1:56 p.m.

Melanie parked in the last slot in the corner, exactly where Jared instructed, away from the door of the truck stop. She cut the engine, but he made no attempt to leave the car. Instead, he sat back in the seat, looking out the rear windows, looking up as if expecting something to come out of the sky.

"Didn't you say you had to pick something up here?" she asked.

"Yeah, wait a minute. Something's not right." He slouched down in the seat. "I left the gun in the glove compartment," he said. "Charlie, get it for me."

Melanie reached for the compartment before Charlie could. She opened it, hesitated, took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers around the gun. It felt so odd and yet familiar and not quite as heavy as she remembered.

"Tell me what's going on, Jared," she said, pulling the gun out and holding it in her lap.

"Give me the gun," Jared told her, but he stayed slouched down instead of reaching over the seat for it.

"Not until you tell me, Jared. No more secrets. What are we picking up?"

"Just some money. I had Max Kramer wire some money for us."

"Max Kramer?" She remembered the phone calls he had made to his attorney. Was it possible he was simply asking Kramer for help? "What makes you think you can trust him?"

"He got me off before, didn't he?"

"I thought he got you off because you weren't guilty."

"Yeah. That's what I meant." Jared's head and eyes kept darting around but he stayed low, which only made Mela-nie more nervous. "Don't worry about Kramer, Mel. I've got some insurance back in my room."

"What do you mean, insurance?"

"Melanie, give me the fucking gun. You know that I'm just trying to take care of you and me."

"What about Charlie?"

Melanie looked over at Charlie. He was sitting perfectly still, half slouched in his seat, following his uncle's example. He was always following Jared, doing exactly what Jared asked without question, without thought.

"Of course, Charlie, too. But you know, Mel, Charlie's been screwing up a lot. He's the reason we're in this fucking mess. Isn't that right, Charlie?"

She could see the boy cower from Jared's words and she was startled by the image of another boy, cowering, bracing himself, not for words, but for blows. Charlie reminded her exactly of Jared as a boy. And when she looked back at Jared she could see how much he now reminded her of her father. Why hadn't she seen it before? Jared's quick temper, his outbursts of rage. No, it wasn't possible.

"Charlie, I'm giving you a chance to make it all up," Jared told him, smoothing his voice into a tone Melanie used to believe was genuine. "I want you to go inside the truck stop. There'll be an envelope waiting. It's in your name. Just ask for it at the counter, okay? Can you do that, buddy?"

Charlie was nodding, and he reached for the car door, but Melanie stopped him.

"Don't, Charlie. You stay put."

"Melanie, stay the fuck out of this." Jared had already forgotten about his soft voice. His eyes were even more frantic now. What did they see? What was he expecting? Were there snipers waiting? Is that what he expected? Is that what he would let happen to Charlie?

She glanced over at Andrew Kane and he must have taken it as an invitation.

"Make a choice, Melanie," Andrew told her, softly, quietly. "This is the end of the road."

"Shut the fuck up." Jared punched the author in his wounded shoulder, then he crouched back down. "Charlie, go on in. And hurry the fuck up. We need to get the hell out of here."

"Charlie, stay put," Melanie told him, and that's when she understood what she needed to do, just like all those years ago. In a brief moment everything became so clear. She raised the gun and pointed it at Jared over the seat. He looked as if he wanted to laugh at her, until his eyes met hers.

"I choose Charlie," she said, and she pulled the trigger.

Monday, September 13