Helpless (46 page)

Jill didn’t want to go to school the next day, and Tom wouldn’t have let her go. It wasn’t safe for her in Shilo anymore. She kept to her room for most of the day. She didn’t even come out to eat.

Tom was on the ladder, trying one more application of GoneIt, when Jill shuffled into the backyard through the basement door.

“Hey, honey,” he said, climbing down. “You hungry yet?”

“No.”

Tom checked his watch. “It’s quarter to seven. You haven’t eaten anything all day.”

Jill looked up at the house and recoiled at the sight. “Who would do this?” she asked. “Why won’t they just leave us alone?”

“I’m so sorry about all of this,” Tom said. “But it’ll be all right. You’ll see. Everything is going to turn out just fine.”

“Did you go to the police?” Jill asked.

Tom made a conciliatory expression. “You know I can’t do that,” he said. “Pretty much the whole town is against me at this point. The police most of all.”

“Rainy’s on our side,” said Jill. “Can’t she fix this?” Tom’s face formed a grimace, which Jill noticed right away. “What is it?” she asked.

“Rainy,” Tom said with a sigh. “I should have called her hours ago, but I got so caught up in this vandalism that I forgot.” Tom put his arm around Jill. “I’ll give her a call in a few. Maybe she’ll have some good news to share.”

Tom’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and showed Jill that it was Rainy calling him.

“I guess she beat you to it,” Jill said.

“Hey there,” Tom said into the phone. “I was just about to call you. I’m planning to see Marvin’s parents tonight. They’re sitting shivah at his sister’s house. I was hoping you’d come with me.”

“Tom! Tom! I think we’ve got it.”

“Got what?” he asked.

“Evidence that’ll prove Mitchell Boyd is the distribution source of the images on your laptop. I’m not saying you’re in the clear. But when we put the pressure on him, I bet he’s going to start talking.”

“Rainy, that’s great news. Just great. Where are you now?”

“I’m with Carter. We’re on our way to Shilo to have a little chat with Mitchell Boyd.”

Tom’s phone buzzed again. He was getting another call. He glanced at the number but didn’t recognize the caller. “Rainy, let me call you right back,” he said.

Tom clicked over to the incoming call. “Hello. This is Tom.”

“Tom Hawkins,” said a much-younger sounding voice. “It’s Tanner Farnsworth.”

Tom’s jaw muscles tightened, and he squeezed his phone harder. “What do you want, Tanner?” said Tom.

“Look, I know I’ve done some pretty bad things. But I also know you didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Lindsey.”

“And how do you know that?” asked Tom.

“Because I know who did it,” Tanner said. “It was Mitchell Boyd.”

“What?”

“I was just over at Mitchell’s house. We were eavesdropping on his dad. He was talking with Brendan Murphy from the police department. Mr. Boyd gets all the inside scoop. I overheard him say that they found Lindsey’s body.”

Tom’s heart sank. Jill looked over at her father. Her expression revealed a growing alarm.

Tom turned his back so that Jill couldn’t see him. He took a few steps away so that she couldn’t hear him, either. “Where?” Tom whispered.

“In the woods near the Pine Hill Pond. They found your knife nearby, too.”

“My knife?”

“Small knife, about the size of my palm,” Tanner said. “It’s yours. Don’t ask me how Mitchell got it, but he took it from your house. The police pulled your prints off the knife. They’re coming to arrest you. Not just the Shilo PD, either. State police, too. And soon.”

“Hang on.” Tom raced back into the house. He looked for his knife. It was gone. “Tanner, listen to me. You’ve got to call the police yourself. Right now. Tell them what you just told me.”

“I can’t do that,” Tanner said. “I can’t turn myself in. Can’t turn on my best friend, either. I won’t do it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do something right.”

“Do something right? What right thing are you doing here?” Tom shouted into the phone.

“I’m telling you to run.”

Chapter 74

T
om turned to Jill. “Get inside the house,” he said. “Stay out of your room. Stay in the basement. Don’t move until I come for you.”

“Dad, what is it? What’s going on?”

Tom kept his voice calm and controlled. “Just do as I say,” he ordered.

Jill fled into the house.

Tom didn’t know what he should tell Jill. Was Tanner lying? Could Lindsey really be dead? Were the police coming to arrest him? Tom didn’t have time to think through the possibilities. He only had time to ready an escape. He’d been arrested for a crime that he hadn’t committed once before. He wasn’t about to let it happen again.

Distract and evade.

If it came to it, that was what he would do.

Distract and evade.

Tom needed to survey his best exit points. He crouched low and kept to the side of the house. Where possible, he used trees and shrubs to keep himself hidden. Oak Street was clear. But if Tanner was telling the truth, the street would soon be active with police. He picked this as the place where he’d set the distraction.

Next, Tom crossed to the back of the house. The ravine where Kelly fell and died had an 8 percent grade. He’d have to descend into the ravine and climb back up the other side to get to Pine Street. Beyond Pine Street lay hundreds of acres of conservation land. Tom knew the Shilo topography better than most. He knew he could get away.

Tom returned to the house, where he slipped inside through the basement back door. He saw Jill standing there, waiting for him. She was pale and looked frightened.

“First thing I need you to do is relax,” Tom said. He put his hands on his daughter’s shoulders. “Take some deep breaths. I need you with me.”

Jill nodded.

“Some people are coming for me,” Tom said. He remained calm, which helped Jill. “I’m pretty sure they’re coming to arrest me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”
She’ll never forgive you for lying to her,
he thought.

Jill nodded again, but more slowly. “You’re not leaving without me?” she cried. “You can’t leave me alone.”

“No. Never. But listen to me. We need to separate for a short while. Do as I say and we’ll be together again soon.”

“Why do we have to separate?”

“You’ll slow me down if we stick together. It’s me they’re after, not you. But you’re not safe on your own, either. I’m not going to leave you alone for long. I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Now I’m going to tell you exactly what to do. I’m going to give you very specific instructions. You’re going to follow my instructions exactly as I give them to you. Do you understand?”

“I think so.”

“Don’t think, Jill. Be decisive. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Jill said.

“Okay, we’ll need to do some things first.”

“What things?”

“Go upstairs. Hurry. Grab all the hair gel you have. There’s hydrogen peroxide under the sink in the upstairs bathroom. Grab that too. Then get the rubbing alcohol from the first aid kit. Bring it all back downstairs to me, along with every Ziploc bag we have.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Jill.

“While you’re doing that,” Tom said, “I’m going to build the detonator.”

Chapter 75

T
om watched Jill drag the forty-gallon plastic trash barrel to the curb. She completed her mission with calm efficiency. Tomorrow was trash day. Oak Street was dotted with lots of green plastic barrels set out in front of lots of curbs. Their barrel looked full of trash. But the bags within it were stuffed full of newspaper. They looked puffy and full. Tom made certain nothing heavy was lodged inside those bags. Nothing that could become a projectile when he triggered the device.

Jill returned unhurriedly to the house. For the next several minutes she would be out of Tom’s sight. But he wasn’t worried. Jill knew what needed to be done. Tom looked out the window again. The street was still quiet.

Was the storm even coming?

Better to be prepared than to be a sitting target,
he thought.

Tom called Rainy and told her that he’d call her back later. Something had come up, he said. It was a brief exchange, but it had to be done. Nobody else would be calling him. That was important, too. His phone was now part of the trigger mechanism.

Jill reappeared in the driveway. She was wheeling her red Schwinn World S bike alongside her. She leaned the bike up against the stone wall that abutted the driveway and disappeared from his view again. That was her signal to Tom that everything was in place.

Tom snatched the cordless phone from the kitchen. Next, he grabbed Jill’s nylon backpack, which he’d stuffed with needed supplies. He descended the basement stairs, slipped out the back door, and worked his way around to the side of the house. Jill was waiting for him there.

The mountain bike was there, leaning up against the house. Jill had retrieved it from the shed after she grabbed her Schwinn.

Tom looked the bike over. It appeared to be in decent condition. The bike had belonged to Kelly’s boyfriend, Alfonso. The same Alfonso who had used Kelly’s house as a storage locker and got arrested for DWI.

The mountain bike had more gears than most riders had the skill to use. Hydroformed aluminum frame. Cold-forged dropouts. The front shock was an open bath damper type, which was fine by him so long as the oil levels in each leg were adequate to lube the other sliding parts. The tires were Bontrager, and the wheels Shimano. Quality parts as well. He inspected the shifters and derailleur. Those were fine, too.

Jill came over and stood beside her father.

“You’re going to stay on the move for fifteen minutes.” Tom said it as an instruction, but Jill understood that it was also a question.

“Yes.”

“You know where we’re going to meet.”

“I do.”

“You’ll do exactly what I told you to do.”

Jill nodded. “I will.”

Tom raised his head like a bloodhound catching a fresh scent. “Okay, then. Ride.”

“What if nothing happens? What if they don’t come?” she asked.

“Then we’ll go get ourselves a bite to eat,” Tom said.

Jill nodded. She got on her bike and coasted down to the end of the driveway. Tom inched himself to the edge of the house. He needed to have a clear view of the street. Jill turned left and began to pedal away from the house. The street was quiet. No cars. No noise.

It didn’t stay quiet for long. Tom heard the police car sirens well before he saw the flashing strobe lights. Five police cars turned onto Oak Street. Three state police cruisers were in the mix as well. All the police cars had their lights flashing and sirens blaring.

And they were headed straight for Jill.

“Hurry, baby. Pedal faster.”

Tom noticed Jill pick up her pace and pedal faster. Her legs were pumping. He had wanted her to be a good hundred yards away from the house before he made the call. The police cars didn’t slow as they passed Jill. They kept right on driving.

“Keep going. That’s it, Jilly-bean,” Tom whispered to himself.

Next, Tom checked in both directions on Oak Street for any pedestrians or coming motorists. All was clear. Jill was at a safe distance. The line of approaching police cars was some fifty yards from the house.

Tom knew he was about to commit a crime. Several of them, in fact. But the situation had left him no alternative. If the police arrested him, he’d be charged and convicted for Lindsey’s murder. He’d spend the rest of his life in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Jill would be vulnerable. Perhaps the next victim of Lindsey’s killer.

Tom’s other option was to evade capture. Take Jill to a safe house. His military contacts and network could keep close watch over her. And while she was secure, he’d be free to track down Lindsey’s real killer and bring him to justice. Tom had no intention of running forever. Once Jill was safe and Lindsey’s killer behind bars, he’d gladly pay for the crimes he committed. All of them. Including his role in the drugs he’d smuggled out of Germany.

Using the portable house phone, Tom dialed his cell phone number. His cell phone was buried at the bottom of the trash barrel, but the call went through with no problem. Electricity passed through the wires of his cell phone’s ringer mechanism, which Tom had rigged earlier to the flash trigger of a disposable camera. The electric circuit of the camera’s flash detonated the bomb.

A jet of fire erupted two hundred feet into the air, streaking skyward in a thick column of flames approximately the diameter of the trash barrel. The explosion rattled windows in some houses. Shattered them in others. Car alarms made an orchestral shriek that rose above the siren noise. A powerful shock wave lifted the wheels of the approaching police cars off the ground, before gravity resettled them with an unforgiving crunch.

The police cars swerved off the road. Their wheels skidded against the pavement as they gripped for traction. They came to a stop in odd angles on sidewalks and lawns. The street was completely clear of traffic. But Tom wasn’t headed for the street. He was headed for the woods.

Distract and evade.

It was time for him to leave.

Chapter 76

T
om shouldered the mountain bike down the steep ravine behind the house, then up the other side. He rode across Pine Street and vanished into the dense, root-covered forest that lay just beyond. He knew without instruments that he was riding his target cadence of eighty-five rpm’s. His right hand effortlessly worked the lever controlling the rear gears, while his left operated the front mechanism, shifting the chain from one chainwheel to another depending on the terrain or obstacle in his path.

The SEALs could evade with whatever was at their disposal. Tom could fly a plane, steal a car, ride a motorcycle, or sail a boat if it meant avoiding capture. A long-standing joke in the navy was that the SEALs were the only outfit capable of escape by unicycle. Tom did with the mountain bike precisely what the navy had prepared him to do. He grabbed the best available option and pedaled as though he’d been preparing for this race all his life.