“And we’re going to go?”
“If we don’t, they’ll kill Sara. If you want to stay behind, you can.”
In response, Rufus slid a pistol out of his pocket and handed it to Fiske. “You know how to use one of these things?”
Fiske took the pistol, pulled back the slide and made sure a round was chambered. “I think I can manage,” he said.
* * *
It was well after midnight now and the parkway was deserted. At various points there were pull-offs with picnic areas and small parks where, during the day, families would gather for barbecues and quality time. But now, as Fiske pulled the car down the road, the area was dark, isolated and, he knew, deadly. He eyed the exit signs until he found the one he wanted. At the same time that he saw the sign, he spotted Sara’s car parked in the otherwise empty parking lot. Large trees served as a backdrop to the grassy picnic area. Beyond them Fiske could make out the deeper darkness that was the Potomac River.
Rufus was crouched in the back seat, his eyes level with the bottom edge of the window. His gaze swept the darkened landscape. “Somebody’s in the car. Can’t tell if it’s a man or woman, though,” he said.
Fiske squinted and then nodded in confirmation. They had devised a plan of sorts on the way up. Now that the lay of the land had been established, they could implement that plan. He pulled ahead a little until they passed a bend in the road that took them beyond the line of sight from Sara’s car. Fiske pulled to a stop. The back door of the car opened, and Rufus quickly disappeared into the surrounding trees and headed through the woods toward the parking lot.
Fiske drove into the parking lot and pulled up a couple of spaces from Sara’s car. He looked over and was relieved to see her in the driver’s seat. He pulled his gun and slowly got out. He looked over the top of his car. “Sara?”
She looked at him, nodded and smiled tightly. The smile disappeared when the man next to her rose up and pointed a gun against her head. They both got out the driver’s side. Dellasandro locked one arm around her neck, his free hand holding the gun tightly against her temple.
“Over here, Fiske,” Dellasandro said. Fiske did his best to look shocked. “Where’s Harms?” Dellasandro said.
Fiske made a show of rubbing his cheek. “He had a change of heart. Didn’t want to go to the cops. Hit me and took off.”
“And left you the car? I don’t think so. Give me the answer I want or your girlfriend gets a chunk of lead in her brain.”
“I’m telling you the truth. You know he’s been in prison all these years. He didn’t take the car because he can’t even drive.”
Dellasandro considered this for a moment. “Come over here. I want your hands way, way up in the air.”
Fiske slipped the pistol in the back of his waistband and put his hands up in the air. He stepped slowly around the car and walked toward them. When he got close enough, he saw the ugly bruise on Sara’s cheek. “Are you all right, Sara?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, John.”
“Right, right — look, just shut up,” Dellasandro said. “Exactly where did Harms get away from you?”
“When we got off the interstate. We came up Route One.”
“That was pretty stupid of him to go off like that. He’ll never get far.”
“Well, like they say, you can lead a horse to water . . .”
“Why don’t I believe a word you’re saying?”
“Maybe because you’ve been a lying sack of shit all your life and you figure everybody is the same way.”
Dellasandro pointed his gun at Fiske’s head. “It’s gonna be so much fun blowing you away.”
“Kind of hard disposing of a couple bodies.”
Dellasandro glanced toward the river. “Not when you’ve got the best of Mother Nature to help you.”
“And you don’t think Chandler will suspect anything?”
“What’s to suspect? The cops think you killed your brother for the insurance money. The chick here got fired today because of you and your dumb brother. Her whole career ruined. You two meet up, things get violent. Maybe you kill her and then pop yourself. Maybe it’s the other way around. Who cares? They’ll find her car, and a few days or weeks later, they’ll find your bodies floating somewhere — what’s left of them, anyway. Case closed.”