Footsteps(100)

“I do. He screamed. He screamed a lot. I hear it at night. A human being shouldn’t make sounds like that.”





Sabina sat quietly and tried to sort her head into some kind of order. She had not expected this discussion, and it had not occurred to her that Joey would have been a part of what had been done to Auberon. She hadn’t bothered herself about the details of that event at all. He was dead; she was free. End of story. But now she was being confronted by the idea that she bore some responsibility for a horror. Whether she agreed or not, the thought itself spun her thoughts like a pinwheel.





“Joey, I don’t understand—why talk to me of this? I didn’t ask you to be there. I didn’t ask you to take part. I don’t know how I help you now.”





He shrugged and looked down at his hands. “I don’t know. I guess because you’re the one he hurt. You’re why we did what we did. I thought maybe you could make me see it right. But maybe there’s no right way to see it. I know he was a bad guy. I mean, I saw a little of what he did to you—the way you looked after. But I didn’t know him.”





“I’m sorry, Joey. I wish I knew what I should say.”





“Yeah. Doesn’t matter. We should get the kid and take him to lunch.”





~oOo~





They took Trey for burgers and then went to the beach, camping out on Carmen’s stretch of sand. For the boy’s sake, Sabina and Joey were lighthearted, keeping smiles on their faces and engaging Trey in conversation. Joey took Trey for a walk to some of the pools among the rocks, looking for starfish. Sabina sat on the sand and let her mind try to find its way through the snarl Joey had made.





She had no guilt—not for Auberon. Though yes, he was dead because she had told Carlo about her plight, because he and his family had helped her, she felt no guilt at all for her part in Auberon’s death. She was glad of it. He deserved to die. Her life was reclaimed because his had been ended. She was glad.





She did feel some remorse, though, or something like it, for Joey. She had never bothered herself about the details of the death. She’d had a vague thought to hope it had been painful and traumatic—a hope that had apparently been realized. But she had not thought about the effect it might have on the people who’d done it. She hadn’t expected it to have an effect like this at all.





Now that she was truly thinking about it, she realized that she hadn’t even bothered to worry if anyone would be arrested for helping her. Uncle Ben had said he would take care of it, and she had put all her trust in that without considering consequences ever.





She wondered what that said about her. She didn’t know. But she was worried about Joey.





She had to speak to Carlo.





~oOo~





When Joey walked Trey back, they were without starfish, and Trey was worn out and getting cross.





Sabina picked him up. “How would you like to go back to the house and watch a movie with an apple juice pop?”





Trey nodded and dropped his head to her shoulder. Joey picked up all their gear, and they walked to his Jeep, parked out on Carmen’s lonely little lane that led only to her house.





“Hold up.” There was another car, a silver Chevrolet sedan, parked in front of his Jeep. Joey dropped the tote and reached around to his back. Sabina saw him pulling at the waistband of his board shorts as though he’d instinctively expected to find something there. “Fuck!”





The front passenger door of the Chevy opened, and a slim, pretty, blonde got out of the car.





She had a gun.





Trey, his head still lolling on her shoulder, muttered, “That’s Mommy.” Joey stepped in front of Sabina.





“Jenny, what the fuck? Don’t be stupid.”





Joey blocked Sabina’s view of the woman, but she heard her laugh. There was a sharp, terrifying blade of mania in the sound. “I think the unarmed guy putting himself between my gun and the thing I want is the stupid one, don’t you? And when did you get all heroic, anyway? Move, Joey. That’s my kid. All I wanted was to see him again. But now I’m taking him.”





“You’re a good girl, Jen. This isn’t like you. You don’t want to do this.” He moved then, sidling carefully, his hand reaching back to wrap around Sabina’s arm—he was trying to jockey them to the shelter of his Jeep.





“Stop, Joey. Just step aside.”





“You’re gonna have to shoot me to get me out of your way, Jen—”





She shot him.





The thunderous impact knocked him backwards and he dropped, unconscious. Trey screamed. Sabina clutched him close and curled herself around him as much as she could.