Lisa Gardner - The killing hour

“What the hell has happened?”

“Fire,” the man said tersely.

“Where is my daughter?”

“Is she a hiker? Who is she with?”

“Dammit.” Quincy spotted Ray Lee Chee staggering out of a vehicle and made a beeline for him, Rainie hot on his heels. “What happened?”

“Don’t know. Drove into Lake Drummond to start the search. Next thing I know, I’m hearing whistle blasts and smelling smoke.”

“Whistle blasts?”

“Three sharp blows, the international call of distress. Sounded from the northeast quadrant. I was headed in that direction, but man, the smoke got so thick so fast. Brian and I figured we’d better bug out while we still had the chance. We’re not equipped with that kind of gear.”

“And the others?”

“Saw Kathy and Lloyd headed toward their vehicle. Don’t know about Kimberly, Mac, or that doctor dude.”

“How do I get to Lake Drummond?”

Ray just looked at him, then at the clouds of smoke. “Now, sir, you don’t.”

Mac and Kimberly had Tina slung between them, one of her arms over each of their shoulders. The girl was a fighter, trying vainly to help them by moving her feet. But her body had been pushed beyond its limits days ago. The more she tried to run with them, the more she stumbled and careened sluggishly, throwing them all off balance.

The awkward motions were getting them nowhere and the fire was gaining fast.

“I got her,” Mac said tersely.

“It’s too much weight-”

“Shut up and help.” He stopped and hunkered down. Tina wrapped her arms around his neck, Kimberly boosted the muddy girl up onto his back.

“Water,” the girl croaked.

“When we’re out of the woods,” Mac promised. Neither of them had the heart to tell Tina that they had no water left. For that matter, if they didn’t magically find their vehicle in about the next five minutes, all of the water in the world would make no difference.

They were off and running again. Kimberly had no sense of time or place. She was stumbling around trees, battling her way through choking underbrush. Smoke stung her eyes and made her cough. In the good news department, the bugs were gone. In the bad news department, she didn’t know if she was heading north or south, east or west. The swamp had closed in on her and she’d long ago lost any sense of direction.

Mac seemed to know where he was going, however. He had a hard, lean look on his face, pushing himself forward and determined to take both of them with him.

A lumbering shape appeared to their left. Kimberly watched in awe as a full-grown black bear went running by not ten feet away. The big animal didn’t spare them a glance, but kept on trucking. Next came deer, foxes, squirrels, and even some snakes. Everything was clearing out, and normal food-chain rules did not apply in the face of this far greater foe.

They ran, sweat streaming down their arms and legs. They ran faster, Tina beginning to mumble incoherently, her head lolling forward on Mac’s shoulder. They ran harder, the smoke penetrating their lungs, making them all gasp.

They squeezed through a narrow space between two towering trees, rounded a large patch of thickets and came face-to-face with Ennunzio. He was on the ground, propped up against a tree trunk. He seemed unsurprised to see them burst through the roiling smoke.

“You shouldn’t run from the flames,” he murmured, and then Kimberly saw what was at his feet. A coiled nest of brown mottled skin. Two pinpricks of red showed on Ennunzio’s calf where the rattler had bitten him.

“I shot him,” he said, in reply to their unasked question. “But not before he got me. Just as well. Can’t run anymore. Time to wait. Must take your punishment like a man. What do you think my father thought about, each time he heard us scream?”

His gaze went to the muddy shape on Mac’s back. “Oh good, you found her. That’s nice. Out of four girls, I was hoping you’d get at least one right.”

Kimberly took a furious step forward and Ennunzio’s hand immediately twitched by his side. He was holding his gun.

“You shouldn’t run from the flames,” he said sternly. “I tried it thirty years ago, and look what happened to me. Now sit. Stay a while. It only hurts for a short time.”

“You’re dying,” Kimberly told him flatly.

“Aren’t we all?”

“Not today. Look-sit here all you want. Die in your precious fire. But we’re out of here.”

She took another step, and Ennunzio immediately raised the gun.

“Stay,” he said firmly and now she could see the light flaming in his eyes, a feverish, rabid glow. “You must die. It’s the only way to find peace.”

Kimberly pressed her lips into a thin, frustrated line. She shot a glance at Mac. He had a gun somewhere, but with his hands full trying to keep Tina on his back, he was in no position to do anything quickly or stealthily. Kimberly shot her gaze back to Ennunzio. This one was up to her.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Frank or David?”

“Frank. I’ve always been Frank.” Ennunzio’s lips curled weakly. “But do you want to hear something stupid? I tried to pretend in the beginning that it wasn’t me. I tried to pretend the killer was Davey, come back to do all those terrible things, because I was big brother Frank and I’d gotten out and I wasn’t going to be anything like my family. But of course it wasn’t Davey. Davey got beat one too many times. Davey stopped having any hope. Davey, given a choice between running and dying, chose dying. So of course it could only be me, hunting down innocent girls. Once I had the tumor removed, I could see more clearly. I had done bad things. The fire had made me do it, and now I must stop. But then the pain came back and all I could dream of was bodies in the woods.”

The smoke was growing thicker. It made Kimberly blink owlishly and become even more aware of the intense heat growing at her back. “If we fashioned a tourniquet above the bite, you could still live,” Kimberly tried desperately. “You could walk out of this swamp, get yourself some antivenom, and then get yourself some serious psychological help.”

“But I don’t want to live.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Because living is hope. Trying is hope. And because I come from a long line of people who have excelled at being earnest.” Ennunzio’s gaze had drifted to Mac. It was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. Choking back a harsh cough, Kimberly swiftly brought up her Glock and leveled it at Ennunzio’s face. “Throw down your weapon, Frank. Let us pass, or you won’t have to worry about your precious fire.”

Ennunzio merely smiled. “Shoot me.”

“Put down your weapon.”

“Shoot me.”

“Shoot your own goddamn self! I wasn’t put on this earth to end your misery. I’m here to save a girl. Now we have her and we’re getting out.” The smoke was so thick now, Kimberly could barely see.

“No,” Ennunzio said distinctly. “Move, and I’ll shoot. The flames are coming. Now take your punishment like a man.”

“You’re a coward. Always taking your rage out on others, when all along you know who you truly hate the most is yourself.”

“I saved lives.”

“You killed your own family!”

“They wanted me to do it.”

“Bullshit! They wanted help. Ever think who your brother could’ve been? I’m sure he would’ve done better than turn into a serial murderer who preyed on young girls.”

“Davey was weak. Davey needed my protection.”

“Davey needed his family and you took them away from him! It’s always been about you, Ennunzio. Not what your brother needed, not what your mom needed and sure as hell not what the environment needed. You kill because you want to kill. Because killing makes you happy. And maybe that’s why Davey stayed in the house that day. He already knew the truth-that of the whole family, you are the worst of the bunch.”