19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

W e reached St. Louis by early afternoon, and it wasn’t hard to find Six Flags. Just look for the enormous roller coasters, which I expected I’d be spending some time on. Again, not something I’d done since Vegas. S?ren was a bad influence.

He was also impatient. “I want to go in now .”

“You can wait until I get you a phone.” I’d driven through the parking lot three times now and still hadn’t found the rainbow beater with the mustang decal.

“No, look.” He thrust the pamphlet in my face again. “The park closes at six, and it’s already two! If we don’t go in soon, we won’t have time to do anything.” I hadn’t seen a face that pouty since I was looking in the mirror at age fifteen.

Well, I could keep driving in circles and hope that Phin’s friend showed up soon, or I could let S?ren head off into the park and trust that he wouldn’t run away or do something dangerous. The memory of yesterday reared its head in my mind: me tied to a tree and the frightening trip down the highway under his driving. S?ren wasn’t safe to be around people without a minder. On the other hand, even with a minder, he didn’t seem to be safe.

I sighed and pulled in close to the front gate. “I’ve got to meet my contact, but you can go in.” He had money for the entrance fee—at least it was half price for the afternoon. “If we don’t find each other inside, we’ll meet together outside here at six, okay?”

“Very reasonable,” S?ren said, a little smile quirking his lips. “What makes you trust me to return?”

“The fact that you’re still here right now,” I told him honestly. “You could leave me or kill me and get back to ólafur at any time. You haven’t yet, so you’re still interested in being with me. For now.”

“For now,” S?ren agreed. “But perhaps forever. I appreciate…” He paused and considered what he wanted to say. “Your faith in inevitability.”

I shrugged. “That’s fate. Can’t fight it without getting fucked over.”

“We should discuss that sometime when I don’t have a roller coaster waiting for me.” S?ren leaned in closer. “And did you know they have paintball here?”

I felt myself pale. “You know what that is?”

“Randall told me.”

“Oh.” That little shit . “Look, I’m not telling you what to do, I’m definitely not, but…”

“But you’d like to.”

“Sometimes.”

S?ren laughed. “Your honesty is also appreciated. I won’t break anyone, don’t worry.” He got out of the car and headed for the entrance, still wearing his black suit, although it was significantly more rumpled now. It was still a good look for him.

I shook my head and turned forward, determined not to watch S?ren disappear. “Head in the game,” I muttered as I started driving again. Rainbow car, mustang decal…how hard could it be to find?

Pretty fucking hard. I didn’t locate the car for another hour; it was hidden behind an enormous red truck in a far part of the parking lot. Also, rainbow might have been a bit misleading. It was a splotchy mess of primer and a dozen different colors of paint, each one slapped on like the owner was picking a new shade for his en suite . And “mustang decal” was also pushing it. It looked like—I squinted a little. It looked like a My Little Pony.

I pulled in next to the car, and the person who came out to meet me was also, very clearly, not a man. “Hi,” the lady, dressed in a flannel crop top and a pair of Daisy Dukes complete with, yes, cowboy boots, said. She had long blonde hair, bright red lips, and an enormous smile. She also had a very thick Southern twang that sounded more Georgia than Missouri.

“Does Phin know anything about you at all?” I asked as I got out. It was hot today, but I kept my battered fedora on out of sheer solar self-defense.

“Oh, nobody knows all my secrets,” she demurred, tilting her head and biting her lower lip. I almost expected her to giggle. “That’s how you stay alive in this business.”

“Yeah, well, you can drop the cutesy act and start things off right by giving me my new equipment.”

“Ooh, tough guy.” She patted her waist, and I saw the Taser at her hip. “Let’s not get too bossy, huh? This is business, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be pleasurable too. I’ve heard a lot about you, after all.”

Yeah, I just bet she had. “Nobody knows all my secrets.” I tossed her own words back at her and watched her frown and fumble them. “And I’m not interested in pleasure, not with you or anyone else. I just want to pay for my stuff and go.”

“Not very fun.”

“Lady, I don’t even know your name. Don’t go asking me for fun.”

She beamed at me. “You can call me Cherry! Or just pick a fruit. I don’t care, sugar.”

“How about Kumquat?”

“Now that’s just rude.” She leaned her hip against the car. “I could just leave, y’know. I don’t have to do Phin any favors on this hot, hot summer day. I came because he told me you could give me what I wanted.”

“I’ve got money,” I said. “Let’s keep this clean.”

“Mmm, no. I think I’d rather get dirty.” She grinned as though she had any idea of what she was talking about. Gods save me from people who thought they could out-witticism me.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “You got a call from Phin, and he let something slip that he probably shouldn’t have, and you thought to yourself, ‘hey, I know what would be neat! I could get this guy to tell me all about my future , so I know what’s coming for me. Then once he’s done, I’ll tie things up all nice and neat by killing him. Only he might see that coming, so first I’m going to lure him in so that he trusts me, or at least doesn’t mind me getting nice and close, and then I’ll use my fake Taser—'” Her hand automatically twitched toward her hip. “Yeah, I can tell, I’ve seen modded Tasers before. It injects what, ketamine? What were you planning on drugging me with? Not that it matters, because you’re going to stay the fuck over there, and I’m going to stay here, and we’re going to do this transaction in money and nothing else.”

The smile had completely dropped from her face. “I wasn’t going to kill you.”

“Easy to say when I’m too far away to see into your future.”

“Why would I risk it?” She sounded a little desperate.

“Because you’re arrogant. Like everyone who thinks they can pull this shit on me. You’re not the first…” I leaned forward a little bit, juuust far enough to see more than the glimmer of her baby blues. “Charlotte Hauser. And you won’t be the last.”

My knowing her name threw her off for a moment, but she rallied fast. “It’s for my kid.”

“Sure it is.”

“I’m serious!” She thrust her hand toward her car. “Who do you think wanted a My Little Pony on the hood of this piece of junk? Why would I put something like that on the car I do business in?”

“To get people to underestimate you,” I said. “The same way you do by inviting people to pick a fruity name for you. Honest to fuck, you really think that’s cute?”

“It’s worked on plenty of assholes before. I’m not sure why it didn’t work on you,” she snapped. “And I am serious. My ex ran off with my daughter five days ago. I don’t know where they are, and I need to find her! Look, you want a show of goodwill?” She reached into the back of her car and pulled out a black duffel bag about half the size of mine and threw it over to me. “Take a look inside.”

I put the bag on the hood and opened it warily. Inside was a full magazine for a Glock 19 as well as a box of ammo, two smart phones with charge cords still in the packaging, a first aid kit, and a sleek new Nintendo Switch. The bottom was layered with clothes and, yes, underpants. I held up a pair. “SpongeBob? Why are these even made in adult sizes?”

“Little more interesting than plain old gray, right?” she said, the teasing edge coming back into her voice. “It’s pretty good, huh? The Nintendo already has games loaded onto it, but the wireless has been disabled so you won’t be traceable that way. All this would normally cost you ten grand, easy—” and that was some bullshit, but I was willing to hear her out “—but I’ll trade it to you for information. I just want my daughter back.”

“You do.”

“Yeah.”

I sighed. I could already see where this was going. “Put the Taser down and come here.”

She frowned. “I don’t think—”

“I’m not getting any closer with that in grabbing distance, Charlotte, so put it down and we’ll deal.”

She took it off and set it aside immediately, which at least showed she was serious. “But don’t touch me,” she said as she stepped closer. “Otherwise, you will have a bad time, sugar.”

I put my hands behind my back. “I’ve got no interest in touching you, don’t worry about that.” She stopped about a foot from me. “Look at me,” I said.

Charlotte looked at me, fierce and afraid all at once. It was better than most people managed. I stared into her eyes, so wide, so blue. Her daughter didn’t have blue eyes. Her daughter took after her biological mother, Charlotte’s partner, the one who had objected when Charlotte made a deal with the—

“You’re fucking kidding me.” Really?

“What?”

“You made a deal with the Mexican equivalent of the Godfather and then you tried to skim off the top? Are you stupid or just suicidally hopeful?”

“It was just an extra hundredth of a percent, who notices stuff like that?” Charlotte exclaimed.

“The fucking Godfather does! I’m not looking anymore.”

“You have to.”

“No.” There was no way. The last thing I wanted to see right now was Charlotte or her daughter being tortured to death, and that was 80 percent likely given as deep as I’d gone. “You want my advice, here it is: leave St. Louis and let your girlfriend keep Hayley for now, okay? Because until you’ve secured yourself, you’re not safe to be around.”

“But if I leave, they won’t know where to find me!”

“But you’ll be alive,” I pointed out. “Tough love, Charlotte. Don’t go home, just go . And don’t be such a fucking dumbass! It isn’t difficult to find people to scam. You could have played along and made it big later, but you got greedy. Now get in your car and go find a hotel somewhere safe, and wait at least a month before you try to get in touch with Penny and Hayley.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “But who will keep them safe if I’m not there?”

I shook my head. “They’re a lot safer without you around right now, okay? Go. You have to go. Thanks for the stuff, but you have to go now. You’ve got to run.”

“Fine.” To her credit, she didn’t draw it out any longer. She just grabbed her Taser, tossed me a nasty look, and got back into her pony rainbow car. She drove away, and I rubbed a hand over my face.

I’d barely looked into her future, but I knew she’d at least make it out of Missouri. That was a good start. I reviewed the scene in my mind, seeing through Charlotte’s eyes as she drove past the entrance, past the big black SUV, down to the exit where she could get back onto the—

Big. Black. SUV. With a tall blond man in the front seat, wearing a black suit.

It could be a coincidence.

Yeah, right.