Perilous (18 page)

Chapter 32

It didn’t snow that night.

By noon they had reached Rome. The outward sprawl of houses and the sounds of engines and horns honking indicated a large population.

“Look at all the places to eat,” Jaci said as they turned down a street.

“All right, here’s the plan,” said Neal. “Let’s get some food first. Then, I want us to find a clothes store and everyone buy a coat and a sweater. And me a pair of shoes.”

They started down the street, and Sara grabbed Jaci’s arm. “I don’t think we should go to the police.”

“It’s okay. We’re far from Canada now. The police will help us.”

Sara shook her head. “We’ll have to separate from the boys. We’ll be vulnerable.”

This wasn’t about being afraid of the police. It was about leaving Neal and Ricky. She put an arm around Sara. “It won’t be for long.”

Sara didn’t look convinced, but she let Jaci pull her along.

They found a Subway for lunch, and there they asked for directions to the police station.

“Go left on St. James,” the cashier told them. “Just up the street. You’ll see it.”

After eating they headed up to St. James.

“Look, a clothing store,” Jaci said, pointing to a store called Erin’s Way. Skirts, boots, shirts, and chunky necklaces dangled from the window mannequin.

Half an hour later, they congregated at a street corner, waiting for the walk signal to turn on. Donning their new jackets, they appeared remarkably normal.

Neal had kind of a beard thing going on. It matched his gray jacket, making him look like the outdoors-y type.

Jaci’s navy blue jacket fit snugly, with only a lime-green V over the chest as an accent. The warm fleece sleeves stretched all the way to her palms. She wrapped her bony arms around herself, appreciating the warmth.

“Let’s talk about going to the police,” said Neal. “Are we sure it’s the right thing to do?”

“How can it not be?” Jaci asked. “They must be looking for us.”

“Yeah,” Amanda chimed in, wearing a pink vest-jacket. “They’ll protect us and make sure we get home.”

“You know what it means for us,” Ricky interjected. “This is where we part ways. They’d ship us to a juvenile detention center for sure.”

The light changed to a walk, but nobody moved.

“Let’s do this, then,” Jaci said. “Don’t come in with us. After the police have called our parents, you call Sara’s parents. Her parents can ask for custody of you until the courts can decide what to do with you. Like foster parents. Then you come into the police station and join us, once you know that’s been done. They should let us stay together.”

Ricky nodded thoughtfully. “Might work.”

Neal asked, “How will we know if Sara’s called her parents?”

Jaci shrugged. “Give it an hour or two. They won’t wait longer than that.”

“Okay.” Ricky nodded. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Good,” Amanda said. “That’s settled. Can we go now?”

Sara balked. “I’m telling you, I don’t want to go. I don’t feel right about it.”

“Then don’t come,” Amanda responded. “Stay with the boys. We’ll be fine.”

The light changed to a walk for the second time. Amanda threw her arms up and started across.

Sara shook her head, biting her lip. “I can’t. Something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Jaci asked. She was starting to get nervous.

“I don’t know. I just don’t think we should go.”

“What if she’s right?” asked Ricky.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out when we talk to Sara’s parents,” Neal said.

“And if something’s gone wrong?”

“Sara. You girls need someone who can protect you. Ricky and I can’t.”

Jaci watched Neal’s face. He was afraid for them. He knew something he wasn’t telling them.

Sara blinked back tears. “You can more than the police.”

Ricky squeezed her hand. “It’ll be fine.”

“And if it’s not?” she repeated, pulling her hand away. They reached the other side where Amanda waited, her stance impatient.

“Then we’ll find a way to help,” Neal assured Sara. “We won’t be with you, so we’ll be able to help.”

“What can you two possibly do against a police force?”

“You might be surprised,” Ricky said, giving Neal a sly smile.

“And what is a police force possibly going to do to us?” Amanda shot back. “Let’s go.”

“All right,” Neal said, stopping on the sidewalk in front of the station. “This is where we say goodbye.”

“For how long?” Jaci asked.

“Not long,” Ricky said. “Either we’ll be joining you in there, or we’ll all catch up in Idaho. Soon.”

Sara turned on Neal, who had the orange backpack strapped to one shoulder. “Don’t lose that. It’s all we have left.”

He nodded. “I won’t.”

Jaci thought of all the tree bark inside. Not exactly valuable.

“Can you remember my phone number?” Sara asked Ricky.

“Yeah.”

“My mom’s name is Elizabeth. My dad is Mike. The phone number is two-oh-eight, three-five-six, four-three-one-nine.” She looked at Neal. “Help him remember.”

“Uh-huh.” Neal mouthed the numbers to himself. “Got it.”

“Don’t wait too long to call.”

Ricky nodded. “Right. We’ll call.”

“Okay.” Sara took a deep breath and gave them both a shaky smile. “We’ll see you later.”

Neal reached over and hugged her. “Take care.”

Jaci looked at Ricky. She wanted to say something. But what?

Their eyes met. He licked his lips. “Well. Goodbye, Jaci.”

“Bye.”

“Come on, let’s not make a scene,” Amanda said, grabbing Jaci’s arm and pulling the girls toward the building.

Jaci clutched at Ricky’s hand, grasping his fingers for a moment before they slid away. Her throat ached.

Amanda opened the doors to the building and Jaci turned around, leaving Neal and Ricky behind. She focused on the tiled room in front of her, the silver elevator behind the white reception desk in the middle of the room.

Jaci stepped up to the clerk, the other girls falling in behind her. She tugged on her ponytail and cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”

The clerk looked up, blinking her clumpy black eyelashes. “Yes?”

“We’d like to speak to someone in your police force. We’re in trouble, and we need help getting home.”

The clerk looked them up and down and then picked up her desk phone.

“Sergeant Gates? I’ve got three girls down here asking to speak to an officer. Oh, okay. Sure.” She hung up.

“Someone will be right down. Why don’t you have a seat?” She gestured to a number of chairs against the wall.

“Sure,” Jaci said. She moved in the direction of the chairs. She gripped one and lowered herself into it. Sara’s nervousness was contagious. She glanced at the elevator behind the clerk’s desk, at the security scanners in front of the entrance.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Sara said. “Before it’s too late.”

The elevator chimed and a portly man stepped out. He smiled at them and said, “Hi. I’m Lieutenant Hansen. If you’ll come with me, please?”

Jaci stood and the others followed her lead. Her head throbbed. If they were going to change their minds, it was now or never.

He escorted them down a hall and came to a stop at a room, which he unlocked and motioned them in. He stepped inside with them and grabbed a metal chair. He straddled it and faced them.

“We know who you are, and you’ll be safe here. We’ve been expecting you since yesterday. You’re in police custody now. We won’t hurt you. Do you need anything? Water? Food?”

Jaci exhaled, feeling her heart rate slow down. They were safe. “What happens now?”

“We have a task force waiting for you in Pennsylvania. One of our sergeants there has been put on your case. We’re keeping it quiet for now, just in case the wrong eyes and ears are looking for you. Once we turn you over to his custody, he’ll help you get safely reunited with your families.”

Jaci smiled at Sara.
 
See?
 
she wanted to say.
 
Everything’s fine.

Sara didn’t look relieved.

“Can we call our families?” Amanda asked, popping her fingers.

Lieutenant Hansen frowned. “No. We can’t let it leak yet that you’ve been found.”

He stood. “I’ll be back for you in a few hours.”

Something tickled Jaci’s mind, and she blurted out, “You said you were expecting us. How?”

He shrugged. “The department in Pennsylvania called and said you were coming. I don’t know how they knew.”

He walked out of the room and closed the door, locking it behind him.

“Wait,” Sara called, but the door was shut.

“Sara,” Amanda said. “It’s okay! Look.” She gestured around the room, which was furnished with a sink, a toilet, and two bunk beds. “They’re going to take care of us.”

“You’re a fool, Amanda,” Sara snapped. “Why didn’t he ask us any questions? What are our names? Where did we come from? How can he help us?”

“The police must be on top of things. Of course everyone’s looking for us. He recognized us.”

“He’s been expecting us?” Jaci echoed. “Someone said we were coming? How? Who would have known?”

She felt a heavy pit in her stomach. “We didn’t even tell Sara’s mom.”

Sara trembled. “The Hand. He found us. He traced our call, and we’re going right into a trap.”

“The police can’t be corrupt,” Jaci said, shaking her head.

“Well, someone somewhere is corrupt,” Sara said, her voice full of scorn. “And now we’re trapped.”

“It’s not hopeless yet,” said Amanda. “Ricky and Neal are still outside.”

“A lot of good that does us. We can’t even get a message to them,” Jaci stated.

A gloomy silence descended. Jaci sat down on the floor, head in her hands. Amanda looked around the room, for once seeming desperate and scared. Sara just stood with a blank expression on her face.

Chapter 33

Lieutenant Hansen returned after a few minutes. He and two other officers guided the girls behind the station, loading them into a mid-size SUV police cruiser.

“Don’t worry,” Hansen said, his smile warm. He placed one hand on the back door. “We’ll have you safely home to your families soon.” He slammed the door, and the cruiser roared to life.

None of the girls said anything for the longest time. Sara curled into a ball on the bench, dropping her head and rocking back and forth.

“Do you think they’re listening to us?” Amanda said to Jaci. Jaci shook her head.

Sara looked up. “What will Neal and Ricky do? When they can’t reach us?”

Jaci said, “Maybe they’ll tell your mom.”

“Yeah,” Amanda said, her eyes widening. “They’ll get help. They’ll find a good person.”

A good person. Jaci doubted she would ever know who was good or bad again. She wasn’t even sure she could trust her own family.

They drove for more than an hour, getting farther and farther away from Rome, New York. How would Ricky and Neal ever find them?

An engine revved loudly seconds before the cruiser slammed forward.

Jaci screamed, reaching her hands out as the SUV flipped upside down and came to a stop. Her face rammed into the bench before she crumpled into a heap.

She opened her eyes, tasting blood in her mouth. Everything blurred in front of her, but her fingers felt the ceiling ridges underneath her. Adrenaline surged through her, and she forced herself to her feet.

Someone whimpered next to her. She tried to focus on the huddled form. “Sara.” She shook the girl’s arm. “Sara, are you hurt?”

Sara got to her feet. “What happened?”

“An accident.” Jaci didn’t know whether to fear or hope. “This might be our chance to escape.”

She looked around for Amanda. She heard the sound of distressed metal behind her. Someone was trying to open the door. She tensed.

“Jaci, I can’t wake Amanda.”

Jaci hurried to Sara’s side, feeling for Amanda’s neck.
Please, please don’t let her be dead.
She wasn’t. There was a pulse, strong and steady.

“How is everybody?” The voice came from outside.

Jaci knew that voice.

“Ricky and Neal,” Sara breathed.

“The driver has a nasty gash on his face, but his heart rate is good,” said Neal, his voice right by the door. “The man next to him is waking up. I think they’ll be okay. They were wearing seatbelts.”

The door creaked open, revealing a darkening sky. Jaci pressed her fingers to the opening, trying to help widen the gap.

“We weren’t going that fast, after all,” Ricky said, his tone defensive. He helped Jaci out. “Are you all right?”

“Amanda’s unconscious.” He had a bright red gash on his forehead. She touched it.

“Yeah, that.” He touched her own head. “You have a matching one.”

She pressed a palm to her hairline. It came away red. “I hit my face.”

Ricky got his arms under Amanda, the orange backpack strapped across his back. He scooted her across the upside down van. “I need some help with Amanda.”

“Hold this for me. I’m going to need both hands.”

Neal tucked a gun into Jaci’s jeans pocket and joined Ricky, wrapping his arms around Amanda’s torso.

Jaci touched the cold metal. “A gun?”

“Is everyone all right?” Neal asked as they pulled Amanda out.

“Yeah,” Jaci said, waving it aside. “My vision’s blurry. Doesn’t matter. We’ve got to run.” They weren’t out of trouble yet. “How are we going to get away?”

She squinted, trying to find the getaway car that Neal and Ricky must have brought with them.

“On our feet,” Ricky said. “Come on, let’s cross that highway.”

“On our feet?” she echoed. “What happened to your car?”

He pointed to a crumpled black object. “There.”

They were almost across the road when they heard, “You! Stop where you are.”

“Go, go, go,” Neal said, struggling to move quickly under the load he shared with Ricky.

“He’s going to radio for back-up,” Jaci gasped, her footsteps faltering.

“No, he won’t,” Ricky said, “because then he’d have to admit that you girls were in Rome. You’re a top-secret case.”

“But we’re not,” Neal reminded him. “They come after us, they get the girls.”

A gunshot sounded behind them.

“Stop, or I will shoot again,” the man shouted, running after them.

“Jaci,” Neal shouted. “Shoot his legs.”

She grabbed the gun Neal had stuck in her jeans pocket and jerked to a halt.

“I can’t!” She held the cold metal in her hands and pictured in her mind the glint of metal in the sunlight, Claber’s hand extending.

“Jaci.” Neal’s voice was urgent, demanding. “Do it now.”

“You can’t make her do that,” Ricky yelled.

“You have to, Jaci!” Neal snapped. “I can’t get to you in time.”

Jaci turned around.
You have to do this.
Where was he? “I can’t even see him,” she wailed.

“Just do it,” Sara yelled.

She thought she saw a blurry object coming closer. Jaci pointed the gun, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger once. The gun exploded loudly, knocking her backwards.

“He’s still coming! Do it again,” Neal hollered.

She pulled the trigger two more times.

“He stopped.” said Neal.

“Did I kill him?” Jaci shrieked. Her hands trembled as she kept the gun trained on the spot where he had gone down.

“No,” Sara said, running back to grab her arm. “And he made it across the street before he collapsed.”

Sobs wracked her body, and Jaci clutched the weapon in her hands.

Callie. Callie was shot. Claber shot Callie.
She let Sara drag her along, hardly able to breathe.

They stumbled forward for another ten minutes, Ricky and Neal dragging Amanda between them, before they slowed down.

Neal let go of Amanda and bent over, resting his hands on his knees and panting.

“What did I do?” Jaci cried. “I shot a policeman. What if I killed him?” Her head throbbed. She couldn’t focus on anything.

“We need to break into a farm house,” Neal said. Perspiration dripped from his brow.

“Maybe we can knock and beg for help, or if we have to, just take it, but we need medical supplies. Amanda’s hurt. Jaci’s cut. And you,” he added, touching the bloody gash on Ricky’s face.

Ricky jerked his head away. “What if they call a hospital? Or the police?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Neal retorted, eyes flashing. “We take one thing at a time.”

They approached the first farmhouse they saw. It was evening, and so far no one had come after them. The sky had a pasty gray color to it.

Jaci pressed a hand to her throat, her sobs dying down to tiny gasps. It hurt to breathe. She tightened her grip around the barrel in her hands, trying hard to maintain rational thought.

Ricky glanced back at her. “Sara, take the gun from her.”

Sara reached over, grasped the gun and pulled it away. She tipped it upside down and shook it, then knelt and buried it in the grass and leaves.