digging into his ribs.
‘Hey!’ Lou shouted and the barrel was pressed in harder. He heard more crunching gravel behind him and saw the policeman give a brief nod to someone the other side of the car. Lou
half-turned to see a second officer, tall and bald, opening the passenger door. Kate appeared in half-shadow, the officer gripping her arm as she protested.
Lou glanced back at the police car behind Kate’s vehicle and saw a third figure at the wheel.
‘Get in the back,’ the first policeman snapped and jabbed with the gun again, sending a ripple of pain down Lou’s side. The policeman opened the rear door to Kate’s car
and pushed down on Lou’s head with his free hand. Lou saw Kate being shoved into the back seat across from him in a similar way. The doors slammed behind them. The young blond officer pulled
into the driver’s seat, the bald one sat, half-turned, in the passenger side, his revolver pointed straight at them.
‘We’re going on a short ride,’ he said. ‘I don’t wanna hear a word from you, understood?’
Lou and Kate sat, mute.
‘Understood?’
They both nodded. The driver put the car in gear and pulled back onto the highway followed closely by the cop car, its flashers off.
16
Kate felt for Lou’s hand across the seat, found it and squeezed tight. He gave her a quick reassuring glance; the bald cop appeared not to notice, just kept the gun
trained on them.
They drove Kate’s car extremely fast down the Interstate, the cop car close behind. They skirted Inglenook Park on the left, then, a little further on to the right, they shot past a sign
to Southern Shopping Center. Kate and Lou knew it well, they had only been there a couple of days before leaving on their trip. A few miles on, they took a left off the highway and joined a
two-lane road heading west. The rain was heavier now, slamming against the windscreen, gushing under the car as they sped along.
They took another left then a hard right onto a country lane, the car bumping along over the uneven surface, slamming through the puddles, muddy water pluming its flanks, tyres struggling to
find purchase. It was dark out here, no street lights, the only illumination coming from the headlights of the two cars and the moon full against the inky black. All they could see were the shapes
of trees and occasionally scuffed and rain-drenched metal barriers either side of the road.
Finally, the car began to slow and drew to a halt. The police car pulled up immediately behind them. Tessellated shadows fell across the face of the bald cop with the gun. He hadn’t
uttered a word since warning them to stay quiet back on the highway.
The lights of the cop car behind flicked. A few moments later Kate’s door was wrenched open and the third man, plain-clothed in jeans and a scruffy leather jacket, cigarette dangling from
his lips, stood on the dark road. He had a gun in his left hand and flicked it to indicate that Kate and Lou should get out.
They had stopped on a driveway, the shape of a large dilapidated building just visible to their right. The rain stung like ice on their faces and soaked through their clothes in a few moments.
Lou felt a hand shove him from behind, and he and Kate were frogmarched towards the old building.
It was a disused warehouse. One of the walls had collapsed completely, a pile of soaked, crumbling bricks was all that remained of it. The other three walls held shattered windows, part of the
roof yawned open to the leaden cloud-heavy sky. The place stank of diesel. There were oily puddles on the cracked concrete floor. One wall of the warehouse was lined with rusting oil drums.
A small section of the building remained relatively intact, with a boxy office at the top of a flight of metal stairs. One of the men stayed back with the cars, the other two guided them to the
foot of the stairs. The blond one took the lead, the other to one side. The door to the office ahead of them swung open and a raw
‘Hey!’ Lou shouted and the barrel was pressed in harder. He heard more crunching gravel behind him and saw the policeman give a brief nod to someone the other side of the car. Lou
half-turned to see a second officer, tall and bald, opening the passenger door. Kate appeared in half-shadow, the officer gripping her arm as she protested.
Lou glanced back at the police car behind Kate’s vehicle and saw a third figure at the wheel.
‘Get in the back,’ the first policeman snapped and jabbed with the gun again, sending a ripple of pain down Lou’s side. The policeman opened the rear door to Kate’s car
and pushed down on Lou’s head with his free hand. Lou saw Kate being shoved into the back seat across from him in a similar way. The doors slammed behind them. The young blond officer pulled
into the driver’s seat, the bald one sat, half-turned, in the passenger side, his revolver pointed straight at them.
‘We’re going on a short ride,’ he said. ‘I don’t wanna hear a word from you, understood?’
Lou and Kate sat, mute.
‘Understood?’
They both nodded. The driver put the car in gear and pulled back onto the highway followed closely by the cop car, its flashers off.
16
Kate felt for Lou’s hand across the seat, found it and squeezed tight. He gave her a quick reassuring glance; the bald cop appeared not to notice, just kept the gun
trained on them.
They drove Kate’s car extremely fast down the Interstate, the cop car close behind. They skirted Inglenook Park on the left, then, a little further on to the right, they shot past a sign
to Southern Shopping Center. Kate and Lou knew it well, they had only been there a couple of days before leaving on their trip. A few miles on, they took a left off the highway and joined a
two-lane road heading west. The rain was heavier now, slamming against the windscreen, gushing under the car as they sped along.
They took another left then a hard right onto a country lane, the car bumping along over the uneven surface, slamming through the puddles, muddy water pluming its flanks, tyres struggling to
find purchase. It was dark out here, no street lights, the only illumination coming from the headlights of the two cars and the moon full against the inky black. All they could see were the shapes
of trees and occasionally scuffed and rain-drenched metal barriers either side of the road.
Finally, the car began to slow and drew to a halt. The police car pulled up immediately behind them. Tessellated shadows fell across the face of the bald cop with the gun. He hadn’t
uttered a word since warning them to stay quiet back on the highway.
The lights of the cop car behind flicked. A few moments later Kate’s door was wrenched open and the third man, plain-clothed in jeans and a scruffy leather jacket, cigarette dangling from
his lips, stood on the dark road. He had a gun in his left hand and flicked it to indicate that Kate and Lou should get out.
They had stopped on a driveway, the shape of a large dilapidated building just visible to their right. The rain stung like ice on their faces and soaked through their clothes in a few moments.
Lou felt a hand shove him from behind, and he and Kate were frogmarched towards the old building.
It was a disused warehouse. One of the walls had collapsed completely, a pile of soaked, crumbling bricks was all that remained of it. The other three walls held shattered windows, part of the
roof yawned open to the leaden cloud-heavy sky. The place stank of diesel. There were oily puddles on the cracked concrete floor. One wall of the warehouse was lined with rusting oil drums.
A small section of the building remained relatively intact, with a boxy office at the top of a flight of metal stairs. One of the men stayed back with the cars, the other two guided them to the
foot of the stairs. The blond one took the lead, the other to one side. The door to the office ahead of them swung open and a raw
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