Page 116 of One In Vermillion

There were a couple of lights burning on an upper floor, out of those big eye windows in Cleve’s office that were behind his desk. The windows were opened wide. I saw Cash’s face appear briefly in one of the windows, backlit, staring out as he heard me pull up.

I parked right in front of the doors, killed the engine, and ran inside.

I dashed up the stairs and burst through the double doors into the office.

Cash was leaning on the wall between the windows, holding on to Peri’s arm. I realized he was so fucked up he needed the wall to stay upright. Peri was in Cleve’s desk chair beside him. She was crying, that quiet crying kids do when they’ve given up.

I went toward them. Cash said, “Stop right there,” and I sped up, reaching them just as he picked her up. I don’t know what the hell he was going to do with her, but I grabbed her and she wrapped herself around me like a limpet, so the three of us were stuck together. He put his arms around us both and pulled us in, trapping us there in one tight bundle of misery and crazy and fear.

Just what he wanted but not in the way he thought.

“Whatthe fuckdo you think you’re doing?” I asked him and then I saw his eyes.

He was gone. So stoned he wasn’t even in there anymore.

“It’s brilliant,” he said, holding us tighter. “The three of us. Just like this. The perfect little family. We’ll be great on the election trail.”

“Cash,” I said, trying to sound calm. “You just kidnapped this little girl. Who already has a mother. You think she’s going to look at you adoringly in publicity pictures?”

He smiled at me, sure and proud. “Kids forget.”

“No, they don’t,” I said. “And then there’s me. I’m in love with somebody else.”

“But not married,” he said, still smiling.

"I’m not leaving Vince, Margot is not going to give up Peri, Peri is not going to love you. Your whole plan is dumb and evil, Cash. What you just did is really evil.”

He still had his arms around both of us, and Peri was gripping me so tightly it hurt, her face buried in my neck, and I didn’t know what to do except I wasn’t letting go of her.

“You can’t get away from me, Lizzie,” Cash said. “I’ve got you now.”

And I began to think of ways I could kill him.

CHAPTER 62

I cut the lights on the Gladiator as I turned off Route 52 toward the factory. I saw Liz’s Camry in the front lot, near the wide stairs leading into the factory. There were two lights on the second floor in those big round windows in Cleve’s office. I threw the gear shift into neutral and cut the engine, rolling into the parking lot, manhandling the steering wheel without the benefit of the power. The Gladiator lost momentum right below those windows, just feet from the brick wall.

I turned off the interior lights, even though I probably couldn’t be seen from those windows since I was so close to the building unless someone leaned out and looked down. I gently opened the truck door, grabbing the forty-five as I did so.

I sprinted for the doors, thumbing off the safety.

CHAPTER 63

“You have nothing, Cash,” I said, as quietly as I could.

He smiled at me, his face just inches from mine, poor Peri squished between us, and then he was distracted as there was the flash of bright lights through the windows. He turned his head and I followed his gaze. Cars were coming, straight toward the factory, and behind them the lights of the fire truck strobed as it raced up Route 52. They pulled up screeching, and people got out.

“Stop right there!” Cash screamed out the window.

Everyone halted. I couldn’t make out who was who in the dark. Just dark silhouettes standing there, encircling the front of the factory. They parted as the fire truck rolled through them and the crew got off, trying to figure out what was going on. There were more cars coming in the distance and a big Suburban with lights flashing so I knew George was arriving and Anemone would be with him. There was even a PT Cruiser, a single light flashing on its dash, driving up. It looked like the entire town was coming.

Cash tightened his grip on me, putting more pressure on Peri, who whimpered.

Cash spoke in a low voice, “Lizzie. Come on. I know you’re mad, but you’ll get over it. We can do this. It’ll be great. You’ll be a wonderful senator’s wife and Peri—”

“Peri is a rich little girl that you think you can plunder,” I said. “But this kid has so many people protecting her, you’ll never get a penny. You’ve lost, Cash.”

“Lizzie,” he said. “Come on. It’sme.” But then his eyes shifted to the doors, widening, and I knew Vince was there, so I stomped on his foot, hard, my heel right over his arch, and poked my fingers in his eyes, hard, and he screamed as I shoved him away against the wall. I fell into the chair with Peri, covering her with my body as we fell so Vince could get a clean shot.

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