Chapter 33
Kurt heard the shots, and the crash of glasses, and the scream of the waitress. He rushed to the back side of the tavern, where he found a young woman in a white smock half-covered in blood. Helping her up, Kurt realized it wasn’t hers.
“He went out,” the waitress said, pointing at the back door.
The door was slightly ajar. Kurt ran to it and stormed out into the frigid night air.
He saw a man running near the far side of the parking lot, hopping the curb, and then climbing into the delivery van, where it sat parked out in the street.
The lights came on, and the tires spun in the snow as the man put the van in gear and tore out of the parking spot.
Before Kurt could take another step, the Big Orange Rig slid to a stop beside him. He pulled the front door open and hopped in. “That was the driver.”
“We know,” Joe and Paul replied in unison.
Kurt was surprised to see Paul in the back.
“He was also one of the hijackers,” Joe said, getting on the gas and chasing after the van. “A guy named Ridley.”
Kurt was astounded.
“Any idea who shot him?” Paul asked from the back seat.
“No,” Kurt said. He was surprised to see Paul without his wife. They often seemed inseparable. “Where’s Gamay?”
Paul grimaced. “She’s, ummm…”
“Don’t tell me she’s in the van.”
“We saw Ridley come out for a smoke,” Joe said. “We thought we’d set a trap for him.”
Kurt offered a withering stare.
“What do you want from me?” Joe said. “I’m the driver. Paul’s the eye in the sky. And she’s the only black belt among the three of us.”
“Plus, she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Paul added.
“That part I believe,” Kurt said. “Well, we better catch that van before Ridley finds her, crashes, or runs into whoever tried to finish him off.”