Page 105 of Exposed

Mary wriggled closer to the phone stand, sliding in her own blood. She tried not to think about it. Her head still hurt so much. The shouting, the stress. Her skull pounded. Her body was so weak. She couldn’t breathe. Every motion was an effort. She was two feet away from the night table.

“If it doesn’t make a difference, let’s use Mo’s.”

Ray hesitated. “Come to think of it, we can’t use his. You’re the only one with a carry permit.”

“So what difference does that make?”

“I don’t know, I was gonna figure it out with Mo. We’re going to discuss it. I don’t have all the details down yet.” Ray sounded exasperated. “It makes sense to use your gun because yours is registered and licensed. You’re the director of Security, for God’s sake.”

“So what?” Ernie raised his voice. “I thought the plan was to shoot them, bury their bodies, and cover them with lye. What difference does it make if they get killed with a registered and licensed gun?”

“What’s the big deal? Why don’t you want to use your gun?”

“What if somebody finds the bodies in the woods? They could find my bullet. The bullet could be traced to my gun. The bodies are going to decompose but the bullet never will.”

Mary shuddered at the very notion. It made her sick to her stomach to think of hers and Bennie’s bodies decomposing. She couldn’t believe that their murder was being discussed like a game plan. She had to do something. She was running out of time. She looked up to see how far the phone was away from her. She estimated a foot.

“Mo says nobody’s gonna find these bodies. He knows exactly where to bury them. Nobody comes up here.”

“What about hunters? Dogs? Somebody goes huntin’ or hikin’ with a dog in the woods and the dog finds the bodies.And before you know it, somebody calls the cops and there’s my bullet.”

“You’re worrying about nothing. This is what I’m telling you, you’re getting paranoid.”

“You think I’m paranoid?”

“Yes, I think you’re paranoid.”

“I don’t care if you think I’m paranoid. Let’s say I’m paranoid. If Mo is so damn sure that he knows where these bodies can be buried, let’s use his gun.”

“What? Why? What gives here? That’s not the plan—”

“You just said you didn’t know what the plan was. You hadn’t figured it out yet! Now you’re telling me it’s not the plan to use Mo’s gun? What the hell, Ray? Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”

“I don’t want to say yes without checking with him. I don’t even know if he’s bringing it.”

“Call him and ask him to bring it.”

“I can’t, there’s no cell reception.”

“Use the landline. I saw one in the bedroom.”

Mary felt a bolt of fear at the sound. If they came in here now, she was dead. She reached the base of the night table, lying at the leg. She was in so much pain she could barely think. She wasn’t sure what to do next. She had to get the phone off the table. She tried to free her hands but the duct tape held tight.

“I don’t want to call him. We’ll talk when he gets here. What’s the rush?”

“What time’s he getting here then?”

“He had to stay late at work. Two hours.”

“That was two hours ago. He should be here by now.”

“Maybe he got hung up. Maybe there was traffic. What thehellis your problem?”

Mary had to get the phone off the table. She struggled to sit up, so she could knock the phone onto the floor with her shoulder, but she didn’t have the strength to raise her upper body. She felt dizzy and weak. She slumped back down.

“Did he say he was bringin’ his gun?”

“Of course he’s bringing it.”