End Game (Will Robie 5)

He helped her up and half-carried her to the bathroom. He shut the door and heard her vomiting.

He sat back down in the chair and waited, his mind reeling with all that had happened in the last five minutes.

Robie was good at many things.

But I’m not good at this. Lying to people who don’t deserve it. Trying to comfort people when I’ve spent most of my adult life training hard and planning meticulously to take the lives of others.

“Shit,” he muttered, putting his face in his hands and rocking back and forth in the chair.

Five minutes later he heard the toilet flush and the sink tap turn on.

He sat up and

wiped his face and tried to clear his mind.

A couple minutes after that the door opened and Malloy walked unsteadily out. She sat heavily down on the bed and wouldn’t look at him.

“Who sent you the note?” asked Robie.

“I don’t know. It was shoved under the door to the station. Why?”

“I’d just like to know.”

“I thought Holly and Luke were on their way out of the state,” she finally said. “You said you put them on a bus.”

“We thought we did too. She had it all planned out. Reel and I were helping them, like we told you.”

“Why?”

Robie didn’t answer right away. “Everybody deserves a second chance.”

She looked up at him. “I think you’re telling the truth for once.”

“But later we got ambushed again by Dolph’s goons. And they had Holly. They used her as a bargaining chip to make us come quietly. They took us to Dolph’s compound. There they showed us a picture of Luke, minus his head.”

“Omigod.”

Malloy looked like she might be sick again.

Robie jumped up, ran into the bathroom, soaked a washcloth in cold water, and brought it out to her. She accepted it without a word and swabbed her face with it.

“And…and then he shot Holly?”

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“Luke loved her. Luke was leaving Dolph’s group because of her, and the little prick couldn’t stand that.”

“And then he tried to kill you. But you two got away. Only you never said exactly how. You just said you broke out.”

“And that’s all I can say on the subject, for now.”

“I want to go and find Dolph and put a bullet in his head.”

“You’d just be pissing your life away. I told you that we’re going to get him, Valerie.”

“And so I should just accept that as gospel and sit on my ass and do nothing to avenge my sister?”

“Holly would not want that asshole to get a shot at killing you, too.”

“Holly never even liked me. I was the bossy older sister.”

“Yeah, she said you were bossy. But if you don’t think she cared about you, then you’re wrong.”

“How would you know?”

“She talked to me about you. She said she was jealous of you. How you wore the uniform and put your life on the line. She never thought she could measure up to that.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I would have no reason to. She said the problem was hers, not yours. And that you’d been supportive of her even with all her mistakes. And before we parted ways at the bus station, she told me that she knew you loved her and that she loved you. She had every intention of calling you and making amends. I think she knew it was because of you that she had this shot at getting her life back on track.”

Malloy was now quietly sobbing into her hands.

Robie rose, went back into the bathroom, and came out with a roll of toilet paper and handed it to her.

She used it to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

Robie handed her back her weapon.

“I loved her too,” said Malloy.

“No doubt about that.”

“I can’t believe that she’s really gone.”

“I’m sorry, Valerie, I really am so sorry.”

“She was my only sibling. We were never that close growing up. She was super smart and I was the athlete in the family. We traveled in different circles, but I was as proud of her as a sister could be.”

“I’m sure. Family is tough. And complicated.”

“Do you have family?”

“My dad and a much younger half brother.”

“Do you see them much?”

“Not until recently. But I plan to see them more. They’re the only family I have.”

Malloy let out a long breath. “I can’t stay in this place much longer. I feel like I’m suffocating. I need to get back to my family. The family I have left.”

“I understand. You should.”

“Do you…do you know what they did with her body?”

“No, I don’t. I’m sorry. All hell broke loose and we barely got out alive.”

She rose and walked over to him.

Robie stood.

“About last night,” she began.

“I think we both needed something last night. And we got it.”

She slowly nodded. “I think you’re right about that.” She fell silent for a moment. “And Mr. Walton?”

“We might have a lead.”

“Tell me.”

“Are you sure? It’s not like you don’t have enough going on.”

“It takes my mind off.”

“Beverly Drango was Clément Lamarre’s girlfriend.”

Robie went on to tell Malloy all that he had learned and suspected about Drango’s connection to either or both Lambert and Scott Randall.

She said, “I met Randall once before. This was while Lambert was building out the silo and Scott Randall came into town to meet with him. Private jet, stretch limo. His bitch of a wife wasn’t with him, but he was plenty all by himself. I’ve never met a more self-centered, egotistical creep in my life.”

“I’ve found that guys who inherit like that often have a chip on their shoulder. The man brags too much about how successful he is. Somebody who’d earned it probably wouldn’t feel the need. You don’t see Warren Buffett telling everybody how brilliant he is at business. His actions speak for him.”

“But why would they be involved with prisoners in a van?” wondered Malloy.

“I’ve got no idea. There may be no connection, but it’s still odd that Drango worked a party for Lambert to celebrate Randall’s birthday, and her boyfriend is the one who saw the prisoners in the van and told her about it.”

“And now you say she’s disappeared?”

“Whether against her will or not, we don’t know. But her clothes were cleaned out and her car was gone.”

Malloy shook her head. “This is getting really muddy.”

“In my mind it’s been muddy for a long time.”