A Cold Day In Hell

6

Bucky Smith turned his head, tried to focus. Flashing lights. He fucking hated flashing lights. They never meant anythin’ good, or they never had for him.

He hated this town. If he hadn’t just about run out of places to be, he’d already be gone.

Cops driving down the side of Ona’s.

So what? Nothing to do with him. He just had to take a leak and he’d be out of here.

Nobody gave a shit about him. Never had.

Would you look at that? He was in the damn kitchen. What he wanted was the can, the can, dammit.

Where was everyone back here? Yeah, Ona’s Out Back. Tea room, she called it. Shit. He could smell the booze even if the place was empty. Empty, not a single piece of ass sippin’ tea.

The cop lights were out back.

Out back of Out Back.

Damn, he ought to be a poet or somethin’. He needed that can and another drink. If anyone was still workin’ around here.

The fryer smelled good. All those leftover bits of food bubblin’ in the fat. Best part of this nowhere, the food.

Bucky turned back, frowned. He must have passed the can on the way in here.

The side door to the outside slammed open and a guy came in—fast. Bucky turned his head the other way, blinked to look at him. Just a guy in a wet coat.

“You lost?” Bucky said. “Same’s me. Shit. You lookin’ for the can, too?”

The guy just stared at him, his hair dark and sopped, stuck to his face.

Bucky raised his palms. “Friendly, ain’t you? Well, fuck you.” He stumbled toward the passageway to Out Front.

He didn’t see the hand coming.

Fingers dug into his windpipe and he gagged, took a swing at the face that wouldn’t stay still. He clawed at the man’s chest.

Deeper the fingertips gouged. Bucky’s mouth opened. A shove and he fell backward. His skull hit something hard and he felt his bladder let go.

All he heard was the sizzle of the boiling fat.

7

Finn Duhon drove into the parking lot behind Ona’s restaurants. Emma had called him, whispered for him to come, but she wouldn’t say why.

A cream-colored Jeep passed him and the driver honked. Finn honked back but didn’t recognize the vehicle or the driver. Seeing someone drive by as though everything was normal didn’t make him feel any better.

He stopped his car and jumped out. The lights were on in both Out Front and Out Back. It wasn’t that late.

He didn’t see anyone in the lot and started to run past parked cars. He saw Emma’s Lexus and broke into a sprint. His left shoe scrunched on something and he paused to look down.

Car keys. He picked them up and knew immediately that they were Emma’s. Finn breathed through his open mouth. Heading for her car again, he punched the number pad on his cell, got through to the police station and demanded to speak with Matt Boudreaux.

He heard Matt’s voice and said, “Get to the parking lot behind Ona’s. Something’s happened to Emma. I think she’s been kidnapped,” then cut off.

The Lexus was empty, just as he’d known it would be. No wonder she’d whispered; she must have been in someone else’s vehicle.

Maybe she was in a trunk. Emma was no dummy. He could hope she’d find a way to put out a taillight to get air—or puncture the spare tire.

How long had she been in trouble before she could call him? Finn stared around.

He heard a siren and saw the reflection of flashing lights against the sky.

What should he do first? This wasn’t like jungle warfare—the only kind of warfare he knew about. He didn’t have the automatic reactions that would work here.

My God. He didn’t know where to start.

People who wanted children badly enough cut babies from their mothers’ wombs.

He bent double and took a deep breath. Finn Duhon didn’t panic. He’d been a warrior and that was something that changed you forever. He needed the police and they’d be here any moment.

Breaking into a jog, he headed back toward his car.

“Finn!”

He jumped, searched in every direction.

“It’s you.” And it was Emma’s voice. An instant later she broke into sobs.

Blood pounded into Finn’s head. He followed the sounds and found her easily. Under a pickup truck, on her poor, swollen belly, the side of her face resting in the dirt. She still clutched her cell. Her very curly, honey-blond hair fell over her face.

“Hold on,” he said, on his knees, peering at her. “Don’t move. Matt’s coming. I’ll call the medical-aid car now. And I’ll see if I can get Mitch Halpern to come over.”

“Take me home,” she said in a small, broken voice. “Help me out of here and take me home.”

“Cher, please don’t move.” He stayed on all fours where he could see her and make sure she didn’t attempt to move. And he called emergency again, this time asking for medical response.

Emma dropped her phone and reached out a hand. Finn closed his fingers over hers. “Has the man gone?” she asked quietly. “I didn’t hear him go. Be careful, Finn. He could creep up on you.”

Sirens grew louder.

“Man?” Finn said. “There was a man? Did you recognize him?”

“No, it was too dark. Look around. Make sure he isn’t coming back.”

Finn did as he was told but the only movement was a guy coming around from Ona’s Out Front to get on his motorbike, which he’d parked near a wall. He kicked off the stand, climbed on and roared away. He didn’t even glance toward the parking lot.

“How long have you been down here?”

Emma pushed at her hair. “I don’t know. A long time. Finn, I can move my hands and legs just fine but it was hard to calm down. I listened to the baby. There wasn’t any pain. That’s good, isn’t it? I thought blood would come—I expected to feel it rush out.”

“You’re both going to be fine.” He realized he believed it—he had to. “Sounds as if the aid car’s right there with the cops.”

“I don’t want all kinds of people, Finn. I’m fine now you’re here. I didn’t get out before because I thought he might still be waiting for me.”

Finn got on to the dispatcher at the station house and spoke to Officer Carley, whom they all knew well. “We need to find Mitch Halpern,” he said. “You know, Dr. Mitch?” Carley kept it short and efficient and assured him she’d get the local doctor over there fast.

Waves of tremors shook Emma. She heard the sound of many approaching feet and voices, breathless, high voices. And Lobelia Forestier’s rose above them all.

“Is she dead? Has Emma been murdered? Was she raped? If Matt Boudreaux had done his job properly in the past, this wouldn’t be happening now.”

“Can it, Lobelia,” Sabine Webb said. “You’re embarrassin’ all of us.”

“You doin’ okay, Emma?” Ona asked.

“I am,” Emma said.

She saw a pair of extremely high, gray ankle boots, gorgeous legs and a deep green swishing skirt. Delia Board was there, of course. Ignoring her knees and her hose, she got down beside Finn.

A police car, lights flashing, rolled in, passed Finn’s car and stopped. Chief Matt Boudreaux got out, leaving the door open, and Officer Clemens came at a trot.

“No,” Emma said. “Not the police, please. He told me not to tell anyone. He said he’d make sure our baby died, if I did. And me.”

“Who told you not to tell anyone?” Lobelia said. “What did he do to you?”

Cold, the sweat on his body abruptly icy, Finn looked into Emma’s face and said quietly, “He won’t get near you again.”

“What happened here?” Matt Boudreaux asked.

“I think some guy was drunk,” Emma said, keeping her voice strong. “He threatened me. I’m moving out from the truck now.”

“Don’t,” Finn said. “Please, cher, just stay where you are.”

“Take it easy,” Matt said. “Tell me what went on. Take it slowly.”

“This is what happens when the police chief is too young,” Lobelia said. “We need someone with experience in the job. Every woman in this town is in danger of being raped in her bed. We’d better all make sure we lock our doors.”

“Can it, Lobelia,” Sabine Webb said again.

“I’ll have to ask you ladies to move along,” Matt said. “The aid car’s comin’ and you’re in the way.”

“The idea!” Lobelia said. “Don’t you forget who pays your wages, young man. If you don’t want to lose that cushy job of yours, you’ll watch your tongue.”

Finn glanced at Delia who shook her head slightly. “Emma, how are you feeling? What hurts, darling?”

“I’m going to be fine,” Emma said. She planted an elbow and pushed herself out from beneath the pickup. She smiled at Delia and whispered, “See if you can get Lobelia out of here. Sabine will help.”

“Consider it done,” Delia said and stood up. She flapped her arms at Lobelia. “This is too much for you. Much too much. I insist we go back inside and have some coffee. With a little something stronger in it.”

“I’ve got just the thing,” Ona said. “It’s my own special recipe for shock.”

Lobelia tutted.

“I insist,” Delia said, and the four women headed back toward Out Back.

“Where the hell’s the aid car?” Matt asked, and more flashing lights appeared as if he’d summoned them. “Well…well, we’ve got a good portion of the police force. But I want medics.” Another cop car pulled in, followed by a dark-colored Prius.

“The aid car could have been called to an emergency,” Emma said.

Matt opened his mouth and Finn as good as heard that the other man intended to say that this was an emergency. “Good thing everything’s under control here,” Finn said quickly. “Rusty’s arrived. I don’t think we want a whole lot written about this in the papers, at least not yet. Whoever did this needs to be caught, not scared off.”

Rusty Barnes ran the local newspaper and he was also a close friend of Finn and Emma.

The arms that closed around Emma were the only ones she wanted to feel. She looked up at Finn, into his dark, troubled eyes, and he managed a half-hearted grin. “Sit still,” he said. “When I get you home I’m keeping you there. You’re too dangerous to be out. What have you got on your feet? You’ve got to wear sensible shoes.”

Emma just listened to him and kept her head on his shoulder.

Rusty arrived. He had a camera slung over one shoulder. Like most very-small-town newspapers, The Pointe Judah News didn’t run to many employees. In fact, Rusty and two production people were it.

“Emma?” he said, dropping down beside her. “What’s happened? You okay? Finn?” Anxiety tightened his voice.

“Can we talk about it when we get back home?” Finn said, looking straight into Rusty’s eyes. “I’m going to ask you for a favor. Please don’t write about this.”

Rusty nodded, showing immediate understanding, then backed off to give them room. “You bet.”

“Emma,” Matt said. “Do you feel up to telling me what happened to you?”

“Yes.” She suddenly wanted to. She wanted that man arrested. “A man waited for me out here—in that line of trees. He said horrible things about my baby getting killed. And me. He talked about…he talked about something that happened before and he was angry because he said I’d forgotten it, only I haven’t.”

“What was he talking about?”

She sucked in a deep breath. “Denise Steen and how she died such a horrible death. He said everyone’s forgotten her and I’m just getting on with my life like she never lived. I didn’t expect that to be brought up again.”

Finn’s arms tightened around her but he didn’t interrupt. Denise Steen had been murdered in Pointe Judah two years ago. He and Emma had found the body.

Clemens was taking notes.

“So he threatened you and took off?” Matt said.

“He chased me,” Emma said in a small voice. “I was almost to my car but I knew I shouldn’t try to get in with him so close. I think he would have driven away with me.”

“He chased you,” Matt said. “But he didn’t catch you.”

“I dropped my purse. It’s black leather so you’ll have to use a flashlight to find it. And the pages from my notebook went everywhere. I couldn’t hold on. I just ran and I thought I was going to get back to Ona’s, but he used a whip around my ankle and I tripped up.”

Finn took her by the arms and looked into her face. “He what?”

“He flipped a whip thing around my ankle and yanked it to stop me from running.”

Finn rubbed both hands over his face.

“Sampson and his partner are going over the carpark,” Clemens said. “There’s the aid car coming right now.”

The boxy vehicle squealed around to pull up close to Matt’s car.

A medic hopped out, followed by a second one. Both men leaned over, hands on knees and one of them said, “Hold still, Mrs. Duhon.” A good-looking blond kid, he had a reassuring smile on his face.

“She was under that pickup,” Matt said, brushing dirt from her face.

The medic looked at her and his eyes flicked down to her belly. “I don’t know how you managed to get where you were, but you wouldn’t be able to get there again if you wanted to.”

“Don’t bet on it,” she said, laughing weakly. “I’m a talented klutz.”

“Are you in any pain, ma’am?”

“I ache,” she said. “But I’m not really in pain.” Except in her mind. She was so scared.

Officer Sampson’s partner hurried up. “We’re not seeing any purse, or any notepaper sheets,” he said. “Did you hear a vehicle leave, Mrs. Duhon?”

“No. Even if he took my purse, the papers went everywhere. They did, I tell you. Yellow pages—”

“It’s all right,” Matt said quietly. “We’ll have a better look.”

“A Jeep left when I was arriving,” Finn said. “I didn’t recognize who was driving but he honked so he obviously knows me. I’d say the guy didn’t even know anything had happened. How long ago did this man leave, Emma?”

“I’m not sure. I left the restaurant around nine-fifteen. I don’t think the whole thing took long to happen and then everything went quiet. I just stayed under the truck and waited.”

“That’s more than an hour now,” Matt said, looking at his watch. “Which ankle did he get with the whip?” Matt asked.

Emma stuck out the appropriate foot.

Immediately the blond medic examined the skin. He undid her shoe carefully and slid it off, then the sock. “You did mean it hit your ankle? Not somewhere higher?”

“No, my ankle.”

“How long ago was this?” Matt said.

“Forty-five minutes?” Emma said. “I guess. I don’t know.”

“There aren’t any marks,” the medic said.

“It was my foot really, not my ankle.” With difficulty Emma bent over to study her foot. “I’m all muddled.” She looked up. “The marks must have faded.”

She saw the medics glance at each other and suddenly felt angry. “I’m not making this up. I couldn’t come up with something like that if I tried.”

“I’ll ask the questions,” Matt said. “As soon as Mitch gets here and says it’s okay, we’ll move you Emma. I want more blankets, please.”

At that moment, Dr. Mitch Halpern ran up. “Had to park at the side,” he said. “You guys have about filled this place. Hi, Emma. How are you feeling?”

“Great,” she said, wanting only to get into Finn’s car and leave. She could see that Mitch was, as usual, in a track suit and exuding health.

He unzipped his bag and tugged out a stethoscope. “Kneel behind her so she can lean on you and relax,” Mitch said to Finn, hitching the blankets more tightly around her. He listened to her heart and lungs, smiling directly into her eyes as he did so. “Ready to run a marathon,” he said.

Mitch moved on to her belly and Emma held her breath.

“Breathe,” Mitch said, laughing. “We don’t want you to pass out. Junior sounds as good as Mom. Good. I would like you to go over to the clinic so I can take a better look, though, Emma. Best go by aid car.”

“There’s something wrong,” Emma said. “Isn’t there?”

Mitch shook his head emphatically. “If I was worried, I’d say so. I believe in caution.”

“I’ll come with you, cher,” Finn said. “There’s nothing to worry about. This is my baby, too, and I want to know both of you are perfect.”

“Sir! Chief Boudreaux!” Officer Sampson, who had put on a few pounds since his recent marriage, puffed toward the group. “Could I have a word, please?”

“If you’ve got something to say that’s to do with us, we’ll hear it if you don’t mind,” Finn said.

Emma leaned harder against him and reached up to hold one of his hands.

“Sir?” Sampson said to Matt.

“Okay, it can’t be that big a deal,” Matt said. “Shoot.”

Sampson shuffled forward and held out a hand. “This was on a chair in Out Back, sir. And this was on the floor.”

Emma couldn’t see what they were talking about.

“So?” Matt said.

“Mrs. Forestier says these are Mrs. Duhon’s purse and notebook. We can’t find any pieces of yellow paper out here.”

8

At Aaron’s house, Sonny asked, “How long d’you think they’ll be gone?” He propped himself beside Aaron on his bed and they watched the back lights on Eileen’s van bob up the driveway. She had dropped the two of them off after they got back from Chuzah’s. Now she was driving Angel back to his place.

“What is it?” Aaron said. “About twenty minutes each way?”

Sonny slanted a glance at him. “If your mom goes straight there and straight back.”

“She wouldn’t be running errands at this time of night.”

“Nope,” Sonny said. “Too bad he chose today to run to work.”

Aaron swallowed from a can of Coke. He followed this up with a handful of jelly beans.

Maybe it wasn’t easy to talk about your mother, Sonny thought. He tried not to think about his, but that was easy.

“D’you know how to use that gun Angel gave you?” Aaron asked.

Sonny sat up straighter. “He wouldn’t have given it to me if I didn’t. I grew up around guns. Makes sense to make sure I can look after us, especially now—unless we want Angel glued to us 24/7.”

“Will you teach me?”

They were from different planets. Sonny crossed his arms and took a deep breath. “Angel’s the one to do that. We’ll ask him.”

“Then my mom will find out.”

Different solar systems. Sonny drew up his shoulders. “I dunno, then. I guess…”

“Drop it. But, thanks. Maybe I’ll talk to Mom about it, just feel her out.”

“She has a gun.”

“Yeah,” Aaron said.

Sonny figured it really was time to drop the subject. “Didn’t Eileen ever date before?”

It was a long time before Aaron said, “She was married to my dad.”

“Like how many years ago?” Sonny said.

“A couple of years.” Aaron tipped back his head and poured more jelly beans into his mouth, lifting his hand higher and higher but never dropping a bean. He coughed. “She went out with Matt Boudreaux last year, but they were just friends.”

Sonny felt guilty—just a little guilty. He’d known about Matt from something Angel had said. Angel didn’t like Matt Boudreaux.

“Off topic,” he said. “How close are you and Sally? She’s hot.” He needed to change the subject again and girls were close to his heart—and other things.

Aaron treated him to a slit-eyed stare. “None of your business.”

“Okay, but those eyes aren’t all she’s got that’s big. She’s got—”

“Cut it out.”

Sonny sighed loudly. “I think I’m getting through to Miranda. It’s about time she figured out I’m the best thing likely to happen to her in this hick town.”

“Yeah?”

He liked Aaron a lot, but talking to him took a lot of effort. “I’m thinking about a double date.”

“Keep on thinkin’,” Aaron said. “Those two aren’t panting to go out with us.”

“Well, I’m panting. I’m in pain…you’re, well, we’ll work it out.”

Aaron looked like his mind had moved on. Time to get back to the Angel-Eileen question. Sonny thought it would be good for Angel to have someone else to fill up a lot of his time. The guy was decent, but he cramped Sonny’s style.