Page 23 (1/2)

TWENTY-THREE

Near the end of ht wind made my eyes tear My hands were relatively warm in the pea coat&039;s pockets, buttemperature I tilted the flat bottle of Jilass was cold, but the warht cast off by the floods around the house There were four vehicles parked in front Two sedans, one with Florida plates The red Cahts still blazed in ht they lived too far up the hill to bother with curtains

I sneaked around back, clinging to the darkness There was a toolshed I crouched behind it and surveyed the house from the rear Construction on a wooden deck, which wrapped around the house, had been brought to a halt Maybe they aiting for better weather The snoasn&039;t falling any heavier, but it wasn&039;t letting up either

I light-footed it closer, peeked inside a

Two men sat in plush chairs Looked like a den One was the short fat one who&039;d helped knock down the door to my motel room The other was new Tennessee Volunteers T-shirt, jeans, house slippers He had a thick beard and little dark eyes, a dull expression Basketball game on the television Beer bottles on the coffee table I watched ahips She talked The uy and the woth of the house I watched the kitchen a moment, but it was e soe I circled to the side of the house and found a bedroom It looked pretty neat; the bed wasroomNobody there

I started back around the side but heard the front door sla away I looked around the corner of the house and spotted taillights descending the driveway I looked to see which car wasfroed back to the toolshed I was taking another tug at the Jies, looked up to see the back door of the house swinging open I jumped into the toolshed and pulled the door alh open to watch

It was the two guys who&039;d been watching the basketball ga coats I held my breath, but they stopped half way, turned to face each other The bearded guy pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to the other

"It is- no shit- fucking freezing out here"

They talked low but not at a whisper

"Tom don&039;t let nobody smoke in the house," said Shorty

Good for Too?" Bearded Guy stoainst the cold Little flakes of snow dotted their heads and shoulders

"With Big Dave up to Tina&039;s lake cabin They took the girl"

"What for?"

"She talked it over with Dave They thought the girl should be away from here ith that fellow around and all"

"What the hell do they know?"

Shorty shrugged "She&039;s trained for this stuff, not me"

"This is screwed up" He took quick, nervous puffs on the cigarette "Nobody said nothing about no kidnapping We was just supposed to steal soood plan"

"Well, it&039;s screwed up now"

"It&039;s still a good plan Or would you rather go back to third shift at the factory?"

"I&039; like this ever goes right"

"How the hell would you know?"

"Anyone can see it&039;s screwed up" Puff, puff

"Stop so , will you? Let Tina worry about it"

"Tina" He said her name like it was a false idol

"Co balls off"

They flicked their butts into the snoatched the of the Jiht theet into the house to find out where this lake cabin was

And for Danny Yeah For Danny, the bloody hand of justice had arrived In spite of the cold, I unbuttoned ave myself a clear path for the32 in the shoulder holster I&039;d try the back door Maybe they&039;d left it open after having a sh the shed for soht from the toolshed door fell across a pair of wide huainst the wall of the toolshed, fell down, scattered rakes and shovels, a startled cry shthere from a hook on the wall

I pushed the door open, let a littlethere as dead as it was possible to be

"A Guy," I whispered to him "Aw hell"

I fumbled the cap off the pill bottle Took one and drank it back hiskey My hands shook I said, "Okay, Lou You&039;re on the list right behind Bob Tate" And Benny and anyone else who hadn&039;t deserved this

I went through his pockets, but his wallet was gone along with everything else In the inside pocket of his leather jacket, I found a cellophane-wrapped cigar about six inches long

I almost tossed it down but unwrapped it and stuck it in my mouth instead "Okay, Lou?"

Thanks, dude

I screwed the silencer onto the end of the32, grabbed a crowbar froloves Show time They&039;d locked the back door, but not terribly well, no chain or bolt I pried it open, the wood splintering A little noisy, not bad Nobody caate The door opened into a short hall, washer and dryer on the right BothThe noise probably helped cover my entrance I turned left into the kitchen

Empty The sound of the television came from the den beyond

I entered the den Shorty&039;s back was toa disc in He didn&039;t hear me come up behind I tapped hi His mouth fell open, sucked breath for a shout I stuck the silencer down his throat, and his lips closed over it reflexively I pulled the trigger Poot A miniature volcano of blood, hair, flesh, and bone erupted from the back of his skull His eyes rolled back, and he slid off the gun barrel with a wet pop as he slumped to the floor

I looked at what he&039;d put in the CD player Johnny Cash Why not? I pushed it in, hit play Turned it way up Picked up the television remote and hit mute I understood in so badly with the whiskey I tried to remember how many pills I&039;d had in the last few hours At least two

I heard bizarre, dehter It was me

I took out the nearly empty Jim Beam flask, held it aardly in an, and a woman appeared in the kitchen door Not the dirty blond, thinner, young and pretty with a heart-shaped face She sawto the surprised O of her irly burp

Poot

A little yelp and she pitched forward, kissing carpet

I took a hit of Jim, fumbled the bottle to the carpet and bent quickly to pick it up before it all spilled out At the saun spoke thunder behind h the other hall The pellets blasted overplaster on the far wall I spun a s quickly to catch ht hih his atteered into the wall, slid down dead into a sitting position The bearded guy I heard a screa orders back and forth

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine