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"’Sall right," Carter said, and nodded "I appreciate the tier seat and came around back The door opened to a blast of cold air Davis redid the shackles and pocketed the key
"Coo?"
"Not much," he said
They drove on Carter could tell they were cliuessed it would be light soon As they slowed to cross a long bridge, wind buffeted the van
They had reached the other side when Paulson h the rearview "You know, you don’t seem like the others," he said "What you do, anyway? You don’t uys like you Cons" He swiveled his head to Davis "Rehed "Christ on a stick, what a whack job" He looked at Carter again "He wasn’t like you, that guy I can tell you’re different"
"I ain’t crazy," Carter said "Judge said I wasn’t"
"But you did soht? Else you wouldn’t be here now"
Carter wondered if talking like this was so he had to do, if it was part of the deal "They said I killed a lady But I didn’tlike that?" Paulson was still grinning at hi with interest
"No" Carter sed "I cut the lady’s lawn"
Paulson laughed and glanced at Davis again "Listen to this He cut the lady’s lawn" He looked at Carter through the uy like you, how’d you do it?"
Carter didn’t knohat to say He had a bad feeling now, like maybe they’d been nice to hiot you a McMuffin, right? Took you to the bathroom? You can tell us"
"For fksakes," Davis said to Paulson "Just shut up We’re almost there, what’s the point?"
"The point is," Paulson said, and drew in a breath, "I want to knohat this guy did They all did so Come on, Anthony, what’s your story? You rape her before you did her? Was that it?"
Carter felt his face go hot with shaed
Davis turned to Carter "Don’t listen to this douche bag You don’t have to say anything"
"Come on, the dude’s retarded Can’t you see that?" Paulson eyed Carter eagerly through the ain "I bet that’s what happened, isn’t it? I bet you fked the nice white lady whose lawn you were cutting, didn’t you, Anthony?"
Carter felt the air stick in his throat "I ain’tsayin’noto do with you?" Paulson asked "You thought maybe this was all a free ride?"
"Goddamnit Zip your mouth," Davis said "Richards will have both our asses for this"
"Yeah, fk hiot a job," Anthony ed "Said it was important SaidI special"
"Special" Paulson snickered over the word "You’re special, all right"
They drove on in silence Carter looked at the floor of the van, feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach He wished now he’d never eaten the McMuffin He’d begun to cry Didn’t knohen he’d done that last Nobody had ever said anything about raping the woirl but he’d always said no, which was the God’s truth, he swore it The little thing weren’t noto show her a toad he found in the grass He thought she’d like to see so tiny, like she was That’s all he’d s like that for hi to show you Just a little bit of a thing, like you
At least he’d knohat Terrell as going to happen to hi the lady, Mrs Wood That day in the yard, she’d gone just flat-out crazy on hiirl to run, and it wasn’t his fault she’d fallen in, he’d just been trying to o away and never come back if that’s what she wanted He’d been okay with that, and okay with the rest too, when it caast had showed up and told hi Carter’s mind in another direction, and now look where he was There weren’t no sense in any of it It made him sick and shaky to his bones
He lifted his head to find Paulson grinning at him The whites of his eyes widened
"Boo!" Paulson slapped the wheel and burst into laughter, like he’d just told the best joke of his life Then he slaast and Doyle were so their way out of the city’s suburban ring through a warren of residential streets The whole thing had gone bad frooing on at the zoo, the whole place was going berserk, and then the woman, the old nun, Arnette, had just about tackled the other one, Lacey, to get the girl out of her hands
The girl Amy NLN She couldn’t have been ast had been ready to pull the plug but then she’d let the girl go, and the old one handed her off to Doyle, who carried her to the car before Wolgast could get in another word After that, there was nothing to do but get out of there as fast as they could before the locals showed up and started asking questions Who kne many witnesses there’d been; it had all happened too fast
He had to duet them out of Tennessee, all in that order, and he had to do it now A the stuffed rabbit she’d gotten out of her backpack Sweet Jesus, what had he done? A six-year-old girl!
In a dreary neighborhood of apartas station and shut off the engine He turned to Doyle The two of the with you?"
"Brad, listen-"
"Are you crazy? Look at her She’s a kid"
"It just kind of happened" Doyle shook his head "Everything was so crazy Okay, maybe I fked up, I adast breathed deeply, trying to calm himself "Wait here"
He stepped from the car and punched in the code for Sykes’s secure line "We’ve got a problem"
"You have her?"
"Yes, we have her She’s a child What the fk"