Backtracker (92 page)

The screaming child writhed in protest, squirmed fitfully in its captor
'
s grip.

"
Aw, what
'
s the matter
?
"
the Miraclemaker asked playfully.
"
Do you want your mommy? Is
that
it? You want your mommy?
"

The child continued to yowl and kick, floundering blindly as a wounded bird struggling in vain to take flight.

"
Well, here she is,
"
warbled the Miraclemaker, strolling over to stand by the woman
'
s corpse.
"
There
'
s your mommy, little Mikey. She
'
s sleepin
'
, see?
"
Laughing then, he lifted the infant to his face, roughly shook the bawling child.

"
Aw,
I
'
m
sorry
!
"
he crooned mischievously.
"
I
lied
.
Your mommy isn
'
t sleeping...she
'
s
dead
!
I
killed
her so I could have you all to
myself
!
"

Turning the child around, the Miraclemaker lowered it toward the corpse, let it dangle just inches from the bloody wreck.

"
Isn
'
t she
pretty
?
"
he purred delightedly.
"
Don
'
t you like her
better
now? You
should
!
"
Gently, he dipped the child lower, allowed its feet to patter upon the woman
'
s mauled face.

"
You see? I made her
pretty
,
just for
you
!
I
know
how you like your
mommies
!
"

Kicking senselessly at the gruesome mess, the baby shrieked.

"
Oh, come on,
"
the Miraclemaker drawled chidingly.
"
You can
'
t fool
me
!
I
know
you like her better this way!
I
know how you are!
"
Chuckling, he shook the child over the woman
'
s head.
"
Doesn
'
t this look familiar? Huh? Doesn
'
t this ring a
bell
, Mikey?
"

The child just writhed and screamed.

"
Aw, you
'
re no fun,
"
groused the Miraclemaker, sweeping the infant back up into his arms.
"
I go to all this trouble to give you a little thrill, and all you can do is cry. You just aren
'
t any fun, you little bastard.
"

With that, he carried the child across the kitchen, heading for a doorway which
he'd
earlier blocked with the stove. Placing his captive on the counter, he took a moment to muscle the stove away from the doorway.

"
You just aren
'
t any fun,
"
said the Miraclemaker as he returned to the child. Scooping it back into his arms, he grinned down at the wailing, twisting thing.

"
But don
'
t worry,
"
he said gleefully, tickling the baby
'
s chin.
"
You will be.
"

*****

Chapter
50

Cautiously, Billy and Dave crept along the front of the house, taking care to crouch below the level of the wide bay window. Both partners braced themselves against the siding, for the mud underfoot was treacherous; in some places, the surface was so slippery that their feet skated and threatened to shoot out from under them.

When they had crossed three quarters of the window
'
s length, Billy paused, thrust a hand back to signal Dave to stop and wait. As
he'd
done before, around the corner, Billy pressed his ear against the siding and listened; shivering, Dave mimicked the motion, strained but heard nothing from beyond the wall.

Pulling his ear from the siding, Billy shook his head; slowly, then, he raised himself from his crouch, edged his face toward the rim of the window.

Dave
didn
'
t
duplicate this move. He felt a sudden, irrational fear that if he put his face to the glass, the window would shatter and Larry Smith would burst out at him.

Ever so slowly, Billy slid his head upward. When his eyes passed the frame and reached the base of the glass, he stopped; he stared directly ahead, then peered along the window
'
s length to the left. Methodically, he looked to the right, then tipped his head back to scan the full height and breadth of the panes.

Finally, he dropped back to a crouch. Glancing over his shoulder at Dave, he shook his head, then resumed his advance along the front of the house.

Satisfied that there
was nothing
to see in the window, Dave
didn
'
t
steal a look for himself. He did hesitate for a second, however; the urge to run away took hold of him, nearly broke the deadlock of compulsions fighting for control of him. Adrenaline rushed through him and he almost bolted...but he quickly lost his nerve and again went after his partner.

At the window
'
s edge, the corner of the upper extrusion of the split
-
level house, Billy paused. Still crouching, he gazed furtively around the corner as Dave came up behind him.

After a moment, Billy stepped out, abandoning the concealment of the corner. With Dave close behind, he moved stealthily toward the front stoop.

Billy swung one foot onto the stoop; before he could boost himself up, though, Dave grabbed his shoulder.

Billy
'
s head spun around and he cast an irritated frown at his partner.

"
Hey,
wait
a minute
!
"
Dave blurted in an urgent whisper.
"
We aren
'
t just gonna
'
walk right in the front
door
, are we?
"

"
Yes, we are,
"
said Billy Bristol.
"
You have a
better
idea?
"

*****

Chapter
51

Keys; the Miraclemaker got the whole way to the garage before he remembered that he needed the keys.

With a disgusted sigh, he placed the screeching infant on the cement floor, then marched back the way
he'd
come. He
wasn
'
t
happy about retracing his path; he
didn
'
t
think that
he had
much time left, and every delay was potentially disastrous.

Fuming, he stomped from the garage into the murky, cluttered basement; on his way through, he knocked over a stack of boxes, spitefully shoved them though they
weren
'
t
obstructing his route.

As he clomped up the bare, wooden steps, he cursed himself for forgetting the keys, then cursed himself for wasting time tormenting the child. All the taunting and gloating had been unproductive and unnecessary; even if the infant had been able to comprehend a word that
he'd
said, the Miraclemaker
shouldn
'
t
have indulged himself in bullying with time so short.

He topped the steps, then stormed through the messy family room. Like most of the house, the room was in a state of epic disorder, jumbled with beer bottles, pizza boxes, baby toys, clothes, dirty dishes. A partially assembled playpen sprawled in the middle of the floor; as hurried as he was, he took a step out of his way to kick the thing, flipping it over and sending it crashing into a pile of beer cans.

Stalking through the doorway into the kitchen, he glanced at the woman, felt a surge of satisfaction upon viewing his handiwork. He almost went over to search her, then thought better of it. S
he'd
been toting the baby when s
he'd
arrived; her husband had opened the front door, so he was the one with the keys.

Impatiently, the Miraclemaker rushed into the living room, heading for the husband
'
s corpse.

*****

Chapter
52

"
I don
'
t wanna
'
just walk in the front door
!
"
gushed Dave, tightly gripping Billy
'
s shoulder.
"
What if he
'
s in there?
"

"
That
'
s the whole
idea
, isn
'
t it
?
"
Billy whispered angrily.
"
That
'
s why we
'
re
here
, isn
'
t it?
"

Dave
'
s eyes were wide; his heart was hammering, his panic escalating.
"
There has to be a back door, right? Maybe we can go in through the garage!
"

"
Right,
"
Billy said disdainfully.
"
And what if Larry isn
'
t in there? What do we tell the people inside when they see us sneaking around in their house?
"

"
What do we tell them if we just walk right in the front
door
?
"
argued Dave.

"
Don
'
t
worry
about it
!
"
hissed Billy, twisting out of Dave
'
s grip.

"
Wait
!
"
shot Dave.
"
What if he
'
s in there?
"

Billy boosted himself onto the stoop.
"
That
'
s what
this
is for
!
"
he retorted, patting the lump under his shirt, the gun which
he'd
stuffed into the waist of his bluejeans.
Keeping his hand at his belly, near the butt of the gun, he took a step toward the front door.

*****

Chapter
53

Squatting between the corpse and the front door, the Miraclemaker patted the pockets of the dead husband
'
s bluejeans, then the breast pocket of his flannel shirt. He jostled the man
'
s limp hands, fished around under his body...but he
couldn
'
t
locate the keys.

Sighing, he scanned the site of the killing. There were groceries scattered everywhere, but no bits of metal caught his eye.

Dropping to his knees, he rifled through the dumped groceries. He decided that the keys had to be somewhere in that litter; probably, the husband had let them fall at the same time that
he'd
released the two bags.

The Miraclemaker rummaged through the mess, tossing aside jars of baby food and packs of cigarettes. He dumped out what was left in the grocery bags, vigorously combed through that rubble...with no success. Again, he scanned the area, and again, he could see no sign of the keys.

Abruptly, it occurred to him that the keys might still be attached to the door; perhaps, the husband had never removed the front door key, and the whole set was still dangling from the lock.

The Miraclemaker got to his feet and reached for the doorknob.