Through the Flames Read online

  “You know better than that! You know the truth. You just have to act on it now, André.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Then tell me! What’s going on? I want to know!”

  André stood, paced, then sat again. He let out a huge sigh. “All right,” he said finally. “That guy found in my apartment was one of the guys I owed money to.”

  “Really? He wasn’t one of the two I met that one time, was he? He sure didn’t look like them. They were both a lot bigger.”

  “Those two just worked for him. They were his collection guys. When they couldn’t get any money out of me, he came lookin’ for me. It was pay up or be killed. I had held out on him way too long. Well, I had no money, and LeRoy wasn’t about to advance me any, so it came down to kill or be killed. That’s when I called you. I didn’t want to die. If I was going to go, I was going to go on my own terms. I’d rather kill myself than die that way.”

  “So you were serious.”

  “Well, mostly. LeRoy had come up with a plan. He knew this guy I owed the money to, see, and he was the one who reminded me that the guy was my size. It was LeRoy’s idea to get him to come to my place for the money. He told me to leave some message somewhere that would make it look like I killed myself. I called your machine, left that message, talked about how guilty I felt about you and all that, and then even wrote a suicide note.

  “After the guy showed up, LeRoy’s friends had his people outnumbered and ran them off. While the guy thinks he’s got his bodyguards protecting him from the hallway, LeRoy pops out of the closet and gets the drop on the guy. He makes him put on my clothes and put my wallet and stuff in his pocket. He put on my rings and watch and everything. Then LeRoy told me to off him.”

  “Kill him?”

  “Yeah. But I couldn’t do it. I had the blade and everything to make it look like a suicide. I was afraid the guy would fight and make it look obvious that someone had done it to him, but LeRoy had thought of that too. He tells the guy he’s going to die anyway and gets the guy crying and begging and starts loading him up with whiskey. This is real strong stuff now, the good stuff, not like I’m used to drinking. He gets the guy so mellow and out of it that he didn’t even struggle. I was supposed to cut him, but I couldn’t even do that.”

  “Of course you couldn’t kill someone, André. You know better than that.”

  “Oh, don’t be makin’ me out as some kind of saint now, Lionel. Fact is, I wish I could have done it. LeRoy was setting me up, don’t you see? I had told him all about your house and how I knew you would let us stay there and everything. But once he set up this fake suicide and murdered the guy, he made sure he had something on me.”

  “What does he have on you? You owe him money too?”

  “No! Think, boy! We never expected you to go identify the body. We figured you’d get the word and believe it was me, and that would be the end of it. But now that you told the cops it wasn’t me, it won’t be long before they figure out who the victim was, and guess who looks guilty? I mean, the guy was found in my place in my clothes. If it’s not me, it has to be someone I murdered and made to look like me, right?”

  Lionel nodded slowly. “So, you’re hiding out from everybody. The dead guy’s men. The cops. Anybody who might know you and spread the word you’re alive.”

  “Exactly.”

  “André, I never told the cops it wasn’t your body I saw.”

  André stood quickly. “What? You didn’t? Are you sure?”

  “’Course I’m sure. I was spooked by that place, and I was so shocked it wasn’t you that I just left.”

  “You didn’t even tell the coroner?”

  “The only people who know are my friends and my pastor.”

  André clapped and danced. “Oh, man!” he shouted. “I love you!”

  Lionel sat and put both hands atop his head. “I don’t know what you’re so happy about. No matter how you look at it, you were there when a guy was murdered. You’re in on it. You’re as guilty as LeRoy.”

  “Technically, legally, yeah, I guess,” André said, and the full realization hit Lionel how far gone his uncle truly was. “But don’t you see? LeRoy’s really got nothing hanging over my head! I can go live in your house with those guys. My debt is gone because the guy I owed is dead. LeRoy can’t keep me hidden away because there’s no need. I can just use a new name, get new papers, and nobody’s the wiser.”

  Lionel suddenly felt very old. André was more than twice his age, and as usual, André seemed to know less than he did. How long could he get by after coming out of hiding before someone who knew him put the word out that he wasn’t dead after all? Sure, the cops had a lot of other stuff to do with all the chaos that had come from the disappearances. But no one was going to look the other way when there had been an obvious murder. An apparent suicide victim is in the morgue, and yet people see him on the streets? Lionel was amazed at the shortsightedness, the stupidity of his uncle. More, though, he was heartbroken at André’s complete lack of guilt or sense of responsibility for what had happened. Maybe the guy who died was a bad guy who deserved it. He had probably killed people himself. But that didn’t make his death any less of a murder, and André was in it up to his ears.

  Lionel stood and moved to the door. “Tell LeRoy what you told me,” André said. “I mean, I’ll call him, but he won’t believe me unless you tell him too. Then I’ll be back at your house before you know it.”

  Lionel just shook his head as he began the unlocking routine again. “Uncle André,” he said, turning to face him, “you have only one chance. You have to tell what you know about the murder, admit you were part of it.”

  André laughed. “Yeah, good plan. I don’t go to heaven when Jesus comes back, I have to live through the Tribulation, I’m on my way to hell, and you want me to spend what’s left of my miserable life in prison.”

  “What I want is for you to do what’s right.”

  “I’ve never done what’s right,” André said. And for the first time that evening, Lionel thought André was right on the money.

  SEVEN

  Getting Closer

  IT WAS getting late. Judd was tired and knew the others had to be too. He had sat in that idling car for more than an hour, including when the young black woman showed up alone and told Judd that Lionel would be down soon.

  “Is he all right?” Judd asked her as Ryan slid off the backseat and crouched on the floor.

  “Yeah,” Talia said. “He’s all right as long as he’s with his uncle. André ain’t gonna do nothin’ to his own blood. And you can tell your little spy in the back there that he can come out of hiding. Next time LeRoy sees him on our property, though, he’s going to be in deep dirt.”

  Vicki laughed.

  Talia leaned in past Judd, who backed up to make room. “What’s your problem, little wench?”

  “I’m not the one with the problem,” Vicki said, and Judd was stunned at her casual tone. She must have had a lot of experience talking tough to older people. “You’re the one referring to Lionel’s house as your property. What a joke.”

  “You don’t see me laughin’,” Talia said.

  “How long do you guys think you can get away with just moving into a person’s house without his permission?”

  “Long as you mind your own business,” Talia said. “I wouldn’t be messin’ with stuff that’s none of your concern.”

  “As long as Lionel’s our friend, his trouble is our business.”

  Talia had waved them off and hurried back to her car. That’s when Judd began to worry. He kept an eye on the clock, and time seemed to drag.

  “Is she gone?” Ryan asked from the floor of the backseat.

  “Yes,” Vicki said, turning to talk to him. “You don’t have to be afraid of her.”

  “You didn’t see this LeRoy guy. He looks like he could whip anybody. I’m afraid of all of ’em.”

  “Not me,” Vicki said.

  “That was obvious,” Judd sa
id. “Why not?”

  “It wasn’t that long ago I was a brat and didn’t care what I said to adults. They hardly ever follow through on their threats, and what are they going to do anyway? I mean, these people may be the real thing, but they aren’t going to waste their time hassling kids like us.”

  “Except they have to worry that Lionel is eventually going to go to the police.”

  “That’s why they keep trying to intimidate him. That stuff doesn’t work on me. I don’t want to be mean, but she didn’t scare me at all.”

  “You’d be scared if LeRoy was chasin’ you,” Ryan said.

  “That is probably true,” Vicki said.

  Judd grew tenser as the night wore on. “We said we were going to come looking for Lionel if we didn’t hear from him by eleven,” he said.

  “But we heard from him through the woman,” Vicki said.

  “She could have been lying. Why should we trust her?”

  “That message had to come from Lionel. Otherwise, how would she know we were his friends?”

  “You have to admit, Vick, we look a little out of place here.”

  Vicki shot Judd a double take. “Why did you call me ‘Vick’?”

  Judd shrugged. “Just a nickname. Sorry.”

  “I don’t mind,” she said. “It’s just that my big brother always called me that. I miss him so much.” She turned away and covered her eyes with her hand.

  “Sorry,” Judd said again.

  “It’s all right,” she managed. “I like remembering him.”

  “I’m really tired,” Ryan said. “If this wasn’t such a scary place, I’d be sleeping right now.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to sleep here either, partner,” Judd said.

  “Oh, man!” Ryan said, falling to the floor again. “That van that just turned into the alley! That’s got to be LeRoy!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “How could I forget that ugly thing chasing me all through the neighborhood?”

  “Oh, great,” Judd said, glancing at Vicki, who quickly wiped her eyes and turned to look around the area.

  “We’ve got to get Lionel out of there,” she said, reaching for the door handle. “Let’s go.”

  “Just a minute,” Judd said. “We don’t know what we’re walking into. What if LeRoy’s armed, or not alone? And where exactly is Lionel? And is there more than one way out of that alley?”

  “Let’s just go home,” Ryan whined.

  A figure appeared in the rearview mirror. Judd whispered, “Uh-oh,” and put the car in gear. When the figure reached for the back door, Judd floored the accelerator, and the car screeched away from the curb.

  The figure slapped the car and shouted, “Hey!”

  “Oh, no!” Ryan shouted. “Go! Go!”

  Judd was going all right, until Vicki whirled around and stared behind them. “That’s Lionel!” she said. “Go back! Go back!”

  Judd slid to a stop and threw the car into reverse. He wasn’t used to speeding backwards and twice veered into the curb. That must have made Lionel wonder about his safety because Judd saw him skip up onto the sidewalk. When Judd finally stopped near Lionel, he was stunned to see Lionel chuckling.

  “What did I do, scare you guys?” he said, as he slid into the backseat. “And what’re you doin’ on the floor, Ryan?”

  Judd floored the gas pedal again, but he had forgotten to shift into drive, and the car jumped back and over the curb, narrowly missing a light pole and stopping inches from a brick wall. “Hey! Whoa!” Lionel said, laughing. “You’re safe in this neighborhood, now that you’ve got a brother in the car.”

  Judd was relieved he had not hit Lionel or the wall but was also embarrassed at being such a klutz. He was soon speeding away, only to have to stop quickly at a red light a few blocks away. “Didn’t you see LeRoy?” Judd demanded.

  “LeRoy? No, Talia brought me to see André. They’ve got him holed up in—”

  “I mean didn’t you just see LeRoy pull into that alley?”

  Lionel turned around in his seat. “Are you sure?”

  “We’re sure,” Ryan muttered from the floor.

  “Get up here, will you?” Lionel said. “You’re safe now.”

  Ryan clambered into the seat. “He was drivin’ that ugly old brown and yellow van,” he said.

  “Must’ve been him all right,” Lionel said. “We’d better go back.”

  “Right,” Judd said sarcastically. “I’m gonna go back there and face LeRoy in the middle of the night.”

  “Yes,” Vicki said. “Let’s.”

  “No!” Ryan wailed. “I’ve been brave enough for one day.”

  “Yeah,” Lionel said. “You’re brave as long as you can camp out on the floor out of sight.”

  Judd didn’t know what to do. He felt responsible for Lionel, but was André his problem too? He pulled to the side of the street after getting a green light.

  “We’re not going back, are we?” Ryan said.

  “Just let me think,” Judd said.

  “We have to,” Vicki said.

  “If you don’t go back, I’m going to have to go on my own,” Lionel said. “He’s my uncle, and I have to make sure LeRoy doesn’t do something stupid. Once LeRoy figures out that I’m onto him and that my friends know, André is as good as dead.”

  “Well,” Judd said, “I can’t let you go back alone, but I don’t think we all need to go either.”

  “I don’t want to go at all,” Ryan said.

  “We got that message,” Lionel said.

  “I don’t want to get this car down in there and not be able to get out,” Judd said.

  “C’mon,” Vicki said, “let’s just walk back with Lionel and see what we can see.”

  “You can’t leave the car here either,” Lionel said. “You’ll come back to a pile of trash or maybe to a pile of nothing.”

  Judd sighed. He felt responsible for everyone. It wasn’t fair to make Ryan face LeRoy again. And how could Judd ensure his safety? He breathed a silent prayer. He didn’t know how to tell yet when God was leading him directly. He decided to use his best judgment and assume that was from God.

  “Vicki,” he said, “Lionel and I will go back and be sure André’s all right. You and Ryan stay here with the car—”

  “Oh, I wanted to go,” Vicki said. “I’m not afraid of—”

  “Just do this for me,” Judd said. “I don’t have time to argue about it, but I’m not leaving the car here or Ryan here alone.”

  “Thank you!” Ryan shouted.

  Vicki shook her head. “OK,” she muttered.

  “I hate to leave you out of it,” Judd said. “But I don’t know what else—”

  “Just go,” she said. “I understand.”

  It didn’t seem like she understood or agreed, but Judd didn’t have the time to persuade her. He took her word for the fact that she was all right with his decision, and he and Lionel headed back. “Keep the doors locked and the engine running,” Lionel said as they left. “And don’t talk to anyone but a cop.”

  It appeared to Judd that he and Lionel were the only ones on the street at that time of the night. He followed Lionel, who loped down the sidewalk and cut in to the first alley he could find. Half a block in that direction he took a right and was headed directly back to where he had visited André. He pointed and said, “Three blocks up. That three-story building.”

  The words were barely out of Lionel’s mouth when Judd heard what sounded like a firecracker. Lionel stopped and Judd ran into him, knocking him flat on his face. Lionel sat up and groaned as Judd apologized. Lionel pulled up his jeans to display scrapes on both knees. His hands and elbows were scraped raw too.

  “I’m sorry, man,” Judd said over and over. “I heard that pop, but I didn’t see you stop.”

  “I’m all right,” Lionel said through clenched teeth. “Let’s keep going.” But as he stood, a huge shock wave and then a deafening explosion rocked the alleyway. It knocked Lionel back onto his seat
and made Judd cover his ringing ears.

  “Oh no, oh no!” Lionel said, scrambling to his feet and running toward André’s building. As they closed the gap, Judd saw flames leaping from the top-story window. Within seconds, flames engulfed the third floor. Judd stared at the fire as he ran and was startled when Lionel slowed and turned around, catching him and flinging him up against a building in the alley.

  “What—?” he began, then noticed headlights coming fast and furious. He and Lionel plastered themselves back against the wall as the careening vehicle bore down on them. The alley was barely wide enough for them and the truck, or whatever it was. As it scraped the wall across from them on its way by, Judd saw it was a brown and yellow van. Crazily, he noticed the vertical row of decals running down the passenger side of the front windshield.

  “That’s got to be LeRoy!” Lionel shouted, and ran on. Judd stood staring at the back of the van as it darted from side to side and scraped buildings, hit garbage cans, and nearly rolled over as it shot left out of the alley and onto the street. He worried that LeRoy would see Vicki and Ryan in his car as he raced by.

  When Judd turned back, Lionel was long gone. Judd raced toward the burning building, making out Lionel’s silhouette ahead of him as he ran. He hoped against hope Lionel wouldn’t try to get into that place, but he knew he would do the same if his last living relative were trapped in there.

  Lionel didn’t hesitate. He blasted through the door on the first floor as other people were making their way out, screaming and hollering. The entire third floor was enveloped in fire, and Judd saw a burly man in just his undershorts and T-shirt trying to keep Lionel from getting all the way in. Lionel quickly evaded him, and soon Judd was near the entrance himself and faced a decision.

  Everything in him wanted to run the other way. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the fire began dropping embers to the other floors. This building would not be saved. Dozens of tenants hurried from the place, gathering in clusters as far as they could get from the fire.

  Judd stood on the walkway leading to the back door, squinting against the orange light of the flames and holding an arm before his face to shield his cheeks from the searing heat. He could hardly believe a fire still thirty feet above him could radiate like that. Judd reached the door and peeked around the people who streamed out. He caught sight of Lionel bobbing and weaving and darting up the stairs between, around, and sometimes over the escapees. Some tried to restrain him, but he fought them off, clearly not willing to be held back.