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Back A Small Town Save as PDF
Chapters (44)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Thomas Perry
  3. THOMAS PERRY
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. Back Cover

She rested the scope on the seatback beside the right headrest and focused on the next vehicle. There seemed to be three men in a gray car. No, four men. The hood ornament on the front looked like the Subaru medallion with the stars. The vehicle was about the size of a Crosstrek or a Forester. Her breath caught in her throat. The man in the passenger seat looked like Lee Wolf.

She set the scope on the passenger seat, pulled out the Glock with no serial numbers, and pulled the slide back to let the first round into the chamber. Then she put on her baseball cap to cover her hair and her sunglasses on, and waited.

The car was coming up fast. She lowered the windows on both sides of the car, sat back, and held her pistol in both hands. If the women who had seen her earlier had warned them by phone, they might very well stop to investigate. She wanted to start her engine, but that would turn the taillights on, so she didn’t.

She leaned back in her seat and watched the car in her side mirror coming toward her. The man she had thought looked like Lee Wolf was sitting in the right-hand seat, and she was in the left. She kept her eyes on that space. He would come within about ten feet of her face in three seconds … two … one.

As the other car arrived and flashed past, she kept her eyes on the mirror to her left. He was Lee Wolf. But in another second the car was a hundred feet past, and then far ahead of her and gaining ground. As she started her engine, she glanced at the gas gauge to be sure it still read full. This could be a long ride.

36

Charlotte Carpenter passed by Ed Leonard at the edge of the vegetable garden that morning about an hour after the men left for Louisiana. She said only, “Eleven seventeen?” and he said, “Sure.” Then the long, hot day passed, and the evening brought cooler breezes.

When it was 11:17, she opened the back window of her house, but she didn’t look outside. She knew that Edison Leonard would be there. He climbed in over the sill. Before she shut the window, she let him see the nightie she was wearing. It was silky and clingy with string straps and a hem that came right up within one inch of the level where it would have shown everything.