Part 25 (2/2)

”I don't think they'd like the fact that you hurt one of your own,” I said. ”You told me something like that.”

”Which is why they can't ever know,” he said, the lines in his forehead thick and deep. ”I'd be removed from the brotherhood. Forever.”

The gate at the far end was almost open. I could see what was there.

Salvation.

But I needed to keep Butch occupied.

I slid in front of Susan, obscuring her view of the gate. I didn't want her to give anything away.

I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket. ”Too late, Butch.”

He looked at me, confused. ”Too late? For what?”

”I've recorded all of this,” I lied, holding up the phone. ”Everything you've just said? I've got it.”

His eyes locked onto me, processing my words. ”Give me the phone.”

”No,” I said. ”Let us go and I'll delete it. You can handle the murder how you want. Tell everyone it was an accident or something. But you've got to let us go.”

”Not gonna happen.”

I shrugged. ”Okay. Your choice. I'm sending this now to several people.” I made a show of tapping on the phone.

Butch hesitated, then started walking quickly in my direction. ”Gimme the phone, Deuce.”

”Too late, Butch,” I said, shaking my head. ”I'm sending it now. I gave you a chance.”

He took several more steps toward me and leveled the gun at me. ”Then it's too late for you.”

And then a tidal wave hit.

50.

Water streamed from one of the hoses inside the paper-mache Earth, knocking Butch to the ground. Victor held the hose steady and Butch rolled farther away in the mud of the arena floor, the gun now lying in a ma.s.sive puddle.

I leapt over the railing, splashed down in the mud puddle, and grabbed the soaking wet gun. The water stream shut off and I aimed the gun at a coughing and dripping Butch.

”You got him?” Victor yelled from inside the Earth.

”Got him.”

He said something to the driver of the pickup and they pulled forward, toward us. The driver pulled around so that the Earth came up next to me.

”Cops are on their way,” Victor said, laying the hose down.

”How'd you know?”

”I got your voice mail,” he said. ”Thanks for waking me up, by the way. I was napping. I got to the parade and saw all the chaos. And your wife, on the back of a motorcycle.”

I had a moment of panic, wondering if it was all some sort of elaborate setup and Julianne was in danger. But I quickly ruled that out. Butch had made it clear that he'd acted alone and no one knew what he'd done.

”She told me that you'd taken off toward the fairgrounds,” he said. ”I got over here and peeked through the fence. Saw you there and decided I liked you better alive than dead.” He motioned at the truck. ”They were coming through the grounds and I commandeered them.”

”Commandeered?”

”Okay, I saw the kid driving the truck and a hose hanging over the back and paid him fifty bucks,” he said. ”By the way, you owe me fifty bucks.”

”Noted.”

”I'm a.s.suming there's a good reason that dude was holding you at gunpoint?”

I quickly explained to him what had happened and what I'd learned from Butch's confession.

Victor shook his head. ”Man, I was sure that old woman was the one. She fooled me.”

I nodded. Butch had caught me by surprise. He'd never been on my list. Even though I hadn't known anything about his relations.h.i.+p with Susan, I'd overlooked him. That night at the board meeting, the way he'd gone after the board, I'd pegged him as a good guy, a guy who was on the same side as me.

Wrong.

Deuce Winters, failed detective.

I s.h.i.+elded my eyes from the blazing sun with my hand. ”Can you handle this? I need to get to . . .”

”The hospital,” Victor said. ”Was wondering if you'd get around to remembering about that.” He hopped down out of the truck and pointed at the driver. ”You get this guy to the hospital and there's fifty more bucks in it for you. Interested?”

The driver grinned. ”For sure.”

Victor glanced at Butch, who was still on his back in the mud, a resigned expression on his wet, muddy face. Susan was sitting still on the bleachers, sobbing her eyes out. ”Yeah, I can handle these two. Go.”

”Thanks, Victor,” I said, handing him the gun and climbing into the truck. ”For everything.”

”Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, frowning. ”I'm the best.”

As the pickup roared out of the dirt arena, I wasn't about to tell him that he was, but I silently agreed.

51.

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