• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The gun was pretty obvious against the bright blue of the shirt. I finally put a black jacket over it, what they call a boyfriend’s jacket, because it’s sort of big through the shoulders and body. The sleeves rolled back to expose the silky lining. I liked the jacket, and with one button fastened, it hid the Firestar, though not completely. You’d still catch glimpses of it when I moved, but maybe people wouldn’t run screaming.

I felt naked without the Browning, which was kind of funny, considering I had an Uzi in my suitcase. But hey, I slept with the Browning.

Richard never said a word about the two shotguns. Maybe he would have complained about the rest if he’d seen them, but he picked up one suitcase, put one gym bag over his shoulder, one shotgun carrying case on the same shoulder, and let me pick up my share.

“Can you carry both suitcases?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I’m shocked you asked. The last time I tried to carry something unasked, you nearly handed me my head in a basket.”

“I want one hand free for my gun.”

“Ah,” he said, “of course.” He took the other suitcase without another word. He really is a very wise man.

Mrs. Pringle stepped out of her door as we were leaving. She had Custard in her arms. He growled briefly at Richard, and she hushed him. “I thought I heard you out here. Are you all right, Anita?”

I glanced at the hole by her door. “I’m fine. How ’bout you?”

She hugged Custard, raising his tiny furry body near her face. “I’ll be all right. Are you going to be charged?”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“Good.” She glanced at the suitcases. One for clothes, one for weapons. “Where are you going?”

“I think I’m a little too dangerous to be around right now.”

She searched my face like she was trying to read my mind. “How bad is this mess, Anita?”

“Bad enough,” I said.

She gently touched my hair, “You be very careful out there.”

I smiled. “Always. You take care of yourself, too.”

“Custard and I will take care of each other.”

I petted Custard, rubbing his little fox ears. “I owe you a box of doggie treats, furball.” He licked my hand with a tiny, pink tongue.

“When you can, give me your new phone number,” she said.

“When I can, I’ll come back.”

She smiled, but her pale eyes stayed worried.

We left because we had to. My imagination has always been too good for my own peace of mind. I had a very clear image of Mrs. Pringle splattered against the wall, that lovely, aging face blown away. If she had opened the door at the wrong moment, I wouldn’t be imagining it. Too close, too damn close.

6

* * *

RICHARD’S house was a one-story, half-brick ranch. It looked like a house for children, and Mommy baking cookies in the kitchen. It wasn’t even set that far back off the road, but it had plenty of yard on either side and the backyard was an acre of woods. You could look out both the sides and the back and not see a neighbor, except in winter when the bare trees revealed distant glimpses across the valley. From the front picture window, you could see the corner of the next house half obscured by overgrown shrubs. No one had lived in it the entire time I’d been visiting. The place was a little isolated. Richard liked that, and whether I did or not, I needed it now.

The place looked like an invitation for an ambush, but neighbors would have been cannon fodder. Most bad guys try not to take out innocent bystanders. It’s not moral outrage, just bad for business. The cops tend to put the heat on if you waste a lot of bystanders.

Richard hit the garage door opener and eased the Mustang into the garage. His four by four was already inside. I followed him in my Jeep. I idled out on the street, waiting for him to move the four by four out so I could put the Jeep in. Parking my Jeep out in front of his house seemed like making the bad guys’ job a little too easy. He pulled out. I pulled in. He parked behind me in the driveway and walked into the garage. I unloaded the suitcases, and he hit the button by the interior door.

The door opened into the kitchen.