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At five minutes past two, Vince had finished lunch, and the only other custoela and the two marshals One of the waitresses had left for the day, and the other tere in the kitchen It could not have been better

The beach bag was on the booth beside hiela and the etting in the World Series

Vince got up, stepped around to their booth, and sprayed theh-tech silencer worked beautifully, and the shots sounded like nothinga word that began with a sibilant It went down so fast that the marshals didn’t have a chance to reach for their oeapons They didn’t even have tiela and his guardians were dead in three seconds

Vince shuddered with intense pleasure, and was briefly overcoy that he had just absorbed He could not speak Then in a tremulous and raspy voice, he said, "Thank you"

When he turned away fro in the middle of the room, frozen in shock Her wide blue eyes were fixated on the dead aze shifted slowly to Vince

Before she could screaazine into her, maybe ten shots, and she went down in a rain of blood

Ssssnap

"Thank you," he said, then said it again because she had been young and vital and, therefore, of more use to him

Concerned that someone else would come out of the kitchen-or maybe someone would walk past the restaurant and look in and see the waitress on the floor-Vince stepped quickly to his booth, snatched up the beach bag, and ja on his ot out of there

He was not worried about fingerprints He had coated the pads of his fingers with Ellue It dried nearly transparent and could not be noticed unless he turned his hands pallue was thick enough to fill the ertips smooth

Outside, he walked to the end of the block, turned the corner, and got into his van, which was parked at the curb As far as he could tell, no one gave hi forward to so to Redondo Beach, two blocks away, seehway south to Bolsa Chica, just north of where he lived in Huntington Beach

As he drove, he thought about the dog He was still paying Johnny The Wire to keep tabs on aniged into the search for the retriever He knew about the National Security Agency’s bulletin to veterinarians and animal-control authorities in three states, and he also knew that the NSA had so far had no luck

Maybe the dog had been killed by a car, or by the creature that Hudston had called "The Outsider," or by a coyote pack in the hills But Vince didn’t want to believe it was dead because that wouldwith the dog either by ranso it to a rich showbiz type who could work up an act with it, or by finding soence tO pull a safe and profitable sca marks

What he preferred to believe was that so and had taken it home as a pet If he could just locate the people who had the dog, he could buy it from them-or blow them away and just take the mutt

But where the hell was he supposed to look? Hoas he supposed to find them? If they were findable, the NSA would surely reach the was not already dead, the best way to get his hands on it was to find The Outsider first and let that beast lead hi, which Hudston had seemed to think it would But that was not an easy task, either

Johnny The Wire was also still providing his of people and anihout southern California Vince knew about the slaughter at the Irvine Park petting zoo, the e Johnny had turned up the rash of reports about mutilated pets in the Diamond Bar area, and Vince had actually seen the TV news story about the young couple who had encountered what they thought was an extraterrestrial in the wilds below Johnstone Peak Three weeks ago, two hikers had been found horriblyhis way into the NSA’s own computers, Johnny had confirmed that they had taken over jurisdiction in that case, too, which meant it had to be the work of The Outsider

Since then, nothing

Vince was not ready to give up Not by a long shot He was a patient man Patience was part of his job He would wait, watch, keep Johnny The Wire at work, and sooner or later he would get what he was after He was sure of it He had decided that the dog, like ireat destiny

At Bolsa Chica State Beach, he stood for a while with the surf pounding against his thighs, staring out at the great darkwater He felt as powerful as the sea He was filled with scores of lives He would not have been surprised if electricity had suddenly leaped froertips the way thunderbolts flashed froy

Finally, he threw hiainst the powerful inco parallel to the shore, swi at it until, exhausted, he at last allowed the tide to carry him back to shore

He dozed for a while in the hot afternoon sun He dreae and round, and in the drea children or, even better, the unborn children of pregnant woed to do in real life Child erous; it was a pleasure he had to deny hiy would be the richest, the purest, the erous by far He couldn’t indulge in infanticide until he was certain he had achieved ier need to fear the police or anyone else

Although he often had such dreams, the one he woke froful than others of its type It feltdifferent Prophetic He sat yawning and blinking in the westering sun, pretending not to notice the bikinied girls ere giving hilimpse of pleasure to come One day he would actually feel his hands around the throat of a pregnant woman like the one in the dream, and he would know the ultiift, not only her life energy but the pure, untapped energy of the unborn in her wo like a million bucks, he returned to his van, drove home, showered, and went out to dinner at the nearest Stuart Anderson steak house, where he treated hinon

6

Einstein bolted past Travis, out of the kitchen, across the s the leash, Travis went after hi behind the sofa

Travis said, "Listen, it’s not going to hurt"

The dog watched hio off to Vegas The vet will give you a couple of shots, vaccinate you against disteood, and it really won’t hurt Really Then we’ll get you a license, which we should’ve done weeks ago

One bark No

"Yes, ill"

No

Crouching, holding the leash by the clip hich he would attach it to the collar, Travis took a step toward Einstein

The retriever scrambled away He ran to the armchair, leaped up, and stood on that observation platfor slowly out from behind the sofa, Travis said, "Now, you listen up, fur face I’, Travis said, "Oh, yes, I a-but you’re still the dog, and I’ to the vet"

One bark

Leaning against the dining-roo, Nora said, "I think he’s trying to give you a taste of what children are like, in case we ever decide to have any"

Travis lunged toward the dog

Einstein flew off his perch and was already out of the roohing, Nora said, "This is vastly entertaining"

"Where’d he go?" Travis demanded

She pointed to the hallway that led to the two bedrooms and bath

He found the retriever in thethe doorway "You can’t win," Travis said "This is for your own good, da to have those shots whether you like it or not"

Einstein lifted one hind leg and peed on the bed

Astonished, Travis said, "What in the hell are you doing?"