18

From somewhere to the south-west of our position came the thrum of an engine and it sounded like Carson had extended his search around the far side of Mushroom Mountain. I doubted that he’d hooked up with Samuel yet, because the truck sounded the best part of a mile away. I couldn’t be certain, because the canyons had strange acoustics, and for all I knew the pick-up was nearby, but the sound had been carried and brought back to my ears via a different route. Thumbing the volume on the radio, I listened. I thought that I’d heard a short query come over the air earlier, but it could have been static. Now I longed to hear the bastard call out for his cousin, because it would mean both men were still separated and Carson would have no idea of my involvement. While they were apart, it gave me a window of opportunity to get Jay out of the way and return for the others. If I could return to the cabin before them, then I could drop Brent and lead the others somewhere safe. I could have my time with Samuel and his older kinsman on another occasion.

We had made it beyond the pass, the mushroom shape now well behind us. The breeze still stirred the sand, and the enveloping cloud helped to conceal us. My only misgiving was that it also offered cover to Samuel. We’d hear the truck coming and be able to hide, but for all I knew the ugly troll I’d battled earlier could have picked up our trail again. If he ambushed us, it wouldn’t matter if he was armed with a gun or not, because there were plenty of rocks lying around he could brain me with. If that happened, then Jay would be defenceless.

I pulled her to a halt, digging my hand into my back pocket.

‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ she asked.

‘Nothing. I just want you to take this.’ I handed her the folding knife and she looked at it like it was an extraterrestrial artefact that had fallen out of the sky. ‘It’s a knife,’ I explained.

‘I know what it is,’ she said, with a roll of her eyes. ‘What do you expect me to do with it?’

‘Just keep hold of it, OK.’

‘I could have used this a few hours ago when I was trying to get out of that box.’

She told me about being confined in a sunken box, how she’d been bound at her ankles and wrists and how much effort it had been to cut free of her ropes. Jay had proven resourceful, unlike her predecessor who I suspected had gone into a similar box. That made me more determined than ever that the Logans would pay for all the misery they’d inflicted on their hostages. It wasn’t something I was about to share with a girl who found the thought of stabbing someone abhorrent. ‘Yeah, it would have been useful. Never mind, you have it now and it might come in handy.’

Jay couldn’t use the gun on Samuel, but it had been different then. He was engaged in a fist fight with me, and in her eyes that didn’t qualify for a cold-blooded execution. At the time her own life wasn’t in peril; I only hoped that if she was threatened in the future she’d have the fortitude to do the right thing. It would be best if she never had to use the blade, but supposing things went to hell then at least she’d have a chance.

Jay secreted the knife away, pushing it deep in a trouser pocket. I’d have preferred that she held on to it, but at least she hadn’t dropped it like it was a hot brick.

Leading her again, I followed the route into the labyrinth of gullies, my gun held close to my side. With each step she took, the water sloshed back and forth in the container, a reminder of how little there was left. It would have to be enough. I’d no intention of being stuck out here in the heat for much longer.

It was disturbing to think about what must have happened to Helena Blackstock. I didn’t doubt that the Logans had snatched her, and used her for whatever abominable purpose they’d taken the subsequent women for, and it hurt that I’d come too late to help her. Something about the sequence of events told me that the Logans had been seeking a replacement for her when they’d happened across Nicole and Ellie at the gas station. To my mind that meant one of two things: the Logans had killed her, or Helena had managed to escape their clutches. The problem with the latter scenario was that if she was still alive, then surely she’d have shown up somewhere by now. I wondered if, like Jay, she’d managed to get free, but had chosen the wrong route through the desert. Without water, she’d have perished in no time. By now the sun and the wildlife would have been busy, and I didn’t want to picture the poor woman as a rack of bleached bones out there in one of those canyons. Then again, perhaps it was better than the alternative, that she’d remained in the hands of those sickos to endure further humiliation and pain; at least she would have died a free person. More than ever, I was determined that Jay, Nicole and Ellie wouldn’t face a similar fate. If it meant my own death, then so be it.

The Yukon was where I’d left it, and I was glad to find the keys were still in the ignition, meaning that it had gone undiscovered. It was a huge vehicle, but I didn’t doubt that Jay could handle it, having driven her father’s SUV the length of Route 66 to here. I started it up, reversing it out of the S-bend gully so she’d have a good start. Clambering out, I left the engine purring. We couldn’t dawdle, because even if Carson didn’t hear the engine over the top of his own, then Samuel might and come running. He could run for me now, I didn’t care, in fact I relished the idea, but not until Jay was clear.

‘Do you want this back now?’ Jay held out my knife.

Call me a pessimist, but I wasn’t ready to let her go unarmed. ‘No, keep hold of it. Think of it as a lucky charm.’

Tears were in her eyes as she tilted her head up to me. ‘I think I already found one of those. Thanks for everything, Joe.’

Before I could stop her she threw her arms round my waist and hugged me tight. I gave her a brief hug back, but it was a little too early for her thanks. She could give me a proper cuddle when I got back with both the other girls in tow.

Extricating myself from her arms, I took the container of water and splashed some of it in my mouth. It went as far as swilling down the grit that had embedded itself round my gums, but that was all. The rest I handed back to Jay. ‘You know your way out of here? Just keep the sun over your right shoulder and it’ll take you back to State Highway seventy-seven. When you hit it, try the phone, you should get a signal there. Don’t go north to Indian Wells, head south for Holbrook because that’s the direction the cops will likely come from. When you find the first truck stop, pull in and wait for them. You’ll be safe there, OK?’

‘Yes, I remember that place. We passed it on the way towards the Painted Desert on Tuesday. God, what day is today? I’ve no idea how long those animals have been holding us.’

‘It’s Friday,’ I said.

‘Four days? It felt like for ever…’

I touched the side of her cheek, my palm cupping her jaw. ‘It’s over with now. You don’t have to be frightened any more.’

She blinked tears from her lashes, and her gaze was forthright. ‘Not for myself, I don’t.’

‘I’ll get them out. Trust me.’

‘I do. I really do.’

‘OK, get going then.’ I turned her towards the Yukon, and gently pressed her inside. She slung the water container on the passenger seat, then looked back at me. Her mouth opened to say something, but I anticipated her. ‘Don’t come back here with the cops. Just tell them where the girls are being held and who’s responsible. Tell them that I’ve gone to get them free. I don’t want to be confused with those arseholes and have a well-meaning cop put a bullet in my brain. And remember, as soon as you’ve spoken to the cops, ring my friend and tell him where I’m at.’

Jay shifted into drive as I closed her door. I scanned the desert for movement but could neither hear nor see any sign of the Logan pick-up. Flat-handed, I banged the door. ‘Go, and don’t stop for anything.’

The Yukon spat gravel at me as Jay gave it a tad too much throttle. The thick tyres chewed at the desert, found traction and then surged forward. I watched it go until it was enveloped by the sifting dust clouds. Finally, I thought, as I allowed my body to fold slightly. I massaged my ribs, but it did little to alleviate the pain I’d suffered since Samuel hammered me. At least one of my ribs felt like it had cracked, and the flesh around it was puffy with bruising. If only Jay had suspected how much pain I was in, then maybe she wouldn’t have trusted me to get her friends out alive. She would have quite rightly argued that we should both leave and allow the police to handle the rescue. Ordinarily I might have gone along with her, but I wanted my time with the Logans before the police could arrive. Jail wasn’t good enough for those sick bastards.

‘OK, suck it up, Joe,’ I commanded.

I straightened, feeling the pull of tissue in my side, but ignored it. I’d had worse injuries before, some of them life-threatening. Then I began to jog. By the time the mushroom mountain came into view I was up to full pace and the agony in my body had been pushed to the dim recess where all my other troubles were shelved.

I felt fine, and ready for the Logans.

I’d have felt better if Samuel had appeared out of the dust before me, but he didn’t. That was OK, I was happy to leave him to last. Carson and Brent weren’t going to be personal kills, but Samuel was a different matter. The father and son were just for starters. Samuel Logan: he would provide the icing on the cake.

Загрузка...