Shallow Graves

lolling. “And you almost killed our son?”
    “I told them—” Nodding in the direction of the front yard. “—never to sell to anybody around here. But they didn’t listen to me. It wasn’t my fault. I—”
    “Not your fault? You made it and now you’re selling it. How do you mean it’s not your fault? Explain that to me, Keith.”
    Keith couldn’t hold her eyes any longer and looked down.
    She simply shook her head. Her rage was too great.
    Pellam could see that he’d fallen into a particular persona—one that must have suckered Meg all along: Keith the boy with the thick hair, the round face. Imploring, needing love. The pudgy boy.
    “We have nothing to talk about. Nothing at all.”
    “Please, let me explain.”
    She turned to look at him as he slouched in the doorway, pressing against the jamb with his shoulder as if he needed the house itself to hold him upright.
    Meg said, “You’ve lied to me all along.”
    “I didn’t want to tell you. For your own protection.”
    Meg said bitterly, “How did you figure that?”
    “If anything were to happen I didn’t want you to be involved.”
    She laughed in astonishment. “How wouldn’t I be involved? My husband’s making drugs! How wouldn’t Sam and I be sucked right into the middle of it? I mean, look what happened the other day with Sam. He could’ve died.”
    “That won’t happen again.”
    She was crying now. “Oh, God, Keith. . . . You sound like you’re not going to stop. Tom’s dead! There’re two bodies in my front yard. It’s over with. We’re calling the police.”
    “No, Meg. What I’ve come up with, it’s magic.” His eyes gleamed. “Nobody’s ever made anything like this before. Nobody else can.”
    She spat out, “You sound proud of it.”
    He shouted, “I am proud! You really don’t know who I am. You’ve never made the least effort to see me. I’m not the same as everybody else. My mind doesn’t walk, it runs. I was born that way. I’m not like you. Or him.” He glanced at Pellam. “Or anybody.”
    “But we loved each other,” Meg cried.
    “What does that have to do with anything? Don’t sound so self-righteous. I did it for you. And for Sam. Why do you think? You were always harping about a nice house, having money, your fucking jewelry! How was I supposed to do that on a chemist’s salary?” He pointed to her ring. “You think I could afford that if I was still at Sandberg?”
    “Are you seriously trying to blame me? You should blame whatever’s in you that makes you think you’ve got a different set of rules than everybody else. And, what? We’re just supposed to forget everything that’s happened? Well, I’m not forgetting. Sam and I are leaving.”
    “You’re going with him ?” Keith glanced at Pellam. His voice was filled with disbelief.
    “I’m just leaving. That’s the only explanation I owe you. Sam and I, we’re both leaving.”
    “You can’t just desert me.”
    “Desert you?” Meg laughed.
    The tension in the room was like energy itself.
    “I’m not going to let that happen!” Keith’s voice jarred in the room, a sound to match the glare of light. “You’re my wife. You’re staying with me. In six months, I’ll have the patent and I’ll stop selling on the street. We’ll get a license from Pfizer or Merck. We’ll tell the state police the twins tried to break in and rape you. Tom was here about Sam and they killed him. We can say—”
    “No more.” Her eyes closed and her head moved back and forth slowly. “No more.” She stood up. “We’re not staying here tonight.”
    “Meg, no.” He wasn’t a boy any longer. He was mean, dark, brooding.
    Their words swirled around Pellam. As they talked, husband and wife, he heard what they said and he observed their expressions but it was from a distance.
    Here you come, with your van and your camera, studying the town, talking to people, getting to know everyone . . . Getting to know some of them very well. You don’t understand the power you’ve got.
    But no, he thought, I have no power. Nothing he could say or do could teach them about happiness and lift them out of the ruts they’d fallen into. He made movies. He helped people escape from their lives, sure, but only for two hours and only in thatone special place: a darkened movie theater or living room. “I’m leaving now.”
    Keith focused on Pellam, said to him, “You mention this to anyone, I guess you can figure out what’ll happen to