Kelly Jamieson - How to Save A Life

Marli expected a big manufacturing plant, but the pecan company operated out of a small brick building.

"This is good," Trey said as they walked to the entrance. "If it was a huge place, they'd have security and might not even know him."

He asked at the reception desk, and the woman working there paged Barry Fisher. A few moments later, a man appeared in the small lobby, wearing a beige uniform. "Hi," he said, eyes wary. "What can I do for you?"

Marli let Trey explain who they were and ask if there was somewhere private they could talk. Barry led them reluctantly into a small office.

"Yeah, he showed up yesterday," he confirmed, hands rubbing together. None of them elected to sit in the office chairs. His eyes darted between Trey and Marli. "He scared the shit outta Teresa."

"Did he see the kids?"

"No. They were in school. Teresa told him to come back after supper, but she got the hell out of there before he came back."

"Where'd she go?"

Barry looked at them. "I'm not telling you that."

Trey nodded. "Okay. Is she safe?"

Barry nodded.

"Any idea where Barnes is now? Where he stayed last night?"

"Nope. No idea. I hope to hell he left town."

Trey shot a glance at Marli. Damn. They knew he'd been there now, but this wasn't helping find him.

"Anything you think of, let me know, okay?" Trey handed the other man a card. "We just want Teresa to be safe."

Barry nodded, his mouth a thin, unhappy line, eyes shadowed. "Okay."

Back outside in the baking parking lot, Trey and Marli paused.

"What now?" she asked him.

He said nothing, just stared hard, one hand on the frame of the car door. "Let's head back to the Fishers' neighborhood. If Sheldon's anywhere in El Paso, that's where he'll be."

"I could use a bathroom."

"Oh, sure. I need gas again. Keep an eye out for somewhere."

As they neared the Fisher home, Marli pointed out the Happy Pumper station, and Trey turned in, pulling up to the self-serve gas pumps. "Go on in," he said curtly. "I'll fill up."

She went into the gas bar and convenience store. Racks of junk food, soda and magazines crowded the small space. A couple of customers were paying for gas, chips and cigarettes. The gas station attendant behind the counter looked barely old enough to be working there.

Marli spotted the sign for the bathroom and went down the short, narrow hall, carefully locking the door behind her. She turned up her nose as she looked around. Not the cleanest place, but she had to pee, so it would have to do. She carefully lined the seat of the toilet with toilet paper before perching on it.

She scrubbed her hands clean and then, thinking about maybe getting a coffee if it didn't look too bad, she walked out of the restroom. A man came down the hall toward her, and she glanced at him as she moved to her right to go around him. He looked familiar. Where did she know him from?

It was the bartender from Cactus Jack's. He'd been serving her Diet Cokes for the last few nights. What was he doing here in El Paso?

Their gazes met hers and recognition flashed in his eyes, too. Those eyes...

Oh. My. God.

Marli stared at him in shock and then she saw it--the tattoo on his arm. A lasso.

The world froze around her and her limbs felt heavy and stiff. With a fearful little squawk, she started to rush past him, but he put out an arm and easily stopped her.

"Hey." His other arm came around her and, to her horror, she saw he had a gun in it.

She started trembling uncontrollably. "Trey!" she tried to cry out, but the man's arm cut across her throat. It hurt, and all that came out was a hideous gurgle.

"Well, well, Marli," Sheldon Barnes said, "I can't believe my luck. I'd just given up on you."

She reached up and clawed at the arm squeezing around her neck.

"No, no, don't," he said, waving the gun. "You'll get hurt."

A sweat broke out, dampening her forehead, stinging her underarms. Her stomach churned, the coffee and donut she'd eaten earlier threatening to come back up. What on earth did he think he was going to do to her? Frantic thoughts ran through her mind. There was no way out except the front door. They had to go back into the store. There were other people there. They'd see them. He couldn't do anything in plain sight of other people.

Yes, he could, her nearly hysterical inner voice said.

Calm down, calm down, she chanted in her mind, her gaze bouncing wildly around.

Apparently, Sheldon had come to the same conclusion she had. Either he was going to drag her into the bathroom and rape and murder her, or he was going to have to go out through the store somehow. And Trey was out there.

Please, please, please, Trey, she silently begged him. Save my life...one more time.

Maybe he heard her.

There he was. She could just see him walking up to the counter, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket to pay for the gas. The attendant said something to him.

Sheldon saw him, too, and he turned and shoved her in front of him, back down the dingy hall. He pushed her into the men's room, and she almost stumbled and fell on the grimy floor. She put a hand out and it flattened on the tile wall, cool and smooth.

She turned, shaking, lungs taking in shallow breaths.

Sheldon slammed the door shut and locked it, then turned to her with the gun in his hand. It gleamed dully in the flickering fluorescent light.

Her body tight, she stared at him and blinked.

"What are you doing here, bitch?" he inquired conversationally. "Don't tell me you're looking for me." He grinned, and she almost vomited at the evil she saw. "Got you that hot for me, huh?"

He took two steps across the small room, and Marli moved, the porcelain of the urinal cold against her arm. She cringed.

Sheldon grabbed a handful of her hair and tugged. "You pissed me off that night, you know?"

She shook her head, closed her eyes. She could smell him...a mixture of stale body odor and mint chewing gum. She swallowed, her throat constricted. What had she done to piss him off?

"Yeah. You did. You laughed at me." He yanked on her hair and her head jerked back and cracked against the tile wall. She whimpered.

Then she sucked in a long breath, opened her eyes and glared at him. "Let go of me, asshole."

He laughed. "Oooh, scary. I knew you were a real ball-breaker."

"What do you think you're going to do now, Sheldon?" She fought to keep her voice steady. "You're trapped in here. Trey will come looking for me. He'll call the police." Please, Trey, please.

What if she never saw Trey again? She loved him, the big, stupid jerk. What if she never got to tell him what a special man he was...never got the chance to say goodbye? What if her last words to him were "I have to go to the bathroom"?

He turned his head away from her and nodded. "Yeah." He thought for a moment. "We have to get out of here. Come on."

He unlocked the door, poked his head into the hallway, then reached back and fastened his fingers around her wrist.

He pulled her out into the hall. Her gaze flew to the front of the store, where Trey was sliding his wallet into his back pocket. She tried again to scream and this time a louder noise came out. She kicked out and managed to hit Sheldon in the shin with her booted foot, causing him to curse loudly.

"Shit! You bitch!"

Trey looked up and the way his face changed so quickly to a look of shock and horror amazed Marli in some deep recess of her mind. She tried again to wrestle Sheldon's arm away from her, figuring if she was going to die anyway, she might as well go out fighting.

"Stop!" Sheldon commanded her harshly. He put the barrel of the gun against her temple and dragged her down the hall toward Trey. "Back off!" he shouted to Trey.