't want to have to clean up any more than necessary here."
"Can't help it," Jenny said. "The smell is awful."
"It's not as bad as it will be if we don't hurry up."
Jenny leaned into the scrubbing, her hands already red with David's blood. "What are we going to do?" she asked in a whisper.
"I just need a second when Tom isn't looking at us and then we'll make our move."
The barrel of the shotgun edged up under Annja's nose. "Keep your mind on cleaning that floor and less on any thoughts of escape."
Annja nodded. She'd have to time her move perfectly or she and Jenny would be the next to die.
Sheila checked the slide on David's gun. "You know he didn't even have a round chambered? What a moron."
"He was your boyfriend," Tom said. "You never said he was a genius."
"I still don't understand why David wanted Jenny to come out here," Annja said. "Why was there a need to involve her in all of this?"
"What better way to sell the case for preserving the conservation land around here than by having an expert on big foot
declare
that there was a high probability that the creature lives in the area? With her endorsement, we would have virtual control of the surrounding countryside."
"Or a huge influx of gawkers desperate to see the creature themselves," Annja said. "It's not the brightest plan I've ever heard."
"Shut up and keep cleaning," Tom said. "Yours isn't to question the plan. It's to do as we say until you've outlived your usefulness, too."
"At which point you'll kill us," Annja said.
"At which point you're absolutely right," Tom said.
Annja frowned. There wasn't much time left. She just hoped that the fact she hadn't seen Joey when they dragged David's body into the kitchen meant that he was out getting reinforcements.
Otherwise, Annja would have to handle two gun-wielding drug runners by herself.
And that didn't sound like a good plan at all.
With the mess at the hotel cleaned up, Tom and Sheila ushered Annja and Jenny to the back of the hotel. The sun was starting to set, and as it dipped toward the horizon it painted the area in reds and oranges.
Annja looked at Tom. "So is this where you're going to do it? Right out here in the open?"
Tom smirked. "You must really think we're stupid."
"It's crossed my mind a few times. Hooking up with someone like David.
All of this for the sake of peddling narcotics.
Yeah, I guess it's reasonable to suggest I think you're both dumb as rocks."
Sheila put her pistol up to Jenny's head. "Shut your mouth, or I'll put a slug through your pal's head."
"That's original."
Tom pointed to the Chevy Tahoe. "Get in the truck."
"You're taking David's ride?" Annja said.
"He doesn't need it anymore."
Annja nodded. "Good point."
Tom glanced at Sheila. "You drive while I keep a gun on these two."
Sheila frowned.
"With that thing?
Make sure you put them both in the backseat.
If that cannon goes off, better to blast the back than me."
"
Don't worry about it. I got it under control."
"Sure you do."
Tom frowned but didn't retort as he gestured for Annja and Jenny to get in. Then he shut their door and hopped into the front seat, training the shotgun on them from there. Without taking his eyes off them, he said to Sheila, "Go slow getting us out of town and watch the bumps. I don't want my trigger finger accidentally squeezing too much." He grinned at Annja. "That'd be a shame, huh?"
"I'm sure you'd lose sleep over it," she said.
Sheila started the engine and slipped the truck into Drive before pulling out onto the main road. Annja glanced around but, as usual, the place seemed pretty deserted. "How long have you two been here intimidating people and stuff?"
"
Few years.
But Dave was the guy who intimidated folks. Give people an authority figure they think they can't fight and folks either accept it or else they just up and move away. If we tried to do it, they'd just go to the cops in another town. In that case, our plans would have been screwed."
"Smart," Annja said. "Smarter than I would have given you all credit for."
Jenny looked out of the window. Her face looked gloomy. Tom nodded at her. "What's her problem?"
"Man trouble," Annja said.
Jenny glared at her. "Annja, how could you?"
Annja shrugged. "No sense lying to the guy."
"Let me guess, was it Dave?"
Annja nodded.
"Yeah.
Guy was a charmer. And he got his hooks in good with Jenny."
"It was all an act," Sheila said from the front seat. "Dave was with me the entire time. Jenny was just a pawn in the plan."
"Which one of you cooked that up, anyway?" Annja asked.
"Dave did," Sheila said.
"I kind of thought he did," Annja replied.
"What's that mean?" Sheila asked.
Annja shrugged. "Just that for someone so devoted to you, it sure seems like he made a big effort to get any other women out here that he could. You should have seen the way he was talking to me last night at his place. You would have thought the guy had never been with a woman before he was so eager."
"You're lying again," Sheila said.
"Think that if you want, but the guy had a roving eye. It's probably better your brother shot him dead without consulting you first.
Saved you both a whole lot of trouble."
Sheila glared at Tom. "You didn't have to kill him."
"Yes, I did. He was becoming a problem. Besides, this drug thing was never meant to be a long-term partnership.
Just enough to make us a few million so we could go south and disappear forever.
We've got that."
"But Dave was supposed to come with me," Sheila said.
Tom sighed. "Look, sis, you're going down to
"But Dave was the first guy to love me for who I am, weight and all."
"And those Latin dudes think chunky women are hot. Trust me, okay? By the time you get down there, you'll forget all about Dave and his broken wrist."
"I'd better." Sheila snapped her eyes to the front and stared hard out of the windshield.
Tom kept his eyes focused on Annja. "You're not going to turn her against me.
Might as well stop trying."
Annja ignored him. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"
Back to the site of your untimely escape earlier this morning."
"The cavern?
Why not shoot us someplace else? What's so special about that place?"
"It's not you guys," Tom said. "We've got another reason for needing to go back there. Our final shipment of drugs is waiting for us to pick up. Once we have it, we'll make the rendezvous and the exchange. In the morning, Sheila and me will drive down to the bank in
"Taking the money and running, huh?"
"You got it. We've got an appointment to pick up our new passports tomorrow afternoon and then an evening flight down the coast to
"You've got it all worked out," Annja said. "Congratulations."
Tom shrugged. "Sorry you and your friend here will have to be a rather bloody part of our legacy."
"That's how it goes," Sheila said. "You guys were just a casualty of this whole thing."
"Like your Dave," Annja said. "Such a shame he won't be with you. But at least this way you get to split the money only two ways instead of three." She looked at Tom. "That's the real reason you shot him back there, wasn't it?"
"No, it was not," Tom said. "Now keep your mouth shut."
Annja smiled.
"Just checking.
Sure seemed like an opportune time to get rid of that extra baggage and ensure a few extra million for you and Sheila. At least until she becomes a liability, as well. Who knows, maybe that will be tonight."
Tom aimed the shotgun at Annja. "Say anything else and I'll blow your head off. Sheila and I are in this together."
Annja nodded. "Is that what you told Dave?"
Sheila looked at Tom. "Is it?"
Tom frowned. "Would you stop focusing on Dave? He's gone, okay? I did what we had to do to make sure you and I are safe. That's the point, isn't it? That we get out of this thing alive. Who cares about Dave, anyway?"
"I did," Sheila said.
"A lot.
He was the first guy to be kind to me."
Tom shook his head. "You're a damn fool sometimes, sis. He was playing you like he played every other chick he came into contact with. Ask this one what that was like."
Sheila glanced in the rearview mirror at Jenny. "Did he really convince you that you were special?"
Jenny looked at Tom and then frowned. "Yes. He did. And he never mentioned you at all. I don't know if that counts for anything, but to me he was a big liar. Who knows how many other women he hurt?"
"You see?" Tom glanced at Sheila. "I told you. He was no good for you. You can do much better and you will once we get to where we're going."
The truck jumped over a big pothole in the road and Annja winced as the barrel of the shotgun jerked in Tom's hands. "Better be careful or that thing's going to go off in your hands," she said.
"That'd be shame, wouldn't it?" Tom asked with a grin.
"It would make a big mess," Annja said.
"Then you should do what I told you and stop trying to infuriate my sister. She doesn't know what's best for her, anyway. I do."
Sheila frowned. "
You pulling
that one out now? You know what's best for me? Just like always, huh? You've always got to take care of me. Like I'm some invalid who can't look after herself."
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
"I don't know what you meant," Sheila said. "But that sure as hell didn't come out sounding right."
"Sorry." Tom sighed. "Look, can we just get to the cave and find our drugs and kill these two and leave before anyone else knows what's going on?"
Sheila nodded. "We're almost there.
A few miles more."
The truck bounced along the rough track of the road. Annja and Jenny were jostled in the backseat but Tom fortunately didn't blow them away as the truck careened around the curves.
He frowned at Sheila. "Slow down, would you?"
"You told me to hurry."
"Yeah, but keep my spine in one piece, too, okay?"
Sheila frowned again. "You're too picky."
"I want to get to
"Being bounced around while sitting backward isn't the best way to do that."
Annja smiled. "
That kind of thing?"
"
He is," Sheila said. "That's why we're going there."
"Was that another decision he made for you guys?
In the best interests of the two of you?
Or just in the best interests of Tom?"
"
He made the decision," Sheila admitted.
Tom glared at Annja. "I'm not going to say it again. You speak up once more and I won't wait until we're underground. I will shoot you and your friend dead right here, right now."
Jenny put a hand on Annja's arm. "Maybe you should be quiet."
"Prolonging the inevitable," Annja said. But she nodded at Tom. "I'll keep to myself."
"What a refreshing change," Tom said. He glanced at Sheila. "We agreed that
"I wanted
"We settle in
God."
Sheila pointed through the windshield. "We're almost there."
Annja looked ahead of the truck. The road had turned into hard track, packed gravel that crunched underneath the truck tires. She could see that it ended some distance ahead. But it wasn't that far away, maybe only a few hundred yards.
Thick stands of pine trees barred the road, but a small pathway cut through them. That was probably the route they'd take into the caves.
"Is that the entrance?" she asked.
Tom nodded. "Through there, just a short walk away. I wouldn't dream of tiring you guys out before I shoot you. I'm considerate like that."
"Wonderful."
The sun bled a deep red across the sky. Night would descend soon all over the surrounding landscape. Annja would have to time things just right if she had any hope of subduing the brother-and-sister team before they got a chance to fulfill their dreams.
She glanced at Jenny. "You okay?"
Jenny nodded. "Be better if we weren't in this truck right now."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
The truck came to a sudden stop and Sheila wrenched the gear stick into Park. "Well, now we've stopped so you two can stop your complaining and hop on out. Make sure you take some nice deep breaths of the pines here. They smell sweet and lovely."
Tom smirked. "Don't get all sentimental on me now. We've got work to do before we send these two off to meet their ancestors."
"
Work?"
Annja frowned. "I thought we did all that back at the hotel."
"Well, there's more here," Tom said. "I'm not much into carrying large amounts of narcotics by myself. And with you two here, there's no reason for either Sheila or me to do it. You guys will make fine pack mules for a few trips."
"Nice," Annja said.
"Don't be down. If you're good, I'll even let you two snort a few lines before I shoot you."
"What the hell will that do?" Jenny asked.
Tom shrugged. "I don't
know,
maybe numb your brains long enough for me to kill you. Least that way you won't feel anything when you die."
