The Invisible Hand - A crime novel

Chapter 76

Red knocks on the door. Chips of paint flutter to the ground.

"Mary?" he says. Throat hoarse. Palms greasy. "Come on, Mary. Stop it with the silent treatment."

Red knocks again. Rests his knuckles on the paneling. Watches a spider trek across his fist.

Mary replies with a knock on the window next to the door. Red shuffles to meet her. Places an open hand on the glass.

"Mary, please, can we talk? Let me come in," Red says.

Mary Reynolds brushes aside her long, braided hair. Doesn't look like she's slept a minute in weeks. Probably because she hasn't.

"You said this was going to be easy," Mary says. "Why did you lie?"

"I didn't lie. Things got complicated, that's all. Wil shooting Joe and Elma, that wasn't part of my plan. Our plan," Red says. His hand trembles on the glass. "I'm trying to fix that."

"Then why aren't you out there trying to find Wil?" Mary says. Raises a hand on the other side of the window to meet Red's. Then decides against it.

"I hired a person to help me. She didn't work out," Red says.

"Then why aren't you out there trying to find Wil?" Mary says, repeating herself. "Or is that complicated, too?"

Red takes his hand off the window. Rubs his eyes.

"Yeah, it's complicated," Red says. "But that doesn't mean we can't be together. To live life together. You've just got to sign that paperwork. Sell the farm. Then we can run away. Go anywhere. Do anything."

Mary slams a fist against the glass. The entire pane shakes.

"Now is not the time to think about the money," she says. "Bring my boy back. You owe me that. And I want you to do it. Not some federal agency so I never see him again outside a courtroom. Then we can talk about the money."

Mary pulls away from the window. Lets loose a muffled scream. Something crashes. Probably more books.

Red walks back to his truck. Takes slow. Deliberate. Steps. Thinks how Jane said her plans changed.

And how his have, too.

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