Between the Cracks and Burning Doors: Book 2 of The Extraction List Series by Renee N. Meland Page B
Authors: Renee N. Meland
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carcass that he was, not caring if we hit his head on the side of the trunk in the process.
Maureen and I both wore gloves.
We drove two towns over to a wooded area on the border. I backed the car off the side of the road nose out so that we could take him straight from the car and into the woods. We carried him over our shoulders, holding shovels in our free hands.
Sharp bushes sliced through our legs as we walked, but we couldn’t stop. We had to get rid of him before the sun came up, and get back to town before anyone noticed. The girls would never talk, but a nosy neighbor could mean the end of us.
By the time he was in the ground, our muscles ached and our skin burned. It took all the strength I had to push the gas petal. I looked over at Maureen in the passenger seat and discovered her eyes shut tight, and her breath escaping from her lips made a soft and steady rhythm.
At least someone could sleep at a time like that.
Trying to distract myself, I turned on the radio.
As far as using it to take my mind off my troubles, it was a big mistake.
The news was in the middle of its crime segment. Apparently, there was a new man on the top of the Most Wanted List: Cain Foley.
I no longer had to wonder what happened to my father’s body, or how thoroughly my mother had screwed up my life. According to the report, she had dragged his lifeless body from the basement into the garage, and loaded him into the passenger seat of her car.
She could never stand to be alone.
Once she had him buckled in, she drove to a lake ten miles from our house, and drove straight out into the water. They were both pronounced dead.
Except, that’s not what the police thought happened. They thought I loaded them both into the car, put it in neutral, and pushed it into the water, watching my problems disappear under the bubbling surface. They thought that my mother had no reason to kill herself since she was married to such a prominent member of the community, a man who went to church, gave to charity, and bought her diamonds for every birthday. They thought, however, that their troubled, quiet son was just a mass shooting waiting to happen, and that I had started on the people closest to me.
I was now public enemy number one.
“Fuuuck!” I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!”
Maureen jerked her head up and looked around like she was being hunted too.
Sorry, just me.
“What? What the hell?”
I pulled the car over and the tires squealed as I jerked it onto the gravel edge of the road. My body tingled again, but not in a good way. “She fucked up. She fucked up bad.”
Maureen grabbed my hand. I jerked it away. “Who?”
I took a deep breath. “My mother.”
Maureen looked at me like she wanted more information. I hesitated to give it to her, but since she already knew who I was, and since the situation didn’t seem like it could get any worse, I told her everything. I told her about the pipe and the woman’s speech that I was watching right before it happened. I told her about my mom telling me she’d take care of it. I told her how stupid I was for believing she could take care of anything, let alone a murder charge, since she’d never taken care of me a day in her life.
And I told her how the police had gotten everything wrong. “How could they even think that? How did they get it so backwards?”
Maureen laughed. My hand itched like it wanted to hit the steering wheel again. “You obviously haven’t been around many cops, have you? Where have you been? There’s no money anymore. They’re glorified security guards. Don’t expect any actual police work. Ever. I’m surprised they even found the car, to be honest.”
I glared at her. “Okay, smartass, what do I do then? They’re still going to be looking for me.”
Again, she reached for my hand. I didn’t pull away this time. “Honey, as long as you don’t do anything incredibly stupid, you’ll be fine.”
I
Maureen and I both wore gloves.
We drove two towns over to a wooded area on the border. I backed the car off the side of the road nose out so that we could take him straight from the car and into the woods. We carried him over our shoulders, holding shovels in our free hands.
Sharp bushes sliced through our legs as we walked, but we couldn’t stop. We had to get rid of him before the sun came up, and get back to town before anyone noticed. The girls would never talk, but a nosy neighbor could mean the end of us.
By the time he was in the ground, our muscles ached and our skin burned. It took all the strength I had to push the gas petal. I looked over at Maureen in the passenger seat and discovered her eyes shut tight, and her breath escaping from her lips made a soft and steady rhythm.
At least someone could sleep at a time like that.
Trying to distract myself, I turned on the radio.
As far as using it to take my mind off my troubles, it was a big mistake.
The news was in the middle of its crime segment. Apparently, there was a new man on the top of the Most Wanted List: Cain Foley.
I no longer had to wonder what happened to my father’s body, or how thoroughly my mother had screwed up my life. According to the report, she had dragged his lifeless body from the basement into the garage, and loaded him into the passenger seat of her car.
She could never stand to be alone.
Once she had him buckled in, she drove to a lake ten miles from our house, and drove straight out into the water. They were both pronounced dead.
Except, that’s not what the police thought happened. They thought I loaded them both into the car, put it in neutral, and pushed it into the water, watching my problems disappear under the bubbling surface. They thought that my mother had no reason to kill herself since she was married to such a prominent member of the community, a man who went to church, gave to charity, and bought her diamonds for every birthday. They thought, however, that their troubled, quiet son was just a mass shooting waiting to happen, and that I had started on the people closest to me.
I was now public enemy number one.
“Fuuuck!” I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!”
Maureen jerked her head up and looked around like she was being hunted too.
Sorry, just me.
“What? What the hell?”
I pulled the car over and the tires squealed as I jerked it onto the gravel edge of the road. My body tingled again, but not in a good way. “She fucked up. She fucked up bad.”
Maureen grabbed my hand. I jerked it away. “Who?”
I took a deep breath. “My mother.”
Maureen looked at me like she wanted more information. I hesitated to give it to her, but since she already knew who I was, and since the situation didn’t seem like it could get any worse, I told her everything. I told her about the pipe and the woman’s speech that I was watching right before it happened. I told her about my mom telling me she’d take care of it. I told her how stupid I was for believing she could take care of anything, let alone a murder charge, since she’d never taken care of me a day in her life.
And I told her how the police had gotten everything wrong. “How could they even think that? How did they get it so backwards?”
Maureen laughed. My hand itched like it wanted to hit the steering wheel again. “You obviously haven’t been around many cops, have you? Where have you been? There’s no money anymore. They’re glorified security guards. Don’t expect any actual police work. Ever. I’m surprised they even found the car, to be honest.”
I glared at her. “Okay, smartass, what do I do then? They’re still going to be looking for me.”
Again, she reached for my hand. I didn’t pull away this time. “Honey, as long as you don’t do anything incredibly stupid, you’ll be fine.”
I
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