The Cold Nowhere

22

‘This has to stop.’

‘It stops when we’re safe,’ he replied. ‘Don’t you get that?’

He heard ragged breathing on the phone. Angry breathing. It was starting to worry him.

‘You said it would be over by now.’

‘It was. It should have been over ten years ago, but loose ends have a way of unraveling. Don’t blame me. I’m cleaning up the mess.’

‘Not like this. Two more people killed? What kind of monster are you?’

‘You called me. Remember? I’m handling this, which is just what you wanted. You were the one panicking. You said we had to do something. You said it was all going to come out.’

‘Maybe it’s better if it does. I can’t take it anymore.’

‘No, it’s not better. I don’t want to hear you talking like that. We are going to take this genie by the throat and cram him back into his bottle. We do whatever it takes. You got that?’

Silence.

‘You got that?’ he demanded.

‘Yeah, I understand.’ Then: ‘I wish I’d never met you.’

‘Real nice. I saved your ass and that’s all you can say to me?’

‘I can’t believe I let this happen. I wish I’d just-’

‘What?’ he asked. ‘You wish you’d gone to prison? Don’t waste time on fairy tales. It’s too late for that. If you see the inside of a jail cell now, it’s for the rest of your life. Remember that.’

‘We can’t stop this. The police are getting close. What happens if they make the connection?’

‘They won’t.’

‘That’s what you said before. Now we have more blood on our hands. This is driving me crazy. I can’t live with it.’

He took the menace out of his voice. He needed to be calm now. Reassuring. ‘You have to be patient for a little while longer. Soon we’ll be free, and we’ll never have to see each other again. That’s what you want, isn’t it? To forget me? To walk away from what happened?’

‘That’s what I want.’

‘So do I. Don’t worry. No one is going to make the connection, and even if they do, they’re never going to tie anything back to us. Not anymore.’

‘I’m not so sure.’

‘Let me take care of it. All you have to do is keep an ear to the ground, and if you hear anything, you let me know right away. Okay?’

The reply was long in coming. Too long. ‘Okay.’

‘I’ll be in touch.’

He hung up the phone.

He didn’t like what he heard. He’d spent his whole life reading people, and he knew when they were about to crack. This was going to be a problem.