Michael staggered back against the wall, his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest. Ashley stared wide-eyed at the pool of blood spreading over the tiles beneath Souther's head. She leaned over and vomited into the toilet.
– Michael stepped through the mangled restroom door into a quiet diner. Streaks of blood drained down the panel behind the stove and mixed with the grease on the grill, creating swirling patterns. The contorted image of the old man was mirrored in the chrome at the base of the stool where he lay. Michael took a seat on his favorite stool.
Ashley stood in the restroom doorway looking at him, wiping her mouth with one hand, adjusting her rumpled sundress with the other. He swiveled in her direction and their eyes met.
Suddenly, from behind her, Johnny Souther appeared, his face obscured by blood. He held the meat cleaver high overhead, ready to bury it in the back of Ashley's skull.
" Behind you! " Michael cried, jumping to his feet.
Ashley turned and screamed.
From outside, twin blasts of automatic-rifle fire shattered the front plate-glass window and sent Souther careening into the counter. Ashley spun away in horror as blood spattered her face and clothing.
Souther opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came as he twisted in agony, clawing the bloody countertop with his fingernails before dropping to the floor with a sickening flump, where he lay still… in a lifeless sprawl.
Chapter 52
Michael and Ashley stared in shock and loathing at Souther's mutilated body… the floor… the walls… themselves. At last they turned toward the front of the diner.
Framed in the opening where the large window had been were two young boys. Thin gray wisps of smoke curled from the over-heated barrels of the assault rifles they held in their hands. Behind them, on the sidewalk in the rain, lay an old BMX bike and a rusty beach cruiser — spoked wheels still spinning.
The taller of the two boys looked hardly more than a ragged savage — his eyes dark, his face gaunt, his hair matted. A coal black, rain-soaked overcoat hung on him like a heavy blanket thrown over a tombstone. The front of the coat draped open, revealing a crimson rose that bloomed in the center of the large white bandage wrapping his chest.
Ashley was stunned. Tears welled in her eyes and her hand moved to her mouth. " Aaron? " she said, but he was oblivious.
She stepped through the window and went to her son.
"Aaron?" she said, softly. "Aaron, honey — it's me… it's Mommy." She carefully removed the rifle from his hands and laid it on the sidewalk. Then she took him gently in her arms and held him.
"I'm sorry," Aaron said at last, his voice soft and hoarse.
"Shhh," she said, her eyes flooding with tears. "No apologies, okay? I love my little boy. I love him with all my heart."
Aaron buried himself in his mother's warmth and cried the deeply mournful cry of a long lost boy come home.
– Willy stood alone, staring unblinking at Souther's broken body through smudged glasses. The diner's neon OPEN sign lay in pieces among the shards of glass at his feet.
Michael went over and knelt next to him on the sidewalk. He took the rifle and set it carefully aside, and then he rested his hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke softly to him. "Willy — it's Michael
… It's over… you're safe, now."
Willy was struck mute.
Michael tried to appear lighthearted. "I think we better get the heck out of here before the cops come," he said. "Is that all right with you, Willy?"
Willy looked up at Michael and nodded.
"Stay right here and don't move," Michael said. "I'll be right back."
Michael collected the two rifles and stepped into the diner.
Aaron followed him inside.
– Michael laid the firearms on the counter, then reached in and used a towel to pick up a pan full of hot oil, which he poured over the guns, coating them completely.
Aaron walked over to Souther's grisly corpse and knelt next to it. Then he calmly went through the pockets until he found what he was looking for: the precious photo of his mother and father together in the alpine meadow.
Chapter 53
The rain had stopped, and the night air was calm and crisp. A brilliant moon ducked in and out of patchy gray clouds, highlighting the edges a snowy white.
Michael and Aaron exited Sally's Diner through the front door and joined Willy and Ashley on the sidewalk. Ashley had been talking with Willy and he was feeling much better.
Michael handed Ashley her jacket and purse, and a clean towel.
She clutched them to her chest and smiled at him, forming two little dimples in her cheeks that he hadn't seen before. "Thank you," she said, truly grateful. She turned away briefly and used the towel to wipe her face and clean her glasses.
When she turned back, Michael surprised her by gently brushing the hair back from her face with the backs of his fingertips. She hesitated — but she didn't resist. She hadn't really thought of him in that way before, but it felt natural and she liked it.
Michael helped her with her jacket then gazed deeply into her large eyes with a look that said, I can only imagine what you've been through, Ashley… and I'm very sorry. She returned his gaze and smiled to herself, a soothing warmth swelling in her heart.
He took her hand, and then, delicately, in a voice as gentle as a kiss, he said, "Could I drive you somewhere?"
Her eyes remained locked on his, but her head turned ever so slightly downward and to the side. "Thank you, Michael," she replied, moistening her perfect lips and drawing them back into a provocative smile. "Anywhere…"
Chapter 54
"Shouldn't we be leaving or something?" Willy said, checking the street.
Michael started then remembered where he was. He held Ashley's hand a moment longer, smiling at her. "You're right, Willy," he said. "We should go."
He glanced at the two bikes on the sidewalk, then at his sports car. "Sorry guys," he said. "We'll have to leave the bikes."
Aaron and Willy looked at each other and frowned.
"But as soon as we get a chance…" he said, pausing for effect, "… we're going shopping for new ones."
"Awesome!" the boys said together, exchanging a delighted look, their frowns flipped to grins.
Aaron turned and gave Willy a hug.
"What was that for?" Willy said, cocking his head.
"Oh, nothing… I just felt it," Aaron replied. "Oh, and whenever you're ready to go get a burger, you let me know."
Willy grinned from ear to ear. His best friend was back.
– Ashley put both arms around the boys and kissed them on the tops of their heads. "I'll be back in a second," she said.
She retrieved the gun from the Nova's glove box then kicked it under the curb and down the storm drain. Then she hopped back over with the others.
– Michael touched the OPEN zone on his wristwatch and the DBS sizzled to life with an impressive show of British technology.
Willy grinned bigger than he had in years. He was proud of his homeland and wished he could hop in and drive the impressive machine. But, for him, just standing next to this incredible work of art was an experience to be cherished. "I love this car," he said, practically drooling down the door.
Michael helped Aaron slide into the shotgun seat, while Ashley and Willy happily squeezed into the back from the driver's side.
Aaron looked south, toward the waterfront. The distant horizon still glowed as the fires consuming the Alton Brothers Fish Cannery burned themselves out. He shuddered when for a moment the horrors of the last three days swept over him like the cold shadow of Death.