The Midnight Tour

“Oh. Charming. You’ll have to introduce us.”

“I don’t know. Ed’s sort of a loner.”

“Ah, but I bet he’d like me.”

“He’d love you.”

“With mustard and relish?”

Warren’s head swung around. He looked surprised and delighted. “You’re bad,” he said.

“You’re the one who brought up Ed Gein.”

“He doesn’t really live there.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Warren trotted up the porch stairs. He pulled open the screen door and held it for Dana.

Before entering, she paused and said, “I’m not on the menu here, am I?”

“You’re safe with me.”

“Okay, then.” She stepped through the doorway, then moved out of the way to let Warren by. He fumbled with a load of keys, chose one, and unlocked the cabin’s main door.

“You mean to tell me that you keep your door locked? In a bucolic place like this?”

“When you’ve got Ed Gein on one side and the Three Stooges on the other...”

“The Seven Dwarfs.”

“Oh. Right.” He opened the door. “Come on in.”

Dana followed him into the cabin. Straight ahead, on the other side of the living room, was a picture window bright with sunlight. A couch was facing it. She stepped around the couch and walked up to the window.

Behind the house, the woods continued for twenty-five or thirty feet. But there were few trees. Through the spaces between them, Dana could see down to the beach. The surf was rolling in. A man, looking very haggard, was jogging near the water.

Warren came over and stood beside her.

“Great view,” she said.

“Look at the fog out there.”

It lay spread across the ocean, far out, thick and pure white in the sunlight.

“Think it’ll come in?” Dana asked.

“Hard to say. Sometimes, it just stays offshore all night.”

“Must look great in the moonlight.”

“Oh, it does. Stick around long enough and you’ll get to see it. Either out there, or up close and personal.”

“That’d be nice,” Dana said. “I’m not sure how long I can stay, though. I’m a little nervous about leaving Lynn by herself.”

Warren looked concerned. “Is something wrong with her?”

Should I tell him? Dana wondered. What if be’s the prowler.

Not likely.

“Somebody was hanging around outside the house last night.”

And inside it this morning?

“Like a prowler?” Warren asked.

“I guess. We were in the hot spa and Lynn saw him. He was apparently hiding in the bushes on the other side of the swimming pool.”

“Did she recognize him?”

“All she saw was his arm, I guess. A bare arm.”

Warren grimaced. “What’d you do?” he asked.

“Ran into the house and locked the door. Lynn phoned the police. Then we kept an eye on things till a cop showed up.”

Why didn’t I tell him about the gun?

He doesn’t need to know everything, she thought. He sure seems like a nice guy, but...

“Which cop?” Warren asked.

“Eve Chaney.”

“Ah-ha! Eve of Destruction! What’d you think of her?”

“Very impressive.”

“Yeah. I’ll say. I’d sure hate to get on her bad side.”

“Having seen her,” Dana said, “I don’t think she has a bad side.”

“That isn’t exactly what...”

“I know. But she sure is a good looking woman, isn’t she?”

“She’s not bad.” Warren hesitated, then said, “But you’re better looking than she is.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do.”

“Well...Thanks.”

He gazed into her eyes.

Her heart thumped hard and fast.

“Anyway,” Warren whispered, “that’s my opinion. For what it’s worth.”

“It’s worth plenty. To me.”

He glanced at her lips, then met her eyes again.

Come on, do it. Don’t just look.

“I bet you could use a drink,” he said.

Damn!

“Sure. Sounds good,”

“Do you like margaritas?”

She nodded.

“Why don’t you relax in here and enjoy the view? I’ll get changed , real fast. Then I’ll make the drinks and bring ’em in.”

She watched Warren hurry off to a bedroom. After he shut the door, she set down her purse and sank onto the couch.

She sighed deeply.

Take it easy, she told herself.

But he didn’t even make a try! He should’ve kissed me right then. What’s wrong with him?

He’s a gentleman, she thought.

Or maybe he is gay.

Maybe it’s something wrong with me.

When the door opened, Dana looked over her shoulder. Warren came out of his bedroom. His tan uniform was gone. He now wore sandals, white trousers and a bright, flower-patterned shirt. Loose and untucked, the shirt floated around him like silk.

“Drinks coming up,” he said, hurrying toward the kitchen.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Help yourself.”

Dana followed him into the kitchen. “You got all dressed up,” she pointed out.

“I hate to stay in my work clothes. By the end of the day, they always smell like burgers and fries.”

“I’d think that would be nice.”

“It gets old.” He removed some bottles from a cupboard. “Anyway, you were telling me about your prowler?”

“Oh, yeah. Well, Eve went hunting for him around the other side of the pool, but he got away. She found where he’d been, though. He’d trampled the area pretty good. She figured he must’ve been spying on us.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Neither did we.”