Relentless (Elisabeth Reinhardt Book 1) (31 page)

The man in the Grey Honda drove west in silence; the two women sat close together in the backseat not daring to talk. They had not known what to do in that ladies room, whether to run from this strange man or run toward him. Somehow he had been convincing, his words had been almost hypnotic. So, one at a time, they had walked nonchalantly out of the bathroom.  No one seemed to notice as they donned their winter clothing and walked out the ‘Staff-Only’ exit. They hurried through the wintery gusts toward the grey SUV parked near the dumpster and without a thought, climbed into the back seat. The man said nothing. He did not turn to look at them. He simply nodded and put the car in gear. They had driven out of the parking lot, through the snow piled streets weaving their way through the little town. No pedestrians were out and few cars were on the streets. Because of the weather and the police emergency, most businesses had closed early. People were locked up in their homes.

It was nearly 10PM when Edna Goodwin glanced at her watch. They had been driving for hours without a word being spoken. She had no idea where they were going. She reached for Rhoda’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. Timidly she cleared her throat. “Sir,” she began, “may I ask you a question.”

“Certainly,” the man replied.

“Can you tell me where you are taking us?”

“I’m afraid not,” he answered, “but you are going to a safe place, there is nothing to worry about. We mean you no harm. Your employers have been notified that you will be away for a while,” he assured them, “You can sit back and relax. We will take care of you.” Edna knew that this man had saved their lives. Exactly how close the killers had come to finding them, she didn’t know. How he knew about them and how he’d found them, she didn’t know, but instinctively she knew the man in the brown hat had come to save them. Although he was a stranger and acted strangely, she didn’t feel afraid of him.

Sitti
ng in the back of the dark car as they bumped over snowy back roads, Edna reviewed her actions of the last several days. She had received an email from Gina talking about her concerns that the Parkland Killers were after her, that they had been after her all along. Gina was terrified and terribly guilty, feeling the killing rampage had been about her. Edna had tried to reassure her, to reason with her, but that was hard to do in an email and in ‘code.’ Then after the news reports verified her fears about the killers she was uncertain about Gina’s reactions but kept emailing her updates. She didn’t know how the man had found her in the old library but it had to be those emails. There was no other way. Someone had tracked her through her emails to Gina. Her rescuer had tracked them through those emails and snatched them away before the killers found them. She could only hope that the killers weren’t as tech savvy as the man in the brown hat.

Who th
e man was remained a mystery. He didn’t seem like a killer. Although her information about killers came mostly from TV shows, she didn’t think he wanted anything from them. She thought he was working for someone else. He had said ‘we’ a couple of times. But who exactly ‘we’ was she had no idea. She knew that high level computers could trace people’s emails somehow. That had to be it. The FBI could do it or the CIA or some big police departments could trace people’s emails and pick out key words to trace.  Like Homeland Security. They could do that to find terrorists. Was the man in the brown hat an agent of some kind? She dismissed that thought. He didn’t act like he was official, like FBI or anything like that, not that she’d ever talked to an FBI agent before, but this man didn’t seem like FBI. On TV they were always well dressed in suits with short hair. She thought about the man driving the car. He drove slowly with both gloved hands on the wheel looking straight at the road ahead. His movements were focused and deliberate, but he seemed tired. Strands of grey hair poked out from under his hat and around the rim of the scarf still tied around his neck. She had the strong impression he wasn’t law enforcement because he was stoop shouldered and he seemed rather shy and quiet. Plus, he spoke with an accent. Something from Europe, she thought. Maybe it was German or Austrian, something like that.  He seemed like he could be somebody’s grandfather not an FBI agent. Now, what was a man like that doing tracking down emails and picking up strange women in libraries in the middle of the night in the dead of winter?

She glanced over at Rhoda and wished now that she’d never called her about this.  She’d gone and gotten Rhoda mixed up in whatever this mess was and here the two of them were riding in the back of a stranger’s car going
G-d knew where and she felt horrible about it. She looked over at her friend sitting quietly next to her watching the windshield wipers move back and forth. She wondered what she was thinking. She wished she could talk to her, but didn’t want the man to overhear their conversation. She wondered if Rhoda was afraid. Probably not, she concluded Rhoda is a tough old gal, she’s been through worse than this with her Domestic Violence Center, she’ll be alright she assured herself. We’ll both be alright. ‘This man means us no harm,’ she thought, ‘If he did we’d be dead by now.’

“I’m starving, Jake,” Custer said as he sped along the Pennsylvania turnpike.
He was glad to be driving; he felt more in control that way. “We’ve got to stop soon,” he told Jake who was slouched in the passenger seat, hand on his wounded neck. His neck was hot and throbbing; his voice was harsh and raspy. It was an effort to talk. It was an effort to swallow. Custer had him on a liquid diet since the attack. It had been 3 days since their harrowing escape from Hurricane. Jake could hardly believe he was still alive. That dog had nearly torn his throat clean out. He had never been so scared in all his life. It was Slim who saved him. Good old Slim. His pal Slim had saved him from the jaws of death… literally. And, his pal Custer had doctored him up and nursed him back to health. He was proud of his buddies. They really proved themselves to him. When the chips were down they came through for him.

When he thought back to that day in the cornfield it was all a blur.
As soon as the tractor chugged across that corn field, they stole a car from someone’s driveway and headed for the nearest drugstore so Custer, now the gang’s official medic, could patch Jake up. There was an awful lot of blood and some deep puncture wounds but Custer cleaned and bandaged Jake as best he could, while Slim drove. Later that night he broke into a pharmacy and stole some antibiotics and pain pills and they holed up in an abandoned warehouse so they could re-group. Slim went out and robbed a liquor store, netting enough cash to tide them over for a while.

During those days,
Custer was the only one who ventured out. He brought back food and other supplies. Jake slept a lot. It was good to lay low. Jake was sick so that made it easier on Slim and Custer. There was no in-fighting and very little tension. They had no TV so Custer brought in newspapers. Slim and Custer took turns reading stories about their exploits out loud because Jake was too weak to read.  There was a lot of information, every paper showed their photos and continuing police and news reports about the investigation.  Both the police officer and the dog had died and there were articles about funeral services honoring both of these heroes who died in the line of duty. Custer felt bad about that dog. That dog was a grand animal and didn’t deserve to die, Custer thought. If anyone deserved to die it was Jake not that dog. He felt guilty about the priest, too. He was such a nice man he didn’t deserve to be treated the way Jake treated him. Custer wondered if G-d would punish them for kidnapping the priest and killing the dog. He wondered why G-d had let them get away at all. They should have been shot dead in that field. Now, that would have been justice, Custer thought. Several days later news reports began to die down. No one bothered them and they didn’t bother anyone. They felt smug and safe.

Now, speeding along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Slim was stretched out on the backseat, his legs propped up on their new backpacks, weapons and jackets, “I’m hungry, too,” he called over the seat.

“Okay, you two crybabies keep your shirts on, we’re almost there,” Jake croaked.

“Where are we almost?” Slim asked sleepily.

“You’ll see. You two are gonna love it.” Jake teased. When they walked into ‘THE SIT IN’ they nearly swooned. The smells of homemade food and cigarette smoke wafted through the air, the jukebox blasted bouncy Country music that mingled with the sounds of laughter and conversation. The killers stood near the door in a small line of people waiting to be seated. Jake studied the corkboard by the door looking for a message. Teddy told him to expect a message with specifics about getting together. No message. Jake frowned. He didn’t like that. He didn’t like it when his plans didn’t work out. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘maybe Teddy is running a bit late.’ He had a lot of computer stuff to do and Jake was earlier than he’d expected to be. At least he hoped that’s what it was. There should have been a note from Teddy anyway. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit. He hoped his old buddy hadn’t gotten cold feet and run out on him. That would make him very mad. He hoped that wasn’t the case. Pushing those thoughts aside he focused on the restaurant and the good time he and his gang were going to have. It was time to celebrate. It was a miracle they had gotten out of Hurricane alive. It was a miracle he was alive, he thought putting his hand up to his bandaged neck. He couldn’t believe all that had happened. He couldn’t believe they had gotten away. It had been so cool he nearly laughed out loud when he thought of it all. Going back to the farm with all those cops there and getting away again with that important piece of paper, now that was cool! Then there was the church and that damn dog and kidnapping the priest. That was so cool. Then the ride across the corn field in a big tractor… it was all so cool. ‘I’m so smart!’ he grinned to himself, ‘They’ll never catch me. I can go on like this forever.’ He felt smug. Jake the Invincible!

They ordered everything jumbo sized! It was feast time in a real restaurant with real food and they were excited. No more eating in the car or on the ground at a campsite or even in a motel room. He had to admit though, that had been pretty good. It was relaxing and Custer bought them some pretty good food. But this was better. They were at a real table with real silverware and real beer
mugs. No one knew them here. They were free and could eat and drink to their heart’s content. They could stay as long as they wanted, do whatever they wanted. Jake held his mug high and toasted to his buddies, a magnanimous gesture that had occurred only once before. That was the time that they had gotten out of jail the first time. They were celebrating the fact that none of them had ratted the others out.

“To my buddies,” Jake had said, “my own true gang. Here’s to us!” He was in a great mood, expansive and relaxed. He flirted with the waitress, a 40-something overweight brunette calling her ‘Honey’ and ‘doll baby’.  Slim and Custer were relieved, though, that she wasn’t his type, so his waitress flirting was harmless. They looked around the room to see if there was anyone there he might try to go after.  His pattern would be to try and grab someone after a big ‘win’ like this one with the Hurricane police. They didn’t see anyone. Most of the waitresses were on the matronly side in keeping with the old fashioned atmosphere of ‘The Sit In
,’ for the moment they could relax.

Slim and Custer didn’t know if Pennsylvania had been the plan all along or not. They really didn’t know the plan because Jake had been very quiet on the trip north, and when Jake was quiet, they had learned to leave him alone. In spite of the good food and the good mood, both Slim and Custer knew that while they had escaped the police there was no escaping Jake.
With the jukebox pounding in the background and the smoke filled air surrounding them, their eyes met across their 16 ounce sirloins. There was understanding in that exchange, a clear understanding. Things were not different. This was a reprieve and a brief one at that. When this meal was over, they would again have to deal with Jake Gennett and whatever he had planned next. They would soon find out what he had up his sleeve, but they already knew it wasn’t good.

They were living on borrowed time. Their chance of getting out of Hurricane alive had been one in a million. None of them thought they could do it. Each of them had privately thought that the last day in Hurricane, W VA would be their last day on earth. But miracle of miracles they had made it out of there. They escaped and they were free. They had been lucky. But they knew
luck eventually ran out. So the Parkland Killers sat in the warm smoky restaurant talking like old friends. Jake flirted with the waitress, they listened to the music and to people chatting and laughing all around them; they clinked their frosty mugs and cut into their steaks!

Teddy Ruff flew around his apartment like a whirlwind. He packed most of his important computer stuff first, racing up and down the stairs and tossing important equipment into his truck. Then he realized he couldn’t fly anywhere with that stuff and started downloading essential data onto backup drives. As each computer was emptied, he erased the hard drive and shut the system down. He was in a full-fledged panic when he started on his and Monica’s personal stuff then he realized he didn’t have time to pack clothing, so he concentrated on banking information, money and jewelry. As he began his final descent toward the parking lot he heard male voices walking toward the building’s entrance. Changing direction he walked down the back steps barely missing Jake on the landing, he made it to his SUV which crunched slowly through the snow as Jake and his buddies stood knocking impatiently on his door.

He figured it would
n’t take them a while to realize he’d left. They would have no way of knowing he was going to run. So they’d might think he was just out somewhere and wait for him. At least that’s what he hoped would happen. Teddy thought he’d have plenty of time to pick Monica up and get out of town. Jake didn’t know about her anyway, Teddy thought. He pulled up to the front of the dress shop and waited nervously for her to come out. She appeared after a few minutes looking fresh and happy, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. She leaned across the seat for a kiss and noticed his expression immediately.

“What’s the matter honey,” she asked
hand sliding onto his knee.

“I’ll tell you later, Doll, we’ve got to get going.” He pulled out of the space and headed toward the outskirts of town.

“Teddy, what is it?” she asked again, “You look terrified. What happened?”

“We’ve got to go somewhere, Honey, just for a little while
. Please don’t ask any questions now, please, it’s too hard to talk about it like this. Please, Honey?” he begged her to cooperate with him.

“But, Teddy,” she insisted, “I have to know, what’s the matter with you? Are you in trouble? Are you running from something?” Monica knew Teddy had been in jail. He had told her that. She assumed that some of his business dealings were a bit shady, but she didn’t think it was more than that. She believed him when he told her he was straight now. They were speeding along the highway heading toward Pittsburgh. “Teddy, where are we going? Where are you taking me?” she demanded. She was beginning to get upset now. This felt serious to her and she was frightened.

Teddy drove on resolutely, “I cannot take the time to tell you things now. It isn’t safe. Please, Monica I’m begging you to be quiet so I can think. I’ve got to get us out of here. It’s dangerous. I may have to leave you at a friend’s house. It may not be safe for you to be with me. You might be in danger, too. I love you too much to risk having you hurt.” Silently Monica started to weep. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew that her boyfriend was deadly serious. She knew he was in trouble and so was she. She sat back in her seat clinging to her pocketbook. She resolutely zipped up her coat and put on her gloves. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she was ready to run.

Back at Teddy’s
apartment, Jake had gotten impatient and broke through the door. It took him just a few minutes to notice today’s newspaper on the kitchen table along with a mug of recently brewed coffee and a half eaten bagel. He then realized that Teddy Ruff had run out on him. He had just missed him. He was furious. Teddy was his ace in the hole. He was depending on Ruff n Red-y to help him out of this mess. He was looking forward to showing him off to his gang. His old buddy the computer genius! And right now he needed a computer whiz to figure things out. Maybe hack into the FBI network and plant false leads. Like the gang was headed to Florida or San Francisco. Teddy was his buddy. If Teddy was running from him, it must be really bad. Jake was mad, but he was also confused. He had been so caught up in the craziness of one crisis after the other he had not stopped and really considered his situation. He had to figure out why Teddy ran off like that and left him in the lurch.

He did that now. He sat down in Teddy’s lovely living room and thought. Slim and Custer left him alone. Apparently, this Teddy fella was a touchy subject with Jake. It seemed Jake was all excited about him and now he was pissed off. They wandered around the apartment investigating and looking for things to steal. But Jake just sat there. It seemed to Slim he was in a daze. He looked over at Custer to see if he agreed. Maybe now was the time to take him on, now when he seemed so out of it. Custer seemed uncertain. He shrugged at Slim with a ‘wait and see’ message. While they continued to rummage through the apartment, Jake was deciding what to do next. His mind was flooded with thoughts. He didn’t know if he could trust his gang anymore and wondered if it would be a good idea to shoot them and move on. He thought he could manage without them, but he was really used to them. And when he caught Reggie, he might need their help. He didn’t know where she was or how many people he’d have to kill to get to her. No, he thought now was probably not the time to shoot them, but he needed to test them and make sure they were still with him.

Then there was the problem of Teddy Ruff. Teddy was in the wind… Why had he run? He didn’t know whether to chase Teddy down or not. He had wanted Teddy to do him a favor, to help him deal with the cops and to help him find Reggie. But Teddy running off like this had set him on edge. He wasn’t sure if he should chase him or just move on to another plan. He couldn’t figure what spooked him though. He thought and thought. What kind of friend was he, anyway? What about the Teacher and the Hacker? They were buddies. The thought of him running off made him mad again. He wanted to catch him and kill him. He gazed around the room. Slowly a framed snapshot of Teddy snuggling with a pretty young blonde came into focus. ‘Ah ha,’ he smiled to himself, ‘that’s why he left. He’s got a new girlfriend. A really pretty one! She’s just my type.’ He smirked, ‘Well, I wonder where old Teddy went with his pretty little girlfriend. If I was Teddy where would I go with my pretty girl? I’d run away from old Jake that’s what I’d do. I’d run as far as I could. I’d get me to an airport, fast, that’s what I’d do.’

“Okay, Boys,” he said, “we can go find Teddy or we can hang out here and see what happens next. What’s your vote?” Custer came into the room chewing on an apple. Slim had found some weed in Teddy’s night table and came in puffing. The three killers sat in Teddy’s impeccable living room and talked about what to do next. “This would be a safe place to hang out for a while,” Custer said, “No one knows we’
re here. There’s plenty of food, plus a TV and a nice big bathroom.”

Slim inhaled deeply and then said, “Let’s hang out
. I’m cool with that.” Jake tossed a scowl in his direction.

“Well,” Custer said
, catching his drift immediately “how we gonna find this guy, Jake? We don’t know where he’s gone or how long ago he left, right?”

“I think he just left,
” Jake said, “today’s paper and fresh coffee’s still in the kitchen. And I think he’s gone to the airport.”

“Why the airport?” Slim asked with a lazy smile on his face, he loved pot.

“I just think so that’s why,” Jake snapped.

“
How about this,” Jake said, “I’ll go after Teddy and you two can wait here for me to come back.” Jake looked at them coolly waiting for their response. Custer got it first. He knew a trap when he saw one. Jake never wanted to leave them somewhere and go on some mission by himself. Jake needed them. He needed someone to push around, someone to back him up. He was not the loner type. Plus, Jake knew that the two of them would take off the minute his back was turned. This was a test for sure. Custer knew that agreeing to stay behind would mean a bullet in the head.

“Hell, no, Jake,” he said robustly, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. We’re a team, Man. Where you go
, we go.”

Slim picked up on it fast enough. “Yea, Man, if you want to go we’ll go with ya. Up to you, Man. You want to go get that Teddy fella we’re gonna back your ass up!”