The Chase (44 page)

“Hi.”

It was Doug
. Anne closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “I can barely hear you. Are you all right? Tell me what’s happening.”

“The kids are out and they’re okay.”

“Oh, thank God. What about Kendall?”

“McGraw’s still got her and the Worthingtons’ farm manager. But the sheriff’s deputies and the FBI have the building surrounded.”

“Have you seen her? Do you know if she’s all right?”

“Yeah, I saw her for a couple of minutes. She seemed okay.” He paused and Anne heard him draw a deep breath. “Look, I better go. I just wanted to call and let you know that the kids are okay.”

Anne frowned. Doug sounded beat. “Doug, are you all right? You sound out of breath.”

“I’m fine.”

She fingered the handset for a moment. “When are you coming home?”

Doug hesitated. “I’m not sure. I’d like to stay until they get Kendall out of there.”

“Promise you’ll stay safe?”

There was a brief pause. “I promise.”

Anne’s heart quickened. “Doug, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” His voice sounded strained.

She took a deep breath. Something was bothering him, but he obviously wasn’t going to tell her what it was. “Okay. Will you call me as soon as you know something?”

“I will, but don’t wait up, Anne. We might be here all night. I’m in no danger, and you and Sam are safe now that they have McGraw surrounded, so try to get some rest.”

“Okay.”

As Anne hung up, she heard footsteps in the hallway, and a moment later Ben walked into the kitchen, carrying Samantha in one arm and Rascal in the other. Charly was right behind them.

“What are you doing up, sweetie?” Anne asked, holding her arms out to Samantha.

“She’s not feeling well,” Ben said.

Anne put her hand on Samantha’s forehead. “I think your fever’s back again. Let me get you some Tylenol.”

She set Samantha on the table and picked up the bottle of Tylenol from the counter. The bottle felt light in her hand, and she frowned as she held it up and peered at the red liquid inside.

“What’s the matter, Mommy?”

“I’m not sure there’s enough Tylenol left for a full dose,” Anne said, taking a medicine spoon out of the drawer. She poured the cherry liquid into the spoon, but it only reached halfway to the dosage line. “Nope.”

“Don’t we have another bottle?” Samantha asked.

Anne frowned. “No. It’s on my shopping list, but I haven’t made it to Safeway.”

“I can run into town and buy some for you, if you’d like me to,” Charly said.

Anne turned to her. “Charly, that would be wonderful. I hate to have Samantha go through the night without it.”

“No problem.” Charly looked at her watch. “Is there a store in Middleburg open this late on a Sunday night?”

“Safeway’s open until ten.”

Ben shook his head. “I don’t like that idea, Charly. Patrick wants two of us in the house at all times.”

“No, it’s okay,” Charly replied. “I just spoke with Patrick. Everything’s under control. They have the subject surrounded.” She glanced at Samantha. “I’ll tell you about it in a minute.”

Ben turned to Anne.

She nodded. “Doug just called and told me the same thing.”

“What’s Charly talking about?” Samantha asked.

Anne lifted her from the table. “I’ll explain it to you later. Right now, I want to get you back up to bed.”

Ben looked down at the squirming puppy. “Mrs. Cummings, I should probably take Rascal out for a walk.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be upstairs with Samantha.”

K
endall strained to hear what Zelda and Earl were saying about an escape plan.

“Maybe we should split up from Zeb,” Earl said. “We’ve got two hostages. We’ll take Kendall and let Zeb have the old man.”

“Why would we want to do that?” Zelda asked.

“We have a better chance of getting away. The cops are more interested in Zeb. We can make a break with the money and hook up with Zeb later.”

Zelda frowned. “I don’t like that idea. I think we should stick together.”

“We will be together. But first we need to get out of here with the money.” Earl stroked her arm. “I’m just trying to look out for you, babe.”

Zelda’s face flushed with pleasure and Kendall held back a smirk.
Come on, Zelda. Can’t you see what he’s doing? Earl wants to sacrifice Zeb, just like he did Zach
.

“Where will we meet up?” Zelda asked.

“We’ll figure out a place.”

Zelda hesitated. “What about Zach?”

“We’ll hook up with Zach, too.” Earl lowered his mouth and nuzzled Zelda’s neck, and Kendall could tell from Zelda’s dreamy expression that Earl had won her over.

Damn it
. Kendall felt like she’d made a connection with Zelda, and had held a glimmer of hope that Zelda might convince Earl and McGraw to release Albert and her, now that they had the money. But that was wishful thinking. It was obvious that Zelda would go along with whatever plan Earl cooked up.

Kendall turned away and looked out the rear window to see if McGraw was on his way back. A movement on the stairway near the pigeon roost caught her eye, and she looked more closely. A man was crouched near the top landing!

The man raised himself slightly to peer through the slats of the railing and Kendall caught her breath.
It was Jake
.

Kendall shifted in the seat and rested her back against the side window so she could see out the back without making it obvious to Zelda and Earl. Her heart raced as she watched Jake cautiously make his way down the stairs.
Where was McGraw?
Her eyes darted around the garage. Jake was only a few steps from the bottom when she saw McGraw step out from behind some garbage cans in the opposite corner of the garage and zip up his fly.

She gripped the seat, praying that Jake would see McGraw before McGraw spotted him. McGraw started back towards the bus, then stopped and headed towards the back door, with Jake directly in his line of sight. Kendall exhaled slowly as she saw Jake freeze and flatten himself against the wall.

McGraw stopped at the door and peered through the narrow glass pane, looking first towards the left, in Jake’s direction, and then shifting his gaze to the right. Something seemed to catch McGraw’s attention, because he pressed his face to the glass and turned his body towards the right, facing away from Jake.

Jake quickly descended the last few stairs and grabbed a shovel that hung next to a broom and a rake on the wall. Staying close to the wall, Jake stole swiftly towards McGraw, gripping the shovel with both hands and holding it high over his shoulder. He was almost within striking distance when McGraw suddenly pulled back from the window and turned towards Jake.

Jake leapt towards him and McGraw opened his mouth, but before any sound came out, the shovel hit McGraw’s head with a thud and he slumped to the floor. Jake stooped down and snatched McGraw’s gun.

“What was that?” Earl asked, raising his head from Zelda’s neck.

“It’s probably Zeb, getting after them pigeons again,” Zelda said.

“Where the hell is he, anyway? It don’t take that long to take a leak.” Earl pried Zelda’s arms from around his neck and rose from the seat.

Zelda reached out and grabbed his hand. “Aw, come on, Earl. Don’t go getting into it with Zeb again. Just let him be. He’ll come back in a minute.”

Kendall saw a shadowy movement outside the window, behind Zelda and Earl, and she held her breath as she saw Jake creep towards the front of the bus.
She had to do something to keep them from seeing him
.

“Zelda! Earl lied to you about Zach,” she blurted out.

Both Earl and Zelda turned towards her.

Kendall’s mouth felt like it was lined with cotton and she ran her tongue over her lips. “Zach was hurt in the accident, Zelda. Badly hurt. Earl planned it so the ambulance would hit Zach’s side of the car. He used Zach as a distraction so he could get away.”

Earl’s face contorted in a look of rage. “You fucking bitch.” He moved down the aisle in two swift steps and backhanded Kendall across the face.

The blow was so hard, Kendall’s teeth snapped together, and a stinging pain shot along her right cheekbone. Her eyes filled with tears, but she stared defiantly into Earl’s gaze. “It’s true, Zelda. Earl sacrificed your son.”

Earl lunged at her, and as his hands closed around her neck, Kendall saw Jake step aboard the bus.

T
ake rushed down the aisle and wrapped his left arm around Earl’s neck. He held McGraw’s gun to Earl’s head as he dragged him away from Kendall. “Get your hands off her, you son of a bitch.”

“What the hell?” Earl clawed at Jake’s arm.

Jake jammed the gun against Earl’s temple. “Raise your hands in the air!”

Earl slowly raised both arms and Jake gave Zelda a quick glance. “Don’t make a move, Zelda, or I’ll shoot him.”

She gawked at him. “How do you know my name?”

Jake didn’t respond. Keeping the gun to Earl’s head, he slid his other hand along Earl’s waist until he felt the handle of a gun. As he lifted the gun from Earl’s belt, his eyes settled on Kendall.

“Are you all right, Kendall?”

She nodded, placing a hand to her throat as she drew a raspy breath. Jake saw an angry purple welt on her right cheek, and he shoved the gun hard against Earl’s head, fighting back an overwhelming urge to pull the trigger. He grabbed Earl’s shoulder and gave him a rough yank. “Turn around.”

Earl turned slowly towards him, and Jake lowered the gun to Earl’s chest.

“Well, well, if it ain’t Jake the cowboy,” Earl sneered.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw Zelda lean forward and peer at him. “
Jake?”
She raised her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God. Jake Dawson?”

Jake ignored Zelda, but he noticed Kendall stiffen and saw confusion cloud her eyes. Or was it distrust? He gave her a reassuring nod, but her frown only deepened. He took a deep breath.
Come on, Kendall. Have some faith in me
.

He held Earl’s gun out towards Albert. “Here. Keep this on Zelda.”

Albert stood, but as he stepped forward and reached for the gun, Earl kicked backwards, knocking Albert off balance. The gun clanked into the aisle and Zelda dove for it, aiming it at Jake as she scrambled to her feet. “You get that gun off Earl right now, Jake!”

“Not a chance.” Jake’s eyes slid towards Zelda. “Go on. Make a move with that gun, Zelda. Give me an excuse to shoot him.”

He could see Zelda’s hands shaking, but she didn’t lower the gun. Her eyes darted wildly between Earl and him. “Just let Earl go, Jake. We don’t want to kill nobody else; we just want to take the money and start a new life somewhere.”

Jake’s finger tightened on the trigger. “I’m going to count to three, Zelda. And if you haven’t dropped that gun by then, I’m going to shoot him.”

Earl shook his head. “He’s bluffing, babe. Don’t drop the gun.”

Jake gave him a cold stare. “One.”

Sweat rolled down Earl’s forehead. “What are you waiting for, Zelda? Shoot the bastard. Zeb will be here any minute to back you up.”

Kendall leaned forward. “Don’t let Earl talk you into murder, Zelda. He’s not worth it. Remember what he did to Zach.”

Zelda glanced towards Kendall, but she held the gun steady.

Jake shoved the revolver against Earl’s chest. “Two.”

“Jake,
please.”
Zelda’s voice trembled. “Just let us go.”

He gave her a thin smile as he looked her in the eye. “Three.”

“No!” Zelda lowered the gun.