"I promise."
After Elizabeth left, Edgar thought about Karen's note and fished it out of the trash. She had signed it "Peanut." Now that was kind of strange. He couldn't remember a time when Karen had appreciated his nickname for her. He used it in spite of his best attempts to break the habit, and she almost always reacted with a frown when it slipped out.
He read the note again. Even the handwriting looked slanted and jerky, not at all like Karen's fluid script. There was a crossed-out Z before the word "soon" at the end of the note.
Slash Z, Edgar thought, stuffing the note in his pocket. It couldn't mean anything else. He hurried to get his boots and round up the children. Something was wrong, but for the life of him, he couldn't imagine what it could be.
Karen probed Phil on the ride to the Slash Z, using the humblest attitude she could manage, trying to match the obsequious demeanor of Phil's wife, Doris. The ploy worked; Phil got puffed up with self-importance and started talking. The garbage that poured from his mouth was truly amazing.
He talked about the Catron County Militia with a zealot's passion, and he described his attempt to kill Jim Stiles like a schoolyard bully bragging on himself.
She tried to maintain a servile tone, while her mind raced over the implications of Phil's confession.
"What are you going to do to me?" she asked meekly.
Phil guffawed.
"You're going to have to disappear."
Karen dropped the charade, and her voice cracked with hostility.
"In other words, you're going to kill me."
"It's a family tradition," Phil replied.
"What does that mean?"
He looked at her like a hawk that had spotted its prey.
"I'll let my father explain."
"If I'm reported missing, Catron County will be crawling with cops from all over the state. It isn't going to be that easy."
"Omar can handle them."
Karen laughed.
"In your dreams he can. Omar isn't smart enough to take the heat. It won't take much to crack him wide open."
"You're only going to be missing, Karen. That's the key word." Phil smiled.
"All Omar has to do is put everyone to work scouring the countryside for you."
"A missing ADA is a whole different matter from a lost tourist."
Phil made the turn onto the Slash Z road before answering.
"You know what? I have half a mind to strip you naked and stuff a sock in your mouth before we get to the ranch. Hell, I just may do it. Pop would get a big kick out of it, I bet."
Phil's raw sexual glance sent a shiver up Karen's spine. She leaned against the seat and stared at her cuffed hands. Phil's rifle was in the gun rack, but she doubted she could get to it before he could react.
She needed to hit him with something, but there was nothing substantial in sight to do it with.
After a mile on the flats, the ranch road cut through some low hills.
Phil drove with one eye on the road and the other on her, shifting his gaze back and forth before each curve. There were pools of standing water in the ruts from the heavy morning rain, and Phil slowed down a bit going through them. Silently, Karen started counting seconds between Phil's glances. There was about a ten-second break in eye contact.
The next curve came up, and Phil's eyes moved back to the road. Karen pivoted on the seat, brought her legs up, and kicked at Phil's face with her boots.
He saw the blow coming and threw up a hand to deflect it. Karen's foot slammed into the steering wheel. Phil clamped his hand on her calf and lost control of the truck. They lunged off the road into an arroyo.
Phil wrenched the wheel as they slid sideways down the slope.
Karen kicked Phil in the cheek with her free leg.
The truck fishtailed into a tree, bounced, and landed on its side.
Phil's head snapped against the doorpost, and Karen landed on top of him, her knees grinding into his ribs.
She waited for him to move, but he remained still.
She pushed herself upright until her head bumped the passenger door. She swung the door open, gripped the roof with both hands, pulled herself free, and landed hard on her feet. Unsteadily she walked to the front of the truck. Through the cracked windshield she could see that Phil was out cold. She had to get the handcuffs off before he regained consciousness. She shattered the glass with a large rock, reached in, and fumbled in his shirt pocket for the handcuff key.
Her hands were shaking, and it took several attempts to get the key in the lock. Wooziness hit her, and she stopped until it passed. She got the cuffs off, wrapped Phil's arms through the steering wheel, cuffed him, and threw away the key. She crawled halfway into the cab, picked up the rifle from the floorboard, and scrambled out.
She sat on the ground and trembled, her eyes locked on Phil's unconscious face, wondering where the insanity in him came from and why she hadn't seen it before. Maybe it had been there all the time, lurking under the surface. Maybe it was the legacy of bitterness and rage passed on from father to son.
Finally calm, she considered her options. She could walk to the highway and try to flag down some help or head to the ranch. There wasn't enough time to turn back. It would be the ranch, she decided, even if she had to face down Omar Gatewood and Uncle Eugene by herself to free Kerney.
She checked the Winchester, found it fully loaded, and set out for the Slash Z. Impatiently, Stiles checked his watch every few minutes. The thought that Kerney and Karen might be in trouble gnawed at him, but he didn't have anything solid to back up the feeling. He gave in to his anxiety and started punching in Phil Cox's number on the cellular phone when a pickup truck sped by and braked quickly for the turn to the Slash Z. Jim dropped the phone in his lap and hit the car horn repeatedly. The truck stopped at the cattle guard.
"What is it?" Molly said, somewhat startled.
"That's Edgar Cox. Drive over to him."
Edgar Cox waited for the car to pull up, wondering who in the hell had flagged him down. Cody crawled into his lap, rolled down the window, and leaned out. Elizabeth, kneeling on the bench seat, stared out the rear window.
Jim got out of the Mustang and stepped over to Edgar's truck.
"Mr. Cox," he said.
"I'm in a hurry, Jim," Edgar replied.
"Looking for Karen?"
"How did you know?"
"We saw her drive in with Phil."
Edgar relaxed a bit.
"That's a relief."
"Why do you say that?"
"She left me a note. It threw me for a loop. Maybe I'm getting too suspicious in my old age."
"Can I see it?"
Edgar handed Jim the note.
"I thought maybe she was in some sort of trouble," Edgar said.
Jim read the note.
"What makes you say that?"
Molly was at Jim's side. He passed the note to her.
"The way it's written, the words she used, the little squiggle near the end of it. I thought it looked like a Z with a slash through it."
"It does," Jim replied.
"I agree," Molly said as she returned the note to Edgar.
"Who is this woman?" Edgar asked, as he put the note away.
"My partner, Officer Hamilton," Jim replied.
Edgar nodded a greeting at Molly and turned his attention back to Stiles.
"It's just as well Karen is with Phil. I can kill two birds with one stone."
"Meaning?"
"Family business, Jim." He clutched and put the truck in gear.
"It's not your concern."
Jim reached in, killed the engine, and took the key from the ignition.
Edgar gave him a hard look.
"Why did you do that?"
"What if Karen is in trouble?"
"Sitting here jabbering with you and your partner won't answer that question," Edgar snapped.
"I'm sure it's just a family visit."
"Don't bullshit me, Edgar. Karen hasn't stepped onto Slash Z property in over twenty years, if ever.