Hubert, Jessie, and the deputy were left on the porch with Stiles, and each pulled up a chair. Charlie dropped into his like a pile of bricks, but the seniors showed little of his weariness. Indeed, they were still moving even at rest, checking their guns, rechecking them, fidgeting uneasily with years and years of pent-up nervous energy. Stiles wagered that when the trucks rolled again, they would be the first ones back on board.

“So,” he said, “what have you been doing with the bodies?”

Bean pointed just beyond the corner of the house. A thin ribbon of smoke curled into the sky above the treetops. “The city dump,” he said. “We’ve burned ’em all. We aren’t taking any chances.”

Stiles nodded solemnly. “You know,” he said, “sooner or later somebody’s going to check this place out, like the county sheriff or the state police.”

Bean sighed. “I know. I thought I’d beat them to the punch and call ’em first, right after the next hunt.”

“What will you say?”

He shrugged. “Ain’t decided. I’m too tired to think about it right now. Who knows, maybe the truth.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” Stiles sighed. “I can’t be here when they arrive. I’ll help you make another pass through the town, and then I’ll have to disappear for a—”

“You’re leaving?” It was Billie, standing in the doorway. Del and the cat were right behind her, peeking around. She had a strange look on her face. Disappointment, perhaps. Maybe a little fear.

“I have to, Bill. They can’t find me here.”

“Why the rush?” Charlie asked. “You aren’t wanted for anything.” He added with a sheepish grin, “I had you checked out when you came to town. You’re clean.”

“But I am conspicuous. I’m a stranger, and when I came to town people started dying. You think they’ll just let me go? Or will they grill the hell out of me, ask a lot of questions I can’t answer?”

Billie took Del by the shoulders and walked with him out onto the porch. “Then we’ll go with you.”

He shook his head. “You can’t, Billie. Not now.” She looked away. “Don’t you see? They’ll want to talk to you, all of you. They’ll want to know what you did, what you saw, about Bart . . . Especially about Bart. You can’t run now. You’d be just as suspicious as me.”

She wouldn’t look at him. “So, you go and we stay, huh? Well, I guess that’s that. Maybe we’ll see you around sometime. C’mon, Del, back inside—”

“Wait a minute.”

She looked back at him hopefully.