Color of Blood(94)

“Well, so it seems,” she said. “Thanks for helping us.”

“You should be careful out here,” he said. “It’s dangerous to get lost.”

“So where did you guys come from?” Dennis said. “We didn’t see any buildings out here.”

The man stared down at Dennis while the baked air flooded the car’s interior.

“From nearby,” the man said.

“Yeah, you sure came out of nowhere,” Dennis said.

“Drive carefully,” the man said. “You still have a long way to go.”

He turned and walked back to the car. Both Suburbans made simultaneous turns and left them in a cloud.

“Dennis! Why did you do that?! He might have thought you were an Aussie until you opened your mouth. And the way you asked him where he was from was idiotic. You were challenging him, for God’s sake!”

“They know exactly who I am,” he said. “They’re not surprised to find me out here.”

“That’s preposterous,” she said.

“Not really,” he said picking up speed toward Newton again. They drove directly into the orange sun that illuminated the inside of the Cruiser like a searchlight. “Massey probably put out an alert. That old bastard knows I’m up to something out here. And if they really do have Garder, well, the kid probably told them what he told me. But to be honest, I don’t think they really have Garder in custody. I think they were looking for an excuse to keep me away from here.”

The disturbing thing about Dennis, Judy realized, was that the closer they got to the mystery facility, the more brazen and confrontational he got. Almost like he was picking a fight.

All the way back through the deeply shadowed desert, she debated whether to leave him as soon as they got back to Newton. It would be the prudent thing to do.

***

They ate dinner in the pub, and Dennis chatted on as if nothing had happened. Every time Judy mentioned “those brooding, white American vehicles,” Dennis would just laugh and wave it off.

“Forget about those goons.”

The pub was much busier than Dennis had expected, with half the tables and part of the bar full with a hodgepodge of eaters and drinkers. Judy had introduced Dennis to Emu Bitter, a West Australian beer. To her astonishment, he ordered another one.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink beer,” she said.

He laughed. “Well, I don’t think I had been a wine drinker until you came along. And out here, beer sure goes down better than wine or single-malt scotch.”

Halfway through dinner, Dennis visited the bathroom. On his way back to the table, his attention was drawn to two men having dinner on the other side of the room. The men did not speak and showed an exaggerated attention to their meal. One of the men had moved his chair to have a full view of the bar.

Sitting down next to Judy, he said matter-of-factly, “Well, several of our charming visitors followed us to Newton. There are two agents back there. Please don’t look,” he warned as he nonchalantly grabbed her forearm.

“How can you be sure?” she said.

“God, I’ve spent most of my adult life around these guys. I could almost smell them. They’re tailing us, trying to figure out what we’re doing.”

“Dennis, do you think they’ll do anything to us?”

“Hell, we haven’t done anything to warrant action on their part. Still, I’m glad you’re flying out tomorrow afternoon. I’ll finish up with those bozos out in the desert by myself.”

“Finish up?” Judy asked. “What in God’s name are you talking about? Finish what up? You’re not going out there again, certainly.”

“Of course I am; I still don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Who cares what they’re doing? My God, Dennis, you sound like such a bloody madman sometimes.”

After dinner they fell back to their room and watched TV. Judy used one of Dennis’s disposable mobile phones and called Simon at school. They chatted about the upcoming athletics competition and avoided any mention of his father.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

As the evening wore on, Judy turned off the TV and read a magazine, while Dennis read a book. Judy deliberately avoided talking about what she was going to do the following morning. It was foolish for her to try to dissuade Dennis from going back into the desert. He was absolutely obsessed with his mission and appeared not the least concerned with his own personal safety.

Judy could not forget the image of those white vehicles roaring out of the desert to accost them. Was he tragically underestimating his foe’s capacity for violence?

Most worrisome to her was her attraction to Dennis. She did not want anything to happen to this man who, besides Simon, was the only bright light in her life right now. She had slowly, but entirely, given in to her desire to possess him. It had only happened once to her before, with Phillip. Now she felt like she wanted to own Dennis, but she could not possess a man she would never see again.

Judy finished her magazine and looked at him. He appeared ensconced in his book.

“Dennis, what are you reading?”

“A book of poetry,” he said.

She thought he was teasing, but he quickly closed the hardcover and placed his open hand on top of it.