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On the shoulder of the road, ot out of the pickup and ht hand Maybe he thought a death by bludgeoning was more consistent with a car wreck than a bullet in the brain He was a bigin panic, I fuun and rolled out of the VW I crouched, shielded by the car as I jacked a shell into the chaun on the roof and steadied the sites with both hands

Miraculously, I saw the guy toss the tire iron in the bed of the pickup as he slid back under the steering wheel and slaer side, where a sheet of paper had been affixed Like an eye test, I made out the top line of print which read as is, with several lines of print below; the teht I saw a face peering out at ine roared to life and the truck peeled out I felt a jolt of recognition, which I didn’t have time to process The pain descended and I felt the blackness close in, narrowingbull’s-eye of daylight at the far end I took a deep breath to clear limpse of the pickup as it headed north toward nu south The driver in the second car, a vintage Ford sedan, seeht of the VW, which sat in the canal partially suban to back up, transh an to shake It was over I foundaudibly, from pain, froled his car onto the shoulder of the road and rolled his n Di any tire tracks left by the Dodge, but the gravel shoulder seemed too hard-packed to take a print To hell with it I was safe and that’s all I cared about I shoved the gun inacross the canal toward the road I scra in the mud As I approached the sedan, the old man studied the knot on my forehead, my disheveled hair,wet I wipedthe streak of blood that I’d oose egg protruding fro a horn Pain thundered in my head, and for the first ti his concern mount when he sa shaky I was "Sister, you’re a hway patrol out here? Somebody just ran me off the road"

"Well, sure But don’t you want a lift somewhere first? You look like you could use some medical attention I just live up the road a piece"

"I’ lady, you listen here I’ll give the sheriff a call and get a tow truck out, too, but I’ to leave you standin’ here by the road"

"I don’t want to leave e and I’m not either unless you do as I say"

I hesitated The VW was totaled The entire back end appeared foreshortened, the right rear fender crushed The car had been suffering froe paint oxidized to a chalky hue, highlighted with rust I’d had the car nearly fifteen years With a pang of regret, I turned back to the sedan, hobbling around to the passenger side I felt like I was leaving afro up When I finally dared to pullto find a bruise the size and color of an eggplant The old man leaned across and opened the door for me

"I’m Carl LaRue," he said

"Kinsey Millhone," I replied I slid in, slouching down on the base of ainst the seat Once I closed my eyes, the nausea subsided so south about a quarter of a mile before we made a left turn onto a secondary road I sincerely hoped this was not part of souy in the pickup truck I flashed on the as is sticker in the , the glierly, I sat up, re where I’d seen the face It was at the rest stop where I’d eaten lunch on the way down to the desert There’d been a kid there, a boywith a Matchbox toy His father had been napping with aarms, in a T-shirt with the sleeves ripped out Once I made the connection, I knew I’d actually seen the lot with the kid perched up on his shoulders as they headed for the Coke h me at the recollection of how he’d tickled the kid What sang in hter, which seemed now as dainty and evil as a de?