‘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 grassy slope, the water lapped against the shore. 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?’
‘Willy. 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 mind… ’
‘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. Willy slashed at it with his knife, but missed. A cold, numbing force crushed his breath. His arms dropped. His knees hit the shoreline path. Dirt and gravel scraped his hands. He tried to gasp, ‘Shit!’ but couldn’t. No air.
No fucking air at all.
6
From behind the tree, Marty saw Dan kick one of the arms. It collapsed, and Willy fell face down.
‘Roll over,’ Dan said, barely loud enough for Marty to hear. After giving the command, he waited a second. Willy didn’t move except to squirm on the ground. ‘I said to roll over.’
The gasping shape still didn’t do it.
Dan swung the sock with the batteries in its toe. He whipped it against Willy’s shoulder. It made a dull thump, and Willy cried out. ‘Now, roll over.’
This time, Willy obeyed.
‘Why were you following us?’
Willy gasped something that Marty couldn’t make out.
‘Flattery won’t get you anywhere,’ Dan said. He walked around to Willy’s side and knelt down to look him in the face. ‘God, you’re an ugly asshole. Why were you following us?’
Willy raised his head, but only for a moment because Dan pushed it back down with the bottom edge of the flashlight. ‘Don’t move.’
‘You’re gonna…’
‘I’m gonna what?’
Marty couldn’t quite hear the answer.
‘Is that so?’ Dan smashed the head of the flashlight against Willy’s face.
‘I’m gonna cut off your…’
Dan stuck the bottom edge of the flashlight under Willy’s nose. ‘Sharp, isn’t it? If I ever run into you again, I’ll put your nose where the batteries go.’ From the squeal of pain, Marty thought he was already doing it. ‘You understand?’
Willy muttered something.
Then shrieked.
Then, sobbing, said, ‘I understand.’
‘Good. Very good.’ Dan stood up, wiping the edge of the flashlight on his pants. ‘Just remember, okay?’ He whirled the sock until the weighted toe picked up momentum, then crashed it against Willy’s head. ‘Good night, now,’ he said. Willy looked unconscious. ‘Come on, Marty. Time to go.’
She stepped out from behind the tree, shaking.
‘That should give Willy some second thoughts,’ Dan said.
‘You bastard,’ Marty said. ‘You didn’t have to… torture him!’
‘I wanted him to get the message.’
‘God, Dan…’
‘You think I liked doing that?’
She gazed at his face. It was pale in the moonlight. Reaching up, she brushed his messy hair away from his eyes. His forehead was hot and damp under her fingertips. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘I think you liked it. A lot.’
Dan made a sound that was almost like a laugh.
A nasty laugh.
Then he untied the knot from his sock and dumped the batteries into his hand. He slipped them into the metal cylinder and screwed the bottom into place over them. With his thumb, he flicked the switch. Nothing happened. ‘Look at that,’ he muttered. ‘The fucker broke my flashlight.’
Marty walked behind Dan, staring at the ground to keep from stumbling even though her mind paid no attention to the dips and turns and sudden rises of the trail. She didn’t hear the water caressing the shore, or the summer night sounds of small animals. She didn’t see the lightning bugs that drifted among the bushes, silently glowing and fading. She knew they were there; they always had been. But now she didn’t care.
When Dan opened the car door for her, she muttered, ‘Thanks’ and climbed in.
‘Amazing,’ Dan said, sliding into the driver’s seat. ‘A person could get murdered here and nobody would even notice.’
‘They’re busy,’ Marty muttered.
Dan pushed the key into the ignition, but he didn’t turn it. Instead, he stared at the dashboard. Marty wondered what he was waiting for. She said nothing, though. She felt as if he’d turned into a stranger.
Letting go of the key, Dan moved toward the middle of the seat and put his arm across her shoulders. When she faced him to protest, he kissed her.
She pushed him away. ‘Cut it out.’
‘What the hell’s wrong with you?’
‘Wrong? You just beat a man senseless.’
‘So?’
‘And you enjoyed it.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah!’
‘I didn’t exactly enjoy it. More like, it gave me a nice feeling of accomplishment. You know? Like throwing a touchdown pass.’
‘This isn’t football.’
‘That’s right. Maybe I’d better go back and finish him off.’
‘Great. Wonderful. Why don’t you just do that?’
‘He wouldn’t ever scare the hell out of you at the movies again.’
‘That’s a great reason for killing a guy.’
‘What did he do to you?’
She said nothing.
‘How did he make you so afraid of him?’
‘None of your business.’
‘I just beat the crap out of the guy for you. Don’t I deserve to know why?’