Chapter 7

Sandy and Sammy finally found Van's house, pulling up to the curb opposite the front door. Their search had been hampered at first by the darkness of the stormy night, and then by the storm knocking out the neighborhood's streetlights. But the porch light of Van's house illuminated the address, as well as the front door that was splintered and standing open.

"Damn," breathed Sammy, "he's already here."

When Sandy's car pulled to the curb, Pete cut the lights of his police cruiser, while continuing to slowly approach it from behind. When he was as close as he dared go without being seen, he stopped and checked on the location of the backup car that dispatch had sent. He confirmed that they were approaching the scene from the other side, effectively blocking the street in both directions.

Inside the garage, Van got behind the wheel with Bobby next to him. Bobby had returned the pistol to the small of his back. He explained to Van that he could snap his neck at will, advising him not to do anything foolish. Bobby was more concerned that someone might spot the gun while they drove to the police station, if he held it pointed at Van.

Van had been frantically trying to think up with some story he could use once they got there. But with Bobby's recording of him describing how he had provided heroin to Julie, and then ran away without calling for help, he figured he was screwed.

His only hope to stay out of jail was to somehow get rid of Bobby's recording. He had been mentally reviewing the route they would be taking, searching for a place where he could possibly crash the car and attempt to grab it away from Bobby.

Then he noticed that Bobby had not put on his seat belt.

Van hit the button to open the garage door, and they rolled forward towards the street.

Sandy and Sammy were wondering what to do next, when the garage door of the house began to retract. As the car emerged, in the glare from their headlights Sammy and Sandy could both clearly see Bobby, sitting in the front passenger seat next to Van Daddock. From farther away behind Sandy's car, Pete could see Bobby, but couldn't make out the driver.

Bobby hadn't put his seat belt on because his mind was on something else. Unbeknownst to Van, Bobby had turned the recorder back on. As Van buckled his seatbelt, Bobby asked conversationally, "So is this the car you used to run me off the road?"

"Yes," he said shortly in response to Bobby's question. "I just didn't hit you hard enough."

Bobby turned to look at the car with its lights shining at them. He thought it looked like Sandy Goodwin's Toyota. He punched the button to roll down his window for a better look.

Immediately after clearing the driveway, Van turned off his headlights to inhibit Bobby's ability to see what was coming. He abruptly wrenched the wheel violently to the left while tromping on the gas, the car's tires squealing in protest. There was no driveway in front of the public park next door, and as Van intended, the car was slammed violently upwards when it hit the high curb.

Bobby was thrown upwards into the roof of the car, and the torque from the hard left turn threw him sideways; his head and torso were pushed partially out the open passenger window.

Van made a grab for the pistol in Bobby's belt, the car slowing as his foot left the gas pedal. Though stunned, Bobby could still feel it when the gun was plucked out of his belt. He instinctively launched himself out the window. He rolled as he hit the ground, scrambling to his feet and moving to be directly behind the car.

As Bobby was going out the car window, the two police cars rushed to a stop at the curb that Van's car had just jumped. Pete and two cops from the other car sprang from their vehicles and drew their pistols. There were no functioning streetlights nearby, and they strained to keep the car in sight as it rolled away from them in the darkness with its lights off. They couldn't see Bobby in his black clothing at all.