All the way back to the motel I invented fresh excuses: I needed more time to think the plan through. I hadn’t slept well the night before. My back was giving me trouble. The truth is, I’d simply lost my nerve. Beaumont wasn’t drunk like the Mexican in Reno. He wasn’t a woman or a child. According to Sally, he was a powerful figure, king of the rovers, and contemplating that had unstrung me.

Nervous energy and dumb luck had gotten me through my first encounters with the monsters, but that wouldn’t be enough in the long run. I spent the rest of the day questioning whether I was cut out to follow in Czarnecki’s footsteps. It seemed I lacked the courage to confront evil face-to-face and the savagery to dispatch it with no qualms, and without iron resolve and a killer’s cold heart, I was doomed.

By nightfall I was exhausted. It was a relief to bring Sally in for dinner and listen to his story about a thief who got caught because he couldn’t stay away from his favorite Times Square dive. He asked for a beer. I said no but made him a second ham sandwich. It was right about then I decided I’d rather spend the night watching Beaumont’s house than torturing myself in the room. Maybe this would be the time I’d discover some weakness that’d give me an advantage.

I drove out and parked by the side of the road. Sally begged to join me when I went back to the camper for the .45, said four eyes would be better than two. I gave in and let him out of the crate, hoping his chatter would drown out the bickering in my head.

The first thing I noticed when we got onto the rise was a second car in the driveway, a Grand Prix. Then the sound of someone singing inside the house reached my ears, followed by laughter and applause. It got quiet after that. My eyes were pressed to the binoculars, but there was nothing to see. I was considering sneaking down to peek through the window in the back door when Sally moaned.

“What is it?” I said.

“The cuffs are pinching,” he replied.

I crouched beside him. “Show me.”

I caught a glimpse of the rock in his hand right before he slammed it into my head. The first blow stunned me, the next laid me out.

I came to in a world of pain. My brain wobbled when I sat up, and I had to wipe blood out of my eyes. I don’t know how long I was down, but Sally had almost reached the house, going as fast as he could in his shackles. I drew the .45 and set off after him.