Running of the bulls

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

10:45 p.m.

Marty swung through the kitchen door, Maggie and Roberta behind him. He moved to the exit, knowing what he had to do. He had to get to Jennifer. He had to make sure she was safe.

“This is just the beginning of it,” Roberta said. “Don’t go. They’ll already be blocking the streets. You won’t be able to get near there. There’s nothing you can do.”

He knew she was right. The streets would be blocked. Already, he could hear the wail of police sirens moving north. Soon, the feds would be there. Then, the National Guard. He’d never get through. He turned to her. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

He pointed to the television above the bar. “Turn it on Channel 1. If Jennifer Barnes goes live with a report, I need you to call my cell immediately. If she has two detectives with her-Mike Hines and Linda Patterson-I need you to tell me that, too.”

She nodded.

“You’ve got their names.”

“I do.”

“When you touched me in there, what did you see.”

“Fire,” she said. “People burning. People dying.”

And so he grabbed her forearm. “Jennifer Barnes,” he said, seeking her face. “You’ve met her before. We’ve been here together. I remember you telling me how much you liked her. You told me she was the one.” He looked down at his hand. “What do you see now?”

“Nothing,” she said.

“What do you mean by nothing?”

“Blackness,” she said.

“What does blackness mean to you?”

“Death,” she said. “All I see is death.”

“Whose death?”

“Yours,” she said. “It’s your death. Why won’t you listen to me? Why won’t you believe me?” She pointed at Maggie, who was standing next to Marty. “She is going to kill you and you won’t listen to me.”

Maggie was about to intervene, but there was no stopping Roberta.

“I saw those fires,” she said to Marty. “I was right and still you won’t listen to me. If you leave here now, if you go with her, she will kill you. I’m as certain of that as I’ve ever been certain about anything in my life.” She looked at Maggie, whose face had gone pale in the heat of Roberta’s words. “You’re going to kill him.”

Maggie held up a hand. “Look,” she said. “I’ve kept my mouth shut since you’ve started your barrage against me. I’ve tried to be polite because he’s your friend, but I’m through with it. Stop saying that now.”

“I won’t. I know what I saw.”

“I don’t care what you saw. It’s ridiculous. I’m not going to kill him.”

“Yes, you are.” Roberta reached out and touched the back of Maggie Cain’s hand. Then, defeated, she dropped her hand at her side. “You’re going to shoot him, my friend is going to die and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”