The shadow-thing turned and crashed through the shrubs. It ran off across the vineyards that bordered Avril Tannerton's property. For a few seconds, Joshua could hear the steadily diminishing clamor of its flight, the receding thud-thud-thud of heavy running footsteps and the fading wheeze as it gasped for breath. Then the wind was the only sound in the night.
Looking over his shoulder a couple of times, he returned to his car. He got in, closed the door, locked it.
Already, the encounter began to seem unreal, increasingly dreamlike. Was there actually someone in the darkness, waiting, watching? Had there been something dangerous out there, or had it been his imagination? After spending half an hour in Avril Tannerton's ghoulish workshop, a man could be expected to jump at strange noises and start looking for monstrous creatures in the shadows. As Joshua's muscles relaxed, as his heart slowed, he began to think he had been a fool. The threat he had sensed so strongly seemed, in retrospect, to be a phantom, a vagary of the night and wind.
At worst, it had been a kid. A vandal.
He started the car and drove home, surprised and amused by the effect Tannerton's workroom had had upon him.
***
Saturday evening, promptly at seven o'clock, Anthony Clemenza arrived at Hilary's Westwood house in a blue Jeep station wagon.
Hilary went out to meet him. She was wearing a sleek emerald-green silk dress with long tight sleeves and a neckline cut low enough to be enticing but not cheap. She hadn't been on a date in more than fourteen months, and she nearly had forgotten how to dress for the ritual of courtship; she had spent two hours choosing her outfit, as indecisive as a schoolgirl. She accepted Tony's invitation because he was the most interesting man she'd met in a couple of years--and also because she was trying her best to overcome her tendency to hide from the rest of the world. She had been stung by Wally Topelis's assessment of her; he had warned her that she was using the virtue of self-reliance as an excuse to hide from people, and she had recognized the truth in what he'd said.
She avoided making friends and finding lovers, for she was afraid of the pain that only friends and lovers could inflict with their rejections and betrayals. But at the same time that she was protecting herself from the pain, she was denying herself the pleasure of good relationships with good people who would not betray her. Growing up with her drunken violent parents, she had learned that displays of affection were usually followed by sudden outbursts of rage and anger and unexpected punishment.
She was never afraid to take chances in her work and in business matters; now it was time to bring the same spirit of adventure to her personal life. As she walked briskly toward the blue Jeep, swinging her hips a little, she felt tense about taking the emotional risks that the mating dance entailed, but she also felt fresh and feminine and considerably happier than she had in a long time.
Tony hurried around to the passenger's side and opened the door. Bending low, he said, 'The royal carriage awaits.'
'Oh, there must be some mistake. I'm not the queen.'
'You look like a queen to me.'
'I'm just a lowly serving girl.'
'You're a great deal prettier than the queen.'
'Better not let her hear you say that. She'll have your head for sure.'
'Too late.'
'Oh?'
'I've already lost my head over you.'
Hilary groaned.
'Too saccharine?' he asked.
'I need a bite of lemon after that one.'
'But you liked it.'
'Yes, I admit I did. I guess I'm a sucker for flattery,' she said, getting into the Jeep in a swirl of green silk.
As they drove down toward Westwood Boulevard, Tony said, 'You're not offended?'
'By what?'
'By this buggy?'
'How could I be offended by a Jeep? Does it talk? Is it liable to insult me?'
'It's not a Mercedes.'
'A Mercedes isn't a Rolls. And a Rolls isn't a Toyota.'
'There's something very Zen about that.'
'If you think I'm a snob, why'd you ask me out?'
'I don't think you're a snob,' he said. 'But Frank says we'll be awkward with each other because you've got more money than I have.'
'Well, based on my experience with him, I'd say Frank's judgments of other people are not to be trusted.'
'He has his problems,' Tony agreed as he turned left onto Wilshire Boulevard. 'But he's working them out.'
'I will admit this isn't a car you see many of in L.A.'
'Usually, women ask me if it's my second car.'
'I don't really care if it is or isn't.'
