Chapter 118 Section 21

The look in Beth's eyes bordered on hysterical.She was about to fire the 11th shot when she realized Decker was in the middle.She dropped her arms slowly and fell to the ground. Smoke swirls around Decker.He dropped Renata and hurried over to her. "There's nothing wrong with my left arm," said Beth softly, sounding almost triumphant. "Are you badly hurt?" Decker quickly wrapped a handkerchief around her bleeding, split thumb. "Sore all over. Gosh, I wish there were no more of them." "There's one in the woods. He should attack us by now."

"He's dead," said a voice on the other side of the smoke-filled clearing. Decker looked over. "They're all dead." Esperanza's figure was outlined by the flames of the cabin, and walked out of the smoke like a ghost.He had a rifle slung over his shoulder, the bow Decker had bought in his right hand, and a barrel of arrows in his left. "When the bomb went off here at the cabin, I shot and killed two people who were guarding the exit of the trail," Esperanza said. People can hear it. But I can't use this gun on this guy Renata calls Pietro. He and I are too close to the clearing, she may hear the gunshot, then she will know You're not alone, panicked, and killed both of you when you didn't mean to." Esperanza raised the bow. "So I used this and there was no sound at all. It's a good thing you bought this."

"It's a good thing you know how to use it." "I'm going to tell you. Every fall, during archery season, I go hunting in the mountains. I haven't brought a deer home since I was fourteen." "You detonated the bomb?" Decker asked. "Renata is going to shoot you and I can't think of anything else to do. You and Beth are in between and I can't shoot. I can't run so fast to get to you and grab her .I need some kind of distraction that will scare everyone and give you a chance to wake up faster than her." "Beth woke up first." Decker looked at her admiringly. "Help me get her into the car."

She lay down in the backseat, and Esperanza knew what Decker was going to say next. "Clean up the place?" "Take what you can. The Pex authorities will come to investigate the explosion, and the fire will lead them straight to the cabin. We don't have much time." Decker ran to get Beth's shotgun, and Esperanza threw the Model 22, bow, and quiver into the Cherokee's storage box.Those guns were important because their serial numbers could be traced back to the store where Decker bought them, and eventually to Decker.Esperanza disappeared into the woods when Decker got the shotgun back, presumably to get a Winchester and a car battery.Decker dug out the remaining jugs.He pulled out the bulb's filament, put away the wires, and put everything in the back of the car.At this point, Esperanza returned from Decker's hiding place with the equipment.

"I'm going to get the money from where the money is buried," Esperanza said. "What else?" "That Remington straight-action rifle. In the hole we dug by the bridge." "I'll bring that too," Esperanza said. "Beth's walking stick, and hunting knife." "We'd better make sure we got those bullets, and that arrow I shot." "... Esperanza." "what?" "I had to use your gun, and two shells fell into the bushes up there." "My God." Under the light of the fire, Esperanza's face seemed to turn pale. "I loaded the bullets before all of this happened. I didn't wear gloves and those shells would have my fingerprints on them."

"I'll try to find those shell casings," Decker said. "Here's my car keys. Take the money, the hunting knife, and the Remington, and the bullets. You and Beth drive far away. Here. I'll keep looking until the last minute, until the police car comes up that trail." Esperanza didn't answer, just stared at him. "Go ahead," Decker said, and ran up the hill toward the trees and shrubs to the right of the cabin.A bullet from Esperanza's gun was near the big pine tree, almost at-- here!thought Decker.He tried to remember what he'd done: how he fell when the gunman shot at him deep in the woods, how he climbed to the right of the tree, how he knelt down and pulled the trigger, and—

The fired shells would fly through the air and land about three or four feet from here- A small metal object was reflected in the firelight.Decker gasped violently, exhaling triumphantly.He knelt down and picked up a 9mm shell he was looking for.Only one was missing.He rose excitedly to find Esperanza running towards him. "Get out of here," Decker said. "I won't go without you." "but--" "Show me where to look," Esperanza said. They ran back around the cabin fire, ignoring the body of the man Decker had shot in the head and trying to find another shell casing.

"It could be there, it could be over there." Decker's chest heaved. "The bushes on the ground are too dense." Esperanza crawled on his body, groping the ground with his hands. "Even with the firelight, there are too many shadows." "We must find it!" "listen." "what?" "siren." "damn it." "Still faint. Far away." "Closing soon." Decker groped harder under the bushes, scratching frantically at the dark ground. "Come on, get in the car and get out of here. We shouldn't have all three of us caught."

"None of us deserves to be caught. Forget about the shell casings," Esperanza said. "Come with me to the car." "If they find the cartridge case, if they get fingerprints on it—" "Partial print. Most likely fuzzy." "You just hope so. You'll never explain how the cartridge case with your fingerprints on it is here." Decker searched among the fallen leaves. "I just said someone stole my gun." "Would you believe this story?" "Less likely." "So--" "I don't care." Esperanza crawled under the bushes. "Just because I might be involved doesn't mean you and Beth have to be involved. Let's go—"

"Found it! Oh dear God, I found it." Decker jumped up, showing Esperanza the precious cartridge case. "I never thought I'd—" They ran out of the bushes and rushed towards the car.They stumbled and ran quickly down the slope, nearly tripping several times.Esperanza kept the keys to the car in his hands.He sat sideways behind the wheel, and Decker hopped into the back seat next to Beth.Before Decker could close the door, Esperanza started the car.The car quickly turned a corner in the clearing, kicking up a cloud of dust.He barely had time to turn on the headlights, and the car drove down the lane, bouncing a few times on the bridge, and sped off onto the dark country road.

"Did we get everything? The money? All the weapons?" Decker asked.His voice was loud enough to overwhelm the flustered voices inside him. "I can't think of anything else we have left." Esperanza put his foot on the accelerator. "So we escaped," Decker said. "It's just—" Esperanza pointed to the dark place ahead of him, and the siren's wailing grew louder. He slowed down and turned off his headlights. "What are you doing?" Decker asked. "It reminds me of when I was a kid." Esperanza turned onto the trail in front of another house, a quarter of a mile from the burning cabin.The flames were so high that they could still be seen from such a distance.Esperanza hid the car in the bushes, turned off the engine, and looked down the road through the shadowy trees.The headlights and flashing police lights of a fire truck and several police cars passed by, the outlines of the cars were blurred, and the sirens were screaming. "It's just like before," Esperanza said.He immediately started the car again and backed it back onto the road, turning on the headlights only when necessary. Twice, they had to turn onto trails and stop to avoid being seen by passing emergency vehicles.During the second dodge, Decker and Esperanza stopped for a long time, got out of the car and took off their camouflage suits.Beth flinched as Decker took off her camouflage suit.They wiped the camouflage grease off their faces with the lining of their clothes, and then they spread the clothes over the weapons in the back of the car, and took a car blanket to cover everything up.That way, when they got to Pex or Santa Fe, if a police car came up and drove alongside them, they wouldn't attract attention. Decker stroked Beth's head. "Feel better?" "My mouth is fucked up." "We'll get you some water as soon as possible. Let me see the stitches that come out... You're bleeding, but just a little. Don't worry, you'll be fine." "The stitches that come out can make the scar even more unsightly." "I don't want to agree with you, but it does happen." "Now we'll have matching features." Decker froze for a moment before he understood.Beth smiled as best she could, though the pain was terrible. "Like those gunshot scars you showed me," Beth said, "but mine will be bigger." "You're different," Decker said.