Chapter 31 Chapter Twenty Nine

We walked back to the car silently, and Deborah called Chief Matthews immediately after getting in the car and told him about the van, and he agreed to send a case report. When Deborah was on the phone, I looked around, manicured yards, most of the houses were made of colorful stones, a few children's bicycles were chained to the porch in front of the gate, not far away That's Orange Stadium.It's a really nice neighborhood, perfect for people to live, work, start a family - or chop off someone's arm or leg. "Get in the car," Deborah interrupted my train of thought.I got in the car and the car started immediately.We were halfway through a red light, and Deborah glanced over at me. "Your timing for laughing is really good."

"Honestly, Debs," I said, "this is the first time we've gotten a taste of that guy's personality. We know he's got a sense of humor, and that's a big improvement." "Yeah, maybe we'll catch him at a comedy club somewhere." "We'll get him, Debs," I said, except neither of us believed me. We followed the traffic on the road to Deborah's house, just after the morning rush hour.At the corner of Flagler Road and Thirty-fourth Street, a car sprinted onto the sidewalk and crashed into a lamppost in front of the church.A policeman was standing next to the car, two men were shouting and cursing at each other, and a girl was sitting on the curb, crying.Ah, the captivating rhythm of another magical day in paradise on earth.

After a while we turned onto Medina Street and Deborah pulled up next to my car.She turned off the engine and we sat in silence listening to the ticking of the engine as it cooled. "Shit," she said. "I feel the same way." "What do we do now?" she said. "Sleep," I said, "I'm exhausted and my brain's not working." "How can I sleep, Dexter? I know Kyle is..." "We'll track down the van. You know that. The database will provide information on every white van with 'Choose Life' on the license plate. It's only a matter of time until the briefing is out."

"Kyle doesn't have time," she said. "People sleep, Debs," I said, "and so do I." A courier company's van creaked around the corner and stopped abruptly in front of Deborah's house.The driver got out of the car with a small package and walked to the gate of Deborah's house.She swears and gets out of the car to get the package. I closed my eyes and started thinking wildly, which is my habit when I'm exhausted.My newly-acquired sense of humor is obviously still going around, so this seems a little ridiculous to me.To my surprise, I heard the Night Walker chuckle.what's so funny?Is it because I left my shoes at Rita's?It didn't answer.The poor guy was probably still angry, but didn't he laugh just now?Could something else be so funny?I asked.Still no answer, only a vague sense of anticipation and hunger.

The delivery van screeched away.I was about to yawn, stretch, and admit that my very precise brain was on hold, when I heard a moan that sounded like retching.I opened my eyes just in time to see Deborah take a wobbly step forward and sit heavily on the walkway in front of the gate.I quickly got out of the car and ran to her. "Debs," I said, "what's the matter?" She put down the package in her hand and covered her face with her hands.I knelt down beside her and picked up the package.It was a small box, just big enough to hold a watch.I opened the box and inside was a Ziploc bag with a human finger inside.

There is a big shiny ring on her finger.