Among Thieves

“They’re on their way,” Sanchez responded. Looking down at Kozlowski she asked, “Will she be all right?”

“I don’t know,” Fi

As he spoke, he heard Sally cough, and her body convulsed, rolling to the side, spitting up what seemed like gallons of water. Kozlowski sat up and looked at her. She went still again, then spasmed once more, retching as her body tried to expel more of the river. After another moment she took a breath, and the flow of air caused a horrid coughing fit. Fi

“Is she okay?” Devon demanded.

Fi

“I’m fine. Just a little out of breath is all.”

“Me too,” Fi

Devon looked down at his shirt; there was no surprise on his face. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “I just need to catch my breath.” He smiled as he spoke, but his eyelids were fluttering unsteadily.

Fi

Hewitt could hear the commotion over by the water. He was tempted to walk over to see what was happening, maybe even offer to help, but couldn’t; he needed to keep an eye on Porter. He seemed to have lost his grip on reality. He was tugging at the back doors to the van, yelling, “They’re in here! I know it, they’re in here!” The door wouldn’t open for him, though.

Hewitt put his hand on Porter’s shoulder. “It’s jammed,” he said. “Accident crew’ll be here in a minute; they’ll get it opened.”

Porter spun on him and slapped his hand away. His eyes were wide. “A minute? Don’t you understand? The paintings are here! We’ve found them. Help me get these goddamned doors opened!”

Hewitt hesitated.

“Come on, goddammit!” Porter shouted at him. “Help me!”

Hewitt stepped forward and gave a pull on the doors. They didn’t open, but they creaked and groaned angrily; he weighed at least twice as much as Porter. He gave another tug, this time throwing his back into the effort.

The doors swung open, nearly knocking Porter to the ground. He dodged them and scrambled up to look inside, and saw a large wooden box. “They must be inside,” Porter said. “Help me get this down.”

Hewitt reached forward and the two of them unloaded it. Porter circled the container as if he were trying to seduce it. “We’re about to make history,” he said. Porter found the brass clasp on the front end of the box and flipped the latch. He paused for a moment, the door still closed, breathing heavily. Then he threw the door open.

“No,” he said.

Hewitt couldn’t see into the box; Porter was blocking the way. “What?”

“No!” He yelled it this time; screamed it.

“What is it?” Hewitt said.

Porter turned around. Any hint of sanity was gone. He looked desperate and shattered. “It’s empty!” he screamed. “It’s fucking empty!”

Fi

There seemed to be less they could do for Devon. Fi

Devon nodded. “I’ll be okay.” His voice was little more than a whisper. He turned his head so he could see his daughter, lying a few yards away. “She’s fine,” Fi

Devon gave a weak smile. “She’s a piece of fuckin’ business,” he said. “I wish I coulda done better for her.”

“You’re doing fine,” Fi

“From Walpole, or the fuckin’ grave? I’m goin’ away any way you look at it. We both know it.”

“Shut up,” Fi

“I did that,” Devon said. “Thanks. I got one more favor.” He coughed, and a thin sliver of blood ran down his chin from the corner of his mouth.

“Sure,” Fi

“Make sure Sally’s taken care of. Make sure they put her someplace good. Maybe look in on her every once in a while. She gets the right chances, I swear to fuckin’ God, she could do something with her life. She could be good at something.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fi

“I got your word?”

“You’ve got my word.”

Devon looked back at his daughter. He seemed to relax. “It’s not that bad,” he said. “It doesn’t even hurt.” For just a moment, he looked at peace. Then the peace was shattered.

“Where are they!”

Fi

Devon said nothing.

“Where are they?” Porter screamed. “Where are the goddamned paintings?”

Devon looked confused. “They’re in the box,” he said.

“They’re not! The box is empty!” Porter went to Devon and pushed Fi

Fi

“Let it go,” Hewitt said to Porter.

“He knows!” Porter screamed. “He knows where they are!” He started toward Devon again, but Hewitt held him back.

“Not now,” Hewitt said. “Let it go.”

Fi

“They were there,” Devon said. Fi

“It’s all right,” Fi

“I swear to God, Fi

“Just hold on.” The sirens had grown louder, and Fi

Suddenly the area was swarming with people. Gurneys rolled over, and a man in a paramedic’s uniform pulled on Fi