“Where’s Daron?” Em slowed down. She glanced behind us.
“Daron?” I whispered in a loud, raspy voice.
There was no sound.
“My God, Skip. Do you think they found him?”
I ducked back around the corner of the tent, and quietly walked down the length, smelling the wet, stale odor of the large, damp canvas. I struggled to see in the dark, staring hard in the direction we’d come. In the distance I could see what looked like three people. The two on the outside appeared to be walking, the person in the middle was being dragged.
CHAPTER THIRTY
F rom the time I was probably six years old, I wondered what I’d do in the case of an emergency. Would I look out for myself? Would I step into the path of a bully to save a friend? When I was a little older I wondered if I would jump in the water to save a drowning child or stand there looking in horror as the body was washed downstream. And when I got much older, especially when I started dating Em, I wondered what I would do if we were accosted in a dark alley. Would I let it happen or step up and risk having a knife shoved in my ribs?
I don’t believe too many people are ever put in that position. I was, once before, and I can tell you that every situation isn’t the same. Em appeared at my back, and the two of us watched as the three people disappeared in the dark. I looked at her, tempted to start running, trying to save Styles.
“What just happened?”
“Em, I don’t know. Somebody figured out he’d broken into the trailer?”
“And why aren’t we trying to get him back?” She threw her hands up.
“Maybe because we know that if it’s the full-timers, they have guns. Maybe it’s because we don’t know what the hell he’s gotten himself into.”
“Let’s at least see if we can see where they’re taking him.”
Of course she was right. We walked quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of them, but the dark had swallowed any sign of the three.
“They could have gone to the camper village or one of the trailers or trucks. We have no idea.”
I shook my head.
“It happened so fast. We didn’t have a chance to see what happened.” She took my hand and squeezed it again. “Skip, I’ve always wondered what I’d do in a situation like this.”
“I understand. As you said, it happened way too fast.”
“So, what do we do?”
There was only one thing to do. Find James. If Styles was in trouble, we were all in trouble. If Styles was on the computer, and we were on the computer, the situation was not good.
“We’ve got to get James.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Em questioned me.
“No.”
“No, you don’t think we should get him?”
“No. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Yes, we’ve got to find him.” As far as I was concerned there was no choice. I needed to know if he was okay.
“James and I have our differences.”
“I know, Em. I’m in the middle of many of them.”
She smiled. I could see it even in the dark. “But I’d miss him if something happened to him.”
I thought about it for a second or two. There was absolutely nothing we could do for Styles. But with any luck James had stayed late. Maybe he was still playing cards and they hadn’t done anything to him. Yet. “Let’s check the truck. The poker game should have ended about midnight. That’s when they start with the security detail.”
“What time is it?”
I strained to see my watch. “One thirty.”
James wasn’t in the truck.
“How about the card game? Maybe he stayed late? Had a couple of beers with the guys.” I motioned toward the path.
We jogged down. I was feeling a lot of guilt leaving Styles to fend for himself, but I had no idea where they’d taken him. We were both out of breath in the short run to the pizza wagon. I’d preferred the exercise we’d had earlier in the day at Em’s condo.
We slowed down as we got closer, and I noticed everything appeared to be dark. The poker table was empty. There was no sign of anyone, but a cigar still burned in an ashtray. Cigars go out if no one is puffing on them, so I guessed that someone, or a group of someones, had been there recently. Possibly they had gotten word that security had been breached. And if they knew that Daron had broken into the office and gotten into the computer, then anything was possible. They would probably know immediately that James and I were involved.
“This isn’t good.”
“So I’m asking again. Do you think James is okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “When it comes to James, I quit thinking a long time ago.”
Em sat down on the one of the folding chairs, watching the smoke from the burning tobacco rise in a perfect spiral. “Daron says that these guys think you’re working for the FBI?”
“He claimed that was in the notes on the computer.”
“And the FBI was following me?”
“Again, that’s what Daron said. I think it goes without saying that Daron can’t be trusted one hundred percent of the time.”
“But if he’s right, if the FBI was following me today, and if you worked for them — ”
“What? You’re making no sense.”
“Oh, my God. Skip. Maybe you’re working for them.”
I stepped back. Emily had lost her mind.
“Are you crazy?”
“No. I’m not. Who set this up? Who decided to take this job? Come on, Skip, who talked you into this?”
“You know who.”
“Skip. Who convinced you to stay, even when someone shot the tires out of your truck? Even when you got a note threatening your life? Who?”
“You know who. But, Em it’s — ”
“No, no. Hear me out. Maybe he is working for the FBI. Maybe they offered him some good money to take this job, infiltrate the full-timers and see what he could find out. Wasn’t that exactly what he was going to do tonight? He was going to ask questions and find out what was going on. Well? Wasn’t that the plan?”
“Yeah, but — ”
“No buts, Skip. Didn’t he figure out that you needed Daron? Daron, who knew the inner workings of this organization?”
“Yeah, but — ”
“Wouldn’t it make sense that somebody like the FBI was behind giving him the information on Daron’s history? The fact that Daron Styles had worked for Cashdollar?”
“I don’t think — ”
“That’s just it. You said when it comes to James, you gave up thinking. Isn’t that what you said? You said when it came to James, you gave up thinking a long time ago.”
“I may have said that, but — ”
“Damn it, Skip. They think you’re working for the FBI. The full-timers think you are. How do you know that — ”
“We’re not. It’s as simple as that. Anyway, think about it. James isn’t bright enough to pull that off without me knowing about it. He hates anything to do with law enforcement.”
“And then, then the FBI starts following my car as soon as I hook up with you. What’s that all about? Maybe they were outside the door when we — ”
“You are crazy. In the last three months, you must have lost your mind.”
Em stood up and took my hand. “I hope I’m crazy. Because this whole thing is very strange, and it sure has the feel of James pulling the strings.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
J ames was my best friend. He’d stood up for me when I had problems, and I’d stood up for him. I had learned that I would put myself in jeopardy to save James. And I was damned sure that I’d put my life on the line for Em. But Styles? I don’t think so. Although, as we walked back toward the truck, I realized he’d put himself on the line for us. Even though a lot of his motivation was to see if he was mentioned in the diary. There was some selfishness in his reasoning.
“What will they do to him?”
“Who? Styles? Or James?”
“You don’t really think they have James?”
I didn’t. I was sure by now he was back at the truck.
“If he asked all those questions, if they think he’s part of the FBI — "
“Oh, God. He doesn’t know that. James has no idea what Styles found on that computer.” He needed to know. Desperately needed to know.