Backtracker

by Robert T. Jeschonek

  "Yes," nodded Dave. "I think he will. I think he meant every word he said."

  "He won't," argued Billy. "Getting back at you is probably the last thing on his mind. He just wants to get away, man."

  "How do you know?" Dave asked tightly. "How do you know what he'll do?"

  "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. The guy's a killer. He's on the run. He'll be too busy running to waste time on your family. It just makes sense, man."

  "I thought you said he's a psycho, so he doesn't have to make sense."

  "He's a psycho, but he's not stupid. Trust me, man. That bastard won't go anywhere near your family."

  "Really?" snapped Dave. "You're sure about that? You're absolutely, one-hundred-percent sure about that?"

  Billy hesitated for just a beat. He opened his mouth to respond, but Dave burst back in before he could speak.

  "No!" shouted Dave, glowering with rage and frustration which weren't at all simulated. "No, you can't be sure! You think you know what he'll do, but there's no way you can be sure! You thought you knew him before, didn't you? You thought he was a nice guy, and you couldn't've been more wrong! So what the hell good is your opinion?"

  "Hey!" shot Billy. "Cool it, man! You're too worked-up! You're not thinking straight."

  "Oh, I'm thinking straight, all right!" slammed Dave. "You're the one who's all mixed-up! You think there's some way to guess what that maniac's gonna' do...but there isn't. You saw what he did to that kid, Billy. His brain doesn't work like ours! We can't figure out what's going through his head!"

  "I don't care how crazy he is," returned Billy. "He won't take the chance of getting caught just so he can wipe out your family! Think about it, Dave! He told you what he'd do if you went to the cops, right? What does that mean? It means you'll be ready for him. It means you'll get your family police protection, or you'll get every friend you have--including me--to come over to your house, armed to the teeth, just waiting for that son of a bitch to pop up! Larry knew you'd be ready for him to come after your family once you went to the cops! He knew he wouldn't be able to get your folks or your brother if he tried...so why would he tell you something he couldn't possibly do? Because he wasn't gonna' do it! Because he just wanted to scare you enough to make you give him time to get away!"

  "You know what?" said Dave. "It is possible that he told me what he'd do because he is going to do it, and because he knows he can do it. I wouldn't be surprised if he could get to my family even if they were under twenty-four-hour guard by every cop in the county!"

  "Aw, geez," clucked Billy, rolling his eyes and tossing his head. "You're being ridiculous, man."

  "I'm serious!" lashed Dave. "I'm starting to think he can do just about anything! Look at the way he fooled everybody for so long! He got everybody to think he was this really great guy, and meanwhile, he killed that kid and God only knows how many others! Nobody suspected a damn thing, and here he turns out to be this psychotic murderer!"

  "You were onto him," reminded Billy. "You thought there was something weird about him from the beginning."

  "I didn't think he was a murderer!"

  "Yeah, but you knew something wasn't right about him. If he's so swift, if he can do anything, then why couldn't he pull the wool over your eyes, too?"

  "But he did!" barked Dave. "I thought he was psychic!"

  "Psychic, psychotic, what's the difference? The point is, he can't do everything! Assuming he does want to kill your family, that doesn't mean he can. Once he finds out the cops are after him, how in hell is he gonna' get to your family? The only way he'll know you went to the cops will be when he sees them chasing him. By then, he'll be as good as caught."

  "And maybe he won't get caught," flared Dave.

  "If he gets away from them, you really think he'll go right to your house, where he'll know the cops'll be waiting for him? Of course not!"

  "You don't know that!" hurled Dave. "You don't know what he'll do, and neither do I! Maybe he won't try to get my family, or maybe he won't be able to...but we can't know for sure! We can't predict it, so there's still a chance he'll do what he said he would!"

  "Not much of a chance," grumbled Billy.

  "There's still a chance...and as long as there's a chance that my going to the cops will lead to my family getting killed, I'm not gonna' risk it!"

  "Fine," shrugged Billy. "Then I'll go to the cops. He didn't say he'd do anything to my family, and anyway, they don't even live in town. I'll do the dirty work, and you won't have to worry."

  "He won't know it wasn't me, though," countered Dave. "If he sees the cops coming, he'll have no way of knowing that I didn't send them."

  Billy snorted and shook his head. "You're freaked-out," he said sardonically. "Larry's got you so spooked, you don't know what the hell you're talking about."

  "That's easy for you to say," fired Dave, jabbing a finger at his partner. "I bet you wouldn't be so laid-back if it was your family that Larry said he'd kill!"

  "I'm not being laid-back," Billy insisted resentfully. "It's just that there are certain things we've gotta' do, and I'm trying to keep cool enough to do them. Letting Larry's scare tactics get to us isn't gonna' do any good. The only thing that'll do us any good is going to the cops!"

  "But we can't!" whipped Dave. "We can't take the chance!"

  "So what else do you suggest we do? Just let him get away with the shit he's done? Just let him go some place else and hack up some more people?"

  "No!" said Dave.

  "But you won't go to the cops, right? So what the hell do you suggest we do?"

  Dave drew a deep breath and slowly released it. On the verge of spilling his proposal, he felt a sudden loss of momentum; the idea had seemed crazy all along, but it seemed even more preposterous when he was about to mention it aloud.

  He swallowed, licked his lips. His mouth felt so dry, he didn't know if he would be able to speak.

  Yet again, he reconsidered, thought about abandoning the whole plan. It wouldn't take much, would require hardly any effort at all; he could simply give in, admit that Billy was in the right, agree that the cops should be contacted. Billy would accept the change of heart readily, express his satisfaction that Dave had come to his senses...and that would be that. There would be no further lies or games or trouble; Larry would be apprehended, lives would be saved, and Dave could finally relax, indulge himself in the rest that he deserved.

  He wanted rest; he wanted peace of mind. He didn't want to argue with Billy anymore.

  He opened his mouth to tell Billy that they ought to go to the police, to say that he didn't know what he'd been thinking but Billy was right.

  "I think we should take care of this ourselves," he heard himself say instead.

  He wanted to say 'The hell with it. Let's go to the cops. I'm sick of this whole deal.'

  "I think we should go after Larry on our own," he said instead.

  Protect Billy; stop Larry.

  It was all up to him.

  "No cops," he said gravely. "Just us."

  *****

  Chapter 33

  Billy Bristol's jaw dropped as if a lead weight had been hooked to it. For a long moment, he said nothing, just stared at Dave with the most stunned, boggled look on his face.

  Dave didn't break the silence; he knew that the storm would come soon enough, and he saw no reason to hasten its arrival. He needed a breather anyway, a chance to collect himself, muster his resources for the struggle ahead. With a blank stare concealing his anxiety, he waited and watched Billy, wondering what to say next.

  Billy finally snorted and shook his head; his shocked expression turned to one of snide disdain. "Right," he said sarcastically. "Sure, Dave. That's a good idea."

  "I'm serious," Dave said coolly.

  "Oh, I just bet you are," needled Billy. "I'm serious, too. I think that's a great idea, man--best one you've had all day. Who needs the cops, right? You and I can take care of Larry all by our lonesome. Sure...we can cut that psychopathic kil
ler down to size. We'll eat him for breakfast."

  "There's no other way," said Dave. "We can't go to the police. I can't take the chance that he'll get to my parents."

  "Of course not," sniped Billy, frowning with mock gravity. "We can't go to the cops. What good would they be, anyway?"

  "We can get the cops if we need them," said Dave.

  "Which we probably won't," foisted Billy. "I mean, Larry'll probably be so scared that he'll break down in tears and surrender the minute he sees us."

  "We'll find him," continued Dave. "We'll try to talk him out of what he's doing."

  "Oh, I'm sure he'll listen to us," piped Billy. "He'll just say 'Okay, guys. You're right. No more murders for me.'"

  "If he won't listen," Dave said calmly, "we'll send the cops after him. If he tries anything, we'll get away from him and go straight to the cops."

  "Right," nodded Billy. "It oughtta' be easy to get away from him."

  "I'm not sure exactly where he went," continued Dave.

  "Oh, well that'll just make it all the easier," sneered Billy.

  "He mentioned that he was going out of town. He said there was one more guy he had to kill, and the guy lives out of town."

  "Out of town. Well, that sure narrows it down."

  "I do have a clue, though," said Dave, straining to keep an even keel while Billy fired quips. "Between the two of us, I think we can figure out how to find Larry."

  "Definitely," nodded Billy. "We'll be just like detectives, man. We'll figure out the clue, track down the bad guy, and teach him a lesson he'll never forget, right?"

  Dave sighed and shook his head. As he'd expected, Billy wasn't taking him seriously; Dave had to admit that if he were the one being presented the wild scheme, he probably wouldn't have taken it seriously himself.

  Turning away from his partner, Dave took a few paces over the stone, wrung his brain for something that he could say to secure Billy's allegiance. Nothing came to him; as hard as he tried, he couldn't cobble together a chain of logic which might pull Billy into the risky action.

  "Look," he said, turning to again face his friend. "I know it sounds stupid, okay? I know we should just get the cops...but I can't take the chance that Larry might hurt my family."

  Billy laughed. "Dave!" he pitched, wagging his head. "I can't believe you're even thinking up this shit! You've gotta' be outta' your freakin' mind, man!"

  "I'm not," Dave replied firmly. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. Larry threatened to kill my family, and I won't give him an excuse to do it."

  "So you want us to stop him ourselves?" chuckled Billy. "You really think we can do anything to get this guy?"

  "I don't know," said Dave. "I want to try, though."

  "Try to get us killed, you mean," retorted Billy.

  "I don't think that'll happen," said Dave. "I really don't think Larry wants to kill us. I mean, he had the chance to, didn't he? He could've easily killed us, but he let us off with a couple bruises. I don't know what the reason is, but he must not want to kill us too bad."

  "Dave, I gotta' tell you," smirked Billy. "I, for one, do not want to find out how bad Larry wants to kill us. I do not want to give that maniac another chance to finish us off."

  "We won't do anything stupid, okay? We'll make sure we're ready for him, and we'll get away from him at the first sign of trouble."

  "I don't wanna' go anywhere near him in the first place!" slung Billy. "I wanna' stay as far away from him as I possibly can!"

  "So do I!" hollered Dave, tossing his hands in the air. "You think I want to go near him again? Hell, no! He's got me scared shitless, Billy! I'd be perfectly happy if I never had to see him again in my life!"

  "So don't!" shot Billy. "If you're so scared of him, then let's just stay away from him! It's as simple as that!"

  "But it isn't! I have to see him! I have to try to stop him!"

  "So let's call the cops!"

  "I can't! He said he'd kill my family! Maybe you don't care what happens to them, but I do!"

  "Oh, brother," Billy rolled derisively. "Like I don't care about your family. Right, Dave. Whatever you say, man."

  "Well, you're sure not acting like you care!" hurled Dave.

  "You know what'd be best for your family right now? Getting that lunatic off the street!" Billy's voice was charged with anger; he was fully engaged in the battle of wills, was no longer trying to quash Dave's intentions through ridicule and sarcasm. "That's the only way to keep them safe, man! The sooner that son of a bitch is locked up, the sooner your family's in the clear...and believe me, the cops are the only ones who're gonna' be able to nail that bastard!"

  "And maybe they won't be able to," snapped Dave, "and maybe he will kill my family, and then what're you going to say? 'Gee, I'm sorry your mom and dad and brother got killed, Dave'?"

  "I won't say anything," shot Billy, "because it won't happen that way!"

  "Oh, okay. Right. You know what'll happen."

  "It's common sense, you dumb shit!" raged Billy, smacking a fist into his palm. "It's so damn obvious, but you can't see it, so you wanna' do the stupidest thing I can think of! And meanwhile, that crazy asshole's getting further away so it'll be even harder for the cops to catch him!"

  Dave fell silent. Heart pounding with the force of his anger and frustration, he fought with himself, tried to untense and think clearly. He'd gotten too involved in the argument, and his mind was thick with smothering emotion; hammering away at the same points wasn't doing any good, but he'd been too caught up in the confrontation to notice.

  A new tack was needed. Dave had to stop shouting and say some magic words, win over Billy with ingenuity instead of volume. There had to be something, some persuasion which he hadn't though of yet, some dynamic stroke which would swing Billy's vote.

  There had to be something.

  Burying his face in his hands, he tried to sift an answer from the muddle in his head. At first, he tried to relax, ease the pressure, gently uncover a hidden piece like an archaeologist brushing sand in search of fragile relics. Then, he combed through his brain more rigorously; his hunt became desperate, haphazard, soon developed into a frantic flurry. He ripped at his mind, battered it from within; he clawed at the fabric, hoping to wrench out inspiration in a lucky, violent clutch.

  Finally, he gave up. He slumped, both within and without; he couldn't find the magic words that he needed, the words which would change Billy's mind.

  And then, he had an idea.

  Perhaps, there was one last thing that he could try, an appeal not to Billy's reason, but to his loyalty. It would be risky, could very well fail...and if it failed, there would be no other opportunity to convince Billy; still, it seemed to be the only thing that Dave could do, his only chance. He could think of nothing else to try but the last-ditch tactic, the all-or-nothing approach.

  He drew his hands from his face and took a deep breath. Staring at Billy, he wondered what would happen; he wondered what he would do if Billy wouldn't concede after the final attempt.

  He didn't know what he would do.

  "Okay," he said with a shrug. "That's fine, then. You don't want to go after Larry, that's fine with me."

  "Good!" blew Billy, still fuming. "Good, because I'm not going after him!"

  "I see your point," nodded Dave. "I can understand why you don't want to chase after the guy."

  "There's nothing to understand! It's just common sense!"

  Dave shrugged and sighed. "I can't make you do something you're against. I'm not going to keep trying to twist your arm."

  "Good!" snapped Billy.

  "Good," sighed Dave, and then he started walking. "See you later," he said, striding over the stone, waving as he moved away from his partner.

  There was an instant's pause before Billy hollered after him. "Hey! Whatta' you mean, 'See you later'?"

  "I mean I'll see you later," replied Dave. "I'll see you when I get back."

  "Get back from where?" barked Billy.

 
"From tracking down Larry." Dave continued to walk briskly over Wolf's Rock, didn't want to give even the appearance of uncertainty.

  "Aw, shit!" belted Billy. "What is it with you? I thought you finally agreed I was right!"

  "Nope," Dave returned over his shoulder. "I just said it was fine with me if you didn't want to go. I didn't say I wasn't going."

  "Will you cut it out!" yelled Billy, taking several steps after his departing partner. "You know you can't go after him alone! You'll get yourself killed for sure!"

  "I'm going," Dave said firmly.

  "Geez!" Billy cast angrily, taking a few more steps. "Why are you so damn stuck on getting yourself killed? What's with this death wish shit?"

  "I don't want to die," replied Dave, "but if that's what I've got to do to save my family, you better believe I'll do it."

  For a moment, Billy said nothing, and Dave didn't hear any footsteps from behind. Drawing and releasing a tremulous breath, he continued to walk, didn't slow his pace; he kept moving, listening for footfalls, hoping that he wouldn't have to figure out what to do if Billy didn't cooperate.

  At last, there was the sound of pursuit, the quick padding of feet over stone.

  "You don't even know where he is!" shouted Billy. "How the hell are you gonna' find him, huh?"

  "Don't worry about it," answered Dave. "I'll find him somehow."

  "You said you don't know how you'll find him!" hollered Billy, getting closer. "You said all you know is that he's out of town somewhere!"

  "I also said I found a clue," recounted Dave. "I haven't figured out what it means yet, but when I do, I think I'll be able to track down Larry."

  Still running to catch up with his partner, Billy didn't speak for a moment, then burst back in with an angry barrage. "So great! So you'll just take off after the guy! So how're you gonna' defend yourself, huh? What're you gonna' do when he comes at you like a damn locomotive?"

  "I'll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it," replied Dave. "I'll improvise."

  "Aw, come on!" huffed Billy. "You don't get a chance to improvise with a guy like him. He'll put you away so damn fast, your head'll spin!"