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Nothing happened. He looked down at his weapon, perplexed, and Wylie leaped up, swinging the hatchet. She struck him on the shoulder, his thick parka taking the brunt of the blow. It was enough to throw him off balance and the shotgun tumbled from his hands, striking the floor.
The hatchet slipped from Wylie’s fingers and skidded across the floor and out of sight. As Randy and Wylie fought to find the weapons, there was the thunderous sound of footsteps on the stairs, and Becky stepped into the beam of light. She pounced on the shotgun, picked it up, and aimed it at Wylie and Randy as they struggled on the floor.
“Stop,” Becky screamed. “Stop!” Randy released Wylie and they both staggered to their feet.
“Run,” Wylie said to the little girl. “Run and hide. Now.”
The girl didn’t move.
“Go now,” Wylie said.
The girl shook her head defiantly. Wylie and Becky exchanged a look. “Run,” Becky said. “Go now.”
“Chamber’s jammed,” Randy said with confidence. “Nothing will happen if you pull the trigger.”
“You don’t know that,” Wylie said. She moved slowly toward the girl while Becky kept the shotgun trained on Randy. Wylie snatched the girl into her arms, carried her across the floor, and opened the front door. Tas slipped past them and out the door as Wylie set the girl on the front porch. “Do what I told you, now. Run and hide. It’s going to be okay, I promise.” Wylie closed the door hoping the girl would run to the barn and take cover.
Becky kept the shotgun pinned on Randy Cutter, who was slowly inching toward her. “Stay put,” Becky ordered, and Randy froze.
Wylie couldn’t make any sense of what was happening. Over the years, she had made an uneasy peace with the truth. Knowing that Jackson Henley had killed her family, had taken Becky, and had gotten away with it. Now the real killer was standing right in front of her. Wylie remembered the day after the murders when Randy Cutter had walked into the barn. The slick knot of fear that had filled her chest.
“Give me the gun, Becky,” Randy said in a low, soothing voice. “I know you don’t want to hurt me. I love you.”
Becky’s hands were shaking so hard she could barely hold on to the shotgun.
“Hand me the gun,” Wylie said. “I can do it.”
“Don’t listen to her, Becky,” Randy said. “Who’s taken care of you all this time? Who gave you a baby? I did. No one else was there for you. Just me. No one even cared that you were gone.”
Becky’s face went slack.She’s giving up, Wylie thought.She’s going to give him the gun.
“Don’t listen to him, Becky,” Wylie snapped. “He doesn’t love you. He killed my parents and my brother. He shot me. He stole you. Everyone looked for you. The entire town. For years. Your mom has never given up. Never.”
“Becky, honey,” Randy said, taking a small step toward her.
Becky pulled the trigger. The wall behind Randy exploded, sending shards of plaster in the air. Becky pulled the trigger again, this time striking the ceiling. Both Randy and Wylie shielded their heads from the falling debris. Becky pulled the trigger again and again until the chamber was empty.
45
Once Wylie shut the door, the girl immediately got to her feet and began pounding on the front door. She tried the knob. It was locked. The cold wind bit at her exposed skin. “Mama,” she shouted, slapping at the door. “Mama, let me in.”
The cold seeped through her body. She wanted to go back to her little room with her bed and her books and her television and her small window. But she wanted her mother even more.
They were shouting inside the house. The girl squinched her eyes tightly shut. Then she heard the bangs. With each blast, she cried out.
The girl had known Wylie for such a short time, but it felt like much longer. Did she trust her? She didn’t know. She felt a nudge at her knees. It was Tas looking up at her with his amber eyes.
Wylie told her to hide. She would hide.
She ran to the barn with Tas at her side. She tried not to think of her mother back in the house with her father and the sound of the gun. Wylie told her to run. She would run. The cold bit at her face and her fingers, and every few yards, she would fall through the snow up to her waist, but still, she forged forward.
She slipped into the barn with Tas right behind her and scanned the dark space for somewhere to hide. Her eyes settled on the ladder and the hayloft, and she began to climb.
46
Present Day
Becky dropped the shotgun as if it burned her fingers and cowered in a corner.
