Backtracker (99 page)

"
Don
'
t
give
me that
crap
!
"
hollered Dave, releasing his pent
-
up anger, lashing out though
he'd
been nearly paralyzed with terror just moments ago.
"
I
'
m
sick
of this
runaround
!
I just want to know!
"

"
It
'
s better if you don
'
t,
"
said Larry.
"
You have to trust me on that. It
'
s for your own good.
"

"
Come
off
it
!
"
snapped Dave.
"
What do
you
care about my
'
own good
'
?
"

"
I care a lot,
"
said Larry.
"
I don
'
t want you hurt.
"

"
Bullshit
!
"
blasted Dave.
"
You
'
ve been telling me you
'
re gonna
'
kill
me ever since I
got
here!
"

"
I just want you to go,
"
said Larry.
"
I want you to go so you won
'
t get hurt.
"

"
It
'
s a little
late
for
that
!
"
Dave fired furiously.
"
You
'
ve
already
killed my friend
'
s
parents
!
You
'
ve
already
put me through
hell
, wondering if
my
parents were next!
"

"
I never meant for you to worry,
"
said Larry.
"
I didn
'
t think you
'
d take it that way.
"

"
How did you
think
I
'
d take it
?
"
roared Dave.
"
You told me you could see the future! You told me you try to stop
disasters
from happening, and then there you
were
at my
house
!
What
other
reason could you have for
being
there?
"

"
I can
'
t tell you,
"
said Larry.
"
I
'
m sorry.
"

"
You
'
re
sorry
?
Tell that to those people in that
house
back there! Tell that to the kid at Wolf
'
s Rock!
"

Thunder again rumbled from afar; the child
'
s shrieking choked off for an instant, then burst back in, surging to an hysterical peak.
"
I didn
'
t want you involved in this,
"
said Larry.
"
I didn
'
t want you to see them! I had to do what I did...I
had
to...but I didn
'
t want you to see!
"

"
Why
did you
have
to?
Why
would you
possibly
have to do something like
that
?
"

"
I don
'
t want you to see any more
!
"
shot Larry.
"
That
'
s why you have to go! I don
'
t want you to see what I
'
ve got to do here!
"

"
I already
know
what you want to do!
"

"
But you don
'
t
understand
!
"

"
So explain it to me!
"

"
I
can
'
t
!
"
screamed Larry.
"
Will you
please
just get
out
of here?
"

"
No
!
"
belted Dave. Defiantly, he began to move forward; still gripping the gun tightly, he slowly stepped toward the killer.
"
Tell me who you are! Tell me the
truth
!
"

"
You
'
ve got to go
!
"
insisted Larry.

"
Tell me
!
"
commanded Dave. Features set in a determined scowl, he continued to move through the rain. His eyes were fixed on Larry Smith, his mind locked on a single track; the world dissolved around him, leaving only the killer, the man with the answers.

There was another roll of thunder, closer than the last.
"
Please
!
"
shouted Larry.
"
Please
go
!
You have to let me
finish
!
"

Dave took another step forward.
"
Finish
what
?
"
he flung.
"
Finish cutting up that
baby
?
"

"
There
'
s more
to
it! There
'
s a reason!
"

"
What
reason?
"

"
It has to
die
!
I have to
stop
it!
"

"
Stop it from
what
?
"
lashed Dave.
"
It
'
s just a baby!
"

"
I
'
m running out of time
!
"
screamed Larry.

"
Why
are you
doing
this? Tell me
why
!
"

Larry seemed about to reply...and then he froze. For a moment, he
didn
'
t
move or say a word, just stared at Dave.

The child continued to howl.

Dave advanced another step, then stopped, uncertain of what Larry would do next.

There was more thunder, a louder, closer rumble.

"
Enough,
"
said Larry Smith.
"
That
'
s enough.
"

Coolly, he drew back the knife, held it above the child.

"
I
'
m sorry,
"
he said evenly.
"
I
'
m really sorry.
"

The child shrieked madly, thrashed about as if it knew that its death was near.

"
No
!
"
screamed Dave, tightening his grip on the revolver.
"
Don
'
t do it! I
'
ll
shoot
!
"

"
Whatever floats your boat,
"
smiled Larry.

"
Don
'
t
!
"
screamed Dave, heart galloping, gut twisting.

"
A man
'
s gotta
'
do what a man
'
s gotta
'
do,
"
shrugged Larry.

"
Drop the knife
!
"
ordered Dave, hunching behind the gun.
"
Drop it!
"

Thunder boomed overhead.

The child screeched.

Dave squinted over the barrel, aligning the gunsight with Larry
'
s skull.

"
Goodbye,
"
said Larry Smith, and he turned away, turned toward the lake...

...and Dave prepared to fire...

...and the child howled...

...and the rain rushed down...

...and Dave
'
s finger began to move...

...and Billy Bristol sprinted out of nowhere.

*****

Chapter
61

Like a runner expending all reserves in a kick for the finish line, Billy darted full
-
tilt toward the killer.

Dave was stunned. In the heat of his confrontation with Larry,
he'd
forgotten the very reason for the showdown, the original reason;
he'd
been so immersed in trying to wrest answers from Larry that
he'd
forgotten Billy
'
s plan, forgotten Billy.

It all slammed back to him now, crashed upon him like a monstrous wave. The showdown was to have been a diversion; Billy would sneak up behind the killer and snatch away the child.

Billy was going after the child.

Dave
'
s breath caught in his throat.

Billy
didn
'
t
have far to go. When
he'd
popped into Dave
'
s field of vision,
he'd
been only about twenty feet from Larry...and he was swiftly closing that gap. He would be upon the killer in an instant, a heartbeat, a breath.

Dave watched; it was all that he could do. If
he'd
wanted to warn off Billy, his chance was long past;
he'd
been so completely focused on Larry and the child, he
hadn
'
t
seen Billy until it was too late, until he was already in motion.

Whatever was about to happen, Dave would have no part in it.

Arms and legs pumping, Billy raced toward the killer. From Dave
'
s right, from the killer
'
s right, Billy
'
s wiry body flickered toward the shore, toward the test.

And Dave...

All that Dave could do was watch.

*****

Chapter
62

Larry Smith
didn
'
t
seem to notice Billy
'
s approach.

Larry stood on the beach, facing the water, his back to Dave. His dark, misshapen arms shifted as he handled the child and the knife; his head was bowed, tipped toward his captive.

Though Billy
'
s feet pattered over the sodden turf, Larry
didn
'
t
look up. Perhaps, he
couldn
'
t
hear the warning sounds over the infant
'
s screeching; perhaps, he was too engrossed in his work to pay attention to anything else.

Maybe, the killer heard but
didn
'
t
care. When Dave had threatened to shoot him, Larry had expressed no concern; maybe, he no more feared Billy than a bullet in his skull.

Whether or not he was aware of Billy
'
s presence, Larry
didn
'
t
visibly react. He remained hunched over the child, seemingly oblivious, apparently no more worried than if
he'd
been the only person in Cross Creek State Park.

The child shrieked wildly. Dave wondered if Larry had begun to cut.