Casters rolled on concrete, and Lou’s face appeared from under the car.
“Oh, hi,” he said. “Didn’t hear you come up.” Even with sweat-soaked hair and oil marks on his face, he was a handsome young man.
“Sorry to bother you,” Roger said. The idea was to sound a little breathless, which wasn’t difficult, considering the weight of the briefcase. “It’s just that it’s so hot, I feel like I’m burning up. I think I’m going to have a stroke in a second if I don’t splash some water on my face.”
“Geez,” the young man said. He pointed over Roger’s shoulder at a sink Roger already knew was there. “Help yourself,” he said. “You want a beer or something? Soda? Ice water?”
To make it look good, Roger had already put down the case and made for the sink. He was splashing water over his face. It was part of the plan, but it felt good all the same.
He paused between double handfuls of water to tell Lou no thanks. When he was finished, he turned back to the young man and thanked him. “You probably saved my life.”
Lou smiled at him. “You’re still dripping,” he said.
“It feels good,” Roger told him. “A man has to be crazy to go door-to-door on a day like this. Nobody’s home, anyway. I don’t know what you were doing out, but thank God you’re here.”
The young man’s smile took on a slightly wicked gleam. “Heavy date tonight. Have to make sure the mechanical phallus is in perfect shape. Believe me, when I’m done here, I’m standing under a cold shower until it’s time to get dressed, then I’m hitting an air-conditioned movie.”
Roger said it sounded like a good idea to him. “Well,” he said, “better get going. Thanks again.” He bent to pick up his sample case, then straightened suddenly, swinging the case in a wide arc into the side of Louis Symczyk’s head.
The young man dropped to the floor like a pile of laundry. Roger put the brick-loaded case down again and bent over the young man. No moans. No detectable breathing. Roger brought his hands up close to his chest and carefully flicked them dry. Tiny drops of water beaded up on the skin of the young man’s face.
Carefully, Roger placed Louis Symczyk back on his mechanic’s dolly and rolled him back under the car. He made certain that the young man’s shoes stayed clear of the cement floor. This was not likely to be investigated too thoroughly, but if by any chance it should be, Roger was too professional to leave drag marks on clothes or shoes.
When he had the body positioned, he spent a few seconds taking stock. The head was under a suspension spring. Right. He’d put the bricks back at the construction site and burn the briefcase tonight. Right.
Mission accomplished. Or it would be, in just a second. Roger kicked out the left front block, and the car came down. Tendrils of red began to trace their way across the black grease on the floor.
Roger turned and left before any could reach him.
September
In some ways this would be the easiest job yet, in some ways the hardest. Easiest because it demanded no guile, no deception. The victim didn’t need to be lulled. Hardest because it involved breaking into a house, with others home. Breaking in was simple enough—a butter knife could move a window latch, and the rattle of raindrops and the banging of thunder from the late-summer storm tonight would cover any noise he happened to make.
But there was always a chance someone would walk in on him, wanting to “check on the baby” or something, and if that happened, everyone in the house had to die. That would be bad for two reasons: it would dilute the message his employers were trying to send, and it would force him to use fire. He didn’t like to use fire. Fire diluted the message Roger was sending.
Still, he had his mission. Window latch slipped, sash slid up during a crash of thunder. A roll of dry plastic taken out from under his jacket, spread out on the floor to save wet footprints on the rug. A few soft, crackling footsteps across the plastic to the crib.
He could hear voices from another room. He held his breath to hear better. Someone said, “Blake.” Television. Roger let his breath go.
The baby was asleep, which was good. Quieter. The wadded towel in one