The Guardians

heartburn. 'What are we saying here?'

'More went on in that celar than we thought,' Randy says. 'Which is saying something.'

'Here's my question,' I say. 'Why didn't Ben ask which one of us did it?'

'Maybe he knew and kept it secret,' Randy says. 'Or maybe he didn't want to know.'

'Or maybe he was the one who did the digging,' Carl says.

Another silence. After a moment, I pick the locket up and return it to my walet. We sip our coffee. Do a lousy job of pretending the last two minutes hadn't just happened.

Once the waitress has come and gone, filing our cups, I tel them about seeing Gary Pulinger standing outside the house this morning.

'Sounds like they have their man,' Randy says.

'He's under arrest?'

'Not yet. But they've had him in and out of the cop shop, putting the screws to him.'

'If he's stil walking around, it shows they don't have enough,' Carl says, draining his coffee.

'What would they need?'

'A body.'

Once more, our thoughts steal our voices away.

'I caled the police,' I say after a while. 'Left a message with Barry Tate. He's on the force here now.'

'Hairy Barry?' Carl says.

'The very same.'

'You sure that was a good idea?'

'It didn't feel like I had a choice.'

'There's always a choice.'

'I just want to pass along what I know.'

'And what's that?'

'That Tracey's boyfriend stopped to look at the house where I thought I saw suspicious activity.'

'Suspicious activity? C'mon, Trev,' Randy says. 'They already looked in there.'

'Okay. So what should I do?'

'You should do what we're going to do,' Carl says. 'Get the fuck out of Dodge.'

'There's a train at a quarter after five,' Randy says. 'You ought to come with us.'

Carl places his hand on my arm. I can't tel if it's meant as reassurance or to stop it from shaking. 'There's nothing here, Trev. There never realy was.'

'You think I like it here? Everything is teling me to go, just the same as it's teling you. But there's something else that knows we're meant to stay.'

'Why? Why are we 'meant to stay'?' Randy asks.

'Ben was the guardian of this town, whether the town knew it or not. We owe it to him.'

'Oh Christ.'

'Think about it. He kept an eye on that house for twenty years. And then, after he can't handle it anymore, Todd's daughter goes missing.'

'You need to see someone. Seriously.'

'If we walk away, we're putting some other Tracey or Heather or Elizabeth at risk sometime down the line. We've already got a lot we're trying to live with. You want more?'

Randy rubs the freckles at his temples as though at the onset of sudden headache. 'Okay, you crazy, shaky arsehole,' he says. 'I'l stay until tomorrow.'

'You believe this?' Carl asks.

'I don't have to believe it. I'm staying because Trev asked us to.'

I'm prevented from walking around the table and putting my arms around Randy by my cel phone, which comes alive in my jacket pocket, screaming its Beastie Boys ringtone. By the time my hand reaches in and grabs it, it's already switched over to my voice mail. I check the caler ID.

'It was Barry Tate.'

'What are you going to do?' Carl asks.

'Cal him back.'

Then I'm up and wobbling for the doors.

Outside on Ontario Street I curse my hands. Fluttery as moths, the fingers swimming over the dial pad of my phone. Some hitting the right numbers, others forcing me to start al over again.

After I manage to record a message, I catch myself reflected in the glass of the Queen's picture window. With