But hey, what are friends for?
Gareth stood outside the doorway, shaking some sand off his sandals.
Hey, Amos, he called out. Grab yourself a beer from the fridge.
He expected Amos to call back
Already got it.
But no reply came. Gareth guessed that maybe Amos was back in the kitchen, just now getting a beer. Or maybe he was just crankier than usual. That was fine with Gareth
Misery loves company, as they say.
Gareth opened the screen door and walked inside.
Hey, Amos, whats up? he called out.
A flash of movement caught his peripheral vision. He turned and glimpsed a shadowy form silhouetted against the living room lamp.
Whoever it was rushed at Gareth too fast for him to ask any questions.
The figure raised an arm, and Gareth glimpsed a flash of steel. Something unspeakably hard crashed against his forehead, and then an explosion burst through his brain like shattering glass.
Then there was nothing.
CHAPTER ONE
Morning sunlight was glistening on the waves as Samantha Kuehling drove the police car along the waterfront drive.
Sitting next to her in the passenger seat, her partner, Dominic Wolfe, said
Ill believe it when I see it.
Sam didnt reply.
Neither she nor Dominic yet knew just what it really was.
But the truth was, she pretty much believed whatever it was already.
Shed known fourteen-year-old Wyatt Hitt all his life. He could be ornery, just like any boy that age, but he wasnt a liar. And hed sounded downright hysterical when hed called the police station a little while ago. He hadnt made much sense, but hed been pretty clear about one thing
Something happened to Gareth Ogden.
Something bad.
Beyond that, Sam didnt know a single thing. And Dominic didnt either.
As she parked the car in front of Gareths house, she saw that Wyatt was sitting at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the porch. Beside him was a cloth bag of undelivered newspapers.
When Sam and Dominic got out of the car and walked over to him, the towheaded kid didnt even look at them. He just kept staring straight ahead. Wyatts face was even paler than usual, and he was shivering, even though it was already getting to be a hot morning.
Hes in shock, Sam realized.
Dominic said to him, Tell us what happened.
Wyatt sat upright at the sound of Dominics voice and looked back at him with glazed eyes. Then Wyatt stammered in a hoarse, frightened voice made worse by the changes of adolescence.
Hehes in there, up in the house. Mr. Ogden, I mean.
Then he stared off toward the Gulf again.
Sam and Dominic looked at each other.
She could tell by Dominics alarmed expression that this was starting to get real for him.
Sam shuddered as she thought
Ive got a feeling its about to get awfully real for both of us.
She and Dominic climbed the steps and walked across the porch. When they looked through the screen door, they saw Gareth Ogden.
Dominic staggered backward from the door.
Jesus Christ! he yelped.
Ogden was lying on his back on the floor, his eyes and mouth wide open. He had some kind of open, bleeding wound on his forehead.
Then Dominic wheeled back toward the stairs and yelled down at Wyatt
What the hell happened? What did you do?
Feeling a bit surprised not to share Dominics panic, Sam touched his arm and quietly said, He didnt do anything, Dom. Hes just a kid. Hes just a paperboy.
Dominic shook her hand off and stormed back down the stairs. He hauled poor Wyatt to his feet.
Tell me! Dominic yelled. What did you do? Why?
Sam dashed down the stairs behind Dominic. She grabbed the hysterical cop and forcefully pulled him onto the lawn.
Leave him alone, Dom, Sam said. Let me handle this, OK?
Dominics face looked as pale as Wyatts now, and he too was shivering with shock.
He nodded mutely, and Sam walked back over to Wyatt and helped him sit down again.
She crouched in front of him and touched him on the shoulder.
She said, Its going to be OK, Wyatt. Just take a few slow breaths.
Poor Wyatt couldnt follow her instructions. Instead, he seemed to be hyperventilating and sobbing at the same time.
Wyatt managed to choke out, II came by to deliver his newspaper and I found him in there.
Sam squinted at Wyatt, trying to make sense of this.
Why did you go all the way up on Mr. Ogdens porch? she asked. Couldnt you just throw the paper up there from the yard?
Wyatt shrugged and said, He getsgot mad when I do that. It made too much noise, he said, it woke him up. So he told me I had to come all the way up onto the porchand I had to leave the paper between the screen door and the front door. Otherwise it would blow away, he said. So I always went up there and I was about to open the screen when I saw
Wyatt gasped and groaned with shock for a moment, then added
So I called you on my cell phone.
Sam patted him on the shoulder.
Its going to be OK, she said. You did the right thing, calling the police. Now you wait right here.
Wyatt looked at his bag. But these papersIve still got to deliver them.
Poor kid, Sam thought.
He was obviously terribly confused. On top of that, some kind of misplaced guilt seemed to be kicking in as well. Sam guessed that this was a natural reaction.
You dont have to do anything, she said. Youre not in trouble. Everythings going to be OK. Now just wait here, like I said.
She got up from the step and looked for Dominic, who was still standing dumbly in the yard with his mouth hanging open.
Sam was starting to feel a little angry.
Doesnt he know hes supposed to be a cop?
She said to him, Dom, come on. Weve got to go up there and have a look at things.
Dom just stood there as if he were deaf and had no idea that shed spoken.
She spoke more sharply. Dominic, come with me, damn it.
Dominic nodded dumbly, then followed her up the stairs and across the porch into the house.
Gareth Ogden was lying spread-eagle on the floor, wearing sandals and shorts and a T-shirt. The wound in his forehead looked strangely precise and symmetrical. Sam stooped down to get a better look.
Still standing, Dominic stammered, D-dont touch anything.
Sam almost growled
What do you think I am, an idiot?
What kind of cop didnt know better than to be careful around this kind of a crime scene?
But she looked up at Dominic and saw that he was still pale and trembling.
What if he faints? she thought.
She pointed to a nearby armchair and said, Sit down, Dom.
Dominic mutely did as he was told.
Sam wondered
Has he ever seen a dead body before?
Her own experiences were limited to the open-casket funerals of her grandparents. Of course, this was completely different. Even so, Sam felt strangely calm and under controlalmost as if shed been preparing to deal with something like this for a long time.
Dominic obviously wasnt feeling the same way.
She peered closely at the wound in Ogdens forehead. It looked a little bit like that big sinkhole that had collapsed under a country road near Rushville last yeara weird, gaping cavity that didnt belong there.