Jack Beale 00 - Killer Run

a shadow. Malcom couldn’t leave fast enough. The unease that he had felt earlier was now replaced by fear. When he put his hand on the door handle and pushed, it did not move. He shook it, and again it didn’t open.
    “Here, let me.” Alfred’s voice was practically in his ear. Malcom spun around just as Alfred reached past him and twisted the lock open. It clicked, the door swung open, and Malcom spilled out onto the porch. He gulped in several lungfuls of fresh air as he stood there staring at Alfred. “I’m serious. Stay away. None of it is what you think it is.”
    Alfred stared at Malcom from the doorway and said in that slightly nasally voice, “No, it is. I’ll see you again.”
    Malcom didn’t respond to Alfred’s last statement. As he climbed into his car, his heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. “ What the fuck is wrong with him? ” he thought to himself as he drove off.
    Alfred watched him leave. “I will have them,” he said quietly to himself.

CHAPTER 32
    BY THE TIME MALCOM drove up the drive to the Inn, his nerves had calmed, but he was stilled bothered by the confrontation with Alfred. The sun was beginning to set. He was hungry and tired. The drive down to Essex had been impulsive, and all the way back he wondered if he had done the right thing.
    As he parked his car, he saw several others in the parking lot. He had been so obsessed with Alfred that he had forgotten that they had guests arriving. He walked around to the back door. He wasn’t in the mood to meet any new people, and he needed to see Polly. But she wasn’t in the kitchen. As he opened the fridge to see what leftovers might be there, he heard some laughter coming from one of the front rooms. A covered casserole dish looked inviting, but he left it on the shelf and let the door close. He knew that if he just helped himself, it would turn out that she had plans for whatever he took. It wasn’t worth the aggravation.
    Malcom walked into the front room and saw Polly showing an older couple the letter they had framed. She turned as his weight caused a floorboard to creak. “Oh, Malcom. There you are.”
    “Hi Pol. Sorry I’m late.”
    The couple turned toward him. She said, “I was just telling Mr. and Mrs. Davidson about how the Inn was named and about the book I wrote.”
    Malcom stepped forward, and introductions were made.
    “Could I borrow my wife for a minute?”
    * * *
    “Where have you been?” Polly asked as soon as they were in the kitchen.
    “I went down to see Alfred.”
    “You what!”
    “I had to see him, to talk to him. I wanted to understand what he wanted.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” her displeasure was obvious.
    “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to worry you.”
    Polly stood there staring at him. Her silence said more than any words. “So?”
    “So what?”
    “So did you see him?”
    “Yes and no.”
    “Mal, either you saw him, or you didn’t. Which was it?”
    “I saw him.”
    “And?”
    “We talked.”
    “What did he have to say?” The tone in her voice conveyed her frustration with his cryptic answers.
    “Not a lot. Pol, I don’t know what to think.”
    That statement caused her to pause a moment before she asked, “Other than he’s a nut?”
    He knew she needed to hear more. “There’s that, but there’s something else. I can’t put my finger on it, but I guess I’d say he was obsessed. He is fixated on the quilt and the letter. He believes that your book is true and that somehow it is the key to some family tragedy.”
    Polly said nothing for a few moments. Then in a low voice she asked, “So did you get through to him? Do you think he’ll leave us alone?”
    “I don’t know. Still, I don’t think he’s dangerous, just strange. I’m sure that over time this will all blow over.” His face suddenly brightened. “Is there anything to eat?”

CHAPTER 33
    “COME ON YOU GUYS. LET’S GET GOING,” shouted Max to Jack and Dave. She and Patti were already in the car ready to go, and the two guys were standing there talking. They looked over at the car and saw both women give them the “Come on, what’s-up” shrug. “I suppose we ought to get going before someone has a coronary,” said Dave.
    “I guess, but look how cute they are.”
    After one pit stop and two wrong turns, they finally turned up the drive to the Inn. “Two hours, not bad,” announced Jack.
    Dave agreed, but the women were already out of the car.
    “Oh my god! This