The Stranger
Page 70
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He sat on it and waited. It didn’t take long. Eduardo had driven up through the mountains and over Dingman’s Ferry Bridge. Kuntz followed him. When Eduardo arrived, the skinhead wannabe was already there. That would be Merton Sules. Then the woman showed. That would be the one named Gabrielle Dunbar.
One more to go.
Kuntz stayed hidden. As he did, he spotted another man creeping through the woods. He had no idea who the man was. Had Ingrid forgotten to mention him? Not likely. By the end, Ingrid had told him everything. She had told him everything and begged for death.
So who was this guy?
Kuntz stayed still and watched the setup. He saw Merton hide behind a tree with a baseball bat. He saw Gabrielle stand in the clearing and draw the man out. He almost called out a warning when he saw Merton sneak up behind the man, the baseball bat raised. But he didn’t. He needed to wait. He needed to make sure they were all here.
So he watched Merton swing the bat and connect with the back of the man’s head. The man staggered and fell. Merton, probably unnecessarily, hit him again. For a moment, Kuntz thought that Merton’s intent was murder. That would be strange and interesting. The group, according to Ingrid, was completely nonviolent.
This man must have been seen as a threat.
Or . . . or did they think the man was Kuntz himself?
He thought about that. Was there any chance that the group knew they were under threat? By now, they almost certainly knew Ingrid had been murdered. He had counted on that to draw them together. It’d worked. He had also counted on the fact that they were rank amateurs, all high on trying to help the world by revealing secrets or some such nonsense.
But of course, with Ingrid dead, they would know they were in danger.
Was that what this assault was about?
Didn’t matter. Kuntz still had the upper hand. He would just have to be patient, that was all. So he waited. He saw them drag the man inside the house. Kuntz waited. Five minutes later, another car pulled up.
It was Chris Taylor. The leader.
They were finally all here. Kuntz considered taking Chris Taylor out then, but that would alarm the others. He needed to be patient. He needed to see if anyone else would show up. He needed to figure out why they had assaulted this other man and what they planned to do with him.
Kuntz quietly circled the house, peering in windows. Nothing. That was odd. There were at least five people inside. Had they gone upstairs or had they . . . ?
He checked a basement window in the back.
Bingo.
The assaulted man was still unconscious. He lay on the floor. Someone had wrapped a bike chain around one of his wrists, looped it around a pipe, and then wrapped the chain around the other wrist. The others—Eduardo, Gabrielle, Merton, and now Chris—paced liked caged animals waiting for slaughter, which, in a sense, they were.
An hour passed. Then two.
The guy never moved. Kuntz wondered if good ol’ Merton had killed the poor guy, but eventually the man stirred. Kuntz checked his Sig Sauer P239. He was using 9mm ammunition, so the gun held eight rounds. Should be enough. He had more 9mms in his pocket, just in case.
With the weapon in hand, Kuntz crept toward the front of the cabin. He put his hand on the doorknob and tested it. Unlocked. Perfect. He pushed his way inside and tiptoed toward the basement.
He stopped at the top of the stairs and listened.
What he heard was mostly good news. In short, Chris Taylor and his colleagues had no idea who had murdered their friend Ingrid. The one negative, though it couldn’t be helped, was that the assaulted man knew there was a connection between Ingrid’s and Heidi’s deaths. Not a big deal, though. Kuntz had figured that eventually someone might put it together, but the fact that they had learned it so quickly troubled him a bit.
It didn’t matter. He would have to take them all out, including the assaulted guy. He steeled himself by thinking again of Robby in that hospital bed. That was really what it came down to for him. Did he let these people continue to break the law and blackmail people? Or did he do what a father had to in order to ease his family’s suffering?
Not much of a choice, was there?
Kuntz was still crouching near the top of the steps, lost for a moment in his thoughts about Barb and Robby, when Eduardo turned and spotted him.
Kuntz didn’t hesitate.
Since Merton had the gun, Kuntz took him out first with a bullet to the head. Then he swung his aim back toward Eduardo. Eduardo raised his hand, as though it could somehow stop a bullet.
It didn’t.
Gabrielle was screaming. Kuntz turned the gun on her and fired a third time.
The screaming stopped.
Three down, two to go.
Kuntz hurried down the stairs to finish the job.
• • •
Using the locator app, Thomas had figured out that his dad had been on Lake Charmaine in Dingman, Pennsylvania, when his phone died. Johanna then insisted that Thomas go back to class and not worry, a position backed up by the principal, who wouldn’t let her take him anyway.
After making a few calls, Johanna reached the dispatcher at Shohola Township Police Department. Dingman was in their jurisdiction. She sent him the coordinates from the GPS locator app and tried to explain the situation. The dispatcher didn’t really get it or understand the urgency.
“What’s the big deal?”
“Just send someone out.”
“Okay, Sheriff Lowell said he’d drive by.”
Johanna jumped into her car and hit the accelerator. If a cop tried to pull her over, she had her badge at the ready. She’d signal for them to pull up alongside her and flash it. A half hour later, she got a call back from the same dispatcher. Adam’s car wasn’t in sight. The locator wasn’t precise enough to pinpoint an exact house—they had several on the lake—and what exactly did she expect them to do about it?
“Start going door-to-door.”
“I’m sorry. Under whose authority is this coming from?”
“Mine. Yours. Anyone’s. Two women have already been killed. This man’s wife is missing. He’s trying to find her.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Chapter 53
It was amazing how many things could happen in a single moment.
When the first bullet rang out, Adam’s mind and body seemed to go in a dozen different directions. He had already gotten his right hand loose from the chain. That was all he needed. With the chain attached to only his left wrist, it did no good. So when the bullet sounded, Adam rolled away, forgetting the pain in his head and ribs, and looked for cover.
Something wet splashed on his face. Adam realized through the fog that it was Merton’s brains.
One more to go.
Kuntz stayed hidden. As he did, he spotted another man creeping through the woods. He had no idea who the man was. Had Ingrid forgotten to mention him? Not likely. By the end, Ingrid had told him everything. She had told him everything and begged for death.
So who was this guy?
Kuntz stayed still and watched the setup. He saw Merton hide behind a tree with a baseball bat. He saw Gabrielle stand in the clearing and draw the man out. He almost called out a warning when he saw Merton sneak up behind the man, the baseball bat raised. But he didn’t. He needed to wait. He needed to make sure they were all here.
So he watched Merton swing the bat and connect with the back of the man’s head. The man staggered and fell. Merton, probably unnecessarily, hit him again. For a moment, Kuntz thought that Merton’s intent was murder. That would be strange and interesting. The group, according to Ingrid, was completely nonviolent.
This man must have been seen as a threat.
Or . . . or did they think the man was Kuntz himself?
He thought about that. Was there any chance that the group knew they were under threat? By now, they almost certainly knew Ingrid had been murdered. He had counted on that to draw them together. It’d worked. He had also counted on the fact that they were rank amateurs, all high on trying to help the world by revealing secrets or some such nonsense.
But of course, with Ingrid dead, they would know they were in danger.
Was that what this assault was about?
Didn’t matter. Kuntz still had the upper hand. He would just have to be patient, that was all. So he waited. He saw them drag the man inside the house. Kuntz waited. Five minutes later, another car pulled up.
It was Chris Taylor. The leader.
They were finally all here. Kuntz considered taking Chris Taylor out then, but that would alarm the others. He needed to be patient. He needed to see if anyone else would show up. He needed to figure out why they had assaulted this other man and what they planned to do with him.
Kuntz quietly circled the house, peering in windows. Nothing. That was odd. There were at least five people inside. Had they gone upstairs or had they . . . ?
He checked a basement window in the back.
Bingo.
The assaulted man was still unconscious. He lay on the floor. Someone had wrapped a bike chain around one of his wrists, looped it around a pipe, and then wrapped the chain around the other wrist. The others—Eduardo, Gabrielle, Merton, and now Chris—paced liked caged animals waiting for slaughter, which, in a sense, they were.
An hour passed. Then two.
The guy never moved. Kuntz wondered if good ol’ Merton had killed the poor guy, but eventually the man stirred. Kuntz checked his Sig Sauer P239. He was using 9mm ammunition, so the gun held eight rounds. Should be enough. He had more 9mms in his pocket, just in case.
With the weapon in hand, Kuntz crept toward the front of the cabin. He put his hand on the doorknob and tested it. Unlocked. Perfect. He pushed his way inside and tiptoed toward the basement.
He stopped at the top of the stairs and listened.
What he heard was mostly good news. In short, Chris Taylor and his colleagues had no idea who had murdered their friend Ingrid. The one negative, though it couldn’t be helped, was that the assaulted man knew there was a connection between Ingrid’s and Heidi’s deaths. Not a big deal, though. Kuntz had figured that eventually someone might put it together, but the fact that they had learned it so quickly troubled him a bit.
It didn’t matter. He would have to take them all out, including the assaulted guy. He steeled himself by thinking again of Robby in that hospital bed. That was really what it came down to for him. Did he let these people continue to break the law and blackmail people? Or did he do what a father had to in order to ease his family’s suffering?
Not much of a choice, was there?
Kuntz was still crouching near the top of the steps, lost for a moment in his thoughts about Barb and Robby, when Eduardo turned and spotted him.
Kuntz didn’t hesitate.
Since Merton had the gun, Kuntz took him out first with a bullet to the head. Then he swung his aim back toward Eduardo. Eduardo raised his hand, as though it could somehow stop a bullet.
It didn’t.
Gabrielle was screaming. Kuntz turned the gun on her and fired a third time.
The screaming stopped.
Three down, two to go.
Kuntz hurried down the stairs to finish the job.
• • •
Using the locator app, Thomas had figured out that his dad had been on Lake Charmaine in Dingman, Pennsylvania, when his phone died. Johanna then insisted that Thomas go back to class and not worry, a position backed up by the principal, who wouldn’t let her take him anyway.
After making a few calls, Johanna reached the dispatcher at Shohola Township Police Department. Dingman was in their jurisdiction. She sent him the coordinates from the GPS locator app and tried to explain the situation. The dispatcher didn’t really get it or understand the urgency.
“What’s the big deal?”
“Just send someone out.”
“Okay, Sheriff Lowell said he’d drive by.”
Johanna jumped into her car and hit the accelerator. If a cop tried to pull her over, she had her badge at the ready. She’d signal for them to pull up alongside her and flash it. A half hour later, she got a call back from the same dispatcher. Adam’s car wasn’t in sight. The locator wasn’t precise enough to pinpoint an exact house—they had several on the lake—and what exactly did she expect them to do about it?
“Start going door-to-door.”
“I’m sorry. Under whose authority is this coming from?”
“Mine. Yours. Anyone’s. Two women have already been killed. This man’s wife is missing. He’s trying to find her.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Chapter 53
It was amazing how many things could happen in a single moment.
When the first bullet rang out, Adam’s mind and body seemed to go in a dozen different directions. He had already gotten his right hand loose from the chain. That was all he needed. With the chain attached to only his left wrist, it did no good. So when the bullet sounded, Adam rolled away, forgetting the pain in his head and ribs, and looked for cover.
Something wet splashed on his face. Adam realized through the fog that it was Merton’s brains.
