J Duncan - Deadworld

For a moment, it hung there, suspended on the edge of nothing, and Jackie began to run, not truly believing what she was seeing. Then the SUV tipped forward, its back end swinging up toward the sky, and it dropped toward the street below.

Nick let his head slump forward until his forehead rested on the warm hood of his car. The air shook a moment later with the thunderous boom of the Escalade exploding in the street below. He let out a long, slow sigh. “Shit.”

Drake and Shelby were gone. He could no longer feel their presence in this world. Drake no doubt had popped back over to the other side before impact. Shelby and the girl, on the other hand… Why? Why kill the little girl? It made no sense. He would have wanted to drain her, show Nick the body, and drag him through the end like a long, torturous fingernail pull. Had they really ruined whatever plans Drake had? The whole chase seemed too contrived, too over the top. It had to be a show. So what had happened?

Nick looked up and watched Jackie finish her walk to the edge of the parking platform. She thrust her hands into her pockets, looking down. She looked back toward him for a moment and then back toward the street. Don’t worry, Jackie. That should be the last bit of death bloodying these old hands.

The sound of squealing tires came up behind, and Nick stood up, putting his gun into his pocket. One of the cars stopped beside him while the other cruised on toward Jackie. Nick didn’t bother to look at who stepped out of the car, but he recognized the voice.

“Hey,” Gamble said. “Nick?”

“What?” His voice came out low and harsh. He was not in the mood to discuss anything. “Need a statement or something?”

“No. Just making sure everything was okay up here.”

Nick turned and glared down at Gamble, who shrunk back away from his car window. “Peachy. Unless you need me to make one, think I’m going to go home.”

“I’ll call you if we need you to come in,” Gamble said. “Jackie all right?”

“She’ll be okay. Don’t be surprised if Drake’s body isn’t down there.”

“What?”

“He’ll have vanished like before. I’m almost positive.”

“So he’s still out there somewhere?”

Nick shrugged. “Somewhere.” He opened the door to his car and sat down in the seat. The air had become particularly heavy. “I’ll be at home. You have my number.”

“Um, okay,” Gamble said, unsure. “I’ll let you know what’s going on later.”

Nick started up the Porsche and eased it down the exit ramp. He felt a desperate urge to get away. He needed to break something, destroy it into a million little pieces. Then again, did it really matter? Another day or two, and he was going to be dead anyway.

A final glance into the rearview mirror showed the two fed cars on either side of Jackie, who stood with her small fists balled up on her hips watching his car vanish down the exit-ramp tunnel.

She watched the red taillights of Nick’s Porsche vanish into the exit tunnel. “Where the hell is he going?”

“Didn’t want to stay,” Gamble said. “He sounded a little bit pissed, and to be honest, I really don’t want to fuck with that guy. We can call him later for a statement.”

Jackie glared at Gamble. “Fucking wimp. His best friend is buried down there in that pile of metal, and he’s just going to leave.”

Gamble shrugged. “I wouldn’t blame him, Jack. Who wants a last memory like that?”

“You know what? Be on my side for a change here.” Gamble was right, but still. It was wrong to leave. How could Nick just leave?

“Okay. So go over there later and kick his ass. Get a statement for me while you’re at it. It’ll save me some time.”

Jackie walked around to the passenger side of his car. “I like you better when you aren’t an asshole.”

Gamble chuckled. “Nice to have you back, Jack.”

On the way down he informed her about Nick’s claim that Drake would not be there. She started to refute until she remembered that he had done it once already. He could cross over at will, according to Nick. The notion of leaving occurred to her then. She was tired, frayed, but the thought of going home to her apartment didn’t sound appealing. In the back of her mind, the thought of Cornelius Drake popping into her bedroom unannounced had her just a little nervous.

Fire crews were already arriving on the scene by the time they drove back down and parked again. The stench of burning fuel and rubber assailed her the moment she stepped out of the car. The Escalade had landed mostly on its back and slightly to the driver’s side. There would be no chance of surviving the crash, much less the fire. While the last of the flames were being doused by the streams of water, Belgerman arrived, sleepy-eyed and looking none too pleased with the turn of events.

He gave her a curious glance upon walking up. “You look halfway human again.”

Vampire voodoo, baby. “I got some sleep,” she said.

He reached up to move the hair off the lump on her head, and Jackie stepped back. “You need more. You got, what, six or seven hours maybe?”

“Enough for now, John. I want to see if Drake’s in there.”

Belgerman turned and looked at the wreckage. “You don’t think he is?”

“Nick said he won’t be.”

“Ah.” Belgerman nodded. “Like before then. This could pose a serious problem.”

“Yes, sir,” Jackie said, not trying hard to hide the sarcasm. “It does.”

It took another twenty minutes for the flames to end, and by that time, Jackie was in the mood for a couple shots. The more she lingered on it, the more she got pissed at Nick. One did not walk away from a scene until the situation was under control, and watching three people tumble off the top of a parking structure and burst into flames at the bottom didn’t fall into that category. Then again, Nick Anderson was not part of the investigation. He was a civilian, helping them find a killer. He could come and go as he pleased. Then why was she feeling like he had just left her behind? The notion merely added more fuel to her frustrations.

There were television crews at either end of the scene now, and the entire block was lit up with blinking, swirling lights. Jackie realized her headache was starting to come back, and the lights were not helping one bit. Gamble walked over to the fire chief and got the okay to inspect the wreckage. He stood up from the crushed driver’s-side window before Jackie could even make it over.

“Son of a bitch,” he said in disbelief.

“No Drake?” Jackie said and stooped down next to him to look for herself.

“No nothing,” Gamble said. “They’re all fucking gone. What the hell?”

Jackie peered into the melted, dripping cabin, still steaming from the heat. The bodies should have been burned to a crisp, not even recognizable, but the telltale smell of burned flesh was noticeably missing.

“And Mr. Anderson just left the scene?” Belgerman squatted down beside Jackie to verify for himself the impossible. “That’s curious.”

“I think you should go have a little chat with your vampire and see if he can clue us in,” Gamble said.

“He’s not my goddamn vampire,” Jackie said far more adamantly than she intended.

Belgerman laid a hand on her shoulder. “Jack, go talk to him. Gamble, you go with her just in case, and call it in if anything even slightly suspicious seems to be going on.”

“This entire mess is suspicious,” Gamble complained but followed Jackie as she stomped off toward his car. “I’m driving!” he called after her.

It was as good a day to die as any. After so many false starts, Nick had come to realize that it could be any day, and every day was available to him. All he had to do was let go, and the door would open, pulling him through. It had been so tempting, and Nick realized now that even if he had taken the low road and done just that, Cornelius likely awaited him on the other side, too. Alive or dead, he would face the man, and, given the option, he had at least a remote chance of success if he was alive.