"Storm ... What sto--You mean that mutt of yours? You really were looking for it?" A short laugh. "I thought that was a trick to make me think you had a reason to be out. I don't have your damned dog, Detective."
That gives me pause but only for a moment. Storm really must have slipped out in the chaos.
"Nicole, then," I say. "That's all that matters to me. Nicole. Slide over my gun--"
Something chitters across the wood. I take out my flashl
ight, put my fingers over the lens and turn it on, giving off just enough diffuse light to see.
There's my gun. Five feet away. Between me and the door.
He's luring me into the open. He must have found a second gun somewhere.
I eye my weapon. I look around and spot a pile of sticks drying for tinder. I take one and crawl over, staying behind the logs. I snag my gun and tug it toward me. The lumber shed stays silent until I have it and then Benjamin says, "Happy?"
It's a trick. It must be.
I turn the gun over in my hands. It's clearly mine. Unloaded, naturally. I stick it in my holster.
He must have a second gun. He thinks I'll come out now, confident that my scheme is working, and then he'll shoot me.
"If we're doing this, we need to go before sunrise," he says.
"I want to see you. Lift both hands over your head."
I raise the diffused light until I can peer around the semidark. I see his hands. Raised and empty. Ten feet away.
"Keep your hands up and come my way. Walk past me and stand in front of the door."
The hands start moving. "Just remember, Detective, if you shoot me, you lose Nicole."
"I'm well aware of that."
Those raised hands move toward the door. Are they definitely his hands? Could he have taken another hostage?
I see a head. The hood is raised. Yes, that's it. He has a hostage--
The figure looks over. It's Benjamin. I give a start, and he smiles.
"Jumpy, Detective?" he says.
I clench my teeth. It must be a trick.
Yet what is he doing? Exactly as I say. Staying calm. Following orders. That's good, isn't it?
He's a desperate man. He may not believe I'll let him go, but this gives him a chance. Lead me into the forest, let me think I'm in charge, and then, when we're safely away from Rockton, turn the tables. Take me captive.
That's the answer. It's always been the answer. He accused me of being arrogant, but that's him projecting his own hubris onto his opponent. He's going to walk into that forest for the same reason he thought I would--confident we can escape.
"Good enough?" he says, standing in front of the open doorway.
"Stay where you are."
"Yes, Detective."
I walk two steps. A bird calls outside, and I look over, startled. Benjamin's foot flies out sideways, and I'm trying to figure out what the hell he's doing, when the stack of lumber beside me gives way with a roar and a crash. Logs smash into my legs. He leaps at me as I stumble.
We go down, my gun skittering across the wooden floor. I'm facedown, and I go to flip over, but the cold steel of a blade bites into the back of my neck.