Perfect.
Keller waited, positioning himself where he couldnt be seen, holding his breath, as if the sound of air going in and out of his lungs might be audible over the engines of the carts. He balanced his weight on the balls of his feet, felt the comforting pressure of the revolver in the small of his back, and watched helplessly as Wheeler drove straight up to where his ball had landed, with both of his companions, Rich and Eddie, putt-putting along on either side of him. All three carts parked together, and all three men climbed down and joined in the search for Wheelers ball.
Well, why not take out all three of them? Make it a real front-page story, Three Business Leaders Gunned Down at Rose Hill. And how hard could it be? He could walk right up to them without arousing anybodys suspicions, and if he ran out of bullets before hed finished the job, well, a five iron would do to wrap things up.
But all he did was stand there while Wheeler found his ball and took three more strokes to get it through the patch of woods.
Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. It was one damn thing after another, and Keller figured the seventeenth hole was his last chance. The eighteenth hole had sand traps for hazards, and no trees in a position to help him out. So either he got lucky on seventeen or his only shot was to follow Wheeler into the locker room and drown him in the shower.
Or he could just forget the whole thing.
And was that such a bad idea? It wasnt as though he had to punch Wheelers ticket in order to get his reward. There was no client on this job, no advance to be refunded if he failed, no final payment to be collected for a job well done. This was for him and Dot, this was a matter of revenge, this was evening the score.
But did the score need to be evened?
He didnt know Ben Wheeler and Wheeler didnt know him, wouldnt recognize him, probably wouldnt remember his name, if hed ever known it in the first place. Wheeler had made use of him in a way that had taken Kellers whole life away from him, or at least it had looked that way at the time. But now Dot was alive again, and Keller was a millionaire again, and he even had his stamps back or would as soon as he went to Albany and collected them. His apartment was gone, his life in New York was over, and he could never again use the name hed been born with, but he could live with that, couldnt he?
Why, he was living with it already, and living comfortably, too. He liked New Orleans as well as hed liked New York, and he had work he enjoyed, work that was easier to live with than running around the country killing people. Not once, after a day of installing tongue-and-groove flooring, say, had he felt the need to shrink the image of the days work in his mind, graying it down, lightening its burden on his memory. He had a woman who was at once exciting to be with and easy to live with, and all he had to do was walk away from all of this purposeless vengeance and he could be back with her, being Nicholas Edwards, living his new life.
Wheeler had won the last hole, and led off. Keller was waiting in the woods on the right, and Wheeler actually hit the ball in his direction. But it wasnt a terribly
wicked slice, and wound up in the rough a good dozen yards short of where the trees and dense shrubbery began.
Rich hit his tee shot, and really got hold of it. It went high in the air and took off down the left side of the fairway, carrying almost to the first pair of bunkers. All three of the men at the tee watched its flight, but not Keller, who picked that moment to dart out, sprint to Wheelers ball, pick it up, and scamper back into the trees again.
He stopped, leaning against a tree trunk while he caught his breath. Any of them could have seen him, all theyd have had to do was glance in his direction, but if they did hed have heard an outcry. He chanced a look, and they were still on the tee, with Eddie putting one club back in his bag and taking out another, then going through his usual ritual of practice swings before he finally stepped up to the ball. Keller begged him silently not to slice it, and he didnt, knocking a no-harm grounder down the middle of the fairway.
All three men went to Eddies ball, and waited while he sent it another hundred yards or so toward the pin. Then he and Rich headed for their respective balls, while Wheeler drove straight to where hed seen his own ball land.
It wasnt there, and Wheeler walked around in circles, the picture of total confusion. Youd think it might occur to the guy to try the woods, but hed seen where it landed, dammit, and thats where he was going to look for it.
Keeping his voice down, Keller said, Hey, buddy. This what youre looking for?
Wheeler looked up, and Keller motioned him over. Could the others see him? It didnt matter, they were looking in another direction, but he moved to his left to put a tree between him and them, just to be on the safe side.
He said, Thing hit a rock, took a leap like a scared rabbit. Right this way.