“Why’re you so concerned about the money?”
“ ’Cause you need it to get Luke back,” Jack said. “Why do you think?”
His eyes stayed on her, waiting for a response, but she didn’t give him one. Now he turned, took a rocks glass out of the cupboard and poured bourbon in it and drank it straight, fixing his gaze back on her.
He said, “Where’s my key?”
She took it out of her pocket and threw it to him. He caught it, put his glass down and walked out of the kitchen. She heard the front door open and heard it close when he came back in a few minutes later. He was tense, trying to hide it, but he couldn’t.
“Okay, where is it?” Jack said. “Tell me what’s going on?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Kate said. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Jack said, “What the hell’s gotten into you?”
“Giving the money back, the fifty thousand, makes sense now,” Kate said. “With the ransom you’ll make a lot more, won’t you?” Kate had connected the dots and they led right to Jack. Who else? He knew the problems she was having with Luke. Knew Luke had taken off and they’d be at the lodge, the perfect place to pull it off-remote and isolated. Knew if he gave her the money back she’d think she could trust him, and it sounded like he was acquainted with the kidnappers-his comment about them “spending too much time to fuck it up,” like he had inside information. But it was the stolen Lexus that brought it all together, proved Jack was still a crook and got her thinking.
“You’re all stressed,” Jack said. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
She looked right at him and said, “Where’s Luke?”
“How do I know?”
He was lying, she could see it in his eyes. “You’re the only one who could’ve pulled it off.” She walked to the breakfast room table, bent down and took the Beretta out of the pocket of her jacket, racked a round in the chamber, and pointed it at him.
Jack said, “Put it down. This isn’t Guatemala. You’re not going to shoot your way out. These people are pros. They’re good at what they do.”
Kate aimed the Beretta at him. “How many are there?”
“Three. Listen to me,” Jack said, “if you don’t come up with the money…”
He didn’t finish what he was going to say, but the implication was clear.
Kate said, “Where’s Luke?”
“He’s okay,” Jack said. “That’s all you need to know. Give them the money and you’ll get him back. It’s that easy.”
“Them,” Kate said. “Like you’re not part of it, huh?”
“They were going to do it anyway,” Jack said, “with or without me.”
There he was-making excuses, as always.
“Let me ask you something,” Kate said. “What’s your share?”
“What difference does it make?” Jack said. “It’s not going to change your life one way or the other.”
“It already has,” Kate said.
He swallowed the last of his drink.
“You’ve been at it all along, haven’t you? Since the day you left me.”
He poured more bourbon in the glass and looked at her.
“Never really stopped except for my time in stir,” Jack said.
He was confessing now like there was truth serum in the booze. He told her about his thirty-eight months in the Arizona Penitentiary.
Kate listened, not surprised by any of it.
“I’m the way I am,” Jack said. “And I don’t see myself changing. That much I’ve figured out.”
“I came to that same conclusion about an hour ago when a sheriff ’s deputy pulled me over for driving a stolen car.” She told him what happened.
He said, “Cop know who you are?”
“If he did, there’d be a fleet of white Crown Vics parked out front with their lights flashing.”
She was in the breakfast room and he was in the kitchen, two feet of counter separating them, looking at each other.
Jack said, “Maybe they haven’t found him yet.”
“Haven’t found him? He’s right there on Dumas Road, a hundred feet from the main highway, handcuffed to the steering wheel,” Kate said. “I’m the one they’re going to be looking for.” She thought about the consequences of what she’d done, but it seemed trivial in light of her current situation.
Jack said, “Where’s the money at?”
“In a safe place.”
“As long as you have it.”
Kate said, “How’s it going to happen? Are they going to call again?”
“You’re supposed to give me the money,” Jack said, like he was trying out the line. “I’ll take it to them and bring Luke back here. That’s what we agreed to. That’s why I got involved-to make sure nothing happened to him.”
“That’s why you got involved, huh?” Kate shook her head. “To help a kid you don’t even know. Why am I having trouble believing that?” She squeezed the grip of the Beretta.
“I’m being straight with you.”
It sounded weak, like he didn’t believe it either.
Kate said, “Do you really think I’m going to trust you with two million?”
“You don’t have a choice in the matter,” Jack said. “They want the money first.”
“No way,” Kate said. “First, I want to see my boy.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“You better do more than that,” Kate said. “Tell them to bring Luke here, I’ll give you the money. Tell them that’s the way we’re going to do it.”
He said, “I just want you to know I’m sorry about all this.”
“Is that right? I want you to know something too-this kid you’ve kidnapped and put up for ransom is yours.” She let that sink in before she continued. “You hear what I’m telling you? He’s your flesh and blood. You may recall I thought I was pregnant when you left town. Well, I was.”
Jack grinned. “Come on?”
Kate said, “I figured you’d say something like that.”
“If it was true you’d have told me before now.”
“You think I’m making this up?”
Jack’s face went pale all of a sudden, like he might be sick.
“You telling me your husband didn’t know Luke wasn’t his?”
“Sure he knew,” Kate said.
“And he didn’t care?”
“Owen knew it before he asked me to marry him and raised Luke like he was his own. Never said a negative word about it.”
Jack looked out the kitchen window and then back at her.
“Why didn’t you have more kids?”
“I couldn’t,” Kate said.
“Why not?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Look at it from my point of view,” Jack said. “It’s hard to believe.”
“That’s because you don’t want to believe it,” Kate said. “Then you’d have to admit responsibility and you’ve always had trouble with that.”
“Whatever,” Jack said.
Jack went outside and stood on the gravel drive, thinking about the bomb Kate just dropped on him. He never wanted a kid and didn’t want one now. Why’d she tell him? So he’d make sure nothing happened to him? Nothing was going to anyway.
DeJuan suggested the kidnapping, although it had been stewing in the back of his brain too. Jack liked the idea ’cause it sounded easy and it solved a major problem. He could get Teddy and DeJuan off his back and make some money and cruise for a while. Kate was rich-it wasn’t going to change her life one way or the other.
The plan: they’d split the take, return Luke to his mother and go their separate ways. Kate would never even know he was involved. They were going to grab Luke at the house the day he left: Teddy and Celeste would go in, get him after school, bring him to Teddy’s place in Clawson, keep him in the basement till Kate got the money.
Jack’s job was to keep Kate away from the house, then keep her calm, make sure she got the money and didn’t call the police. He also had to tell them when and where to find Luke. Without him, it wouldn’t have happened.
Luke taking off threw a wrench in the works for a couple days, but definitely made it easier in the long run. The remote location turned out to be an advantage too.
Now things were a little more complicated, but still workable. He’d get his share of the money and take off just like he planned. He didn’t see that changing.