Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [745]
“Grace, glad I found you.”
It was Pakula and only then did she remember she hadn’t called him back after they’d been disconnected.
“I’m okay. I know I should have called you back after we got cut off.”
“What?”
“My damsel-in-distress call.”
“Oh, yeah. No, that’s okay. That’s not why I’m calling. I’ve got something you’re gonna wanna see.”
Grace looked around for a pen. She knew if Tommy didn’t have time to joke around this was serious.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m at the Nebraska Bank of Commerce, that little branch off Highway 50. You know the one? Back behind Sapp Brothers, off I-80.”
“You’re actually at the bank?” She found a pen and looked for paper, settling instead for the top of a packing box to jot down the directions.
“Yeah, it’s a fucking mess.”
“Pakula, you’re the last one I need to remind, bank robberies are the feds’ mess.”
“Not when there’s a homicide.”
She figured as much. “You think it’s the convenience-store robber moving up and getting trigger-happy?” There had been three robberies across the city at different convenience stores. It wasn’t unusual for a robber to get cocky and think he was ready for a bigger hit.
“A black and white got a good look. We’re running the plate number. Hold on,” he said and she could hear a muffled conversation. She recognized Pakula’s “Holy crap,” followed by a “fuck.” Then he was back on the line. “This is one fucking mess. You think you can come take a look?”
“I need to take Emily over to my grandmother’s. I should be there in about fifteen to twenty.”
“I have to warn you, Grace—”
“I know, it’s a fucking mess.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen this much blood in one place since the Jepperson drug bust in ’97.”
“So there’s more than one homicide?”
“Last count there might be five.”
“Christ, Pakula! Why didn’t you say that in the beginning?”
“I thought I did. I better go. See you in fifteen.”
CHAPTER 19
5:38 p.m.
Melanie laid on the horn but the SUV in front of them didn’t budge, adhering to the sixty-five-mile-an-hour speed limit. In the rearview mirror, she could see cars and trucks pulling to the roadside, like waters parting, for the flashing cruiser. He’d be on her tail in seconds. There were hills, inclines, not enough room for passing zones. Yet when Jared yelled, “Go around the motherfucker,” Melanie didn’t hesitate.
Sure enough, on the other side of the hill was a truck headed straight for them. She’d never make it. In front of the SUV was a blue compact she hadn’t anticipated. She jerked back to the right, scraping against the SUV, shocking the driver into pulling to the side of the road. Now in her side mirror she could see him driving through the ditches before smashing into a fence.
“Serves him right,” Jared said. “Maybe the others will know to get out of our way.”
But even as he said it, Melanie had to weave around the blue compact. A pickup truck with a trailer was up ahead, and Melanie knew she’d never make it around him before the curve. And from what she could see, it looked as if they were coming to another bridge and another town.
“Don’t slow down,” Jared warned her. “Use the shoulder.”
“Are you nuts? It’s not wide enough.”
“Sure it is. Just do it.” He was turned in his seat again with the gun aimed at the back window. “Do it now, damn it.”
She wanted to close her eyes. The curve was impossible at this speed—eighty-five at her last glance—and she might not be able to keep control.
“You can do it, Mel.” His tone was somewhere between soothing and a yell.
She held her breath and twisted the steering wheel to the right. She heard the tire hit the edge and felt the pull. The car bounced, the steering wheel jerking out of her grasp. Before she could maneuver the car back onto the pavement, her hands were slick with sweat. So was her back, the T-shirt fabric stuck to her like a second skin. Her heart pounded loud enough to keep her from hearing Jared’s continued instructions. She barely pulled the car back onto the highway before the bridge. A few more yards and they would have been flying into the water.
The bridge slowed down the cruiser.