Page 92 of Trusted Instinct
“But you didn’t shoot the speaker system,” Auralia clarified.
“No, that was the whole thing to make folks think a Marine with PTSD went after them. Then the whole family fled, and they disappeared. Or something to do with that cockamamie story her damned dad told from the stage—something about angry brothers.”
“Yeah, well, I guess it’s clever to have a list of possible people to confuse the authorities. Send them on a wild goose chase.” Auralia’s voice had become less “reporter” and more fatigued. “And they were going to West Virginia?” She paused. “So you have a gun. And we’re all here. What happens now?”
“I’m going to jail if I stick around. Yeah, I can’t have that.”
“Too late.”
“Yeah, but only you know.”
“We’ve already established that’s not true. There’s you at the crash site, and you texted with Brandy. That’s all discoverable with a subpoena to your phone company. That’s part of your phone records.”
“Okay. So I go to the property with Brandy, and we live together. I mean, her mom’s probably dead, right? Or brain dead or something. And her dad’s running.”
“And her husband?” Auralia asked.
“Is passed out. I can move him to the river.”
“And so you’re doing to both of you what you didn’t want for her,” Auralia said.
“But there’s a lot of money. Millions of dollars. Eugene can bitcoin a million of it to us, and we can get over the border. Get a boat. Go on foot. I don’t know. I’ll have to think on it. There are countries that wouldn’t send us back, or we can lie low and use cash. Like I was reading about an island off of Bali that’s super cheap. Sand and blue water. We can go there and be in love.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Auralia said. “You should do that.”
For the first time, Kendal’s voice sounded hopeful. “You think?”
Chapter Thirty
Creed
“Sir, let me be clear and straightforward with you. The public knows about Eugene Morrison’s crimes because I made them public. My fiancé and my brother are retired Marine Raiders. Their friends were impacted by this crime. I am a hundred percent behind Eugene being put away for the rest of his life and for every cent going to the causes that he had said he was supporting. But, sir, right now, I’m worried about his daughter. Brandy is going todieif she doesn’t get help. You have to figure out what to do. I suggested you go to the property and lie low. Let me drive Brandy to the hospital, and you just do what you have to do. You can catch up with her after she’s healthy again.”
The lights in the parking lot flashed off.
“What the hell?” Kendal shouted.
“It’s after hours in the park,” Auralia said with a bit of boredom in her voice. “They turn them off so the teenagers don’t come down here and hang out.”
“We’re up,” Creed said.
“How are we playing this?” Gator asked.
“Seat of our pants, brother. Let’s watch for a second and make sure Kendal’s nerves settle from the sudden dark.”
“Turn on the lights in the cab,” Auralia said.
“People can see in.”
“What people? Everyone is over at the pileup. Look, before the lights went out, I noticed Brandy’s lips had turned blue. Remember, we talked about what happens if she doesn’tget oxygen in her system? If you don’t want to just jump in your truck and drive off on your own, leaving me to deal with Brandy, then you need to get this pickup on the road. I’ll sit next to Brandy as you’re driving and can give her mouth-to-mouth when she stops breathing.”
“When?”
“When.” Auralia insisted as she flashed a thumbs-up in front of Rou’s collar camera. She knew Creed was there. “Before we can leave, you need to unhook that boat. It’ll just slow us down. And you need to move your truck out of the way. How fast do you think you can get that done? And when we leave, you have to be careful not to drive over Shane’s body.”
“Body?”
“He never got up. It’s been a while. I mean, you cracked his head open when you stomped on him.”
