Pursued by Joel Gomez-Dossi

Author:Joel Gomez-Dossi [Gomez-Dossi, Joel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781602828209
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2012-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

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It may have only been around seven miles to Antonelli’s trailer, but the rough drive made it seem more like twenty. The path’s incline had to be at least thirty degrees upward. It wound up and around, dangerously hugging the side of the mountain. Taking each curve with Eddie’s car, its worn shocks and old suspension straining the entire time, made what little hair Jamie had on his arms stand on end. One haphazard move could cause the vehicle to careen down the mountain.

At about the six-mile point, the mountain hit a plateau. The road was barely a muddy path; the grass and weeds had been worn down evenly by what looked like the tires of a vehicle going back and forth to town.

An SUV? Antonelli’s SUV? Jamie wondered.

Eddie continued driving. A creek ran by the side of the path. It was no more than ten or twelve feet wide. But as they kept on, the creek’s size increased.

The path led them to a deteriorated old trailer and an outhouse, a propane tank, and a rickety electric cable that was pulled out of the ground. A portable generator was set up at the trailer’s end.

The place had to be Antonelli’s. He was nowhere in sight, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t close by and could hear and see them. Jamie warned everyone to be quiet and on guard.

Jamie looked at the trailer again. Plywood had replaced the windows a long time ago. A screen door flapped open in the wind. And parked behind the trailer was Antonelli’s SUV. It sparkled with wax. It had been recently washed. He keeps his vehicle tidy and tiptop. Yet this trailer, far from critical eyes, is a mess.

But the run-down trailer was nothing compared to the old barn, about a hundred or so yards away. Weather-beaten wooden planks covered the outside. Several padlocks secured the doors, nice and tight. And bales upon bales of rusted barbed wire were strewn around the perimeter, like a deadly maze protecting the barn from intruders.

“Look at that place,” Jamie said.

“What. A. Dump.” Eddie whispered in a bad Bette Davis imitation. “Sort of reminds me of your place.”

Jamie gave him a look, and Eddie shrugged. They didn’t go near the barn, either. They didn’t want to. Seeing it from a distance was enough. As Ellen and Eddie contemplated the mess before them, Jamie commented, “You know, the barn shows his true nature. It’s the SUV that’s a sham.”

Then it came to Jamie. “Christ. He washed his goddamn car.”

“So?” Ellen asked.

“My cell phone’s under his bumper!”

Jamie ran to the truck and dropped to his knees. He scraped and clawed at the duct tape until he removed his phone. Looking at it, he wanted to scream.

“It’s soaking wet! That’s why we lost the signal last night. He fucking destroyed it!”

Eddie consoled Jamie by taking the phone and removing the battery. “You know, I read an article on CNET about a reporter who dropped her iPhone in the toilet.” He laid out several tissues on the ledge of the back window of his car and placed parts of the phone on it.

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