Spencerville

once in a while.”
    “How many men in a car?”
    “One. We got to cover a lot of ground. They think you’re heading back this way. They got all the honorary deputy sheriffs out, too, and they also called out the mounted posse. They haven’t done that in about five years since a kid went missing. There’s about twenty deputies out in their private cars, and maybe twenty mounted posse. Hey, if you’re not in Spencer County, don’t come.”
    “Thanks. I won’t.” Keith asked, “Did she look all right?”
    Schenley didn’t reply immediately, then said, “As well as can be expected.” He added, “She had a bruise on her face… you know, when she was in the cell, I wanted to talk to her, but the other two guys were there, and I felt about as bad as I’ve ever felt. She just sat there, no crying, no screaming, just sort of, like, above it all—very classy lady—and when she looked at me and the other two guys, there wasn’t any, like, hate or anything, just sort of like… she felt sorry for
us
—”
    “Okay… thanks. I’ll remember the favor if it ever comes up in court.”
    “Thanks, Landry. This is a damned mess. I can’t understand how these three guys, who I thought I knew, could do what they did.”
    “When we know that, we’ll have solved most of the world’s problems.” He added, “I’ll put in a good word for you with Pastor Wilkes.”
    Schenley laughed, then said, “Hey, for your information, Baxter had a homing transmitter on your Blazer.”
    Damn it.
He asked Schenley, “What color is his Bronco?”
    “Black.” He gave him the license plate number and added, “Hey, let it go, Landry. Stay away from here. They’re looking for you, and Baxter’s long gone.”
    “Yeah, but maybe I’ll head for Florida, too.”
    “He’ll kill you next time. The other guys with him say they had to pull him off you before he killed you.”
    “Thanks again.” Keith hung up and got back into the van, where Chuck was drinking a Big Gulp and eating a donut.
    Chuck said, “Got extra donuts here.”
    “Thanks. Make a left.”
    “Sure thing.” Chuck pulled out of the 7-Eleven and made a left on the commercial strip. He said, “This ain’t the way to Lima.”
    “No. Make another left at the light.”
    “Sure thing. Don’t mean to be nosy, John, but I get the feeling something’s bothering you.”
    “No, I’m fine, Chuck. In fact, that phone call just restored my faith in the human race.”
    “Yeah? Sorry I missed that.”
    “But don’t miss your turn. Left here.”
    They headed south into the country.
    Keith thought about what Schenley had said and what Terry had said. Obviously, the call that Annie had made to Terry on Monday night was not made from Spencerville, but from Grey Lake if Schenley’s chronology was correct, and it probably was. If Baxter had left Spencerville about three A.M. , he’d have been at Grey Lake about nine or ten A.M. , with a side trip to burn down the Landry house. Baxter had called his children from Grey Lake in the morning, then made Annie call her sister much later, probably after he realized that all the news reports about the Baxters being reunited and in seclusion needed to be verified by Annie to at least one family member. Also, the Florida story had to be put out. Again, Keith thought, Baxter was not only vicious but cunning. A bad combination.
    Keith had no idea what was going on at Grey Lake, but he knew it wasn’t a reconciliation. He tried to take some comfort in Annie’s assurance that she could handle Cliff Baxter. But in truth, after what Baxter had seen—his wife and her lover naked in bed together—Keith was certain that Baxter had snapped. If he was even halfway rational, he wouldn’t have kidnapped his own wife and left such a mess behind; he would have stayed around to protect his job, his power, and his reputation. But obviously the man knew he was finished, and with that knowledge, whatever social control he’d managed to maintain up to now was gone.
    But he wouldn’t kill her. No, but he’d make her wish she were dead.
    Keith directed Chuck to an intersecting highway, then gave him a few other directions. Chuck asked, “How do you know this place so good?”
    “I was born here.”
    “No shit? Hey, you’re a Buckeye! Give me five, John!”
    Keith felt compelled to solidify the camaraderie, and they did high fives.
    A few minutes later, they approached the Porter house. Keith could see for a good distance in all