Blindside(53)

He even tried to help her afterward, but the blood just kept coming and coming. A few minutes later, she looked like she’d been left outside all winter. There was no color at all in her face. Her brown eyes just stared up at the sky.

They were in a field about a mile from his parents’ house. It didn’t take anything at all to weight her down with the rim of a tire and drop her into the pond on the edge of the field.

Aside from his aunt crying about her every once in a while, he’d never heard another word about it.

He figured he’d do the same thing to this New York cop.





CHAPTER 75


NOW I HAD Natalie’s complete attention. She realized Henry loved the thrill of cracking security systems as much as making money. He’d never love anyone as much as he loved himself. She’d worked her way through an array of emotions, and I knew she was starting to assess how she fit into Henry’s plans. Smart people usually catch on when you point out something that’s not right. It just takes them a while to see what they don’t want to.

I said, “Henry is a batshit-crazy criminal. That’s all.”

Natalie said, “No, you’re wrong. Sure, Henry crosses some lines to make some money from corporations. He supports a lot of people. But he’s not a killer. I mean, he doesn’t just kill for no reason.”

“What’s the reason that justifies murder?”

She stared at me without saying a word. I saw my own children in her face. I knew people made mistakes. This girl wasn’t a killer. She probably hadn’t done ten things wrong in her whole life before she met this asshole, Henry. She might say she wanted to be here, but I didn’t think it was true.

I decided to lay it on heavy. I said, “You really think that’s the first person Henry’s had killed? I’ve seen his handiwork in New York. I personally witnessed the two Dutch guys shoot up a coffeehouse. They even hit a witness I was talking to. A witness who knows you.”

Now Natalie looked like a little girl. Her mouth was open slightly, and she was just staring at me. Then with a childlike voice she said, “Who were you talking to?”

“Jennifer Chang.”

She sucked in some breath and steadied herself. “Jen? Really? Is she still alive?”

“Even with a bullet in her back, she pulled through. She’s going to be in the hospital for a good long while. Plus, there were other fatalities at the coffeehouse. And then another witness named Tom Payne. They strangled him and left him in a parking lot near Penn Station.”

Her eyes moved off into space. “Tommy? Dead?” She tried to reconcile what had happened. Finally she was grasping at straws. Natalie said, “Henry didn’t do any of that. He hasn’t been to New York in over a year.”

“Henry ordered it all done. You can’t be this blind. Will you think the same thing after they murder me? See if you can live with that, knowing ahead of time what he intends to do.”

She stared straight ahead. Torn between ignoring what I was saying and recognizing the truth. She looked like the college student I had thought I would rescue: impossibly young and scared.

I was getting to her. The indecision was etched on her face. There was a certain panic starting to run through her as she connected the dots and realized I wasn’t lying. But I didn’t know the extent to which Henry would go. If he was as crazy as everyone claimed, he might change the focus of his criminal organization and go even bigger. He could shut down power grids and really put a lot of people’s lives at risk.

I looked at Natalie and said, “Anything happens from here on out, you’re complicit. I’m not saying you’ll be arrested for it, but you’re a decent girl, raised by decent parents. You know what’s right and wrong.”

“I don’t know how decent they are. My mom is busy with her new boyfriend and my dad has an entire family. No one misses me. No one needs me. Except Henry. He told me I’m one of the only things that keeps him going.”

“Your parents cared enough to spin up the NYPD to look for you. And now it looks like they cared enough that I’m going to be murdered because of it.”

“Don’t say that.”

“The truth is hard to face. That’s why people turn to alcohol and drugs and make all kinds of crazy choices. But it’s never too late to face it. It’s never too late to correct mistakes. Believe me, I know that better than anyone.” Brian flashed in my brain. Suddenly I had an incredible urge to speak to my kids.

I heard someone on the stairs. It didn’t sound like the rushing footsteps of police rescuing me. It was a measured, casual pace.

A shadow fell across the light from the stairs. Then a form filled most of the doorway.

It was the tall Dutch killer, Christoph.





CHAPTER 76


BEFORE THE DUTCHMAN could say anything, I heard another set of footsteps on the stairs. Henry appeared just behind Christoph, stopping on the final step of the staircase, right next to the open door. He had changed clothes. He wore a dark sport coat, like he was going to a party. He stood on the stair above Christoph to make himself look taller. I noticed men who did that kind of shit at the PD all the time.

Henry said, “I hope you have a pleasant trip home, Mr. Bennett. Now that you see Natalie is safe and here of her own free will, maybe her parents will leave us alone. I’m sorry you have to be treated this way. Perhaps if you behave better at other people’s businesses you will be treated better in the future.”