said.
“Nobody’s going to believe it,” I said.
“Sure they will. Hell, we can even pin Luke Jordan on you. Shit, that might just work.”
“Why the hell would I kill Luke Jordan?”
Karl bent down until we were eye to eye. “Damn boy, you’re just plain dumb, ain’t you? Maybe we’ll ask Doris, see what she knows about it.”
“You can’t use Doris to get to me,” I said. “She’s gone to her sister’s.”
“That’s even better.” Karl smirked. “She leaves you, and you take it out on Luke.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“You just keep pretending you don’t know.”
“I’ll talk,” I said. “You try to blame all this on me, and I’ll sing like a fucking barbershop quartet.”
“You’re not going to say jack shit.” Karl drew the Glock from his holster. “You were killed trying to escape.”
Oh … shit. I felt my sphincter twitch. The bottom dropped out of my gut.
“Shoot him in the belly,” the hellcat shouted.
“Shut up,” Karl snapped. He pointed the pistol.
I tried to think of something, say anything to make him wait. My mouth was so dry I couldn’t make words come out.
“You can’t do it like that,” the hellcat said.
“I’ve got this handled, okay.”
“Idiot,” she said. “You can’t shoot him for escaping if he’s handcuffed to the cage.”
Karl lowered the pistol. “Damn, you’re right.”
He dipped two fingers into his shirt pocket, came out with a pair of small keys on a ring and tossed them at me. I caught them on reflex. I held them up. The handcuff keys.
“Unlock yourself,” Karl said.
“I’m not going to help you kill me.”
“You want to die like a man on your feet, or like some squirming coward?”
“I don’t want to die at all.”
“Tell you what,” Karl said. “Sit there and give me shit, and I’ll belly shoot you like the senorita wants. Do what I tell you, and I’ll make it quick and clean.”
I stood, pushed the chair away with my foot. A quick death wasn’t much comfort, but damn if I would just blink at him like some idiot coon hound and wait to be shot. I’d unlock the cuffs and then make some kind of play, jump at him, try to catch Karl off guard. Anything. I didn’t have a prayer, but a one in a million chance was still a chance. I unlocked the cuff on my wrist, braced myself to spring.
“I’m gonna put this shot right between your eyes, kid. I’d say sorry, but frankly I’m just not that sorry.” He squinted, sighted down the barrel at my face.
“Drop it, Karl.”
Karl froze. The new voice startled me.
“I said drop it.”
Karl began to turn his head to look at her.
“Do not turn around, Karl. Stay still and put the gun down.”
Karl muttered curses under his breath. “You don’t know what’s going on here, Amanda.”
“That’s true,” Amanda said. “But I’m pretty sure I just heard you describe how you were going to murder Toby here, and that’s definitely not in the handbook. Now, put the gun down please.” She stood with a two-handed grip on her automatic.
Amanda was athletic and thin, tan, almost as tall as I was. Brownish red hair cut short like a boy’s. The khaki deputy’s uniform hid sinewy girl muscles, like a tennis pro might have, but I knew she got hers from rock climbing and long distance cycling. I’d seen her score perfect marks on the gun range and armlock truckers twice her size when things got rowdy at Skeeter’s.
Karl didn’t put the gun down. She kept her Glock on him, and he kept his on me. I stood as still as stone and tried not to piss myself. The hellcat watched from her cell with big brown eyes.
“I’m waiting, Karl.” Amanda’s pistol never wavered from him.
“Okay, but you put your gun down too, and we can talk about this.”
“That’s not how it works, and you know it, Karl,” she said.
“This is bullshit.”
“Karl.” Amanda’s voice was calm, just above a whisper. “I’m going to give you three seconds to drop the
“Nobody’s going to believe it,” I said.
“Sure they will. Hell, we can even pin Luke Jordan on you. Shit, that might just work.”
“Why the hell would I kill Luke Jordan?”
Karl bent down until we were eye to eye. “Damn boy, you’re just plain dumb, ain’t you? Maybe we’ll ask Doris, see what she knows about it.”
“You can’t use Doris to get to me,” I said. “She’s gone to her sister’s.”
“That’s even better.” Karl smirked. “She leaves you, and you take it out on Luke.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“You just keep pretending you don’t know.”
“I’ll talk,” I said. “You try to blame all this on me, and I’ll sing like a fucking barbershop quartet.”
“You’re not going to say jack shit.” Karl drew the Glock from his holster. “You were killed trying to escape.”
Oh … shit. I felt my sphincter twitch. The bottom dropped out of my gut.
“Shoot him in the belly,” the hellcat shouted.
“Shut up,” Karl snapped. He pointed the pistol.
I tried to think of something, say anything to make him wait. My mouth was so dry I couldn’t make words come out.
“You can’t do it like that,” the hellcat said.
“I’ve got this handled, okay.”
“Idiot,” she said. “You can’t shoot him for escaping if he’s handcuffed to the cage.”
Karl lowered the pistol. “Damn, you’re right.”
He dipped two fingers into his shirt pocket, came out with a pair of small keys on a ring and tossed them at me. I caught them on reflex. I held them up. The handcuff keys.
“Unlock yourself,” Karl said.
“I’m not going to help you kill me.”
“You want to die like a man on your feet, or like some squirming coward?”
“I don’t want to die at all.”
“Tell you what,” Karl said. “Sit there and give me shit, and I’ll belly shoot you like the senorita wants. Do what I tell you, and I’ll make it quick and clean.”
I stood, pushed the chair away with my foot. A quick death wasn’t much comfort, but damn if I would just blink at him like some idiot coon hound and wait to be shot. I’d unlock the cuffs and then make some kind of play, jump at him, try to catch Karl off guard. Anything. I didn’t have a prayer, but a one in a million chance was still a chance. I unlocked the cuff on my wrist, braced myself to spring.
“I’m gonna put this shot right between your eyes, kid. I’d say sorry, but frankly I’m just not that sorry.” He squinted, sighted down the barrel at my face.
“Drop it, Karl.”
Karl froze. The new voice startled me.
“I said drop it.”
Karl began to turn his head to look at her.
“Do not turn around, Karl. Stay still and put the gun down.”
Karl muttered curses under his breath. “You don’t know what’s going on here, Amanda.”
“That’s true,” Amanda said. “But I’m pretty sure I just heard you describe how you were going to murder Toby here, and that’s definitely not in the handbook. Now, put the gun down please.” She stood with a two-handed grip on her automatic.
Amanda was athletic and thin, tan, almost as tall as I was. Brownish red hair cut short like a boy’s. The khaki deputy’s uniform hid sinewy girl muscles, like a tennis pro might have, but I knew she got hers from rock climbing and long distance cycling. I’d seen her score perfect marks on the gun range and armlock truckers twice her size when things got rowdy at Skeeter’s.
Karl didn’t put the gun down. She kept her Glock on him, and he kept his on me. I stood as still as stone and tried not to piss myself. The hellcat watched from her cell with big brown eyes.
“I’m waiting, Karl.” Amanda’s pistol never wavered from him.
“Okay, but you put your gun down too, and we can talk about this.”
“That’s not how it works, and you know it, Karl,” she said.
“This is bullshit.”
“Karl.” Amanda’s voice was calm, just above a whisper. “I’m going to give you three seconds to drop the
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