Honeymoon for Three

successfully. The other boy didn’t. He went over the cliff in his car. The irony was that James was later killed in an auto accident for real, not all that far from where Alfred and Gary and Penny were playing out their own drama.
    The three of them should do it the same way. He and Gary should drive their cars over the cliff and find out who was chicken. Penny would be the girl, played in the movie by Natalie Wood. Alfred had always liked Natalie. He had seen all of her movies. Penny somewhat resembled the beautiful Natalie in looks, hair color, and hairstyle. Penny would wave her arms to start them. The winner would get her. That was fair.
    Alfred drove through Bodega Bay for the second time this morning. Gary stayed on his tail. Once he was out in the open again, he watched the rugged landscape along the coast, looking for the spot he had in mind. He drove past a sandy beach. That wouldn’t do. Then he saw it on a curve. The vertical, black cliff, outlined against the sky, swooping down to the relentless ocean. The top of it was shielded from the nearest section of the road by rocks. And anybody who saw them from this far away wouldn’t be able to tell what was happening.
    He signaled for a left turn but had to stop and wait for a stream of cars going by in the opposite direction. Cars lined up behind the camper, since nobody could pass him. He was pleased to see Gary’s car right on his bumper, also signaling.
    A gap in the traffic allowed him to make the turn. He crossed the lane and drove off the road onto the gravel shoulder as far as he could, to a spot partially shielded by rocks. He shut off the engine and locked his door. He pulled out the gun. This story was different than Rebel without a Cause or High Noon , because he wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
    Gary stopped right behind him. In his outside mirror, he saw Gary jump out of his car and run up to Alfred’s window. Gary tried to open the door. Failing that, he pounded on the window and yelled through the glass, “Where’s Penny?”
    “Come around to the sliding door,” Alfred shouted.
    Alfred got out of his seat and went back to the bed where the blanket still covered Penny. He uncovered her head, keeping his gun hidden. She glared at him, unable to speak with her mouth taped. He unlocked the door, unlatched it, and gave it a shove so that it slid open. Then he put the gun to Penny’s head.
    ***
    Gary looked through the window of the camper past Alfred, confirming that Penny wasn’t sitting in the other seat. If Alfred had done anything to her…. As he went around the front of the camper, he noticed the damage to the spare tire and a dent in the metal. Had Alfred caused that? Was Penny hurt?
    Through the front window, Gary saw Alfred get up from his seat and go back toward the sliding door. Gary tried to open the front, passenger-side door, thinking that if he could get through it, he might gain an element of surprise. It was locked. He took another step to the sliding door and tried to open it. Also locked. What kind of a game was Alfred playing? Gary couldn’t see through the curtained window on the door. Within seconds he heard a click and the door unlatched. Gary grabbed the handle and slid it all the way open.
    By the time the door opened enough for Gary to see in, Alfred was standing over Penny at the end of the bed, just inside the doorway. Gary saw Penny’s face and the gun pointed at it simultaneously. The combination of the two turned him to stone. Her eyes were large, looking at him with a warning she couldn’t voice because her mouth was taped.
    Alfred faced Gary, a slight grin on his face. “I don’t want to have to shoot. If you cooperate—”
    “Is she hurt?” Gary’s fear showed in his voice.
    Penny hummed, “Mmmh mmm.” It sounded like a negative.
    “No, she’s fine. The tape is just a precaution.”
    “If you hurt Penny, I’ll kill you.”
    “Brave words from the guy who doesn’t have the gun. This is what I want you to do. Sit down here with your back to me.” Alfred pointed to the floor of the camper.
    Gary saw the cut on Alfred’s forehead. It had been bleeding fairly recently. Something had happened—but what? He sat down at the entrance, reluctantly, with his feet on the ground. He turned his head to watch Penny and Alfred. How could he get the gun away from Alfred without endangering Penny’s life?
    “Face front.”
    Gary watched the gun swing around until he felt the cold metal against