The Night Killer Part 37

"Must be a good one. I didn't think I left any evidence," he said.

"That's the thing about evidence. You often don't know you've left it, or picked it up," said Diane.

Diane was standing in the clearing, trying to get a handle on where his voice was coming from.

"I'm here," he said, closer than she expected. She jumped.

"Didn't mean to startle you," he said.

"Really?" said Diane, trying to sound amused.

Diane turned around. He was standing about twenty feet from her. He wore a straw cowboy hat, a Western s.h.i.+rt, jeans, and running shoes. If he had a gun, she didn't see it. Clearly, Izzy and David weren't going to find him in town.

"You bring the diary?" he said.

"Partway," she said. "I need to know Andie is alive. You understand, it's just business."

"Sure, I understand, as long as the diary is nearby. Your lives are depending on it."

"Who's got a gun on me?" said Diane. "Is it Jason or Bob?"

Travis laughed, turned his head away for a moment, then back again. "I told Jason you're smart. He didn't believe me. He's in a good place to get a straight kill shot before you can move three feet. It's just business."

"I hope it's business, Travis. I'm hoping you want the location of the lost gold mine more than you want to kill Andie or me."

"You're kind of being stupid. You know that, don't you?" he said. "You know me. Seen me. How stupid is that?"

"How important is the gold to you?" said Diane.

He laughed again. "It's pretty important. I've been waiting all my life for it."

"It's so close. Don't blow it," said Diane.

"Why should I let you live after I get the diary?" he asked.

"You know the answer to that," said Diane. "There's a difference in what I can prove in court and what I simply have as a theory."

He frowned. "You patronizing me?"

"It's in my best interest to keep you happy," said Diane. "I want to live. I want Andie to live. Let's do the deal. Andie for the diary. You can stay in Rendell County and I can stay in Rosewood."

"It's not that easy," he said.

"It is if you make it that easy," said Diane.

"You don't understand," he said.

Diane thought she was detecting some self- pity starting. She didn't want that. That led to feelings of ent.i.tlement.

"I understand you killed the young couple looking for your mine. Your father found out. Probably from the blood on you. Was that the first time you killed? Maybe it frightened you, but it was kind of exciting too. But surprise, your father didn't turn you in. Instead he helped you get rid of the bodies. Without a body, crime's hard to prove. Was that the first time you realized your father loved you?" said Diane.

"You're good at figuring things out. I didn't think he loved me. I thought he wanted to avoid embarra.s.sment. Then he kind of took the blame, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," said Diane.

"If you're good at figuring things out . . . I've always wondered why my mother killed herself. People say Daddy was good to her," said Travis.

"It was probably a chemical imbalance in the brain," said Diane.

"Chemical imbalance? I always thought it was me," he said.

"Kids always think that. But it's never their fault. Ever," Diane said.

"What if they're bad?" he asked.

"Kids are never bad," said Diane. "Undisciplined, perhaps, into mischief, but never bad. Only adults are bad. Your mother probably had a chemical imbalance. Out-of-balance brain chemicals can cause uncontrollable emotions; they can make you depressed and you can't get any peace from it," said Diane.

He looked sharply at Diane. "Mama always said she just wanted peace." He stood looking as if he were studying something inside himself. "Maybe you're right. Wow, then what a waste of my life." He laughed.

"Where's Andie?" said Diane.

"I didn't rape her. I know I said that's what I was doing, but I'm not that kind of guy," he said.

"That's good to know." Diane tried to sound casual. "Where is Andie?" she asked again.

"Nearby," he said. "Where's the diary?"

"I don't want us to be at an impa.s.se. Why don't you bring Andie out and we'll all go get the diary?" said Diane.

He nodded. "We can do that." He turned to go, then turned around.

"Are you sorry it's me?" he said.

"Yes," said Diane.

"You kind of liked me, didn't you?" he said. "Admit it."

"I thought you would make a good sheriff and I was looking forward to showing you forensics," said Diane.

"Yeah, I knew it. You liked me," he said.

Diane started to speak but she was grabbed around the neck from behind and thrown to the ground.

Chapter 58

Diane's backpack was jerked off her arm, sending a pain through her elbow and shoulder.

"I'm f.u.c.king tired of this." The voice wasn't one she recognized. Diane scooted backward and looked up at the balding Jason, one of the Rendell County deputies. He was emptying the contents of her backpack on the ground.

"Where's the f.u.c.king diary?" he yelled. "Travis, you said she'd bring it with her. You said we'd be rich. d.a.m.n it. Where the f.u.c.k is it?"

Diane had rolled away as Jason was messing with her backpack. She managed to rise to her feet and tried to get her gun from the back waistband of her jeans. But it wasn't there. She saw it on the ground near Jason's feet. She wouldn't be able to get it before he could draw his gun and shoot her. She s.h.i.+fted her gaze away from her gun, hoping he wouldn't notice it.

"The diary is in a safe place," said Diane. "I didn't trust you to make a fair exchange. Obviously I was right. Where is Andie? You want to be rich? Bring Andie."

Jason whirled around and straightened up, looking at her. "I want the diary." She saw every rotten tooth in his head as he yelled at her.

"I want Andie," she said.

He stepped forward and almost tripped over her gun. He looked down and picked it up, turned it over in his hand, examining it as if it were an alien artifact.

s.h.i.+t.

"So, came packing, didn't you? I told Travis you couldn't be trusted," said Jason. He put the gun in the waistband at the front of his pants.

"What did you expect?" said Diane. "This isn't about trust. Where is Andie?"

"What makes you think you're calling the shots?" he said.

"What makes you think you are?" asked Diane.

"She's got a point," said Travis. "Settle down, Jason. She's going to be stubborn about this. That's okay. Me and her are friends. I told you she liked me. Let's just humor her. All I want is the diary and my gold. I've worked hard for it." Travis walked off in the direction of the cave.

"Did you have a hand in the murders, or are you just a run-of-the-mill drug addict?" said Diane.

"Who you calling a drug addict?" he said.

"You're acting like one. You're over-the-top and working against your own best interests. You're high," said Diane.

She watched him standing, snarling at her, anger written in every line of his body. She wasn't sure why he was angry. Perhaps it was just the drugs in his system. Perhaps his upbringing had been as bad as Travis'.

Travis returned with Andie in tow. She stumbled as he pulled her along. Their arrival stopped whatever retort was on Jason's trembling lips.

"Andie, are you all right?" said Diane.

Andie looked exhausted. Her hands were duct-taped behind her and she had been crying. Her arms were raw where they ripped off the previous tape. Probably more than once. Andie nodded and Diane started toward her, but Travis pulled Andie back.

"No. Here we are with Andie. You show us the diary."

"It's a ways back through the woods," said Diane.

"She's lying. I watched her the whole way through the woods. She never once stopped to hide anything," said Jason.

Jason leered at her, knitting his brow together over his dark eyes. "They are not coming, you know," he said, grinning.

"Who?" said Diane.

"Your policeman friend, the army guy-they're not coming. I saw to that."

Diane felt fear creeping up her spine.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I'm talking about what's going to be on the news. Mysterious crash. Mysterious sniper. I knew they were coming. I told Travis you would double-cross us. I laid in wait when you left the museum and I shot their tires out on Highway Seventy-nine." Jason laughed. "You should have seen that SUV roll." He laughed again and drew his gun. "They're dead, dead, dead." He pointed his gun three times as if he were shooting, to emphasize the words "dead, dead, dead."

The fear that Diane had been keeping at bay tore through, cutting her stomach and raising bile in her throat. She tried to keep her face calm.

"What's he saying?" said Andie.

By the reedy pitch of her voice, Andie sounded like she could be pushed over into hysteria with another cruel statement. You've done so well You've done so well, thought Diane. Hold together just a little longer. Hold together just a little longer.

"He's saying that he's as dumb as a sack of pig s.h.i.+t," said Diane.

"What are you talking about?" Jason said. "I'll kill you, you f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h."

Jason was the one who wrote the messages, Diane realized at that moment. She wondered what drug he was on. She hoped it wasn't PCP. Nothing like a maniac who couldn't feel pain.

"They had the diary," said Diane.

"What?" said Travis. "Jason, you p.i.s.sant. I never said to go shooting things up." Travis turned to Diane. "Are you saying they had the diary with them?"

"Yes," said Diane. "It was my insurance. I gave it to them to look after until I could get Andie."

Jason looked scared for a fraction of a second, then enraged. He jumped at Diane. She sidestepped and kicked his gun from his hand as he flew past, which only enraged him more. He lashed out at Diane and caught her in the side with a glancing blow. He grabbed her and pushed and pulled her to the edge of the creek. Diane struggled to regain her balance.

"You're going to get it, b.i.t.c.h. Oh yeah, you're going to get it."

Jason fell on top of her and pushed her head underwater. The cold mountain water washed up to her shoulders. Her face hurt against the rocky bottom. Diane felt for some kind of weapon but found none. She'd seen a small log wedged near the rocks as he was pus.h.i.+ng her head under, but she couldn't lay her hands on it.

Jason pulled her head out of the water and pushed it back under again. The water wasn't deep, just deep enough for her head to be covered and for her to drown. Her body hurt where his knees pressed against her. But she was grateful that his rage made him want to kill her with his bare hands and not shoot her. Diane fought panic from his drugged violence. She could hear Andie screaming in what sounded like the distance.

Diane had an interesting talent that was mostly just fun back when she was in college. She'd used it once before to evade men chasing her when she first came to the museum as director. Diane could hold her breath an inordinate amount of time.

She had an idea, but she was afraid she would panic in the middle of it and it would be over for her. She forced herself to relax and be still, to ignore the pain in her back and face as he held her under. She was counting on being able to hold her breath longer than he was willing to wait, holding her down. She was betting on his impatience. She counted the seconds. She was good for two minutes. He had been holding her for thirty seconds. She counted another fifteen before he lifted himself off of her.

"Take that, b.i.t.c.h," she heard him say. "Yeah, take that."

She heard Andie sobbing in the distance.

Travis was yelling at Jason.