He glanced at his watch. No matter how many times he told himself he had to finish this, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His face itched under the mask, and he was hot in spite of the coolness of the night air pouring in through the cabin’s broken windows.
The boy was sleeping on an old cot and covered with his grandmother’s sweater. Now would be the best time to do this. Once Marilyn was out of the way, he’d scoop up Alex and take him out of here with them, even if it wasn’t what Penelope wanted. He could probably even sell the kid once he got away.
Marilyn sat huddled in one of the chairs near Alex’s cot. She hadn’t said much since he’d left to call Penelope. She probably realized he didn’t believe her. There was no doubt in his mind that she’d recognized him somehow.
He cleared his throat. “I need to get some sleep so let me take you outside for a potty break before that.”
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t want to be awakened at midnight. Let’s go.”
She glanced at him, and her mouth flattened, then curved into a tender smile when she gazed one last time at her grandson. “Do what you have to, but don’t hurt him. Please, please, don’t hurt him.”
“I’m not going to hurt him as long as you don’t give me any trouble.”
Her hands twisted together, and she gave a jerky nod. “I won’t give you any trouble. Alex is the only good thing left in my life now.” She stood and wobbled a bit, then tipped up her chin. “I’m ready.”
He’d already decided to put a bullet through her head rather than lock her in the outhouse and burn it down. A quick, easy death seemed the better way. She hadn’t deserved any of this, unlike her nosy daughter-in-law.
Marilyn started for the door, then turned with a pleading expression. “Don’t make any noise. I-I don’t want him to see it.”
Smart woman. She understood the situation he was in. “He won’t.”
Tears swam in her eyes, but she squared her shoulders and went out the door. He closed the door softly behind them. “Around back.”
She shuffled that way through the ankle-high grass. Insects chirped and wind rustled the trees. He really didn’t want to do this. The other people he’d killed had actively tried to take him down. He’d always liked Marilyn, and he hated to have to kill her.
They reached the backyard, and she turned to face him. “Do what you have to do, Karl.”
He winced when she said his name. “I knew you were lying.”
At least he could get rid of this stupid mask. He ripped it off and tossed it into the weeds. The breeze on his skin was a little touch of heaven. Her face was pale in the moonlight, but she faced him without fear in her eyes. She was one gutsy broad.
“What tipped you off? How’d you recognize me?”
“Your voice. Even though you tried to mask it, I’m good with voices. Why are you doing this, Karl? You killed my boy, didn’t you? Why would you do that?” Her question ended on a sob.
“I had no choice. Darla stole some stuff from my office, then went to him for help. They were going to turn me into the sheriff. It was his own fault for sticking his nose into my business. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
She sighed. “That doesn’t even make sense, Karl.”
“Darla worked for me the summer before she died.” He barked out a laugh. “Nora suspected I was having an affair and asked Darla for help proving it. When she was snooping around my office, she found the necklace and my proposal to the Russians and Chinese. She stole it all and took it to Jack. Luckily, she never told my wife. He was auditing my books and came to me with questions after I killed her. I had no choice.”
He should just put a bullet through her head and be done with it, but he couldn’t until she understood that it wasn’t his fault. “Look, I have a new life waiting. One with a beautiful young woman. She’d guilted Lewis out of the deed to some property, and all we were going to do was sell it. That doesn’t sound criminal, does it? The money from the sale will set us up for life. I wasn’t about to let it all fly away because your boy poked his nose into our business.”
“How could selling some property bring you that much money?”
Maybe he’d tell her the whole story. Why not? It would be good to get it off his chest.
The sheriff drove the ATV while Shauna perched between Zach and Everett. It was a tight squeeze for her, and the machine nearly rolled over in the curves because of the load, but they were nearly there. Marilyn’s cabin was just through this stand of trees.
Shauna tapped Zach on the shoulder, then shouted over the wind rushing past them. “We should stop here and walk in so he doesn’t hear us.”
“If he’s there.” Zach tapped the sheriff on the shoulder and repeated Shauna’s request.
The ATV rumbled to a stop, and Everett turned off the engine. The sudden cessation of sound and movement was a relief. Now that they were here, her throat was full of unshed tears tangled up with fear and dread. What if she was wrong and this brief detour cost her the life of her son? She bit her lip and pushed away the horrifying thought.
She pointed to the slight incline. “The cabin is just over that rise. Let’s go.”
Zach took her arm and dropped into step with her. “Do we have a cell signal here?”
“I don’t think so. There wasn’t one the last time we were here.”
The sheriff paused and looked at his phone. “No service. We’d better hurry.” He drew his gun. “Stay behind me. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”
They crested the hill, and she saw a dim glow of a lantern shining through the broken windows. Her heart surged in her chest. “Someone’s there!” She broke into a run, but when she started past the sheriff, he grabbed her arm.
“Careful, Shauna. We don’t want to rush in there and cause him to start firing bullets in Alex’s direction.”
She swallowed and nodded. “Okay.”
“Stay close and don’t make any noise.”
His order was easier said than done. Gravel crunched under her feet, and her breath sounded loud in her ears. She veered to the shoulder of the road where soft dirt and vegetation muffled her footsteps.
As they neared the cabin, she heard voices. Everett held his finger to his lips, then led them across the high grass toward the outhouse looming in the moonlight. She made out two figures standing near the edge of the woods, one taller than the other. Marilyn and Karl maybe? She couldn’t make out any features. They crept a bit closer, and she recognized the voice.
Her fingers dug into Zach’s arm. She’d been right. Karl was behind this. She didn’t see Alex, though. Where was he? Surely Karl hadn’t hurt him.
They advanced closer until she finally understood what Karl was saying. He seemed to be explaining to Marilyn about how he’d fallen in love with Penelope and had concocted this plan to sell the deep-injection well and the blueprints for how it was built.
“You’re telling me this well can start earthquakes?” Marilyn’s voice held skepticism.
“Yep. That earthquake on Wednesday? I started it to prove to the Chinese that it works.” Karl’s voice was full of pride.
“How did Penelope get the well in her name?”
“Penelope went to Lewis and told him he owed her for ruining her life. He’d been drinking and told her how he’d started the earthquake accidentally. She demanded he sign it over to her or the entire world would know he was a mass murderer. He did it, but regretted it as soon as he sobered up. Nothing he could do about it then, though.”
“We sold it to the highest bidder, the Chinese.”
“You’re disgusting,” Marilyn said. “And a traitor to your country.”
“It won’t be my country for much longer. I’m out of here in the morning.” His voice hardened. “I thought you’d understand if I explained it, but I was wrong. Time to say lights out, Marilyn. I’m sorry.” He brought up his arm, and moonlight glinted off the gun in his hand.
The sheriff took a shooting stance with his gun pointing at Karl. “Freeze! Police! Karl Prince, you’re under arrest. Throw down your gun.”
Karl froze. The gun dropped to the ground, and he held his hands up as he turned toward them. “I can explain.”
Zach vaulted past the sheriff and tackled Karl. The two tussled in the grass for a few moments until Zach managed to subdue him.
Zach hauled Karl to his feet. “Where’s Alex?”
Karl stared back defiantly and didn’t answer.
Shauna wanted to leap on him and throttle the answer from him. “Where’s my son?”
Marilyn rushed for the door. “He’s in the cabin!”
Shauna leaped after her, quickly outpacing her to reach the door first. She burst into the cabin and saw Alex curled on the cot sleeping. Relief coursed through her, and she nearly sagged to the floor.
Her legs trembled as she staggered to the cot and scooped him into her arms. She buried her face in his neck and inhaled the smell of little boy. Her boy. Tears flooded her eyes and ran down her cheeks and onto his face.
His eyelids fluttered, then opened, and he stared into her face. “Mommy? I knew you’d find me.” He wrapped his arms around her neck. “Spider-Man was really mean to me and Grammy.”
She petted his hair. “I know, sweetheart. The sheriff arrested him, and you’re safe now. Grammy is safe too. We’re all going to go home and crawl in our own beds.”
“I want to go to Zachster’s,” he said into her neck. “That’s home now.”
She looked up as Zach came through the door. “I think so too.”