Page 31 (2/2)

"I gotta ht in ht back"

Mike turned and headed to the far side of the cafeteria where the pay phones were No one much used them--everyone but Mike had a cell phone He fitted some quarters into the slot and punched his hoht to the answering machine Mike slapped the receiver down, fed in otten to the phone in tiain the ainst the wall, staring across the cafeteria into nothingness

After school he sped ho the corner on his street he saw Vic walk through the side yard and into the front of the house He was carrying a toolbox in one hand and under his other arm he had folded shutters Mike slowed to a stop behind a parked SUV and watched

Vic had a ladder against the front of the house and Mike saw that he’d already installed heavy slatted shutters on the porch s and one of the upstairs master bedroom s He set the toolbox down and fished in it for a hammer, then climbed the ladder one-handed, the shutters still under his arh crafts around the house that was slipshod When he installed shelves for his DVD collection-- was precisely ht as an arrow When so broke down, like the time the laer crapped out, Vic worked on it with meticulous care and ever since thenoever, was a co on the ladder Vic pounded nails with sloppy force, brutalizing the wood around the nailheads Mike looked at each shutter and not one of theht Mike could have done better himself and he barely knehich end of a haendered in Mike a dislike of the in perplexed concern, as Vic clumsied the shutters up and battered them into place He had no idea what to make of it

When Vic finished, he just pulled the ladder down and let it fall onto the front lawn Snatching up his toolbox, he stomped up the steps and jerked open the front door "There! You happy now, you stupid bitch?"

Those words rolled all the way down the street to where Mike hid When Vic slammed the door the echo ricocheted off every house front on the block

Mike picked his bike up and turned it around and headed back toward Corn Hill and the Crow’s Nest As he rode away Vic’s vicious words pounded in his head Vic always called hisworse about this It felt worse somehow; it felt meaner, if that was even possible for Vic As he pedaled away he could feel a sinking dread for hisin the pit of his stoe building in his hands and behind his eyes

If he, or anyone else, had seen his eyes at that moment they would have been terribly afraid All of the blue was gone, as was led cloud of black, like a storm cloud, veined with bloody flashes of red

2

"How are his vitals?" Weinstock asked as he entered Terry’s roo" She recited the nulooh a cursory exa to learn Nothing to tell Sarah that would bring her out of the funk she’d been sliding into

He made a note on Terry’s chart "Keep me posted"

He and the nurse left and Terry’s rooure who stepped out of the shadows in the corner and walked up to the side of Terry’s bed Mandy’s eyes et and her torn throat trembled with silent sobs

She rose onto her toes and stretched to kiss Terry on the cheek

There was a strangled little sound in her brother’s throat and he turned his head slowly froto pull free froht it, Terry!" she said, but her voice was silent and Terry was deep, deep down in the dark of his mind where all he could hear was the roar of the beast Mandy put her tiny bloodstained hands to herSarah Wolfe came by to pick up Val They wanted sos to handle in the after to be buried right away, Val had to arrange a memorial service Mark ell liked in the community and had been an influential businessman There would be a lot of people ould want to pay their respects Setting that up was going to take a lot of detail work, but Cro that detail work kept Val steady, so he kissed her good-bye, hugged Sarah, walked the Humvee Alpha, and watched as they headed into the strea, which was good because Crow had a s to do to stay on top of the Festival preparations He called all of the hotels tocelebrities were in place; then called half a dozen airports to check on bookings He spent soh the details for the security measures he wanted to have in place for Halloween BK had ed to round up a solid crew of bouncers, off-duty cops, andto cost the township--and the Wolfe family--a bundle Crow didn’t sweat that…any additional disasters would cost everyone le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>