The Boy from the Woods(99)

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SEVEN



Wilde moved to the back of the gas station again, then to the wall with the faded TIRE SERVICE on the side. A few seconds later, he crawled in front of the mechanic bay door that had been opened a crack. He got on his stomach, making himself as flat as possible.

He needed to hurry.

Still on his stomach, he looked through the opening. Wilde could see that the door slid up and down on a track with wheels. Manual. Not electric. That was good. He got up on his knees now, cupped his hands to the bottom of the door, and using a bicep curl movement, he moved it up one inch.

The door squeaked.

Loud enough for someone to hear? That he didn’t know. He assumed that no one was in the actual garage. The more likely place for the kidnapper to be—the only place left really—was in the adjacent gas station office.

Wilde stayed still, listening for anyone coming. No one. All he heard was the now-familiar cacophony of cars speeding by. He hoped that no one from the road would see him. He didn’t want someone calling the police to report a strange intruder.

Not yet anyway.

He pulled up on the door another inch. Then another.

Squeak, squeak.

Enough. He forced it up another six inches. That was all he’d need. He got back on his belly and shimmied into the garage. It was dark. Dust came up and into his nose, but that wouldn’t bother him. The garage reeked of spilled petrol and mildew. Wilde got up, stayed low, moved to the side of the car farthest away from the adjacent office.

He heard the clack of someone typing on a keyboard.

Wilde hadn’t lied to Rola, but he hadn’t told her the entire truth either. He hadn’t told her that he’d figured out about this rest stop in the simplest way possible—from the GPS locators Rola herself had given him. He hadn’t told her that the car he’d spotted in this garage bay—the car he was now hiding behind—was the same Chevrolet Cruze that Gavin Chambers had used to meet him at that 7-Eleven.

That had been a mistake on Gavin’s part.

Wilde’s suspicions, which had already taken root, blossomed the moment Gavin pulled into that 7-Eleven without his usual driver or SUV vehicle. Why suddenly come alone? Why would a guy with his money, a guy who normally got chauffeured around in a Cadillac Escalade, now be driving a Chevrolet Cruze, a car model used extensively by rental-car companies?

On its own, that meant nothing. But it was enough.

Still ducking behind the Chevy—still hearing the clacking of someone typing—Wilde checked the locator app on his phone.

Two minutes until the other car arrived.

He had to get ready.

Wilde crawled from the back tire to the front one, and then to the front bumper. He looked to his left, toward the door to the office.

It was open.

He could see a man’s back, but he’d need to get closer to make sure. He moved a little farther out, toward the shelving. He stayed low. When he was about two feet from the back wall, he could make out the profile of the man who was typing.

Gavin Chambers.

Without warning, Gavin turned his head toward Wilde.

Wilde dropped flat on his stomach again. The gun was tucked into his waistband in the back. He reached now and took it out. Gavin Chambers, no doubt, would be armed. If Gavin had spotted him, if he was right now on his way…

But no.

The other car had arrived. On its way past the locked gate, it had tripped a sensor. That was what had alerted Gavin. That was why he’d turned his head.

Wilde crawled back so that he was hidden between the Chevrolet Cruze and the far wall. A minute later, he heard the fumbling of the other bay door. Gavin Chambers rose from his chair. From under the carriage of the Chevy, Wilde could see Gavin’s feet go past. Gavin pulled the bay door all the way open. A car pulled in. Gavin immediately shut the door behind it.

The driver opened the door and stepped out.

“Did Maynard send the tape? Did you watch it yet?”

It was Saul Strauss.

Gavin said, “I’m just watching it now.”

“And?”

“And it’s solid gold,” Gavin said. “Rusty admits he killed Anson, though he claims it was in self-defense.”

“My God.”

“Yes.”

“We need to send it out now. Take no chances.”

“Agree,” Gavin said.

The two men headed into the office. Wilde stayed where he was.

“I knew it,” Strauss said, a lilt in his voice. “I knew that tape existed. I didn’t want it to go this far, but…”

“I could see why Dash was reticent about giving it up,” Chambers said. “It ruins Rusty, sure, but it hurts him too. I don’t know if Maynard can be charged for helping move the body. That statute of limitations has probably passed. But anyone who hears it will know what he did.”

“And he let Raymond Stark take the fall.”

“I know.”

“It’s one thing to help a buddy out, I guess. But to sit back while another man goes to prison for life.”

“Scum,” Gavin agreed. “Let’s get the tape ready.”

Wilde didn’t move. He could, of course, stop them now. He could rise up and point the gun and not let them get back to the computer.

But he didn’t.

Wilde waited.

“I got it keyed up,” Gavin said.