“She’s known since the beginning that this was going to happen, but she’s been waiting for it to become inevitable.”

“Do you think it’s inevitable, Ed?”

“I wouldn’t be wasting a nice evening on you, if I thought it wasn’t. Way I see it is, you’ve tried everything you could honorably do to resolve this situation, and now you’re left with the dishonorable alternative.”

“You think it’s dishonorable?”

“On paper, yes, but not really. They’ve backed us into a corner, so there’s nothing else left for it. Also, I think they’re coming for me next.”

“Why you?”

“Apparently, they don’t like having neighbors. They went after Primmy and failed. Now with the Jacksons, to my surprise, they succeeded. I knew the Jacksons well back when, and in those days this could never have happened.”

“I guess you can sneak up on anybody,” Stone said.

Ed looked straight at him. “We’re about to prove or disprove that theory,” he said.

“What are our chances?”

“Not good,” Rawls replied. “They’ve got that house wired up backward and forward. I’ve counted eighteen security cameras, and I probably missed a few.”

“They went ashore yesterday. I guess they’ll have to come back,” Stone said.

“They came back last night on the late ferry,” Rawls said. “Now they’re hunkered down in there, waiting to see what’s going to happen.”

“You think they want us to make the first move?”

“Not necessarily. I think they enjoy the prospect of what’s coming, and they don’t need a first move from us to make them happy about taking us out.”

“Can they see us now?”

“Not unless they’re out on the water,” Rawls said. “From my present position I can’t see a security camera, so they can’t see me, but they could just be sitting out there on the bay, waiting for us to twitch wrong. I’m happy to have Sally in the house, safe and sound.”

“How good are your defenses?” Stone asked.

“As good as one skilled man—me—can make them, but maybe not good enough.”

“Are you going to give them the first shot?”

“Sometimes, if you want somebody bad enough, it’s the only way. At least, I can control the circumstances, to some extent.”

“I think you ought to pull inside and wait for dark,” Stone said. “Loan me a weapon, and I’ll wait with you.”

“That’s not a bad thought,” Rawls said. “I think I’d prefer having you here than someplace else.”

“We’ve got Dino and Lance, if we need them.”