The Dead Woman

'Dale, look at my face,' Matt said. 'Look at the blood on it. Is this you? Really?'

Dale did look, and he quickly looked away. The bat dropped a few inches.

'I don't think this is you at all, man,' Matt said. 'I think you're just hurt right now. But if you do this, you can't take it back. You know that.'

Dale looked up, and the bat slipped a few more inches toward the floor. 'I don't know what it is. I... she just makes me so crazy. Why does she do shit like this?'

'I don't know,' Matt replied.

'Well, that's enough of that.' Mr. Dark's face blazed. He stepped forward again and placed his entire hand on Dale's cheek. The sore bloomed outward like an explosion, and Dale's eyes and jaw clenched shut so hard Matt could see the veins in his head throbbing. When Dale's eyes opened, Matt felt a chill in his spine. There was no humanity left in them.

'No, Dale, think about this for a second!' Matt said.

Dale shook his head. Matt could almost hear the man's jaw muscles straining as he wrestled with Mr. Dark's insidious disease, but it didn't look like it was doing any good. The green rot continued to spread across the man's face.

'Fuck this!' Dale shouted. Then he swung the bat. Matt closed his eyes and braced for the blow.

But it never came.

Matt jumped in his chair as a loud clang sounded through the room. With his eyes closed, Matt couldn't see what was going on, but he heard Dale sobbing well enough. He couldn't do it, Matt realized. When it came right down to it, Dale couldn't kill me.

There was another sound, too. Mr. Dark's laughter. 'You think you've won?' he chortled. 'It's only halftime. The game isn't over yet, Matt.'

He opened his eyes to see Dale sitting on the floor, his face in his hands. The bat was on the floor by the far wall, rolling along the concrete with a metallic whisper.

Matt almost shouted with relief. The sores on Dale's face were gone, replaced by healthy pink skin. The smell of decay that had clung to him had also vanished. Did that mean Dale was out of danger? Matt looked to the corner, but Mr. Dark was gone.

'Good for you, Dale,' Matt whispered. 'You beat him.'

In his mind, he heard Mr. Dark's parting comment: It's only halftime. The game isn't over yet, Matt.

Great, Matt thought. Just fucking great.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

'You sure you don't want to go to the emergency room?' Dale asked. 'That's quite a bump.'

'I've had worse,' Matt replied, eyeing the lump in the passenger mirror of Dale's cruiser. It was true. After all, he'd died, hadn't he? What's a lump on the head after freezing to death under a thousand tons of snow and ice? 'I'll be fine.' In truth, it didn't hurt as much as it should. Probably another benefit of his situation. He seemed to heal a lot faster than normal these days.

'You sure?'

'Yeah, I just need to get something. Then I can go.'

They drove on for a few minutes in silence. Several times, Dale looked over at Matt, but he never said anything. Finally, they pulled into the parking lot of Abbey's Antiques. The lights inside were off. Abbey was probably out again. Dale swung the car around to the side of the building and shut off the engine.

'Look, Cahill,' Dale said, 'for what it's worth, I'm real sorry about everything.'

'It's all right, Officer.'

'No, it ain't. This ain't like me. I don't know what came over me.'

'It's okay.' Matt knew what had come over him, but he wasn't about to tell Dale he'd been attacked by a shadow man. The guy'd been through enough already. All Matt wanted to do now was get his ax and get the hell out of Crawford.

'Probably stress,' Dale mused. 'I've been tracking that damn serial killer for months. It's one of the reasons I'm never home. That's probably why Abbey...' He didn't finish the thought, but Matt understood well enough. Dale blamed himself and his job for Abbey's infidelity. Matt would have offered him something comforting but wasn't sure what to say. Hell, for all he knew, Dale's assessment was right on target.

'Stress can fuck a person up pretty good,' Matt said. So can a baseball bat, he added mentally.

'You sure you don't need a ride anywhere else?'

'No,' Matt replied. 'I'll just grab my ax from the shop and walk to the next bus terminal.'

'But that's in Cranston. It's ten miles away.'

'I'm used to walking,' Matt replied. In truth, he'd have loved a ride to Cranston, but not from Dale. Who knew what would happen if the green sore came back?

It's only halftime.

Matt didn't want to find out. With any luck, he'd catch Abbey, and she could give him a ride. That is, if she would talk to him. He had his doubts, but he meant to try. He needed to talk to her about her husband and Mr. Dark. She claimed to have never seen him, which was probably a good thing, but he needed to warn her about him just in case. Besides, his ax was back at her place anyway, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to mention that to Dale.

'All right, then,' Dale said. 'Have a good life, Matt Cahill. Sorry about your head.'

Matt got out of the car. 'Sorry about your wife.'

Dale held up his left hand. Matt noted the man was no longer wearing his wedding ring. 'Soon to be ex-wife. You're right. She's just gonna keep doing it. But I don't have to live with it. Or her addiction.'

'Addiction?'

'Yeah, Xanax or Keflex or something. I can't remember what it's called, but those damn little bottles are all over the place. Abbey says it's a sedative. She uses it to fight off panic attacks and shit like that. If you ask me, she's messed up enough without it.'

Matt nodded. He had to agree. He opened the passenger-side door and stepped out, careful not to bump his head.

'By the way,' Dale said. 'That back door is probably locked. Here.' He tossed something to Matt. It jingled in his fist when he caught it. A key ring. 'The big one is the key you're looking for. Just leave them in the shop when you go.'

'Any message for Abbey if I see her?'

'Give her the keys. She'll know what it means.' Dale put the car in drive and wheeled slowly out of the parking lot. A quick left and the lawman was gone, leaving Matt alone in the back of Abbey's Antiques with the keys to the store.

He let himself in the back, shaking his head. Dale trusted him with the keys to his wife's business, even after everything that happened. Not that there was much left in the place to steal. Matt and Abbey had pretty much cleaned the whole place out. There were still a few things that needed to be moved, but Abbey should be able to take care of them herself. She could probably even return the box truck. Most of the remaining pieces should fit in the back of her van.

Matt stepped into the back room and walked towards the cot. His bag with all his things was still at Abbey's house, along with his ax. He'd have to wait for Abbey to show up. Sooner or later she would stop by to check on the shop, and he would try to talk to her then.

Matt settled down to wait.

It didn't take very long. About twenty minutes after he arrived, a pair of headlights shone in the front window of the store. They were high off the ground and far apart, just like they should be for a truck or van. Matt stood up and moved into the hallway. When the lights outside cut off, he heard the slam of the van's door. He was just about to say something when he heard another door slam, and then voices came to him from the front of the store.