My stomach did a little flip-flop. My throat tightened and suddenly felt twice its size.
Dark clouds were coming in over the trees away to the east of us. Rain clouds.
“I told you I’d help you,” I said. “That’s what I do. That’s what I’m doing now. Just stick by me. There may come a time when I’ll want you to cut and run. Go into hiding. But that time’s not now.”
I turned and looked at her face in profile, her beautiful tresses, the warm, natural glow of her skin.
“Okay,” she said.
“Julie.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll get you through this.”
“I know.”
Silence again. I could feel the electric current between the two of us, an effect of the affinity versus the distance. Like two huge celestial objects attracted together by gravity or magnetism but held apart by some greater force.
But there were more important matters at the moment.
“You and Hank and I are about to leave,” I told her. “But Keesha stays here with Lawrence and his mother.”
She frowned. “She’s a wonderful kid, Bill. But I know we can’t take her with us. She’s why you came here. To Lawrence and his mom. It’s okay.”
“Good,” I said. I slipped one arm around her narrow, perfect waist. “Go get it,” I told her.
“Get what?”
“That little black book.”
Our goodbye was short. Underneath the shade tree in the front yard where the grass had given up the ghost many years before beneath the incessant comings and goings of barbecue customers and family, Ms. Coleeta and Keesha managed to get hugs in on all three of us. Hank and I shook hands with Lawrence.
As I started up the Suburban, Keesha popped around the car to my window. I flicked the button and rolled it down.
“My man Bill,” she said. “You be careful.”
“I will, darlin’.”
“My girl Julie, my man Henry. Y’all
“We will, honey,” Julie said.
She stood back and waved as I backed us out into the street. I patted Julie on the leg. She was actually smiling.
It was the best goodbye I’d ever had.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Within five minutes after we left the sky overhead had become overcast with immense, dark clouds. Lightning played across the sky to the east. We all knew we were in for it.
We crossed Austin from east to west, then got back on the Loop going south. Our destination? My house.
It was sort of interesting being home without my own car. Mine was back at Dock’s house in Killeen.
Then it hit me. Anyone trying to figure out who Dock was or how he’d gotten where we left him would begin by checking into his home on the outskirts of Killeen. Which meant they’d find my car.
It was time to make a couple of phone calls and then get a move on. Well past time.
Before going inside we looked the place over as best we could. Nothing appeared to be tampered with. Hank got Dingo out of the Suburban and let her sniff around, first the front door, then the back. Nothing. I didn’t know whether or not Dingo was specially trained, but Hank seemed to act as if she had given the place her seal of approval.
Just in case, we went in through the back door.
About the time we got inside, the rain began, coming down in sheets. It had been awhile since I’d seen such a hard rain.
It didn’t appear that anything in the house had been tampered with. My fish were about half starved, so I gave them an extra dose of food.
While Julie, Hank and Dingo raided my refrigerator, I picked up the phone.
“Yallo?” The voice sounded like it was talking through a couple of jawfuls of gravel.
“Is this Mr. Neil, or Mr. Mortensson?”
“Who wants to know?”
“Bill.”
“Bill who?”
“Just Bill. This is with regard to Julie Simmons and Archie Carpin.”
Silence.
“Hello?” I said again.
“I’m here,” gravel-voice said.
“Just making sure.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s safe, for now. A couple of jokers named Jake and Freddie, whom I’ve been dying to meet, keep trying to kill her. Know anything about that?”
Silence.
“Is this Mr. Neil?” I asked.
“Neil’s dead.”
“Really? My condolences. When did he die?”
“Last week.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“So I guess he can’t talk to me then.”
“Not unless you’ve got a crystal ball or something-connections on the other side. Son, you don’t want to get involved in this shit. It’s not exactly safe.”
“You know what’s not safe? Going around sniping at folks with deer rifles and setting dynamite charges inside of duplexes. That’s not safe at all.”
“Bill, huh? Maybe it’s your real name. Okay, listen up real close, you happy dip wad. You’ve got a woman there who is pure-dee poison. Don’t turn your back on her.”
“Thanks for the advice,” I said. “So how do we go about calling off these dogs?”
“You mean the dipshit twins? Bullets won’t stop ’em. They’re too stupid to know when to quit.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said. I looked up from my couch to see Julie leaning up against the doorway from the kitchen. Her arms were crossed under her breasts and she had a serious look on her face. Behind her I could see a tail wagging. Hank was feeding Dingo something. I wondered what it could be.
“What you think is what she wants you to think.”
I covered up the phone with my hand so gravel-voice couldn’t hear.
“Does Jolly Mortensson sound like he gargles with sandpaper?” I asked Julie
“Yeah,” she said.
I took my hand off the phone.
“Okay,” I told him. “Somehow I get the feeling that you two aren’t the best of friends.”
“I don’t have any friends, Mr. Bill. All my friends are dead.”
“I understand your nickname now.”
“What?”
