Who was I to preach?
I rested a hand on his shoulder, while I checked back over mine. The Walkers and Challinors were still gathered outside the hotel. They were chatting animatedly. They were exposed. But it looked like I’d misread everything. Standing there in the shadows with Scott, I felt as much of an amateur as he was.
‘Go home, Scott. Have another drink with Robert and Burt. Raise a glass to your wife’s memory for me.’
‘I’m not going.’
‘You are. Leave this to me.’
‘What gives you the sole right? Helena was my wife.’
‘Yeah, and she wouldn’t want you risking your life like this.’
‘I’m not leaving.’
‘Lower your voice at least. I don’t want anyone hearing us.’
‘If Samuel’s around, I think it would be a little too late for that. Don’t you?’
‘I’m not talking about Samuel.’ I indicated the group at the hotel entrance.
Scott followed my gesture, and I saw that his mouth had hollowed again. I knew who’d caught his attention. Nicole was the obvious one. He leaned forward, and even in the darkness I could see tears welling.
‘It isn’t her, Scott,’ I said gently.
He slowly blinked, and was unaware — or careless — of the tears that streamed down his cheeks. ‘Is she one of the girls that the Logans snatched?’
‘Yes. Her name is Nicole.’
‘I remember now. From those photos you showed me. God, I didn’t realise how much she looked like Helena till now.’
I didn’t think that was true, because I’d raised the issue of their similarity with him. But seeing Nicole standing there must have opened the floodgates to memories of his wife. He was looking at Nicole but seeing Helena, and ignoring any of the superficial differences that existed. For a second I expected him to walk out of the trees and rush towards her. To prevent this, I gripped him by the elbow.
‘I don’t want them to know I’m out here,’ I warned.
‘Why not? You’re here to protect them, aren’t you?’
‘It would panic them if they knew. They’ve suffered enough. Let’s just keep an eye on them until they’re safely inside.’
‘Then what? You expect me to go back to my fucking trailer and get drunk with my buddies. No way. I’m staying.’
‘What are you going to do… sit out here in the woods all night?’
‘I might ask you the same thing.’
‘I don’t need to. I’ve got a room.’
Scott stared at me.
‘I’m not leaving,’ he reiterated.
‘Jesus…’
‘We could take turns,’ he offered. ‘You can’t stay awake all night, and neither can I. C’mon, Hunter. Let me help.’
I didn’t know what to say. Scott was a liability. He’d be someone else I’d have to protect, and the odds would rise in Samuel Logan’s favour. But he did have a point. Once the families were back inside, my place would be beside them, not out here. From within I couldn’t keep an eye on all the approaches to the hotel, so maybe an extra pair of eyes would help. If it had been Rink or Harvey Lucas offering assistance, I’d have snapped their hands off, but it was neither. I wasn’t about to change my mind.
‘Go home, Scott.’
The Walkers and Challinors had exhausted whatever conversation had held them outside and were now heading for the entrance to the hotel. Jameson paused to hand notes to the valet. By the look of things Jameson was a more generous tipper than the elderly couple earlier. The valet was positively beaming. They shared a joke, and the others joined in with the laughter. While I was distracted, Scott crouched down once more and held his pistol out before him. ‘You’d best get yourself inside,’ he said.
‘Scott,’ I warned.
‘I’m not leaving.’
I didn’t have time for this.
‘Have it your way.’
Using the butt of my SIG I struck him hard behind his right ear. His eyes rolled up at me, but already they were unfocused, unseeing. I held him and lowered him to the ground silently.
Then I moved forward, heading for the edge of the treeline, homing in on the movement I’d noticed on the opposite side of the parking lot.
From behind a large sign that welcomed guests to the hotel and offered instructions for parking their vehicles, I’d seen a man bob out for a closer look.
He was a middle-aged businessman in a suit, his short white hair combed neatly to one side. But I wasn’t fooled.
It was the monster I’d been waiting for.
Samuel had finally arrived for our showdown.
42
Jay had come to re-evaluate her relationship with Nicole over the past few days. When they had set off on their cross-country adventure, it had been she who had offered promises to their parents that she would look after Nicole, and keep her safe from harm. It had been an arrogant attitude, now that she thought about it, because Nicole was no weakling in need of her protection. If anything Nicole had proven the stronger of the two and Jay had witnessed a change in the dynamics of their friendship. Jay couldn’t help being afraid. She was frightened for herself, but more than that she was terrified for the welfare of all those who had come here to support her. It was different with Nicole, though; it was almost as if she’d built a solid fortification around herself, impervious to any threat. Jay remembered her timid friend and wondered where she’d gone. She barely recognised this calm young woman, who greeted all of Jay’s concerns with steady reassurance.
She thought back to when she’d been locked in that foul prison in the desert, and how she’d apportioned the Logans fanciful names gleaned from a fantasy she’d read as a child. In Oz anything could happen, sometimes with only the clicking of heels; had Nicole sought safety in a similar fantastical world? Was she still in there, locked within the dream, because she no longer knew the woman standing beside her?
Jay wished that she could join Nicole wherever she was now hiding, instead of suffering the constant fear that she did. Her own illusory world had been ripped apart when Officer Lewin had come on the scene. Everything had changed then. She tried to tell herself that it had been for the best, that by fighting back against the twisted lawman, the Cowardly Lion had found courage, but she knew that was bull crap. She hadn’t fought the police officer. Hell! She couldn’t even bring herself to open her eyes and had only struck out in panic; it was pure luck that had guided the knife into the man’s arm and thrown off his aim. Where was the bravery in that?
Since then she had constantly been on edge for the moment when the curtain would be thrown back to reveal the true face of the Wizard. Unlike the trickster from the story, this man wouldn’t show her the way, but would prevent her return home, the same as all of the other women he and his kin had taken. She knew she was thinking in childlike metaphors, but she couldn’t avoid them: when she looked down at the ground she half expected to find a yellow brick road beneath her feet.
The ground was concrete.
She scuffed her heel against it, heard grit scraping underfoot. It jarred her back into reality.
She looked around, searching for the car that Joe had rented earlier. She’d expected him to be here, waiting, but the Chrysler wasn’t in the car park. She experienced another tremor of fear. Had Joe gone already? She remembered their conversation from last night and how she’d tried to talk him out of his misguided war with Samuel Logan, and now wished she’d kept her fat mouth shut. It was ironic, since all of this had come about because she couldn’t keep quiet. She’d even asked Nicole to talk with Joe and persuade him to walk away from the fight. If it had been the old Nic then perhaps she’d have had more success, but Jay suspected that the new Nicole had actually encouraged Joe to kill. Jay only had to look at her friend’s unwavering gaze to know what Nicole planned should she ever see Samuel Logan again. But if that was the case where was Joe Hunter now? Why wasn’t he here to offer the protection she needed?