Robert Bidinotto - Hunter

He felt something drop inside his stomach.

The man moved toward him. “How could you forget Susanne, William?”

He shuddered, suddenly unable to speak.

“And then there’s Arthur Copeland.” The man stopped at the foot of the bed. Looked down at him.

Something in his hand, down along his leg.

William Bracey shuddered.

“I’m also here to deliver a message from Yoshiro Takahashi. Oh, I see you remember him, too. Yet you told the court you weren’t even there. Tell me something, William: What do you suppose Mr. Takahashi was feeling when you pointed your. 357 magnum at him?”

“ I didn’t!”

“You’re lying, William.”

The man leaned over him and raised his hand.

A gun with a long, fat barrel.

“No! I didn’t-”

“You did.” The man glanced down. Shook his head. “And you just peed your pants, William.”

“Please!” he whispered, staring into the black hole of the sound suppressor. “Honest to God no I didn’t I didn’t-”

“And now the one-word message from your victims, William: Goodbye .”

Bright light flashed in his eyes again.

Just once.

*

He stood with the gun in his hand, barrel pointing toward the floor.

Stared at the skinny young punk on the rumpled bed. A pool of crimson expanded in a circle around his shattered skull.

He watched the glassy expression fix in William Bracey’s eyes.

He felt drained. He didn’t enjoy taking a human life. Never had. Even though it was his business.

But sometimes, there is no other way.

He listened once more. Silence. Turned out the light, pulled aside the window shade, looked outside. No lights. No movement. He cleared his weapon, shoved the magazine into his back pocket. Unscrewed the suppressor, stuck it into his front pocket. Jammed the Sig into his belt behind his back. Pulled his sweater down over it.

And sometimes, a death can even do some good.

He approached the body and went through with the rest of the plan.

Claibourne Correctional Facility Claibourne, Virginia

Monday, September 8, 9:40 a.m.

“So, tell me again why I’m doing this.”

Susie Copeland spoke so softly that it seemed she was talking to herself. Annie took her eyes off the road long enough to flash a supportive smile.

From the moment Susie had gotten into the car, Annie was concerned about how fragile she looked. She sat stiffly upright in the passenger seat, hands clutched in her lap. No makeup masked the pallor of her skin. Her wine-red hair, every strand, was pulled back and clipped tight behind her head, emphasizing the new sharpness of her cheekbones. She had chosen to wear a conservative navy pantsuit-loose now, given the weight she’d so quickly lost-and Annie also noticed that she kept its jacket buttoned closed, even in here.

“Susie, I never told you to meet with him in the first place. It was your idea. You can still call this whole thing off right now.”

Her companion shook her head. “No. I’m going through with this.”

They had turned off Interstate 95 some time ago, heading west on a two-lane road that crossed miles of barren fields and bleak villages. The sky was a soiled sheet, and darkening clouds clung to the basin rim of the western horizon, like dirty suds.

“Do you really think he asked for this meeting because he’s feeling remorse now?” Annie asked. “Is that what you’re hoping for?”

“No. Not really. But whatever he’s feeling-that’s not the point. This is for me. I need to face him.”

“Okay. I’m just not sure I understand why.”

Susie unclenched her hands, inspected the ragged edges of her unpolished nails. “I’m not really sure, either. I guess it’s about control. About taking back control. From him.” Her voice had an edge now. “When he-when they had me-there was nothing I could do. I was powerless. Nothing I said mattered to them. I begged them to stop. But they just slapped me and told me to shut up.”

Susie lifted her eyes toward the road ahead; they appeared to be unfocused-or perhaps focused on things Annie didn’t want to imagine. Her voice now was very soft.

“I thought I was going to die. I was sure they were going to kill us. I-” She stopped. “Well, I guess they did kill Arthur that night. It just took us both a while to realize it.”

“Susie-”

“No. I’m okay. I guess I was better able to deal with it than he could. Arthur could never forgive himself. For what they did to me. For having to watch and not being able to do anything about it. He felt so helpless. So worthless. ” She lowered her head. “God, I miss him.”

“I just wish that there was something I could do for you.”

“Oh, Annie, you are. You’ve been here for me through all this. It means so much that you’d take today off just to be with me. I couldn’t possibly do this without you being here.”

Annie reached out, touched the clenched hands. The skin felt cold and dry. Susie looked away, blinking.

There was nothing to say for a while.

When Susie spoke again, it was to change the subject. “So. How’s that mysterious project you’ve been working on, what, six months now?”

“To be honest, not so great.”

Silence.

“I know: If you told me, you’d have to kill me.”

Annie chuckled. “Not quite. Let’s just say it’s been frustrating. I haven’t been able to crack a puzzle we’ve been working on since I got there. We’ve been testing a theory that would explain-something that otherwise just doesn’t make any sense. I’ve been running down leads, but finding nothing but dead ends. Grant is really good about it, he’s a patient guy. But we’re both going a bit nuts.”

“I could tell that whatever it is has been worrying you. Overall, though, do you like your new gig in DCS?”

“Sure do. Grant’s great to work for. He’s- Oh, we’re here.”

*

They had crested a rise in the road, and a small community appeared before them, about a mile away. On this, its eastern side, they were approaching what looked like an industrial park with a water tower and a vast spread of lawn among the buildings. But as they got closer, the reflected glint of the sun raced along the razor wire atop the concentric fences that circled the compound, sparking like twin strings of fireworks.

Annie slowed as they came to an access road that ran from the complex out to the highway. At the intersection stood a sign, raised gray metal letters embedded in a red-brick wall:

Claibourne Correctional Center

Virginia Department of Corrections

Incongruously, a colorful, well-tended bed of flowers surrounded the base of the sign.

Turning onto the road, Annie sensed the sudden tension in her companion. She drove on toward a parking lot in front of a single-story, tan-brick building whose windowless face peeked from behind the security fence. The flags of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia stirred on tall poles on either side of the entrance.

She pulled into a diagonal parking spot marked for visitors and turned off the ignition. She heard a long hiss of expelled breath beside her.

“You okay, girlfriend?”

Susie opened her eyes. “Yes.” She unsnapped her seat belt. “Let’s do this.”

Remembering to leave their purses locked in the car, they got out into the harsh sunlight. The pinging sound of the ropes bouncing against the metal flagpoles tolled in the chilly breeze. They walked toward the shadow of the covered entranceway.

A man sat on a low wall beside the front door. He wore sunglasses, a gray tweed jacket, gray cord slacks, and fashionably low-cut black boots. He stood as they approached, as if he’d been waiting for them.