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to be perfectly all right now, as if he was here to put a splint on a boy with
a twisted ankle. His partner still looked quite unhappy, however, and even
from six feet away I could hear his breathing.
I stood besideDoakes and watched them slide Frank onto the gurney and then
wheel him away. When I looked back atDoakes he was staring at me again. Once
more he gave me his very unpleasant smile. Down to you and me, he said. And
I don t know about you. He leaned against the battered white van and crossed
his arms. I heard the paramedics slam the ambulance door, and a moment later
the siren started up. Just you and me, Doakes said again, and no more
referee.
Is this more of your simple country wisdom? I said, because here I was,
having sacrificed an entire left shoe and a very nice bowling shirt, to say
nothing of my hobby, Deborah s collarbone, and a perfectly good motor-pool
car and there he stood without so much as a wrinkle in his shirt, making
cryptically hostile remarks. Really, the man was too much.
Don t trust you, he said.
I thought it was a very good sign that SergeantDoakes was opening up to me by
sharing his doubts and feelings. Still, I felt like I should try to keep him
focused. That doesn t matter. We re running out of time, I said. With Frank
finished and delivered,Danco will start on Kyle now.
He cocked his head to one side and then shook it slowly. Don t matter about
Kyle, he said. Kyle knew what he was getting into. What matters is catching
the Doctor.
Kyle matters to my sister, I said. That s the only reason I m here.
Doakesnodded again. Pretty good, he said. Could almost believe that.
For some reason, it was then that I had an idea. I admit thatDoakes was
monumentally irritating and it wasn t just because he had kept me from my
important personal research, although that was clearly bad enough. But now he
was even critiquing my acting, which was beyond the boundaries of all
civilized behavior. So perhaps irritation was the mother of invention; it
doesn t seem all that poetic, but there it is. In any case, a little door
opened up in Dexter s dusty cranium and a small light came shining out; a
genuine piece of mental activity. Of course,Doakes might not think much of it,
unless I could help him to see what a good idea it actually was, so I gave it
a shot. I felt a little bit like Bugs Bunny trying to talk ElmerFudd into
something lethal, but the man had it coming. SergeantDoakes , I said,
Deborah is my only family, and it is not right for you to question my
commitment. Particularly, I said, and I had to fight the urge to buff my
fingernails, Bugs-style, since so far you have not donedoodley -squat.
Whatever else he was, cold killer and all, SergeantDoakes was apparently
still capable of feeling emotion. Perhaps that was the big difference between
us, the reason he tried to keep his white hat so firmly cemented to his head
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and fight against what should have been his own side. In any case, I could see
a surge of anger flicker across his face, and deep down inside there was an
almost audible growl from his interior shadow. Doodley-squat, he said.
That s good, too.
Doodley-squat, I said firmly. Deborah and I have done all the legwork and
taken all the risks, and you know it.
For just a moment his jaw muscles popped straight out as if they were going
to leap out of his face and strangle me, and the muted interior growl surged
into a roar that echoed down to my Dark Passenger, which sat up and answered
back, and we stood like that, our two giant shadows flexing and facing off
invisibly in front of us.
Quite possibly, there might have been ripped flesh and pools of blood in the
street if a squad car hadn t chosen that moment to screech to a halt beside us
and interrupt. A young cop jumped out andDoakes reflexively took out his badge
and held it toward them without looking away from me. He made a shooing motion
with his other hand, and the cop backed off and stuck his head into the car to
consult with his partner.
All right, SergeantDoakes said to me, you got something in mind?
It wasn t really perfect. Bugs Bunny would have made him think of it himself,
but it was good enough. As a matter of fact, I said, I do have an idea. But
it s a little risky.
Uh-huh, he said. Thought it might be.
If it s too much for you, come up with something else, I said. But I think
it s all we can do.
I could see him thinking it over. He knew I was baiting him, but there was
just enough truth to what I had said, and enough pride or anger in him that he
didn t care.
Let s have it, he said at last.
Oscar got away, I said.
Looks like it.
That only leaves one person we can be sure Dr.Danco might be interested in,
I said, and I pointed right at his chest. You.
He didn t actually flinch, but something twitched on his forehead and he
forgot to breathe for a few seconds. Then he nodded slowly and took a deep
breath. Slick motherfucker, he said.
Yes, I am, I admitted. But I m right, too.
Doakespicked up the scanner radio and moved it to one side so he could sit on
the open back gate of the van. All right, he said. Keep talking.
First, I m betting he ll get another scanner, I said, nodding at the one
besideDoakes .
Uh-huh.
So if we know he s listening, we can let him hear what we want him to
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hear.Which is, I said with my very best smile, who you are, and where you
are.
And who am I? he said, and he didn t seem impressed by my smile.
You are the guy who set him up to get taken by the Cubans, I said.
He studied me for a moment,then shook his head. Youreally putting my pecker
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