Page 2 (2/2)

"Where were you parked?"

"At the tavern"

"An envelope?"

"No"

"You see anyone watching you? I mean, when you took it out from under the wiper and read it"

"Nobody"

"What do you make of it?"

"That was my question to you," Billy re at the ominous lines of type, Billy said, "That was ning his of Els Bunny "But then you ask yourself What if… ?"

"Don’t you?"

"Sure Every cop does, all the time, otherwise he ends up dead sooner than he should Or shoots when he shouldn’t"

Not long ago, Lanny had wounded a belligerent drunk who he thought had been aruy had a cell phone

"But you can’t keep what-ifing yourself forever," he continued

"You’ve got to go with instinct And your instinct is the saot a hunch who did it"

"Steve Zillis," said Billy

"Bingo"

Lanny assu quartered back for balance, left knee flexed, two hands on the pistol He took a deep breath and popped Elmer five times as a shrapnel of blackbirds exploded fro fouris… this doesn’t see Steve would do--or could"

"Why not?"

"He’s a guy who carries a small rubber bladder in his pocket so he can ht be funny"

"Meaning?"

Billy folded the typewritten e and tucked it in his shirt pocket

"This see Steve is about as subtle as the green-apple nasties," Lanny agreed Resuazine on Bugs, scoring five mortal hits

"What if it’s real?" Billy asked

"It’s not"

"But what if it is?"

"Hoames like that in movies In real life, killers just kill Power is what it’s about for the you with puzzles and riddles"

Ejected shell casings littered the grass The westering sun polished the tubes of brass to a bloody gold

Aware that he hadn’t quelled Billy’s doubt, Lanny continued: "Even if it were real--and it’s not--what is there to act upon in that note?"

"Blond schoolteachers, elderly women"

"Somewhere in Napa County"

"Yeah"

"Napa County isn’t San Francisco," Lanny said, "but it’s not unpopulated barrens, either Lots of people in lots of towns The sheriff’s departether don’t have enough men to cover all those bases"

"You don’t need to cover theets--a lovely blond schoolteacher"

"That’s a judgment," Lanny objected "So to h standards in women"

Lanny smiled "I’m picky"

"Anyway there’s also the elderly woazine in the pistol, Lanny said, "A lot of elderly woeneration that cared about their neighbors"

"So you aren’t going to do anything?"

"What do you want estion, only an observation: "It see"

"By nature, police are reactive, not proactive"

"So he has toto murder anyone"

"He says he will," Billy protested

"It’s a prank Steve Zillis has finally graduated fro-flowersand-plastic-voht"

"I’ures fixed to the triple-thick wall of hay bales, Lanny said, "Now before twilight spoils ht they were good movies"

"I’ soht, I’," Lanny said

"Like what?"

"Jose’s bringing his pork-and-rice casserole Leroy’s bringing five kinds of salsa and lots of corn chips Why don’t you make your taroup of oldparty"

"We’re pathetic," Lanny said, "but we’re not dead yet"

"Hoould we know?"

"If I were dead and in Hell," Lanny said, "they wouldn’t letcartoons And this sure isn’t Heaven"

By the time Billy reached his Explorer in the driveway, Lanny Olsen had begun to blast away at Shrek, Princess Fiona, Donkey, and their friends The eastern sky was sapphire In the western vault, the blue had begun to wear off, revealing gold beneath, and the hint of red gesso under the gilt Standing by his SUV in the lengthening shadows, Billy watched for a moment as Lanny honed his marksmanship and, for the thousandth ti a cartoonist