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Darlene
'
s eyes grew wider than ever and her head bobbed forward. Dave
couldn
'
t
tell if she was impressed or just stunned at the silliness of the concept.

"
Like I said, it sounds kind of crazy,
"
admitted Dave, a trace of sheepishness in his shrug.
"
It wasn
'
t just that one thing that made me think this, though. Other weird things have happened.
"

"
Like what
?
"
asked Darlene.

"
At the party, remember how Jeff was complaining about the parking? Larry asked if we ever had any trouble with the cops over parking by the road. He said the cops get picky about that sometimes...and then, a little later, a cop stopped for that very reason.
"

"
I remember that,
"
she nodded slowly.
"
Everybody said it was kind of funny, how he talked about it and then it happened.
"

"
That
'
s right,
"
he said.
"
Two times in one night, he knew what was gonna
'
happen before it happened. Both times, he knew
exactly
how things would go.
"

"
Huh,
"
said Darlene.
"
That does seem weird.
"

"
There was another time, too,
"
reported Dave.
"
You know how Peggy turned me in for sneaking chocolate milks? Well, the night before Fred called me on it, Larry warned Billy and me not to trust the people we work with. We were talking about sneaking chocolate milk and stuff at the steakhouse, and he told us we shouldn
'
t let anybody know about it because they might turn on us sometime. The very next day, I was busted because somebody turned on me! How do you
like
that?
"

"
Gee,
"
said Darlene, a perplexed frown on her small, oval face.
"
Maybe you
'
re right about him. Did you ask him about any of this stuff?
"

"
Yeah,
"
nodded Dave,
"
but he just laughed it off, or said he didn
'
t remember it. I think he just doesn
'
t want anybody to know what he can do.
"

"
So you really think he
'
s psychic, huh
?
"
she asked.

"
Or something like that,
"
he affirmed with a nod.
"
I mean, I don
'
t know for sure, but all those things that happened...especially with Boris...have me wondering. I just can
'
t think of any other explanation.
"

"
Boy,
"
sighed Darlene.
"
You were right about it sounding crazy, but from what you
'
ve told me, it might be true.
"

At this preliminary acceptance of his theory, Dave felt recharged, redeemed in his obsession.
"
So, what do you think of him, anyway? Have you noticed anything strange, anything he said or did that might tie in with this whole thing?
"

For a moment, Darlene stared silently at the table.
"
I don
'
t think so,
"
she said finally.
"
I only met him Saturday night, though. I was only around him a couple hours.
"

"
Sure, but did you notice anything unusual
?
"
pressed Dave.
"
Was there anything that struck you as weird?
"

"
Except for how he ran in on us and dragged you away, I didn
'
t notice anything. He just seemed like a nice, normal guy. At first, I thought it was...I don
'
t know...kind of
different
having someone his age there, but I got used to it really quick.
"

"
Anything else
?
"
asked Dave, hanging on her every word, hoping that she would spring a surprising insight on him.

"
I don
'
t think so,
"
she said slowly, still staring at the table.
"
I liked him. He just seemed like a fun guy, real easy to get along with.
"

Nodding, Dave gazed expectantly into her eyes, willing her to produce some illuminating nugget. What s
he'd
told him so far had been old hat, the same impressions of Larry that everyone seemed to share. He hoped that it
wasn
'
t
all that she would tell him, and yet he sensed that she
had
n
o
t
hing new to provide; she was obviously making a great effort to comb her memories of Larry, but she
didn
'
t
seem to be able to fish out anything relevant. Though he was disappointed, Dave knew that even if she
couldn
'
t
help him any more, the lunch meeting had been a success; at least
he'd
won a believer, a supporter of his cause.

For another moment, Darlene earnestly struggled to cull an important detail from her memory; finally, though, she shook her head and shrugged.
"
I
'
m sorry,
"
she said,
"
but that
'
s about it.
"

"
Oh well,
"
sighed Dave.
"
Like you said, you were only around him that one night. I
'
ll tell you what, though. Would you do me a favor and keep your eyes open next time we see him? I mean, if you notice anything weird that he does or says, could you let me know?
"

"
Okay,
"
she agreed eagerly.
"
Are we going to see him again soon?
"

"
As a matter of fact,
"
he said,
"
that
'
s something else I wanted to ask you. Billy
'
s having another party Friday night, and I was wondering if you might want to go.
"

"
Sure,
"
she replied, nodding enthusiastically.
"
I
'
d love to. You think Larry will be there?
"

"
I
'
d say that
'
s pretty likely,
"
asserted Dave.
"
I
'
m not
psychic
or anything, but I bet he
'
ll show up.
"

*****

Chapter
16

Racket, chatter, beer, laughter, smoke: Billy Bristol was having his second party in six days.

As always, the trailer was packed wall
-
to
-
wall with Wild West cronies and affiliates, the usual suspects. As always, a keg of beer was posted in the bathtub, continuously employed. As always, a jubilant ruckus pervaded the place, a celebratory hymn of youth.

As always, Dave Heinrich was obsessed with Larry Smith.

"
So, what do you think of him
?
"
he asked Ernie Dumbrowski.
"
What
'
s your impression of him?
"
It was an hour into the party, and Dave had managed to corner Ernie in the trailer
'
s hallway. For the moment, Larry was in the kitchen, so Dave was free to question his comrade without worrying that Larry would overhear.

"
Well,
"
said the tall, stocky guy, leaning against the paneling of one wall.
"
I think he
'
s an interesting person. He
'
s very intelligent, and he seems to have been well
-
traveled.
"

"
Huh,
"
nodded Dave.
"
He does seem to have been around, all right.
"
Raising the cup of beer that
he'd
just refilled at the keg,
he had
a swig of the stuff.

"
I think it
'
s interesting to talk to someone like that,
"
continued Ernie, reaching up to brush stray strands of slick black hair from his forehead.
"
He
'
s had a lot of unique experiences.
"

"
Yeah, that
'
s true,
"
agreed Dave.

"
I kind of enjoy having him around,
"
said Ernie.
"
It
'
s good to have some new blood at the parties.
"

Nodding shrewdly, Dave glanced down the hallway; through the muddle of guests, he glimpsed Larry, standing by the kitchen table, talking to Darlene. Dave wondered what was being said, and was glad that Darlene was now working as an agent of his investigation. It was as if he now had an extra pair of eyes, an extra set of ears, extended senses to watch and listen for vital clues.

"
Ernie,
"
he said then, still looking down the hallway.
"
Have you noticed anything...I don
'
t know...anything
strange
about him?
"

"
Why
?
"
smirked Ernie.
"
Have you?
"

"
Maybe,
"
shrugged Dave.

"
What exactly is it you
'
ve noticed
?
"
wondered Ernie.
"
Maybe if you told me what you
'
re referring to, I
'
d be able to come up with something.
"

"
I just want to get your first impression,
"
said Dave.
"
Just tell me what you think.
"

"
All right,
"
Ernie shrugged gamely.
"
Let
'
s see...anything strange about Larry. Hmmm.
"
Thoughtfully, he stared at the ceiling, lifting his beer for a drink.

A moment passed, during which Dave directed his gaze once more down the hallway. He could still see Larry in the kitchen, talking to Darlene, gesturing expressively. The guy seemed as relaxed and gregarious as ever, completely at ease; since arriving,
he'd
said nothing unusual, at least not within earshot of Dave.

"
Sorry,
"
Ernie sighed at last, wagging his head.
"
I really can
'
t think of anything.
"

Snapping his attention back to his friend, Dave frowned.
"
Have you noticed any, uh...any weird coincidences when he
'
s around?
"

"
No,
"
replied Ernie.
"
What are you getting at, anyway?
"

"
Well, what about last Saturday
?
"
pressed Dave.
"
You know, when Larry was talking about the cops hassling us about parking by the road, and then a cop showed up and hassled us about it?
"

"
Oh, yeah,
"
nodded Ernie.
"
I remember you asking if he was psychic or something.
"

"
Right,
"
said Dave,
"
and I was only kidding at first...but now I
'
m starting to wonder. There
'
ve been a couple other times he
'
s predicted stuff, or at least come pretty damn close.
"

"
So you think he
'
s psychic, huh
?
"
smirked Ernie, his deep, breathy voice adopting a trace of friendly mockery.
"
Is that why you
'
ve been asking me all this stuff?
"

"
Well, yeah,
"
Dave admitted sheepishly.
"
I mean, things have happened that make me think there
'
s more to Larry than meets the eye.
"

"
That
'
s an interesting idea,
"
grinned Ernie.
"
A psychic phenomenon, right here among us. We ought to see if we can get him to tell us what the answers on our final exams will be.
"

"
I know, I know,
"
sighed Dave.
"
It
does
sound way
-
out. I don
'
t think I
'
m completely out
-
to
-
lunch on this one, though.
"

"
Why
?
"
asked Ernie.
"
It
'
s just, like I said, a couple of times he
'
s talked about things, or dropped hints, and then the things have happened. I mean, one or two of them I could accept as coincidences, but one of them was just too incredible to believe. It was like he knew every
detail
of what was going to happen.
"

"
When was this
?
"
quizzed Ernie, the whimsy in his voice now mixed with curiosity.
"
What happened to convince you?
"

Dave nearly launched into the story of Boris, then caught himself. Though
he'd
bared the truth to Darlene, he
didn
'
t
yet feel that the time was right to confide in Ernie.

"
Uh, I really don
'
t want to go into it,
"
he told Ernie.
"
It was...well, it
'
s kind of personal. Trust me, though...it was just incredible how much he knew ahead of time. I just couldn
'
t believe it. When I put that together with the way he predicted the cop Saturday, and the way he hinted at me getting busted at work, I couldn
'
t think of any other explanation except that he can see the future.
"

"
He hinted at your getting busted
?
"
Ernie asked with some interest.

"
Yeah,
"
nodded Dave.
"
The night before Mr. Wyland called me in his office, Larry was telling Billy and me not to trust everybody at work. We were talking about how we sneak food and stuff, and Larry said we should be more careful...and the next day,
bingo
, I
'
m busted because I trusted Peggy Kutz.
"

"
Really
?
"
piped Ernie, raising his eyebrows.
"
Well,
that
'
s
pretty wild. Did Larry have some inside information from someone?
"

"
As far as I know, nobody told him in advance,
"
stated Dave.
"
Anyway, if
he
ha
d
heard about it, I think he
'
d
'
ve just come right out and told me straight, instead of hinting around about it.
"

"
Maybe he couldn
'
t tell you,
"
offered Ernie.
"
Maybe he heard it from Tom Martin, huh? He
'
s supposed to be an old friend of Tom
'
s, right? If Tom told him, and Larry told y
ou, and Tom
found out that he told you, maybe Tom would give him a hard time.
"

"
No,
"
Dave said firmly.
"
If
he
ha
d
n
'
t wanted to tell me, then he wouldn
'
t have even given me a hint.
"

"
Maybe it just slipped out,
"
shrugged Ernie.
"
I doubt it,
"
rejected Dave.
"
Larry doesn
'
t strike me as the kind of guy to just let something slip out.
"

"
All right,
"
said Ernie, propping a foot against the wall, resting his cup of beer on his upraised knee.
"
What you
'
re trying to say here is that Larry knew what was going to happen to you because he
'
s psychic, but all he told you were little hints. Okay. Assuming he really is psychic, why didn
'
t he just tell you everything?
"

"
I think he wants to hide what he can do,
"
replied Dave, glancing down the hall at Larry and Darlene.
"
For some reason, he doesn
'
t want anybody to know...probably because everyone would pester him if they knew he could see the future.
"

"
Then why did he even give you hints
?
"
asked Ernie.

"
Maybe he still tries to help people a little, just enough so they don
'
t figure out what he can do.
"

"
Then what about the cop, and this other thing you won
'
t tell me about? Why would he keep leaving himself wide
-
open if he
'
s so worried about hiding what he can do?
"

"
Look,
"
Dave said drily.
"
I don
'
t
know
.
All I know is that after what
'
s
happened
,
I
'
m convinced.
"

Perhaps sensing that Dave had had enough counter
-
arguments for one night, Ernie sighed and shrugged.
"
Well, that
'
s up to you, of course,
"
he said nonchalantly.
"
Personally, I find it hard to believe that Larry
'
s psychic, but then again, I haven
'
t had the benefit of your direct experience.
"