Chapter 23 chapter Five

Owen Aitchison stood at the top of the hill, looking down at the old Cadillac.The roof of the car was smashed and the windows were cracked with cobwebs.Owen drew his gun, loaded it, and moved toward the car.The slope was so steep that he had to use one hand to help him move slowly down. Owen gripped the gun tightly, took a deep breath, and ran towards the target as fast as he could, ready to shoot on the move.He was trying to keep himself from letting out the savage growl that he had when he was a Marine. He stooped forward, using the trunk as cover, and peered in through the rear window. no one.

He took a few breaths, switched the gun to his left hand, and slammed the door open with his right. The car is empty.The key is in. suitcase! Owen pulled open the lid of the box and jumped back. The trunk is roomy enough to fit someone as tall as a Hurubek.But he's not in it. Ten minutes later he found Hurubek's trail - leading to the depths of the forest.When he had gone about thirty steps forward, he suddenly heard a sound, like careless footsteps. He aimed his gun at the sound.He raised his gun and walked forward, his feet on the pine needles. The man was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, massaging one of his legs, as if taking a break from a Sunday afternoon hike.

"We seem to have let him slip again," said the lanky man.He showed no sign of surprise. "Looks like you came to him for that bonus too. We need to have a good talk." The woman was thirty-six years old and had been living in this tidy bungalow.My mother died a few years ago, and she was the only one left in the house.She was frail, fair-haired, blue-eyed, not pretty, but slender.She had had a few boyfriends, most of them at church, but she hadn't had much fun with them, and she had recently begun to feel that it would be easier to live a life of celibacy. Just as she was getting ready for bedtime snacks tonight, she heard noises in the yard.She went to the window, but she saw nothing but the leaves blown by the wind and the night rain.She went back to the maple table, said her prayers, and lifted a spoonful of Jelly Jelly to her mouth as she flipped through TV Guide.

A knock at the front door seemed to shake the house down.The spoon dropped on the table, and the translucent jelly slid down her lap and onto the floor.She immediately stood up and asked loudly, "Who?" "I'm hurt. There was an accident. Help." It was a man's voice. She hesitated for a moment, walked to the door, hesitated for a while, and opened the door a crack, the safety chain was still hanging on the door.The big man outside was bent over and folded one arm.Looks like a worker. "Who are you?" "I was driving through here and my car flipped over. Oops, I'm hurt. Let me in."

That's not okay. "You wait, I'll call you an ambulance." The woman closed the door, locked it, walked to the desk and picked up the phone.She dialed several times, but there was no sound on the phone.She exclaimed: "Oops." Only then did she realize what the voice had just come from the lead-in of the telephone line.This thought only lingered in my mind for a brief moment, because Mike Hurubek had already kicked open the door impatiently waiting outside.The wet giant walked into the living room and said, "You're good! But the phone doesn't work, I should have told you."

In the torrential rain, they hid under the leafy pine trees.Owen asked Triton Heck how he found the Cadillac. "I followed him to Crofton, where I found your footprints and tire tracks. I saw you heading west. Then I saw an SUV parked there. I assumed it was yours. My dog ​​was in Scent of Hurubek next to the Cadillac." "Has the detective discovered anything new?" "What did you say?" "I can't remember his name." Owen patted the business card in his pocket. "That detective in Crofton. In that house, Hurubek killed the woman." "What?" Heike asked in surprise.

"You don't know? Didn't you go into that house?" "I didn't see any houses at all. As soon as I saw your ruts I ran after you west." Owen tells Triton Heck about the massacre at Crofton, and mentions the antique cars in the barn. "I think he drove that motorcycle a few hundred yards south and threw it in the mud to distract us. Then he switched to the Cadillac and came here. That guy is a ghost gone." Heike asked, "Why did you come after him?" Owen bent over to tie his shoelaces. Although the shoes were muddy, Heike knew they were very expensive leather boots.Tall Owen stood up and said, "He killed my friend at Indian Sacrifice. My wife saw him do it."

Heike nodded, thinking that in this way, the play will have a new trick tonight.Emile squatted on the ground, shaking her body irritably.Seeing the master approaching, Emil quieted down. Owen asked, "A purebred dog?" "Pure. I'll call him Emile. If she's mated to a pure bitch, I'll put his full name on the certificate." Walking back to the clearing with Heike, Owen asked, "If he's on a bicycle, how do you track his scent?" "It's not a problem for Emil. Do you think it's possible for Hulubek to go to your wife?" "I can't say for sure. But I'm really worried about leaving this kind of thing to those incompetent policemen."

Heike didn't like this, so he said, "It's the state police who are in charge of the pursuit." "They've made quite a few mistakes," Owen said, glancing at Heike's pistol. "You just talked about the bonus. Are you in the business of tracking?" "I rent out my dog." "How much is the bonus?" Heike blushed, looked at the dark forest and said, "Ten thousand yuan." He emphasized his tone, as if to let Owen understand that he would have to pay a lot of money to hire him. Mike studied the woman carefully.She cried a lot, and it upset him.The blond woman didn't say a word, her nose, chin, and cheekbones were all red from crying.Mike Hurubek said as he paced, "I had to unplug your phone line. Don't cry. They must have bugged the line."

"What do you want to do to me?" she sobbed. Mike's muddy feet hit the living room floor. "It's a nice place. Don't cry! How did you get here? I'm asking about your house." "My mother passed away, and the house belongs to me. I also have a younger sister, and half of the house belongs to her." Mike saluted her by raising his hand to the Irish fedora hat he was wearing, lifted it up and stroked his bald head.Traces of blue ink are faintly visible under bright light.He puts on the hat and finds her looking at it.Mike smiled. "It's trendy, isn't it?"

"What did you say?" He frowned. "My hat is quite fashionable, isn't it?" "Oh yes," she said aloud. "Stylish. Very stylish." "My car kept rolling and rolling and rolling. It was a good car." He walked up to her and looked her up and down.Mike felt strange that this was a woman, but he was not afraid.Maybe because she is too delicate.Mike could lift her up with one hand and snap her neck with a flick, like he did with the wild badger.What is this smell?Oh, it's a woman's smell.It brought up a vague, unpleasant memory in him.He felt darkness surrounding him, a claustrophobic sense of dread.He remembered rocks, floods, bad men.what's going on?Anxiety becomes more intense.He felt his lower body suddenly harden.He sat down quickly, afraid that she would see him. The rain beat harder on the windows.It was the sound of gunshots, he thought.The sound of bullets going through his head... Mike covered his ears with his hands.After a while, he found her staring at him. "I was being chased," he said. "Are you a fugitive?" she asked in a whisper. "Escaped from Hamelin prison?" "You're good. Don't try to tell me what to say. You know too much." Mike bent down to stroke her limp blond hair, and she shivered. "Fine," he said. "You're not wearing that goddamn hat. Well... well." "Please don't hurt me. I'll give you money. Anything you want..." "Give me a penny." "I have a little savings, about three thousand dollars, but it's in the bank. I'll be at the bank at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and I'll make sure—" Mike yelled, "Give me a dime!" She frantically searched in her purse.Mike held out his huge palm and she let the coin fall into his hand.Holding the coin, he put his hand behind her head and asked, "Which word on the coin is made up of seven letters?" "I have no idea." "Guess," he said impatiently. She twisted her hands. "We believe in God. The United States of America. No. God, I can't remember!" "It's right behind the seven letters 'Lincoln'," Mike said without looking at the coin. "That word is right behind Lincoln. There are seven letters in total. It's like a gun pointed at Lincoln's head." He poked her head with his finger.She closed her eyes and whispered, "I don't know." Mike said, "Liberty." He dropped the coin on the ground. "I'm hungry. Any food?" She stopped crying. "Are you hungry?" She looked into the kitchen. "I have roast beef, chili sauce...please eat whatever you want." He went to the table, sat on the chair, and gently unfolded a paper napkin.The napkin only covered a small area above his lap. "Can I stand up?" she asked. "How can you serve me food if you don't stand up?" She stumbled into the kitchen and set him a plate of food, and Mike sang loudly.She put a food plate in front of him.Mike stopped singing suddenly, picked up a fork, cut off a piece of beef, added a little jelly, put it in a small pink dish and placed it in front of her. She glanced at the food and looked at him suspiciously. "I want you to eat first!" he said. "I've... oh, you think it's poisonous?" She took a bite, smiled at him, and immediately put away her smile.He studied her for a moment, then put down his fork. "Is there any milk?" "Milk? I have low-fat milk. Is that okay?" "Some milk!" he yelled.She jumped up to get the milk.He had already started eating when he came back. "I worked on a dairy farm." "Oh," she nodded politely. "It must be nice to work there." "Very nice. Dr. Dick got me a job." "Who is Dr. Dick?" "He's my dad." "Your father is a doctor?" "Well," Mike laughed mockingly, "not real dad." "Of course." Seeing his gloomy face, she hastily agreed.He stopped eating.She told him his hat was fine.Mike touched the hat and said with a smile: "I like this hat too. I used to have hair, but I shaved it off." "What are you shaving it for?" "I can't tell." "That's right, don't say it if you can't say it." "I don't want to say it, I won't say it, and I don't need your approval." "I'm not approving you. That's not what I mean. You can do whatever you want." "Of course I know that." Mike finished his plate. "Is there enough to eat?" "More milk." She walked into the kitchen, and he added, "Please." While Mike was drinking his milk, she asked, "What are you doing?" "I'm drinking milk," he said angrily. "No, I mean, what are you doing out tonight? I heard there is going to be a big storm that hasn't been seen in many years." He lowered his head, his eyes were as empty and hazy as the glass in his hand. She broke the dull atmosphere and asked, "What are you doing at the dairy?" Mike's cock was still hard and hurt.He became irritable.He reached into his trouser pocket and stroked it, then stood up and walked to the window. "Which big city with a train station is closest to here?" "Well, Boriston, I think. About forty or fifty miles to the south." "How to go?" "Towards the west, take the 315 Highway, which leads directly to Boriston. After entering the city, the road turns into Hubert Street, and that street passes by the train station." "Easy to find?" "It's easy," she said. "What are you doing there?" "I told you," he said impatiently. "I can't tell you." Mike Hurubek rummages in his backpack. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he told her.He repeated it over and over again, with a meaning in his tone, obviously not apologizing to her for his rudeness, but referring to something else--something he was about to do, which was far worse than being rude. many.Mike sat down next to her, his legs pressed against the woman's.The woman cried, and he put a small white animal skull on her lap and stroked her blond hair gently. The dark clouds in the sky are turbulent, like special effects shots in science fiction movies.Portia Lauperche breathed in the smell of decaying leaves and the scents of the lake.A few steps away, her sister raised a shovel and piled a shovelful of gravel around the front wheel of the car stuck in the mud. The young woman flexed her fingers, feeling her hands blistering in the wet gloves.She felt sore all over her muscles, and her head ached from the heavy rain. But there was something else that displeased her, a vague memory--not the storm.At first she thought it was the one who got away.But she never really believed that a patient like Mike Hurubek could come all the way from the hospital to Ridgetown, especially on a stormy night like this. Portia felt startled, and suddenly realized that the vague memory that kept coming up was Indian Sacrificial Cliff.She hadn't planned to go there for a picnic with her sister and brother-in-law.She wasn't interested in hiking, not in that national park—especially Indian Sacrifice.She had been there many times on boring field trips where her teacher forced her to go, and then she had been lying under her boyfriend, or her boyfriend's boyfriend, sometimes under strangers, staring at the treetops above her. . Just because she's sick of the monotony of life in Manhattan....So, on May 1st, Portia reluctantly packed donuts, drunken salmon, cheese, magazines, a bikini, and sunshade glasses.She put up with the disrespectful attitude of the taxi-stand attendant, she put up with the chaotic traffic, she braced herself for the company of poor, neurotic Keryl, she patiently passed a very boring day in the country.There was only one person on the trip who didn't bother her, however, and that was Robert Gillespie.At first Portia didn't think Robert was a man worth paying for.On the way to Indian Sacrifice, Portia sat in the back of Robert's four-wheel drive with Liz and Keriel.She mentally graded Robert, failing most of the tests: passable intellect; overweight, fifteen pounds overweight; too glib; too arrogant; talkative; Portia knew that, logically speaking, there was nothing alluring about Robert.But Robert was indeed an attractive man.Liz dozed off in the background, while the bored Dorothy concentrated on applying red nail polish to her fingers, while Robert kept asking Portia questions.Where does she live, does she like this town, does she like her job... He seemed very interested in her, and his eyes sparkled with excitement when he spoke. By the time he arrived at Indian Sacrificial Cliff Park, Portia had become an object he could hunt at any time. They walked together from the parking lot to the car, and Robert glanced at Portia's running shoes and asked discreetly if she could go for a run together. Portia said: "Perhaps." He thought it was tantamount to consent. "Let me run first," he said under his breath. "Let's meet at the old cave. You can start after I run out in ten minutes." "Maybe." Once at Stony Point Beach, Portia feels she has the power to manipulate Robert, and she decides to put her influence to good use.She did a few warm-ups, then started running without saying hello to Robert.She ran half a mile to the ravine he mentioned.After running through the old cave, there is a pine forest. The ground under the pine trees is covered with soft pine needles, some are green, and some are already red.Portia sat on a nearby rock and wondered if Robert would come.Maybe he'll stay with his wife and Liz as revenge on her.Of course Portia would respect him more if he did that.But Portia had neither interest nor need to respect a man, least of all a man like Robert Gillespie.He should come, or Portia would show him something today.She surveyed the glade, which was shadowed by white rock walls rising on either side of the forest.It was also cloudy. She ran from the rock to the "pine bed" under the pine trees, thick with pine needles, which was hidden from view from the glade by a row of shrubs and hemlock trees.Forty minutes later Robert came running.He gasped, not at all blaming Portia for not cooperating with him.He pouted to examine his chest. Portia smiled and asked, "What's the matter?" "My wife says I'm so fat my breasts are showing." Portia took off her shirt and bra and said, "Let's compare." They rolled over on the pine bed.Robert kissed her, touching her bare tit with the back of his hand.She stroked herself while he licked her navel with the tip of his tongue, moving down to her thighs and knees.She looked up at the surging dark clouds with half-closed eyes, panting with her mouth open.He flipped onto her, wrapped her legs behind him, and was about to insert her forcefully, when he heard a slap on the top of his head. Keryl came out from behind the bushes and stood frozen, only six feet away from them.She covered her mouth with her hand in astonishment. "Oh, God," cried Portia. "Karyl, honey..." Robert rolled over to his knees. Keryl was speechless, staring at his lower abdomen.Portia remembered thinking that Keryl was eighteen years old and it wouldn't be the first time she saw that thing. It took Robert a while to recover, and he hurriedly searched for a shirt and trousers.The girl stared at Robert, and Portia looked at the girl, and the third person watching her aroused her lust even more.With a sob, Keryl turned and ran across the cave entrance, back to the path. "Oh, no," said Robert. "don’t worry." "what?" "No big deal. Young people have to go through it once. I'll talk to her." "She's still young." "Leave her alone," said Portia softly, "come here." "God, what if she tells Liz?" "Come on," Portia gasped, knelt down on the ground, and put her mouth around his genitals. Robert stood there with his head raised, his eyes closed, shaking uncontrollably.At this time Liz came to the open space. Keril must have bumped into Liz head-on, and Liz either heard what she said or guessed what happened.She stood beside the man and woman, looking down at them. "Portia!" she roared. "How did you do such a thing?" Liz was shocked, and Robert was also shocked. Young woman stands up and wipes her face with her bra.She turned to face her sister, watching coldly as her throat turned red and her jaw trembled.Robert pulled up his shorts and looked around for his shirt, still speechless.Portia was unwilling to admit her mistake like a schoolboy who did something wrong. "How dare you do that?" Liz grabbed her arm, but Portia broke free.She looked into her sister's angry eyes, dressed slowly, and went away without saying a word, leaving Liz and Robert there. Portia walked back to Stony Point Beach, where Dorothy was packing her things.The temperature has dropped, and it's bound to rain.She glanced at Portia as if sensing something was wrong, but said nothing.When the wind picked up, the two women packed up their things and took them to the car.They went back to the beach again, looking for the companions.It was raining heavily at this time. After a while, sirens sounded in the park, and the police and doctors came.In a flooded place between two canyons, Portia met her sister—she was red-eyed and muddy like a madwoman.Two caretakers helped her out of a ditch. Portia walked towards her. "Liz, what's wrong—?" The slap was not loud, but it knocked Portia to her knees.She gave a cry of surprise.The two women didn't move, they looked at each other, Liz's hand was still in the air.An administrator helped Portia to her feet and told her about the dead man. "Oh, that's impossible!" cried Portia. "Ah, it's impossible!" Liz imitated her accent bitterly, took a step forward, pushed the administrator away, put her mouth next to her sister's ear, and said in a low voice: "You killed that girl, you bitch son." Portia stared at her sister with eyes as cold as the rocks around her. "Goodbye, Liz." After this separation, except for a few brief phone calls, the two sisters never spoke again until tonight. Indian sacrifice cliff.Hearing Liz send her an invitation, the first thing Portia thought of was Indian Sacrifice Cliff.Ah, Liz, don't you understand?It was Indian Sacrifice who was manipulating the fate of the two Laubershey sisters.Not the tragic event, not the dead man, not the sisters' quarrel and the months of incompatibility that followed, but the past years that lead us to the loose bed that dictate our destiny, lead us again and again to misery. The days past, and the souls of those who died. Portia watched Liz, who was ten feet away, wading toward the cab of the car. The eyes of the two sisters met. Seeing Portia's expression, Liz was confused, so she frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" But at this moment, the engine of the car let out a gasp, the blades of the ventilation fan beat the accumulated water, the body shook a few times, and finally stopped.Only the sound of wind and rain outside could be heard.