Backtracker (32 page)

"
I
'
m convinced,
"
Dave declared forcefully, meeting his pal
'
s eyes with a steady gaze.
"
There
'
s no other explanation.
"

Ernie frowned, and for an instant, Dave thought that he was going to provide another explanation...but then, his features lightened once more, as if
he'd
decided not to risk antagonizing his friend.
"
Well, you never know,
"
Ernie said noncommittally.
"
Psychic phenomena have supposedly been documented in the past. I
'
ve never witnessed any, but that doesn
'
t mean they don
'
t exist.
"

Nodding, Dave realized that the discussion had run its course.

After refilling their beers at the keg, the two friends returned to the main mass of the party. Though he
wasn
'
t
entirely satisfied with how the conversation had gone, Dave at least was glad that
he'd
let his comrade in on the investigation, and he felt ready to rejoin the rest of the crew. He was again eager to have a little fun, be with Darlene...and, of course, watch and listen to Larry Smith. He still hoped that Larry might make another slip, provide more clues to his secret nature.

Unfortunately, no clues were forthcoming. Through the hours that followed, Dave carefully monitored the man
'
s every move and utterance, his every tic and inflection...and he found nothing of value.

Dave questioned Darlene, asked if s
he'd
detected anything unusual in her own reconnaissance, but she said that she
hadn
'
t
. She revealed that s
he'd
spoken with Larry for a long while, and had been very diligent in monitoring his every word, but she
hadn
'
t
discerned a thing. Larry had fostered a friendly, casual conversation, and had said nothing which could be deemed out of the ordinary.

Gradually, when it became clear that he
wasn
'
t
going to break through Larry
'
s stonewalling that night, Dave began to unwind a bit. Naturally, he kept his eyes and ears trained on the secret
-
keeper, but he did so without as much single
-
minded intensity as
he'd
employed through the evening.

Dave began to drink more freely, and he found himself loosening up even more. Surrounded by his comrades, Darlene constantly at his side, he eventually lost himself in the familiar dynamic of the party, stopped worrying about Mr. Smith. Dave welcomed the weakening of his obsession; it felt good to let go of the ever
-
present pressure, the driving curiosity, the state of alert watchfulness. The beer worked its magic, and soon, Larry just seemed like another laughing partygoer.

The core cadre of the gang gathered around the kitchen table, like always, and Dave held a seat among them. They played drinking games, teased and goaded one another, told steakhouse stories which often involved as much imagination as fact.

"
So as soon as I throw the knife, Fred walks in,
"
grinned Jack Bunsen, reaching the climax of yet another steakhouse story.
"
The knife flies right past him and sticks right in the side of the box, and he just stands there for a minute and looks at it.
"

"
Oh no
!
"
giggled Jane Niessner.
"
What did he say?
"

Jack crossed his eyes and let his head fall to one side.
"
Umm,
"
he said in a mocking, idiot voice which sounded nothing like that of the manager whom he was quoting.
"
Um, Jack, um...are you, um, having a little trouble, um, hanging onto the silverware today?
"

"
That
'
s our Fred
!
"
laughed Billy Bristol, sitting with arms crossed, rocking his char back on its rear legs.

"
Yeah
!
"
beamed Jack.
"
So I tell him
'
Y
'
know, we really oughtta
'
get some gloves back here,
'
cause you know how slippery this stuff gets from all that soap. Somebody
'
s gonna
'
get hurt one of these days.
"

"
Somebody like
Fred
, maybe,
"
cackled Billy.
"
That knife almost stuck
him
instead of the box.
"

"
Well, he really zips around, sometimes,
"
contributed dark
-
haired Becky D
'
Amoto.
"
One time, he came swoopin
'
past me and scared me half to death, and I dropped a whole
bus pan
! I never even heard him coming!
"

"
Anyway,
"
resumed Jack,
"
Fred walks over and leans real close to the knife, just stares at it for a minute. He
'
s got this goofy look on his face, and I can
'
t tell if he
'
s pissed or not.
"

"
Uh
-
huh,
"
nodded Jane.
"
The Fred Wyland look. I know it well.
"

"
Then,
"
continued Jack,
"
he pulls the knife out and hands it to me, and he goes over and stands in front of the box. He puts his arms out like this,
"
said Jack, spreading his arms wide,
"
and he tells me
'
Go ahead, take a shot. I feel like calling in sick for a couple days.
'"

"
Ooo
!
"
broke in Billy, a great grin on his impish mug.
"
That
'
d
be a tough opportunity to pass up!
"

"
The chance of a lifetime,
"
Ernie tossed sardonically.

"
So anyway,
"
proceeded Jack,
"
I tell him
'
No thanks. It
'
s no challenge aiming at such a big target.
'"
With that, Jack Bunsen let out a hearty laugh, and everyone joined him.

"
What
'
d Fred say to that
?
"
Becky D
'
Amoto asked between fits of giggling.

"
Oh, he just laughed,
"
replied Jack.
"
He told me he
'
d try to lose some weight if I
'
d stop throwing knives around the dishroom. He was cool about the whole thing.
"

"
Fred usually is,
"
Billy chuckled.
"
He
'
s a cool guy most of the time.
"

"
Compared to Mr. Martin, anyway,
"
qualified Ernie.
"
Then again, compared to Tom,
everyone
'
s
an upstanding individual.
"

"
Except Peggy Kutz, maybe,
"
interjected Dave.

"
Oh, don
'
t be so hard on Peggy,
"
suggested Jane Niessner.
"
She really feels awful about what happened, you know.
"

"
Well,
that
'
s
comforting to hear,
"
Dave said harshly.

"
Hey, I
'
m just telling you what she said,
"
Jane clipped defensively.
"
I
'
d like to see what
you
'
d
do in the same situation, with the managers putting all kinds of pressure on you.
"

"
I wouldn
'
t turn in my friends, that
'
s for sure,
"
snorted Dave.
"
Would you?
"

"
Of course I wouldn
'
t,
"
frowned Jane,
"
but that
'
s not the point. I wouldn
'
t hold a
grudge
against somebody for the rest of their life, either.
"

"
Well,
I
would,
"
smirked Dave.
"
I
'
m just not a forgiving type of guy.
"

"
Neither am I,
"
laughed Billy.
"
I
'
ve
got a grudge against
all
of you, and I
'
ll
never
forgive any of you!
"

"
What brought on this grudge, pray tell
?
"
Ernie asked wryly.

"
I just don
'
t like you
!
"
chucked Billy, eyes glinting mischievously.
"
You guys really get on my nerves!
"

"
Well,
ex
-
cuuuse
us
!
"
flouted Jack Bunsen.
"
If you don
'
t like us, then why invite us to your lousy parties?
"

"
Nobody that I
like
will come
!
"
grinned Billy.
"
I
'
ve gotta
'
settle for
you
people.
"

"
You could do a lot worse,
"
Larry Smith pitched from his corner of the table.

"
Yeah
!
"
cheered Becky D
'
Amoto.
"
You tell
'
im, Larry!
"

"
Speaking of parties,
"
cut in Dave,
"
when
'
s the next one gonna
'
be?
"

"
Ask Ernie,
"
shrugged Billy.
"
I
'
ve had the last two, so the next one
'
s up to him.
"

"
So what
'
s the word, Ernest
?
"
queried Dave.
"
Will there be a bash at your place?
"

"
Oh, definitely,
"
nodded Ernie.
"
I
'
m just not sure when it will be. I had considered throwing a party tomorrow night, because my parents will be out of town, but that idea
'
s fallen through.
"

"
Why
'
s that
?
"
asked Larry.
"
Have they changed their plans?
"