Friday, September 10

7:45 a.m. Comfort Inn-

– Hastings, Nebraska

Melanie awoke to the sound of slamming doors. It took her a while to realize where she was. Sunlight filtered in through the crack between the curtains. Somewhere, not far away, she could smell freshly brewed coffee. The last thing she remembered was being stretched out on top of the bedcovers, watching a late-night horror movie-a giant tarantula invading a desert town-and she remembered thinking about pink cotton candy. Someone had pulled the covers up over her, and she curled into them, hugging a pillow as if for security. Which reminded her of Charlie. She raised herself onto her elbow to see that Charlie was gone. Andrew Kane still lay on the bed tied up, only now he had pushed himself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard.

"Where's Jared and Charlie?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Jared's in the bathroom. I'm not sure where he sent Charlie."

"He sent Charlie somewhere?" Melanie sat up, scanning the room in a panic until she saw Charlie's backpack.

"You love him a lot, don't you?"

She met Kane's eyes, looking for sarcasm and surprised to find none.

"You wouldn't get it," she said. "It's been just the two of us for a very long time. We watch out for each other."

"And Jared?"

"What about Jared?" she asked, glancing at the bathroom door without meaning to.

"Nothing." He shrugged his one shoulder as if it didn't matter. "It just sounds like he's gotten you and Charlie into a real big mess."

"Sometimes things don't go exactly the way you think they will." Her mind flew back to another time, another mess. Why was it so much on her mind? She thought she'd removed it from her memory, gotten past it. And yet, Jared's reappearance less than two weeks ago seemed to bring it all back.

"What is Charlie? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

"He's seventeen," she blurted out as if needing to defend her baby before she could even figure out why Andrew Kane wanted to know.

"Geez! He's still a kid."

Her thoughts exactly. Charlie was too young to be involved in such a mess. What the hell was Jared even thinking? And the guns. She'd never forgive Jared for bringing along guns.

"I could help you and Charlie," she heard Andrew Kane say, but her mind was focused on the image of all that blood on their coveralls when they came running out of the bank. It had reminded her so much of that night with her father, the bloody drag marks, all the blood seeping in between the cracks of the linoleum, the splatters on the white wall. She never knew how Jared cleaned it all up. But he did. He took care of it.

"I know some detectives with the Omaha Police Department," Andrew continued.

Melanie heard only bits and pieces of what Andrew Kane was saying. Something about Charlie being a minor, about Jared having killed before and about her not even being in the bank. She wasn't really listening. Instead, she was back at that nightmarish scene, and only now did she realize Jared had never told her where he'd buried him. And she had never asked. She remembered seeing her brother hosing down his tennis shoes and the muddy shovel, scrubbing down the floor and the wall while she just watched, unable to move, unable to help. She wasn"t even sure if Jared had told their mother when she got home later that night. And yet. he must have. Why else would she have told everyone that her husband "just up and left"'1 Why else would she be so absolutely certain that Jared couldn't have killed Rebecca Moore? Because that was exactly what Corrine Starks told the police, that her son couldn't possibly kill anyone. She had to have known.

The bathroom door opened, startling her back. Jared looked awful. He hadn't showered. His short hair stood up in places like Charlie's, but the difference was Charlie wanted his that way. She was certain Jared did not. His face was unshaven even though Melanie knew he had bought disposable razors at the gas station. And his eyes were red and swollen. He scraped his hand over his face when he noticed her staring at him.

"What's your problem?"

"Where's Charlie?"

"Don't worry about your precious little boy," he said in that tone meant to sting her. "He's getting us some new wheels. He should've been back by now." He checked his wristwatch and headed for the door, stopping at the window first to peek out. "Here he comes."

Melanie found her shoes and followed Jared out, leaving Andrew Kane on the bed and closing the door just enough that no one could see inside the room. Charlie pulled up to the door in a white Ford Explorer, looking out at them with a wide grin. He rolled down the window and said, "I stopped at a gas station up the street and just traded vehicles. It was so easy. The lady left this one running with the keys in the ignition while she went inside to pay. We still need to change license plates, but can you believe how easy it was? I wish I'd thought of this a long time ago."

Melanie smiled at Charlie's enthusiasm even while Jared was holding up his hands to get him to quiet down. Then suddenly, Jared seemed to do a double take, looking into the back seat with his cupped hand and face against the window.

"What the fuck did you do?" Jared said as he reached for the back door handle. It was locked. "Open the fucking door."

Charlie punched at the buttons until he found the right one and heard the click.

"Did it ever occur to you there might be a reason she left the engine running on a warm, humid morning?" Jared asked as he yanked the door open.

Melanie's heart sank to her stomach. There, in the back seat in a child's car seat, was a baby, its sleepy eyes only bow starting to open.

"Oh my God!" Melanie's hands flew to cover her mouth.

Jared slammed the back door and pulled open the driver's door, standing aside while he told Charlie to "get the fuck out."

"Wait a minute," Melanie said. "What are you gonna do?"

"Get out of the fucking car, Charlie." Jared had to tell him again because Charlie was in such a frenzy he couldn't seem to undo the seat belt. "I can't believe you fucking screwed up again. Have you ever heard of the fucking Amber Alert? Jesus, Charlie! I'm tired of cleamng up your fucking messes."

Finally, Charlie half slid, half jumped out, and Jared got in.

Before he could close the door, Melanie grabbed at his arm. "What are you gonna do, Jared?"

He wrenched his arm away, giving her a shove back so he could slam the car door. All he said before he tore away was, "I'll take care of things."