Nelson DeMille - Spencerville

"I suppose. If you play, you pay."

"Unless you have an understanding like Jeffrey and I do. No one can come between us with evidence of infidelity."

"That's an interesting observation. But what if one of you fell deeply in love with a lover?"

"Well..." Gail seemed actually uncomfortable, and obviously something like this had happened to one or the other or both, once, twice, or more times. Gail said, "People fall in love across a room. It's actually less likely to happen with casual sex partners." She added, "Love has less to do with sex than with missing a person when they're not around. Didn't you say your heart went thump when you saw Annie? I mean, after twenty-some years, there's still something there. How many women have you screwed since her?"

"Counting foreigners?"

She laughed, then said, "And why hasn't a good-looking man like you gotten married?"

"I should have called Curry In A Hurry."

Jeffrey smiled. "Leave him alone, Gail. This subject obviously bothers him."

"Right," Keith agreed. He asked, "Are the Spencerville cops giving you guys any trouble?"

Jeffrey shook his head. "Not yet. I mean, Gail is a city councilwoman. I think they're waiting until after the election. We'll see who's still standing then."

Keith looked at both of them. "You ought to be careful in the meantime. Baxter is unstable."

Gail and Jeffrey glanced at each other, and Jeffrey said to Keith, "We're watching ourselves."

"Do you have a gun?"

"No," said Jeffrey. "We're pacifists. We get shot at."

"I have a rifle. Let me give it to you."

"No," Jeffrey said. "We won't use it."

"You might if it was in the house, and someone..."

"No. Please respect that, Keith."

"All right. But if you ever need help, give a holler."

"Okay."

Jeffrey got up and stirred the two pots. "Soup's ready."

They had the soup, then a vegetable curry, and were working on the last bottle of wine.

Keith made coffee, and Gail unveiled a carrot cake. Over cake and coffee, Jeffrey said, "Hey, I almost forgot." He put his hand in his pocket and came out with a bank envelope. "There's a thousand."

"Thanks." Keith took a check from his wallet and gave it to Jeffrey, who glanced at it and said, "This is for two thousand."

"That's a contribution to the cause. I never gave money to pinkos before."

Gail smiled. "We can't accept that, Keith."

"Yeah, you can. I don't need the money, and I want to do something."

"You can help us by joining us."

"I could, and I would. But I'm leaving."

Neither of them spoke.

Keith said, "Look, guys, I trust you, and I like you. Also, I may need your help. Ready for the long story?"

They nodded.

"Okay, I returned to Spencerville to go back to the starting line and see if I could run the race over again. Well, you can't do that. The race is over, but you can run a new race. Yeah, I'm beating around the bush. Okay, I'm in love with Annie, and..."

Gail slapped the table. "I knew it! See, Jeffrey, I told you."

"I told you."

"May I? This isn't easy. Anyway, we've been writing for twenty years..."

"I love this. Go on. Does she love you?"

Jeffrey said, "Gail, keep quiet."

"So, anyway, yes, she does, and we're running off. End of story."

"Like hell it is," said Gail. "Have you done it yet?"

"That's not relevant... no, we haven't..."

"Liar. I knew it. See? That's why she was floating on clouds. She asked if we'd spoken to you in the last few days. This is terrific. That pig deserves what he gets. Oh, Keith, I'm so happy for you." She stood and kissed him, which he figured was coming, and Jeffrey followed suit with a handshake.

Keith felt a little impatient and said, "Okay, so that answers a lot of questions for you, and I thought I owed you an explanation of why I couldn't commit to..."

"Hey," Jeffrey said, "you're doing your part by stealing his wife."

"I'm not actually stealing..."

"I always knew you two would get back together," Jeffrey said. "When are you leaving?"

"I can't say. But soon."

"How can we help?"

"Well, for starters, don't say a thing over the phone if we speak. I'm concerned that your phone or mine could be tapped."

"Yeah, they could be. What else?"

"Well, you brought the money, looks like enough food left for a few more days, and maybe Gail could keep her eyes and ears open around city hall."

"I always do. And I have a cop who's a source."

"Good. But don't trust him, either."

"When it comes to revolution, we don't trust too many people."

Keith nodded. "You know the game."

Jeffrey said, "So you're laying low until you... do you call it elopement if she's married?"

"For want of a better word, yes. I'll give you a key to the house, and I'd like you to look after it."

"No problem."

Gail asked, "Where did you do it? How many times? How did you get away with it?"

"We're old pros from high school days." Keith changed the subject and said, "Her husband is generally suspicious, and specifically pissed off at me for coming back here. He came out here last week, and we had some words. But he doesn't really know anything. He did give me a week to get out of town, and that time ends on Friday, but I won't be gone by then. He may come around again, and I'll ask for a few days' extension, because that's less complicated than killing him, which I promised not to do."

They seemed stunned by that remark, and Keith looked at them. "This is serious business. Not a game. He's borderline psychotic. You watch yourselves. The offer of the gun stands."

They stayed silent awhile, then Jeffrey said, "Hey, this is heavy stuff. Mind if I smoke?"

"Go right ahead." Jeffrey took a pouch and papers out of his shirt pocket and rolled one. He lit it with a match and offered it to Keith, who declined, then to Gail, who also declined. He shrugged, sat back, and smoked.

Gail asked, "Do you think Annie is safe?"

"I think so. But I'm getting these vibrations, if I can use that old word, and these vibrations tell me that people have picked up on something, sort of like they're intercepting these signals that go between this farm and Williams Street." Keith smiled. "Blow that smoke away, Jeffrey. I'm sounding like you."

Gail said, "No, I understand. I mean, even we figured something was up. Who else, besides Baxter?"

"Oh, just people. Pastors, and somebody's sister, and nice elderly ladies. I'm probably paranoid, but I'm concerned that Baxter's going to get onto something concrete. I have to ask you guys not to say or do anything that could arouse suspicion. Lay low yourselves until the weekend. Okay?"

"Done."

"If the plan falls apart, I may need you."

"We're here."

"I appreciate it. Hey, Jeffrey, who would have thought we'd be having dinner together again?"

Jeffrey took a toke and looked at him. "Time has healed a lot of those wounds, Keith. I'm glad we lived long enough to get smart."

Gail said, "If this is a prelude to male bonding, I'll go out on the porch."

Jeffrey said to Keith, "She feels threatened. That's why you need a woman, Keith, to balance out the dynamics of our interlocking relationships, and... whatever. Hey, where are you two going to go? Can we join you for dinner someplace?"

"Sure. I'll let you know."

Gail said, "We're going to miss you, Keith. We don't have many friends here."

"Maybe you will after you get rid of Police Chief Baxter."

"I don't think so. But perhaps. Will you come back here someday?"

"I'd like to. Depends on what happens with Baxter."

"Yeah," Jeffrey agreed, "I wouldn't advise you to look for a house on Williams Street for a while." He laughed. "Hey, I'd love to see his fucking face when he comes home and finds a fuck-you note on the refrigerator." Jeffrey got the giggles and slapped the table a few times.