Marcus Sakey - Good People

The world wobbled, the closed concession stand and wet sand and gray skies swirling and bleeding. She fought an urge to scream the breath from her lungs. “Don’t you-” She caught herself, realized the detective was looking at her. She had to tell him, get cops racing toward her sister’s house, oh Jesus, her nephew’s house-

Stop. This is the most important moment of your life.

“Don’t I what, Anna?” It seemed a terrible obscenity that Jack’s voice could hang in her ear while the real man stood in her sister’s home miles away. “Hurt her?”

Halden turned back to Tom, said, “Simple enough. You two come in with me, I’ll take you into an interview room, we’ll go through the story again.”

“Who was that?” Jack’s voice came quick.

If Halden realizes who you’re talking to, he has to act on it.

If Jack realizes who you’re standing with, Sara dies.

“No one,” she said. “I’m outside.” She wanted to step away, but was afraid it might make the cop suspicious. “What do you want?”

“Do we need a lawyer?” Tom asked.

“What do I want?” Jack laughed. “Your aunt’s secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies. What do you think?”

“I thought you were just going to come clean,” Halden said. “Why would you need a lawyer for that?”

Her stomach felt greasy. Her thighs trembled. Choosing her words carefully, she said, “I’ll get it for you.”

“Don’t jerk me around, Anna. I know it’s here.”

“What?” Her mind raced. Why would he think the money was at her sister’s house? Unless… Oh God.

“It’s just, on TV, they always say you should have a lawyer present for something like this.”

“I saw you bring it here,” Jack said. “The other day. You walked in with this duffel bag, the one I’m looking at right now. Your sister, she says she doesn’t know anything about it, but I’m wondering if I just haven’t asked her the right way.” He paused. “What do you think, Anna? Should I ask her again?”

“No,” she said quickly. “Please.”

“Look, it’s up to you,” Halden said, his voice growing colder. “But you should know that the more you delay, the more trouble you’re going to be in.”

“Then tell me where it is.”

“It’s not there.”

Jack said, “I want you to listen to something.” A brief silence, and then she heard the scariest sound of her life.

Julian crying into the phone.

She wanted to beg, to plead, to shriek. Instead, she said, “It’s not there. I swear. You’re right, I was going to leave it. But then I thought of you. Of this.”

“You’ve got a chance to help bring in a cop killer. But time is a factor. If a lawyer dicks us around long enough for him to get away? All that leaves us with is you.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jack said.

“Yes, you do,” she said. “You’re” – she struggled for safe words – “with my nephew. Do you really think I would mess around? Now?”

There was a long pause. “Then where is it?”

“We’ll bring it.”

“Besides, you really want to risk letting him get away? The guy who beat you, broke your fingers, threatened your wife?”

“You’ll bring it, huh?” Jack clicked his tongue. “I don’t know. That sounds like stalling. Are you stalling?”

“No. I’m not.”

“You’d better not. Because this morning I shot a cop. Do you know what that means?” His voice terrible. “It means that it doesn’t matter what I do now. I could set this baby on fire, and it wouldn’t matter, because I’ve already done something they will never, ever let me go for. Do you get it? I’m beyond consequences.”

“All right,” Tom said. “It doesn’t matter anyway. We’d say the same thing either way.”

Her legs nearly gave. “I understand.”

“Good,” Jack said. “Smart choice.”

“Good,” Halden said. “Smart choice.”

The line went dead, but she stood still, holding the phone to her ear. Thinking of Sara and Julian, trapped and confused and very, very scared. The helplessness nearly brought tears to her eyes. To have to listen to him threaten her sister, her nephew, and be unable to do anything about it…

Forget the police, forget her and Tom walking away, forget that sweet half second of safety. There was no safety. Not for them. She knew that now.

They had to get away from Halden. But how? No way he was going to let them go now. They had to find a clever way to slip him. Some circumstance where he would leave them alone for a minute or two.

It came to her all of a sudden, and the irony was bitter enough to burn. To be really convincing, it would need them both. She closed her phone and put one hand on her stomach, praying Tom would understand.

HE WANTED ANOTHER CIGARETTE. Funny, fifteen months had been enough to reset his nicotine tolerance so that he had the tingling fingertips and pleasant light-headedness he hadn’t known since his first smokes a decade ago. But it hadn’t done a damn thing to quell his body’s desire.

Halden put his hands in his pockets. “Where’s the money?”

Tom hesitated. It was their last secret. “In a storage locker. Not far from the mall.”

“Okay. We’ll get it on the way into the station.”

Anna hung up the phone, turned to step back into the conversation. Her eyes raked his, and he thought he saw something there, but couldn’t make out what before she turned to Halden. She had a hand on her stomach, said, “Sorry about that. My sister. She’s got a little boy she’s starting to feed solid food. Apparently her kitchen is now coated in creamed zucchini.”

“Zucchini, huh?” Halden laughed. “Why do they make baby food out of the worst-tasting crap? I’d throw it too.”

Had he made a mistake telling the cop where the money was? Once it was in police custody, they had nothing to bargain with. Maybe they could-

Zucchini?

He looked at Anna again, saw her looking back. She was pale. Paler than the cold explained. Could it have been something from the phone call? She put the other hand on her stomach, winced.

“You okay, baby?”

“I’m feeling a little queasy.”

Halden turned to study her. “Nerves, probably. But you’re doing the right thing.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s-” She looked at Tom again.

Could it have been coincidence, her using their old code word, the one that signaled she needed a rescue? He stared at her. Something in her demeanor seemed almost to be pleading. Her hands moved on her belly again, and all of a sudden he knew what she needed.

“It’s morning sickness,” he said. The words strange on his tongue. Words he’d once looked forward to saying. The kind of phrase that marked a whole new phase of life.

“You’re pregnant?” The detective seemed surprised.

“Yes,” she said, trembling. Something terrible was happening.

“I don’t know why they call it morning sickness,” Tom said, remembering one of the half-dozen books they’d read. “Happens all day long.” He stepped forward, put a hand on her shoulder. “The bathrooms might be open.” Turned to Halden. “Do you mind? It’ll just be a minute.”

Halden shook his head. “Of course not.”

“Thanks,” Anna said, her face contorting again. She started walking, and Tom moved with her, his hands supporting her weight. They passed the food counter, metal shutters drawn, and turned the corner to the back, toward the bathroom. His thoughts pounded and tumbled, trying to imagine what could possibly have made her tell this particular lie.

HALDEN WATCHED THEM GO, Tom supporting her as they hurried past the concession building. When they rounded the corner, he turned and stared out at the lake. Smelled the air, listened to the rush of water, watched waves roll in. Savored the slow smile.