He would be able to smooth things with Reed now that he had money. They had been living off of Sandy’s cash. The cabin, the food, toys for Pip, it all came from that money, but now that he had his mother’s, he could make living in the woods much more comfortable. Reed should be happy about that.

Spud carried a thick folder up to the bedroom where his mother used to sleep—his bedroom now. The folder bulged with documents, proof that he owned the house, and the apartments, and the money. He lay down and imagined that he was rolling on a bed of hundred-dollar bills. He was rich. He stared at the ceiling and started dreaming about all the things he would do. A new car? Sure. A boat? Absolutely. And travel—of course there would be travel.

Then his thoughts came to Pip. What a life he could give that boy. He would be generous like Spike had been with him. Pip would never want for a thing. But in a few months, Spud and Reed would part ways and he would never see Pip again. The boy would be whisked up into Canada or somewhere else far away. Reed rarely talked about his escape plan, other than to say that it involved Canada. From there, Spud had no idea where they would go; Reed had kept that part a secret.

Spud would be happy to be rid of Reed, but Pip was another matter. The time that Spud had spent with Pip brought into sharp focus how wrong Spud had been. Reed had convinced him that Sandy was an abusive parent, but that wasn’t true. Reed was selfish and brutal, and although Reed hadn’t yet hit Pip, it wasn’t far off. If Pip needed to be rescued from anyone it was from Reed. Spud had snatched Pip away from a loving parent and given him to a cruel one; that thought tightened a knot in his chest. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn’t escape the crushing weight of his failure. He had murdered a woman for all the wrong reasons and had delivered an innocent boy to the hands of a monster. Now that he had money, there had to be a way to rectify his mistake. He had to save Pip.

He could kill Reed. Why not? He was already a murderer; at least killing Reed would balance out the mistake he’d made. Killing Reed wasn’t the problem, though. The problem would be creating a new life for him and Pip, a new life as father and son. Reed had a plan to acquire new identifications but hadn’t shared it with Spud. He would need Reed to explain how to do that. Once they had new names, he could be a better father to Pip than Reed ever could. Peter and Pip—he liked the sound of that.

A knock at the door startled Spud out of his daydream. He sat up and blinked away the stupor. The knock came again, along with the chime of the doorbell.