Backtracker (19 page)

"
What do you think of Jack
?
"
asked Darlene.

"
A real tough
-
guy,
"
smiled Larry.
"
Comes on kind of strong, but you can tell he
'
s a decent guy.
"

"
What about Morris
?
"
Darlene asked breathlessly, grinning mischievously.

"
Boris
?
"
chuckled Larry.
"
He
'
s a few bricks short of a load, I
'
d say.
"

"
Yup,
"
Dave nodded with a grin.
"
That
'
s pretty accurate, all right.
"

"
He just says the most
bizarre
things,
"
said Larry.
"
I honestly don
'
t know
where
he comes up with some of that stuff.
"

"
He
'
s really out in left field,
"
smirked Dave.
"
He can get on your nerves sometimes, but he
'
s usually a lot of laughs.
"

"
He tries hard, doesn
'
t he
?
"
asked Larry, sounding a bit more serious.
"
He wants attention, don
'
t you think?
"

"
Uh, I guess so,
"
shrugged Dave.
"
I haven
'
t really thought about it, but yeah, that
'
s probably why he
'
s always clowning around.
"

Larry nodded thoughtfully.
"
Y
'
know, I haven
'
t known Boris for a long time,
"
he said,
"
but he seems a little depressed tonight, I think. Did you notice that?
"

"
Well, no,
"
said Dave.
"
He seems okay to me. Same as always.
"

"
Huh,
"
said Larry, cocking his head to one side.
"
I don
'
t know, then. He just seems a little...preoccupied or something. Like he
'
s got a problem.
"

"
I don
'
t think so,
"
frowned Dave.
"
He
'
s been acting just like he normally does.
"

"
I was watching him while he was sitting there,
"
Larry said slowly.
"
He
'
d say something goofy, and everyone would laugh, and then he
'
d just sort of withdraw. He
'
d slump down in his chair and just stare at his beer...and his eyes looked sad. It
'
s hard to put my finger on, but I felt like there was something really
bothering
him.
"

"
Really
?
"
said Dave.
"
I didn
'
t pick up on that at all.
"
Thoroughly reexamining his memories of the evening, Dave was unable to recall a single moment when Morris Blovitz had behaved abnormally (abnormally for Morris, that is). As far as Dave could remember, the heavyweight lunatic had stayed true to form all night, indulging in a steady stream of beer and typically bizarre pronouncements.

Dave found it hard to believe that Larry had actually glimpsed
storm clouds
in Boris
'
eyes. Larry must have been mistaken; never, in all the years that
he'd
been friends with Blovitz, had Dave known the guy to have the blues. Boris had always been eccentric and unflappable, harebrained and wild, never despondent. He seemed to have an ego as large as his sizable frame, a cockeyed confidence sturdy enough to deflect all dejection.

Then again, Larry had been a
damn
good judge of character so far. After knowing the members of the Wild West gang for less than a week,
he'd
already assessed their personalities with remarkable precision;
he'd
even sensed that a traitor lurked in their ranks, though none of the gang
'
s longstanding members had su
spected a thing. Maybe he was
right; maybe there
was
something eating at Boris.

"
Darlene,
"
said Dave then, reaching back to touch her hand where it rested at his waist.
"
Did you think Boris seemed depressed or anything?
"

"
No,
"
she shrugged.
"
I mean, I
'
ve only known him a few months, but he seemed the same as always tonight.
"

"
Well, I don
'
t know,
"
said Larry.
"
I could be wrong, but the guy seemed upset for some reason.
"

"
Hmm,
"
said Dave.
"
Was there something he said that gave you that idea?
"

"
Nope,
"
replied Larry.
"
Like I told you, it was just his body language, the look in his eyes.
"

"
He seemed okay to me,
"
said Darlene.

"
Maybe it
'
s nothing,
"
shrugged Larry, but his expression remained grim.
"
I could be reading too much into this.
"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Larry began to pace slowly over the yard, wisps of breath rising and trailing behind him.
"
Still,
"
he said, concern in his voice,
"
I really got a feeling that something was wrong with him. It
'
s hard to describe, but I...I had the impression that Boris was really down.
"

"
Well, maybe he is,
"
conceded Dave.
"
I mean, maybe he really does have some problem on his mind, but he doesn
'
t want anyone to know.
"

"
Like what
?
"
asked Darlene.

"
Beats me,
"
admitted Dave.
"
He
'
s seemed just fine lately, y
'
know? Then again, we usually just kid around a lot. We don
'
t talk about serious stuff.
"

"
Do you have any idea what might be bugging him
?
"
Darlene asked Larry.

"
None at all,
"
said Larry.
"
I just met him a few days ago. We
'
ve spoken, but he hasn
'
t told me anything of a personal nature.
"

"
So what do you think we should do
?
"
wondered Dave.
"
Should I try to talk to him about it, maybe?
"

"
I don
'
t think so,
"
said Larry.
"
He probably doesn
'
t want to discuss it, or he would
'
ve come to one of you guys already. Or would he?
"

"
Would he have talked to us about a problem
?
"
asked Dave, and Larry nodded.
"
Geez, I don
'
t know. He
'
s never done it before, that I can remember.
"

"
Maybe he
'
s just the type of guy who likes to keep things to himself,
"
suggested Larry.
"
I mean, in all the years he
'
s been friends with you guys, he
must
have had
some
problems, right?
"

"
I don
'
t know,
"
frowned Dave.
"
I guess so.
"

"
If he didn
'
t come to any of you to talk about them,
"
continued Larry,
"
then he probably won
'
t want to talk about whatever
'
s wrong now.
If
there
'
s anything wrong, of course.
"

"
So what do you think we should do
?
"
asked Darlene.

"
Maybe you ought to just keep an eye on him,
"
Larry said as he stopped pacing.
"
Just check on him every now and then and see if he looks like he needs to talk to somebody.
"

"
Okay,
"
nodded Dave.
"
That makes sense.
"

"
Just keep an eye on him,
"
said Larry.

"
Yeah,
"
said Dave.
"
I can handle that.
"

"
It
'
s probably nothing,
"
said Larry, brushing his hand through the air.
"
Still, it
'
s better safe than sorry, right?
"

"
Right,
"
nodded Dave.

*****

Billy
'
s party continued, actually becoming noisier and gathering momentum. More people arrived, and the influx of new blood seemed to energize those who were already there. Beer flowed freely, pouring from the keg in an amber fall of release; each time the tap hissed to fill another cup, the laughter seemed to grow a bit wilder, the trailer seemed to oscillate a bit more emphatically.

The group in the kitchen played drinking games, hollering and applauding more jubilantly with each passing round. The games
weren
'
t
contests, and there were no winners or losers; they were just simple, silly exercises designed to make everyone drink more.

The most popular game was called
"
quarters,
"
and it involved bouncing coins from the kitchen table into a tumbler. Each person had a turn, and if he or she
didn
'
t
succeed in projecting the coin into the tumbler after one bounce, that person had to down a great gulp of beer. If the person did manage to get the coin into the target, he or she could pick some other participant from the group, and that person would have to drink. If someone bounced the quarter into the tumbler three successive times in one turn, he or she could make a rule that everyone had to follow, such as
"
No one can say any numbers,
"
or
"
No one can point at anyone else.
"
Each time someone broke a rule, they had to drink more beer, which naturally made them more disposed to breaking the rules again and having to
drink
again.

During the first games, Dave Heinrich had done a good job of keeping his eye on Boris Blovitz, watching him as Larry had suggested. As often as
he'd
checked on Boris, however, Dave had been unable to detect any irregularities. Each time that he looked at the guy,
he'd
searched for a hint of depression, anything unusual in his movements or expression; each time,
he'd
seen nothing out of the ordinary. Boris
hadn
'
t
said anything significant, either, anything that might indicate that he felt out of sorts.

As the drinking games progressed, Dave became more inebriated, and stopped watching Boris Blovitz so closely. Caught up in the boozy shenanigans, Dave gradually became less worried about his friend; by the time he plunged into the latest game of
"
quarters,
"
Dave
wasn
'
t
giving Boris any more attention than he normally would.

"
Damn
!
"
he bellowed after failing in his latest attempt to bounce the quarter into the tumbler.
"
That should
'
a been in there!
"

"
Yeah,
"
chuckled Jack Bunsen.
"
You sure spent enough time settin
'
up the shot!
"

"
I thought I
had
it
!
"
whined Dave.
"
I mean, it was aimed perfect.
"

"
What
'
s the matter, Dave
?
"
Ernie asked slyly.
"
Are you starting to lose your touch for some reason? Have you had a little too much of
this
, maybe?
"
Raising his cup of beer, Ernie wagged it in the air, letting the amber fluid swish back and forth.

"
Nah,
"
dismissed Dave, rubbing his hand over the tabletop, squinting at its smooth surface.
"
I think this table
'
s warped, though.
"

"
I think
you
'
re
warped,
"
laughed Jack.

"
Hey hey hey
!
"
interjected Jeff Tressler.
"
Ain
'
t you forgettin
'
something
'
, Davey
-
boy? You gotta
'
do some
drinkin
'
, bud! You missed your shot!
"

At that, the kitchen went wild. In a sudden explosion, everyone hooted and laughed at once, burst out in a mad ruckus. Some of the gang clapped, some stomped their feet, others thumped their fists on the table...and they were all grinning at Jeff.

"
What
?
"
shouted Jeff, frowning in confusion, teetering where he stood.
"
What the hell
'
s goin
'
on?
"

"
Looks like Dave isn
'
t the
only
one who needs more beer
!
"
hollered Jack.

"
What
'
re you talkin
'
about
?
"
grimaced Jeff.

"
You broke a rule,
"
explained Ernie.
"
You said the
'
D
'
word.
"

"
Huh
?
"
burbled Jeff.
"
What
'
D
'
word?
"

"
You
know,
"
said Billy.
"
That thing you do when you put some beer in your mouth and then you swallow it.
"

"
You mean
'
drink
'
?
"
asked Jeff, and the gang went wild again.

"
That
'
s two
!
"
hooted Becky D
'
Amoto.
"
You said it twice!
"

"
Aw, c
'
mon
!
"
protested Jeff.
"
There
'
s no rule for this! You guys
'
re puttin
'
me on!
"

"
No no,
"
pipped Jane with a toss of her head.
"
There
is
a rule for the
'
D
'
word!
Billy
made it, remember?
"

"
Bullshit,
"
snorted Jeff.

"
Jeff,
"
broke in Billy, his tone amused but exasperated.
"
A couple turns ago, I hit the glass three times, so I made the rule that you can
'
t say the
'
D
'
word. Okay?
"

"
What
'
re you talkin
'
about
?
"
wavered Jeff.
"
There
'
s no rules yet. I been standin
'
here playin
'
this game for how long now, and I should
know
if there
'
s any rules.
"

"
Jeff, you have a memory like a steel sieve,
"
smirked Ernie.

"
What
'
re the rules again
?
"
frowned Jeff.

"
Aw, just drink,
"
commanded Becky D
'
Amoto, and everyone went bananas again. The kitchen roared with laughter and shouts and applause, but this time, it was all directed at Becky; s
he'd
broken a rule herself, made the same slip for which they had been chastising Jeff.
"
Damnit,
"
she cursed, shaking her head.
"
I don
'
t believe I did that,
"
she said disgustedly.

At that moment, there was a knock at the front door, loud enough to interrupt the proceedings and nab everyone
'
s attention.

Turning, Dave saw the crowd in the living room look to the door. The knock repeated, louder this time, and some of the guests moved toward the front window.

"
Now who the heck could
that
be
?
"
chuckled Billy.
"
Nobody
knocks at
this
place...they just walk right in!
"

"
Maybe it
'
s your mom and dad, Billy,
"
Jack rasped in a mockingly ominous tone.
"
Maybe they decided to drop in for a surprise visit!
"

"
Did anyone order a pizza
?
"
asked Ernie.

Everyone shook their heads and shrugged, and the knock repeated.

In the living room, someone peeled back the curtain and peeked out the window.

"
Aw, it
'
s probably someone playin
'
games,
"
dismissed Billy.
"
I bet it
'
s Keith or Terry tryin
'
to make a big entrance.
"

"
Did anyone send out for Chinese
?
"
asked Ernie, and everyone laughed.

Suddenly, the people at the window sprang back, stumbling over each other, letting the curtain flap back into place. The guy who had been at the head of the group swung toward the kitchen, a look of panic twisting his features.

"
Cop
!
"
he exclaimed, his voice hushed but loud enough for everyone to hear.

For an instant, everyone froze, casting frantic stares at each other. Someone turned down the volume of the stereo, and nervous whispers rose through the trailer.

There was certainly reason to worry about a visit from the police. Though Billy and Dave and Ernie and the rest of the Wild West veterans were all of the legal drinking age, many people at the party were under twenty
-
one years old. If the cop decided to check I.D.
'
s and search the premises, there would be big trouble.

The cop knocked again, and everyone drew back from the door. Most of them looked toward the kitchen, toward Billy and the old
-
timers of the gang.

Dave just looked at Larry. Though he was worried about the situation, he was more affected by the incredible coincidence of it all. Never before had the police stopped at Billy
'
s trailer, not
once
in all the years that Dave had gone there; now, on this night, after Larry had discussed just such an occurrence, there was a cop at the door.

No doubt sensing that his charges were all looking to him for help, Billy Bristol rose from his seat at the kitchen table. Coolly, he gazed around at his cronies and followers; he looked no more upset than he would if the man at the door was indeed delivering a pizza.

Straightening his rumpled T
-
shirt, Billy left the table and nonchalantly ambled through the gathered gang. He stopped by the counter between the kitchen and living room and raised his arms in the air to signal for attention.

He started to say something, but the cop knocked again, so he waited. After three loud knocks, Billy addressed the anxious crew.

"
Okay, listen up,
"
he said in a low but clear voice.
"
This is no big deal, all right? Everybody be cool.
"
Calmly, Billy looked around at his comrades, swung his gaze around the living room and kitchen.
"
Now, all I want is for everyone who
'
s underage to go out the back door. It
'
s right through the spare room there.
"
Slowly extending one arm, Billy pointed toward the room in question.
"
Take your time and don
'
t make any noise, okay? I
'
m gonna
'
stall this guy, so there
'
s no rush. Once you get out, just head back to the woods, and we
'
ll give you a yell when the coast is clear.
"