Dangerous Mercy: A Novel (36 page)

Colette set his tea on the patio table, kissed his stubbly cheek, then sat in the chair next to him.

He reached over and laced his fingers in hers. “You don’t have to sit up with me. No point in both of us being miserable in the morning.”

“At least I can take a nap,” she said. “I thought maybe you could use a listening ear about now. You have a lot weighing on you.”

“I know in my head that it’s counterproductive to dwell on what could be happening to Adele.”

“But …?”

“But she means the world to Zoe. It’s my job to get her back alive. I’m just not so sure it’s going to go down like that.”

“You think Hamelin’s already killed her?”

“I can’t rule it out, although Kyle doesn’t think so. She thinks he’s keeping Adele as a bargaining chip, in case we corner him.”

“In other words, he would threaten to kill her unless you let him go?”

Jude nodded. “Exactly. And Kyle believes that he
will
kill her if he’s trapped and we make any attempt to close in on him.”

“The poor woman must be so scared,” Colette said.

“As well she should be. Zoe said she took a liking to Hamelin and wanted to help him get back on his feet. She has to feel betrayed. And probably a little foolish. According to Zoe, she has strong faith. That’s good. Because she’s going to need it.”

Colette seemed lost in thought. “Jude, if they manage to get past you and actually get away, what would Hamelin do with Adele then—put her on a bus?”

Jude sighed. “Sweetheart, we have to assume that when he’s through with Adele, he’ll make sure she can’t tell us anything.”

CHAPTER 39

As the long, dark night turned gray, Adele lay wide awake on the seat of Murray’s truck. It had been thirty minutes since she took the last two Extra Strength Tylenol. Why wasn’t it working?

“I’m going to go find us a different vehicle,” Murray said. “Do us both a favor and don’t be stupid and try to leave. There are alligator dens all over the place.”

Adele shuddered. She sat up in the seat, her hands over her ears. “I don’t need to hear about the alligators. I’m well aware it’s too far for me to walk to the highway.”

“It’s nine miles, Adele. You wouldn’t get a hundred yards before you were ready to drop from exhaustion—and then what? You wouldn’t have the strength to go on or to walk back.”

“Are you walking the nine miles back to the highway?”

Murray shook his head. “I’m walking to the ranger’s house. I’m going to get his van. Just stay put. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

“Please tell me you’re not going to kill him.” Adele suddenly felt as if she were falling. She grabbed the seat. “Oh, dear …”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m dizzy,” Adele said. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I feel quite odd.”

“You just need to eat something.” He walked to the bed of the truck and came back with a package and handed it to her. “All I’ve got is cheese crackers. That’ll tide you over until I can get us out of here.”

“Thank you. I’ll see if that helps.”

“Adele, listen to me.” He paused until she met his gaze. “You can’t escape. The farther off road you go, the soggier the ground is. Get lost out there, and you’ll be alligator bait. It would be a horrible way to die.”

“Please don’t hurt the caretaker,” she said. “Find another way to keep him from telling the authorities you stole his van.”

“For once, can’t you just worry about yourself?” Murray gripped her arm. “I’m serious. Stay put. I told you—when the time comes, I’ll make it painless. Trust me, there’s nothing painless about being eaten by a gator.”

Zoe followed Vanessa downstairs, through the alcove, into the dining room at Zoe B’s. The hum of morning customers had nearly drowned out the bluesy background music. The air was rich with the aromas of bread baking, freshly brewed coffee, and spicy breakfast meats.

They crossed the room to the table by the window, where Father Sam, Hebert, and Tex were already seated.

“Good morning, ladies.” Father Sam stood and held a chair for Vanessa and then for Zoe. He pulled a chair from another table and sat on the end.

Hebert leaned forward on his elbows, his mop of mousy gray curls more tame than usual. “Is dere any news?”

Zoe shook her head. “I called Jude just a few minutes ago. They’re still looking for Adele and assume she’s with Murray and that he wants to lay low. Jude doesn’t think they’ve left the area.”

“Must’ve been a miserable night for you,” Tex said.

“That about covers it.” Zoe spotted Savannah coming to the table with the coffeepot, and she turned her cup over.

“Where’s our little Grace?” Savannah said.

“Upstairs. Maddie offered to stay overnight and watch her for us. Which turned out to be a huge blessing. I’m really not feeling like being a mommy at the moment.”

Savannah turned Vanessa’s cup over and filled it with coffee, then filled Zoe’s. “Any news?”

“I was just telling the guys there’s nothing yet. Jude thinks they’re still in the area. But the FBI agent he’s working with thinks it’s possible they slipped out of town, in spite of the checkpoints they set up on the main arteries in and out of Les Barbes.”

“How could Hamelin get out of town if they’re checking cars on the main drags?” Savannah asked.

“There are so many back roads out of here,” Zoe said. “He might even know a route through the cane fields. The guy planned four murders and executed them perfectly. Surely he’s got an escape route planned out.”

Adele lay on her side on the floor in the back of the ranger’s van, her hands tied behind her and her mouth gagged with duct tape. Murray had thrown a tarp over her and held it down with some bags of animal feed, but at least he had rolled up a jacket and made her a pillow. The floor was miserably hard and unforgiving, and her back and shoulder ached as if she had never taken the Tylenol. She was almost in tears from the pain.

Murray had come back to the van, dressed in the ranger’s khaki uniform shorts and shirt, which were only slightly big on him—and the safari hat, which almost completely hid his red hair. He also popped the lenses out of the ranger’s glasses and put them on, after which he looked enough like the ranger’s driver’s license picture to pass for him. He also had the ranger’s state credentials. Murray assured her he didn’t kill the man or his wife, but that he tied them up. She prayed he wasn’t saying that to appease her.

She felt the van come almost to a stop. Had they arrived at the checkpoint on Grace Creek Boulevard that Murray told her about? If he could fake his way past the authorities there, they would be headed for Lake Charles. Then what? It was unlikely that she had long to live.

Adele felt light-headed and stranger than she’d ever felt in her life. Was fear causing it? Or was something else going on?

Lord, I’m frightened. Please help me.

“
We’re next,” Murray said. “Remember, I have the caretaker’s pistol. If you try to alert anyone you’re back there, I’ll have no choice but to kill everyone at the checkpoint and speed away. I don’t think you want that on your conscience. So just be quiet, and let’s get through this.”

She was aware of her whole left side tingling. Lying this way was causing her limbs to fall asleep. How much longer before he untied her and let her out of here?

The car inched forward and finally came to a stop.

“I’ll needa see your driver’s license, suh,” said a man with a thick Cajun accent. “And proof of insurance.”

“No problem,” Murray said.

“Where ya headed?”

“Lake Charles. I’m meeting up with the ranger over there.”

“You by yourself?”

“Except for Clifton Chenier,” Murray said. “I’ve been listening to his greatest hits. There’s just nobody like him.”

“Oh, he’s da king o’ zydeco, hands down.”

Adele noticed the tingling stopped and she couldn’t feel her shoulder against the floor. Or her face on the pillow. Or her leg. Murray had stopped talking and the only sound was the purring of the car motor. What was taking so long? Had the van been reported stolen? If the officer tried to keep Murray here, would he shoot?

“All right, suh. You’re good da go. Enjoy dis fine day.”

“Thanks,” Murray said. “It’s going to be a scorcher.”

“
Hot hot.”
The man laughed. “Dat’s July in Looziana.”

The car moved forward and then gained speed.

“We made it through the checkpoint, Adele. When I can pull off on one of these side roads, I’ll untie you.”

Murray pulled the van onto an unpaved road and drove a quarter mile or so until he saw a pull-off. The road was covered by a canopy of green leafy branches, and the woods on either side were dense and dark.

He had been dreading this moment for hours. He had to get rid of Adele and then switch vehicles before the authorities were on to him. If he shot her in the back of the head, wouldn’t she die instantly and without pain? He would just leave her here in the woods and be done with it. He quickly dismissed the thought of predators turning her body into a banquet. This was the humane way to take her life. So why was it so hard? He’d had no reluctance or remorse when killing his other five victims.

I’ve grown fond of you, Murray,
Adele had said to him
. You’re like the grandson I never had
.

A pang of affection tore at his heart. She was the only person he had let himself care about since his parents died. Could he really point a gun at her and pull the trigger? But if he spared her life, wouldn’t she be forced to tell the authorities everything she knew?

Murray sighed. He couldn’t take that chance. He opened the glove box and took out the ranger’s Smith and Wesson and held it in his hands. For a split second he was a little boy on Christmas morning, holding the toy gun that came with the army fatigues his grandma Sophie had bought him.

Always remember that guns should be used to protect people,
Grandma Sophie had said
.

Isn’t that what he had tried to do—protect people from more layoffs and foreclosures and the kind of heartache that had ruined his life? The others had deserved to die. But Adele was innocent—the kindest, sweetest, most genuine person he knew. What choice did he have? One squeeze of the trigger and she would go to her God and live happily ever after. Maybe she would even see his grandma Sophie there. Heaven was for the innocent. The worthy. Not people like him.

He heard a loud motor and looked up in time to see a red diesel pickup truck pull in behind him. He quickly slid the gun under his seat and watched in the side mirror as a white-haired man wearing a John Deere cap hobbled up to his driver’s-side window.

“Hey, young fella. How you doin’?”

“I got a little sleepy on the highway and pulled off to rest my eyes.”

“Smart to get off da road ’fore you nod off. You’re not from around here.”

“Close enough. I’m from Les Barbes. Name’s Seth Carrier. I’m the ranger at the state rookery.”

“I’ve been over dere. Real nice.” The man smiled and shook his hand. “Lucas Belair. I was just on my way to da south end o’ my cane fields when I came up on you sittin’ here. Just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“Thank you. I’m fine. Just let me rest my eyes a few minutes, and I’ll be on my way to Lake Charles.”

“Rest ’em all you like.” Belair bent down and leaned on the sill. “Say, when you left Les Barbes, did you pass through a checkpoint? I heard on da radio da cops were stoppin’ cars.”

“Yes, I did—right where Grace Creek Boulevard turns into the highway. I sure hope the authorities catch the maniac that drowned all those people.”

“Dey’ll get him,” Belair said. “He’s one sick puppy, runnin’ off wid dat poor old lady.”

“All we can do is pray he doesn’t hurt her.” Murray deliberately made eye contact. “Nice meeting you, sir. Say hello next time you get over to the rookery.”