Chapter 25 – Deception
They reached the treeline with no further incidence and made their way amongst the scattering of trees until they found a vantage point from which they could look down over the scene below and still remain within relative cover.
They were closer to the track than before, little more than a stone's throw away. To the left, the ploughed fields curved away behind rickety looking post made from tree trunks, a few pieces of torn plastic caught on the wire barbs flapping desultorily in the occasional gust of wind. The track here widened out to form a muddy forecourt to the building beyond.
It was one of those typical out-of-the-way general stores, a couple of beaten-up 'Local' gas pumps standing on a strip of concrete with weeds cracking up the edges, an ice box that looked like a battlefield survivor next to them. The building itself was a low structure covered in wooden shingles rising to a steep roof clad in rusty corrugated sheeting. A faded flag hung from its pole above the front door next to a Coca-Cola sign which bore 'The Country Store' in large, black, uneven lettering.
To the left of the door, a couple of tired-looking vending machines nestled under the overhang, one either side of the ubiquitous wooden bench and a pile of chopped wood and some unidentifiable sacks leant against the wall to the right of the door. Behind the building, an expanse of muddy ground held a beat-up tractor, its red paint long faded to rusty pink, one large, deflated rear tyre making it stand askew. Beyond the tractor were a number of equally neglected farming implements and an old wooden cable drum sat half-sunk into the mud. The ground dipped downwards slightly after that and she could make out the top half of a barn or shed of some type.
Swivelling her eyes back to the building, she could just make out the rear end of an off-white pickup, parked up close to the side of the building, but what really caught Kate's attention was the phone line looping across the parking area to the side of the building. With luck, she could get everything they needed right there. Turning to Sana she said "Sana honey, you stay here ok? Stay under cover of the trees and keep an eye out for any of them. If you see anyone approaching, come and get me, otherwise wait for me to come out ok?"
"I prefer to go with you Katya, what if you need help?"
"You're more help out here as a lookout, whoever is in there is probably some old man who'll be happy to help us out, trust me."
Sana looked at her doubtfully and then shrugged in acceptance. Kate gave her a hug, told her to keep a sharp lookout and moved along the treeline until she was well away from Sana. If anyone did see her come out of the trees, she didn't want them to be able to pinpoint the girl's whereabouts.
Kate crossed the track, her trainers slipping and sliding in the cloying mud and making her feet feel even heavier than they already did. Reaching the concrete strip by the gas pumps she wiped her feet against the edge, eyes surreptitiously scanning the area and trying to see through the less than clean windows on either side of the front door. No-one made an appearance; no one came rushing out of the store, guns pointing in her direction. She licked suddenly dry lips, took a deep breath and moved towards the building, her foot dropping quietly on the wooden step up onto the stoop.
Her hand reached for the knob and she turned to look behind her, eyes searching for any giveaway signs of Sana's position. Satisfied, she pushed through the doorway to the accompanying tinkle of a bell. She paused, eyes scanning the room, taking in the racks and shelves running back through the store with everything from clothes and fishing tackle to cans of food and boxed car parts.
A counter ran down one side of the room, jars of sweets, 'local' souvenirs and pots of preserves sat atop it, with guns, crossbows and hunting paraphernalia adorning the wall behind. A middle-aged man emerged through a glass-topped door set a little off-centre and leant on the counter, looking at her curiously, a John Deere cap propped on his head and wireframe spectacles reflecting the overhead light. Kate gave him her best smile as she moved towards the counter and watched as he straightened up. "Hi, I was hoping you could help me …" she said reaching out a hand to shake his, hiding a smile as he wiped his hand on the seat of his pant before reaching out to take hers.
"Surely ma'am, what can I do you for?"
"My car broke down in the storm yesterday about three miles down the road?" waving her arm vaguely westwards, "My phone's dead and I need to make a call, is it alright if I use the payphone over there?"
"Yeah, sure, bad storm to get caught in … you on your own ma'am? I mean, we don't normally see you city ladies out here on your own!"
"I guess, was on the way to visit some friends and must have taken a wrong turning," she threw over her shoulder as she headed for the payphone on the wall near the back. It was a long time since she'd used one of these, and she paused to read the printed instructions stuck to the front of the phone. She'd need to get the call reverse-charged to the precinct, let them know that she was ok … shit she ought to get her location from the owner befo … something, some instinct, made her turn around slowly.
The store owner stood several feet away, an almost apologetic look on his face though the bores of the twin barrels pointing her way made it redundant. "What …!"
"Sorry ma'am, but I was warned you might come here …. the broken down car, good story, but …."
"Look, I'm a police officer, detective Kate Beckett, let me call my precinct and they can conf…" she broke off as he shrugged indifferently.
"Long ways from your territory ma'am, now if you don't mind moving away from that there phone and just sit tight while I get to call someone who's real keen on finding you."
For all his apparent mild manner, Kate had no doubt that she was in trouble. The man handled the shotgun like it was an extension of his hand, and whatever her captors had told him or offered him outweighed the fact that she was a cop. Kate gritted her teeth in frustration as he pulled a small flip phone from his pocket with his free hand and she began measuring distances, edging closer to him even as she stepped away from the phone. The overhead light glinted on his glasses and his lips twitched in amusement even as he shook his head slightly, taking a step back and maintaining the distance between them. She almost growled in frustration and took a further step back as he jerked the gun slightly.
If she could edge round till she was close to one of the shelf units she might be able to duck behind it …. shotguns were lethal, especially at this range, but the one advantage she had was that at most he'd have two shots …. not that that was an encouraging thought, the spread could easily catch her even if she were moving and that was assuming he was loaded with buckshot and not slugs … those could rip through the shelving and all its contents as if it weren't there.
Something caught her attention and then she quickly returned her focus to the store owner with the shotgun. She kept her face expressionless, offered a slight shrug and took another step back, purposefully catching her elbow on some boxes of firelighters and knocking them onto the floor. She glanced down as the packets skittered across the boards then quickly back up again. Like her, his eyes had followed the falling boxes, then some hunter's instinct made him begin to turn.
It was too late; the swinging bottle caught him just behind the ear, the sound a solid thunk! as it connected. Unlike films, the bottle didn't shatter, its thick glass far sturdier than the skull it had struck. The owner crumpled to the floor, shotgun and phone hitting the boards seconds apart. Kate froze, staring at the gun as it bounced a couple of times, then let out a pent up breath as it failed to go off.
Her eyes rose from the shotgun on the floor to the slim young woman standing with the bottle still clutched in her hand, the look of determination changing slowly to consternation as she looked down at the collapsed store owner, cap dislodged and a thin trickle of blood emanating from his ear.
Kate quickly bent down, retrieved the shotgun and cracked it open, checking that in fact both barrels were loaded, turning to the girl, she gently removed the bottle they'd found in the shack from her hand and turned her away, pointing her towards a couple of chairs next to a rack of boots and shoes. With the girl sat down, Kate quickly stepped up to one of the front windows and checked that they were still alone. Satisfied she returned to the crumpled figure of the store owner, placed the shotgun on the floor out of his reach and checked his pulse and breathing. She relaxed slightly; at most he'd probably end up with concussion. She straightened him out and rolled him onto his side. She didn't want to be held responsible for his death despite his actions.
She glanced at Sana to make sure she was ok, then went back to the phone on the wall. She unhooked the handset, the techs would be able to trace the call and tell her where she was. Kate frowned, tapped the cradle several times … still there was no dial tone. She hung up and tried again; nothing. Either the line was down because of the storm last night or ….
She moved back to the window, looked outside. All quiet. Turning she spotted the little brass bell attached to the front door.
"Sana, how did you get in?" she asked, not remembering hearing the bell tinkle.
"I found a door round by the truck" she said, pointing her chin towards the counter running down the opposite side. Kate nodded, then went back to the store owner and his dropped phone. She swore under her breath. When it hit the floor, the rear cover had come loose and the battery was dislodged. She put it back together, but as suspected it required a pin. She had no doubt she could discover it eventually, but right now they didn't have time.
She riffled his pockets looking for keys and any other items of interest. His driving licence said he was Herbert F. Lister of Ramapo, Rockland County, NY. Well, she assumed that should tell her where she was, though to be honest, she didn't have a clue where Ramapo was, though Rockland she seemed to remember was somewhere to the west of the Hudson River.
Retrieving the shotgun she stood up, glanced from the window to the counter and said, "Sana honey, could you go keep a watch by the window?" The young woman nodded and Kate stepped round behind the counter. She found a bunch of keys in an ashtray next to the cash register and headed quickly to the door, trying several before she found the one that locked it and then flipped the OPEN sigh so that it showed CLOSED.
Back at the counter she grabbed a couple of bags and went along the food shelves, grabbing anything she thought they could use. Then she hit the clothes section, picked out a couple of jeans, thick lumberjack shirts, thick socks and a couple of quilted jackets. She called over to Sana, tossed her selection over the rack and told her to get changed into the dry clothes. She led by example, delighting in the sense of dry warmth the new clothes gave her.
Kate moved to the shoe section, looked at the available footwear and hesitated. The hiking boots all looked too big, but they were the best option. Selecting the two smallest sizes she could find, she padded back to where Sana was buttoning up her shirt. Kate grabbed some more socks off the rack, rolled one up and stuffed it into the toes of one of the boots. She repeated the process with the other and then handed them to Sana.
She had just completed tying her laces up when the sound of a vehicle pulling up into the forecourt caught her attention. "Sana! Keep down, don't' move!" she whispered urgently, then in a crouch she moved quickly behind the counter and slipped through the door behind. She was in a small office, a desk covered in scattered papers pushed up against one wall, the opposite holding a pipe stove which was throwing out a wonderful heat and a chintz-covered easy chair with an opened book resting on one of the arms. The outer wall held a small window and the door through which Sana had entered the store. Quickly she fumbled the keys, looking for one which might fit the lock. From the front she could hear the door being rattled and voices calling out for "Herbie!"
The fourth key slid into the lock and she turned it even as the voices moved away from the front and rounded the corner of the building. She crouched against the door, keeping her back to it and a wary eye on the patch of light which was the window to her left.
"…. gone for a shit or something?" the language was Ukrainian, the voice vaguely familiar, possibly the driver of the escalade. He'd kept away from the container, only ever approaching when Roman came to visit.
"His truck's still here, he can't have gone far …" the woman's angry voice was interrupted by the door handle dipping and the rattle of the door against the frame, "…. go see if he's in the barn."
A squelch of feet could be heard moving away through the mud and a shadow darkened the bottom-half of the window, paused a moment and then eased away. Kate rose stealthily to her feet, eyes on the window. She was just in time to see the backs of the woman, Sergiy and Rostik as they headed back towards the front.