The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

passenger window. There was no joy to the turbo-charged smells or the wind in his ears, only danger. He barked and scratched at the door handle to warn the Tall Guy, but all he got for his efforts was a perfunctory ear scratching so he crawled into the Tall Guy's lap, where it felt at least a little safer.
    The Sheriff Burtonfirst noticed the Mercedes behind him when he turned onto the access road to theCoast Highway. A week ago he might not have thought twice about it, but now he was seeing an enemy in every tree. DEA wouldn't use a Mercedes, and neither would FBI, but the Mexican Mafia could. Except for his operation, they ran the meth trade out of the West; perhaps they'd decided that they wanted the whole trade. That would explain the disappearance of Leander, Crowe, and the guys at the lab, except that it had been a little too clean. They would have left bodies as a warning, and they would have burned downall of Crowe's cabin, not just the pot patch.
    He pulled his Beretta 9mm out of its holster and placed it on the seat next to him. He had a shotgun in the trunk, but it might as well be inCanada for all the good it would do him. If there were two or less in the car, he might take them. If more, they probably had Uzis or Mac 10 machine guns and he would run.
    The Mexicans liked to have a crowd in on their hits.Burton made a quick right off the highway and stopped a block up a side street.
    Theo Why hadn't he let Skinner out at the cafe? He hadn't been able to figure out the electric seat adjustment on the Mercedes, so he was driving with his knees up around the wheel anyway, but now he had an eighty-pound dog in his lap and he had to whip his head from side to side to keep Burton's Caddy in sight.
    The Caddy made an abrupt turn off the highway and it was all Theo could do to get the Mercedes around the corner without screeching the tires. By the time he could see around Skinner's head again, the Caddy was stopped only fifty yards ahead. Theo ducked quickly onto the passenger seat and tried to call on THE FORCE to steer as they passed the Caddy.
    The Sheriff Sheriff John Burton was prepared for a confrontation with DEA agents, he was prepared for a high-speed escape,he was even prepared for a shoot-out with Mexican drug dealers, if it came to that.
    He prided himself on being tough and adaptable and thought himself superior to other men because of his cool response to pressure. He was, however, not prepared to see a Mercedes cruise by with a Labrador retriever at the wheel. His Ubermensch arrogance shriveled as he stared gape-jawed at the passing Mercedes. It made an erratic turn at the next corner, bouncing off a curb before disappearing behind a hedge.
    He wasn't the sort of man who doubted his own perceptions – if he sawit, he saw it – so his mind dropped into politician mode to file the experience. "That right there," he said aloud, "is why I will never support a bill to license dogs to drive."
    Still, political certainties weren't going to count for much if he didn't get to Betsy Butler and find out what had happened to his prized drug mule. He pulled a U-turn and headed back to theCoast Highway, where he found himself looking a little more closely than usual at the drivers in oncoming cars.
    Molly There were thirty of them all together. Six stood side by side at the cave entrance; the rest crowded behind them, trying to get a look inside. Molly recognized the one doing thetalking, she was the ditzy waitress from H.P.'s cafe. She was in her mid-twenties, with short blonde hair and a figure that promised to go pear-shaped by the time she hit forty. She wore a white choir robe over jeans and aerobics shoes.
    "You're Betsy from H.P.'s, right?" Molly asked, leaning on her broadsword.
    Betsy seemed to recognize Molly for the first time, "You're the craz-"
    Molly held up her sword to hush the girl. "Be nice."
    "Sorry," said Betsy. "We've been called. I didn't expect you to be here."
    Two women stepped up beside Betsy, the pastel church ladies that Molly had chased away from the dragon trailer. "Remember us?"
    Molly shook her head. "What exactly do you all think you are doing here?"
    They looked to each other, as if the question hadn't occurred to them before this. They craned their necks and squinted into the cathedral chamber to see what was behind Molly. Steve lay curled up in the dark at the back of the chamber, sulking.
    Molly turned and spoke to the back of the chamber. "Steve, did you bring these people