Together Again(68)
Several hours later she got a response. While not apologizing, Viktor said he’d take care of the problem. She thanked him, turned off Fiona’s computer and volunteered to make dinner.
Chapter 18
Monday morning Margo had a hard time concentrating on her work as she kept checking the time, thinking that in twelve, then ten, then eight hours, she’d be meeting a killer in Blue Lake Park. A phone call from Sam made it worse.
After he went through, one more time, the details of the evening, he added, “Oh, and the kid who beat up Mr. Todd’s not a problem anymore. Drive-by shooting last night.”
“Oh, Jesus. That’s what he meant.”
“That’s what who meant?”
“When I emailed Viktor last night and asked him what the fuck was going on, he promised to take care of it. I had no idea … ” She gulped hard.
“Margo, don’t go all squishy on me here. The kid was on his way to becoming a statistic long before you emailed Viktor. And did you really ask him what the fuck?”
• • •
Margo left work early. She tried to take a nap but that didn’t happen. Music didn’t soothe her. She couldn’t concentrate on a book. She was hungry but didn’t know what she wanted to eat. Finally, she ate a container of yogurt and some toast and lost a couple hours online reading about the troubles of everyplace else in the world on Google News.
At quarter of ten, Tony rang from the security gate and she went up the ramp to join him. Silently they drove the five minutes it took to get to Blue Lake Park.
The only time Margo had been at the park in the evening was for a long-ago summer concert when the place had been crowded with people and alive with music. Now, deserted of any visible human life, Blue Lake was silent and dark.
They parked just outside the barrier that closed off the park at night and walked the rest of the way. A half moon forced dim light through thick branches, casting shadows so inky she expected to leave footprints from walking through them. With no lights anywhere, even with the flashlight beam she swept across the road, it was like moving through an endless, silent tunnel.
Silent until a breeze moved through the branches like a soft hand, touching leaves, caressing needles, moving them around, one tree at a time, disturbing the night air.
As her eyes acclimated to the night, she began to see buildings looming over the grass that tonight looked like the haunts of serial killers or slasher movie villains. The only thing missing was the spooky music she began to hear in her head as soon as the thought occurred it was missing.
Tony walked with her to the edge of the grassy area where the picnic tables were and stopped. “You okay going through with this, Margo?”
She nodded.
“Don’t take any chances. Make the exchange and get the hell away from him. I’ll be right over there, waiting for you.” She could hear worry in his voice. He hesitated for a moment, as if about to say something else — or to grab her and run — before turning and walking toward the picnic tables where Viktor had stipulated he wait.
She watched as Tony and the beam from his flashlight moved away from her. Alone now, without even the sound of his footsteps to keep her company, she began to doubt she’d given him an honest answer. Maybe she wasn’t sure she wanted to do this. Maybe what she wanted to do was run back to her car.
Ahead of her the twists and turns of a kids’ jungle gym emerged from the dark. Behind it was the picnic shelter. No one was visible there or anywhere else.