Blood Games (35 page)

    They came to the bottom of the driveway. Cora, stopping, looked up and down the road. ‘The nearest town’s that way, isn’t it?’ she asked, nodding to the left.

    ‘I think so,’ Vivian said. ‘That’s the way we came. I don’t know what’s in the other direction.’

    ‘We should’ve grabbed the map,’ Cora said, and headed to the left.

    ‘Just a second,’ Abilene said.

    ‘What?’

    ‘Maybe we’d better think about this.’

    ‘We’re not sure what’s the other way…’

    ‘That’s not what I mean.’

    ‘You want to go back, too?’

    ‘I didn’t say that.’

    Frowning, Cora folded her arms and leaned back against one of the old totem poles. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘What are you saying?’

    ‘Just… I don’t want him to get away with it.’

    ‘Right on, Hickok.’

    ‘I don’t know about killing him, either. He sure deserves it, but… maybe we don’t want that on our consciences.’

    ‘I could live with it,’ Finley said.

    ‘The thing is, the cops might never even get their hands on the guy. I mean, twenty-eight people were slaughtered at the lodge and the killers got away with it. So what are the chances of the cops nailing whoever murdered Helen?’

    ‘Slim to none,’ Finley said.

    ‘If the cops can’t get him,’ Cora said, ‘what makes you think we can?’

    ‘He’ll come to us. He’ll come for us. So far, he’s stayed away because we’ve all been together. It’s like you said, he doesn’t want to take on all of us.’

    ‘Which means it’s probably just one guy,’ Vivian added. ‘But if he finds one of us alone…’

    Cora nodded. ‘And the rest of us are out of sight.’

    ‘Right. We put out the bait. When he goes for it, we jump him.’

    ‘It’s still awfully risky,’ Cora said.

    ‘We’ve taken plenty of risks before. And I know, I know, it was never like this. But… what he did to Helen. We’ve always taken care of each other and we let her down, but the least we can do is make sure the bastard pays the price.’

    Cora looked at the others. ‘You all want to do this?’

    Vivian nodded.

    Finley said, ‘Fuckin’-A.’

    ‘I’ll go along with it on one condition,’ Cora told them. ‘I’m the bait.’

    ‘You got it,’ Finley said. ‘And I’m gonna get it.’ With that, she set her camera on the ground and stepped to the other side of the driveway entrance. There, she wrapped her arms and legs around the leaning totem pole and began to shinny up it The post wobbled a bit.

    ‘What’re you doing?’ Vivian asked.

    ‘Trying not to fall.’

    Watching, Abilene half expected Finley’s weight to uproot the pole and send it slamming to earth. ‘We’ll end up with another casualty before we even get started,’ she muttered.

    ‘If she gets crunched,’ Cora said, ‘we can use her as the bait.’

    ‘You guys are a laugh riot,’ Finley called down. Then, reaching overhead, she stretched her right arm toward an outspread wing of the strange, birdlike creature at the very top of the pole. She grabbed the hilt of the hunting knife that someone had embedded there. She worked the knife up and down. She jerked on it. The post shuddered.

    Then the blade seemed to leap from the old, weathered wood. It came out with such a sudden release that Finley’s arm shot back. She yelled, ‘Aw, shit!’ as she slid sideways. She dropped the knife and hugged the post.

    The others rushed forward. Cora rammed her back against the totem pole to brace it. Abilene and Vivian positioned themselves under Finley to catch her.

    Finley dangled by her arms.

    Abilene and Vivian reached high and grabbed her feet.

    ‘I’m okay. Just let go.’

    They did as she asked. She kicked and swayed, and finally wrapped her legs around the post Then she began to work her way slowly downward, clinging to its underside.

    ‘Watch my face,’ Cora warned as the shoes neared her.

    ‘Can’t even see it.’

    ‘You’re low enough.’

    ‘Okay, okay.’ Finley’s legs released the pole. She swept back and forth like a pendulum until Abilene caught her around the thighs. Once she was steady, Abilene stepped away. Finley let go and dropped to the ground. Her face was red, shiny with sweat. ‘Thanks, guys.’

    ‘Dork,’ Abilene said.

    ‘Yeah, but I’m a dork with a weapon.’ She hunted around for a moment, found the knife and picked it up.

    ‘Everybody better stand back,’ Cora said.

    They stepped clear of the totem pole, and Cora lurched out from under it. Without her back to support it, the pole stayed put.

    ‘Could’ve saved your energy,’ Finley told her.

    Cora shrugged. ‘You never know.’

    ‘Anyway, thanks. I could’ve got turned into mashed potatoes.’

    ‘No sweat.’

    With her empty hand, Finley brushed dirt and flakes of wood off the front of her clothes. Then she held up the knife. ‘It was worth some trouble, huh?’

    The grimy blade, specked with rust, was at least eight inches long.

    ‘Quite a toad-sticker,’ Vivian said.

    Cora walked back to the other totem pole. She’d dropped her tire iron there before rushing to Finley’s rescue. She picked it up. ‘If we’re really going through with this,’ she said, ‘we’d better lay our hands on some more weapons.’

    ‘There’s a fireplace poker in the lodge,’ Abilene said.

    ‘I know where there’s a shotgun,’ Finley said.

    Vivian’s eyes widened. ‘Where?’

    Finley gave her a mysterious look, but didn’t answer.

    A shotgun? That’d be perfect, Abilene thought. But they sure hadn’t brought one along with them, and she hadn’t seen one in the lodge. Somehow, though, she seemed to remember seeing one recently.

    She remembered. She muttered. ‘Oh, Jesus.’

    Cora groaned. Apparendy, she now realized where the shotgun was.

    Vivian gazed at the others, puzzled.

    ‘Batty,’ Finley said.

    Vivian bared her upper teeth. ‘We don’t want to go back there.’

    ‘The old buzzard had an ax in the shed, too. And a sickle. All sorts of neat shit. We could come back loaded for bear.’

    Cora nodded. ‘If we had that over-and-under, we could blow the asshole’s head off. We wouldn’t even have to get our hands dirty. There’d be no contest. Even if it turns out there’s more than one of ’em, we’d be okay.’

    ‘Batty isn’t about to give us any of those things,’ Vivian pointed out.

    ‘We might be able to work a trade,’ Abilene suggested.

    ‘Not a chance,’ Vivian said. ‘Someone like that doesn’t part with a shotgun.’

    ‘So… we’re talking about stealing the stuff?’

    ‘You got it, Hickok.’

    ‘Oh, man.’

    Nose wrinkled, Vivian nodded in agreement ‘That’s getting heavy.’

    ‘HeavyV Finley blurted. ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me! We’re gonna blow away the fucker who killed Helen and you’re worried about swiping a few things from some crazy old fart of indeterminate gender who may or may not have done it?’ Vivian didn’t seem fazed by the outburst ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea,’ she said, her voice firm. ‘I’m sure Batty didn’t have anything to do with it And we don’t want to turn someone like that against us.’

    ‘Scared he’ll hex us?’

    

    

    Back at the Wagoneer, they ate potato chips along with sandwiches of roast beef and sharp cheddar while they discussed plans for the raid against Batty.

    Their first idea was to wait for nightfall, sneak up on the cabin in the dark, and subdue the old lunatic by force.

    ‘Catch him while he’s sleeping,’ Cora said.

    ‘But what if he’s not asleep?’ Vivian asked. ‘We’ve gotta take him by surprise or one of us might get shot.’

    ‘Listen at a window for snoring,’ Finley suggested.

    ‘We need to use our heads,’ Abilene said. ‘You know? We’re not commandos. Making a night attack on someone who’s armed… It just seems out of our league.’

    ‘So what’ve you got in mind, Hickok?’

    ‘I’m not sure. But we’ve never done anything like that. The other times… we were always tricky about it. That was how we managed to succeed against Wildman and the Sigs and even that guy on Halloween. We didn’t just attack. We were clever about it.’

    Cora’s eyes narrowed. She nodded slowly as she chewed on a mouthful of sandwich. ‘You’re right,’ she said, her voice coming out muffled. ‘Let’s think up a fake-out.’

    . ‘Going back in broad daylight would be a good start,’ Vivian said. ‘Walk right up to the cabin and knock on the door.’

    ‘Light a bag of shit on fire,’ Finley suggested.

    ‘Let’s tty to do better than that,’ Abilene said.

    They were exhausted by the time they reached the lake.

    ‘Take five,’ Cora said.

    She wandered down to the water as the others sank to the ground. Finley leaned back against Helen’s sleeping bag and folded her hands behind her head. Vivian lay down, gasping. Abilene crossed her legs. She lifted the front of her blouse and wiped her face.

    Though gray clouds dimmed the sky, the air felt heavy and moist. Even the breeze blowing in from the lake gave little relief from the humid heat.

    Cora dropped the tire iron, pulled off her shoes and socks, and waded into the water. It probably felt wonderful, but Abilene didn’t have the energy to follow her example. The earlier hiking and all the emotional strains of the morning had sapped too much of her strength. Besides, she would get a chance to cool off when they crossed the inlet.

    If I can make it that far, she thought Carrying the water bottle, she supposed, didn’t make things any easier. But at least they’d been smart enough not to bring along a full one. Before setting out, they’d merely added some water to the nearly empty bottle that they’d taken along on the first trip to Batty’s.

    She twisted off the cap. She drank a bit Lowering the bottle, she watched Cora duck beneath the surface. A few moments later, the girl came up and rolled onto her back and floated motionless beside the ramshackle dock.

    Abilene turned her eyes to the beach and stared at the canoe. If we could just take that to Batty’s place, she thought. So much easier than walking. If it had paddles. And if it didn’t have that gaping hole in the bottom.

    Oh well.

    When Cora came out of the water, Abilene knew that the rest period was about over. She took a few more swigs from the bottle, then struggled to her feet. Vivian and Finley stood up while Cora got into her socks and shoes. Vivian accepted the bottle in silence, gulped some water, and passed it to Finley.

    ‘Hotter than a huncher out here,’ Finley muttered before tilting the bottle to her mouth.

    ‘You gals should’ve taken a dip,’ Cora said.

    ‘It’s gonna rain before long, anyway,’ Vivian said.

    ‘Think so?’ Abilene asked.

    Nodding, Vivian sniffed the breeze. ‘I’d bet on it.’

    ‘Hope you’re right.’

    ‘Let it come,’ Finley said. ‘The sooner, the better.’

    The rain didn’t come and the air seemed hotter, muggier than ever as they made their way through the forest. Abilene felt as if she were hiking through a sauna. After a while, Cora peeled off her tank top. Finley took off her shirt.

    
Why not?
Abilene thought.
Nobody around to see us, anyway
.

    She removed her own blouse and tucked it under the waistband at the back of her skirt.

    Seeing that the others had stripped down, Vivian pulled off her polo shirt. She balled it up and mopped her face. After a few strides, she took off her bra. She stuffed it into a pocket of her shorts but kept the shirt in her hand as if ready to put it on quickly at the first sign of intruders. Her head turned constantly from side to side. Obviously, she was worried about being seen.

    So was Abilene. Though she told herself that there was probably no one nearby, it made her uneasy to be topless outside in broad daylight. She was uncomfortably aware of her naked breasts, how the air felt against their dripping skin and how they jiggled. She was tempted to put her blouse back on. Better to feel exposed and vulnerable, however, than stifled inside the garment.

    As they approached the mouth of the inlet, where they would be in plain sight from the lake’s opposite shore, Vivian pulled the polo shirt down over her head. Abilene slipped into her blouse and immediately regretted the way it clung to her skin and trapped the heat. Neither Cora nor Finley bothered to cover themselves.

    ‘Somebody might see you,’ Vivian warned.

    ‘As if I care,’ Finley said.

    ‘It might make somebody come after us.’

    ‘If it’s the guy that got Helen, let him come. I’d like to meet him and get it over with.’

    ‘We don’t want to meet him before we’ve got the gun,’ Cora said.

    ‘The four of us could take him.’

    Abilene wished they would stop standing there in plain sight Anyone might be watching. And getting ideas.

    ‘Either put on your shirts or get in the water,’ she said.

    ‘You worry too much, Hickok.’

    ‘It’s bad enough we’ve got Helen’s killer to deal with. God only knows who might be out there getting an eyeful and thinking he might like a crack at us.’

    ‘Just let ’em try,’ Finley said.

    Then she followed Cora into the water. Cora swam for the other side while Finley waded across, holding the sleeping bag overhead.

    Vivian jumped in.

    Abilene paused on the outcropping.

    She scanned the gray, ruffled lake and its shoreline. She saw no one.