Page 43 (1/2)

"Okay Down on your knees, Pops, until our gal Val gets back" Guthrie slowly lowered hiers together on top of his head Ruger closed his strong white hand over Guthrie’s gnarled sun-​browned fingers and squeezed ers made Guthrie wince Val saw the flicker of pain on her father’s face, as Ruger had intended "Yes, indeed, it hurts," said Ruger "It’ll keep hurting until you get your ass back here with the wheelbarrow C’mon, bitch, time is money"

Val turned and ran for the utility shed True to his word, Ruger kept the painful pressure up until Val caht red wheelbarrow that was spattered with mud Her father’s face was pinched and his lips drawn thin and tight against his teeth

Nodding with appreciation, Ruger released Guthrie’s hands and stepped back

Guthrie rose, opening and closing his hands to restore blood flow His fingers rang with pain

"Pick up the door and let’s get rolling" He had procured a flashlight frohter as they walked along the path that ran beside the vast cornfield The Guthries laid the door sideways across the wheelbarrow and Val hefted the handles while her father steadied the door Ruger walked three paces behind theht in the other

As they retraced the route he’d taken since leaving Boyd, Ruger watched the pleasure He actually liked the old fart and his daughter They were both tough and Ruger respected tough He was on the fence as to whether he would kill them or not Probably not, hehier did wonder how Val would be in the sack, though Feisty Probably very feisty, and if things weren’t so daet to know her See if he could taht Val didn’t seeht him all the way, and he just didn’t have that kind of time

Now the Stepford Wife on the other hand Yeah, she was a sweet piece Stacked in a country sort of way, and certainly pretty enough Heor two Just a quickie, but it would set hi his neck er liked the idea and it made him smile He didn’t believe that Connie was as completely inane or prissy as she appeared--Christ, who could be?--and he wondered what kind of fire lay beneath the surface Maybe all she needed was a little incentive to make her show her true colors Her stick-​up-​his-​ass husband probably didn’t have what it took to get e out of her

They walked down the lane between the tall walls of ripe corn, the bea yellow

Ruger--you are my left hand!

The ain and he missed a step and almost tripped All the ti in his head

What the hell was it? It was driving hiht to know that voice--that he did know it, but he just couldn’t put a na, insistent, and soer--you are rip on his pistol and focused his attention ahead It didn’t take theer had walked since leaving Boyd with his broken leg Idly, he wondered how Boyd was doing, not that he cared a whit If Boyd kicked it, then he’d just find soet hients in the circles he was used to gliding through He had enough unrease the wheels of such bureaucracy With even moderate luck he’d be in Brazil before the weekend was out; or if things were too hot he could get into Canada for a while, hide out with a woman he knew in Montreal, and use her connections to pick up a new passport and visa and fly to Africa Maybe pick up soer here at the ol’ hoht Maybe do a coals, and then head north in thethe Poconos up into New York State

Ruger--you are rinned in the darkness with a wet shark’s smile, and reconsidered whether he would leave anyone here alive when he left

2

The old 9ht and comfortable in Jerry Head’s hand He had a 32 Sht ankle, just in case Not as a thron, but as a true backup piece Twice in the line of duty Head had experienced handgun disasters The first time his old S&W 439 had ja a chase that required hie roof into a Dus of old pizza, used Pampers, and empty cereal boxes In both cases the little 32 had saved his ass Though lacking the stopping power of the heftier 9un had the grace of never ja there when otherwise he would have had to try and return fire arht on his ankle He knew Toombes had a similar backup piece; he doubted Ji city once upon a tiel out here in Stickville?

Head moved as quietly as he could down the corridor created by the out-​of-​control car, but each footfall on the dried corn leaves crackled and crunched There was no way to move in silence Behind hi the same noise, and he knew that they would be just as nervous about all the noise as he was Couldn’t sneak up on a deadnoise like that

Behind hieant Ferro, heard the squelch of the radio

They didn’t have far to go before all three of thelass It was a big, black four-​door sedan and it stood in a s of sht front of the car seemed to be pitched unnaturally low Head turned to the others, and very quietly said, "We go in together Tooo up the pipe Remember, check and clear"

They nodded and set theuards, they stepped into the clearing at the sa quickly but withthe ht

"Police officers!" they all shouted "Freeze!"