“You were a Marine,” she repeated.
“So?”
She had to grab hold again when he swerved to avoid a tree trunk. There were deep ruts in the dirt from other cars or trucks that had ventured up this road, but it was so isolated, so . . . quiet she was a little unnerved. She felt completely out of her element. She was a big-city girl who fell asleep to the music of car horns and police sirens. The silence now seemed almost deafening.
Swarms of gnats scattered as they hit the windshield. Avery picked up the watch and checked the time again. Seventeen minutes left.
John Paul kept glancing over at her. She thought he expected her to finish what she’d started.
“So that was good to know,” she said.
“Why?”
“Marines are trained in combat, and that could be helpful.” He didn’t respond to her observation. “I also found out you were recruited by covert—”
He didn’t let her finish. “Look, I know what I was. You don’t have to go into it.”
Damn. She had been hoping he would finish for her and tell her what she didn’t know. Had he been in special ops or covert operations? And what exactly had his expertise been?
She looked at the map while she gathered her gumption. She couldn’t find out unless she asked, could she?
“So what exactly did you do?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Your file was classified.”
“I would bet so.”
There it was, that snide tone of voice again. “Did they teach you to be obnoxious, or were you born that way? You’ve got that alienation thing down pat.”
“Avery, leave it alone.”
“You don’t scare me.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked over at her again. “Yeah, I do.”
“Oh, brother.”
He smiled in spite of his bad mood. Maybe he didn’t scare her. Interesting, he thought. And different.
“Do you think the two of them are together? Monk and the woman who called me?”
“I don’t know. If the missing women are still alive and if he’s tied them up or hidden them somewhere that’s really isolated, then he could be with her. He’s got a lot going on,” he said. “If the women are still alive.”
“He has to keep his eye on them. And he has to follow us.”
“I don’t think he’s following us.”
“But he’s tracking us, isn’t he?”
He almost smiled. “How?” he asked. He already knew the answer, but he was curious to know if she had figured it out.
“There’s some kind of device inside the watch.”
“Yes,” he said. “He knows exactly where we are.”
She shivered. The killer was monitoring their progress. “Shouldn’t we get rid of it?”
“No, I don’t want to do that. I think we should use it to our advantage. Let’s wait and see what happens when we get near the X.”
Avery picked up the watch and looked at it carefully. “There isn’t a single scratch or mark on it to indicate someone’s tampered with it.”
“Monk’s a professional. He wouldn’t leave any marks.”
“So he knows all about transmitters? He understands that technology?”
“Yes, he does.”
“How do you know so much about him?”
“I read his file.”
“The FBI file?” Her eyes widened. “If you’re on leave, that’s got to be illegal.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“John Paul, you could get into serious trouble.”
She sounded worried about him. She was just chock full of surprises, and what a piece of work she was turning out to be. If he didn’t watch out, he would start to like her.
“I’ve got connections who could bail me out,” he said.
“Like your brother-in-law?”
“How’d you know about Theo?” he asked.
“When my friend pulled up your file for me, she told me.”
“Having a relative working in the Justice Department comes in handy.”
“You don’t like your brother-in-law?”
What an odd question. “Sure I do. My sister loves him, and they’re happy together. Why would you ask me that?”
“You sneered the words ‘Justice Department.’?”
He smiled. She was a quick study. “I didn’t sneer.”
She decided not to argue with him. “Do you think the woman who called me hired Monk?”
“Could be,” he said, “but I don’t think so. From what you said about her, he’s letting her call the shots. I think she might be more like a partner. It’s so damn odd. Monk never played games before. So why the treasure hunt?”
“I don’t know.”
“We might catch a break if the woman is making some decisions. Maybe she isn’t quite the perfectionist he is.”
“She’s someone who knows Carrie and me.”
“Because?”
“The way she talked. Her tone was mocking when she said Carrie’s name. She doesn’t like her.”
“That’s a given.”
“Which means she’s interacted with her.”
“What about you?”
“She called me stupid. I’ve got to assume she doesn’t like me either,” she said dryly.
“No kidding.”
“Maybe it’s just that Skarrett has told her about us. But the way she talked . . . it sure sounded like this was personal to her.”
Avery picked up the Swatch watch again and then gingerly placed it back in the cup holder. She could almost visualize a red light inside, pulsating like a heart. The image creeped her out.
John Paul was a good driver. She decided to let him worry about getting stuck in the mud and nicking a tire on a rock. Closing her eyes, she leaned back and let her mind move from one possibility to another. What was she missing? She felt as though she had the answer to this crazy puzzle in the back of her mind, but she couldn’t quite reach it.
“How much time’s left?” As soon as she told him, he said, “I don’t know what we’re going to barrel into, so listen up. You do whatever I tell you. If I tell you to get down, don’t argue. Just do it. Once I figure out where the X is, I’m gonna try to bypass it some way and then circle around. You’ll stay in the car.”
“I have to show.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Are you crazy? Of course I have to,” she argued. “The woman said they would kill Carrie and the others if we’re late. If I don’t show my face . . .”
“Did this woman offer you any proof that they’re still alive? Did you ask for any?”
“No,” she said. “I should have, but I didn’t. The conversation was short, and she wouldn’t let me ask questions.”
“Then you should have said no.”
“Tell her I wouldn’t play her game?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s what I would have done.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. But, I’m sorry I didn’t ask for proof. I should have.”
“Should have, could have . . . it’s too late now. I figure we’ve got a ninety percent chance of walking into a trap, so I want—”
She wouldn’t let him finish. “I told you, I don’t have a choice. I have to show. I’m hoping I can figure out a way to placate the madwoman.”
“Placate a madwoman? That’s a contradiction, isn’t it?”
“Don’t be a smart . . .”
He raised an eyebrow. “Smart ass? Is that what you were going to say?”
“No.”
“Then what?” he challenged.
She became defensive. “Look, if you want to bail, that’s fine with me. Just get me to the X and take off.”
“I’m not going to bail.”
“Okay, then,” she replied, irritated she’d sounded so relieved. “I know there’s a good chance Monk has already dug our graves, but if you think I’m going to hide in the woods and hope for the best, then you’re out of your mind.”
>
“All I’m trying to say is that, if I’m lucky, maybe I’ll spot him and be able to get close.”
“And you don’t want to worry about me. You want blind obedience.”
“Exactly.”
“Two heads are better than one.”
“How much survival training have you had?”
Point taken. “None, but I could still help.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Get rid of the attitude, John Paul. I can help. I have a few moves of my own.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Never mind.”
She was doing a slow burn. Out of all the people in the world, she had to get stuck with the most obnoxious one. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?”
“Just about,” he drawled.
Avery concentrated on the road. Thankfully, Jungle Boy didn’t have any other sarcastic remarks to make. His scowl could have been chiseled in stone.
She thought she heard something, quickly rolled her window down, and strained to listen. “Do you hear that?”
John Paul flipped off the heater blower, rolled his window down, and then nodded. The sound of running water was faint, but there. “We went farther than I thought if we’re close to the river. Maybe it’s a tributary. It sounds like a waterfall.”
They came to yet another crossroad. This one was traveled more than the last. And there was a sign nailed to a tree: Last Chance Country Store. Beer and Raft Rentals. Below the sign was an arrow pointing to the west.
The road curved downward. They hit a deep rut and lurched forward as they once again broke through the trees.
“The store’s got to be around the bend down there,” he said as he shot across the road and up into the trees on the other side. There was just enough room to turn the car around. Satisfied that they were concealed from the road, he put it in park and turned the motor off.
“How much time do we have left?”
“Twelve minutes,” she said. “You think that’s the spot?”
“It’s gotta be the place. It sticks out, doesn’t it?”
He was right. Please, God, let him be right. She could just make out a small rustic building through the trees. It sat on the bank of a river and was a place where river travelers could stop for supplies.
He unhooked his seat belt, reached under the seat, and pulled out a SIG Sauer. When she saw the gun, her mouth dropped open.
“I’m leaving the keys,” he said, ignoring her reaction to the gun. “If you hear gunshots, you get the hell out of here. You hear me?”
She wasn’t about to leave him, but she thought he’d want to argue if she told him the truth, and so she simply nodded.
“Is it loaded?” she asked as he opened the door.
“Hell, yes.”
Stupid question, she thought. Of course it was loaded. “Be careful.” She moved into the driver’s seat.
“Hand me the watch.”
“You’re taking it?” she asked.
“You think I’m going to leave it here with you and let Monk know exactly where you are? Give it to me.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go hunting.”
Chapter 14
TIME HAD RUN OUT. AVERY HAD JUST DECIDED TO GO AFTER John Paul when he opened her door. She never heard him coming. “Monk isn’t close. He could be on his way, but he isn’t here now.”
“Are we driving down or walking?”
“I’ll drive.”
She scrambled back into the passenger seat, bumping her knee on the dashboard. He slid in and started the engine.
“How do you know he isn’t hiding behind a tree or a bush somewhere?”
“Because I looked. There weren’t any signs.”
“You would have seen them?”
“Of course I would have seen them.”
She was reassured by his arrogance. “Okay, then.”
“There’s a trailer behind the store about thirty yards to the south, and next to it is an old beat-up truck. No one was inside the trailer.”
“You went in?”
He didn’t answer. “There’s a man and a woman inside the store. The woman’s in the back office using the phone, and the man’s in front, working the counter. He keeps looking out the window like he’s expecting company. While I was there, a milk truck pulled out and another guy was unloading cases of beer. There are three or four customers.”
He drove onto the road and continued down the slope. His gun was in his lap.
“Do you see that man looking at us?” he asked. “He’s on the right by the door.”
They watched a young couple herd their two little boys out the front door, then saw the man inside slam the door.
“What the hell?” John Paul muttered when the man turned the sign over in the window. “Closed, my ass.”
He parked close to the side of the building so that she would be protected when she stepped out. He turned the motor off, slipped the keys into his jeans, and as he sprinted around the hood of the car, she saw him tuck the gun into his waistband.
They heard rap music blaring as a car pulled into the parking lot. John Paul went to the corner of the building and looked out front. Four young men in their late teens piled out and stood laughing and guzzling their beers. On top of the old Chevy were two kayaks roped to the roof.
John Paul motioned to Avery to stay put, retraced his steps, and said, “I’m gonna check out the back again.”
He let the man at the window watch him walk into the woods, then circled around, swung over the railing at the back door and looked inside. The woman was hunched over the desk, still talking on the phone.
Even though she was much too young, she reminded him of Ma Kettle from the old movies he used to watch on television when he was a kid. Dressed in dirty overalls and a muted plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, she was rattling off numbers into the phone as she turned the pages of a Sharper Image catalog. She didn’t notice him watching her. He stepped back as the swinging door opened. A man poked his head in the room and braced the door with his hand to keep it from hitting him.
“Chrystal, we got us a problem,” he said in a thick hillbilly accent. “There’s two cars out front now. Four drunks just got out of one car. They’re most likely stoppin’ to stock up on more beer, I expect, but I’m most worried about that gal in the other car. She’s gonna be knockin’ on the front door any second now. I think maybe she spotted me peekin’ out the window at her ’cause that car she was in is parked on the side of the building now. Think she’s the one?”
“Can you hang on a minute, hon?” Chrystal said into the phone. She turned in the swivel chair and frowned at the dark-haired man. “Most likely she is, but I’m not finished with this catalog yet, and you promised me I could—”
He interrupted. “Maybe she ain’t the one. Maybe she just needs to use the facilities. There was a big fella with her, but he went off into the woods to find his own facilities, I expect, like those four drunken boys. One of them is peein’ on the petunias.”
“Can’t you see I’m busy here, Kenny? If that gal wants to use our facilities, you make her buy something first, and don’t let her wander back here. I’ve still got a good ten pages to go.”
“Don’t know why you didn’t think about doin’ that earlier. Had to wait till the last minute, didn’t you?”
John Paul went back to the entrance and was on the porch by the time Kenny unbolted the door.
Avery slipped around the corner of the building and ran to stand next to him. He pushed her behind him. He was being protective, and she didn’t mind. She was so worried that they might not be in the right place, she couldn’t think about anything else.
“Can’t you read the sign? We’re closed,” the man said.
Avery stepped to John Paul’s side. “It’s an emergency,” she blurted.
“Then you got to buy something first.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You got to buy something, and after you pay, I’ll let you use the facilities.”
Kenny was snarling at her like an attack dog. He was a thoroughly unpleasant looking man with blue-black dyed hair and bushy brown eyebrows. He wore a dark plaid shirt tucked into his faded black jeans. His gut hung down over his belt.
“Did you hear me?” he asked when she didn’t respond. “I ain’t gonna budge until you agree.”
He changed his mind when John Paul stepped forward. If Kenny hadn’t gotten out of the way, he was sure the big man would have walked right over him.
Up close, Kenny was much younger than John Paul had estimated. He couldn’t have been more than thirty-five or forty years old. He was also agile. He warily kept his eye on John Paul and hurried around the counter as though the barrier would protect him.
Planting his big hands on the counter, he leaned toward Avery and smiled. One of his eyeteeth had a gold cap that gleamed in the sunlight streaming in through the dirty window. “All right, little lady. I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do. Since you’re so pretty, I’m gonna break the rules for you. You don’t have to buy nothin’. Nothin’ at all. The bathroom’s right over there,” he said, pointing to the door in the far corner.
She shook her head. “My name’s Avery Delaney, and this is John Paul Renard. Has anyone come in here asking for us?”
“No,” he answered, a little too quickly.
He was lying. All the telltale signs were there. He couldn’t look her in the eye, and he was becoming more and more agitated by the second. Hostile too. He kept glancing up at John Paul as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
The door crashed into the wall when it was thrown open. Avery and Kenny turned to see who was coming inside, but John Paul kept his attention on Kenny. He wasn’t going to trust the bastard for as much as a second.
Three of the four boys sauntered in and staggered to a stop when they spotted Avery. She could hear the fourth boy. He was leaning over the porch railing throwing up.