We were speeding around the lake to highway 18. The tires were whining on turns, our bodies sliding into the arm-rest and doors. I never have to worry about getting pulled over. My Tahoe is recognizable to my coworkers, both by the aftermarket rims and the police stickers on the back window.
I wondered why we weren’t flying into Sedona. It seemed like it would be quicker. But then again, you have to go through security checkpoints, wait at the terminal, and who knows when the next available flight might be. Then the flight from Phoenix to Sedona would be time consuming as well. Is it possible it was quicker to drive there than deal with a one-stop flight into Sedona? I suppose it was possible. A choice would have been nice.
It felt like there was a hot brick smoldering in my guts. Wearing a ballistic-missile vest and face guard wasn’t unnerving to me, but it would be to Norrah. And seeing her wearing it would bring to life some pretty morbid ideas. We’d have protection against a chest shot and head shot, but what if that asshole shot us in the crotch? Forget starting a family. Heck, maybe forget making love. He could shoot her arms and legs. I don’t know what I’d do if he did that to my love. It would take more restraint than I was capable of to keep from throttling that prick into the afterlife. I’d get in serious trouble for doing it. Subdue the suspect, never kill them unless you have to. And it’s hard to justify killing someone with your hands—once they lose consciousness they are considered subdued; continuing to strangle the dude till he’s dead is something that might land even a cop in prison.
Maybe Paul had that in mind. Maybe he wanted to get me put in prison, where I’d meet the same fate as Edward Berg. He’d press my buttons until I did something I’d later regret. He pushed Aaron’s quite well. ‘I didn’t ruin that girl, but I should have,’ is what Paul had said regarding Tinkerbelle. Had I been Aaron, I would have beaten the shit out of him right then. And the douchebag toasted to Aaron’s death. This is what I worried about, how volatile a situation it would be confronting Paul. I didn’t need much of a spark to ignite on the guy, and he was more than a spark, he was an inferno. Hopefully Norrah would calm me down should things get out of hand. And let’s not forget God. I’d pray for serenity.
“Why would he return to Sedona,” Norrah asked.
“Why does any lunatic do what they do?” I took my nine millimeter out of its holster and checked the magazine, stealing brief glances at the road. It was full.
“He’s not a lunatic. He’s evil. I don’t see what purpose it would serve in him returning. He moved to California to get away from the family he hated. Now he’s returned to the same town? Doesn’t that seem unlikely?”
“Does it matter?” I said. “He’s there. I wish I brought a second gun. They’d better give you one.”
We were halfway down the hill, where we’d connect to highway 10 and drive that east into Arizona. The sun was large and directly before me, a few hours from setting. As we lowered in elevation it got warmer inside the cabin. Before I’d reach the bottom I’d have the air conditioner on. Some of the heat would be from nerves.
“It would be faster if we flew,” Norrah said more to herself than me.
“I think so. Not by much, though, when you consider the process of it all. No non-stop flights into Sedona, so it would be a process times two.”
“I suppose. Maurice could have at least offered to fly us out.”
“You know what? Now that I think about it, it would have made more sense to have a helicopter fly us out. That’s the fastest way there. And there’s a helipad at Mountain View Hospital.”
“Oh I don’t know if I’d fly in a helicopter,” she said. “I have an irrational fear of flying on them. At least on a jet if one engine goes out there are other engines. In a chopper if the whirly thingy goes out you crash and die.”
“It’s called a main rotor on fixed wing aircraft such as a chopper. God I hope they resolve the situation before we get there.”
I texted Maurice that if they apprehend him before we get there, let me know right away so I can turn around.