“A lot,” I said. “But at this point, all that matters is that I get on the road to Stowe.”
Susanne put her hand on the doorknob for support. “The Mustang’s in good mechanical shape,” she said to me. “Good tires.”
“And it’s fast?” I said.
She nodded. “In a straight line. Not so hot cornering, but it’s interstate all the way to Vermont.”
“Let’s get it.”
“I don’t like this,” Bob said. “If the police are looking for him, this is tantamount to helping a fugitive.”
Susanne looked long and hard into Bob’s face. “I can do this alone, or you can help me.”
Evan came down the stairs. “What’s going on?”
“We’ll be back in a bit,” Bob said grudgingly. “If the phone rings, answer it.”
“No, don’t,” said Susanne. “And if the police come to the door, you haven’t seen Tim, and you have no idea where we are.”
“So you want me to lie to the cops,” Evan said, half to himself. “Cool.”
As the three of us went out of the house toward the Hummer, Bob said, “Honestly, Tim, I think you owe us an explanation of just what the hell’s going on here. You call late at night, demand a car, have some story about Sydney being up in Vermont, you can’t—”
“Hang on,” I said, changing direction and heading over to the van. “I have to get my guns.”
That shut Bob up, at least for a while.
I THANKED IAN and told him to take off. In addition to the guns, I grabbed Milt, whom I gave to Susanne for safekeeping. On the way to Bob’s Motors, I laid it out for Susanne in point form. Bob, behind the wheel of his Hummer, listened, then made some noises about how what made the most sense was to call the police, here and in Vermont. I argued that the police were so focused on me right now we’d waste valuable time persuading them to move on Stowe.
Susanne said to Bob, “I’ll put my money on Tim, for now, if you don’t mind.” Then, to me, “That man you shot in the knee. Is he dead?”
“Owen?” I said from the back seat. “I don’t think so. If an ambulance got to him in time, he’ll live. But the two with him? Gary and Carter? They’re goners.”
“And Andy,” Susanne said from the passenger seat.
“Yeah,” I said. “And it gets even worse.”
“What?”
“Patty,” I said. “I don’t know how she was involved in any of this, but something happened to her in the last forty-eight hours. No one’s seen her. And one of those three who tried to kill me, he said I didn’t have to worry about her anymore.”
“Oh my God,” Susanne said. “Oh my God.”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling the pain of what had happened to Patty in a way I could not bring myself to tell my ex-wife. At least not now.
“I can’t believe this,” Susanne said. “It can’t be happening…”
We went the next few blocks in silence. Then Susanne said, “So someone really was watching the house.”
“Yeah,” I said. Behind the wheel, Bob looked chagrined. “They thought if Syd tried to come home, to your place, they’d get her then.”
“Why hasn’t she just called us?” Susanne asked. “Found a way to get in touch?”
“One reason,” I said slowly, knowing there was no real way to prepare Susanne for this, “is that she may have killed someone.”
Susanne started to form some words to respond, but nothing came out.
“I think it may have been self-defense, or she was trying to help someone else who was being attacked.”
“But…” Susanne struggled. “Even if, even if that’s true, I can’t believe she wouldn’t call. For help.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know.”
I wondered whether we were thinking the same thing, that something had happened to Sydney, something even the bad guys didn’t know about, that had kept her from letting her parents know where she was.
“Maybe because, on top of everything else, she’s pregnant,” Susanne said.
Bob tightened his grip on the Hummer steering wheel.
“I don’t think so. I mean, yeah, maybe, but I don’t think that has anything to do with why she hasn’t called.”
Bob’s used-car dealership was just up ahead. He pulled into the lot and parked just beyond a dark blue Mustang, late nineties vintage I thought. “I’ll get the key,” Susanne said, getting out and heading for the office.
“You never even paid for the Beetle, did you?” Bob asked.
“Is that your biggest concern at the moment, Bob?” I asked.
I was resting my head against the seatback. I was suddenly very exhausted. Stowe had to be a good four-hour drive. I needed some sleep, but I didn’t have time for it.
I also didn’t know where to begin looking for Syd once I got to Stowe.
“Look,” Bob said, “do what you have to do. But it’s not fair to drag Susanne into this. Not if you’re wanted by the police. You’re really a piece of work, you know?”
“Did the cops tell you what they want me for?”