The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (134 page)

‘Because, Mr. Lando, I know
exactly
where they’re going.’

Lando’s eyes widened and Hennessey looked pleased by his amazement.

He turned back to the road ahead still smiling. Lando snapped, ‘if you don’t stop this enigmatic crap, Hennessey I’m gonna shoot you between the eyes.’ He gripped the rifle tightly as if to reinforce his threat.

Henness
ey chuckled unconcerned, ‘not while I’m driving you won’t, you’re far too sensible to do something so reckless. And anyway, you need me to help you find Miss. Faraday.’

Lando’s jaw was clenched tightly as he said, ‘yeah, you’re right, I do need you, but the
re’ll come a time when I don’t.’

Hennessey replied, ‘a lot can happen between now and then. You have to learn to pick your battles, Mr. Lando.’ At Lando’s exasperated look he smiled, ‘but okay, no more procrastination. They’re bringing her to Glissando in Montgomery.'

Lando closed his eyes and his grip on his rifle tightened even further. Out of the corner of his eyes Hennessey watched his reaction.

Lando said, ‘how do you know that’s where they’re taking her.’

‘I got it out of that guy back there, the one I shot. They left him thinking he was dead, or maybe they’d have left him anyway. But he was quite chatty, especially after his second leg became useless. Plus, he mistakenly thought that I’d let him live afterwards. In any case, he told me everything I needed to know before I put him out of his misery.’

Lando had realised of course that Hennessey had used a silencer; hence the bullet holes in the trees and the sound of only three shots.

He thought about what he had said about killing Manning and was torn between condemning him for his cold blooded indifference to taking another human life, for his total disinterest and unconcern that men died at his hands, and a grim satisfaction that he had rid the world of such men as Manning who would take a woman to certain death.

Hennessey, as if he could read his mind smiled.

There followed a silence. Lando thinking about the woman and how she must be feeling right now. Would she tremble and show her fear? Or would she raise herself to her full height, square her shoulders and face Glissando calmly and bravely? If he knew anything about her it would be the latter.

Hennessey was thinking along the same lines as Lando. But he feared for her, she could be reckless as he had told Lando and if she showed Glissando the same disdain and contempt she had shown him he might hurt her really badly. But then she might show restraint if she thought Leyton was in danger.

He said, ‘how’s your dog?’

Lando didn’t look at him as he answered simply, ‘okay.’

‘That’s good.’

Lando said nothing but not to be deterred Hennessey said, ‘I’m sorry about your cabin. I didn’t have time to stop them before they set it alight. But you might be pleased to know they didn’t get away with it.’

Lando remained silent, he didn’t want to be beholden to this killer; it was after all because of what he had done that all of this had happened. Hennessey went on, ‘at least your animals are okay, that’s the important thing.’

This time Lando looked at him but still didn’t speak so Hennessey said, ‘don’t worry, she’ll be all right, we’ll get there in time.’

Hennessey suddenly gave a self -derogatory laugh, ‘did she tell you about the toothbrush?’

Lando grinned but more at the thought of Hennessey being fooled by a slip of a woman than anything else, ‘yeah, she’s smart that one.’

‘Tell me about it. I never saw that one coming.’

‘Obviously.’ He told Hennessey about the handcuff key. Hennessey laughed whilst shaking his head as though he couldn’t quite believe the ingenuity of the woman. 

No longer smiling Lando said, ‘I hope she doesn’t get too smart with Glissando and put herself at risk.’

‘She won’t, she has Leyton to think about.’

‘He’ll use Leyton to get to her, just as they intended to use me. So she’ll have to decide who to give up, Leyton or the girl.’

Hennessey nodded
and sighed heavily Lando demanded, ‘what, what is it now?’

‘The thing is, she doesn’t know anything so has nothing to bargain with. Even if Glissando lets Leyton live, which he won’t, whatever she says.’ Lando was silent taking this in. Hennessey added, ‘but we’ll get there…in time. As you say she’s smart, she’ll delay, she’ll prevaricate in the hope that we’ll get there before something bad happens.’

‘But she don’t know we’re coming, she thinks you’re either dead or have made your escape, and that I’m giving my statement to Lomax, she’ll believe she’s alone. Besides…’

Hennessey looked at him, ‘besides what?’

Lando looked out of the passenger window before replying, ‘she thinks I’m happy to be rid of her.’

Hennessey frowned, ‘why would she think that?’

‘’Cos that’s what I led her to believe. I told her she was responsible for everything that’s happened and I’d be glad to see the back of her.’

To Lando’s surprise Hennessey laughed and Lando’s anger began to grow, ‘what is it with you, Hennessey? You seem to find amusement in everything, people’s feelings, people’s fear, people being hurt, people being killed. You’re sick.’

Hennessey’s smile faded as he said brusquely, ‘I’m not laughing at her hurt feelings or your guilty conscience, Lando, I’m laughing at your stupidity. She knew what you were doing, and if she didn’t she’ll soon work it out. At least she’d give you the benefit of the doubt; as she does with everyone, well, most everyone.’

Lando was surprised by Hennessey’s perception. He said, ‘maybe. But I think she stopped seeing the good in
you
a while back, Hennessey. Or maybe she figures she saw something that wasn’t there to begin with.’

Hennessey took his eyes from the road ahead to lo
ok at Lando, ‘yeah, maybe.’

Lando said, ‘I find it hard to believe anything you say, Hennessey, and not just because you abducted the woman but because you set her up to make it look as though she was involved with your crimes, and now they’ll think she’s involved with what happened back there in the woods. You said Glissando won’t let Leyton live to tell what really happened. They’ll connect the bullets in that other guy to the bullets found in Blakemore and the other men you killed. They’ll think you killed them and rescued her and took Leyton as a hostage.'

Hennessey shook his head, ‘no. Because I’m going to tell you where to find the shack I took her to, they’ll find everything there to exonerate her. I’ll give you the toothbrush with her blood on it, and the tape I used to bind her, also with her blood on it. In the shack they’ll find the bag with the stun gun and they'll see the marks still on her neck. They’ll find her footprints where she went out the window. But more importantly they’ll have
you,
Lando. You can attest to what condition she was in when she arrived at your place.’

‘Even with all that they’ll still give her a hard time, Sullivan was convinced she’s involved so might others.  And why would they believe
me
? An ex- con, a murderer.’

But even when they discover the truth she’ll have been through another trauma unnecessarily.'

‘Why do you do that?’

‘Do what?’

‘Call yourself a murderer?
You
know you’re not,
I
know you’re not; those people back in Alban know you’re not. So why do you do it? Guilt? Or just a desperate need to be punished over and over?’

Lando realised that Hennessey had quoted almost verbatim the woman’s words to him. But he was outraged that this man, this murderer should preach to
him
about shame and guilt. ‘Don’t profess to know anything about me, Hennessey,' he growled, ‘I don’t need to be psychoanalysed by a man who murders for a living.’

Unfazed Hennessey replied, ‘but that’s just it, Lando, I
am
a murderer, at least in the eyes of the law. I plan and execute my “crimes." Premeditated murder, that’s what they call it isn’t it. What you did was not planned or premeditated but an accident, a terrible accident I grant you, but an accident nonetheless.’

Lando’s anger grew with every word the other man uttered. His voice came from deep in his throat as though trying to quash the anger. ‘I swear to God, Hennessey if you say one more word I’ll kill you right now and fuck the consequences.’

Hennessey’s voice was the opposite of Lando’s in that it was very calm, ‘okay, kill me and be responsible for the death of another innocent woman. At least you tell yourself your wife was innocent, because that helps with the self inflicted guilt. Only she wasn’t innocent was she, Lando? And
your
only crime was to act first and think later. Maybe you wanted to prove to yourself and her that you did love her, then all that time you were married wouldn’t have been such a waste, such a sham.

Maybe you just wanted to protect her despite what she was. But deep down you knew that wasn’t it. Guilt was the driving force behind what you did, and it still is. Guilt that you didn’t love her, that you didn’t care enough to stop her from making a huge mistake. Guilt that you despised her and all she stood for. Guilt that she was so lonely that she was driven to find solace in the arms of another man who brought her nothing but trouble. You were glad she had found someone else to fill her time, to get excited about. Guilt drove you into that house that day, and it’s guilt that drives you now to do what you’re doing for Miss. Faraday. All you have left is guilt and shame. You’d be lost without it.’

Lando could not suppress his rage and before he could stop himself he struck Hennessey in the side of the head with the butt of his rifle. Luckily it was a just a glancing blow, nevertheless Hennessey’s head snapped sideways and he momentarily lost control of the car as it swerved precariously towards the grass verge at the side of the road. He just about brought it under control before it could plunge down an embankment.

He stopped the car and drew his weapon at the same time. Lando raised the rifle again but before he could connect with the other man’s face Hennessey blocked it and Lando found himself staring down the barrel of his Glock.

Lando froze as Hennessey cocked the weapon, his expression dark and deadly. Gone was the bantering, mocking, amused man and in his place was the icy, malevolent assassin. The stone cold killer.

Lando realised that this was his killing expression; this was what the men he had killed saw just before he ended their lives. His anger had made him reckless but not crazy so he remained perfectly still. Not that he cared for himself but he had the woman to think about. He was ashamed of himself now for reacting as he had. He had let Hennessey get to him, something he prided himself that no one would ever do again, but he had let a woman and a killer get to him. And if Hennessey was angry enough to kill him now the woman would once again be in his clutches, because for all his protestations of regret and sorrow about what he’d done to her he still didn’t trust him.

Hennessey said, ‘throw your rifle on the back seat.’

When Lando didn’t immediately comply Hennessey pushed his gun against Lando’s cheek. Lando got the message and tossed the rifle in the back of the car.

Hennessey put his fingers to his head then looked at them, they were bloody. He looked back at Lando and his tone dangerously low said, ‘do that again, Lando and I’ll be rescuing the woman alone. And I might even change my mind about telling the authorities where that shack is. I might even go and clean it up and poor Miss. Faraday will have a lot of really difficult questions to answer.’

Lando’s eyes filled with loathing never left Hennessey’s glacial ones. Then Hennessey suddenly smiled, ‘but then she might be so grateful to me for rescuing her from that evil sadistic brute Glissando that she might decide to come with me. I can show her a life she never even dreamed of or read about in those books she loves so much. Take up where we left off so to speak.’

Lando’s jaw clenched so tightly it hurt and his eyes blazed into Hennessey’s whose smile turned into a sneer. He said, ‘go on, Lando, go with your instincts, pick the wrong battle. Be reckless with your life…and hers.

Lando appeared for a moment as if he would do just that, but then he said very quietly, ‘did you rape her?’

Hennessey was so taken aback by the unexpectedness of the question that the hand holding the gun dropped a few inches but stayed pointed at Lando’s face.

They stared at each other in silence for what seemed l
ike forever until Hennessey replied just as quietly, ‘no, Mr. Lando, I did not.’

Lando only just prevented the sigh of relief from escaping him, not wanting to give the other man something else to mock him with. He said, ‘so, you just deceived her into thinking that you cared about her to get her into bed, is that it?’

‘Why should you care what we did or didn’t do in bed, Mr. Lando?
You
don’t care about her do you? She’s just “The woman” to you. She accused me of being impersonal when I called her Miss. Faraday and never by her first name, but I at least used part of her name. You just think of her as that irritating, trouble bringing, crazy woman.’

Lando didn’t answer and Hennessey’s eyes shot a challenge as he said, ‘or do you?’