Part 12 (2/2)

The sun would rise in less than an hour. The brightening sky was already making both of them squint. Neither had spoken since they'd dumped the body.

The thought hit Sara so hard she had to struggle to keep from slamming on the brakes. ”Did Joe carry a wallet?” she asked.

”I guess so.”

”Could it still be in his pocket?”

Alexander exhaled hard. ”s.h.i.+t.”

They were coming up on an exit. ”Should we go back?” she asked.

”No. More risk in that.” He watched the exit pa.s.s by his side of the car, staying silent until it was completely behind them. ”He might not have had our place listed on his I.D. anyway, right?”

She nodded.

He turned his attention back to the road and shrugged. ”Besides, a lot of those Dumpsters get emptied into the top of the truck anymore. The driver never even has to get out from behind the wheel. There's a good chance n.o.body will ever see anything unusual.”

”But a lot of them are still the other style, too, right? Where the guy has to get out and push it to the back? And then watch it spill out into the truck?”

”What're you trying to say? You want to go back?”

She said nothing. They continued on until they were almost at the exit for the Lincoln Park area. ”Should we go to my place?” she asked.

”Yes.”

Sara found a parking place close to her apartment. They each scooped up a few quick fingernails of blow before getting out of the car.

The bright orange sticker on her apartment door clashed so badly with the surrounding off-white walls and pastel blue carpet that it was impossible to miss, even from this far down the hall.

”EVICTED.”

Scrawled in black ink at the bottom were the words: ”Last check returned for insufficient funds. Contact Timothy Smart, Building Manager immediately. Failure to pay all debts owed will result in forfeiture of contents.”

Sara tried her key while Alexander stood shaking his head, but the locks had been changed. It went in but wouldn't turn. This night was too much. It was just too much.

A strange shock-induced numbness threatened to take over, intensifying and spreading through her torso and making it impossible to swallow or breathe. She stood frozen until suffocation jump-started her nervous system. Somehow she forced air into her lungs in a kind of panic, then collapsed onto the floor with a mournful wail that echoed up and down the hallway. The sound kept erupting from her as she rolled over onto her knees in the hope of lifting herself back up but she couldn't manage to force her weight off the ground again. A door opened somewhere down the hall, and through her peripheral vision Sara saw a head emerge to stare at her for a while before it disappeared back inside. Her face fell to the carpet and her nose filled with its little blue fibers as she rolled her forehead back and forth.

Finally drained too much to keep it up, she flopped over into a fetal position, staring up at her keys as they dangled from the lock. It was quiet in the hall now; she realized she must have stopped screaming. Alexander's hand closed around the key that was still in the door, twisting to break it off in the lock.

Sara's father deposited her on top of her bed without a word. Her Christmas dress had spots of throw-up on it. Mummy would be mad.

Daddy stood over her. He was like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. His face didn't look mad, but he was mad.

”I'm sorry, Daddy,” Sara said, curling up into a ball and hugging her knees. ”I tried to show them how I could do it. But I couldn't remember all the words, and they were all looking, and then I got sick.”

Daddy turned to go. Sara felt empty inside again, like he had taken back all that warm, good feeling he had given her that morning in the kitchen. Her elbow throbbed.

Her mother's voice echoed down the hall, probably from the top of the stairs. ”Oh, I know. The poor dear. I'll be right back after I check on her. That was quite a fall she took- all the way from the top of the stairs! But her dad says she's okay.”

Sara's stomach turned around inside her. Mummy appeared in the doorway.

”Well, you got your way,” Daddy said. His voice was calm but somehow it was hard, too. ”You made her screw it all up, and now you can be the belle of the ball. It's just like the last time we dared to have a party and you threw a drink in my face because you thought I wasn't paying enough attention to you. You're pathetic.”

Path et tick. The little Sara squirmed somewhere in the dark s.p.a.ce of her head, hiding from the word, as the rest of her watched Daddy push past Mummy.

Mummy's face turned horrible as she stared after him. Then that horrible face turned to Sara as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Mummy's face looked like a shouting face. But she didn't shout. She whispered through her mashed-together teeth.

”Well, at least your father doesn't feel sorry for you. But you probably did fool most of the party guests.” Sara cupped her elbow with her palm. Mummy stared, shaking her head. ”Rolling down the stairs like it's a G.o.dd.a.m.ned circus!”

”I was going to sing, Mummy.” Sara's voice was just a whisper, too. ”I tried. But then I couldn't see. And I threw up. And then when I could see again I was down at the bottom-”

”I'm sure they were all very convinced by your little performance!” Mummy said. ”And you made sure your father hates me, too, didn't you! You want him all to yourself? Want to push me out of the picture? Is that it?”

Mummy was panting now like a dog that had just run a long ways. She sniffled wetly. ”I'll get you for this. I'll get you. I swear.”

She turned away, stooping to look into Sara's mirror. Sara hugged her knees tighter against her chest, watching as her mother's face changed back into the serene expression she wore for her guests. It was like the part of Snow White where the mirror told the queen that Snow White was the fairest of them all, only backwards. The angry look vanished so fast from Mummy's face that watching it made Sara's back tickle.

Then without a glance backward, Mummy strode from the room, flicking off the light and closing the door, leaving Sara alone in the dark.

CHAPTER 10.

Into the Darkness ”I CAN'T BELIEVE you don't have any light bulbs,” Sara said. ”It's creepy having just the red light in here.”

”So buy some bulbs,” Alexander said. ”Least you got a pet, now.”

”Yeah,” she said, peering at the lizard. ”Hi, Renfield.” The lizard c.o.c.ked its head, peering at her with one eye as it lounged under its heat lamp. ”Oh, and check this out.” She gestured to the top of the dresser. ”So far the count is eight booze bottles Joe had scattered around in here.”

But no wallet. No I.D. Those nuclear warheads are still waiting to detonate.

”Sounds about right. Musta stole 'em from his job.” He turned, moving back toward the living room. ”We gotta get going.”

She followed him out. ”I'll drive and meet you there. Got a little more treasure hunting to do first. Oh, and can I borrow your scale?”

He stopped and turned his head, staring with narrowed eyes. ”Why?”

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