“Listen to me,” Tommy said softly. “If there’s shooting, stay on the floor; we don’t want the shooter to see anybody inside.”

“Aren’t we to fire back?” a deputy asked.

“Absolutely not,” Tommy replied. “We want the guy alive, and your boss and a bunch of deputies will be waiting for him at the marina.”

As if to confirm this, a radio came alive. “Eddie, you there?”

A deputy picked up the handheld. “We’re in place,” he said.

“We’re ready at the marina. No shooting back, you hear?”

“Yes, sheriff.” He set down the radio and as he did, there was the sound of shattering glass, and a broken pane spattered the room with shards.

“I didn’t hear a shot,” Mike said.

“And you won’t,” Tommy said.

From outside, they heard an engine rev, then quickly the sound faded as the boat moved away.

Tommy stood up. “We’re okay,” he said, looking at the picture window, which was spattered with what seemed to be gore. “Jesus, Mike, what’s all that stuff?”

“Sponge cake and ketchup,” Mike replied. “It was all I had.”

They got to their feet and went outside to inspect the dead dummy.

“Got me right through the forehead,” Mike said. The motorboat could no longer be heard.

GIGI THROTTLED BACK as they approached the green fl ashing buoy at the mouth of the creek leading to the marina. “Are you happy with your shot?” she asked.

Larry was sitting on the seat beside her, disassembling his rifle.

“Don’t worry, his brains are spattered all over the front of the house,” he said.

MANNY AND EVAN finished their drinks and Manny ordered two more.

“It’s getting kind of late, isn’t it?” Evan said.

“I trust my people,” Manny replied. “Don’t sweat it.”

“Should we order some dinner?” Evan asked.

“You can, if you like,” Manny replied. “I’m not going to be here that long.”

GIGI DROVE SLOWLY past the buoy and into the creek.

“Throttle back to idle,” Larry said.

Gigi did so, and the boat was barely making headway against the current from the creek. They made another fifty yards, and Gigi could see the pontoon and the other boats in the dim light. Larry reached over and switched off the ignition.

“Why did you do that?” Gigi asked.

“The light on the shed is off,” Larry said. As he spoke, they both saw the beam of a flashlight on the trees above the pontoon, then it went off. They were now drifting backward with the current, and the boat began to turn sideways.

“Something’s wrong,” Larry said. “Just let the boat go where it wants to.”