tried to sound casual. “Where is Andie?” she asked again.
“Nearby,” he said. “Where’s the diary?”
“I don’t want us to be at an impasse. Why don’t you bring Andie out and we’ll all go get the diary?” said Diane.
He nodded. “We can do that.” He turned to go, then turned around.
“Are you sorry it’s me?” he said.
“Yes,” said Diane.
“You kind of liked me, didn’t you?” he said. “Admit it.”
“I thought you would make a good sheriff and I was looking forward to showing you forensics,” said Diane.
“Yeah, I knew it. You liked me,” he said.
Diane started to speak but she was grabbed around the neck from behind and thrown to the ground.
Chapter 58
Diane’s backpack was jerked off her arm, sending a pain through her elbow and shoulder.
“I’m fucking tired of this.” The voice wasn’t one she recognized. Diane scooted backward and looked up at the balding Jason, one of the Rendell County deputies. He was emptying the contents of her backpack on the ground.
“Where’s the fucking diary?” he yelled. “Travis, you said she’d bring it with her. You said we’d be rich. Damn it. Where the fuck is it?”
Diane had rolled away as Jason was messing with her backpack. She managed to rise to her feet and tried to get her gun from the back waistband of her jeans. But it wasn’t there. She saw it on the ground near Jason’s feet. She wouldn’t be able to get it before he could draw his gun and shoot her. She shifted her gaze away from her gun, hoping he wouldn’t notice it.
“The diary is in a safe place,” said Diane. “I didn’t trust you to make a fair exchange. Obviously I was right. Where is Andie? You want to be rich? Bring Andie.”
Jason whirled around and straightened up, looking at her. “I want the diary.” She saw every rotten tooth in his head as he yelled at her.
“I want Andie,” she said.
He stepped forward and almost tripped over her gun. He looked down and picked it up, turned it over in his hand, examining it as if it were an alien artifact.
Shit.
“So, came packing, didn’t you? I told Travis you couldn’t be trusted,” said Jason. He put the gun in the waistband at the front of his pants.
“What did you expect?” said Diane. “This isn’t about trust. Where is Andie?”
“What makes you think you’re calling the shots?” he said.
“What makes you think you are?” asked Diane.
“She’s got a point,” said Travis. “Settle down, Jason. She’s going to be stubborn about this. That’s okay. Me and her are friends. I told you she liked me. Let’s just humor her. All I want is the diary and my gold. I’ve worked hard for it.” Travis walked off in the direction of the cave.
“Did you have a hand in the murders, or are you just a run-of-the-mill drug addict?” said Diane.
“Who you calling a drug addict?” he said.
“You’re acting like one. You’re over-the-top and working against your own best interests. You’re high,” said Diane.
She watched him standing, snarling at her, anger written in every line of his body. She wasn’t sure why he was angry. Perhaps it was just the drugs in his system. Perhaps his upbringing had been as bad as Travis’.
Travis returned with Andie in tow. She stumbled as he pulled her along. Their arrival stopped whatever retort was on Jason’s trembling lips.
“Andie, are you all right?” said Diane.
Andie looked exhausted. Her hands were duct-taped behind her and she had been crying. Her arms were raw where they ripped off the previous tape. Probably more than once. Andie nodded and Diane started toward her, but Travis pulled Andie back.
“No. Here we are with Andie. You show us the diary.”
“It’s a ways back through the woods,” said Diane.
“She’s lying. I watched her the whole way through the woods. She never once stopped to hide anything,” said Jason.
Jason leered at her, knitting his brow together over his dark eyes. “They are not coming, you know,” he said, grinning.
“Who?” said Diane.
“Your policeman friend, the army guy—they’re not coming. I saw to that.”
Diane felt fear creeping up her spine.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I’m talking about what’s going to be on the news. Mysterious crash. Mysterious sniper. I knew they were coming. I told Travis you would double-cross us. I laid in wait when you left the museum and I shot their tires out on Highway Seventy-nine.” Jason laughed. “You should have seen that SUV roll.” He laughed again and drew his gun. “They’re dead, dead,