“Jeez, I think I’m dying,” Pockmark said. I had a look at him. He didn’t look to me like he was dying, but there was no question he needed some medical attention.

“Shut up,” Bullock said. “If you’d frisked him better, we wouldn’t be in this mess now. Wait’ll I tell Mr. Indigo.”

“I can’t wait to hear that myself,” Pockmark said. “How you gonna explain all this?”

“What’s going on?” Trevor said.

“Nothing,” I said. “Just some other people in the room here havin’ a chat. We need a ride out of here, Trevor, but we don’t have time for you to run back to your Chevy. Also, there’s another man outside or around the garage somewhere, and he isn’t going to want us to leave.”

“I saw a guy a minute ago. I think he’d just dumped something into the back of the SUV.”

Trimble’s body, I figured.

“And then he went back into the garage.”

I thought for a moment. If we could get Blondie back out of the garage, then Trevor could go in, open the door, get the Virtue running and out into the driveway, and all Angie and I had to do was run out, hop in, and go.

“Hang on, Trevor, okay?”

“Yeah.”

To Bullock, I said, “You can talk to the garage with that thing there, right?” I pointed to the intercom. He nodded. “Tell your guy to come on back here.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I take a shot at Wonder Woman Barbie.”

He didn’t have to think long about that. He pressed the button, shouted, “Hey!” He waited a second for a response, tried again. “Hey, are you—”

“Hello?”

“Take your finger off the button!”

“Hello? Go ahead!”

“Fuck,” Bullock said under his breath, waited a beat, then pressed the button again. “Are you there?”

“Yup.”

“You get that job done?”

“Yeah. Stevie’s loaded up and ready to go. We can take a drive, unload him somewhere. I know where there’s a wood chipper. You want to do the others at the same time?”

I had a chill, knowing now what was in store for us.

“First thing I need you to do is come back here. It’s these others we have to deal with.”

“Yeah, sure, just be a sec.”

“You,” I said to Pockmark. I wanted him out of the chair. If he stayed there, he’d be visible the moment Blondie opened the door. He forced himself out of the chair, dragged his leg to the other side of the room, and sat down on the floor. I motioned for Angie to get off the couch, and handed her the gun I’d taken from Pockmark.

“Think you can manage this?” I said to her. “I want you to keep it on Mr. Barbie here.”

She nodded. Tiredly, but she was more awake every minute.