Promise Not To Tell(36)

The lock on the kitchen door was new, like the one on the front door. Cabot tried the knob. It did not turn.

He glanced back at the woodshed. There was no lock on it. Maybe the new owner didn’t know about the inner door.

He started back across the porch. The small flicker of movement deep in the trees stopped him cold. He had just enough time to think not a deer and drop to his belly before the first bullets slammed into the wall of the house a couple feet above his head.

Handgun. Not a rifle.

He yanked his pistol out from under his windbreaker and fired into the trees, aiming high because he could not see his target.

The return fire had the effect of startling the shooter in the woods. There was a lot of thrashing around in the undergrowth.

Cabot used the opportunity to roll off the far end of the porch, slipping under the railing. He ran for the cover of the side of the house.

There were more shots behind him but they went wild.

He rounded the corner to the front of the house and saw Virginia. She was still in the passenger seat, looking stunned.

There was a lot of open ground between him and the vehicle. He could make a run for it, but that would put Virginia at risk.

“Key is in the ignition,” he shouted. “Get out of here.”

The order broke the spell that seemed to have transfixed her. Jolted, she scrambled into the front seat of the SUV.

Cabot heard another staccato series of shots. He turned and fired into the trees again, hoping to distract the shooter long enough for Virginia to get to safety.

CHAPTER 21

Virginia cranked up the SUV’s powerful engine and drove toward the side of the house where Cabot was braced, gun in hand, his back against the wall. As she watched through the windshield, he leaned around the corner and fired another shot into the trees. He was focused on providing covering fire. For a few seconds he did not realize she was driving toward him.

She did a tight turn that brought her alongside Cabot, and slammed on the brakes. She had not bothered to close the passenger-side door. It swung open.

Cabot whipped around and saw her. He fired one more shot around the corner of the house and then leaped into the passenger seat.

“Go,” he said.

She was already flooring the accelerator.

He had the passenger-side window down now. He fired again. As far as Virginia could tell, there were no more shots coming out of the trees, but her ears were ringing from the noise of the gunshots, so she couldn’t be sure. In any event, it didn’t matter. The only thing that did matter was getting the hell away from the evil house.

The SUV bumped and bounced over the pocked and pitted driveway. She thought she heard Cabot say something but she ignored him.

She finally reached the smoother surface of the road.

“Easy,” Cabot said. “It’s okay. No one is following us.”

He spoke gently, as if he understood that she was in a very strange place in her head.

She realized there was a curve coming up and that she was heading into it much too fast. Basic driving habits took over. Automatically she took her foot off the accelerator, allowing the big vehicle to slow to a more reasonable rate of speed.

When she was safely on the other side of the curve, she remembered to breathe. She risked a glance at Cabot. He was in the process of reaching inside his jacket to holster his gun.

“Are you hurt?” she demanded.

“No. He used a handgun. Lousy accuracy over any kind of distance.”

“Wow. Lucky us, huh?”

“Thought I told you to get the hell out of there.”

“I did.”

“Not fast enough,” he said. “You stopped for me.”

“You looked like you needed a lift.”

“I did.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, with control. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

“You’re flying, aren’t you?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“It’s the adrenaline.”

“No kidding. But here’s the thing: I’m not having a panic attack. Lot of adrenaline, but it feels different when there’s an actual threat.”

“Not for everyone. Some people just freeze when the gunfire starts.”

She thought about that. “I had a vehicle and a job to do. That made it easier to focus.”

He looked at her. “The job being to get us both out of there.”

“All I can say is that it seemed like a good idea at the time. Are we going to mention this little incident to the local cops?”

“Not much point. Shots fired in the woods are a pretty common thing in rural country like this. We didn’t get a description. Didn’t even see a vehicle. No one got hurt. And, technically speaking, we were trespassing. All in all, a nonevent.”

She slowed her speed a little more. “I see.”

“We’re both going to crash later,” Cabot warned after a while. “That’s how it works.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling I might be looking at a particularly bad night.”

“You won’t be alone,” Cabot said. “I’ll be going through the bad night with you.”

“You know, other couples usually go out to a restaurant and maybe take in a show when they do stuff together.”

“Guess we’re a little different.”