Seeing Red(24)

“Well, first, it took us off guard that she was there.”

“But when you discovered that she was—”

“We—”

The other man held up his hand. “Start at the beginning.”

Petey wet his lips. “Well, The Major came to the front door, opened it, and poked his head out. Didn’t expect him to be carrying a rifle. Jenks was on his blind side. Hit him with the stock of the shotgun. Here.” He touched his skull behind his right ear. “Major dropped. I shot him in the chest. He never felt it.”

“He’s feeling it now.”

“What?”

“You didn’t kill him.”

Petey looked like he’d been struck between his eyes with a sledgehammer. “That’s impossible.”

“He’s in county hospital, not the morgue. He’s not dead. Neither is the woman, which means you failed on two counts.” This was said calmly as the contents of a small pouch containing various cosmetic products were inspected item by item.

He opened a tube of lipstick, sniffed it, replaced the cap, and tossed it back onto the table. “His condition is critical. He probably won’t survive. But we can’t count on that. He may pull through.”

Petey was looking like he might throw up.

“But actually, the woman is more of a worry than The Major. Her injuries aren’t that serious. She’s able to communicate, and communicating is what she does for a living. So, Petey, I need to know, and know now, if she saw you.”

He shook his head vigorously. “No. She’d locked herself in the bathroom.”

The man played with Kerra’s key chain, his expression thoughtful. “How did you come to realize she was in the bathroom?”

“No sooner had I shot The Major, I noticed the light go out under the bathroom door. I went to check. Sure enough, the door was locked. By the time we’d busted it down, she’d gone out the window. Jenks fired at her, but she—”

“Was swallowed up by the darkness.”

“That’s right.”

“Why didn’t you chase her down?”

“No time to. We heard a car turning off the main road. Saw the headlights coming up the drive. We went out the back, but not before thinking to grab her bag there.”

“Nobody saw you?”

“No, sir. I’d swear to it. She was too busy running for her life to look back, and the house was between us and whoever was approaching in that car.”

“It was the TV crew’s van. Five of them.”

“They couldn’t’ve seen us. Jenks had left his truck at least a half mile from the house. We found our way back to it in the dark. Near froze our balls off on that hike. Anyhow, we drove on back to town and shared a basket of ribs at the barbecue place on the square. Established an alibi, like you told us.”

“Which will make no difference if The Major survives.”

“No way he could. I’d lay money on that. They must be keeping him alive with machines.”

“Kerra Bailey isn’t hooked up to machines. Eventually she’ll tell everything she knows.” He dwelt on that for a moment as he absently jangled the key ring. Then he set it down and motioned for Petey to lean forward as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m nervous, Petey.”

“I swear she didn’t see us.”

“Not about her. About Jenks.”

Petey flinched with surprise then threw a look over his shoulder toward the closed door that stood between them and the next room in which Jenks had been told to wait until it was his turn to give his version.

Coming back around, Petey asked in a hushed voice, “What about him?”

“When The Major came to the door, why didn’t Jenks blast him with the shotgun?”

“Shocked him to see The Major with a rifle.”

“Hmm. That concerns me. If Jenks is so easily rattled, he’s unreliable.”

“No, sir. Nerves of steel. He’s as solid as the day is long. I’d swear to that.”

“Your loyalty to him is admirable, Petey. But what about his loyalty to you? Are you willing to bet your life on it? This Bailey woman might not have seen you fire a bullet into an American hero’s chest. But Jenks did.”

Petey’s eyes darted out and back, then up and down. He licked his lips again. He was thinking it over. “He’s solid,” he repeated, but with noticeably less conviction.

“In order to protect yourself, me, all of us, you know what you have to do.”

Petey swallowed noisily. “Not sure what you’re getting at.”

“Yes you are.” He let that rest for a second or two, then said, “Make sure you bury his body deep enough so scavengers can’t get to it, or sink it in The Pit with enough weight that it’ll never surface. Do you understand?”

Petey understood, all right. His forehead was beaded with sweat. He looked miserable. “When?”

“Now.”

“It’s coming up on daylight.”

“Then you’ve got no time to waste, do you?”

Petey blinked several times. “Me and him have come to be good friends.”

“I know. I also know you understand the gravity of your situation. You said The Major didn’t see you. Either of you.”