Lost Echoes

55

They were in bed at Tad’s house. Kayla rolled over and put her arm over Harry’s sweaty chest. “I give that one a nine,” she said.

“What? No ten? I thought that was pretty goddamn magnificent, if I say so myself. And I do. You weren’t faking, were you?”

“Now that’s an ugly question. No. But, we call it a ten, what have we got to work toward?”

“Good point.”

“Damn, I’d have loved to have seen the chief’s face when he got home and there was Joey.”

“Poor Joey,” Harry said. “Thing is, Kayla, when I found him, I felt his fear. It wasn’t just fear of that moment in time, when he was murdered. It was all his fear. It all came out. And he was full of it. His whole life was fear. It was horrible. I felt so sorry for him.”

“Shit, Harry. Joey would have loved the joke. He would have. Think about it. After all he’s been through, what happened to him. What we did with his body, he would have appreciated it.”

“I reckon you’re right. But it’s starting to get to me now. I’m starting to feel sick about it.”

“I saw the chief today, and he didn’t say much of anything. Usually he’s pretty jovial, see. But today he was quiet, and everyone was asking, ‘What’s wrong with the chief?’ and I’m saying, ‘I couldn’t begin to guess,’ but, shit, I’m not guessing. I know. He’s got his own murder victim visiting on his couch, thawing out like a TV dinner. Good guys one, bad guys zero.”

“It was a good idea. Funny, anyway. Now he’s got the body.”

“Your friend Tad, he’s got a wicked mind.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “He does. He’s a guy you don’t want for an enemy. He’s got this, what do you call it…sense of irony.”

“I’ll say.”

“Thing is,” Harry said, pulling Kayla closer, “what’s next?”

“We can try another position.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Do we have to think about that right now?”

“I guess not,” Harry said, and kissed her. “But do you ever think maybe this isn’t going to work out so well? Now that they have the body, they can maybe find some DNA on it, a smudge where I had hold of it. Seems like that shit’s all over the place.”

“You wore gloves. We all wore gloves. We were careful. DNA is real enough, but it isn’t magic. It’s not like those TV shows. Those things are science fiction.”

“Consider this, however. My life, my gift, so to speak. It’s pretty science fiction unto itself.”

“Point taken. But it was great getting something on that bastard, Harry. You got to understand, he killed my daddy. And that little sign, that was the kicker. ‘We know.’”

“You made a very good sign, no doubt. Very artsy-craftsy. But it still doesn’t look good for me. I can’t even go back to my apartment. I’m afraid it’ll be me next time, hanging from that light fixture. They haven’t stopped looking for me, to nail me semilegal or in some dark alley somewhere. In the end it’s all the same. I don’t get to do Christmas shopping this year.”

“I’m sorry, Harry. Guess I’m gloating over my little piece of revenge. But it isn’t over, baby. We got to keep thinking. Thing to do, is we got to turn it on them. Play it so smart and tight they won’t know me and Tad are connected to you. They don’t know you have allies. They don’t even know to look here, and I’m careful when I come over. I use my car, I park in the back. I can even fuck quieter I have to.”

“I wouldn’t want that.”

“Tad might.”

“He’s way down the hall. Thing is, Kayla, I’ve just got a feeling, you know, this sort of built-in shit detector telling me I’m fucked. And maybe you and Tad too. Like maybe we’re a whole lot too damn clever for our own good.”

Kayla rubbed her hand across his chest, and then lower. Her perfume filled Harry’s nostrils, made them flare. God, that sweet and musky smell. Wonderful.

“Well,” she said, “if it turns bad, what say let’s go out happy as we can make ourselves?”