Chapter9
Deena rolled over in the bed, reaching out in the darkness, but she already knew he was gone. She looked at the clock, surprised that it was only ten at night. Sleeping early this morning, then taking a nap while the sun was still up was throwing her off balance. She felt like it had been days since she was running from a crazed murderer, terrified for her life. But it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours, and for some reason, that realization upset her.
They’d survived the past few hours, but it was just a drop in the bucket. Every hour was another chance for something to go horribly wrong. But for every hour where nothing bad happened, she felt a little further removed from the terror she’d experienced. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
The television was playing quietly in the other room, just loud enough for Deena to hear through the door. She turned on the bedside lamp and got dressed. Grabbing her shoes, she pulled them on and laced them up for the first time. They fit well, and the soft memory foam in the insert was a welcome change from the hard-soled, heeled sandals she’d been wearing the night before. If she had to run for her life again, she was prepared.
She left her backpack in the room, but dropped the can of pepper spray in the zippered pocket on her thigh and put her wallet in the same pocket on the left side, then made her way into the tidy living room where Jake was sitting on the edge of the couch, eyes glued to the TV
She glanced at the screen before she sat down with him. Without looking at her, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
“Is there a fire in Deep Ellum?” she asked, trying to make sense of the scene in the middle of the news segment.
“Not exactly,” he said.
Something about his tone sent a chill down her spine, but this time, it wasn’t the good kind. She watched, listening to the news anchor on the scene. Jake turned the TV up and wrapped his arm around her.
“If you’re just joining us, there’s been an explosion in the Deep Ellum neighborhood near The Nines dance club. A wrecker was called to remove an abandoned vehicle parked overnight. The driver of the wrecker hooked up the car, and luckily was by the bench when the car was lifted up for towing. He sustained minor injuries, and we’re told that he is going to be okay. There’s no word on the owner of the car, and whether there could have been someone in the trunk or asleep in the back of the car.”
“Isn’t it a popular area for people to sleep off their buzz overnight, Ellen?” the woman behind the news desk asked from the studio.
“It is, Jenna. The tow truck drivers know this, and they’re diligent about checking, but sometimes it’s hard to tell in the dark.”
“Any word on who the car belongs to? Have the police checked his or her residence to see if they’re okay?”
“That’s another issue they’re having,” Ellen replied. “The car is too hot to approach right now, and most of the identifying features were completely obliterated in the blast. It’s going to be awhile before the police know anything, so they’re asking anyone with information to-”
Jake hit mute and turned to Deena. She was stunned, her body ice-cold with shock.
“Are you okay?” Jake asked quietly.
“He blew up my car,” she said, almost to herself. “He blew up my car.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“I am.”
“I’m sorry. I can get you another one when this is all over.”
She looked at him, incredulous.
“It’s not about the car, Jake. He blew up my car to kill me. If I had gone to my car this morning, I would have died.”
Jake shook his head.
“Right after I grabbed you off the street, no. He didn’t have time to plant a bomb. But we know now for sure that he has your phone. He planted a bomb because he assumed that you would come back since we have no ties together. He probably thought you would go to the police.”
“I would have, but you wouldn’t let me.”
“They can’t help us.”
“No one can help us,” she said, rubbing her arms against the chill. “Jake, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing has changed. He’s still looking for us, and now we know that he has your phone and he knows your name.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
“Any information we have is a good thing, even if it’s something we don’t want to know. I know that seems so back asswards, but he doesn’t know that we know.”
“I don’t think that’s the huge upper hand you’re making it seem like.”
“I know you’re scared. But you have to trust me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. But this does change the plans I had.”
“What plans?”
“I need to talk to a contact of mine, but I can’t bring them here. I was going to take you with me, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Why?”
“It’s only going to take an hour at most for the police to figure out whose car that was. There are security cameras all around Main Street, and I’m sure they’re already canvasing to see if anyone has any information. It’s only a matter of time before your face is all over the news because they’re going to assume that you’re in danger.”
“Or that I’m a terrorist.”
“Not likely. You don’t fit the parameters, and neither does bombing your own car without taking out any businesses. They’ll jump straight to someone settling a score, and they will be looking for you. One, to make sure you’re safe, and two-”
“To find out who wants me dead and why,” she finished.
“Exactly. There hasn’t been anything about the murder from this morning, but I’m not surprised.”
“Why?”
“Cedar Springs is closed for construction between Field Street and Akard Street. I heard that the shopping center is closed for renovation, and all the parking lots can be accessed from other roads. It’s Saturday. The construction crews won’t be back until Monday.”
“You mean, no one is going to find that poor man until then?”
“It’s possible, but unlikely. I figure we have until tomorrow before someone finds him, and with him being stabbed, the police are going to assume it’s a mugging gone wrong. They’re not going to make the connection between your car over a mile away in Deep Ellum.”
“You’re right,” she said, trying to remain calm, but she didn’t really feel any better. “It’s easy to forget everything when we’re here and locked away from the world.”
“I know. That’s what I was hoping. This kind of thing is hard on someone who isn’t used to it.”
“Are you used to it?” she asked.
“Yes and no.” When he stopped talking, she thought he was going to leave it at that. To her surprise, he started talking again. “I think it’s only fair to tell you why you’re in this mess. Well, some of it. There’s a lot going on, and it’s a long story.”
“I don’t have anywhere to be,” she said.
“It’s good that you can joke under this much stress. It means that you’ll come out of this okay, and that’s the most important thing. A lot of people would be completely destroyed by what you’ve been through in the past day.”
“I’m a lot tougher than I look.”
“I can tell. My parents would have loved you.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I haven’t really had time to grieve, but I don’t really have a choice.”
He took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever it was he had to say. Deena braced herself, wondering if she was ready to hear it. Probably not, but she didn’t have much say in the matter. They were in this together, and she didn’t want to keep flying blind and hope that things were going to work out.
“To make a long story short, my parents were killed. They crossed the wrong people, and they paid with their lives.”
“Are those the same people that are after you?”
“Yes.”
Deena sucked in a quick breath through her teeth.
“Oh god,” she whimpered. “How many people have they killed?”
“There’s no telling, but over this, my parents, a family friend that was also refusing to sell land, and I’m sure it doesn’t stop there.”
“What do they want?”
“There’s a major pipeline coming through here. The whole thing has been kept very quiet after all the problems with other pipelines leaking. My family has a large cattle ranch outside Dallas that has been in our family for generations. They want to run the pipeline right through there.”
“And your parents refused?”
“Worse. Not only did they refuse, but they took the contract and told everyone who would listen about this proposed pipeline. It isn’t just their land that was in danger; they wanted to run this pipeline right through cattle country and along Lake Ray Hubbard at one point.”
“But that feeds the Trinity River.”
“That’s part of the reason people are worried.”
“I saw something on the news about activists protesting, but there have been so many protests I didn’t really pay attention.”
“You’re not the only one. With all the conspiracy theories going around with people thinking that the earth is flat and some other wild claims, the Oakfield Oil Company managed to make my parents look like a couple of nuts. On the books, there’s no such project.”
“Would a legitimate company kill people who stand in their way?”
“No. But a company who used to launder money would. This is a huge contract for them, and my parents kept getting in the way. They made it look like an accident, but I know my father, and he never let the carbon monoxide censors run out of batteries.”
“That’s horrible. I’m sorry.”
“They died in their sleep. It could have been much worse.”
An image of the man stumbling away from his attacker on a dark street went through Deena’s head, but she pushed it away. It could’ve been much worse for his parents, but that didn’t make their death any less sad.
“And now that you’re going to be in their way, they’re after you too.”
“Pretty much. I’ve been buying up as much of the land on the route as I can.”
“And the shopping center? Are they running it through the city?”
“No. That’s another project of theirs that is on the books, but the description of the future project is vague at best. They don’t describe what they plan on doing, but they’re behind the construction on Cedar Springs, and buying that shopping center has thrown a wrench into their plans.”
“There’s been construction on that road for a long time; as long as I can remember.”
“So, you understand my concern with it. There’s something fishy going on, and I want to stop it.”
“But by stopping it, you’ve made yourself a target.”
“I have.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“A little. But they have to be stopped.”
“Why don’t you just hold a press conference or something. You’re rich, right?”
“You could say that,” he said. “But people don’t always trust the wealthy, and the Berrington name doesn’t mean much anymore.”
“As in Sophie and Dale Berrington?”
“They were my parents.”
“I’ve heard of them, but it’s been a long time. I remember hearing about their deaths and thinking it was so sad.”
“Thank you. I tried to get the Detective Ferris to look into their deaths again, but the case was open and shut to him. He was only there as a formality, and unless the Medical Examiner said otherwise, he wasn’t going to keep the case open.”
“A formality?”
“My parents were worth a lot of money, and they were both in their early sixties. When there are sudden deaths in situations like that, a detective will come out with a photographer and one or two crime scene techs, just in case something is amiss.”
“I had no idea.”
“Neither did I. When Detective Ferris showed up, I thought that someone was taking my suspicions seriously, but I was wrong. He’s just the guy who caught the weekend on-call. I was crushed when I realized that they weren’t going to look at it as a possible homicide.”
“Did you try calling anyone else?”
“I called everyone I could think of. I even called the FBI, but I was told that they don’t get involved without being invited by the locals.”
“Is that true?”
“For something like this, not usually. If the FBI had believed me, I’m sure they would have been here with or without an invitation.”
Deena closed her eyes, leaning against him and trying to wrap her head around everything he was saying.
“I just don’t understand why they’re willing to kill people over land access. It’s just a pipeline. Couldn’t they run it somewhere else?”
“Not without going public. That’s the allure of open land; there are less people to wonder what they’re doing and less chance that word will get around.”
“And that’s worth killing people?”
“It’s big money. Companies like Oakfield Oil are falling behind. The more the country shifts its energy sources, the more Oakfield Oil struggles to make the money they once did. They used to pull in two billion in profit every quarter. That was ten years ago. Now, they’re lucky if they have that much profit in a year. The Oakfield Pipeline is big bucks to them, and they’re not going to let a bunch of cattle ranchers stand in their way.”
“This whole thing is insane.”
“It really is. I’m sorry you’re caught up in all this. If I could buy my way out of this, I would. But it’s either sell my soul and step aside for them to do it, or I stand fast and hope my connections make someone listen.”
“Did your parents have connections?”
She regretted the question as soon as it was out of her mouth, but it was too late. But he didn’t get mad at the blunt question, or the insinuation that connections weren’t enough. He just nodded, and his voice was almost sad when he spoke.
“They didn’t realize that they were in danger until it was too late. They never had a chance to tell anyone that could put a stop to this. And now, I just look like a fool who’s too grief-stricken to accept that my parents died in a horrible accident.”
“That must be hard.”
“You have no idea. If one more person tells me that I should be grateful that they died together in their sleep instead of listening to me, I’m going to lose it.”
He sighed, the weight of everything coming out in one long breath.
“Thank you for letting me share that,” he said finally. “I haven’t had anyone listen to me and not try to tell me that I’m just working through my grief. Thank you for believing me.”
He pulled her close, hitting the button on the remote to turn the volume back on and saving her from having to come up with something to say. She watched the news cycle through again, watching the report about her blown-up car again, this time from the beginning. But it was all a blur. She wasn’t thinking about her car or even the man who lay dead in the middle of a construction zone miles away from where they were hiding.
She thought about an older couple, going to sleep together and never waking up. All because their morals were worth more than money, and they had no idea the danger they were in. Would knowing all this save her and Jake? She couldn’t be sure, but she hoped so. Her life depended on it.