Turning Angel (60 page)

”You’re a bastard, you know that?“

”I know this. That’s why you love me.“

More footsteps, slowly fading.

Marko chuckles softly.
”So, we’re alone finally. What’s the big news about Coach Anders?“

I hear a soft, sliding sound. Mia padding around the room in her running shoes?
”This place is wild,“
she says.
”Gas lantern, huh? That sheet on the window keeps people outside from seeing it?“

”Just like back home,“
Marko replies.
”What’s the deal, Mia? What about Wade?“

”He’s recanted his story.“

”What’s that mean, recanted?“

”He admitted that he lied for you. He told the police that you weren’t at his house on the afternoon Kate died. The police are looking for you now.“

A long pause.
”Is that so?“

”Yes.“

To ensure that Marko couldn’t learn the real truth of the situation, Logan called Wade Anders and warned him not to take any calls from Marko. Logan told me Anders sounded scared shitless on the phone.

”How do you know this?“
Marko asks.

”From the guy I babysit for. Penn Cage.“

”Ah, Mr. Cage. I heard Cyrus fucked him up pretty good.“

”He did. I saw him. But what about the police, Marko?“

”It’s no big deal. I was changing my name anyway.“

”Changing your name? Are you leaving town?“

”That’s right. Leaving tonight.“

”Are you going to come back and graduate?“

Marko laughs wildly.
”Too late for that, baby.“

”No, it’s not. If you took your exams, you could still graduate with the rest of us.“

”Can’t do it.“

”But Cyrus is dead now. And Penn said the Asians are dead or gone back to Biloxi. What do you have to worry about now?“

”Cyrus has homeboys. The Asians are a gang. They believe in payback.“

”Is that really it, Marko?“

”What do you mean?“

”I mean…where were you that afternoon? For real?“

”What afternoon?“

”Don’t give me that. The afternoon Kate died.“

”Busy. I’m a busy man.“

”Okay, be that way. I’ve just been wondering about Kate, that’s all.“

”What about her?“

”Why she really died. I mean, I know better than anyone what a bitch she could be. How manipulative she could be.“

”So?“

”At the trial, the D.A. said you were having sex with her, and that’s what made Dr. Elliott kill her. That he found out about it and went crazy.“

Marko laughs again.
”No way, man.“

Logan looks at me, his eyes shining in the dark. ”He didn’t do it. He didn’t kill her, Penn.“

”This guy is a snake. Don’t believe anything out of his mouth. Let it play out.“

”You never had sex with Kate?“
Mia asks.
”I know you wanted to.“

”I didn’t say that.“
Marko laughs softly.
”You know me, I’m a player.“

”You’re a player, all right.“

”Hey, don’t look like that. It’s just the way I am. You know that.“

”Was she better than me?“

”A gentleman never tells, right?“

I curse Marko’s penchant for head games.

”Right,“
says Mia.
”And you’re such a gentleman.“

”Lovely Mia. Why do you care so much about Kate?“

”I told you. I just wonder what really happened to her. I can’t see Dr. Elliott killing her. He loved her.“

”What about you? You loved Kate, too?“

”I hated her.“

Satisfied laughter.
”I thought so. Why did you hate her so much?“

”She took you away, for one thing. Without even trying.“

”No way. You left me.“

”You gave me no choice. But that’s not really it. Kate had everything, you know? All the fucking advantages, but she never really did anything on her own. She won so many things I should have won at school, scholarships and stuff, even when my scores were higher. That SouthBank scholarship…it was all political. Maybe she gave out some blowjobs to get that, I don’t know.“

Marko snickers.
”No way. You’re a lot better at that than she was.“

My ears prick up.

”That’s not funny,“
Mia says.

”Forget about Kate. I didn’t bring you here to talk about her. Coach Anders, either. I brought you here to see you.“

”No, you didn’t. I was asking about you all week, and you didn’t bring me here. You only brought me here tonight because you’re worried.“

”Well, you’re here now, okay? And I’m glad to see you.“

”Are you?“

”Yeah. Come over here. You know how long it’s been since we were together?“

”Do you?“

There’s a brief pause. Then Marko says,
”Six months.“

”I’m impressed. But you haven’t been lonely.“

”No. You want me to be lonely?“

”Maybe. I don’t know. Screw it.“

”What about you? Why don’t you date anybody, Mia?“

”I have a thing for somebody. He doesn’t know about it. He can’t be with me. He’s with someone else.“

A shiver goes through me. She sounds like she’s telling the truth about that.

”You talking about me?“
Marko asks.

”No, retard. After what you did to me?“

”Come here, Mia.“

Hesitation.
”Why?“

”Just come over here. I miss you.“

More footsteps. Then the voices soften.

”You look so fucking good,“
Marko murmurs.
”Shit…feel good, too. Just the same.“

There’s no conversation for ten or fifteen seconds.

”You like that?“
Mia asks.

More silence.

A scream of frightening intensity bursts from the receiver.
”How can you do that? How can you touch her with me right in the next room!“

”I want her,“
Marko says.
”Get used to it.“

Alicia is sobbing. Then she screams again:
”Fuck you! I’m leaving!“

Smothered laughter.
”She’ll be back in an hour,“
Marko says,
”begging me to take her back.“

”I’m not going with you to L.A., either!“

”No? Okay. Maybe Mia will go instead.“

”She won’t either! She’s not that stupid!“

A door slams.

”Are you taking Alicia with you?“
Mia asks.

”Maybe just to tide me over till I get to L.A. I’ll dump her there.“

”That’s not very nice.“

”She doesn’t have to go. I made no promises.“

”Marko…“

”I’m not a nice guy, Mia. You know that.“

”Yes, I do.“

”But you still like me. You don’t want a nice guy.“

”You don’t know what I want.“

”I know you want this.“

”He’s not going to admit anything,“ Logan says. ”He just wants to get laid.“

”At least we know he’s going to L.A. now.“

”Finding Marko isn’t our problem now. It’s getting him to talk.“

Logan is right.

”We need to pull that girl out of there, Penn.“

”Maybe,“ I say in a taut voice.

”I don’t think the guy has anything to tell. I think he was just moving some dope that afternoon. That’s what he used Coach Anders to cover.“

”Your legs are amazing,“
Marko says.
”Alicia’s soft in all the wrong places. Flabby, man. You’re so tight. Inside and out.“

”Am I?“

”You know you are.“

Mia giggles, and the sound of it stuns me. I’ve never heard her laugh like that.

”Are you really going to L.A.?“

”Yeah, I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d miss this place. But now…“

”Why are you leaving tonight?“

I hear the rustle of clothing.
”What?“

”Don’t push it, Mia,“ I plead softly.

”I just wondered why you picked tonight. Is it because of the trial? Were you waiting for it to be over?“

Silence follows this question. And in the silence, something changes. I feel it like the approach of a predator in the dark.

”Let’s go somewhere else,“
Marko says.

”What’s he doing?“ asks Logan.

”Why?“
asks Mia.

”I think Alicia’s still watching us.“

”I figured you’d like that.“

”Maybe some night. Not tonight. Just us tonight.“

Footsteps on wood, quicker than before.

”Wait,“
Mia protests.
”Let me get my purse.“

”What for?“

”Girl stuff.“

”Okay.“

There’s a delay, then Marko says,
”That’s a cool bag. Let me see it.“

My throat seals shut with fear.

”Shit, shit, shit,“ hisses Logan.

”Give that back!“
Mia protests.
”That’s my private stuff.“

Marko laughs, and then I hear a bump.

”Hey! Get out of there!“

The sound of Marko rummaging through the bag is like furniture being shoved around a house.

”Should we send Kelly in?“ Logan asks, his voice taut.

”Get ready,“ I tell him.

The rummaging stops.
”Here you go,“
Marko says.
”Tampax, huh? You on your period?“

”That never mattered to you before.“

Knowing laughter.
”Come on. Let’s get some privacy.“

”He didn’t find it,“ Logan breathes. ”I can’t believe it.“

”Where are we going?“
Mia asks.

The hair on the back of my neck stands erect. Mia’s last sentence came from the receiver at half the volume of her previous one.

”He did find it,“ I say.

”You think?“ asks Logan.

”Her signal’s fading.“

”They walked away from the purse. They’re making out.“

I crouch and lean close to the receiver. There’s a background of static now. There was none before. The voices come in and out, like someone talking on a cell phone at the edge of a tower’s coverage.

”Give me your radio, Don.“

”You sure?“

”Right now!“

He hands me his walkie-talkie. I press the transmit key and say, ”Blue, repeat, blue. Blue, repeat, blue. Acknowledge!“

Two clicks come back to me.

Relief courses through me with the power of Cyrus’s heroin.

”Kelly’s going in,“ I say. ”Thank God.“

”We were crazy to send her in there,“ Logan says. ”The Three Stooges after all.“

When the explosion comes, I’m not sure whether it blasted out of the receiver or down through the trees.

Logan gapes at me, his eyes wide. ”What the fuck was that?“

”Shotgun?“

He shakes his head. ”Sounded like a grenade to me.“

My skin goes cold. Kelly wasn’t carrying any grenades.

Logan drops flat on the ground and puts his ear to the receiver. ”Nothing.“

”Booby trap?“ I suggest.

Logan gets up and draws his gun from his holster. ”I’m going up there.“

I want to go, too, but there’s no way I could keep up with him. ”Should I call 911 and ask for backup?“

”I’ll do that. You wait for the units and show ’em where to go.“

I nod, but Logan is already charging up the hill, his gun in one hand and a police radio in the other. As I stare after him, one thing hits me with absolute certainty. By the time backup units arrive here, whatever is happening up there will be over. More than anything, I want to call Kelly on the radio, but he specifically told me not to. If I can help him, he’ll call me.
Unless he’s dead.

There’s only one contribution I can make to this effort.

Thought.

I start walking toward Ardenwood. The mansion is seventy yards away, half concealed by massive oaks and magnolias. It looks like a great ship moored in a sea of trees.

Where is Marko taking Mia? Outside? If he took her outside, the signal strength would still be strong. And if he went outside, Kelly would already have nailed him. He didn’t go outside. So, where did he go? Did he throw Mia’s purse into a cabinet? Down a hole, maybe? If he did, the signal would simply have dropped out, not faded gradually. Could Ardenwood have a basement? Most antebellum mansions don’t, other than half-sunken ”milk rooms“ used to keep dairy products cool. Those were small rooms, not true basements…

I’m forty yards from Ardenwood now, and nothing ahead has changed. It’s as though Kelly and Logan walked up this hill and sank into the earth.

My radio crackles to life.

”I found the girl,“ Logan says, his voice choked with emotion. ”She’s down. She’s been hit in the neck. It’s shrapnel or shotgun pellets.“

I can hardly speak. ”Is it Mia?“

”I can’t tell. She’s covered with blood. I need a light…goddamn it.“

”Is she alive, Don?“

”She’s breathing. I don’t think she can talk. God, this was so stupid.“

”Have you seen Kelly?“

”Nothing. I’ve got backup coming, though. Ambulance, too.“

I walk faster—my legs won’t stand a run. My heart is pounding like a kettledrum, and my jaw is clenched tight enough to break my teeth.
”Don’t be Mia,“
I pray hoarsely.
”Please, God, don’t let it be her.“
I push my legs faster, trying to reach the house, but I can’t keep my balance. I crash onto the ground, then pick myself up, so winded I can hardly stand.