Haunted (Michael Bennett 10)

I heard the other voice. It was softer and harder to understand.

There was some kind of question-and-answer exchange going on between the two people. Streeter was much louder. He was under stress, I could tell.

Then I heard the other voice again. It was female. And she had an edge of anger in her voice.

It was Sadie.

Where was the goddamn entrance to the cellar? Now I started to scramble around, looking for it. I’d seen too much heartache recently and couldn’t deal with the idea of another dead kid. It was as close to panic as anything I had ever experienced.

I headed into the kitchen to cut across the house. Then I saw it.

It could have been mistaken for a tall cabinet door. Wedged between the refrigerator and pantry, it was easy to overlook.

It was the entrance to the cellar.

Chapter 83

I had to play this just right. I didn’t want to startle Dell Streeter into doing something drastic. I didn’t want Sadie to be caught in a shoot-out between me and the Texas drug dealer.

There was no way to disguise the light from upstairs as I took the stairs into the cellar.

I went down the steps carefully, with the gun out in front of me. I ducked so I wouldn’t be such an easy target, but I was still headed down the stairs no matter what happened. Dell Streeter could be standing there with a shotgun, and I would’ve pushed past him to get to Sadie.

It wasn’t completely black at the bottom of the stairs. There was a short, twisting corridor, and I could see light coming from the end.

Now I could hear them clearly. Sadie sounded angry.

I came around the corner with my pistol raised so I could fire immediately.

Then I froze.

I lowered the gun slightly and blinked. I wasn’t sure I was seeing the scene before me correctly.

Dell Streeter was in the far corner of the room, holding himself up on a table built into the wall. Blood was seeping out of a gunshot wound on his upper left leg. I could also see where Sadie had jabbed him with the knife on his shoulder. Streeter’s Emmitt Smith jersey was ripped, and blood dripped down his arm.

Streeter said, “Never thought I’d be glad to see a cop.”

When he saw how shocked I was, he yelled, “Do something!”

In another corner, on the opposite side of the room, Sadie stood with a pistol in her hand. A blued 9mm semiautomatic. It looked like a Beretta. And she was holding it pretty well.

I was very careful when I said, “Sadie, are you all right?”

She didn’t take her eyes off her target. Good girl. Then she said in a very calm voice, “I’m doing great. The best I’ve done in a couple of years. But you probably don’t want to see what’s about to happen.”

Then Dell Streeter screamed at me, “Are you crazy? Get that gun away from that bitch!”

Sadie still didn’t look at me but said, “Will you please lower your gun? It makes me nervous.”

I was still so shocked and, frankly, confused that I lowered the gun without thinking.

Now Streeter yelled, “No! Don’t do what she says. Shoot that bitch.”

Sadie said, “This is long overdue. I’ve lived my life in fear. I have nightmares about waking up with dirt over my face. Whenever a kid disappears from high school, I feel like I’m the only one who knows what happened. He’s ruining this town, and I can do something about it.”

Streeter was shrill. “Are you kidding me? You’re listening to this bullshit? She broke in my house. Snuck up on me and stabbed me with a damn knife.”

He continued, “When I was all confused and in shock she shoved me down the stairs. Then she shot me in the leg. Now you’re worried that she’s okay. Give me a break.”