The Guilty (Will Robie 4)

Robie reached back over the seat.

“Go, Robie, go!”

He ignored her and tried not to look at the flames creeping up the back of the trunk. When the vapor in the gas tank ignited, they were dead.

Robie slid the knife out of his belt compartment, placed its cutting edge under Reel’s belt, and jerked. The belt was cut, but not all the way.

“Will you get the hell out of here?” cried out Reel. “It’s going to blow.”

“Shut up!” snapped Robie.

He made one more cut and the belt broke clean.

He pulled Reel over into the front seat, then they both fled out the driver’s-side door.

They were twenty feet from the Bentley when the vapor ignited.

The concussive force knocked them off their feet, sending them tumbling head over heels across the uneven ground. They landed hard near the tree line.

And neither moved after that.

* * *

“Robie? Robie!”

Something slapped his face. Robie slowly opened his eyes.

Taggert stared back down at him.

“Are you dead or what?” she said flatly.

Robie slowly sat up then flinched in pain and grabbed at his arm.

“You shot?” asked Taggert.

He shook his head, unbuttoned his shirt, and slid it off.

His scar tissue had completely torn along with maybe some other things.

“Damn,” said Taggert. “That looks like it hurts.”

He pulled his shirt back on. “Must’ve happened when the car exploded.”

He looked over as Reel came to and sat up.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Okay?” exclaimed Taggert. “Damn, you two definitely do not look okay.”

Beside her were two state troopers in full riot gear.

Robie said, “The other guys look worse. Pretty sure they’re all dead.”

“They are, least the ones in that truck over there. Burnt to a crisp.”

“Well, we shot most of them before that happened,” said Reel.

One of the state troopers looked at her. “You mean while you were driving?”

Reel looked at him. “Well, they weren’t polite enough to stop so I could shoot them standing still.”

Robie said, “This started at Clancy’s house. There are other guys back there.”

Taggert looked at the troopers. “Better go check that out. I’ll stay with them. And call in some reinforcements. This ain’t a crime scene, it’s a damn war zone.”

The troopers hurried off and Taggert looked back at the pair. “I can call an ambulance.”

“Who needs an ambulance?” asked Reel.

“Hell, if only you could see yourselves. Blood everywhere.”

“All superficial.”

“Yeah, we’ll let the docs confirm that if you don’t mind.”

“Later, Taggert,” said Robie.

“Okay, so why don’t you tell me what you were doing at Clancy’s?”

“It’s a long story,” said Robie.

Taggert squatted next to him. “Well, I got nothin’ but time.”

Chapter

62

ANY MEN LEFT alive back at Clancy’s had apparently escaped on foot, because the damaged SUV was still there.

Robie and Reel spent hours going over what had happened.

When Monda arrived, Robie showed the sheriff and Taggert the bullet hole in the Range Rover in the garage.

“So this was the vehicle you shot at?” said Monda, running his hand over the damaged metal.

“Yes. Which also means that Sara Chisum’s killer was driving it.”

“I’ll get the forensics team out here to go over this thing,” said Monda. “What else?”

“Bobby Wendell gave us the heads-up about these guys gunning for us.”

Monda looked surprised by this. “So he’s more or less admittin’ that he was involved?”

“Maybe less than more. But he’s out of the country by now with his family.”

“What!” exclaimed Monda.

“He was concerned about his family’s safety,” explained Robie. “Don’t know if he’s coming back, but I don’t think he murdered anybody. So he can keep.”

“Damn it to hell, Robie,” said Monda. “I got people to answer to.”

“Well, you weren’t interested in going after him before.”

“Well, the situation has changed. I got me dead bodies all over the damn place. I don’t like it, not one bit.”

Robie rubbed his injured arm. “Well, I can’t say I care for it either.”

Taggert noted this and said, “Okay, you and Reel ought to go get checked out.”

Monda said, “I’ll drive you. We can talk some more.”

“No thanks, Sheriff. We have a car here. We can drive ourselves.”

“I’ll call Doc Holloway,” said Monda. “He’s an early riser. You know where his office is?”

Robie nodded.

He and Reel climbed into their car and drove off.

Reel drove because Robie was having trouble with his arm.

“Bad?” she said.

“Old wound just got worse.”

“That one was my fault. But you should have had it fixed before now.”

“Famous last words.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo.

Reel glanced at it.

“Who is she?”

“Laura Barksdale.”

“Your old flame? Where’d you get it?”

“It was in the glove compartment of the Bentley.”

“What do you think it was doing there?”

“I don’t know. But there has to be a reason it was there.”

“Do you think it’s connected to what’s been going on?” asked Reel.

“Again, I don’t know. But we need to find out.”

“Sherman’s dead.”

“But Pete’s not.”

“And he might have been driving the Range Rover. But you don’t think he killed Sara Chisum?”

“I didn’t. Now I’m not so sure. But I want to ask him about this picture.”

“Did you ever find out what happened to the Barksdales?”