The Bodies Left Behind

The sun was down altogether and the darkness was growing fast. But there was still just enough light in the sky, barely, to make out one of the intruders ru

Bry

Then she stood and opened her car door. Rather than jump in, though, she remained standing, a clear target, pointing the black Glock at the bushes where Hart had fled. Struggling to steady her breathing. And her shooting grip.

Come on, come on…I can only wait a second or two-

Then Hart rose fast from the bushes. He was close enough for her to see him blink in surprise that she was waiting for him. Bry

But now it was time to escape.

Jumping into the car, concentrating on getting the key in the ignition, not looking around. The engine roared and she slammed the shifter into reverse, flooring the limp accelerator. The car skittered backward along the gravel, whipsawing-now rear-wheel drive. She glanced behind her to see the men converging in the driveway, ru

The ski

“Our Loving Savior, look over us,” she whispered, an invocation they said as grace every night and that she’d never meant more than now.

Bry

The men continued to sprint.

Bry

As she approached Lake View Drive she realized it was the right decision. They were closer than she’d thought. She never heard the shotgun fire again but pellets snapped into the windshield, starring it. She took the turn onto the private road and accelerated as fast as she dared, staring out of the dirty rear window and struggling to keep the car under control. It whipped back and forth and threatened to slam into the rocks or trees to the right or tumble down the embankment to the lake on the opposite side of the road.

But she managed to keep control.

Bry

Her neck stung from twisting to look backward. She glanced down at the cup holder. “Goddamn.” The man who’d checked for keys had taken her cell phone. She realized she still gripped the gun in her right hand, finger around the trigger. Glocks have a very light pull. She set the weapon on the seat.

Bry

The driveway was growing closer. She let up on the gas a bit; the raging whine of the gears diminished.

She was thinking: Pull in fast, get into drive and-

A solid load of buckshot crashed into the driver’s side of the car, both windows vanishing into hundreds of pieces of ice, pelting her. A sphere of buckshot stabbed through her right cheek and knocked out a molar. She began choking on the tooth and the blood. Tears flowed and she couldn’t see the road any longer.

Wiping her eyes, Bry

She flew out of her seat, her feet nowhere near the brakes, as the Honda rolled backward down the cliff. It dropped about six feet and the trunk slammed onto a shelf of limestone, hood pointed straight up in the air. The gun hit her in the ear.

The car balanced for a moment, with Bry

She screamed as the frigid water embraced her body, swatting her hands in panic. She called out, “Joey, Joey.”

And inhaled a breath that began as air and ended as water.

“WELL, WE’RE FUCKED,”

Lewis said. “Oh, man. She was a cop.”

“Don’t panic.”

“The fuck you talking about? She was a cop, Hart. You get your head around that? There could be a dozen of ’em in the woods. We’ve gotta leave, my friend. Leave!”

Breathing hard from the run, the men had slowed and were walking through the dense woodland, toward where they’d seen the car go off the road after Lewis had sent a load of shot into the driver’s side. They moved carefully, looking around like soldiers on patrol. They had no idea if the woman was out of commission from the crash or was in hiding, waiting for them.

And they couldn’t forget about Michelle either, who might’ve been drawn out of hiding by the ruckus.

“She wasn’t in a cruiser. And she wasn’t in a uniform jacket.”

Lewis scrunched his face up skeptically. “I didn’t see what she was wearing underneath. I was a little busy.” Again sarcastic. “And I’m not panicking.”

“I’ll bet she was probably off duty and came up here to check out that nine-one-one. Didn’t get the message it was a false alarm.”

Lewis snickered. “You say she wasn’t on duty, my friend. But she was on enough duty to nearly blow your fucking head off.” He said this as if he’d won an argument.

Your head too, Hart corrected silently. He said, “A lot of cops have to carry their pieces. All the time. Regulation.”

“I know that.” Lewis gazed at the lake. “I heard the bang, you know. Like a crash. But I wasn’t sure if there was a splash.”

“I couldn’t hear it go in the water.” Hart nodded toward the Winchester and tapped his ear. “Loud. I don’t usually use shotguns.”

“You oughta learn ’em, boy. The weapon of choice. Nothing like a scattergun. Scares the shit out of folks.”

Weapon of choice.

Crouching, they continued walking slowly. In this morass of trees and tangled brush Hart grew disoriented. They could see the road but he now had no idea where the car had gone over the side. With every step, it seemed, the vista changed.

Lewis paused, rubbed his neck.

Hart looked him over. “You hit?