Oblivion (37 page)

“I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you, Lindsay,” he said in a ravaged voice, his face stark with pain.

“And I won’t ever be safe with these two guys out there and you know it,” she pointed out and looked frightened.

“We’ll think of something else,” he replied stubbornly.

“Jace, the cops don’t even know about Matt. That’s why they couldn’t charge Cameron. That’s what Wilson told me. They didn’t find Cameron’s DNA at the scene because he’s too smart. They found Matt’s and it didn’t match up. Now do you see?”

“How did Cameron keep from leaving any evidence behind?” Jace asked and felt sick to think of that day again, images of the burning pain as the knife slashed away at him making him recoil.

 “I don’t know. Maybe he wore gloves or coveralls or something. Don’t you remember anything of that morning?”

“He went in the trees to take a piss. The next thing I knew he was stabbing me. He could have put something on out there. Who knows?”

“That’s why the cops and the FBI were so willing to go along with the drifter and robbery theory. Now do you see? He’s using Matt to cover his tracks because Matt’s sloppy. If they ever get caught; Matt would be charged, not Cameron.”

“I won’t put you at risk.”

“I’m already at risk and have been since I agreed to this. I can’t believe Dooley tipped them off.”

“You have to tell Wilson he’s helping Cameron.”

“I want to do this even more now,” Lindsay said and looked outraged. “I won’t be looking over my shoulder for them, Jace. If their sick like you said; they won’t stop with me and Marnie. Can you leave tomorrow knowing you didn’t try to put them away?”

“I’m not so worried about that anymore.”

Something in his words made her stiffen. She saw the coldness in his eyes and knew what he planned to do. Fear for him made her jump up and go to him.

“You can’t do this, Jace,” she implored him. “You could jeopardize you’re passing on to the other side.”

“Why do you think Wilson gave you the gun, Lindsay?” Jace asked her without breaking her gaze.

Lindsay swallowed hard. “For my protection.”

“No, I think he knows Cameron is going to get away with this. He wouldn’t have ever given a civilian a gun in a million years; especially an eighteen year old girl. He’s been a cop for over thirty years, Lindsay. He knows the way this is going to play out.”

“What are you saying?” she said and gaped at him as understanding grew.

“He knows Cameron is going to try something before he leaves. He’s not so worried about a confession anymore either, Linds.”

Lindsay wanted to feel angry to know Sheriff Wilson played her. She had to agree his giving her the gun was a bit strange. He told her to shoot Cameron if he went after her and not ask questions. Her face paled to know she was being sent in to kill Cameron, not get a confession as she thought. The wire just covered her in case questions were asked.

He had to have known she was going to have to use the gun or he wouldn’t have given it to her in the first place. She felt stupid and it showed in her face.

“Lindsay, don’t you see? There’s no other way. Wilson knows it already.”

“I don’t think I can shoot him, Jace,” she said and began to tremble all over. “I hate him for killing you and I know he’s sick, but I don’t know if I can do it.”

“You just get him alone, get him to admit it. I’ll do the rest.”

Her eyes filled with dread. “You could wind up down there forever Jace.”

“You’re worth it, babe,” he told her and they stared at one another sadly.

“There has to be another way,” she began and he shook his head.

“Wilson already beat this one into the dirt, Lindsay. He sees the big picture. This is my justice if I want it.”

Lindsay sat back down and tried to get her breathing under control. Finally she put her head between her knees; her head swimming. Her head started to hurt from the stress of the whole day. She thought of the gun in her purse and her mouth went dry.

Jace deserved his justice, but at what price?

“Lindsay, if you want to back out you can,” he said as he regarded her with a resolved expression. “I know what I have to do.”

She looked up and took a deep breath. “No, I’m in. Let’s do this.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Gary pulled into the wooded clearing and found a place to hide his car. He looked with his binoculars to peruse the group of teenagers drinking and carrying on below. It was almost eight o’clock. He saw no sign of Lindsay yet. He knew she would be here. He felt bad for what had to happen.

He knew Cameron would take the bait. The kid knew it was his last chance to get his hands on Lindsay and he would try something. He prayed the girl had the sense to use the gun her first opportunity.

Confessions like his would make the trigger pull easier. When she heard how he tortured and killed her boyfriend from his own lips; she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him. The confession just got her off the hook with Dooley.

He knew it was wrong to send her in blind like this; but he knew human nature well. Her not knowing would insure a better result. If anything went wrong, he would have much to answer for. Nobody knew what he was doing for that reason. The wire was taken out of the station under Dooley’s nose and the gun was unregistered and untraceable.

He felt guilt again to know he used her as bait. It was a means to an end to put Cameron where he belonged; in Hell. Thoughts of him killing again kept him up at night since this whole thing began. He wouldn’t be able to enjoy his retirement until Jace Turner’s murderer was six feet under.

He saw the truck coming down the road and tensed. He could see Cameron and his friends were all there. Lindsay would be alone, except for him watching in the woods. He had to admit she had guts. She must have loved the Turner kid to do this.

He expected her to bail on him weeks ago when the boys blew up her car. He was surprised when she insisted on continuing to help him. He knew he was taking this case too personally. What other way could anybody take it?

The murderer was on his way to becoming a full blown serial killer. Jace was probably his first kill. It was just a warm up to his future victims and Gary saw it all before. Thirty years as a cop trained him to see the monster lurking within Cameron Chase’s eyes right off the bat.

He watched Lindsay pull into The Point, tensing to see the expression on Cameron’s face as he saw her. The murderous rage was hidden behind a seemingly angelic face. He would take many unaware in such a way. No one would see Cameron coming at them until it was too late.

He went back to his car and adjusted the monitor.

“Are you there, Sheriff?” she said loud and clear. “I know why you didn’t find a DNA match. It wasn’t Cam’s because he has a friend helping him. Matt Lauder is the other killer.”

Gary’s eyes widened. He didn’t see that coming. Two killers; now it made sense why they continued to stray from Cameron to the drifter theory, even with the evidence pointing to Cameron Chase. DNA evidence was used to deflect away from the real killer.

He was the only one who insisted Cameron was guilty; just by his gut. Everybody from the Feds on down bought what they were seeing. They were looking for one killer with unmistakable DNA; not two.

He had no way of communicating with Lindsay but he realized she was in deep. The Lauder kid was there. She had to deal with two of them. He’d like to know how she found out about Matt Lauder.

Gary started recording and got out of his car. He couldn’t let her do this alone. Taking down Cameron was one thing but she had two of these animals after her. He opened his trunk and took out his gun, tucking it in his waistband before he walked into the woods, looking for a good spot to watch everything.

He kept his eyes on Cameron. He was wearing his school jersey and a baseball hat, circulating among the growing crowd of kids. There had to be nearly a hundred kids gathered down there now, coming in waves of ten to twenty every fifteen minutes.

Once the party was in full swing things were going to get dicey. He needed to keep his eyes on Lindsay and Cameron. He suddenly wished he’d brought Bob in on this. The deputy could have been some help out here tonight. He was getting too old for this.

He fumed as the mosquitoes started in on him, cursing under his breath. He readjusted his position and looked for Cameron, frowning to see he moved away from the bomb fire, waiting at the edge of the group.

~ ~ ~

Lindsay looked at Jace in surprise, taking his word for it twenty ghosts rode in the bed of the truck. She couldn’t see them or hear them like Jace. They were there to help in exchange for his taking them back with him to the place called Oblivion.

“Are those people you work with going to say anything about you bringing them back with you?” she asked and felt uneasy knowing she had a truckload of ghosts, even if Jace assured her they were harmless.

“No, I’m not sure of anything, Lindsay,” he told her as he looked at the growing party in dismay. “I can’t leave them here. I don’t care what any of them say back there. They’ve been here long enough. Nobody’s coming for them. What am I supposed to do?”

“No, I get it, the more the merrier, right?” she asked and giggled. “I just thought you were trying to sneak back and stay under the radar. Kind of hard when you bring back twenty ghosts with you.”

Jace grinned. “They think I’m out exploring. Sal and the others will go along with it. They just want out of here.”

“Is being here that bad for you?” she wanted to know, hurt in her gaze.

Jace could see his words wounded her. “No, I love being here with you, Lindsay. It’s not being a part of it anymore; watching life go on and yours is over. It’s like torture watching you just driving my old truck.”

Lindsay saw the party was in full swing and felt trepidation as she adjusted the microphone in her bra. She looked at Jace and appeared nervous.

“Come on, let’s do this.”

“You guys ready?” Jace called back to the other ghosts. They all agreed and some were even already out of the truck, wandering around the party. Jace wasn’t worried. They knew what to do.

“I’m gonna go find Cameron,” she said and regarded him worriedly. “Don’t leave me, Jace.”

“I won’t. I swear it,” he promised and she got out of the truck. He walked through the door and she shook her head and smiled.

“Must be nice not having to open doors.”

“That only happens here,” he told her as he came around to join her. “I try that back in Oblivion, I’d run into walls.”

She nodded and avoided talking about that place he would go back to tomorrow. They walked among the partygoers and Lindsay was surprised so many kids stopped her and wished her well.

Jace rolled his eyes as she was talking to a few people. They discussed their plans and wished her good luck before she wandered away with Jace.

“They might have been nicer to you a couple weeks ago,” he complained at her side, glaring back at the group of kids.

“Cameron has his click behind him but most kids see through his crap. I don’t think too many people will back him up anymore. School’s over,” she theorized and smiled. “After this summer most of these kids are going to leave.”

“Lindsay, you do everything I say,” Jace warned her as his eyes spied Cameron, standing across the bomb fire, staring back at Lindsay with an inscrutable expression. “He’s right there. Just listen and don’t talk. Walk over to the other side and act like you don’t see him. I’ll be right behind you.”

She complied, pasting smile on her face and greeting other kids from school. Jace was right behind her. She thought of the gun in her purse and tried not to think about what was going to happen next.

“Lindsay, just stand here for a minute,” he told her. “Don’t walk off anywhere. He gets you in the woods; it’s all over. Cameron’s been coming up here since we were kids. He knows these woods better than you.”

“Where are you going?” she asked nervously under her breath.

“I’m going to go looking for Matt. Something’s not right. Lauder’s always buddied up to Cameron. I don’t see him here. I’m going to walk around. You stay put.”

“Ok, I’ll be here when you get back. Please hurry, Jace. I’m getting scared.”

Jace smiled at her and walked through the bomb fire; looking back and blowing a kiss at her.

“Show off,” she muttered under her breath as she watched him move among their peers.

~ ~ ~

Jace wandered around the party and looked for Matt Lauder. He frowned to see Cameron standing away from the bomb fire where most of the kids stood. He was off alone, pacing out in the field behind everybody else.

He started walking towards him and as he got closer, he realized it wasn’t Cameron, but Matt, wearing Cameron’s jersey and hat. He fumed, knowing Sheriff Wilson was probably watching Matt and not Cameron now.

Lindsay was on her own, he thought.

The other ghosts were having a ball, he saw, as he walked back to the bomb fire. Sal was with Artie. The pair was dancing with a group of teenage girls near the back of a pickup truck holding several kegs of beer. Sal waved to him to let him know he was all over it. Not one of them wanted to stay behind when it was all over.

He knew they were all disillusioned by everything they ever knew. They would all make good additions to their group back in Oblivion. They all agreed to say they were there all along, living in their own community, if asked. He knew Raymond wouldn’t buy it, but he’d be glad for the increase in their numbers.

Jace didn’t know if it was the right thing to do or if it was even allowed. All he knew was that he couldn’t leave them here to wander aimlessly for eternity. They’d helped him this whole time, playing pranks on Cameron until he was sure his former friend was at his wits end. He was on edge now and desperate. He targeted Lindsay for all that rage now, determined to lash out at her before he was sent away.

Jace looked past the bomb fire and saw Lindsay wasn’t standing there anymore and swore under his breath. The hippie and a female ghost walked up then.

“Where’s Lindsay?” he demanded. Every ghost here was supposed to stay focused on his girlfriend in this confusion.