Landry spun in under Rob’s arms, forcing him to choose between letting go or having his wrists broken. Something hard drove into Rob’s lower gut. All the air seemed to leave his body and he took a half step backwards. Then a pile driver kick to his upper chest sent him sprawling. A bolt of pain wracked his sore shoulder when he landed on the linoleum.
Rob writhed on the floor for a few moments before he was able to draw enough breath to raise his head. Landry had a handful of Lesley’s hair and held her so she was doubled over. He pointed the nine-millimeter at Rob.
“That was stupid,” Landry said. “Don’t try it again.”
Rob might have agreed with him but he couldn’t speak.
Landry pushed Lesley away and closed the door behind him. He took a quick look around the cabin, then walked over and pulled two chairs away from the table, setting them about eight feet apart. Lesley flinched as he grabbed her by the arm and shoved her toward one of them.
“Sit,” he said.
Lesley stared at him with wide-eyed terror as she groped behind herself with one hand for the chair. She almost missed the seat when she sat down, and had to scoot to one side to keep from falling. Landry produced a roll of duct tape from the pocket of his windbreaker. A couple of quick turns around the middle of her chest bound her to the chair back. Landry glanced at Rob to make sure he was still no threat, then put the gun down momentarily on the table and did a more thorough job of immobilizing Lesley. The chair had no arms, so her hands ended up pointing straight down at the floor.
“There’s some money in my purse,” she said. “You don’t need to hurt us. You can take whatever you want.”
Landry ignored her. He picked up the pistol and said to Rob, “Your turn.”
Rob looked at the vacant chair. The lower part of his insides squirmed at the thought of sitting in it, but he had no choice. He walked over and sat down. His neck muscles tightened with fear as Landry approached him from behind and then used one hand to make the initial wrap of duct tape around his abdomen and lower arms. The noise of the tape being pulled from the roll rubbed like sandpaper against Rob’s nerves.
When Landry was done, he did a quick tour of the cabin to make sure no one was in the bathroom or bedroom. He returned and perched on the edge of the table with his wrists crossed in his lap so the pistol hung loosely in one hand.
“Just the two of you here?” he asked. “There’s no one outside?”
Neither of them answered. Landry grunted in annoyance and started to stand up.
“Yes,” Rob blurted out, “we’re alone.”
Landry settled back down on the edge of the table.
“Not expecting anyone?”
Rob thought of the way Tim had torn away when he left. He shook his head with nervous terseness. “No.”
“Good,” Landry said, “because we have some unfinished business, Rob. You ran off without telling me what I wanted to know. Now that was rude, don’t you think?”
Lesley looked at Rob in disbelief.
“You know this guy?” she said.
“Shut up,” Landry said.
He looked at Rob.
“Not to mention, all this makes me look bad to my employers. I can’t have that. Now you know what will happen if you don’t tell me.”
Landry pointed the gun at Lesley.
“Only this time it’ll happen to her.”
Rob tasted bile in the back of his throat.
“Please,” he said. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“Then tell me the keyword,” Landry said. “Now.”
Rob opened his mouth to explain, but couldn’t think of anything that would improve the situation.
“I know what it is,” Lesley said.
Landry raised one bemused eyebrow.
“Do you now?” he said. “And would you care to share?”
“It’s lesley89.”
Rob blinked in surprise, then realized it made sense. Just one more facet of Tim’s obsession.
“Spell it,” Landry said.
She did.
“No blanks, hyphens, anything like that?”
“I … don’t know,” Lesley said.
Landry looked unimpressed.
“How about it, Rob? She telling the truth?”
“I guess so,” Rob said, then kicked himself mentally. He should have backed her up with more assurance.
“What does that mean?” Landry said. “Is that the keyword or not?”
“He doesn’t know,” Lesley said.
Landry’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Tim was the one who messed up the bank accounts,” she said. “He admitted it to me. Rob had nothing to do with it.”
Landry glared at each of them in turn as he seemed to consider this.
“This Tim guy,” he said. “He was here, right?”
“Yes,” Lesley said.
Landry glowered at Rob. “You said it was just the two of you.”
Rob’s throat closed in with dryness.
“He left,” Rob said.
Landry’s arm swung up suddenly in Lesley’s direction and the gun went off with an earsplitting blast.
“No,” Rob screamed, his heart hammering.
Lesley remained upright. To Rob’s stunned disbelief she didn’t seem to be injured. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps.
“I will get the truth before I leave here,” Landry said. “I promise you that.”
He stood up and walked over to Lesley, who shrank back into the chair as much as she could. She looked wildly at Rob, her eyes imploring him to do something, then back at Landry.
“You don’t have to do this,” Rob said. “You already know the keyword.”
“That so?” Landry said.
He whipped a vicious backhand at Lesley’s head, catching her on the side of the face. She cried out and her face screwed up in agony. Rob emitted a strangled moan of anguish.
“Any time now, Rob,” Landry said, raising his arm again.
But this time the blow didn’t fall. From outside they heard the insistent drone of a car engine pushed hard. As the sound grew louder, a rectangle of light shone through the window onto the back wall of the cabin. Judging by the way the light bounced on the wall, the car was moving fast.
“You told me you weren’t expecting anyone,” Landry said, shooting a venomous glance at Rob.
They heard the car scrunch to a stop outside the cabin. Landry moved quickly to stand inside the wooden cabin door as a car door slammed and rapid footsteps approached. He had one hand on the doorknob and the nine-millimeter ready for action as pounding erupted on the door.
Landry yanked the door inwards and shoved his gun in the face of a very startled looking Stan Dysart.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Lesley gasped at the sight of her uncle in the doorway. Why on earth would he be out here?
Dysart’s look of astonishment transformed into an angry scowl. He pushed Landry’s gun hand aside and said, “Get that thing out of my—”
In a blur Landry knocked Dysart’s hands away, grabbed him by the shirt front, hauled him inside and pinned him against the wall. The color drained from Dysart’s face as the snout of the pistol nestled against one of his nostrils.
Neither man spoke for a few moments. Finally Landry said, “Who are you?”
Dysart’s eyes left the pistol and scanned the room. His eyes widened when he saw Lesley. He looked back at Landry with defiance once again lining his features.
“You leave her alone,” Dysart said.
Landry gave him an angry shove, stepped back and stood glaring at him, the pistol still trained on Dysart. Lesley got the impression Landry was trying to decide what to do with the new arrival.