Chapter 20
7:20 PM Sunday: I beat my old record getting back, but I didn't beat the sun. It was already dark when I arrived. I parked on the road about two hundred feet in front of the driveway. I didn’t have a gun; I didn’t even have a penknife. All I had was the newspaper I had bought. I cursed as I rolled it up and saw my ads, printed as conspicuously as possible.
I kept low as I approached the house. There were no cars in the driveway, as I expected. The lights were out, the way I had left them. I crawled below the picture window and passed the front door, then stood to one side of it. I gently tried the knob. Locked. Still not reassured, I inserted the key and carefully turned. The lock clicked. I tried the knob again. It turned, but I held the door shut. Readying the rolled paper in one hand, I suddenly swung the door open, stabbing the end of the paper into the doorway and shaking it.
Nothing. No bullets, no gasps, no reaction of any kind. Taking a deep breath, I edged past the door. There was no one to be seen.
Relieved, I hurriedly searched the house, picking up my gun from the bedroom. Not a soul was there, and I saw no signs that anyone had been.
I went to the back door. The ‘back yard’ was a huge field. Crossing it, I’d be a sitting duck, but I couldn’t see any other way to do what needed to be done. I grabbed a couple of deep breaths and took off toward the woods that looked a hundred miles away.
# # #
I tried to stifle my panting, which only prolonged it, but it sounded so loud in the stillness of the woods that I felt I had to try. Eventually I got it under control and looked around. The woods concealed from the house's view the startling drop-off just a few feet in. It was a dark night, and I was afraid to use a light, but I could see the narrow paths down, and I could see the inky black gullies on either side of some of them. Several of the paths had boulders in the middle of them. It might have been possible to edge around them, but I didn’t try. I chose the straightest clear one I could find, and started down.
I fell and slid only twice before I found just what I wanted: a clear view of the rest of the mountain. I could see all the way down to the access road at the foot: I could even see Lawson’s house. Meanwhile, I could remain hidden in the roots and shadows of an old cedar tree. I settled down to wait.
I kept low as I approached the house. There were no cars in the driveway, as I expected. The lights were out, the way I had left them. I crawled below the picture window and passed the front door, then stood to one side of it. I gently tried the knob. Locked. Still not reassured, I inserted the key and carefully turned. The lock clicked. I tried the knob again. It turned, but I held the door shut. Readying the rolled paper in one hand, I suddenly swung the door open, stabbing the end of the paper into the doorway and shaking it.
Nothing. No bullets, no gasps, no reaction of any kind. Taking a deep breath, I edged past the door. There was no one to be seen.
Relieved, I hurriedly searched the house, picking up my gun from the bedroom. Not a soul was there, and I saw no signs that anyone had been.
I went to the back door. The ‘back yard’ was a huge field. Crossing it, I’d be a sitting duck, but I couldn’t see any other way to do what needed to be done. I grabbed a couple of deep breaths and took off toward the woods that looked a hundred miles away.
# # #
I tried to stifle my panting, which only prolonged it, but it sounded so loud in the stillness of the woods that I felt I had to try. Eventually I got it under control and looked around. The woods concealed from the house's view the startling drop-off just a few feet in. It was a dark night, and I was afraid to use a light, but I could see the narrow paths down, and I could see the inky black gullies on either side of some of them. Several of the paths had boulders in the middle of them. It might have been possible to edge around them, but I didn’t try. I chose the straightest clear one I could find, and started down.
I fell and slid only twice before I found just what I wanted: a clear view of the rest of the mountain. I could see all the way down to the access road at the foot: I could even see Lawson’s house. Meanwhile, I could remain hidden in the roots and shadows of an old cedar tree. I settled down to wait.
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