Page 3 (1/2)

The y brine from the lanced at Seth He was biting his nails and staring out ould have been his , had the Jeep’s top been on I knehy he was acting funny He’d been inside da hell stone I’d be freaked-out, too, were I hi like that But I wouldn’t torture hiht Tomorrow I’d wait until to off to the left of the narrow street Sure enough, there were those dingdongs, cutting across someone’s yard They disappeared around the back of a srandht"

I downshifted into first and slowly drove by the old hoht flicker on near the back of the house, I felt relieved At least the boys were off the streets We pulled away and headed into the now-thinned traffic of Victory Drive

After going through the drive-through at Krystal’s, we headed hoers wafted frorowl I was a proud JFJ (junk-food junkie), and I’d bought a dozen I’d probably polish off at least five or six lorious--or hell on the stoestive system, and I was starved I turned onto Abercorn, hit all the squares, crossed Bay Street, and finally pulled onto the cobbles The moment I turned onto the ht stungthey don’t put in the tourist s of Savannah--weekend public urination in the historic district Nasty Just freaking nasty

I parked the Jeep at the back entrance of Inksoency brake, and shifted it into first I grabbed the drinks "Let’s go, Bro, before I start gnawing on that paper bag Hey, will you take Chaz out for a walk? He probably needs to pee" Chaz was our three-year-old Australian shepherd Blue , and we’d gotten hianization two years before

Seth’s eyes still looked hazed as he climbed out "Yeah, sure"

It was then that I truly noticed the silence in the streets Not hu frohter, and the occasional blast of a horn or the wail of a cop car in the distance I even heard old Capote playing his saxophone on the river walk But the cicadas? Crickets? Night birds?

Dead silence

I shoved the key in the lock and went inside, Seth onhis backside "Hey, boy," I said, scrubbing the fur between his ears "Youfrom the wall, snapped it onto Chaz’s collar, and headed out with a waste bag I watched him for a minute, until they disappeared up the walk Before I closed the door, I glanced over ht (the Gullah pronounced it afta-light)

I saw nothing; I felt everything

Seth and Chaz ca up the cobbles, so I waited until they were inside; then I locked the door and threw the second bolt Soon, though, I’d find out that locks and bolts were for the ignorant In reality, they were absolutely freaking worthless

Part 2

THE BEGINNING