away. When I came back she was gone and the house was a mess. I waited for a little while. I was just about to call the police when you three turned up and I … well, I panicked … so I … well, you know the rest.’ She bursts into tears again.
Great, just what we need right now: hysterics.
Based on Sally’s timeline, I must have tried ringing Annabelle just after whomever it was that abducted Annabelle had shown up. A few minutes earlier and we’d have been here.
Damn .
‘We need to leave and get rid of the van,’ Paavo says.
I nod my head.
‘Look, Sally, why don’t we take you home? Pretend that this never happened? We’ll find Annabelle.’
‘I’m … I’m not … going home,’ she gasps between sobs. ‘I’m … I’m staying with you.’
‘ Sally …’
‘I lost her, I need to find her again.’
Jesus. We should have never have left Annabelle on her own to guard Redneck. What the hell were we thinking? There’s a whole bunch of mad men running around and we left her on her own. What kind of friends are we?
Fucking lousy ones.
I hope to heaven that she’s okay. She’s strong and tough, but God knows what those bastards will do to her. Whichever bastards they are.
5
A bad plan is better than no plan
There doesn’t seem to be anything missing from the house, although it’s difficult to know for sure. Whoever went through the place enjoyed throwing things around and ripping stuff up. The outline of a dead body made with shaving foam, sketched in the middle of my bedroom floor where my bed used to be, is a particularly fetching touch.
I grab a fresh set of clothes , stuffing them into a plastic bag, and head back downstairs. Paavo is waiting for me in the hall, looking edgy, wanting to get away from the house, afraid that the police or somebody worse will turn up at any minute. I can’t say I blame him; it’s hardly been a sanctuary over the past few hours.
Jason and Sally have already headed to his basement lair with the Uzi. I walk through to the kitchen and lock the back door, though it hardly seems worthwhile – the kind of people we’re dealing with are likely to kick it off its hinges should the lock prove meddlesome. I take a pack of frozen peas from the freezer then we let ourselves out the front and make our way to the Choi’s residence.
Jason and Sally are sittin g in silence amongst his assorted junk, lost in their thoughts. Jason has changed his t-shirt. Clearly he’s decided the last one was a crock of crap. The new one is little better. It reads: ‘I’m too sexy for this shirt.’ Yeah, right. It should read: ‘This t-shirt is too sexy for the XXXL schmuck wearing it.’
‘We need to go,’ Paavo says.
‘Go where?’ I ask.
We’re running around like headless chickens; we need a plan. Any kind of plan, but preferably one that disposes of two bodies, rescues Annabelle, and gives us our old lives back.
‘To swap vans. The police will be looking for this one.’
‘The police?’ Sally says, looking up.
‘It’s a long story,’ I say , sitting down, placing the pack of frozen peas on my crotch. ‘What are you going to do with Marino and Junior?’ I ask Paavo.
‘Put them back in the garage.’
I nod my head. If the van gets pulled over the last thing we want is for the police to find two dead bodies in the back.
The cold from the peas has started to work its way through my jeans, soothing in a frost bite kind of way. I place the bag on my face and move it around. What I need right now is an ice bath.
‘No, no, no,’ Jason protests. ‘They’re not going in the garage.’
‘What’s wrong with in here?’ Sally says. ‘Surely they’ll be more comfortable in here?’
‘NO!’ Jason snaps. ‘NO WAY are they staying here!’
‘Why not? It’ll be cooler than the garage. We can put one on the bed, one on the sofa.’
‘NO!’ Jason shouts. ‘Put
Great, just what we need right now: hysterics.
Based on Sally’s timeline, I must have tried ringing Annabelle just after whomever it was that abducted Annabelle had shown up. A few minutes earlier and we’d have been here.
Damn .
‘We need to leave and get rid of the van,’ Paavo says.
I nod my head.
‘Look, Sally, why don’t we take you home? Pretend that this never happened? We’ll find Annabelle.’
‘I’m … I’m not … going home,’ she gasps between sobs. ‘I’m … I’m staying with you.’
‘ Sally …’
‘I lost her, I need to find her again.’
Jesus. We should have never have left Annabelle on her own to guard Redneck. What the hell were we thinking? There’s a whole bunch of mad men running around and we left her on her own. What kind of friends are we?
Fucking lousy ones.
I hope to heaven that she’s okay. She’s strong and tough, but God knows what those bastards will do to her. Whichever bastards they are.
5
A bad plan is better than no plan
There doesn’t seem to be anything missing from the house, although it’s difficult to know for sure. Whoever went through the place enjoyed throwing things around and ripping stuff up. The outline of a dead body made with shaving foam, sketched in the middle of my bedroom floor where my bed used to be, is a particularly fetching touch.
I grab a fresh set of clothes , stuffing them into a plastic bag, and head back downstairs. Paavo is waiting for me in the hall, looking edgy, wanting to get away from the house, afraid that the police or somebody worse will turn up at any minute. I can’t say I blame him; it’s hardly been a sanctuary over the past few hours.
Jason and Sally have already headed to his basement lair with the Uzi. I walk through to the kitchen and lock the back door, though it hardly seems worthwhile – the kind of people we’re dealing with are likely to kick it off its hinges should the lock prove meddlesome. I take a pack of frozen peas from the freezer then we let ourselves out the front and make our way to the Choi’s residence.
Jason and Sally are sittin g in silence amongst his assorted junk, lost in their thoughts. Jason has changed his t-shirt. Clearly he’s decided the last one was a crock of crap. The new one is little better. It reads: ‘I’m too sexy for this shirt.’ Yeah, right. It should read: ‘This t-shirt is too sexy for the XXXL schmuck wearing it.’
‘We need to go,’ Paavo says.
‘Go where?’ I ask.
We’re running around like headless chickens; we need a plan. Any kind of plan, but preferably one that disposes of two bodies, rescues Annabelle, and gives us our old lives back.
‘To swap vans. The police will be looking for this one.’
‘The police?’ Sally says, looking up.
‘It’s a long story,’ I say , sitting down, placing the pack of frozen peas on my crotch. ‘What are you going to do with Marino and Junior?’ I ask Paavo.
‘Put them back in the garage.’
I nod my head. If the van gets pulled over the last thing we want is for the police to find two dead bodies in the back.
The cold from the peas has started to work its way through my jeans, soothing in a frost bite kind of way. I place the bag on my face and move it around. What I need right now is an ice bath.
‘No, no, no,’ Jason protests. ‘They’re not going in the garage.’
‘What’s wrong with in here?’ Sally says. ‘Surely they’ll be more comfortable in here?’
‘NO!’ Jason snaps. ‘NO WAY are they staying here!’
‘Why not? It’ll be cooler than the garage. We can put one on the bed, one on the sofa.’
‘NO!’ Jason shouts. ‘Put
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