supposed to win me over?”
“This is not funny, Jeff.”
“I’m having fun.”
“If that book’s wrecked…if it has so much as a water spot on it…”
Jeff lowered the book to eye level. He frowned at its cover. “A Moveable Feast,” he said. “Do you s’pose it’s also a floatable feast?”
Pete shoved off and swam fast across the pool at an angle, straight for Jeff.
Who waited by the table, holding the book high and grinning.
Until Pete started to climb out.
Then Jeff dodged around the table and ran away, waving the book overhead.
“Damn it! Get back here!”
“Kiss my ass!” Jeff yelled. It was mostly bare at the moment. He reached down with one hand to hoist his drooping trunks.
As water spilled down his body, Pete stood on the warm concrete and pulled up his own sagging trunks. “I’m not going to chase you. Just bring the book back, okay?”
“Come and get it.”
“No.”
“Then I can’t be responsible for its fate.”
“You will be responsible. I’ll knock the crap out of you!”
“Oooo, big talk.” Jeff hurried the rest of the way to the cinder-block wall at the side of the pool area. He reached up and slapped the book onto its top. Then, hands free, he climbed the wall.
“Real cute,” Pete called.
“Ain’t that the truth?” With his usual agility, Jeff picked up the book and rose to his feet. He waved the book at Pete. “Don’t you want it?”
“Get down from there.”
“You come up.”
“Yeah, right.” Pete had no intention of climbing the wall, but he did start walking toward it. “Just come on down. I know you’re God’s gift to the world of gymnastics…”
“I’m no gymnast. They’re a bunch of fags.”
“Then stop trying to act like one.”
“I’m not. I’m a Great Wallenda!” With that, he started hurrying along the top of the wall, arms wide for balance.
“Wallendas fall and die, you dork.”
“Just once!”
“Get down from there!”
When Jeff reached the rear corner, he stopped. He used one hand to yank up his drooping trunks. Then he spread his arms again, stepped around the corner, and began to walk along the top of the far wall.
“I’m so impressed,” Pete called, striding past the end of the pool.
“Let’s see you do it.”
“You’re the show-off around here.”
“Have you ever climbed up here?” Jeff asked, continuing along the wall and not looking back.
“A few times.”
“Then let’s see you.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Tell you what, you come up here and I’ll give you the book back.”
“Screw you.”
He stopped and grinned over his shoulder at Pete. “If you don’t come up, maybe I’ll see how far up the hill I can throw it.”
“You do and you’ll be sorry.”
Jeff turned toward the hillside and cocked back his arm as if ready to hurl the book. But then his body seemed to stiffen slightly. He lowered the book, not even bothering to fake a throw.
“What’s wrong?” Pete called.
His friend stood there as if shocked into stillness.
“Jeff? What is it? What’s going on?”
Jeff swung his head to the side and called out, “I think you’d better climb up here and take a look at this.”
Pete ran to the wall. Leaping, he boosted himself up. Instead of trying to stand on the narrow top, he swung a leg over and straddled it.
“Right there,” Jeff said, and pointed his finger toward the hillside in front of them, his arm almost straight out.
For a few seconds, Pete saw only brown weeds and green bushes.
Then he spotted the body.
Chapter Thirty-two
It was slightly lower than Pete’s eye level, near the bottom of the slope and only about twenty feet away.
“See it?” Jeff asked.
“Yeah.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“Looks like a stiff.”
“Yeah.”
The body was sprawled face-down, arms and legs spread out like a skydiver. But it wasn’t wearing a parachute.
It wasn’t wearing anything at all.
It looked filthy and bloody and battered.
“I think it’s a gal,” Jeff said.
“I don’t know. Look at the hair.”
The hair was very short. It seemed to be pale blond, but the head was turned away and most of the hair that Pete could see was matted down flat with blood.
“Look at the butt,” Jeff said. “That’s a gal butt.”
“I don’t know.”
“I do. Let’s take a look.”
“We’d better call the cops.”
“You call the cops, I’m gonna see what we’ve got here.” He switched the paperback book to his left hand and held it toward Pete. “This yours?”
Pete took it. “You’re not…?”
Jeff sprang from the wall. His leap carried him out toward the hillside as he dropped. He landed a small distance below the body. Knees bending with the impact, he fell forward and caught himself