Spencerville (46 page)

He smiled at her. "Okay."

He stood, went over to Baxter's body, and ripped the key chain off Baxter's bloody neck. He knelt in front of Annie again and, as he tried a few keys, he noticed the padlock hanging from the chain and the shackle running through the big eyebolt. He asked, "How did you manage that?"

"I unscrewed it with the poker."

He nodded. Keith unlocked the leg manacles and rubbed her ankles. "Okay?"

"Yes."

"Let's get you dressed and out of here."

She didn't seem to want to move, but then she looked at Cliff Baxter slumped dead over the back of the sofa and said, "Yes, I want to get out of here. Help me up."

He stood and helped her stand, turning her away from the dead body. He walked with his arm around her as she made her way toward the hallway, his shirt draped over her shoulders.

She stopped and moved away from him. "I can do this. Wait here. I'll be dressed in a few minutes."

"Okay."

She hesitated a moment, then looked at him and asked, "There was someone else outside, wasn't there?"

"Yes. Billy Marlon."

"Is he dead?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

She looked at Cliff Baxter, then at Keith and said, "I killed him."

He didn't reply.

She put her hand on his face and looked into his eyes a long time, then said, "I knew you'd come."

"I told you I would."

"Well... I hope you think it was worth it."

He smiled at her and kissed her. "What are friends for?"

Billy Marlon's pickup truck rolled south along Route 127. By the time Keith and Annie reached the Ohio border, the dawn was breaking over the frosty fields and meadows.

Keith glanced at Annie and said, "Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

"I want to stay awake and look at you."

He smiled. "I've looked better."

"You look fine."

"You, too," he said. In fact, he knew, neither of them looked their best, but Annie had put on some makeup and was wearing a white wool turtleneck and jeans. She had washed and bandaged his knife wound, but neither of them had wanted to stay in the lodge long enough to shower, or for her to pack anything, and he hadn't taken any of the guns. There had been a sort of silent consensus between them to leave everything behind and get out of that house of horrors.

He said to her, "I broke into your house before I came to the lodge, to look for clues. I wanted you to know that."

"That's all right." She smiled again. "You're such a gentleman. Was everything clean?"

"It's a nice house." He added, "You're still a neat freak."

"There's a pig inside trying to get out."

"Good."

They drove on in silence awhile, and when they spoke, it had little or nothing to do with the last three days.

She'd held her hand in his for most of the drive down, and even when he used the floor shift, she kept her hand over his. This reminded him of when they were in high school, on those occasions when he couldn't use the family car, and he had to pick her up in the farm truck, and she'd keep her hand on his as he shifted gears.

Keith said, "It's going to be a beautiful day."

"Yes. I like to see the sun rise." She added, "Especially this one."

"Right." A few minutes later, he said, "Billy Marlon told me you were always nice to him. He appreciated that."

She didn't reply.

Keith said, "He wanted to do what he did. He had a score to settle."

"I know. I know about his wife."

Keith nodded.

Annie said, "I always knew that, one day, all of Cliff's bad deeds would catch up with him." She added, "He did bring it on himself."

"That's usually the case."

She asked him, "Would you have killed him? I mean, if you didn't have to kill him in self-defense?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

"I don't think you would have. It's all right. You're a good person. You made me a promise." She added, "I didn't make any such promise to anyone."

He didn't respond to that but changed the subject and said, "We'll stop at a roadside place up ahead near the Interstate. I'll buy you breakfast."

"I look awful. So do you."

"I have to meet someone at the truck stop."

"Oh... the man you called from the lodge?"

"Yes."

"Your friend from Washington?"

"Yes."

She didn't say anything further, and, a few minutes later, Keith pulled into a truck stop off the Ohio Turnpike. She said, "I'll stay here."

"No, I want you to meet Charlie, and I want you to call your sister."

They got out of the pickup truck and went into the coffee shop.

Charlie Adair was sitting in a booth near a window, wearing the first and only British tweed suit in the place, drinking coffee, smoking, and reading a newspaper. He stood as they approached, smiled, and said, "Good morning."

Keith and Charlie shook hands, and Keith said, "Charlie Adair, I'd like you to meet Annie Baxter."

He took her hand and said, "I'm very glad you could come."

"Thank you. I'm very glad I could be here."

They all sat, and Charlie ordered two more coffees. He said, "This is a great place. Everyone here smokes." He asked Annie, "Do you mind if I smoke?"

Annie shook her head.

Charlie lit another cigarette and said to her, "Keith and I had some words before he went up to Michigan, so we wanted to apologize to each other in person."

Annie replied, "And you wanted to get a look at me."

"Absolutely. You're beautiful."

"I am, you know, but not at this moment."

Charlie smiled, then said, "I think you are." He added, "I'm not going to take Keith away, so let's be friends."

"Okay."

Keith said to Annie, "Don't trust a word he says."

She replied, "I already figured that out."

Charlie smiled again.

The coffee came, and they sipped on it. Charlie said to Annie, "Here's something you can trust me on — Keith Landry is the finest, bravest, most truthful man I know."

She smiled. "I know that."

Keith said, "I think that's enough." He said to Charlie, "This woman saved my life."

Charlie nodded and said, "You owe her."

Annie said to Charlie, "Actually, Keith risked his life to save mine."

Keith said again, "Enough."

Charlie asked, "Can Uncle buy you breakfast? No strings attached if it's under ten bucks."

They both shook their heads.

Charlie inquired, "Do you need money?"

Keith replied, "No, we're fine."

Charlie said, "So you've known each other since you were kids. That's great. Who did better in school?"

Annie said, "I did. He has the attention span of a gnat."

Charlie smiled. "Depends on the subject. He can read Russian. Did you know that?"

"It never came up and probably never will."

Charlie laughed.

They drank their coffee, and Charlie said to Annie, "I know you've probably had a very trying experience, and I appreciate your agreeing to stop and make small talk."

"I'm sure when I get up to make my phone call, you'll dispense with the small talk."

Charlie looked at her and said, "I used to meet him when he returned from someplace — usually a small cafe in a small town near a nasty border. So this sort of feels like old times." He went on, "We'd have a coffee or a drink, and I'd fill him in on the latest sports news. We'd never discuss his trip until much later. But this time, since I don't think I'll see him again for a while..."

Annie stood. "I'll make that phone call."

Keith and Charlie stood as she left, and every trucker in the place watched.

They sat down again, and Charlie said, "Good woman. Good presence, good eyes, good face, good body. Bad taste in men."

"Apparently."

"You still in love?"

"Yes."

"The inconvenient husband, I imagine, is out of the picture."

"Very much so."

"You need a cleaning service?"

"Yes. He's in the lodge, Billy Marlon is outside."

Charlie nodded.

Keith gave Charlie directions to the lodge and said, "I want everything that's hers taken out of there, I want Marlon's body out of there. You may even decide to burn the place. Your call. Then I guess someone can make an anonymous phone call to the local police. Let them figure it out."

Again, Charlie nodded. "We'll take care of it. How about Marlon's body?"

"Find his next of kin in Spencerville. There's an ex-wife and kids in Fort Wayne, and an ex-wife named Beth in Columbus, Ohio. I want a military funeral with honors in Spencerville."

"Okay. Hey, you feeling good or bad?"

"Both."

"She really save your life?"

"Yes, she brained him with a poker."

"Ouch!" Charlie added, "Aside from him trying to kill you, I guess he deserved it."

"More than we'll ever know."

"How's she doing?"

"Okay."

"It's going to get a little rocky later, you know, when it all hits her. I mean, with her kids and all."

"She'll be all right. But no one else has to know what happened there."

"No one ever will."

"Thanks."

Charlie smiled. "So you did it yourself. But I have to clean up the mess."

"That's what you're good at."

"Is this a free favor I'm doing?"

"Sure is."

"I don't get anything in return?"

"No."

He asked Keith, "You coming back?"

"No."

"That's final?"

"Yes."

"Good. Maybe I'll take the job."

"Serve you right."

Annie returned, and the two men stood again and came out of the booth. Keith said to Annie, "We're leaving."

"Okay." She put out her hand to Charlie and said, "It was very good meeting you. I hope we see you again sometime."

"You most certainly will. I want you to be my guest in Washington."

"That's very kind of you."

Charlie took Keith's hand and said, "Good luck, my friend. We'll meet again under happier circumstances."

"I'm sure we will."

They said their goodbyes, and Keith and Annie went outside and got back into the pickup truck.

Keith pulled out onto the highway and asked her, "Did you speak to Terry?"

"Yes. She's happy and relieved. She said to tell you thanks."

"Did you tell her about him?"

"Yes. She said, 'God rest his soul.' "

Keith didn't reply.

They continued south, toward Spencerville. Annie said, "Charlie is a charming man."

"He's very charming."

"He was your boss?"

"Yes, but he never took it too seriously."

She stayed silent awhile, then asked him, "Do you want to go back there?"

"No."

"Why not? I'll bet it was very glamorous and exciting. What could you possibly do after leading that kind of life?"

"Grow corn."

She looked at him and asked, "Keith... do you know about your house?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Annie. The land is still there, and there were two houses on that spot before the last one. I'll build the fourth."

She nodded and said, "I would offer to have you come live with me, but I don't think I can live in that house again."

"No, you can't."

"No... well... what?.." She glanced at him. "What are your plans?"

"Well, first I'm taking you to Rome, and we'll both see the Colosseum at night, together this time."

She smiled and put her arm around his shoulders and said, "Welcome home, Keith."

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