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Barney threw hiht of the door, like a fool, I could hear the click in the quiet night "Move!" I yelled "Move, Nita!" And Barney fired Ted’s pistol into the house

The cabin had a good door, but the bullet ca room and into the kitchen beyond Nita had moved to the side, and itFor a e would drain away, but she raised the rifle and fired right back, and we heard a screa at each other, Nita said, "I have to see about ht it was the worst idea in the world for her to open that door, I said "Of course you do" through stiff lips I reached up ht hand and unlocked the door, and turned the knob as quietly as I could, though I’ to be so quiet at this late date

The door swung open, andBarney again down and bleeding, and Ted Ha from his shoulder He was conscious, but only just Nita said, "Oh," and it sounded like she itnessing the end of the world

Then she siet to her man, and she knelt down by him, and she put pressure on his shoulder like the sensible woed to subtract

Chapter 16

WHEN I was a little s were better all around I was being strapped to a gurney and I illing to bet I was about to get a ride in an ambulance to the Doraville hospital

"Doraville’s not lucky for uess I was justwoonna be okay, honey, don’t you worry"

"Mr Haot the bleeding stopped I think he’s gonna be okay, too"

"Barney?"

"He ain’t dead, but I bet he’s gonna wish he was"

"Where’s et out of the habit of calling hi for us to wheel you out"

And I smiled

"That’s sweet, she’s happy to see hi woman said Her partner, a et her out of here," and she pouted as they got me down the deck steps

Tolliver was by ht out of the car," he said, as if I didn’t know that "I couldn’t believe it when I caht if you want Let us get this gal to the hospital," the older man said

The ride back to the hospital took a while, and the young woman sat in back with me and chattered the whole time She took s, including looking at the stitches in ht face she ood shape

"Now, I understand you had a cracked ulna a few days ago?" she asked "I think you’ve graduated to a broken arm, but we’ll take us an X-ray to be sure"

"Okay," I said We’d have to go into our savings to pay for er until we could buy our house But it was hard forelse, being in this ambulance felt so blissful compared to my previous three hours of experience

I felt so safe I actually fell asleep and had to blink my eyes open e reached the hospital

The whole hospital experience was déjà vu I wasn’t in the same room - I think Ted Hamilton was in that one I was down the hall and on the other side

Sandra Rockasvisitor After we’d done the "How are you" s and so forth, she said, "I want to apologize for so"

I waited

"I knehoever attacked you, I knew it had to be the killer And there wasn’t a trace of him Or his vehicle Turns out, Tom Almand says he parked over behind Hair Affair and cut across the back parking lots Then he hid behind the Du to slash your tires, but then you caht the shovel just on the off chance"

I tried to remember where Hair Affair was - two doors down froht It hardly ?" I asked

"To his damn head off But won’t ain, I felt as if I hardly cared Chuck Alone now, and no a him back

Tolliver ca coffee and breakfast He’d gotten h I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to have it or not, I planned on drinking it He bent over to kiss ht about that

Klavin and Stuart ca

"There’s enough pathology between those two to keep the serial-killer writers busy for years," Klavin said "As long as they’re behind bars while they’re being studied, that’s fine with me"

"The writers are welcome to ’em," said Stuart He s, and that’s hoe’re filling in the cracks"

Tolliver tookme exactly what had happened the afternoon before, and I wasn’t really ready to talk about it But I’d had to do a lot of things I didn’t want to do during my stay in Doraville, and this was simply another one of them

"Did you suspect he was the one?" Stuart asked