Part 32 (1/2)

'Fine,' Melanie said. She cupped them to her mouth and drank half the water.

'You don't have blurred vision or nausea, do you?' Bodie asked her.

'No. Just a headache.'

'Better lie down after you eat,' Bodie said.

'Yeah.'

Pen got a bottle of beer for Bodie and poured wine for herself and Melanie to drink with the meal. Sitting down, she took her tacos from their paper envelopes and put them on her plate. Bodie and Melanie unwrapped their bacon cheeseburgers. Bodie had bought an order of nachos for each of them - tortilla chips smothered with melted cheese and green chilis.

'All we're missing is a mariachi band,' Bodie said.

'I should've whipped up some margaritas,' said Pen. It was just as well that she hadn't, she realized; she wouldn't have dared give Melanie the sleeping pills. Some wine on top of the pills might not cause a problem. Tequilla and triple sec, thougha 'Why don't you tell Pen what happened this afternoon?' Bodie suggested.

Melanie raised a shoulder. 'Not much to tell,' she said, and took a bite of her burger.

'Apparently,' Bodie said, 'they had quite a lot to say about the three of us. None of it very flattering.'

' Harrison really tore into you,' Melanie said, looking rather gleefully at Pen. 'He used names on you that'd make that caller of yours blush.'

'Sweet of him,' Pen muttered, and bit into a taco. 'Yeah. He thinks you were the brains behind my phone call and breaking into his garage. Said you're out to get him.'

'Did he happen to say why?'

'Told Joyce it was because he dumped you.'

'Is that so.'

'Said he'd fix your wagon.'

'My wagon isn't broken.'

'Said he'd like to ream your a.s.s,' Melanie added. Bodie set down his beer. 'I should've laid waste to that p.r.i.c.k when I had the chance.'

'What did he say about the accident?' Pen asked. 'They know we know. First thing Harrison did when they got back was check the garage. He had it figured out even before he found the broken window that the call was a trick to get rid of him so we could check out his car. When he came back in, he said to Joyce, ”I knew it. Those f.u.c.ks are onto us.” Then he told her not to worry, we'd never be able to prove anything.'

'He was probably right about that,' Bodie said.

'Joyce is afraid Dad saw Harrison driving. She thought maybe they should inject air into his veins.' Pen stiffened. 'At the hospital?'

'Yeah. But Harrison told her they'd be idiots to do anything that risky since Dad probably wouldn't ever come to, anyway. He said they should wait and see. Even if Dad does revive, there's only a slight chance he'll have any memory of the accident.'

Bodie nodded. 'It's very unlikely that he would remember. I fell off a roof when I was a kid, and I still can't remember falling.'

'What were you doing on a roof?' Pen asked.

'I don't know. I ate lunch about an hour before it happened, but the rest of it's a blank until I woke up in an ambulance.'

'That's how Peter Hurkos became psychic,' Melanie said. 'Fell off a ladder or a roof or something.'

'Well, it didn't make me psychic. Thank G.o.d. One around here isa'

'One too many?' Melanie supplied, and raised an eyebrow.

Bodie looked annoyed for a moment, then just somber. 'I was going to say, ”One is enough.” '

'I bet.'

'Cut it out,' Pen told her.

Melanie fixed Pen with a knowing gaze. 'I'm sure you can't wait to get rid of me.'

'Hey, look, we're on your side.'

'Then how come you're both so eager to get me back to Phoenix?'

'It's for your own good,' Bodie told her.

'Oh, sure.'

'Look what you did today,' Pen said, trying to keep her voice calm. 'You broke G.o.d knows how many lawsa'

' Lot of good the law is.'

'Christ, you went ape, you actually a.s.saulted Joyce.

'She tried to kill our father!'

'Maybe so.'

'No maybes.'

'On top of that, you put yourself in real danger. Bodie, too. You both could've ended up killed because of that dumb stunt you pulled.'

'And you were safe in the car.'

'Hey,' Bodie said, 'somebody had to stay out to get help in case the s.h.i.+t hit the fan. Pen wanted to go in instead of me.'

'Sure, stick up for her.'

'd.a.m.n it!' Bodie slammed his bottle down on the table. Pen flinched. Melanie jumped, then burst into tears and rushed from the kitchen.

Bodie watched her go. He looked at Pen, shook his head, and muttered, 'Sorry.'

'She was asking for it.'

'I know, buta' With a sigh, he pushed back his chair and stood up. 'I'd better apologize to her, or something.'