Dead Even Part 26

The pickup drove a mile past the Landry farm, where police cars and media vans still congregated, before turning into the small county park that sat between a pond and a wide field, the crop of which had recently been cut. There were no other cars in the lot, nor had they pa.s.sed any on the road. All the local folks were home right about now, watching the news reports of the drama that had unfolded right down the road, or so Burt suspected. The truck drew to a stop all the way at the end, and Burt cut the ignition. This being farm country, no one would think twice about seeing a pickup truck parked near the pond.

"Out." Burt gestured to Archer. "Out of the truck."

"You're gonna leave me here?" Archer looked out the window. "With all those cops down the road? They're gonna find me."

"That's the idea, a.s.shole." Burt pointed to the door and said, "Don't make me say it again, Archer."

Archer sighed and jumped out of the truck and stood next to the door, as if waiting for instructions.

"Walk," Burt told him, pointing toward the play equipment near the pond.

"Wait." Archer took a few steps toward the truck. "I forgot my stuff."

"Don't bother." Burt pulled the gun from his belt. "There's nothing in that bag you're gonna need."

It took a moment for Archer to realize what was about to happen.

"No, you can't. You . . . can't." He shook all over, and he looked around frantically for an escape route. There was none.

"Tell you what I'm gonna do, Archie. I'm gonna count to five. I'm firing on five. So when I say one, one, you make a run for it. Five seconds, give you time to run into the woods, find a place to hide. Maybe I won't find you." you make a run for it. Five seconds, give you time to run into the woods, find a place to hide. Maybe I won't find you."

"B . . . but . . ."

"That's your choice, Archie. You can run when I say one, one, or I can shoot you where you stand. It's up to you." Burt spoke softly, enjoying himself. "I'm gonna start counting now, Archie, so you turn around and get ready to run. One . . ." or I can shoot you where you stand. It's up to you." Burt spoke softly, enjoying himself. "I'm gonna start counting now, Archie, so you turn around and get ready to run. One . . ."

"But-"

"You're wasting time, a.s.shole. Two . . ."

Archer turned and ran toward the trees.

"Three." Burt fired and hit his target square in the back. Archer fell face forward onto the stones that covered the parking lot. "I was only kidding about giving you till five."

He walked over and put a second bullet in the back of Archer Lowell's head.

Tucking the gun into his belt, Burt walked back to his truck and drove from the parking lot, careful not to kick up stones that might further mar his paint job. He'd noticed a few pockmarks on his rear fender that morning, and he was determined to avoid adding to them. He took his time as he drove back the way he had come, easing on the gas as he pa.s.sed the Landry farm. Laughing to himself, he sped up. The sooner he left the fields of New Jersey behind him, the better.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

"Where are we?" Julianne stirred in her seat in the small plane, then sat up and rubbed her eyes as if it were a huge effort.

"We're on an airplane, sweetie." Genna leaned forward and tucked back the hair that had fallen over Julianne's face.

"A plane?" The girl sat up groggily. "Why are we on a plane?"

"Because we're taking you home," Genna replied, dreading what came next.

She'd been coached by Anne Marie, who, as a psychologist, had stressed the importance of answering truthfully any questions Julianne might ask. But Anne Marie wasn't here, looking into those blue eyes, anxious even through the residual effects of the sleep she'd been coaxed into by Jayne Young, the agent who'd been sent to a.s.sist with Genna's flight from the Valley of the Angels with Julianne. A little sleeping aid into the hot chocolate had been all it had taken to rock Julianne gently to sleep.

Just as well, Genna thought, since the ride to the airport over treacherous roads had been anything but smooth. When they'd finally reached a stretch of highway that was all but closed due to drifting snow, Jayne had called for a.s.sistance, which had arrived in the form of a road crew and several agents who'd blocked the way from Linden with a mock accident that prevented the inevitable caravan that had been sent to find and return Julianne to the compound. By keeping her car directly behind the snowplow, Jayne made it to the airstrip in time for the small jet to take off before the worst of the storm hit. All in all, it had been a hair-raising trip, and Genna wasn't sorry that Julianne had missed the worst of it. No doubt the drama of the ride would have scared her half to death.

All behind us now, Genna reminded herself.

Then again, for Julianne, perhaps the worst still lay ahead. How to convince this child that her beloved father was a kidnapper and a liar, not to mention a conspirator in a scheme that sent her friends into slavery of the most debauched sort? That he'd told his worst lie to her?

And why now, Genna wondered, would Julianne believe the truth, told to her by a stranger?

"Why are we on a plane to go home? We can go in the car. . . ." Julianne sat all the way up and looked out the window. "Where is my daddy?"

Genna exchanged an anxious glance with Jayne, then said, "Julianne, there's something we need to talk about. . . ."

The girl's head turned toward her.

"Why did you call me that?" The look on her face was total shock. "My name is Rebecca. Rebecca West."

"No, honey, I think you know that's not true," Genna said in her softest voice. "Think. Think hard . . ."

"My name is Rebecca. I don't know why you called me . . . that other name. I'm Rebecca," she insisted, her face white, her fingers clutching the arms of her seat.

"Do you remember when your father first started calling you Rebecca?" Jayne asked gently.

Julianne stared at her.

"It was when you were five, do you remember?" Genna tried to take one of the girl's trembling hands, but Julianne pulled them out of reach.

Genna looked up at Jayne, who understood. The girl felt double-teamed. Without another word, Jayne walked to the front of the cabin.

"Do you remember when your father first told you that he wanted to call you Rebecca?" Genna asked again.

Slowly, Julianne nodded her head.

"Did he tell you why?"

She nodded again. "Because my mommy had named me . . . the other name. And my mommy died and went to heaven and took my name with her. So I had to have a new name."

Genna closed her eyes and squeezed them tightly shut to close out the girl's pain.

"Do you remember when you were called Julianne?"

She stared at Genna, then out the window. When her eyes returned to Genna's face, she whispered in the voice of a very small child, "I'm not supposed to. Daddy said it would make us both too sad to think about Mommy, so I'm not supposed to remember her. I'm not supposed to remember being . . ." She could not bring herself to speak the name.

"Do you remember your mother, Julianne?" Genna asked.

Another nod of the head. "Don't tell my father."

"I won't, sweetheart." Genna turned her seat around to face Julianne, wondering how she would get out the words she knew she had to say. She wished this hadn't come up until they'd landed. Surely Annie would know the best thing to say. Genna had only her instincts to guide her, and she wasn't sure how good they were. "But there is something I need to tell you."

Looking wounded and scared, Julianne waited.

"Your mother . . ."

Tell her the truth, Annie's words rang in Genna's ears. Annie's words rang in Genna's ears. Don't make the situation worse by telling her more lies. Whatever she asks, you must tell her the truth. Don't make the situation worse by telling her more lies. Whatever she asks, you must tell her the truth.

Easy for you to say, McCall, since you're not the one who has to break the news.

"Your mother didn't die, Julianne."

The girl made no reply, but simply stared as if Genna spoke in a foreign tongue.

"Julianne, did you understand what I said?"

"Why are you lying, Miss Ruth?" Julianne's eyes narrowed. "Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying, honey. And my name isn't really Miss Ruth. It's Genna. Genna Snow. I'm with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and I was sent to Reverend Prescott's compound to find you, and to bring you back to your mother."

"NO!" Julianne's hands slammed into Genna's chest. "You're making this up! Why are you making this up?"

She began to cry, punching out at Genna, then at Jayne, who rushed to help subdue the young girl.

"You are lying! My mother is dead! She is dead!" She sobbed. "My father told me! He told me . . . he wouldn't lie to me."

They let Julianne sob and rail against them until she simply went slack, like a doll. Genna moved back into the seat next to her and cradled her in her arms until the girl could cry no more.

"We're taking you to your mother, Julianne. I'm sorry we had to do it this way. I'm so sorry." Genna rocked her gently. "But your mother has waited seven years to have you back, and it's our job to take you there, do you understand?"

"Why would he do that?" Julianne's whisper was almost inaudible. "Why would he lie about her? If she didn't die, why would he take me away?"

Genna looked over Julianne's head to Jayne and grimaced. She didn't want to answer these questions, didn't feel it was her job to tell the daughter that the father was an egotistic fool who'd kidnapped her rather than permit her mother the joy of watching her grow up. She wasn't sure how best to phrase it.

Oh, h.e.l.l, let the psychologists explain that part. I might end up doing more harm than good, Genna rationalized. "I'm not exactly sure." Genna rationalized. "I'm not exactly sure."

"I don't believe you." Julianne grew restless and pushed Genna away. "I don't believe you. If my mother was alive, why wasn't she with us?"

"Your parents divorced, Julianne. Didn't you know that?"

"No, they didn't." Julianne's face went dark. "They weren't divorced. That's how much you know. They loved each other. My daddy was so sad when she died. That's why he took me away. That's why he called me Rebecca. . . ."

Genna sighed deeply. She was in over her head, and she knew it. She looked to Jayne for help, but instead of words of wisdom, she got only a helpless shrug of the shoulders from her companion.

"Tell me what you remember about your mother." Genna thought perhaps the best thing to do at this point might be to take the focus off Jules, for now. There was nothing she could say about the man that would help the situation now. Perhaps getting Julianne to talk about Mara might be the better path.

Julianne's trembling hands lay in her lap, her fingers intertwined.

"She was pretty. She had long dark hair and a soft voice. She laughed a lot," she said tentatively.

"What else?" Genna encouraged her.

"She sang to me. Played with me. She took me to school in the morning. When I came home we had lunch outside every day when it didn't rain. I had a swing in the tree, and she pushed me. . . ." Her eyes shifted to one side, then appeared to focus on something Genna could not see. "Sometimes she sat on the swing and I sat on her lap and we sw.a.n.g together. We sang songs. . . ."

Genna watched Julianne's eyes flicker, then fill with tears.

"I always missed her," Julianne confided. "Daddy told me not to think about her, but I always did. . . ."

"You'll see her soon," Genna told her. "She'll be waiting for you at the airport."

Julianne gave her that look again, that look of not understanding what was said to her. She gazed out the window but did not speak again until the plane touched down at the small airport in Bucks County. A long black car waited just off the runway, and when Julianne was led off the plane by Genna, the back door opened and a pretty dark-haired woman stepped out.

Julianne stood on the third step from the bottom of the portable stairway and stared as the woman approached her. She walked slowly toward the plane, her face a study in joyful disbelief. As the tears began to roll down her cheeks, she opened her arms wordlessly, and Julianne hesitated for several very long moments before walking into the circle of her mother's embrace.

Genna Snow blew out a long-held breath and looked over her shoulder at Jayne, whose eyes were wet. The hands of the two women touched briefly, then Jayne said, "Hey, we must be really important. We scored bra.s.s for a driver. . . ."

The driver's door opened, and John Mancini emerged. He patiently waited for his wife at the side of the car, and Genna stepped up her pace.

"Nice boots," he said as she drew near.

"Like these?" She grinned, never taking her eyes from his face. "I had to trade my shoes for these babies."

"Ahhh, the person you traded with . . . was she dead?"

"Dead? No. She was in the infirmary, though."

"That would explain why your signal hasn't moved for over a week."

"Sorry about that." She smiled. Just looking at him made her smile. Every time. "Were you worried?"

"Yeah, I was. I was worried about you." He held her as she slipped into his arms. "Welcome home, Gen."

"Good to be home." She rested her head on his chest. "You don't know how good it is to be home."

"You did a great job, getting Julianne out. You know we're going to have to pick your brain now about the operation out there, about Reverend Prescott's doings, so we can go back in and shut him down."

She nodded. "Pick away tomorrow. I'm taking the rest of the day off. Let's go home."

He tossed the keys to the driver of a second car that had pulled up, and caught a set of keys in return.

"Hey, I don't get to ride in the limo?" Genna pretended to be offended.

"You're not going where that limo is going," he said as he led her to the pa.s.senger side. "That limo is headed for Linden. This car is headed home. Still want the limo?"

"Nah. I want the driver, though." She leaned over and kissed his mouth after he'd gotten into the car.

The limo pulled past them.