Neal gripped the pistol handle and raised his arm. These guys aren’t this crazy, he thought. This must be some kind of a test; the gun must be loaded with blanks. They must have given Graham his “confession,” to test whether I’d execute a traitor.
“Do it, Neal,” Hansen whispered. “Then all things will be revealed to you.”
So I pull the trigger, it’s blank, we all have a laugh, and they bring Cody out here. Do it. Pull the trigger.
He pointed the pistol at Graham’s chest.
And if it’s not a blank? Focus on the boy. The boy.
You always taught me precision, Dad: do a thing right the first time and you won’t have to do it again. That’ll leave you time for the important things, like sitting in your easy chair, drinking beer, and watching the Rangers blow a two-goal lead. God, Dad. How many times did you save my life? From the moment you rescued me from the streets to now? How many times?
Neal looked into Graham’s eyes, trying to tell him, I love you, Dad. I love you.
Graham nodded. Then he smiled and said, “Come on, son. Do it. The Yankees suck anyway.”
You are one brave, tough SOB, Joe Graham, Neal thought. He wiped the tears from his cheek with his forearm and aimed the gun again. God. let me be accurate and fast.
He swung the pistol around just as he reached out with his left hand, grabbed Carter by the neck, and hauled him into a forearm choke. He brought the barrel up to Carter’s head.
“Anybody moves, I kill him.”
Nobody moved.
Cal Strekker started to laugh. “There are no bullets in the gun, Neal. It was just a test.”
He dropped into a fighting stance, knees flexed, dagger blade held sideways by his waist. “Looks like you and me is finally going to finish that dance, Neal.” Strekker lunged forward.
Neal started to shift his aim, but Hansen grabbed his wrist and then Strekker was on top of him. Strekker pressed the dagger against Neal’s ribs and took the pistol from him with his free hand. He put the pistol barrel to Neal’s head and said, “I think you flunked the test, Neal buddy.”
Strekker pulled the trigger.
A dry click.
I can still talk myself out of this, Neal thought, even as his knees turned to water.
He heard the door open and saw a drunken women lurch into the room. Doreen stood at the back for a second and surveyed the scene.
“This is some kinky goddamn party you boys is having!” she bellowed. “Remember, I charge extra for this kind of stuff!” She weaved down the aisle.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw Neal. “Hey, I know you! You’re that uppity son of a bitch who was looking for Harley!”
But I don’t think I can talk my way out of this.
“Who are you?” Hansen asked Neal.
Neal was trying to come up with a suitable lie when Doreen staggered into Cal’s arms. “And you,” she said. “You promised to take me to see Harley and Cody. When do I get to see that son of a bitch and my sweet little boy?”
“Right now,” Cal answered. He held her firmly by the back of the neck and drove the dagger into her stomach.
Neal saw Doreen’s eyes widen and her mouth drop open. He watched her stagger backward and heard her gasp. He saw her hold herself and look down where the blood was flowing over her splayed fingers.
Then her knees buckled and she collapsed. She lay rasping on the floor as Cal said, “Harley and your sweet little boy are in hell, honey. And I think you’re almost there.”
“Whore of Babylon!” Carter bellowed. He spat on her, stepped over her writhing body, and walked out.
Hansen followed him, yelling behind him, “Lock those bastards up! I want to find out what they know!”
Neal felt his arms being pinned behind him.
Randy looked at the woman still quivering on the floor.
“Shit, Cal!” he yelled. “I didn’t even get to-”
“So go ahead,” Cal said.
He grabbed Neal and threw him toward the door.
Steve Mills poured a slug of scotch into Karen Hawley’s coffee. She tasted it, made a face, then took another taste. One more of these and she just might accept the Mills’ invitation to spend the weekend.
Besides, it was so damn comfortable in the Mills’ living room. A big old log blazed, hissed, and spattered in the fireplace. The lamps cast a soft glow in the room and the Indian rugs seemed to mute the already quiet evening.
Karen sat on the couch, her stockinged feet tucked underneath her. Peggy sat beside her, sipping a glass of red wine and watching the fire. Steve was in and out of the big chair, alternating between bartending and fire tending.
And there was Shelly. Karen looked over at her as she lay by the fireplace with some thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle of chocolate chip cookies. That might be another reason to stay, Karen thought. To try to engage Shelly in a late night conversation about everything that had happened. Peggy had told her that Shelly was doing all right, but just all right. Peggy and Steve had thought about taking her to Reno or even San Francisco to talk to a professional, but Shelly had said it was silly. She didn’t need a therapist because of a bunch of jerks.
But she was quiet. Quiet and sad, which was to be expected, of course. They decided just to give her time. And keep talking about it. That’s what Shelly probably needed, what they all needed, and most likely the unspoken reason for their get-together this night.
And I need to talk about it, Karen thought. She had buried it deep, the hurt, the anger, the disappointment. They had talked about everything else, about racists, white supremacists, the Hansens, the True Identity Church, Cal Strekker. But they hadn’t talked about Neal Carey. Nobody had mentioned Neal.
“I didn’t even know,” Karen said after another sip of coffee, “that you were Jewish.”
“I barely knew it myself,” answered Steve. “My father was an atheist. We didn’t talk about it.”
“His old man was thrilled when we got married by a justice of the peace,” Peggy said, and she and Steve chuckled at the memory when she added, “My parents weren’t so delighted.”
Steve said, “I mean, we didn’t go to synagogue, we sure as hell don’t keep kosher… I don’t wear one of those beanies-”
“Yarmulke,” Shelly corrected, not looking up from the puzzle.
“Shelly brought some books home from the school library,” Peggy explained to Karen.
Well, that’s a good sign, Karen thought. “Do you see Jory in school?” she asked.
“I think he dropped out.”
“Such a waste,” said Karen. She decided to jump in with both feet. “And how are you doing, kid?”
Shelly craned her neck up from the puzzle. “I’m doing okay. I’m not very happy… and I don’t feel like a teenager anymore and I’m mad about that… but I’m doing okay. How are you doing, Karen?”
Well, I guess you’re not a teenager anymore, Karen thought. And I guess I owe you an adult answer. “I’m doing lousy. I feel awful about what happened, I feel awful Neal was… is… part of it. To tell you the truth, Shelly, he broke my heart.”
“Mine too.”
There was a long silence before Peggy said, “The valley doesn’t seem the same anymore.”
“It isn’t,” answered Steve. “It’s infected. It’s sick.”
“God damn Bob Hansen,” Peggy said.
Karen had never heard that kind of anger from her before. Sure, she’d heard Peggy bitch about Steve smoking, or seen her blow up at Shelly for some teenage sin, but she’d never heard the cold bitterness she now heard in her friend’s voice.
Steve said, “I think Bob just couldn’t handle it after Barb died. He was angry and confused and looking for something to hold onto, and unfortunately, the first thing he came to was this church and this race thing. You know Bob, when he does something, he does it all the way.”
Peggy rolled her eyes and looked affectionately at her husband. “Steve would make excuses for the devil.”
“Well, he’d need some help if you got on his tail.”
“I don’t know,” said Karen, “it just feels like we should do something.”