“Not bad. I still miss Ruth, but I’ve been seeing somebody.”
“Good for you.”
“I hear a boat,” one of the deputies said. “Going slow.”
Everybody got very quiet.
“Listen to me,” Tommy said softly. “If there’s shooting, stay on the floor; we don’t want the shooter to see anybody inside.”
“Aren’t we to fire back?” a deputy asked.
“Absolutely not,” Tommy replied. “We want the guy alive, and your boss and a bunch of deputies will be waiting for him at the marina.”
As if to confirm this, a radio came alive. “Eddie, you there?”
A deputy picked up the handheld. “We’re in place,” he said.
“We’re ready at the marina. No shooting back, you hear?”
“Yes, sheriff.” He set down the radio and as he did, there was the sound of shattering glass, and a broken pane spattered the room with shards.
“I didn’t hear a shot,” Mike said.
“And you won’t,” Tommy said.
From outside, they heard an engine rev, then quickly the sound faded as the boat moved away.
Tommy stood up. “We’re okay,” he said, looking at the picture window, which was spattered with what seemed to be gore. “Jesus, Mike, what’s all that stuff?”
“Sponge cake and ketchup,” Mike replied. “It was all I had.”
They got to their feet and went outside to inspect the dead dummy.
“Got me right through the forehead,” Mike said. The motorboat could no longer be heard.
2 7 8
L o i t e r i n g w i t h I n t e n t
GI G I T H R O T T LED B AC K as they approached the green fl ashing buoy at the mouth of the creek leading to the marina. “Are you happy with your shot?” she asked.
Larry was sitting on the seat beside her, disassembling his rifl e.
“Don’t worry, his brains are spattered all over the front of the house,”
he said.
MANN Y AND E VA N fi nished their drinks and Manny ordered two more.
“It’s getting kind of late, isn’t it?” Evan said.
“I trust my people,” Manny replied. “Don’t sweat it.”
“Should we order some dinner?” Evan asked.
“You can, if you like,” Manny replied. “I’m not going to be here that long.”
GI G I D R O V E SLO W LY past the buoy and into the creek.