Backtracker (20 page)

Excited murmuring rippled through the trailer, and heads nodded in comprehension of Billy
'
s instructions.

"
Everybody who isn
'
t underage, stay in the trailer,
"
continued Billy.
"
Make sure the others all get out.
"
Like a lieutenant briefing his squad on a crucial military exercise, he surveyed his crew with a steady, stern gaze and nodded curtly.
"
I
'
m goin
'
out front now. Soon as I close the door behind me, get movin
'
.
"

The cop knocked again, and Billy glanced at the door.
"
Well,
"
he grinned impishly,
"
here goes nothin
'
.
"
He motioned for everyone to clear away from the door, and the mob shifted in response, flowing out of the cop
'
s line of sight.

Confidently, Billy strode to the front door and opened it.
"
Hey, how ya
'
doin
'
?
"
he said pleasantly, nodding and smiling at the cop. Smoothly, he stepped forward and pushed open the outer screen door, simultaneously tugging the inner door shut behind him.

Once their leader had gone, the gang started to move. Whispering, shushing each other, the guests split their ranks; those who were under the age of twenty
-
one trundled toward the back door, while those who were legally old enough to drink hung back. Soon, only a handful of people remained in the living room.

Most of the kitchen crew stayed right where they were. Jeff Tressler was the only one who had to sneak away; giggling, grinning like a chimp, he waved goodbye and tiptoed from the room.

Unexpectedly, Boris Blovitz stood and started to leave, too.

"
Boris, what the hell
'
re you doin
'
?
"
Jack asked incredulously.

"
I
'
m going outside,
"
Boris whispered loudly, hauling his considerable girth around the kitchen table.

"
Boris, you don
'
t have to,
"
smirked Ernie.
"
You
'
re twenty
-
one, remember?
"

"
So?
"
Boris shrugged.
"
Maybe I just feel like getting some fresh air.
"

"
Just stay in here, you goof,
"
snorted Jack.

"
I wanna
'
get in on the
fun
,
"
Boris whispered excitedly.
"
I wanna
'
play
head games
with the cops.
"

"
Oh, great,
"
sighed Becky D
'
Amoto.

"
I
'
ll run interference for everyone else,
"
explained the big galoot, a thrilled flutter in his voice.
"
If the cops come around back, I
'
ll
make sure they find me. Then,
I
'
ll whip out my I
.D. and laugh in their
faces
.
Oh, I can see it now!
"

"
You know what
I
can see
?
"
Jack nailed sardonically.
"
You
gettin
'
hauled away in the back of a cop cruiser!
"

"
Okay with me,
"
grinned Boris.
"
I
'
ve always wanted to go on a cruise.
"

"
Do me a favor, Boris,
"
Becky said severely.
"
Don
'
t mess with the cop, okay? Don
'
t make things worse.
"

"
Moi
?
"
piped the curly
-
haired gremlin.
"
Make things
worse
?
Surely you
know
better by now, my little rosebud! When Boris is near, there is nothing to fear!
"
Cackling, gleefully rubbing his paws together, he turned and loped away, heading for the back door and whatever insane deeds were bubbling in the cauldron of his brain. On his way through the living room, he paused at the front door, beyond which the cop lurked; grimacing and gritting his teeth, he held his thick forefingers in the shape of a cross, brandishing them at the door as if he were fending off a vampire. He grunted and struggled there for a moment, then continued on his way, rudely pushing ahead of others seeking escape from the trailer.

"
Ohhh boy,
"
sighed Jack, slumping back in his chair.
"
Boris playing head games with the cops. That
'
s
all
we need.
"

"
You don
'
t think he
'
s going to
do
anything, do you
?
"
Darlene asked worriedly.

"
Who the hell knows
?
"
laughed Jack.
"
Boris is pretty unpredictable.
"

"
Oh,
"
Darlene said simply, looking concerned.

"
I wonder what the cop wants,
"
said Jane Niessner.

"
He
'
s probably pissed
'
cause we didn
'
t invite him to the party,
"
smirked Jack.

"
No, seriously,
"
said Jane.
"
You think he
'
ll bust us or something?
"

"
He won
'
t bust anyone,
"
sniffed Ernie.
"
By the time he gets in to take a look around, all the youngsters will be out in the woods. All he
'
ll see is us, and we
'
re just a bunch of old farts.
"

"
Hey,
"
protested Becky.
"
Speak for yourself, Ernie.
I
'
m
no old fart!
"

"
I don
'
t think the cop
'
s here to look for underage drinkers,
"
offered Larry.
"
If he was, I doubt he
'
d be here on his own.
"

"
Yeah, that
'
s true,
"
Dave nodded reflectively.
"
There probably would
'
ve been more than one.
"

"
Maybe there
are
more,
"
suggested Becky.
"
Maybe there
'
s some out in his car.
"

"
Nah,
"
dismissed Jack.
"
If there were more, they wouldn
'
t
'
ve stayed in the cruiser. They
'
ve got a whole trailerful of people to handle here.
"

"
I believe Larry
'
s right,
"
added Ernie.
"
If they were going to raid the party, they would
'
ve done it by now. It must be something else.
"

"
Like what
?
"
wondered Dave.

"
Disturbing the peace
?
"
offered Jane.
"
Maybe somebody called and griped about us making noise.
"

"
Uh
-
uh,
"
rejected Jack.
"
There
'
s no neighbors for like a mile on one side, and it
'
s just Billy
'
s landlady on the other, and she
'
d
never
sic the cops on us.
"

"
Well, maybe she finally decided she
'
s had enough,
"
said Jane.

"
No way,
"
Jack said insistently.
"
Mrs. Tish is cool.
"

"
So why do you think the cop
'
s here
?
"
Dave asked Larry.

"
I bet it
'
s nothing serious,
"
said Larry, stroking his goatee.
"
Anyway,
"
he continued, gazing past Dave and into the living room,
"
I think we
'
re about to get a full report from our man on the scene.
"

The kitchen crew turned as one and saw the front door sweep open. Everyone watched anxiously as Billy Bristol reentered the trailer and let the screen door snap shut behind him.

Audible sighs of relief gusted from the gang for two reasons: Billy was alone,
wasn
'
t
accompanied by the policeman; not only that, but the whippersnapper had a smile on his face.

"
Yo, Billy
!
"
shouted Jack.
"
What
'
s the story, bud?
"

"
It
'
s getting
cold
out,
"
teased Billy.
"
I should
'
ve put my
coat
on.
"

"
What a bonehead,
"
chortled Jack.
"
I wanna
'
know about the
cop
, not the weather.
"

"
Yeah,
"
hollered Becky.
"
What
happened
out there?
"

"
Oh, nothing much,
"
Billy said lackadaisically.
"
He just stopped by to see if we needed him to make a beer run or anything.
"
Sidling up to the counter, Billy leaned lazily against it, elbows propped on its surface.

"
Aw, come on, Billy,
"
bristled Becky.
"
Just tell us what happened.
"

"
Okay, okay,
"
Billy surrendered with a twinkle in his eye.
"
I
'
ll tell you the truth. the cop wasn
'
t here to make a beer run.
"

"
So what was it all about
?
"
Darlene asked impatiently.

"
Larry was right,
"
shrugged Billy.

"
About what
?
"
asked Ernie.