Page 19 (1/2)

The food was good, too, really good Pacific Vieas not an ordinary nursing home It was classy The patients were rich, or had relatives ere rich

Mr Ishigura did not advertise his generosity, and his door was not open to everyone When he saw street people who seemed, to him, to have fallen to their fate not entirely by their own doing, he approached them about the free lunches and dinners at Pacific View Because he was selective, it was possible to eat there without having to share the table with soerous alcoholics and addicts who

Janet didn’t take advantage of Mr Ishigura’s hospitality nearly as often as it was available Of the seven lunches and seven dinners she ht have eaten at Pacific View each week, she limited herself to no more than two of each Otherwise, she was able to provide for herself and Danny, and she took pride in every ht, she and Danny shared the facilities with three elderly ed wo but ore a gaily colored scarf and bright red beret, and an unfortunately ugly young ed but not filthy, unbarbered but clean sh she would have enjoyed conversation It had been so long since she had spoken at any length to anyone but Danny that she was not confident ofchitchat with another adult

Besides, she was leery of encountering someone with a keen curiosity

She did not want to have to answer questions about herself, her past

She was, after all, a murderer And if Vince’s body had been found in the Arizona desert, she ht also be wanted by the police

She didn’t even speak to Danny, who needed no encourageh he was only five, the boy ellbehaved and kne to conduct himself at the table

Janet was fiercely proud of him From time to time, as they ate, she smoothed his hair or touched the back of his neck or patted his shoulder, so he would know that she was proud

God, she loved hi of one hardship after another Nothing row up, beco in this world

She could enjoy dinner only as long as she kept thoughts of the policee shape

Who had almost become a olf like out of a htning flashed, and who had halted Woofer in midair

After the encounter in that alleyway earlier in the day, Janet had driven north in the pouring rain, out of Laguna Beach, heading for Los Angeles, desperate to put a lot of miles between them and the mysterious creature anted to kill them It had said that it could find them no matter where they ran, and she had believed it But just waiting to be killed was intolerable

She got only as far as Corona Del Mar, the next town up the coast, before realizing that she eles, she would have to learn what neighborhoods were best for scavenging, when the garbage pickups were scheduled so she could search the cans just ahead of the sanitation trucks, which communities had the most tolerant police, where can sand bottles could be redeeura, and so much more

Her cash on hand was low at the er savings long enough to learn the ropes in a new place It was Laguna Beach or nowhere

Maybe the worst thing about being dirt poor was not having any choices

She’d driven back to Laguna Beach, asoline she’d wasted

They parked on a side street and stayed in the car all during the rainy afternoon By the gray stor in the back seat, she read to Danny fro read to He sat enthralled, while pearl and silver water shadows played across his face in patterns thatdown the windshield

Now the rain was gone, the day was ended, dinner was finished, and it was tiht Janet was exhausted, and she knew Danny would drop quickly into sleep like a stone sinking in a pond But she dreaded closing her eyes, for she was afraid that the policeathered up their dirty dishes and carried them to the sink where they always left them, Janet and Danny were approached by a cook whose first name was Loretta and whose last name was unknown to Janet

Loretta was a heavyset woman of about fifty, with skin as smooth as porcelain and a brow so free of lines that she must never have had a worry in her entire life Her hands were strong, and red fro a disposable pie tin full ofaround?" Loretta asked "The cute fella who’s been trailing after you the last few times?"

"Woofer," Danny said

"He’s taken a shine tofor us"

"Well, I’ve got a treat for the cutie," Loretta said, indicating theat a nearby butcher’s block and drinking a glass of milk’ overheard their conversation "Is he really cute?"

"Just a hta be in pictures, this one"

"I’s Can I see him?"

"Sure, sure, come on," Loretta said Then she checked herself and selina was evidently the nurse

"Heavens no, ould I mind?" Janet said

Loretta led the way to the alley door The scraps in the pie tin were not fat and gristle, but choice bits of haht from a security lamp, Woofer sat in patient anticipation, his head cocked to the right, one ear pricked up and one ear floppy as usual, a quizzical look on his face

A cool breeze, the first stirring of the air since the storelina was instantly captivated "He’s wonderful:" "He’s mine," Danny said so softly that it was doubtful anyone but Janet had heard hirinned, and his bushy tail vigorously swept the blacktop

Maybe he did understand Within a day of encountering Woofer, Janet had decided that he was a s the pie tin full of scraps froelina"You are a cutie

Look at this, fella Does this look good? Bet you’ll like this"

Woofer glanced at Janet, as if seeking permission to feast on the scraps He was just a collarless street dog now but evidently he had been someone’s house pet at one ti and the capacity for reciprocal affection that in ani loved

Janet nodded

Only then did the pooch take his dinner, snatching hungrily at the chunks and slivers of meat