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Spencerville

Spencerville

Titel: Spencerville Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Nelson Demille
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and I’m responsible for that. If I could get you to my farm without being seen, I’d do it and tell you to go home tonight.”
    “No. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. I’m with you, and I’m never going back there again. And you’re not responsible for me saying yes tonight. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    They continued east and left Chatham County, crossing into Dawson County. Keith asked her, “What will your trusting spouse do next?”
    “You mean Peter, Peter, the pumpkin eater? Well, he’ll call my car phone every two minutes—that’s why he was so generous about having Baxter Motors install it. In between those calls, he’ll call my parents, relatives, and friends, including Pastor and Mrs. Schenk, for instance. He’s absolutely shameless when it comes to tracking me down, and he’s not very subtle when he gets people on the phone.”
    Keith smiled and said, “They must all think you fool around.”
    “No, they think he’s nuts.” She added, “He thinks he’s embarrassing me and punishing me for not checking in with him every time I go somewhere. But he makes a fool of himself.”
    “Better yet, it takes time to make those calls… what order is Terry on the list?”
    “Usually second, after my parents. So he’s got about a dozen more calls to make.”
    Keith nodded.
    Annie smiled. “Terry finally did it.” She mimicked Terry’s deeper voice and said, “Cliff, go to hell.” She laughed. “That will put him into a rage for about half an hour. He doesn’t like women who back-talk him.”
    “Who does?”
    “You do. And you love to give it right back. But you’re not mean—you’re funny.” She added, “You still make me laugh.” She put her hand on his cheek and gave him a pinch.
    He smiled. They were making good time, and he figured that Interstate 75 was about ten more miles.
    She picked up the teddy bear and put it on his lap. “Do you remember this?”
    He glanced at the brown and white stuffed animal. “State fair,” he guessed.
    “County fair.”
    “Right.”
    “Shooting gallery. You were very good. Do you still like to shoot?”
    “No. I think I got it out of my system.”
    “I can imagine.”
    She asked him, “Are you armed?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, I don’t intend to have a shoot-out with the police.”
    “But what if it’s
him?

    “We’re not going through his little kingdom.”
    “He’d go anywhere, Keith, if he was looking for us.”
    “Well, are
you
armed?”
    She didn’t reply immediately, then said, “I was yesterday morning. Tonight was sort of a surprise.”
    He thought a moment, then asked her, “Would you have used it?”
    “If he tried to stop us from being together, I would.”
    “Well… I would, too. To tell you the truth, I might have brought my pistol, but it’s missing. I think your husband burglarized my house.”
    “What? You mean he went into your house?”
    “I can’t be certain it was him, but he’s on a real short list of suspects.” He added, “We don’t need a gun. We’ll be fine.”
    “All right…”
    He glanced at her and said, “About two months ago, about the time I arrived, there was a firearm incident at your house, in the early morning hours. Do you want to tell me about that?”
    She put her head down and stared at the floor a long time, then replied, “No, I don’t.”
    “Okay.”
    “I will… but not now.”
    “Fine.”
    “How did you know?”
    “It’s a small town.”
    “People talk about the Baxters, don’t they?”
    “You know they do. You’re always the saint. He’s always Satan.”
    “And you’re my guardian angel.”
    “Thank you. I’ll try.” He still needed more information, and he asked her, “What will he do after he harasses everyone with phone calls? Would he call his own police force?”
    “He might… that’s a last resort. But he’s done it. What he’s probably doing now is cruising in his police car, looking for my car—motels first, as if I’m going to use a local motel to have an affair. Then, at the same time, he’ll be calling everyone he can think of. When he gets frustrated enough, he’ll call headquarters—he wouldn’t stop in because he doesn’t want to face his own men with some idiotic story about being worried about me having an accident or something. I mean, I think the hospital, or the EMS, or his own police might notify him if I had an accident. He’s such an idiot, and his men know it.”
    Keith observed, “You seem to know his

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