victim – her?
Oh, God.
Or had his end been supernatural in origin? Maybe ghosts took a dim view of body snatchers.
Body snatchers. As she thought of herself in that light, Summer moaned again.
„You sound like a donkey with laryngitis.“ The door beside her opened without warning. Summer screeched, and shot sideways away from it like a sprung rubber band.
Frankenstein surveyed her from the open door.
„Where have you been?“ she gasped.
„Nature called. Come on, get out. I’ve found us a new set of wheels.“
„What?“
But he was already walking away from the van. His limping gait was surprisingly fast. Summer had to scramble to catch up with him.
„Wait – we can’t just leave them.“
„Who?“
„The bodies!“
„Why not?“
His tone was so indifferent that Summer sputtered. „Because – because we just can’t.“
„I don’t see that we have much choice. Unless you want to bring them with us. I always looked forward to going on a double date with a couple of stiffs. Or would you rather try to bury them? I hear grave-digging’s hard work.“
„Would you be serious?“
„I am being serious.“ A slight quirk at one end of his swollen mouth alerted her to the fact that he smiled suddenly. „Serious as a grave.“
„Oh, ha-ha.“
„Glad to see you’ve kept your sense of humor.“
Summer didn’t even bother to dignify that with an answer. „We’ve got to do something – at least call somebody and tell them where they – the bodies – are.“
He snorted. „Why not just tell them where we are while we’re at it?“
„We should call the police“ – a sharp shake of his head vetoed that idea – – „or Harmon Brothers,“ another shake of his head, „or somebody“
Frankenstein shot her an impatient glance. „Those people in there are already dead, Rosencrans. You want to join them?“
Summer shook her head.
„Me neither. So we don’t call anybody, understand? We just keep our mouths shut, our heads low, and hightail it out of the great state of Tennessee.“
„But…“As Summer followed him through an ordinary-size door at the far end of the warehouse, he flicked off the light. The fresh night air struck her like a threat. Outside, she felt exposed. Vulnerable. She looked anxiously skyward, searching for any sign of the helicopter.
„Couldn’t we just stay here until morning?“ Her voice was so small that she barely recognized it as her own.
He shut the door and tested the knob to be sure it was locked. „What do you suppose is going to be different in the morning? Do you think the bad guys vanish in a puff of smoke at daybreak? Not hardly. The bad guys’U still be bad – and they’ll still be searching for us. So shake your booty, Rosencrans.“
„Would you quit calling me that?“ She addressed the question to his back. He was already a dozen paces ahead. Summer hurried to catch up. „Damn it!“
„What’re you swearing for?“
„Fun.“
„Whatever turns you on.“ He stopped in front of an ancient-looking black car and bent, feeling beneath its massive front bumper. The sound of the hood popping open was as loud as a gunshot to Summer’s sensitized ears.
„What are you doing?“ Glancing around, Summer wrapped her arms over her chest. The night had grown cool, but she thought it was nerves rather than temperature that was the cause of her sudden chill.
He opened the hood wide, pulled a coil of wire obtained God knew where from the back pocket of his cut-offs, and bent over the car’s yawning mouth. „Connecting the battery to the coil.“
„Why?“
„Jesus, Rosencrans, don’t you ever shut up? I need to concentrate here.“
„So who’s stopping you?“ But after that she seethed in silence as, following a couple of apparent false starts that had him swearing under his breath, he wrapped one end of the wire around a battery post and threaded it down through the engine. He dropped to the ground, turned rather clumsily onto his
Oh, God.
Or had his end been supernatural in origin? Maybe ghosts took a dim view of body snatchers.
Body snatchers. As she thought of herself in that light, Summer moaned again.
„You sound like a donkey with laryngitis.“ The door beside her opened without warning. Summer screeched, and shot sideways away from it like a sprung rubber band.
Frankenstein surveyed her from the open door.
„Where have you been?“ she gasped.
„Nature called. Come on, get out. I’ve found us a new set of wheels.“
„What?“
But he was already walking away from the van. His limping gait was surprisingly fast. Summer had to scramble to catch up with him.
„Wait – we can’t just leave them.“
„Who?“
„The bodies!“
„Why not?“
His tone was so indifferent that Summer sputtered. „Because – because we just can’t.“
„I don’t see that we have much choice. Unless you want to bring them with us. I always looked forward to going on a double date with a couple of stiffs. Or would you rather try to bury them? I hear grave-digging’s hard work.“
„Would you be serious?“
„I am being serious.“ A slight quirk at one end of his swollen mouth alerted her to the fact that he smiled suddenly. „Serious as a grave.“
„Oh, ha-ha.“
„Glad to see you’ve kept your sense of humor.“
Summer didn’t even bother to dignify that with an answer. „We’ve got to do something – at least call somebody and tell them where they – the bodies – are.“
He snorted. „Why not just tell them where we are while we’re at it?“
„We should call the police“ – a sharp shake of his head vetoed that idea – – „or Harmon Brothers,“ another shake of his head, „or somebody“
Frankenstein shot her an impatient glance. „Those people in there are already dead, Rosencrans. You want to join them?“
Summer shook her head.
„Me neither. So we don’t call anybody, understand? We just keep our mouths shut, our heads low, and hightail it out of the great state of Tennessee.“
„But…“As Summer followed him through an ordinary-size door at the far end of the warehouse, he flicked off the light. The fresh night air struck her like a threat. Outside, she felt exposed. Vulnerable. She looked anxiously skyward, searching for any sign of the helicopter.
„Couldn’t we just stay here until morning?“ Her voice was so small that she barely recognized it as her own.
He shut the door and tested the knob to be sure it was locked. „What do you suppose is going to be different in the morning? Do you think the bad guys vanish in a puff of smoke at daybreak? Not hardly. The bad guys’U still be bad – and they’ll still be searching for us. So shake your booty, Rosencrans.“
„Would you quit calling me that?“ She addressed the question to his back. He was already a dozen paces ahead. Summer hurried to catch up. „Damn it!“
„What’re you swearing for?“
„Fun.“
„Whatever turns you on.“ He stopped in front of an ancient-looking black car and bent, feeling beneath its massive front bumper. The sound of the hood popping open was as loud as a gunshot to Summer’s sensitized ears.
„What are you doing?“ Glancing around, Summer wrapped her arms over her chest. The night had grown cool, but she thought it was nerves rather than temperature that was the cause of her sudden chill.
He opened the hood wide, pulled a coil of wire obtained God knew where from the back pocket of his cut-offs, and bent over the car’s yawning mouth. „Connecting the battery to the coil.“
„Why?“
„Jesus, Rosencrans, don’t you ever shut up? I need to concentrate here.“
„So who’s stopping you?“ But after that she seethed in silence as, following a couple of apparent false starts that had him swearing under his breath, he wrapped one end of the wire around a battery post and threaded it down through the engine. He dropped to the ground, turned rather clumsily onto his
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