One to Go (35 page)

“Just down to the Lincoln Memorial and back. Be home long before midnight.”

“We better get moving,” said Zig, stepping into the doorway. “You coming?”

Tom's eyes fixed on Zig's pocket. He could see by the shape of the bulge that Zig was pointing the gun at the priest.

“You bet.” As he passed Matthew, he whispered, “Do whatever you have to do. Save her, please.”

He followed Zig out into the hall and closed the door before Matthew could respond.

The Ford was parked a half block away. Zig was visibly nervous, not an ideal condition for someone with a finger on a trigger.

“I'm really sorry,” said Zig. “It wasn't supposed to turn out this way.”

“I honestly don't care right now. I can call Eva, tell her I was wrong about the clue. Call her off. You go get the phone, do what you want with it. Just let me go back to Janie.”

They'd reached the car. Tom stopped and looked at his former friend in the eyes. “Zig, I swear to you on Janie's life, I will not call the cops. I'll forget the last ten minutes ever occurred. Whatever your reasons, I'm sure you felt they were justified at the time, but—”

“Do you take me for an idiot? You don't know what's on that phone, but you have a pretty good idea it could exonerate you. And you'd be right. So you'd have me believe you'd never tell anybody? That you'd go to jail, maybe for life, if I let you go?”

Tom thought he saw a flicker of hesitation in Zig's face. Maybe he was trying to find a way out.

“Get in the car,” ordered Zig. Away from the streetlight, it now was dark enough for him to remove the gun and point it directly at Tom as he unlocked the car and got behind the wheel. Zig quickly slid into the passenger seat and Tom pulled out. “Drive the speed limit—no traffic stops.”

Tom's mind was spinning. He had to come up with a possible out for Zig, a way for the man to rewind the last ten minutes.
Tom Booker—life rewind master
. “Look, we're not yet beyond the point of no return here. I call off Eva. You let me go. You get the phone
and destroy it. Later, I'm sure there's something you could provide me, some piece of evidence that would keep you in the clear but allow Eva to raise a reasonable doubt.”

Zig paused. Tom saw the man at least wasn't rejecting his proposal out of hand.

Zig shook his head. “Never work. Now call Eva and back her off. Otherwise, if she's there, I may have no choice but to use this on both of you.”

“You'd kill Eva in cold blood?”

“Just make the call!”

“Okay, okay.” As he dug out his phone from his pocket and punched in her speed-dial number, Tom wondered what he was going to say. He needed to get her away from the memorial; the last thing he wanted was to put Eva in harm's way.

She answered immediately. “Tom? I'm almost there. Where are you?”

“I was only half right. The penny thing? Lincoln? Jess wasn't referring to the memorial, but to her car. Her grandfather had an old Lincoln Continental. I remember her telling me that when he died, she got the car. A real boat, but it reminded her of her grandpa so she kept it. She must've hid the phone in her car.”

“Where's the car?”

“We assume it's still parked in front of her townhouse. Zig's trying to track down Marcie. We figure she has access to the keys. We're heading over there now, so meet us there.”

“Are you sure? The memorial sounded right.”

Zig poked him in the ribs with the gun, then nodded to the speedometer. Tom was already going almost 50 in a 30 mph zone. He eased off the accelerator and tried to come up with an answer for Eva.

“She knew I understood how much that car meant to her. Let's try that first. If we don't find the phone, we can all go over to the memorial.”

“Okay, I'll turn around. Should be there in about twenty minutes.” She ended the call.

“Very good,” said Zig. “She really had a Lincoln?”

“No idea.”

“You've turned into an accomplished liar, which undercuts your rewind proposal.” Zig immediately cut off Tom's protest. “No more talking.”

The Ford wasn't a big car, and it seemed even smaller with Zig's gun pointed only inches from his body. Tom considered slamming on the brakes and grabbing the gun as Zig's body was thrown against the seat belt. He'd seen the maneuver in countless movies and TV shows. But there was always a chance the force would cause Zig to reflexively pull the trigger. He couldn't risk it.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. While Tom was beyond curious about Zig's involvement in Jess' murder, he remained focused on getting back to Janie before midnight. Besides, he assumed the less he knew at this point, the better. His most immediate task was persuading Zig not to put a bullet in his head.

When they reached the memorial, Tom pulled over. “Go get the phone,” he said. “You can take a cab back and pick up your car.”

“Find a parking place.”

Before he pulled away, he decided to confront the issue. “Are you going to kill me?”

“There's a space. Park the car.”

“Because if you do, it's a whole new ball game. Besides, I thought of another way, a win-win.”

“I said, park the car.”

Tom quickly pulled into the open space. They got out and made their way along 23
^rd
Street toward the memorial.

Zig said, “No one was supposed to get hurt.”

Tom decided empathy was the best approach. “I'm sure you got yourself into a jam and made some choices you'd like to take back. News flash, that makes you human. I'm not going to judge you. In fact, I want to help you. Jess is dead. Heartbreaking, but nothing anyone says or does will bring her back. I really think we can rewind this, but you've got to let me go.”

He reached into his pocket and retrieved his car keys. “Here. You go get the phone, then take my car. I'll catch a cab. Tomorrow, we'll meet for brunch and sort out any loose ends.”

“First, let's get the phone. If it's not there—”

Zig didn't need to finish his sentence, and for the first time Tom wondered if maybe his deduction from Jess' clue might've been in error. If so, things were going to get ugly. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it from his jeans.

“No calls,” said Zig.

“It's the priest.” Tom read the text message to himself.

Tom, decided to increase our chances, should be in a church at midnight. Closest is Nat'l Cath. Been there for ecumenical service. Come through Bishop's Garden, south side. Small maintenance entrance near Herb Cottage always open. God protect us
.

He closed the phone.

When they reached the memorial, fortunately, it appeared deserted. The two men jogged up the marble steps. Zig followed Tom to the back of the statue. Tom reached up to the fold. Nothing. Maybe he wasn't reaching deep enough. He jumped up and plunged his hand as far down into the robe's fold as it could go. No phone—empty.

Zig's eye's hardened, and he pulled the automatic from his coat. “You knew—”

“I swear. This had to be what she meant.”

“I will shoot you. They'll find your body back here with a bullet to the brain. You know I'm smart enough to remain in the clear. So tell me, where's the goddamn—”

“Looking for something?”

Both men turned to see Eva step out from behind a pillar, holding a black cell phone in her hand.

With Zig's attention momentarily diverted, Tom stepped to the side and, using both hands, grabbed Zig's gun. Zig resisted, but while he was bigger and stronger than Tom, Tom's two arms and hands were stronger than Zig's single-hand grip. Tom attempted to rip the gun away, but Zig held on. With both of his hands wrapped around the gun, Tom couldn't block Zig's left fist. He twisted to Zig's right side and was able to divert the punch to a glancing blow off the side of his head. Tom wrenched the barrel down toward Zig's leg. He pulled the trigger. Nothing—Zig hadn't disengaged the safety. Holding Zig's gun arm down toward the floor, Tom ignored the stabbing pain to his ribs, and twisted his back so his hip served as a fulcrum against Zig's elbow. Using all his strength, Tom rammed the arm backwards. Zig screamed in agony, and a second later Tom had the gun.

He jammed the barrel into Zig's face.

“Don't know whether you can see from there, but I'm switching off the safety, and if you so much as twitch, I'm pulling the trigger.”

“Okay, okay, don't shoot!” Zig looked angrily at Eva. “Why'd you have to show up? We could've fixed this. Ask Tom, we were going to rewind.”

“I called Marcie. She said Jess drove a Camry. Didn't have a
chance to see what's on the phone, but got a feeling it's going to be mighty interesting.”

Tom checked his watch: 11:00 p.m. He did his best to keep the panic from his voice. “Eva, I've got to go.”

She had her own cell phone in her hand. “Go? What are you talking about? I'm calling the cops, they'll put this piece of shit under arrest, confiscate the phone as evidence, and interview us. First thing Monday morning, I go see the AUSA and get all charges dropped.”

“Fine, no problem. But I need to postpone seeing the cops for at least an hour. Call them, give them the phone. Tell them I'll meet them at Second District HQ in two hours.” He offered her the gun. “Here.”

“Are you out of your mind? You're going to leave me here with him? Wherever you're going, I'm going. Where are you going?”

“To church.”

The Ford headed north on Massachusetts Avenue, past the Naval Observatory where the vice president resided, and Embassy Row. Zig drove, with Eva in the front passenger seat. Tom sat in back so he could more easily train the gun on Zig's head.

“I know you would never pull the trigger,” said Zig.

“My daughter's life is at stake. I'd shoot anybody to save her, especially a piece of shit who killed an innocent young woman and allowed his best friend to take the blame.”

“I told you before, no one was supposed to get hurt.”

“Okay,” said Eva, “Tom, I'd like an explanation about the threat to your daughter because, frankly, you've been more than mysterious about the subject. But first—”

She pulled Jess' phone from her pocket, found the video app, and hit play. She held the phone up so both she and Tom could easily see it.

Jess' face filled the small screen. From the angle, it was clear she was filming herself. Seeing her alive and hearing her voice was unnerving.

“Hi, guys. Forgot my briefcase—no comment on my supposed habitual absentmindedness needed, Dad—so thought since no one's around I'll give you both the nickel tour.”

The jumpy camera panned a long, brightly lit hallway with a high ceiling and cream-colored walls. Rich mahogany doors lined the corridor. Every fifth door was marked with an American flag on one side, and a state flag on the other. Jess continued, “This is
the third floor of the Russell Senate Office building.” They could hear her steps as she approached one of the mahogany doors. “And here we are at the offices of the junior senator from Oklahoma.” Tom could make out the iconic state flag—an Indian war shield on a sky-blue field.

The camera pointed at Jess' purse, then the floor. “Got to find my keys; here they are.” Tom heard the sound of the key in the lock, and the polished corridor floor surface gave way to the darkened interior. They heard the door close, then the soft flick of a light switch revealing the royal-blue carpet. Jess refocused the camera and panned the reception area. “This is Bonnie's desk; she's the receptionist. Ancient. Been with Liz Guthrie since the senator first started practicing law in Norman. Really nice. You'd love her, Mom.”

The camera showed four doors leading from the reception area. As the camera lingered on each door, Jess continued her narration. “That's Mark Anderson's office. He's the LA, which means legislative assistant. This next door is the AA's office. Harvey's the administrative assistant. Between us, he's a bit of a stick in the mud.”

The camera moved toward a third single door. “This is what we call the bullpen, where your hotshot daughter works. Oh, before we go there, I'll give you a peek at the senator's office.” The camera approached double mahogany doors. She opened the door and the camera jumped as she flicked on the light.

A scream
.

“Oh, my God, sorry!”

The cell phone screen clearly depicted the junior senator from the great state of Oklahoma with her back on her desk. She was naked from the waist down.

And her legs were wrapped around the naked loins of former Texas governor, former attorney general of the United States, and leading candidate for president, Bat Masterson.

The camera caught the flashing expressions of Guthrie and Masterson—surprise, anger, fear. Then greater anger.