Robin Cook - Fatal Cure

David motioned for Angela to step back through the cellar door. David followed and pulled the door partially closed behind him. He left it open a crack so he could see into the kitchen.

The footsteps came to the back door, then abruptly stopped.

For a few terrorizing minutes there was no sound whatsoever. David and Angela held their breath. They guessed Van Slyke was wondering about the lights.

Then, to their surprise, they heard the footsteps recede. They listened until they couldn't hear them anymore.

"Where did he go?" Angela whispered.

"I wish I knew," David said. "I don't like not knowing where he is. He knows this place too well. He could get at us from behind."

Angela turned and looked down the cellar steps. The idea that Van Slyke could suddenly jump out at them made her skin crawl.

For a few minutes they stayed put, straining to hear any noises. The house was eerily silent. Finally David pushed the door open. Stepping back into the kitchen warily, he motioned for Angela to follow.

"Maybe it wasn't Van Slyke," Angela whispered.

"It had to have been him," David whispered back.

"Let's get the hell out of here. I'm afraid if I'm in here too long Nikki will get out of the car."

"What!" David whispered. "Nikki's here?"

"I couldn't leave her at your mother's," Angela whispered. "She insisted on coming with me. I couldn't fight with her. And there was no time to explain the situation to your mother."

"Oh my God!" David whispered. "What if Van Slyke has seen her?"

"Do you think he might have?"

David motioned for Angela to follow him. They went to the door to the yard, opening it as quietly as they could. It was completely dark outside. Van Slyke's car was twenty feet away but the man was nowhere to be seen.

Now David motioned for Angela to stay where she was. He sprinted to Van Slyke's car, keeping the shotgun ready. He looked in the passenger side window, just in case Van Slyke was hiding, but he wasn't there. David waved for Angela to join him.

"Let's skirt the gravel of the driveway," David said. "It's too noisy. We'll stick to the grass. Where did you park?"

"Right in back of you," Angela said.

David led with Angela right behind him. As they reached the street their worst fears were realized. In the light of a street lamp next to Calhoun's truck, they could see Van Slyke's silhouette in the driver's seat of David's mother's Cherokee. Nikki was next to him.

"Oh, no!" Angela said as she impulsively started forward.

David restrained her. They looked at each other in horror. "We have to do something," Angela said.

"We have to think," David said. He looked back at the Cherokee. He was so tense, he thought he might pass out.

"Do you think he has a gun?" Angela asked.

"I know he has a gun," David snapped.

"Maybe we should get help," Angela suggested.

"It would take too long," David said. "Besides, Robertson and his crew wouldn't have any idea how to handle a situation like this-if they even took us seriously. We'll have to handle this ourselves. We've got to get Nikki far enough away so that we can use the shotgun if we have to."

For a few harrowing moments they simply stared at the car.

"Let me have the keys," David said. "I'm worried he might have locked the doors."

"They're in the car," Angela said.

"Oh, no!" David exclaimed. "He could just drive off with Nikki."

"Oh, God," Angela whispered.

"This is getting worse and worse," David said. "But have you noticed: the whole time we've been standing here looking at the car, Van Slyke hasn't moved. Last time I saw him he was in constant manic motion, unable to hold still for a moment."

"I see what you mean," Angela said. "It looks almost as if they're having a conversation."

"If Van Slyke isn't watching, we could slip behind the car," David said. "Then you could go to one side and I to the other. We'll open the front doors simultaneously. You pull Nikki free and I'll aim the shotgun at Van Slyke."

"Good Lord!" Angela groaned. "Don't you think that's taking a lot of chances?"

"Tell me a better idea," David said. "We have to get her out of there before he drives off with her."

"Okay," Angela said reluctantly.

After crossing the street a good distance back from the Cherokee, David and Angela approached the car from behind. They remained crouched down as they moved in hopes of remaining undetected. Eventually they arrived at the very rear of the vehicle and squatted in its shadow.

"I'll first slip alongside to see if the doors are locked," David whispered.

Angela nodded and took the shotgun.

David crawled along the driver's side of the car until he was even with the rear door. Rising slowly, he saw that none of the doors were locked.

"At least something is going our way," Angela whispered once he came back and told her the good news.

"Okay," David whispered. "Are you ready?"

Angela gripped David's arm. "Wait," she said. "The more I think about your plan, the less I like it. I don't think we should go up on separate sides. I think we should both go to her door. You open the door, I'll pull her out."

David thought for a moment, then agreed. The main idea was to get Nikki away from Van Slyke. With Angela's plan there was more chance they'd succeed. The problem then would be how to handle Van Slyke once Nikki was safe.

"Okay," David whispered. "When I give the signal we do it."

Angela nodded.

David took the shotgun from Angela and held it in his left hand. He moved around Angela so that he was at the right side of the car. Slowly he rounded the car and started crawling along its side, holding the gun up against his chest. When he came abreast of the rear door, he turned around to make sure Angela was right behind him. She was.

David prepared to spring forward by positioning his feet directly under his torso. But before he could give the signal to Angela, Nikki's door opened and Nikki leaned out and looked back. She was startled to see David's face so close to her own,

"What are you guys doing?" Nikki asked.

David leaped forward and pulled the door completely open. Nikki lost her balance and tumbled from the car. Angela sprang forward and grabbed her, dragging her onto the grass. Nikki cried out in shock and pain.

David trained the gun on Van Slyke. He was fully prepared to pull the trigger if need be. But Van Slyke didn't have a gun. He didn't try to flee. He didn't so much as move. He merely looked at David; his expression was completely blank.

David warily moved a little closer. Van Slyke remained seated calmly, his hands in his lap. He did not seem to be the agitated psychotic that he'd been less than an hour earlier.

"What's happening?" Nikki cried. "Why did you pull me so hard? You hurt my leg."

"I'm sorry," Angela said. "I was worried about you. The man you've been sitting with is the same man who was in our house last night wearing the reptile mask."

"He couldn't be," Nikki said, wiping her tears away. "Mr. Van Slyke told me he was supposed to talk with me until you came back."

"What has he been talking about?" Angela asked.

"He was telling me about when he was my age," Nikki said. "How wonderful it had been."

"Mr. Van Slyke's childhood wasn't wonderful at all," David said. David was still intently watching Van Slyke who still hadn't moved. Keeping the shotgun aimed directly at Van Slyke's chest, David leaned into the car for a closer look. Van Slyke continued to stare back at him blankly.

"Are you okay?" David asked. He was at a loss for what to do.

"I'm all right," Van Slyke said in a calm monotone. "My father took me to the movies all the time. Whenever I wanted."

"Don't move," David commanded. Keeping the shotgun aimed at him, David stepped around the front of the car and opened the driver's side door. Van Slyke didn't budge, but he kept his eyes on David.