This was no way to interview anyone, June was well aware. But she was tired of being nice. “Tell us about the Messenger,” she said again. “Tell us about the Dark Time.”
Boxall choked out a laugh. “Or what, he’ll shoot me? On camera?”
The doorbell. She sighed. “Lewis, ditch the shotgun.” She knew he still had the Beretta under his jacket.
He gave her a deadpan look, not happy with giving up an advantage. But he racked the slide, ejecting shell after shell until the gun was empty, then tossing it aside onto the wet grass.
Boxall didn’t lower his hands. Instead he reached to his right, out of view behind the doorjamb. When he brought his hand back, it held a shiny chrome automatic pistol pointed directly at Lewis.
“I do believe I’m within my legal rights to shoot you.” A cruel smile played on his lips. “I’ve never killed a man before. It’ll be good practice for the Dark Time.”
38
Lewis took a step forward, but Boxall took a step back, the chrome automatic steady in a two-handed grip. “Don’t even think about it, you fucking prick. Hands up.”
June saw something twitching inside the tech executive, a kind of madness rising to the surface.
Lewis saw it, too, and raised his hands. His jacket rose up, exposing the Beretta tucked into the back of his pants. He glanced at June.
She knew Lewis would have a round in the chamber and the safety off. All she’d have to do is reach out and grab the pistol. Then she flashed back to the previous winter and the horror of watching him get shot. “Not worth it, Lewis. Back away.”
His face a mask, he retreated one step, then another.
“Keep going,” she said. If he went left toward the driveway, Boxall would have trouble keeping an eye on them both. If Lewis moved far enough, he’d be out of sight and could pull the Beretta.
Instead, he came to a stop, knees slightly bent, ready. “I’m not leaving you.”
He was still within range of the camera. June looked at Boxall. “He dropped the shotgun. He backed away. Legally, if you shoot him now, you’ll be fucked. Everything’s on camera. With your money, you’d be a flight risk, so they’ll deny bail. Do you really want to be locked in a prison cell when the Dark Time comes?”
The twitching thing behind his eyes stared back at her for a long moment. June could see how badly it wanted to pull the trigger, had been wanting it for a long time. Then he blinked, making some internal calculation, and the thing inside him sank down, waiting for another day.
“You better keep your nose out of our business,” he said. “Or things will get ugly in a way you really won’t like.”
“Things are already ugly for you,” June said. “You’re down two guys. And your little secret plan is coming out. Come clean now, maybe you’ll get a reduced sentence.”
He laughed out loud. “You’re funny, girl reporter. You think you know something but you have no idea.”
“So educate me,” she said. “Tell me the timeline, at least.”
A strange smile grew on his face. “Sooner than you think. We moved up the schedule. You better look to your own future instead of fucking with ours.”
Then he stepped back and closed the door in her face.
She backpedaled onto the wet lawn and sucked in a deep breath, heart pounding. “That was my fault,” she said. “I shouldn’t have asked you to lose the shotgun.”
“And I shouldn’t have done it. Lesson learned.” He eyed the house. “In retrospect, I should have learned it after what Peter said about Enderby’s skills at the motel. These tech goobers may be amateurs, but they sure ain’t playing.”
“You always told me amateurs are more dangerous than professionals because you can’t predict what they’ll do.”
“Guess I forgot.” He flashed her a tilted smile. “Next time, remind me.”
Unzipping his jacket, he bent to pick up the shotgun. With the hem of his shirt, he wiped off any prints he might have left. “You believe what Boxall said about moving up the schedule?”
“You saw how happy he was just thinking about it,” she said. “So yeah, I do.”
“Me, too.” He dropped the shotgun into the mud and turned to go. “Guess we better figure what the hell that means, and in a hurry.”
They walked back to the Lexus, pulled a U-turn, and drove away.
