*But what if?"
*Seriously?"
*Seriously."
*I would"ve dived in after it. There"s no way I"d let this get away. No way in the world."
*It"s something pretty good, huh?"
*It"s something wonderful."
*Gonna give it to me?"
*Later. First, we"ve got to toast the birthday girl."
4.
*Why would he want to follow you?" Dan asked without looking away from the dark, twisting road.
*I don"t know," Marty said.
*You"d better tell me. I"ve got to figure out how to handle this."
*Can you lose him?"
*Maybe. For tonight. But he can always go after you tomorrow. He can wait around till he finds you alone. Do you want that?"
*Of course not."
*Then tell me what he wants."
*I don"t know what he wants. I testified against him once. He went to prison."
*What did he do?"
*Never mind."
*Thanks for all the information. At least we know one thing; if it is your friend back there, he probably doesn"t plan to shake your hand."
*That"s for sure." She looked out of the rear window and gazed down the road, searching the shadows.
*I"ll take you to my place," Dan said.
*No, not your place."
*I"ve got a gun."
*No!"
*Why the h.e.l.l not?"
*You want to shoot him? That"d be great."
Dan glanced at her, smiled with one side of his head. *It might not come to shooting."
*But it might."
*In that case, may the better aim win."
A few minutes later, he slowed down in front of his house. *Keep driving," Marty said. If you get your gun, someone might end up getting killed."
*d.a.m.n right."
*Keep driving, or you can just let me out and I"ll take my chances walking home."
He made a snorty sound, then muttered, *I just hope your friend isn"t armed."
Two hundred yards farther, he swung the car sharply onto the narrow road leading to Wilson Lake.
*What are we going to do?"
*I"ve got a little plan."
*Dan?"
*Nothing to worry about." He looked at her and grinned. *Dan"s plans never fail. What does this guy look like?"
*Let"s go to the police."
*I can take care of it He slowed down and peered into the rearview mirror until the other car turned. *He"s following us, okay."
*Dan!"
*Don"t worry, everything"s fine. How about getting me a flashlight?" He pointed to the glove compartment. Marty opened it, took out the flashlight and snapped the compartment shut.
The flashlight had a ribbed metal casing.
Near the sh.o.r.e, the road widened into a parking lot. Dan steered onto its hard dirt. As he cruised past several dark cars with couples inside, he kicked off his sneakers, reached down and pulled off his socks.
*Going for a swim?" Marty asked.
*You never know." He stopped beside a pickup truck and cut the engine. *Place is sure crowded tonight." He slipped his bare feet back into his sneakers and stuffed one of his socks into his pants pocket. *Okay, lets go."
*Go where?"
*Out there. For a walk. Too many people around here, even if they are too busy to see anything. Hand me the light, honey."
She gave it to him, shouldered open her door, and stepped onto the dirt of the lot. The ground felt nice and cool under her feet. But she put her sandals on, anyway, feeling too vulnerable without them. For a moment, she even considered putting her sweater back on, though the night was balmy and her clothes were sticking to her back and b.u.t.tocks.
*Shall we take a stroll along the sh.o.r.e?" Dan asked.
*Are you kidding?"
*No." He looked over his shoulder. Following his glance, Marty saw the dark car turn slowly onto the parking lot. *Let"s go," Dan whispered, and pulled her hand. *Don"t look back. We don"t want your friend to know we"re onto him."
At the edge of the lake, Dan turned on the flashlight.
*What"s that for?"
*To see where we"re going."
*There"s plenty of moonlight."
*Your friend has to see where we"re going, too."
*Could you stop calling him that. My friend? He isn"t my friend."
*If you say so."
She pulled her hand away. It was wet. She wiped it on her skirt. *What if he"s got a knife?" she asked.
*That"ll be his tough luck."
*I like your confidence."
*No, you don"t." He led her onto a path. To their left, down a steep gra.s.sy slope, the water lapped against the sh.o.r.e. The woods pressed close on their side, forcing them to walk single file. They had to duck under low branches.
*Couldn"t ask for a better place," Dan said.
*To hide?"
Dan chuckled, then swung the flashlight so its beam swept across the water. *Think he saw that?"
*How could he miss it?"
Dan turned off the flashlight and began to unscrew its base. *What"re you doing?"
*Taking it apart."
*Nice," she muttered.
*Here, let"s get into these bushes." He dropped two batteries into his palm and pushed Marty. *You get over there behind that tree."
*Where"ll you be?"
*Right here."
*Dan-"
*I"ll just have a chat with this guy. What"d you say his name is?"
*w.i.l.l.y. You aren"t going to do something stupid, are you?"
*Me?" He laughed and patted her back. *Get over there and hide, and don"t make a sound. If things get out of hand, try and sneak back to the car. I left the keys under the front seat."
*Whatever you have in minda "
*Over there. Hurry."
Marty hesitated. Dan took a quick step toward her, so she turned away. She stepped through the underbrush, feeling its damp leaves cling to her legs, until she came to a birch tree. She crouched behind it to wait, but couldn"t see Dan. So she stood up and leaned against the trunk to watch.
Dan was busy doing something with the flashlight and sock. Dropping the batteries into the sock. Knotting it.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Marty heard nothing but the usual summer sounds of crickets and frogs.
Without a sound, Dan stepped into the path. His right hand, down at his side, swung upward. The flashlight glinted moon like the broad blade of a knife as it plunged upward into the man"s belly.
5.
Something shiny swept up out of the darkness. w.i.l.l.y slashed at it with his knife, but missed. A cold, numbing force crushed his breath. His arms dropped. His knees. .h.i.t the sh.o.r.eline path. Dirt and gravel sc.r.a.ped his hands. He tried to gasp, *s.h.i.t!" but couldn"t. No air.
No f.u.c.king air at all.
6.
From behind the tree, Marty saw Dan kick one of the arms. It collapsed, and w.i.l.l.y fell face down.