Backtracker (27 page)

"
Well, it sounds like good advice,
"
Larry said lightly.
"
Too bad I never gave it.
"

"
You really don
'
t remember
?
"
Dave asked quizzically.
"
I mean, you
said
it, Larry. I was there.
"

"
Maybe you heard me wrong,
"
chuckled Larry Smith.
"
What I
probably
said was
'
Gimme
'
another beer.
'
"

"
Whatever you say,
"
sighed Dave, backing down, yet again, from Larry
'
s blockade.

Though Larry had stymied him, Dave
'
s disappointed retreat
didn
'
t
last long. After mulling over that latest verbal duel, Dave became more convinced than ever that Larry was hiding something. Since it was highly unlikely that Larry had completely forgotten what
he'd
said in Billy
'
s trailer, Dave was sure that the guy was lying about his memory. If Larry was lying about the conversation in the trailer, a conversation which suggested that
he had
psychic abilities, then it seemed plausible that he really had those abilities and was trying to throw Dave off his scent.

With rejuvenated resolve, Dave resumed his testing of Larry, aiming sly questions at him and intently monitoring every response.

As before, he came up empty at every turn.

For example: as he drove into Morton, the borough in which Larry lived, Dave mentioned the cop
'
s visit to Saturday night
'
s party.

"
Boy, that was sure lucky the other night,
"
he said lightly.

"
What was that
?
"
Larry asked distractedly.

"
We really lucked out at Billy
'
s trailer. You know, with the cop. We figured he was there to break up the party, and all he wanted was for us to move our cars.
"

"
Oh, right,
"
said Larry.

"
Naturally, we figured there was going to be trouble,
"
said Dave.
"
I mean, when a cop drops by in the middle of a big party, you expect him to bust you for something.
"

"
You never know what those cops are gonna
'
do,
"
contributed Larry.

"
Everybody handled it pretty well, though,
"
nodded Dave.
"
Nobody panicked or anything. Billy had things pretty organized, huh?
"

"
Oh yeah,
"
agreed Larry, but without much conviction or interest.

"
Y
'
know, it was really weird, though,
"
Dave said laughingly.
"
Right before it all happened, you were asking us if the township police ever gave us any trouble over parking by the road.
"

"
I was
?
"
asked Larry.

"
Yeah,
"
confirmed Dave.
"
It was like The Twilight Zone
or something. You asked us if we always parked that way, and you said the cops don
'
t like that sometimes...and then, a little later, a cop came knocking at the door to complain about our parking!
"

"
Huh,
"
Larry said simply.

"
You remember
that
, don
'
t you
?
"
asked Dave.

"
Well, I remember asking if the police had ever broken up one of your parties, but that
'
s it. I don
'
t think I said anything about parking.
"

'
Here we go again,
'
thought Dave.
"
Oh, come on,
"
he laughed.
"
You
have
to remember. Jeff Tressler was griping about how many cars were out front, and then you asked if we ever had any problems parking along the road.
"

"
No, no,
"
said Larry.
"
I didn
'
t say that. I think it was one of those other guys.
"

Mentally, Dave groaned at the blatant runaround that Larry was giving him. The guy was obviously lying again, and Dave could do nothing to penetrate his mistruth.
"
Well, anyway, I thought it was weird,
"
he said, losing the laughing quality from his voice.
"
Somebody said it, and then it happened.
"

"
Everything seems weird when you
'
ve got eight beers in you,
"
chuckled Larry.

And so it went for the remainder of the drive.

Despite his lack of progress, Dave
wasn
'
t
discouraged. Though Larry had so far refused to spill the beans, his lying had at least confirmed that there were beans to spill. One way or another, Dave would ferret out the secrets, no matter how long it would take or to what lengths he would have to go to get them.

Though his initial interrogations had failed, Dave persisted in the hope that he could find a clue that day. He still planned to get into the guy
'
s apartment and scout the premises for evidence or insight; though he
didn
'
t
know exactly what he would be looking for, he expected the reconnoitering to turn up something, some hint of what direction his investigation should take. If nothing else, he expected to glean a clearer picture of Larry
'
s personality; Dave believed that he could learn something about Larry by seeing the way in which he lived, the furnishings and possessions that he chose, the way in which they were arranged.

Thus, Dave grew determined to gain egress to Larry
'
s apartment. As Larry directed him through the streets of Morton Borough, Dave fixed his mind on his goal and marshaled his wits to achieve it.

Larry instructed Dave to take the Torino up a steep, narrow alleyway, then pointed out a rundown white building to the left. The place was two stories high and boxlike, with a rectangular front and flat roof. Though there were only two small windows on the top floor, the ground floor had a wide one; colorful neon signs glowed in that window, each advertising a brand of beer. It was a neighborhood bar, a little place which Dave
hadn
'
t
known existed until that moment.

As he pulled the Torino to the curb in front of the bar, Dave wondered if this was Larry
'
s home or if the guy just wanted to stop off for a drink.
"
So,
"
he said querulously, staring at the barroom window.
"
Is this is it? Is this where you live?
"

"
Uh
-
huh,
"
replied Larry.
"
I
'
ve got a room upstairs.
"

"
Good location,
"
said Dave.
"
Whenever you want a drink, you just go downstairs. You don
'
t have to worry about driving home, either.
"

"
Which is good,
"
said Larry,
"
since I don
'
t have a car.
"

Dave hesitated, trying to decide on the best way to get into Larry
'
s place.
He had
to come up with a reasonable excuse, something which
wouldn
'
t
betray his ulterior motives.

He heard his passenger move then, and the door clicked open.
"
Well, thanks for the ride,
"
Larry said with a polite nod, the brown paper bag in which he carried his steakhouse uniform bundled under his arm.
"
I appreciate it.
"

"
Hey, wait,
"
interjected Dave, catching Larry before he could step out.
"
Could I use your bathroom? I
'
ve gotta
'
piss like crazy.
"
Smiling sheepishly, he tried to sound as if he hated to impose but simply had no choice.

"
Well, I don
'
t care,
"
shrugged Larry.
"
You can use the john in the bar, though. Probably be a shorter run from here.
"

"
Yeah, but there might be somebody in there already,
"
countered Dave.
"
I don
'
t think I can wait, y
'
know?
"

"
All right,
"
sighed Larry.
"
If you gotta
'
go, you gotta
'
go.
"

Leaning forward, Dave grimaced and gritted his teeth.
"
Believe me,
"
he grunted,
"
I gotta
'
go
!
"

Shaking his head, Larry laughed and got out of the car. Dave switched off the Torino and hurried after him.

The two hiked up a short walk along one side of the building, then came to a windowless metal door at the rear corner. Hoisting a key from the pocket of his bluejeans, Larry unlocked and opened the door and stepped inside.

Entering and tugging the door shut, Dave followed Larry up a dark flight of stairs. There was hardly any light in the passage, just a faint glow from somewhere above; Dave had to strain to see the outlines of the steps.

"
Geez,
"
he exclaimed.
"
How come there isn
'
t any light in here?
"

"
Aw, there
'
s a socket in the ceiling,
"
explained Larry,
"
but there hasn
'
t been a
light bulb
in it since I got here. I asked the landlord to put one in, but I guess he
'
s too cheap or lazy to bother with it.
"

"
Maybe you oughtta
'
just get one yourself,
"
suggested Dave.
"
You might end up falling down these steps sometime, y
'
know?
"

"
Nah,
"
dismissed Larry.
"
I
'
m used to it. Anyway, why should I pay to fix up this place if I
'
m not gonna
'
stay here that long?
"

Topping the stairs, Dave followed Larry into a short hallway. At the end of the hall, a small window admitted a feeble glow from the streetlights outside; though the glow
didn
'
t
exactly light up the place, it was enough to enable Dave to make out his surroundings.

As he trailed after Larry, Dave could see that the interior of the building looked as decrepit as the exterior. The plastered walls of the hallway were cracked and chipped, as was the ceiling; in some spots, the plaster had vanished in great hunks, leaving clefts and gaps through which gray sheet
-
rock could be seen. The floor was composed only of bare boards, some of which had warped to create a rippled, uneven surface.