The Stolen - Jason Pinter [60]
this chase would last.
Then Petrovsky made a right onto another road, this one
dimly lit. I couldn't see any houses on either side. There
were no lamps. It was just him and us.
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I glimpsed the street sign, stated into the recorder,
"Turned right onto Huntley Terrace."
Huntley Terrace was a narrow road. Once we'd driven
a few miles, we passed by a few houses spaced sporadically
apart, driveways hidden behind thick brush and wooden
fences. There were no streetlights, no road signs. We were
still twenty yards behind Petrovsky, but we were the only
cars traveling this road. By this point, the gig was up.
"Henry," Amanda said. "What is that?"
I squinted my eyes, felt my stomach lurch as I saw that
we were approaching a pair of metal double gates up
ahead. The were bracketed by a brick wall that encircled
the property within. The woods were thick on either side.
I couldn't see anything beyond them.
"Oh, fuck," I said. Petrovsky had slowed down as he
approached.
"What now?" Amanda asked.
"I don't know."
"I'm scared," she said. She turned to me. In her eyes I
could tell she knew what I was thinking. We had to keep
going.
I slowed the car down, pulled to a stop and put the car
in Park. I waited to see what Petrovsky would do next. His
car stopped at the gates. It stayed there for close to a
minute, then I heard the sound of metal screeching as the
gates swung inward. They did not look like they enclosed
a residential area. They were protecting a single home.
Was this where Petrovsky lived?
When the gates were open, the doctor pulled onto a
gravel road and then disappeared out of sight. I waited,
unsure of what to do.
And after a minute of waiting, I realized something
strange.
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Jason Pinter
The gates hadn't closed.
They were wide open.
Whoever was inside those gates was waiting for us.
"Too late to turn back," I said.
I put the car into Drive and slowly approached the gates.
I still couldn't see anything beyond them, but as I got
closer I could make out a red hue around the bend. Definitely Petrovsky's brake lights.
I drove through the gates, half expecting a Sonny
Corleone sneak attack. But we passed through without
anything out of the ordinary. I made the turn, then jumped
as I heard the metal sounds again.
The gates were closing behind us.
"We shouldn't be here," Amanda said. "We should go."
"We can't now," I said. "Let's just see what's what."
As I continued down the path, Petrovsky's Nissan came
into view. It was parked at the end of a driveway. The
driveway was next to a house. It was shrouded in darkness,
but there was just enough light from the moon to illuminate the seven-foot-high brick wall surrounding the entire
property. It confused me. The wall wasn't high enough that
an adult would have a problem climbing over it. I also
noticed that every tree on the property was at least ten or
twenty feet from the fence. There were no limbs that could
reach the fence. It had been clearly built to keep someone
smaller from getting out.
Down the driveway, I could see Petrovsky. He was
standing next to his car. Hands in his pockets. He was
waiting for us.
I pulled up close until I was directly behind the Nissan,
then put the car into Park and shut the engine off.
"Stay here," I said to Amanda.
"The hell with that," she said, unbuckling her seat belt.
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We both stepped out of the car. Petrovsky was standing
in the middle of the driveway. He did not move as we approached. He did not seem surprised to see us.
As we got closer, I could see that the doctor was trembling slightly. His hands were in his pockets, his body too
rigid. As I got closer, a wave of fear coursed through me.
I saw that Petrovsky was shaking. The man was afraid.
"Dr. Petrovsky," I said. "It's Henry Parker. I know you
saw us following you. I'm sorry to approach you under
these circumstances, but I have more questions."
"Yes, Mr. Parker," the doctor said, his voice low, remorseful. "I am