Page 134 of Sunset Beach
But the lights were with Sherri, and against Colleen, and they sailed through every intersection, never slowing, not even when they crossed TyroneBoulevard and the street doglegged and became Central, and then they were speeding north on Gulf Boulevard.
A cold chill ran down Colleen’s spine when she realized where they were heading.
The traffic was unexpectedly light for late on a Friday afternoon. She glanced over at Sherri, whose jaw was clenched, eyes darting back and forth.
“Just let me go,” Colleen pleaded. “I’m not a threat to you. I’ll leave town.” She looked at the train case on the floor. “I have money,” she said. “Right here in this case. Everything from my bank account. Seven thousand dollars. You can have all of it. Just let me out of this car.”
Sherri laughed. “You think this is about money? Think you can buy your way out of what you’ve done to me?”
They drove on. The light at the next intersection was yellow as they approached. Colleen swiveled slightly in her seat. If she could get her hands on the door handle, just as they slowed to a stop for the light? Whatever injuries she suffered would surely be better than whatever Sherri had in mind.
The light changed to red. Colleen turned quickly, groping for the handle, but her captor saw the move for what it was and stomped on the gas pedal, hurtling through the light to a cacophony of car horns from narrowly averted cars in the intersection.
Sherri calmly turned and pointed the pistol at her passenger. “Try that again and I’ll shoot you right here.”
“Go ahead,” Colleen blurted. “Kill me. Isn’t that what you intend to do anyway?”
“None of your damn business,” Sherri snapped. She drove onward, with the gun clutched tightly in her right hand.
Colleen saw a jagged flash of lightning. For the first time she noticed that the sky had darkened, with ominous gray clouds poised just to the west, over the Gulf. Thunder rumbled overhead, and rain began to pelt the car’s hood.
It was the kind of typical late-summer Florida thunderstorm that Colleen had always loved. As a child, she would stand transfixed at the front window of her parents’ house, staring out at the light show. Now, she gloomily reflected that this storm would probably be her last.
They drove through Madeira Beach, and then Treasure Island, where Sherri made a sudden sharp left turn.
Crushed oyster shells crunched beneath the Chevette’s tires as they pulled into the abbreviated driveway of the cottage, which was overshadowed by the shaggy branches of a pair of towering Australian pines.
Colleen, of course, had driven past this house many times, at night, when Brice’s cruiser was parked out front. Once, she’d parked in the driveway of a vacant house across the street, watching while all the lights in the house blinked off, wondering if that meant he and his wife were going to bed, imagining what they would do there, torturing herself with all the what-ifs.
“Stay there,” Sherri ordered, after she’d cut the engine. She came around to the passenger side of the car and unceremoniously yanked Colleen to her feet. She looked around, cautiously, but the narrow road was empty. Nobody was about. She nudged Colleen forward, through the rain, toward the front door.
“Open it,” she ordered, pushing Colleen into the house. Lightning struck then, so close that both women jumped, and the smell of cordite hung in the steamy, ion-charged air around them.
54
Drue was barefoot, dressed in cut-off yoga pants and her favorite raggedySURF ALASKAT-shirt when she heard the doorbell ring. She checked the time and frowned. It was five-thirty. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and she was operating on about four hours of sleep and not in the mood for company.
Her mood changed when she opened the front door.
“Ben! I thought you were at a gaming thing.”
He stood on the doorstep holding a brown paper bag. “After you called, I decided to sneak out early. I still feel terrible I missed your call last night because I was so wrapped up in that damned tournament. I didn’t even notice you’d tried to call until, like, two in the morning.”
“Hmm. Two in the morning was about the time I was being hauled to jail by the police,” Drue said.
His eyes widened behind the horn-rimmed glasses. “You didn’t tell me you got arrested!”
“Come on inside and I’ll fill you in on all the sordid details,” she said.“And when I tell you what I’ve been through, you’ll see why I look the way I look.”
“You look fine to me,” he said. “But what’s up with the skunk stripe in your hair? Is that a new thing?”
She yawned. “Tell you in a minute. I had a late, late night, and then a crazy, crazy morning. I’m about to fix some coffee. You want coffee, or maybe a beer?”
He held out the paper bag. “I brought you a smoothie from that place up the beach, as a peace offering.”
“Kale Yeah? I love that place.” She lifted the plastic cup from the bag. A straw poked out from the plastic top. “That’s so sweet,” she said. “I’ll have it later, if that’s okay. I gotta get some caffeine in my system before I pass out on my feet.”
“I had them put some B12powder in it, for energy,” Ben said. “Try that first, and then the coffee.”
