through today.”
“Great, so what happened?”
“Well, I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I just asked them to double-check on Rose, make sure they take a mug shot with him.”
“Maybe I should visit him,” I said.
“You actually want to go down there and see him?”
“Maybe that’s the only way I’ll know if it’s really him,” I said. Although I couldn’t imagine actually being in a room with him again. Even with four inches of wire-reinforced glass between us.
“I can give it a try,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said. “Are you spending the night at the Fultons’ again?”
“Mrs. Fulton wants somebody there. As long as they refuse to leave, I figure I’ll keep staying there with them.”
“You’re doing a good thing,” I said.
He laughed. “Just wait until they see my bill.”
The night came again, and with it another small dose of the fear. I found myself thinking about those pills in the back of the medicine cabinet. But I couldn’t afford to take them. I had to be ready.
The same cop waited all night in the same place. His name was Dave. He had a wife and two kids at home. I felt for the guy, having to spend all night sitting in his car. I made him some coffee and a couple sandwiches this time. It was the least I could do.
Uttley spent his night on the Fultons’ couch. I spent my night lying on my bed, looking over at the phone every five minutes. I got up a few times and looked outside.
He didn’t call. Not even just to hear my voice. Not even just to let me hear the silence on the other end. The night passed without a sound. Even the wind stayed quiet.
The next day I had no reason to go see Chief Maven. That gave me two choices. Either pick some daisies and show up at his office anyway, or give myself the day off. It was a tough choice, but I stayed home.
I split some firewood and delivered it to the other cabins. On my first run I stopped at the bend in the road, just to see where Dave was spending his nights. It looked like he had chosen a thick stand of jack pine trees. You could just barely make out my front door.
I came back to the woodpile and finished my last load. It felt good to swing the ax, but it didn’t make me forget my troubles. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of something that looked like blond hair. It turned out to be a doe making a break through the brush. I had to stand there leaning with both hands on the chopping block for a full minute before I could move again.
I gave Uttley a call at his office. “You sound pretty beat,” he said.
“You sound a little rough around the edges yourself,” I said. “I was just wondering if you had heard anything from the prison.”
“Just talked to them. The guy’s going to go check himself. I haven’t heard back yet.”
“Did you tell them I want to visit him?”
“Alex,” he said. “This man shot you. I gotta tell you, the man at the prison thinks it’s a bad idea to try to visit him.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “What’s he going to do to me in a prison?”
“Alex, it just seems… unhealthy.”
“I’ll tell you what’s unhealthy,” I said. “Somebody killing people and writing me love notes about it.”
“But Alex, that can’t be Rose. You know that. A man can’t be in two places at one time.”
“What if he has a twin brother?”
“What? Are you serious?”
“It’s just an idea,” I said. “What if his twin brother is in prison and the real Rose is up here?”
“If he had a twin brother, why would he even… never mind. I don’t even know what to say.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know this sounds crazy, but I have to start somewhere.”
“Look, I’ll see if I can locate any records. Birth certificate, school records, whatever. And I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back from the prison, okay?”
“All right,” I said. “Thanks for humoring me.”
“Maybe this will be the night,” he said. “Maybe he’ll show up at your front door.”
“I hope so,” I said. “I know it sounds strange, but this is one murderer I really want to meet.”
One more night. Dave in his car, me in the cabin, just waiting there. How long would we have to keep doing this? If this guy wanted to torture me, he had found the best way. Just make me sit there on my butt all night long.
The wind started to pick up a little bit that night. Then it died down again. In the long hours I tried not to think about the past too much. I didn’t want to see Franklin dying again. I didn’t want to see that look in Rose’s eyes. And yet, who else’s eyes would I see at two o’clock in the morning, as I lay on my bed feeling the cold weight of my gun?
And then suddenly, a light. It swept across the wall. Headlights.
I reached for the walkie-talkie, pushed the button, and spoke in a hoarse whisper. “Dave,” I said. “It’s a car.”
Silence.
“Dave. Come in.”
Nothing.
“Goddamn it, Dave! Are you there?”
No answer. Outside I heard a car door shut. Then footsteps. I gripped the revolver with both hands. The footsteps stopped.
I took a step toward the door. The floor creaked beneath me. I stopped.
There was no sound except for my breathing and my heartbeat. What was he doing out there?
Bang! The silence was ripped apart. My heart leapt into my throat. Bang! The pounding on my door sounded like he would smash it into splinters. I put my back against the wall, keeping clear of the door. Surely it would bust open with the next blast. Bang! I could feel the impact shake the entire cabin.
And then a voice, bellowing in the night. “McKnight!” He was right there at my doorstep. I could practically feel the heat of his breath through the door. “Get out here, McKnight!”
I quickly weighed my options. Stay put, see what he does next? Throw the door open and surprise him? What if he’s armed? Am I prepared to shoot? Goddamn it all to hell, can I shoot him this time?
I checked the gun. All right, you fucking lunatic. This is it. I’m opening this door right now. And if I see a gun in your hand I’m gonna shoot you right between the eyes. On the count of three. One. Two.
“Freeze!” Another voice. Outside. “Get down now! Put your hands behind your head! On the ground! Now! Move it!”
I threw the door open. There was a man facedown on my doorstep. Dave was standing above him, both hands on his gun. “Mr. McKnight, put the gun down!”
I just stood there.
“Mr. McKnight! Please put your gun down!”
I looked down at my hand. The gun was shaking. I pointed it to the ground.
“Are you all right?”
“What?”
“Are you all right, Mr. McKnight?”
“Yes,” I said. I looked at the man on the ground. He was fighting for breath. I couldn’t see his face. “Where were you? I tried to call you on the radio.”
Dave kept his gun trained on the man. “I didn’t hear you,” he said.
I didn’t take my eyes off the man on the ground.
“Backup is on the way,” he said. And then to the man, “You just keep lying right there. Don’t move a muscle.”
The man groaned.
He looked familiar. That hair. “Wait a minute,” I said. I bent down to look at him.
“Mr. McKnight, don’t go near him!”
