Silent Witness (19 page)

''Are they done?'' Jude asked Colin even though he was still looking after Josie.

''Almost. They're packing up,'' he answered.

Jude nodded and turned back, suddenly anxious to be away from this place. Ten minutes later they were packed up, ready to go. They had everything they needed. Everything except Colin Wren.

CHAPTER 18

The news of trouble was like a stone skipped into a pond.

There's been an accident.

A shooting.

Something awful!

Oh, God! Where?

People were drawn to trouble because it was human nature . They stopped. They turned. They searched for it, stared and passed the news in excited whispers and frantic calls.

Where are the kids?

Something is wrong with the Reeling Rotater.

But they didn't have to talk about what they could see. Against a black sky feathered with the glow of Pacific Park's lights, the buckets attached to the massive spokes of the humongous wheel of the Reeling Rotater hung motionless. The buckets were painted purple and green and red. The cages that enclosed the riders were made of steel mesh. Neon lights speckled the machinery and stuttered on a controlled blink. People were strapped to a bench and locked inside to keep them from being thrown around as they were turned up, down and sideways while the gargantuan wheel rotated. Faster and faster, twisted and turned, it was a most horrifying ride made even more terrifying now that it was at a standstill. On the ground, park guests fell silent as families drifted, pulled toward the bloodcurdling screams and pleas for help that came from the sky.

Josie slowed but didn't stop. She went around those who seemed rooted where they stood. Half of the buckets were upside down. Three of those were in the highest position. Others were sideways and only two were upright. The lights on the buckets twinkled and flashed like an SOS. On the hub of the wheel a huge neon spiral of colors pulsated to the sound of computer generated music.

Josie pushed through the people, scanning for any sign of Roger McEntyre. She found him moving through a group of teenagers like they were the enemy. McEntyre was closer to the ride entrance but Josie was taller. She saw what was happening and it sent a shock of panic through her. Archer had a young man in a Pacific Park uniform thrown up against the wall of the operator's booth. The operator was screaming for help and Archer was screaming back. Frantically, Josie fought her way forward trying to reach Archer before McEntyre did but McEntyre was a pro and jumped the fence.

''Archer!''

Josie screamed, unable to move any faster. He didn't hear her warning. She jostled left and right when suddenly there was a clearing she saw McEntyre clamp down on Archer's shoulders and yank him to the ground. Archer hit hard and tried to roll away but McEntyre was fast. He bent over and jerked Archer up, whisking him away before Josie could reach them.

On the deck three men in plainclothes closed ranks: one hustled the ride operator away, two others smiled as they took over the operation. Josie tagged three more working the crowd, calming everyone. A thousand heads turned east as The Reeling Rotater came to life with a grating, mechanical groan. The lights blinked off then on and slowly those who had been stuck were lowered to the ground. Josie didn't wait to see the first two people come out of their basket, pale and shaken. She knew everyone would be fine now – except the one person she cared about.

''Miss? Miss?''

Someone tugged at Josie's arm just as she was about to go after Roger and Archer. Startled, Josie looked at the girl who wore Pacific Park pink and a grand smile. She had the overt brightness of a child told to go kiss great aunt Maude and like it.

''Miss? Were going to have to shut down the Reeling Rotater but Pacific Park would like you to have two free tickets to. . .''

''Where's the security office?'' Josie demanded.

''I just wanted to give you. . .Hey, you can't do that. . .'' the girl stammered as Josie grabbed her by the shoulders.

''Where is it?'' Josie screamed. ''The security office. Where is it?''

''Over there.'' Flustered, the girl flung one arm out and the free tickets scattered beneath the feet of the moving masses. ''Near the Western Wheels restaurant . I mean behind it.''

Josie took off with a 'thanks' thrown over her shoulder. She jogged in the direction the frightened girl had pointed. She danced to her left, thinking she saw something. She moved a man out of the way with her hands on his shoulders. An objection died on his lips when he turned and saw she was in no mood for anything he could dish out. She ran a few more steps then fell back again. McEntyre was about fifty yards on pushing Archer ahead of him like a POW. Josie kept her eyes on the men as best she could but they traveled in the shadows on the edges of the park, she waded through the crowds. She reached the side gate a few minutes after they did and saw the flash of a rotating light. McEntyre and Archer weren't alone.

''Wait! Hey, hold it!''

Josie held up her hands as she ran toward the cops who were pushing Archer into the backseat of a black and white. McEntyre stood by, indifferent to Archer's fate. Archer's head was pushed down, his wrists were cuffed. The cop who had custody of him slammed the door. His partner was already behind the wheel. The engine purred. They were ready to go.

''Officer. Hold up.'' Josie bellowed, wedging herself between McEntyre and the cop. ''I'm this man's attorney. I want to talk to him.''

''You can see him after he's been booked,'' the officer answered.

''Has he been read his rights? If. . .''

The uniformed officer gave Josie the once over then waited on Roger McEntyre. Something passed between them and the officer was satisfied. He planted himself in the car and slammed the door. The engine was already running. They pulled out fast enough to force Josie out of the way. Furiously, she whirled on Roger McEntyre.

''You could have stopped them. I saw the way he looked at you. You could have made them give me a minute.''

''And you should have left your client behind when you came here. This is my place and I won't have him in my park. Now get the hell out of here before I have you arrested as an accessory to assault.'' McEntyre turned his back as if she was of no consequence.

''That's bull and you know it.'' Josie stepped in front of him. She dogged him, insisting he listen. ''I left Archer in that parking lot. It's not my fault that your guard is incompetent. And if you're implying I planned this. . .''

''You want to play?'' McEntyre was in her face. ''Do you? Because if you do, I can make a damn good case that you conspired with your client to intimidate my employees and our guests.''

McEntyre let that thought sink in. He squared his shoulders, he rotated his neck. Finally, McEntyre had it together again. When he spoke, whatever he was feeling had been packed away and Roger McEntyre offered Josie Baylor-Bates a bit of advice.

''He's dangerous. Maybe it's time you admitted that to yourself.''

When Josie screamed for them to wrap it up Jude had turned to Doctor Hart, Wilson had looked at Jude and the three of them went into overdrive. The scramble was on to get what they needed before Roger McEntyre cut them off. None of them thought about Colin Wren and none of them noticed when he walked away toward the Reeling Rotater. Once there, he was invisible but Colin Wren saw everything and everyone. He saw the glitter in people's eyes – young and old – as they waited for the worst. Maybe even hoped for it. No one looked away. No one had that respect. It was blood lust, pure and simple.

Colin saw Archer on the platform, his big hands around the neck of that young man. That boy, whose job it was to push a lever, who wanted to go home when his shift was over, whose eyes were like those of an animal caught in the headlights and knew it was about to become road kill. Colin Wren saw the dispassionate expressions of the men who took control, assessed the cause of the fray and calculated the effect of their actions on the waiting crowd.

Colin Wren saw it all and realized that, in a way, he was watching his son's death: The cries, the fear, the clean up. Both times Archer was in the middle of the fray. Colin had followed along as they spirited Archer away. He had stayed closer to the shadows than McEntyre and paid more attention than Josie Bates. He avoided them all. He saw the police and rejoiced that Archer was getting what was coming to him this night at least. He had heard Roger McEntyre say Archer was dangerous and now Colin believed it heart and soul. Not because McEntyre said it with greater conviction than the District Attorney but because this time Colin had seen Archer in action. This time it occurred to him that maybe something needed to be done about Archer – not Pacific Park.

CHAPTER 19

''That was the dumbest thing you've ever done. I can't believe how stupid you are, Archer. What in the God's name were you thinking?''

''I was thinking I wasn't going to sit in that car like some freaking little girl and wait for you to solve my problems.''

''Oh, that's just great. You got yourself arrested because you don't want me to show you up? I ought to walk out of here right now.''

Josie's hands chopped the air. She threw them up in despair as she paced the small room. She pointed at Archer. She didn't want to look at the man across the room. He was no less angry, no less frustrated than she but, damn it, he had created this mess and now he was making it worse.

''May I point out that you do need me given the fact that you haven't done a real fine job of solving your problem either, Archer? What you did was just plain idiotic.''

''What I did was smart. They were stupid. They put a guy on the side gate and let me walk right through the front. They're such sorry sons of bitches they can't even keep me out of an amusement park.''

''Archer, '' Josie wailed. ''Who is it that's locked up? Who was dragged out of Pacific Park like a dog?''

Archer's chin went up like he'd been clocked. He licked his lips and swallowed his fury.

''I'm just saying that they have holes in their operation. If they've got holes in that then there's holes in other things – like their case against me. Or hadn't you thought of that?''

''Gee, no, Archer. And I hadn't thought that beating up a kid with a high school education was going to prove anything.'' Josie taunted him, furious that he would betray her. She had vouched for him. She had promised to return. She was standing up for him and he was spitting on her.

''I wasn't. . . going to. . . . hurt him.''

Archer grabbed the back of a chair and yanked it away from the table. Raising it he brought the back legs down hard on the floor and turned his head away from her before whipping himself around to sit down. For a minute he jerked this way and that, wrapped in a seizure of exasperation until, tired and humiliated, Archer put his elbows on the table and bent his head.

''He's not a kid. He's twenty, maybe older.''

''He's a kid who didn't know what hit him,'' Josie said under her breath. ''He works at a theme park and thinks that's a profession, Archer. You've got thirty years on him and fifty pounds. Come on. No contest.''

''And he's telling the DA that I screwed with Tim's harness,'' Archer said. ''I just wanted him to admit he lied but he wouldn't even look at me. I just wanted him to see what he was doing to my life. Then he wouldn't and I don't know what happened. I was just going to make him tell the god damn truth.''

Archer threw himself back, defeated. His arms fell to his sides and his broad chest seemed to cave under the pressure of the day. Josie pushed away from the wall, the fight was gone out of her, too. She sat in the chair next to him. Between them was a curtain of antipathy so tightly woven she couldn't have reached through it if she wanted to.

''Nothing he told you tonight would have mattered, Archer. There were no witnesses to anything except assault. Even if he said you jumped off the ride and tried to save Tim I couldn't have used it in court. All you've done is dig yourself a deeper hole.''

She let that hang there so Archer could admire his handiwork. Finally, when Josie couldn't help herself, when the question in her brain began to burn, she asked it.

''What were you going to do? Beat him until he told you what you wanted to hear whether it was the truth or not?''

Archer cast her a look so ugly it was hard to imagine she even knew him. The raised welt above his eye was still red and raw. It reminded Josie that there were people who thought he was a killer, there were grown men who were afraid of him. Then that look faded. Archer's face crumbled in a pain so deep it had no end.

''You know me better than that,'' Archer rasped.

''I knew a steady man,'' Josie responded. ''I know a man who was patient when I was trying to make a new life for myself. I know a man who stood by me when I was fighting for Hannah's life and never once raised his voice much less his hand. I know a man who used to bide his time, face the truth, act without prejudice. That's the man I know.''

''Fuck it, Josie, that's who I am and you know it!''

Archer shot out of his chair, half standing as he grabbed for her, grasped her, his hands tight on her lean arms as he lifted her toward him. Their faces were close, inches from one another. His was crimson with rage; her's was white with shock. In a crackling minute Archer realized what he was doing, froze and slowly fell back into his chair. The hands that had held Josie shook as he let her go and he wrapped his arms around his own body, fearful of what he might do to her.

''Oh, Jesus, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'' He raised one hand and buried his face in it. ''I am so scared, Jo.''

Josie's gut wrenched. She had seen angry men, men who accepted their fate, men who fooled themselves and refused to accept the obvious. But she had never seen a broken man and to see Archer broken was brutal. This was God's miserable joke. He had given Josie someone to love, a man who was her safe and constant companion, then asked her to watch as he took away everything she found honorable in Archer. To make matters worse, it seemed God and Archer had combined to take away her compassion.