“Yes, Carolyn. I do. LeBrock told me everything. That’s why I came back. Why I didn’t leave you here, like he did. And why I’m not going now. Not on my own.”
“Roger told you?”
“Last night. We talked. I know I screwed up, Carolyn. But I have a way to fix it. We can get out of this. Together.”
“You have a way?” Her voice was shrill. “Excuse me if I’m not convinced, Marc. What’s your plan? Just tell me it doesn’t involve memory sticks or computers.”
“Carolyn, don’t be a bitch. Stop fighting me on this. Did you see where the guy put the key?”
“He didn’t use a key. It’s a padlock, Einstein. It pushes closed.”
I stepped back toward the door, reached down, and felt for a pulse in the guy’s neck. Just in case. Behind me, I heard Carolyn sob. Then I checked the guy’s pockets. Found a set of keys. Fished them out. And identified the one that fit the lock on Carolyn’s chains.
CAROLYN FLOPPED DOWN ONTO the Barcelona day bed that filled the corner of the room. Then she started to massage the red weals that ringed her wrists.
“What are you doing? We need to go.”
“I can’t do this, Marc.” She clamped her hands over her face, covering her eyes.
“You have to. There’s no other way out.”
“Hello! There’s a dead guy jammed in the doorway! A guy you just killed! What am I supposed to do?”
“Just climb over him. He can’t hurt you.”
“Can’t you pull him out? Move him out of sight?”
“No. Because one, he’s wedged in tight and two, that would let the door close and you’d be trapped inside with no air supply, which would defeat the whole purpose of killing him.”
“But I can’t just step on his corpse.”
“You can. Pretend you’re onstage. Imagine he’s acting.”
“Marc!”
“OK. Forget that. Give me a minute.”
I squeezed back out of the safe room and ran to the other end of the basement, frantically scanning the shelves. One of the large plastic boxes was labeled SKI CLOTHES. I tore off the lid. Pulled out a thick, yellow parka. Brought it back to the doorway. And threw it down, covering the guy’s face and torso.
“There.” I gestured to Carolyn. “You don’t have to touch him now.”
“Did you have to kill him?” She made no move to get off the bed.
“It was him, or you. Would you have preferred to suffocate?”
“No.”
“Well, then. Come on. We have to get going.”
“Can’t you call the police? Have them come and remove the body? They could wedge the door, and—”
“There’s no time. That would take too long. And they’d ask too many questions. We need to move. Now.”
“You go. I’ll wait for them here.”
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“That’s not your choice, Marc.” She glared at me. “It’s complicated. It’s not just the body. It’s … I don’t know if I can go with you. You’ve changed. I need time to think.”
“Time is the one thing we don’t have, sweetheart. There are things I have to do, to make our escape work.”
“Then go do them. I’ll meet you. Give you my decision then.”
“What’s to decide? We need to stick together.”
“Don’t push this, Marc.” It was the same tone of voice she’d used on Monday. Right before she walked out on me. “I’m telling you. I need time.”
“OK. You’ll meet me. When?”
“In an hour. At the house.”
“Can’t be the house.”
“Why not?”
“Just trust me. Don’t go back there.”
“What about Zapatista’s?”
“That would work.”
She stood and walked slowly toward me. Took hold of the edge of the door. Pressed her other hand against the inside of the frame. And catapulted herself over the body, her feet barely grazing the coat I’d covered it with. But when I tried to catch her, she pushed me away.
“I’m going to drive around. Clear my head. And, Marc? Try to follow me, and we’re done.”
Sunday. Early afternoon.
I WASN’T CONVINCED CAROLYN WOULD SHOW UP UNTIL THE MOMENT I saw her car pull into the lot.
I watched her park, then make her way inside the restaurant. But I didn’t follow her right away. I didn’t even switch off my engine until I was certain she was alone.
ZAPATISTA’S IS ON the first floor of a broad, rectangular office building. The bar takes up the whole of the right-hand wall. Behind it is a giant mirror, partially painted with scenes from the Mexican landscape. Move while you’re waiting to order a drink, and your face suddenly appears from behind a cactus or a mountain. It’s quite a surprise, the first time it happens. Especially if you’ve already had a few.
The area in front of the bar is dominated by a high, rough oak, refectory-style table, surrounded by twenty tall stools. It’s always packed in the evenings, full of younger customers. But that afternoon, it was deserted. It reminded me of a time, shortly after she joined the company, when Carolyn booked it for an AmeriTel Finance department party. It had been a disaster.
The regular tables are scattered haphazardly throughout the rest of the space. Maybe a quarter of them were taken. Mostly by couples. There was the odd family. And at the far end, on her own in the restaurant’s only booth, I spotted Carolyn.
“You’re late.” She was wearing the same dress as earlier, but had switched to a darker cardigan.
There was a bang behind me. I spun around, and saw a kid flinging toys from his high chair.
“Marc, take it easy.” She sipped her coffee. She was drinking it black. “Sit.”
“What’s your decision?” I stayed on my feet.
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is that simple. Are you coming with me? Or not? Yes? Or no?”
“You and your damn one-dimensional universe. You’re impossible. I should never have agreed to meet.”
I took the seat opposite her.
“Thank you, Marc. Look—”
“Why’s that guy staring at me?”
The man at the nearest table turned his head away.
“No one’s staring at you. You’re being paranoid.”
“I’m not. But all that matters is, are you coming?”
“The truth, Marc? I don’t know. My world’s turned upside down so many times, I don’t know which way is up. My life’s been hanging by a thread. You weren’t around when I needed you. And when you were around, you only dug the hole deeper. Meaning I had to do things for myself. I got money. A new identity. An escape route. And now there’s a voice in my head screaming: Take it!”
“Despite what happened this morning?”
“Partly because of what happened this morning. I almost died!”
“And your heart? What’s it telling you?”
“You’re asking about my heart? Marc, please.”
“I am asking. Because I’ve changed. I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve learned from them. I saved your life this morning. And with that guy out of the picture, things are different. There’s nothing to stop us being together. If you want us to be. Sweetheart, please. Come with me. Right now. Let’s go.”
“Slow down. There’s too much to process! Have you learned? Maybe. Have you changed? Definitely. But look what happened at Roger’s! You’ve done messed-up things, Marc! Bad things. Maybe you’ve changed too much. I’m not sure who you are anymore.”
“You said you wanted me to change. That I had to change, to be with you. At that French restaurant, on Monday night.”
“Yes. I did. I meant it. But now you’re scaring me, Marc. There are stories all over the Web about you murdering people. Karl’s dead. And the Homeland Security agent you set me up with? He was an imposter. What the hell was that?”