I’ll be fine, he said. That may have been his new mantra, but he didn’t look fine. He was sweating heavily now and I could not imagine how he thought he would get up to his room. But I am not the kind of person who would ever intrude with unwanted help, so I simply said, All right, and watched as he opened the door and got out. He held on to the roof of the car and stood unsteadily on his one leg for a minute before the bell captain saw him swaying there. The captain frowned at this apparition with the orange jumpsuit and the gleaming skull. Hey, Benny, Chutsky said. Gimme a hand, buddy.

Mr. Chutsky? he said dubiously, and then his jaw dropped as he noticed the missing parts. Oh, Lord, he said. He clapped his hands three times and a bellboy ran out.

Chutsky looked back at me. I’ll be fine, he said.

And really, when you’re not wanted there’s not much you can do except leave, which is what I did. The last I saw of Chutsky he was leaning on the bell captain as the bellboy pushed a wheelchair toward them out the front door of the hotel.

It was still a little bit shy of midnight as I drove down Main Highway and headed for home, which was hard to believe considering all that had happened tonight. Vince’s party seemed like several weeks ago, and yet he probably hadn’t even unplugged his fruit-punch fountain yet. Between my Trial by Stripper and rescuing Chutsky from the gator farm, I had earned my rest tonight, and I admit that I was thinking of little else except crawling into my bed and pulling the covers over my head.

But of course, there’s no rest for the wicked, which I certainly am. My cell phone rang as I turned left on Douglas. Very few people call me, especially this late at night. I glanced at the phone; it was Deborah.

Greetings, sister dear, I said.

You asshole, you said you’d call! she said.

It seemed a little late, I said.

Did you really think I could fucking SLEEP?! she yelled, loud enough to cause pain to people in passing cars. What happened?

I got Chutsky back, I said. But Dr. Danco got away. With Doakes.

Where is he?

I don’t know, Debs, he got away in an airboat and—

Kyle, you idiot. Where is Kyle? Is he all right?

I dropped him at the Mutiny. He’s, um . . . He’s almost all right, I said.

What the fuck does that mean?!? she screamed at me, and I had to switch my phone to the other ear.

Deborah, he’s going to be okay. He’s just—he lost half of his left arm and half the right leg. And all his hair, I said. She was quiet for several seconds.