He knew she would be more frustrated than scared. From her perspective, some idiot had just accidentally run into her. King opened his door and darted out of the car, pulling the Beretta he’d acquired in the police station out of his belt. The safety was on.
She wouldn’t know that.
‘Oh my god, you fucking—,’ Kate began as she fumbled out of the driver’s seat. In the midst of her tirade, she locked eyes with King and noticed the pistol aimed in her direction. Recognition spread across her face. She shut up instantly.
‘Hey, Kate,’ King said.
‘Shit.’
‘Long time no see.’
‘You escaped custody?’
‘I was never in custody.’
‘What do you want from me?’
‘You won’t believe me, but I’m not with whoever made you deliver the package.’
‘Oh, I believe you. I worked that out after the cops took you away.’
‘You did?’
‘You were genuinely confused when I said you were working for them. So I take it you’re not.’
‘I’m not working with anyone.’
‘Then why are you pointing a gun at me?’
‘I need to make sure you won’t run away.’
‘Silence.’
‘I’m also going to need you to get in my car.’
‘No way.’
‘It’s for your own safety.’
‘How exactly would that be beneficial to me?’
‘I need answers. And I want to help. And you’re the only person who knows anything about that package.’
‘What happened to it?’
‘It got picked up by two hitmen.’
She recoiled. ‘Hitmen?’
‘I saw them kill two people. Construction workers, who I’d say were in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something they shouldn’t have.’
She stared at the ground. ‘Fuck. I never should have got involved.’
‘I can help you get out of this. Are you going to trust me?’
‘No. I still have no idea who you are.’
‘And I still need you to get in the car. Sorry.’
After a beat of consideration she stepped away from her Subaru and crossed to the passenger side of his sedan. Although reluctant, it seemed she had come to the conclusion that there were few other options.
‘The neighbours are going to see my car, you know,’ she said. ‘Just sitting here. Empty. In the middle of the street. They’ll call the police.’
‘It doesn’t matter. I’m already wanted anyway. I broke out of the station to get here. But you really shouldn’t have told me that.’
‘Why?’ she said again.
‘What if I wanted to hurt you? You just reminded me to hide your car.’
She shrugged amicably. ‘You’re not going to hurt me.’
‘You’ve changed your mind on me very quickly.’
‘I had some time to think. And I guess I overreacted. You’re definitely not with them. You would have killed me otherwise. They don’t fuck around.’
‘Let’s talk about this in the car.’
‘Can I at least get my bag? It has my laptop and things. It’ll get stolen if I just leave it here.’
He shrugged in return. ‘Sure.’
She ducked into the Subaru and came out with a beige carry bag. She slung it over her shoulder and headed for Billy’s sedan. King kept the gun on her, wary of any sudden movements. He couldn’t let her get away. She was the only link between him and the people killing witnesses in Jameson.
She ducked into the passenger’s seat seat. King followed suit, still aiming the gun in her direction.
She looked at him. ‘You’re really not one of them, are you?’
‘That’s only what I’ve been saying for the past three hours.’
‘Then who are you?’
‘Just a guy.’
‘I’m sorry I got you arrested.’
‘It’s fine. In fact, it ended up helping.’
‘Huh?’
‘There’s a police officer missing. Which means this is a lot more serious than I thought.’
‘I think they’ve killed a lot of people,’ Kate said, staring into the distance.
‘How do you know?’
‘I don’t. I know as much as you do. They’ve kept me in the dark this whole time, I swear. I was paid three grand to deliver that package to the post office… I think to keep themselves off any cameras. All my instructions were delivered over the phone and I’ve never seen a single one of them. And now you’re following me around, demanding answers. I’m fucking scared. I just want to get away from all of this.’
King lowered the pistol. She meant no harm, that much was clear. ‘Where were you headed just then?’
‘To get payment.’
He raised an eyebrow, surprised. ‘From them?’
She nodded. ‘They called me ten minutes ago. Said they had my money ready and waiting. Told me to drive to an old landfill site a few kilometres down the road. It overflowed years ago and the owners closed it down.’
‘And you decided to go?’
‘Well, yeah,’ she said. ‘I’m dead broke. Why do you think I did this in the first place?’
‘Terrible idea.’
‘Why?’
‘Did you miss the part where I said they were killing off witnesses?’
‘Oh…’
Kate fell silent, the situation dawning on her in a new light. She stared vacantly out the window, processing what might have occurred had her journey gone uninterrupted.
King reversed a dozen feet, then guided the sedan around her empty Subaru. The door lay wide open. Neighbours would know something was wrong with a single glance. It didn’t matter. There were greater concerns than the worry of Jameson’s residents.
‘Are you sure they would have killed me?’ she said. Her voice had grown timid. Scared.
‘We’ll find out soon enough,’ King said.
‘Wait, surely you’re not going to…’
Kate trailed off as he pulled the car out onto the main road and sped away from Jameson, towards the site.
CHAPTER 16
‘You’re making a serious mistake,’ Kate said.
King stared out the windscreen at the looming pine trees on either side of the road. They cast broad shadows, blocking much of the natural light apart from the stretch of sky directly overhead.
He sped up. Determined to catch whoever was waiting for Kate off-guard.
‘It’s the only lead I have,’ he said.
‘They’ll kill you too.’
‘I can handle myself.’
‘And who are you, exactly?’
‘Jason King.’
‘You told me that earlier, when you knocked on my door.’
‘Well, that’s who I am.’
‘What do you have to do with all of this?’
‘Not much.’
‘Have you always been this talkative?’
‘I used to talk less.’
‘I can’t imagine that’s possible.’
They rounded a bend and he noticed a gap in the trees ahead. Another road, twisting away into the woods. The rest of the view was obscured. No vantage point. No place to set up watch. Just a sharp corner and then another indiscriminate gravel road.
‘Is that the place?’ he said, pointing.
Kate nodded.
King slammed on the brakes and the sedan screeched to a halt in the middle of the road. It sat on the asphalt, idle, engine running. There was no passing traffic in either direction to worry about. They were in the middle of nowhere.
Kate stared at him. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Thinking. We’re probably heading into a trap.’
‘Isn’t that what you just told me before?’
‘I’m going ahead.’
‘I figured that.’
‘I’ve walked into worse situations before. You’re welcome to get out here.’
‘And just stand in the middle of the road and wait for someone to shoot me?’
‘Kate, get out.’