it, and try to bring justice to the wronged souls who can no longer speak for themselves. Make a stand, Pete. Here and now.'
I looked out at the highway. An empty logging truck roared by, heading North toward a farther nowhere.
'You sound like an avenging angel.'
I heard him snort into the phone. 'You don't have to believe in God to do right. But if there is a God, I've got no patience with him. Yeah, sure, sure. We might all have to pay for our sins someday. But I'd rather present the check in the here and now. Come back to me, Pete. Help me catch the bad guys, make them pay now. I've been toying with some ideas about how we can work together more closely. Up the ante, so to speak. Maybe become a little more
Every gut instinct I had, even after all I'd been through, told me to protect the anonymity of my Guild colleagues. But instincts can prove to be wrong. The closest thing I ever had to a family had shown itself to be rife with lunatics, single-mindedly pursuing an impossible chimera, doing terrible things in the name of their craft.
And Henderson had nailed it: I was indeed running away, just like a frightened child who refused to confront the source of his fear. Perhaps I was trying to run away from myself. If so, I'd never find solace.
One thing was certain. The Guild killings wouldn't cease. Not unless I helped stop them.
Another logging truck rumbled past, this one filled with cut timber, heading South.
I made my decision.
'There's a lot a names on my list,' I said. 'At least a couple of them are murderers. Think you can sort them all out?'
Henderson chuckled. 'It's what I do, Pete. If you give me the bullets, I'll produce the retribution.' He paused, then added, 'Welcome back . . .
