Dead Guilty

proba bly fell for him.
Diane walked slowly out of the chamber and started up the passage. She remembered Everett’s last words about not trusting policemen. At the time, she thought he was talking about the policeman who shot him. He had meant LaSalle.
‘‘Did Everett find you out and think you were in volved in his sister’s death?’’ she said.
‘‘Yeah, you figured that out, huh? I tried to explain to him all that happened before I met the little twits, but he wouldn’t listen. Caught me off guard one night with this electric cattle prod. Damn thing hurt like hell. Before I could recover, he had me tied up like a pig and I was riding in a truck from New York to Georgia with those three sniffling kids. All of them tied tight like me. Cried and moaned the whole way. The worst thing was, he stole our diamonds. Stuffed three of them down the kids’ throats before he hung them. He cut off their fingers while they were alive. God, he was a maniac.’’
He was a maniac, thought Diane. You’re doing a good impression of one. She listened to him talking and kept walking and checking her compass.
‘‘Can’t you speed up?’’
‘‘This is a cave. As you witnessed, caves are danger ous. You walk at a slow pace in a cave. Why didn’t you just wait for us to come out?’’
‘‘I got the stupid idea that I could deal with all of you and not have any witnesses. I didn’t know this place was a hazard waiting for an accident. Why would anyone in their right mind come to a place like this?’’
‘‘It’s fun,’’ said Diane.
‘‘You like it dangerous, huh? I can give you dangerous.’’
‘‘Why did you rape Kacie?’’
‘‘Why? She had my stone. She belonged to me. That prick of a boyfriend of hers ruined my diamond.’’
‘‘You’re some piece of work.’’
‘‘Just get us out of this cave. I’ll show you what kind of piece of work I am.’’
‘‘He didn’t ruin your diamond, you know. I was told by an expert that it was a superb cut.’’
‘‘He took it to an amateur.’’
‘‘A very gifted amateur.’’
‘‘Well, pardon me.’’
Diane had a plan, and it seemed like a good one, but it was looking less feasible now that she was alone with him. If she could just play for time. Keep him talking. Slow the pace.
‘‘How did you escape from Everett?’’
‘‘Being the last in line for the hanging. Wait a min ute. I’m not recognizing any landmarks.’’
Diane pulled the map from her pocket. ‘‘Would you like to lead?’’
‘‘No. Just don’t shit with me or I’ll just cut my losses and shoot you.’’ He grabbed her hair. ‘‘I might fuck you first right here in the cave before I kill you, and I won’t make it fun for you.’’
‘‘I’m trying to get us out of here as quickly and safely as I can. Remember, I have friends I’m trying to save too.’’
‘‘ You just remember that.’’
‘‘I will. Tell me the rest of your story.’’
‘‘Why? You like to hear me talk?’’
‘‘I just want to know what happened. Will it kill you to satisfy my curiosity?’’
What Diane desperately wanted was to distract him. So far, he proved to be a talker, but it wouldn’t last forever.
‘‘Everett Littleton was Judge Roy Bean with a Rube Goldberg device. When we got to Georgia he zapped us, drugged us until we were practically zombies, and stuffed us like sardines in the backseat of his truck. He unhitched the trailer, drove the truck into the woods. First thing he did was tie all the nooses around different tree limbs. Shit, the guy was crazy—all those ropes. He seemed to get some kind of satisfaction out of tying knots. He had this routine he did.’’
They came to the There Be Dragons Here passage and Diane turned down it and looked at her compass.
‘‘What are you doing?’’ He pulled at the compass cord on her neck.
‘‘I’m checking the compass reading. You want to get out of here, don’t you? I’ve been doing this the whole time we’ve been walking.’’
He let go of the cord. ‘‘Why the hell you think this kind of thing is fun is beyond me.’’
LaSalle continued talking and hadn’t noticed the change of route. She didn’t think he would. All the passages probably looked alike to him. She guessed he had followed their voices and lights to locate them—and he obviously got his hands on a map that had the route marked on it. LaSalle struck her as resourceful.
‘‘Everett pulled the first kid out and told her why she was being