NINETEEN
Karen stared at Teddy and Joshua, a few feet across from her. They looked practically identical, sitting in the same positions, side by side. Same blond hair, jawline, facial features.
Teddy. She had so many questions to ask him. So much she wanted to say. She felt like screaming at him, demanding answers, demanding to hear his story of what had happened on the night of the accident.
“So,” she said. “Teddy.”
He looked up at her.
“What in the . . . what in the hell happened?” she said, surprised by the force behind her voice. “The person dying. Not going to the police. What . . . just . . . what were you thinking?”
He sighed. Leaned against the back of his chair, collapsing into it. “You really want to talk about that now?”
“It’s either that or silence. And I’m sick of the silence.”
“It’s complicated.”
“We’ve got time. And nothing else to talk about. So what happened? Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I did it to protect Joshua.”
“That’s what he said to me earlier. And I’m just having difficulty seeing that. Having difficulty understanding how not going to the police was the right thing to do.”
“It wasn’t the right thing to do. It was a mistake.”
“You think?”
“You just . . . you have no idea how frantic it was, in the heat of the moment. How a situation like that affects your thought process. Not just affects it, make it impossible to think. Everything happened so quickly, and . . . I don’t know. . . . I kept thinking about that case from a few years ago. When the politician’s son got jail time for the fight he was in. Remember that?”
“Yes. Joshua was talking about it earlier.”
“If it would’ve been a car accident that killed the guy, we would’ve gone to the police right away. In fact, I was about to call an ambulance right before the guy went crazy and started screaming at us. After Joshua hit the guy with the rock, it just seemed like there was no telling how the police would view something like that. And all I could imagine was what it would be like if Joshua was charged with a crime. Sentenced to the next ten years in jail. Heck, even the next two or three years. Can you imagine? Locked up in jail instead of graduating high school or starting college. On his record forever, following him around for the rest of his life. Eighteen years old, and his life could be ruined.”
“But Joshua wasn’t at fault. He was protecting you.”
“Maybe it’d be viewed differently. Wouldn’t take much. An aggressive lawyer. The wrong member of a jury. And if they saw it as something more than him defending me, that would be it. Joshua’s life would be over. He’s eighteen; he would’ve been tried as an adult. It just seemed like such a risk. Going to the police wouldn’t have brought the guy back to life. It sounds awful to say, but it’s the truth. Only thing that would’ve done was potentially get Joshua in deep, deep trouble. So I told Joshua I thought we should just leave. He was so dazed, I think he would’ve agreed to anything.”
Teddy shrugged his shoulders.
“Like I said, in the heat of the moment, everything was just so . . . overwhelming. I still can’t believe any of it. Can’t believe Joshua killed the guy. Can’t believe we didn’t report it. It’s haunted me ever since it happened. I came over here to check on Joshua, to see why he wasn’t answering his phone. I was starting to get worried. And, believe it or not, I was going to tell you everything when I was over here. Tell you we would go to the police if you thought we should, and just end it.”
She looked at Joshua, right next to his father. He had the same dazed look on his face as he’d had when he told her the story of what happened. An empty expression.
She had so many more questions for both of them, so many more things she wanted to say. She wanted to believe that they’d been caught up in an unimaginably horrific situation and had made a bad decision, a terrible mistake—but the situation seemed too complicated to explain away as a mistake.
She just didn’t really know what to think.
“It sounds awful, just abandoning the dead body all the way out there,” Teddy said. “It was awful. Like something a monster would do. I’m not proud of it. I’m sick to my stomach. But I did it for Joshua.”
Another weak shrug of his shoulders.
“It sounds heartless, but the opposite was true. The decision came straight from the heart. I was only looking out for him.”
Almost exactly half an hour after Shane’s phone call, a black Dodge Ram pickup pulled into the driveway.
“There he is,” Ross said. “Shane.”
Amber watched from the bedroom as Ross exited out the front door. He walked across the front lawn and approached the truck. The truck’s window was lowered. Ross started to say something to Shane but went silent a moment later. He put his hands in the air and backed away from the car.
Towering over Ross, Shane stepped out of the car, his massive hand wrapped around a gun. Shane yelled something. Ross slowly grabbed the gun from his waistband and threw it down by Shane’s feet. Shane grabbed the gun and placed it in the pocket of his hoodie.
He shouted at Ross some more; Amber couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Ross started walking toward the front door, Shane behind him. Once they were close to the house, they disappeared from Amber’s line of sight. A moment later, she heard the front door open.
From the living room came Shane’s voice, cutting through the tranquil house like a saw blade: “You dirty rat,” he said. “You dirty-ass cocksucking rat.”
“Put the gun away, Shane. No need for it.”
“Like hell there isn’t.”
The door slammed shut. Then: “Where’s she at? Amber.”
“Down the hallway,” Ross said. “In the bedroom.”
A moment later, they appeared at the bedroom door, Ross in front, his mouth a straight line, his eyes wide, a look of total panic on his face. Shane stood behind him like a big, lumbering ogre, pointing the gun at the back of Ross’s head. He was wearing the same black hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans he’d worn during the robbery.
“And there she is,” Shane said. “Mrs. Fucking Rat.”
He scowled down at Amber. His breaths were deep and quick, nostrils flaring like an angry bull’s.
“I hear you were shot,” he said.
Amber cleared her throat. “Yeah.”
“Looks pretty bad.” Shane spat out a laugh, a hard, nasty snort. “Karma, sweetie. It’s a bitch, ain’t it?”
She didn’t respond. She couldn’t stop staring at the gun, only inches from the back of Ross’s head. One squeeze of the trigger was all it’d take to end Ross’s life.
“The doctor,” Ross said. “You gotta call him up. She needs to get her injury looked at.”
“Got some questions first,” Shane said. “So, how the hell’d you end up in a place like this?”
“Long story,” Ross said.
“Gimme the condensed version.”
“Car broke down. Stole a new one from a kid. He tried to take it back and Amber was shot. She got taken to the hospital. She escaped and came here. The kid we took the car from, he lives here.”
“This kid, what happened to him?”
“He’s still here.”
Shane’s eyes went wide. He snapped his head around and looked over his shoulder.
“We’re not alone? Where’s this kid at?”
“Him and his parents are tied up. Other room. Down the hall.”
“Take me to them,” Shane said. He smacked the back of Ross’s head with the hand not holding the gun. It was a light tap, not much behind it, but the impact still made Ross wince and stumble forward. They walked to the door. Before leaving the room, Shane turned and looked back at Amber.
“Don’t worry—I’m not done with you,” he said. “Not by a long shot.”
“What is going on?”
All Karen could do was shake her head in response to Joshua’s question. She had no idea what was happening. Whoever Ross called had clearly arrived, but it didn’t sound like the reunion was a happy one. Over the past few minutes, they’d heard an assortment of noises coming from the other room. Talking. Yelling. Curse words. The name “Shane” mentioned a few times.
Then she heard loud, heavy footsteps trudging down the hall toward the storage room. A moment later, Ross appeared in the doorway. Behind him was a giant, toad-like man holding a gun. He looked like a character from that Duck Dynasty show Joshua used to like watching. Bushy beard. Beady eyes. He towered over Ross, a few inches taller and at least twice as wide.
Must be Shane.
“Get in the corner,” he said to Ross. Ross walked over to the corner of the room.
Shane looked at the zip ties securing Karen’s hands and ankles to the chair, then did the same with Joshua and Teddy.
“Well, look at that,” Shane said. “Pretty nice job tying these three up, Ross. Surprised you didn’t piss this up like you do everything else you touch.”
Shane glared down at her.
“So, you’re the kid’s mom?” he asked.
Karen nodded.
“And you don’t know this asshole?” he said, glancing at Ross. “Never met him before?”
“No, never,” she said. “We have nothing to do with any of this.”
Shane walked back over to Ross.
“Let’s get to it, then. Where’s the bread, Ross?”
“The bread?”
“The money from the robbery. Where the hell is it?”
Ross was silent.
“What, you think I came back because of Amber? You honestly think I’m going to help you two after the stunt you pulled at the bank? Hell no. The money, that’s what I’m interested in. The money from the robbery. Where is it?”
No response from Ross. Shane took a step closer. They were only inches apart from each other, like two boxers staring each other down before a fight, Shane a grizzled heavyweight, Ross an overmatched amateur.
“I ain’t asking again, Ross. Where the hell’s the money?”
“It’s gone.”
“Fuck you, it is. We had a good forty grand from that job. Easy. I cleaned that safe out. No way you could’ve spent it already. So where’s the cash?”
“The cops got it.”
Shane tensed up.
“Hold up—cops?” he said. “You didn’t say nothing about cops.”
“When Amber went to the hospital after she got shot, cops were there. They searched the car she was in. The money was in the backseat.”
There was no reaction from Shane at first. He stood there like a statue. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, his hands began to shake. A vein in the middle of his forehead appeared.
“You’re lying,” Shane said, a whisper.
“No,” Ross said. “I’m not.”
Shane took another step toward Ross, so close their noses were practically touching. He spoke through clenched teeth. “There’s no money?”
“It’s gone. But, listen, you get Amber to your doctor friend, and I’ll do whatever you want. We can rob another bank, and I’ll let you keep everything. I’ll sell drugs for you, let you keep the profits. I’ll do anything to pay you back. I’ll—”
Before he could finish, Shane’s hand flashed out and smashed the butt of the gun against Ross’s nose. Ross dropped to his knees and cried out, cupping his hands around his nose. Blood poured out between his fingers. Shane pistol-whipped Ross on the back of the skull and Ross collapsed to the ground like a rag doll. His body was completely still, facedown, blood leaking from his nose onto the carpet.
“You idiot!” Shane yelled at Ross. “You goddamned idiot!”
He kicked Ross in the ribs and Ross’s body rolled over, crashing against the wall of shelves. Random items fell to the ground. Toys. School projects. The bag of Fisher-Price golf clubs tipped over. A plastic container fell off a shelf and the lid snapped off, a sea of Legos pouring out and covering the floor.
“This is just like you, ain’t it?” Shane screamed at Ross’s motionless body. His face was turning redder and redder. “That bank job was easy money. A once-in-a-lifetime chance. And you somehow manage to fuck the whole thing up.”
Shane kicked Ross in the face, the impact making a sickening crunching noise. More blood gushed from Ross’s nose. There was no reaction from Ross; he was unconscious.
Shane stood over Ross, glaring down at him.
He raised the gun and pointed it at the back of Ross’s head.
“Stop! Don’t shoot him!”
Karen yelled the words at the top of her lungs. Everything was happening so quickly; she’d had no time to make sense of any of this. All she knew was that she couldn’t let Shane kill Ross. Right now, Ross was a distraction, something for Shane to focus on other than them. If he killed Ross, he’d turn his attention to them. She didn’t want that.
“Put the gun away,” she said. “Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Nothing to talk about.” Shane took a step closer to Ross, Legos crunching under his heavy work boots. He inched the gun closer to the back of Ross’s head.
“I can get you money,” she said.
Shane glanced over.
“Everything I have in the bank. Just please, don’t kill him.”
He glanced at the clock on the wall. “After five on a Saturday. Bank isn’t open. Won’t be open tomorrow, either.”
“We’ll go Monday. First thing. I’ll withdraw all of my money and give it to you.”
“I’m not gonna sit around and wait the entire damn weekend,” he said. “Hell no.”
He turned back to Ross’s motionless body.
“A bullet to the head is letting this bastard off easy for what he did to—”
“Money,” Teddy said. “I can get you money. Right now. No waiting.”
Shane glanced over.
“I’m serious,” Teddy said. “Twenty thousand dollars.”
“Cash?”
“Yes.”
“Start talking.”
“First, put away the gun. Please.”
Shane lowered the gun. “This money,” he said. “Where is it?”
“Just hear me out,” Teddy said. “I work at a car dealership. Sold a car earlier today, and the customer paid cash. We didn’t get around to taking the money to the bank, so I locked it up in a safe at the dealership for the weekend. It’s still there. I know the combination to the safe and everything.”
“There’s twenty grand in there?” Shane said, keeping his eyes on Teddy.
“Yeah,” Teddy said. “A little more, actually. The sale price was twenty-two thousand.”
“Why the hell did the guy pay cash?”
“I don’t know. Bad credit? I was just happy to make the sale.”
“Twenty-two grand in cash. This isn’t bullshit?”
“No. I swear.”
“This dealership, where’s it at?”
“Far north end of the city. Twenty, thirty minutes from here. This doesn’t have to be difficult. You drive me there, I grab the cash from the safe and give it to you. You disappear and let us live.”
“Fine, then. Let’s go.”
“We close at six on Saturdays. We have to wait until no one’s there. Only forty-five minutes. That’s it.”
“Okay. Forty-five minutes.”
“Just, please, don’t kill anyone,” Teddy said. He nodded toward Ross’s body—unmoving, facedown, nose still bleeding onto the carpet. “Him included. That’s the trade-off, okay? You’ll get your money and get away, as long as everyone lives.”
Shane glared down at Teddy.
“You got yourself a deal,” he said.
Shane lifted up Ross by the collar of his shirt and dragged him over by the radiator in the corner of the room. He grabbed the box of zip ties off the table. He cinched a few zip ties around Ross’s left wrist, then a few around his right wrist, then linked them together with a few more, like a pair of handcuffs. He secured the handcuffs to the radiator with a few more zip ties.
He flipped Ross around and set him on his rear. Ross’s eyes were closed. His face was a bloody, destroyed mask. His nose was bent at an angle, swelled to twice its normal size.
Shane stared at Ross for a moment, like an artist admiring his handiwork, then turned to Teddy.
“Forty-five minutes,” he said. “We’re leaving then.”
Teddy nodded.
“I’ll be back. Got some business with Amber.”
“Our deal,” Teddy said. “You said you wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I’m not gonna kill her.”
“Don’t hurt her, either.”
Shane smirked.
“Can’t promise that.”
He left the room, trudging heavily down the hallway.
Karen leaned back in her chair and took in a deep breath; she couldn’t believe everything that had just happened. For a moment, she’d really thought that she was going to see Ross killed, right in front of her. Shane had been ready to blow Ross away; there’d been no hesitation or struggle with what he’d been about to do.
The room looked like a tornado had gone through. The carpet was littered with a sea of Legos. A few plastic containers were upended, lids knocked off. Random items everywhere.
“My God,” Karen said. “Is everyone okay?”
Neither Teddy nor Joshua responded, but they didn’t have to. Their expressions said everything. They weren’t okay. None of them were okay. Not at all.
She looked at Ross, on the other side of the room. He wasn’t okay, either. His head was slumped to the side, face bloody and battered, his hands zip-tied to the radiator. The rising and falling of his chest were the only indication that he wasn’t dead. He was—
“There’s no money,” Teddy said, voice flat, barely there.
Karen turned toward him. His head was hung, staring down at the ground.
“What did you say?”
“There’s no money at my dealership,” Teddy said. “Nothing. I made up the story.”
“You lied?”
He nodded.
“My God, why?”
“I had to say something,” Teddy said. “Had to buy us some time. That look in his eyes when he was holding the gun—I thought he was going to kill Ross. Kill us after that. I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.”
She knew that Teddy might be right—he very well might have saved their lives—but she could barely think straight.
“There’s nothing?” Joshua said.
“No.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Not a dime. Look, the main thing is he can’t harm you if he’s halfway across the city with me.” He turned to Karen. “Can’t harm you, either. When I’m gone with him, maybe you can escape. Get free somehow.”
“But what about you?” Joshua said. “What are you going to do when you go there and there’s no money?”
Teddy shook his head.
“I have absolutely no idea.”