Chapter 48
Bloch
Bang!
She flinched.
Eyes shut.
Waited for the pain. The fear crushing her chest like an anvil was pressing on it.
Nothing.
No pain.
Bang!
That sound again, but hearing it for the second time, it didn’t sound like the crack from a .45 or a .22 caliber pistol.
It was different.
The second time she heard it, she sensed that it was closer.
Landry still had the gun on her. He hadn’t fired, but it was pointed square at her chest.
And he was looking over his left shoulder.
Staring at the driveway.
Then Bloch heard a different sound.
An engine.
Not a healthy one.
It was the sound of a six-cylinder V6 running on maybe three, maybe two cylinders.
Revving high.
A shit-colored Pontiac Aztec came tearing up the gravel driveway at speed.
Landry checked Bloch hadn’t moved. She was still on her knees.
He turned back to the car, completely taken by surprise. Bloch imagined he had no clue who the hell was in this shit heap. But he was a police officer, a captain no less, in uniform, with his gun pointed at a suspect. He could send whoever it was away just as fast as they arrived.
The Aztec’s brakes slammed on with a high-pitched whine and it backfired again, sending a huge cloud of black smoke from the exhaust.
That was the sound Bloch had heard.
She didn’t move.
Not an inch.
The wind blew the cloud of black smoke back over the car, masking the identity of the driver as they opened their door.
The smoke cleared in just a few seconds, and Landry stared at Gabriel Lake, who was pointing his Glock straight at the police captain. Landry turned away from Lake and focused all his attention on Bloch.
‘Put the gun down, Lake, and get on the ground.’
‘You can’t take two targets. If you shoot her, you’ll be dead before her body hits the ground. You know that. I’m guessing you want to keep this quiet, so you don’t have back-up on the way. It’s just you and me now. Bloch is unarmed. Put your gun down and we can figure this out.’
Landry said nothing, but Bloch saw the pistol in his hand begin to shake as he weighed up his options. They were limited.
‘Okay,’ said Landry. ‘Let’s do this together. Why don’t we both put our pieces away and then we can talk.’
Lake’s arms were spread through the open windowsill of the Aztec, using the body of the door for cover. He was perfectly still. Aim zeroed.
Ready to rock.
It was then that she noticed Raymond, hands over his head, ducking down in the passenger seat of the Aztec.
‘Okay, let’s put our guns down and figure things out together,’ said Lake.
Landry didn’t move at first. He kept his eye on the iron sights of his pistol, trying to aim for Bloch and keep his aim straight.
‘Okay,’ said Landry.
His neck began to turn to the left, to check Lake’s position, so he could mimic his movements, and together they would put down their guns.
Soon as Lake appeared in his field of vision, his aim moved off Bloch, just a fraction, but enough.
Crack.
The top of Landry’s head came off, and he dropped like a stone.
‘I guess I figured it out on my own,’ said Lake.