Before Ethan could respond, a mug appeared on the table in front of Martin’s fiancée. She looked over her shoulder, made a face at the waitress who had brought it. (Diane thought she was too attractive to trust, Ethan suspected.) “You can take this away. I’m not going to be having any beer. . . . Bring me a merlot instead.”
The waitress snatched up the mug and walked away without asking any specifics.
“That was rude.”
“Honey, I think it’s just that most people in this place don’t order wine.”
“That’s still no excuse.” She inhaled a long drag off her cigarette, asked Ethan how he liked working at the bank.
He lied like he had to Byron, and then made small talk until she excused herself. “I have to use the restroom.” She kissed Martin on the top of the head before she left.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing bringing her here?” Ethan said now that they were alone.
“She was getting suspicious.”
“Of what?”
“That’s just the way she is.”
“That doesn’t give her any right to come here.”
“She wanted to meet you, all right? Can’t we leave it at that?”
“Don’t bring her here again.”
“Sure. Fine. I didn’t know it’d be such a big deal.” Martin shook his head and poured himself a beer. The waitress put down the glass of wine. Suddenly, Diane was back.
That meant more small talk until she decided it was time to go home. When she did, she abruptly stopped the conversation by putting on her jacket. “It was lovely to meet you. You’ll have to come to the cookout tomorrow night.”
“What cookout?”
“At Martin’s house. . . . I know, he didn’t tell you. That’s because I just sprang it on him today. See, I was going to have it at my apartment, but I started thinking about how much bigger his house was. And he has a much nicer grill. And I knew he wouldn’t mind. So I called up all my guests and told them I was moving the location. Everybody thought it was a great idea.” Then she wandered to and out the door as if that were her goodbye.
Martin stood up in a hurry to follow. “Can you take care of the tab? I promise I won’t bring her again.”
Ethan said he would, and Martin thanked him and ran out the door.
NOW
GINA WOKE UP in a panic. Paul’s face was pale. He wasn’t moving. She slapped his cheeks, checked for breathing, and shouted for him to wake up.
All of it was useless, and she knew it, but she wasn’t thinking rationally.
Then she pushed the corpse’s head out of her lap.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God!”
She frantically began prying away the rocks that had sealed them in. She had to get out of the cave. She had to get away.
THEN
ETHAN TOOK A cab from the bar to Poppy’s apartment. A lot of weeks had passed since he’d last seen her—too many to count. But he longed for physical contact, something to distract him.
On the drive over, he imagined kissing her stomach to her nipples, her grabbing the headboard and moaning with passion. But the fantasy was cut short when he tried to imagine what she’d say when she opened her door.
“You jerk.” That’s what she’d say, her face twisted up tight and ugly. Behind her would be a half-naked football player. He’d be gleaming from his recent conquest, snickering in Ethan’s direction.
He shook the thought out of his head, told himself that was stupid, and decided to concentrate on the passing cars instead. He knew he’d never guess the right words to say. If he wanted to get back in her pants, he’d have to wing it.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t occurred to him that she might not be home. Not until after he banged furiously on her door.
He considered his options, slid down the wall into a seated position to wait.
“I never should have brought you,” Martin said. He was back at his house now, and Diane was standing in the bathroom, door open, unzipping her dress.
She turned on the faucet to fill the tub. “Why not?”
“It really pissed Ethan off. Couldn’t you tell?”
“I thought that’s just how he was.”
“I think he felt betrayed.”
“Betrayed? That seems a bit strong, don’t you think?” Her dress fell around her ankles, and she slipped into the tub.
Martin walked into the bathroom so he wouldn’t have to shout over the roar of running water. “You don’t know him like I do.”
“I suppose I don’t. But, frankly, I don’t see why you insist on spending so much time around him. He seems like he has, well, issues.”
I could say that about you, too, Martin thought. He knew the only reason she wanted to meet Ethan was to make sure her fiancée wasn’t cheating on her. If Martin had done so in the past, he could understand her concerns. But since the abortion she’d had in college, he’d been nothing but loyal. And, at that moment, he decided it was time she explain her suspicions.
“Why don’t you trust me?”
“What do you mean? I do trust you.”
“Please drop the games, honey. I want to know what’s bothering you. Especially since we’re going to get married.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “I told you. I trust you completely. I trust you with my life and my soul.”
Martin shook his head with disappointment. He left the bathroom and closed the door. He wasn’t sure if she wanted privacy, but he was sure he did.
He went downstairs to the kitchen, popped open a beer. At the same time, a roach scurried across the floor.
Martin didn’t hesitate. The toe of his shoe came down on it swiftly. Its shell cracked, and an uneasy but rewarding sense of power welled up inside him.
A sharp kick into the side of his butt, and Ethan was awake. “What the hell . . .” he said, lifting his head from between his arms. He squinted from the hall light as he tried to make out the person
