After a while Joe and I went to the Taurus and Karen and Toby went to her LeBaron and the four of us drove back to her house beneath gray skies expectant with snow. We went inside and packed our things while Karen made phone calls and Toby dug around in the kitchen for something to eat. Twelve years old, and you’re always hungry. When my bags were packed, I called United and booked two returns on a flight they had leaving from Kennedy at six-forty that night. When I told Pike the time, he said, “Didn’t they have anything sooner?”

At twenty-four minutes after noon the black limo turned into the drive and Peter Alan Nelsen came to the door. Karen let him in. She said, “I thought you had gone back to Los Angeles.”

Peter said, “I want to start over. I know that me coming here is going to create problems for you, and changes, and I want to do what I can to help you through them. I don’t want you and the boy to think I’m an asshole. I want Toby to get to know me, and I want to get to know him, and I want to work out things like visitation and holidays and getting together. I want to pay child support, but only if that’s okay with you. Can we talk about this stuff?”

Karen Lloyd said, “Oh, shit.”

Peter said, “Please.”

Karen Lloyd made a little whistle and tapped her right hand on her thigh and looked at the television. The television was not turned on.

I said, “Sounds pretty good to me.”

Karen shook her head and frowned.

Peter said, “C’mon, Karen. Please.”

I said, “For Christ’s sake, meet him halfway.”

Karen crossed her arms and the frown grew deeper. “We’ll see.” Give’m an inch.

The phone rang and Karen Lloyd went into the kitchen and answered it. When she was gone, Peter said, “What do you think?”

I spread my hands. “We’ll see.”

Karen came back and said, “It’s a man named Roland George.”

I left them to stare at each other and went into the kitchen. Rollie came on with a tight, clipped voice. “You heard?”

“What?”

“On the news ten minutes ago. Sal DeLuca was shot to death in his health club, four in the head, close range, sometime around ten this morning. You know anything about it?”

“I think it was Charlie. If it was, I think he’ll want us next.”

I hung up and went back into the living room and told Karen and Peter and Joe Pike. When I told them, Peter said, “You mean the sonofabitch is coming back here?”

“Yes.”

Karen said, “I knew it couldn’t be this easy. I knew it wasn’t over. What are we going to do?”