Low Pressure

He hadn’t given any thought to his lifestyle until he looked at his shabby habitat through Bellamy’s eyes. And now he realized that what he did within these walls you couldn’t call living.

Which was exactly what he’d said of his dad.

The similarity jolted Dent, and he angrily rejected it.

He was glad Bellamy diverted him by asking another question. “After you left the park, where did you go?”

“Everywhere. Nowhere. Gall had locked up the hangar and left when I did, so there was no point in going back to it. I didn’t want to go home and watch my dad watch TV. So I just drove around, blowing off steam, and looking for fun in some other place.”

“Who could corroborate that?”

“Not a damn soul. But that’s what I did. The weather turned really bad, really fast. The lightning was fierce. When it started hailing, I took cover under an overpass. The sky turned that greenish-black color. I was several miles from the funnel, but I saw it when it dipped down out of the clouds and realized that it was right on top of the state park, so I got on my bike and went back.” He spread his hands. “You know the rest.”

Bellamy lapsed into another thoughtful silence.

Dent left his chair, went to the window, and peered through the blinds. The parking lot below was clear of all activity; the only vehicles in it were those belonging to residents. He smiled at the thought of Van Durbin being at the mercy of cops who thought they’d captured a pervert.

But his smile faded when a twinge of pain reminded him of the man who’d attacked him. He wanted to retch whenever he thought of the man’s tongue sliding down his cheek and the crude references to Bellamy. Before Dent even realized his hands were forming fists, they were drumming the outside of his thighs.

“One thing puzzles me.”

He turned back to her. “Just one?”

“It’s a big one. I could have corroborated that you’d left the park. I watched you ride away. Why didn’t you tell Moody that I’d seen you leave the park while Susan was still alive and well?”

“It wouldn’t have done any good. You’d lost your memory.”

“You didn’t know that until yesterday, and it came as a surprise to you.”

Too late, Dent realized he’d trapped himself.

Bellamy sat forward. “Instead of lying to Moody and inventing an alibi with Gall, why didn’t you simply tell Moody that I could vouch for you?” When he still didn’t say anything, she pressed him for an answer. “Dent? Why?”

“I figured it was better that Moody didn’t know I’d been there at all.” Suddenly he got up from his chair, went over to the bed, and began stripping it.

She followed him. “There’s more to it than that. I know there is.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Because you won’t look me in the eye.”

Abruptly he turned. “Okay, now I am.”

“What am I missing?”

He shook his head. “I’m not going to talk about it any more tonight. My brain needs a break and so does yours.” He went back to pulling the sheets off the mattress.

“I need to know.”

“Not tonight, you don’t.”

“Yes. Tonight.”

“Why tonight?”

“Because my dad might die at any time.”

“And you’d be unable to fulfill his dying wish.”