The Bone House - Brian Freeman [144]
Jensen opened his mouth but said nothing. He crouched down and laid two bottles at his feet. He unscrewed the cap on a half-empty bottle of Stolichnaya and hesitated over the prone body of the girl on the floor.
'Pour it over Amy,' she instructed him. 'Do it.'
With a long glance at Katie, Jensen turned the vodka bottle upside down, letting the liquid spill out in spurts, covering Amy in strong- smelling alcohol. Her hair. Her shirt. Her arms. Her jeans. Her feet. As the fumes gathered in her nose, Amy began to stir. Hilary heard her moan, but the girl's eyes were still closed.
He poured until the bottle was empty.
'Now the rest,' Katie told him. 'Do the whole room. The curtains. The carpet. And don't forget Hilary here.'
Jensen's eyes awakened with a kind of shock. 'Jesus, how did this happen?'
'Hurry. We're running out of time.'
'My wife. That girl in Florida. Now we have to kill two more people?'
Katie picked up the bottle of Cuervo and shoved it into his hand. 'This is the only way.'
Jensen slowly twisted the cap. When the bottle was open, he dropped the cap to the floor and watched it bounce and roll. He took a stuttering step toward Hilary, and then he stopped and shook his head.
'No.'
Katie clenched her fist. 'Gary, please.'
'I won't do this.'
'I told you, this is the last time. Once it's done, we're free.'
'You said that about my wife. You said that about Glory.'
'I know. I never meant for any of this to happen.'
'Let's get out of here,' he said. 'You and me. Right now.'
Katie kissed his cheek and exhaled in a slow, sorrowful sigh. 'OK. You win. Sure.'
'Really?'
'Whatever you want, Gary. You know I love you.'
Katie gently pried the bottle from his hands. She upended the neck to her lips and took a long, burning swallow. When she was done, she wiped her mouth, pointed the gun at Gary Jensen, and fired into the center of his forehead.
Hilary screamed. The explosion sounded like a bomb, rattling her head. Blood and brain matter blew out the back of Jensen's skull in a chunky spray and painted the wall. Jensen's body dropped straight down like an imploding building with its columns knocked out. He crumpled into a dead pile. The smell of charred metal was like sulfur in Hilary's nose.
Katie bit her lip unhappily, staring down at his body. She blinked rapidly, as if even she was surprised at what she'd done. As if it was an impulse she couldn't resist, like scratching an itch. The echo of the shot died, and in the terrible silence, they all heard a rhythmic wailing, rising above the wind. In the distance, sirens grew louder and closer.
Multiple sirens, overlapping, from police vehicles racing toward them.
'It's over, Katie,' Hilary said softly.
Katie listened to the shrill sirens, her face stricken with indecision.
'It's over,' Hilary repeated, it's too late.' She pressed her hands into the bed and tried to stand up without alarming the girl.
Katie swung the gun, which was still smoking, and pointed it at Hilary's face. 'I swore to my mom I was going to burn the house down,' she said. 'She laughed. She didn't believe me.'
'Don't do this.'
Katie ignored her. Her mind was made up. She swung the vodka bottle into the corner of the door frame, and the neck of the bottle shattered across the floor in razor-sharp fragments. She jerked the open, jagged body of the bottle toward Hilary, letting the alcohol splash across Hilary's face and soak through her blouse to her chest.
Katie shoved a hand in her pocket and pulled out a cigarette lighter.
'Don't worry,' the girl told her. 'I've done this before.'
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Four
On the floor, Amy Leigh's hand shot out.
Before Katie could react, Amy locked her fingers around her roommate's ankle and yanked Katie's leg into the air. Katie flew, crashing backward on to