The Reincarnationist

Chapter 68

Friday, 10:48 a.m.

“I told you to shut her up!”

As frightened as she’d been until this very moment, his screaming at her threw Bettina’s heart into a rapid rhythm. It didn’t seem possible that she could be so frightened for so long and not die of it. Could he hear her heart beating?

“Why can’t we stop and buy candy?” Quinn asked for the sixth time in a whining voice.

“Because we’re in a hurry, sweetheart. Let’s just be quiet and be patient.”

“But I want to stop,” Quinn wailed.

“I swear to God, if you don’t get her to shut up, I’m going to pull over and do it myself,” Carl barked from the front seat.

“She’s not even three years old,” Bettina answered with an edgy tone, and then froze. She’d just talked back to him. What was he going to do? She no longer imagined that under his tough exterior was a soft soul that really didn’t want to be bad and hurt anyone. She’d spent the past three panic-filled days with him, and she was sure that if there had once been a human core inside of him that responded to kindness or love, it had hardened and dried up.

Bettina looked out of the car window, understanding that although she could see out, no one could see in. The car was like a coffin. Tight, closed, impossible to escape. Kidnappers usually killed their victims. She knew that. It was always on TV. How many lived? What was the percentage? She could picture a hundred newspaper headlines that she’d never paid attention to.

“Why can’t we get candy?” Quinn asked yet once more.

“I said, shut her up. Didn’t you hear me? Christ, she is getting on my nerves.”

“Honey, we’ll get candy after we meet your mommy. We’re going to see her really soon. And then you can get candy.”

“Let’s stop and get candy and bring it to Mommy. I want M &M’s.”

Carl turned his head around slightly. “I am telling you for the last time, put a sock in her mouth if you have to. I can’t deal with this now. Do you understand that? Do you get that? Or am I going to have to beat it into you?”

There was no question that he could. That he would. She wiped her hands on her jeans and stole a look at the back of Carl’s head, at the two inches where his hair ended and before his shirt collar started. His skin was ruddy but soft-looking. Were there veins there? Arteries? If she leaned up to him and bit him, could she hurt him badly enough to incapacitate him and-no. He was driving. If she hurt him, he might lose control of the car and kill them all. But this was as close as she’d been to him in the past three days, after all the frustration of being helpless in that motel room, listening to the droning television for seventy-two hours, after failing to come up with any kind of counterattack.

“Let’s get a candy present for Mommy.”

“For fuck’s sake, shut her the hell up!”

Bettina’s body broke out in a new sweat; she shook, and her damn teeth began chattering again. Quinn, who had been listening to the sound for the past three days, and now associated the chattering with the man getting even more angry, broke out in loud, piercing wails.

Bettina’s fear escalated. What if this was too much for him? What if he turned around now and shot them both?

“Come on, Quinnie, stop crying now. We’re going to see Mommy, and she’s going to be so excited to see you that she’s going to cover you in kisses.”

But the wailing didn’t stop. If anything, it intensified.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”

“Quinnie, do you want to play a game? Your bear wants to play a game with you.”

The cries were now shrieks.

“For God’s sake, give her this.” Carl threw a pack of gum at Bettina. It hit her on the side of the face and stung for a minute. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“What’s that?” Quinn asked, the tears stopping instantly as if she’d been able to tell from the shiny yellow wrapper that this was something sweet.

Of all the bizarre things Bettina could have thought of, in the middle of this holy terror, in the back of a car being driven by a cruel, frightening man who had a gun and who she was sure had used it more than once, all Bettina could think of was that Gabriella didn’t want Quinn to have gum. It was one of the rules.

Unwrapping it, she showed it to Quinn. “This is gum. I’m going to give you a piece. But listen to me, it’s not the same as other kinds of candy. You don’t swallow it, you chew it.”

“It’s not candy?”

“Yes. It’s candy, but a special kind. You don’t swallow it, you just chew it.”

“Just give her the fucking gum. Let her swallow it if she wants. Just get her to shut up. I need her to shut up.”

Bettina gave Quinn the stick of gum, forcing a laugh as Quinn put the wondrous thing in her mouth and instantly grinned as the sugar exploded and teased her taste buds.

“Don’t swallow it,” Bettina warned.

Quinn nodded. Kept chewing. Smiled. Kept chewing.

At least she was quiet now.