Spencerville

Billy went on, "I guess he figured that out, too. You know, I used to see her sometimes on the street — I mean, I never knew her too good in school, but bein' we was old classmates, she'd always smile at me and say hello. Sometimes, she'd stop and talk a minute, you know, askin' me how I was doin'. I'd stand there, like not knowing what to say, thinkin' to myself, 'Your husband fucked my wife, and I should tell you that,' but of course, I never did. And I didn't want to talk too long, because I was afraid that if he saw me talkin' to his wife, he'd do somethin' nasty to me, or to her."

Keith said, "Maybe I should let you gut him alive."

Billy looked at him and said, "I don't need your permission to do that."

This sort of surprised Keith, but it was a good sign for Billy. Keith said, "We agreed that I give the orders."

Billy didn't reply.

Another hour passed, and it got cold. Keith looked at his watch. It was ten P.M. He was anxious to get moving, but it was too early. Baxter would be awake and alert, and so would the dogs.

Keith saw that the moon was in the southwestern sky now, and he figured he still had about two or three hours of moonlight.

Keith said, "Okay, here's the way we're going to do this. We take out the dogs in the moonlight, we wait until moonset, I charge across that clearing, you cover, I get onto the deck and put my back to the wall near the sliding glass doors. Okay?"

"So far."

"Now you have to draw him out. Can you bark like a dog?"

"Sure can."

"Okay, you bark, he comes out, just like he did last time, only this time I'm behind him with a pistol to his head. Simple and safe. You see any problems with it?"

"It sounds okay... they always sound okay, don't they?"

"Right. Sometimes, they even work."

Billy smiled. "Remember them chalkboard sessions in football? Every play was a touchdown play. Same in the Army. But they never showed what happened when some of your guys got taken out, and nobody ever knew what the other side was plannin' on doin' to fuck you up."

"That's life."

"Yeah." He thought a moment and said, "I think I fucked myself up. I didn't need no bad guys." He added, "But I hung in there long enough to catch this break."

They waited in the cold dark, wrapped in their canvas ponchos. At midnight, Keith stood, dropped his poncho on the ground, and said, "Let's move."

Chapter Forty

Cliff Baxter put down his magazine and yawned. He finished his can of beer and scooped out a handful of pretzels from the bag and ate them. He looked at his wife in the rocking chair and threw a few pretzels on her blanket. "Don't say I never give you treats. Eat up."

She ignored the pretzels and didn't reply.

He said, "Ready for bed, darlin'?"

Still looking at the dying fire, she replied, "No, I just want to sit here."

"Yeah? All night?"

"Yes."

"Who'm I gonna cuddle with?"

"Not me. I'm chained to the bed."

"Handcuffed, not chained."

"What difference does it make to me?"

"Hey, if I could trust you, you wouldn't be chained to the floor, or cuffed to the bed, or nothin'. Can I trust you?"

"Yes."

He laughed. "Yeah, I can trust you to blow my brains out."

She looked at him. "Are you afraid of me?"

His eyes narrowed, and he said, "I'm afraid of anybody who can pull a trigger. I ain't no fool."

Annie said, "No, you're not. But you're..."

"What?"

"You don't trust people, Cliff. Do you know how to trust?"

"Nope. Why should I trust anybody? Why should I trust you?"

"If I gave you my word that I wouldn't try to kill you, would you uncuff me?"

"Nope. Why you makin' such a big deal about bein' cuffed?"

"Why? Because I don't want to be chained like an animal. That's why."

"Oh, you ain't chained like an animal. Animals got more freedom." He laughed. "You're chained like a felon who got caught by the law. Them dogs outside never did nothin' wrong, so they can move a hundred yards or so. You fucked up, lady. Big-time. Maybe in a few weeks, I'll hook you to the dog run, then you can say you're chained like a animal and thank me."

Annie took a deep breath and said, "Cliff... I had a chance to kill you that time... it's not in me to kill anyone. Please believe that... you know that. You said so yourself. Let me sleep without the cuffs tonight. I can't sleep like that with my wrists cuffed to the headboard. Please. I swear to you, I won't harm you."

"Yeah? But that ain't sayin' I won't wake up cuffed to the bed, and you'll be long gone. Right? Right? Hey, don't bother to answer." He leaned toward her. "That reminds me. Next time you got to take a piss, you can do it right where you are."

"Cliff... please..."

"Then clean it up." He added, "But not in the bed." He yawned again. "So you'd rather sleep in the goddamned chair all night than sleep with me?"

She shook her head. "No... I'm sorry. I don't want to sit here all night. I'll go to bed." She added, "I have to go to the bathroom."