Page 81 of With a Vengeance

“That’s too long to stay here hoping Judd won’t strike again,” Reggie says. “We need to find him before he finds us. That’s the only way we’ll survive until the end of the trip.”

“But don’t you think that’s exactly what Judd wants?” Seamus counters. “For us to split up so he can pick one of us off?”

“Probably,” Anna says. “But Reggie’s right. We can’t just assume Judd will stay hidden until this train gets to Chicago.”

Reggie steps from the piano to the middle of the car. “I propose we search the train in two groups of two. One pair in the front half, the other in the back.”

“Who’s with who?” Seamus says.

“You and I should be in separate groups,” Reggie says, wisely choosing not to elaborate why. It’s not a good idea to remind everyone else that he and Seamus are both armed. “Anna, you’ll go with me.”

“I guess I’m with Seamus,” Dante says.

Seamus scowls. “I’ll go by myself, if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“No,” Seamus says. “For all I know you’re in on it. Your father caused all this, remember.”

“And I’m not my father.”

Anna shifts as Seamus and Dante stare each other down. “Now is not the time for squabbling. Get along until Judd is found. After that, you two can go back to hating each other.”

She gives Seamus a look that saysDo I make myself clear?He responds with a grudging nod. With that settled, it’s agreed uponthat Anna and Reggie will search the front half of the train and Seamus and Dante the back.

“Do you think Judd is armed?” Dante asks.

“Probably,” Reggie says. “And, as we now know, dangerous. Stay together. Look high and low. And do not let your guard down.”

Seamus nods. “What should we do if we find him?”

“Shoot him,” Reggie says. “One clean shot in the leg. It’ll stop him in his tracks without causing loss of life.”

“And what about us?” Lapsford says, rising to his feet. “You expect us to just sit here and wait?”

“I do,” Reggie says.

Sal also stands, so eager to leave the lounge that her body subconsciously tilts in the direction of the door. “I’m not going to hang around waiting for Judd to kill me.”

“Or me,” Lapsford adds.

“Would you rather lock yourselves in your rooms and hope he doesn’t come through the window and attack?” Anna says.

“No.” Sal straightens her body and takes a decisive step. “I’d rather help you find that bastard.”

Anna stares at her, wondering if Sal can really be trusted. Likely not. So far, she has proven herself to be anything but trustworthy. Yet Anna also understands she has little choice in the matter. Present circumstances require taking all the help they can get.

“What if I don’t want to search?” Lapsford says.

Sal moves behind the bar and grabs two magnums of champagne. “Tough shit,” she says, handing one of the bottles to Lapsford. The other she grips by the neck, wielding it like a club. “We need to stick together and we need to find Judd before he finds us. Where do you want us to start?”

“You two can patrol this car and the dining room,” Reggie says.

That makes it official.

Like it or not, they’re all in this together.

Thirty-Six

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