“What makes you think I haven’t?” Drew asked, but his tone was truculent and defensive, like a child who’d been asked if he’d put his toys away and he’d answered yes, when what he’d actually done was shove them under his bed.

Keith gave out a scoffing laugh. Loudly and for a long time, so I took advantage of the noise to hustle forward. I was past the second back corner now, and wrapping back around, inching closer to Keith. And to Drew.

I crept forward. As I moved closer to the fire and the gently lit pathways, it got easier to see the ground in front of me. I pushed aside potentially noisy sticks and knee-destroying rocks and swiveled my head, stretching it high and low, trying to see Keith. Trying to see Drew.

“My research was thorough.”

And there he was. A dark shape against the night, moving slowly between Keith’s detached garage and house.

“I’m sure you think so,” Keith said. “But your actions don’t reflect a complete understanding of the valuations. The demographic tailwinds are making an impact, but the asset fluctuations ameliorate those tendencies.”

If Keith was making things up, he was doing an excellent job, because it sounded real to me. But he also could have been doing some excellent spinning. I hoped I remembered enough of it to ask Otto.

“Where’s your little friend?” Drew asked. He’d reached the patio and was looking down his rifle’s long barrel at Keith.

Keith’s mouth opened and closed a few times. Then, showing a courage that few people had, he stood and faced the man who wanted to kill him. “She ran,” he said. “She’s probably called nine-one-one already. I’m sure the police are on their way. You should probably leave now.”

“She ran.” Drew snorted. “And where is she going to go? Her car’s still here. What neighbor is going to open their door to a frantic stranger babbling about gunshots?”

I almost smirked. Drew hadn’t lived in Chilson very long. Odds were good that it wouldn’t take me more than knocking on the door of three houses before I found someone I knew, someone who would let me use their phone and summon help.

Still, he had a point. It was possible, even if I came across an acquaintance, that minutes of explanation would be needed. And those were minutes we didn’t have.

“I’d say I’m sorry about this,” Drew said, “but I don’t even know you, so apologizing would be a waste of my time and yours.”

He squared his shoulders and began lifting the gun. With a burst of certainty, I knew what I had to do.

And I knew that I could do it.