with both hands. Then he stood up and turned around. “Come on, man. Don’t you wanta see her?”
“You’re not supposed to go near a crime scene. You’ll screw up evidence.”
“This isn’t any crime scene.”
“You think she got like that in an accident?”
“Shit, no. Someone probably raped and murdered her. But not here. This is just where she got dumped.” Jeff turned sideways and pointed toward the top of the bluff. “From up there on Mulholland, I bet.”
“Maybe.”
“Coming?”
“No. And you…”
Jeff started climbing the slope toward the body.
“Get back here!” Pete yelled.
Jeff ignored him.
Pete muttered, “Damn it.” He set down his book on top of the wall, then swung his leg over, shoved off, and dropped to the ground. “Wait up,” he called.
Jeff stopped, looked back at him, and smiled.
Pete chugged up the slope toward his waiting friend.
He felt very strange: shocked and disgusted and a little frightened at having a murder victim left behind his home, annoyed by Jeff’s refusal to leave it alone, dreading a closer look at a dead body but also excited because he’d never before seen one close up and he’d never before seen a naked woman in the flesh.
I don’t want to see this, he told himself.
But he trudged the final distance and halted beside Jeff. They stood side by side, huffing for breath, staring at the body sprawled in the weeds just above their feet.
“She’s got a nice bod on her,” Jeff said.
“Hey, shut up.”
“Well, she does. Too bad she’s so wrecked up.”
Afraid someone might be watching them, Pete scanned the hillside. He saw nobody. The road, high above him, was hidden from sight by the slope and scattered trees. There were no houses directly overhead. Those Pete could see were so far away and off to the sides that even someone up there with a telescope would have a tough time seeing much, especially with so many trees and bushes nearby.
Turning toward his house, Pete found that he could look down over the top of the block wall. If Mom or Dad were home, they would be able to view him standing here—maybe from the chest up—but not the naked body at his feet.
His house stood at the rear of a cul-de-sac. The homes on both sides were a fair distance away and set at angles that gave them almost no view at all of the area behind Pete’s house. Also, the house on the right was up for sale. Nobody had lived in it for weeks.
“The coast clear?” Jeff asked.
“I think so.”
“Good deal.” Jeff sank to a crouch beside the body.
“What’re you doing?”
“Nothing,” he said, and patted a cheek of the rump.
“Christ, Jeff.”
“Still warm,” he said.
“Probably the sun.”
“Let’s turn her over.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Come on, give me a hand.”
“You’re nuts.”
“You telling me you don’t wanta check her out?”
“She’s dead!”
“So who’s gonna find out we looked her over? She’s sure not gonna tell on us.”
“The cops’ll know if we move her.”
“Yeah? So what? We’ll just say we didn’t know she was dead and figured she might need some first aid.”
“We’d better not.”
“You want to, man. I know you want to. Don’t be such a chicken.”
“It wouldn’t be right.”
“Gimme a break. A, who gives a shit? B, what’s so bad about looking her over? Who’s it gonna hurt? Now come on and help me.”
“You want to turn her over, you turn her over. I’m not touching her.”
“Okay, don’t.” Jeff shrugged and smiled. “I’ll do it.” He lifted her left arm off the ground and moved it in against her side. “No rigor mortis,” he said. Dropping to one knee, he leaned over her, placed a hand on the small of her back to brace himself up, and reached out for her right arm. He hooked his fingers over it and drew it down against her side. “Loose as a goose,” he said.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Pete muttered.
“Do you believe you’re watching?”
“I’m not about to leave you alone with her.”
“Ha! Good one!” He moved sideways and leaned over the backs of her thighs. Using both hands, he pulled her right leg in against her left. “Guess we’re all set,” he said. “So get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“Who knows? Maybe her guts’ll fall out or something.”
“Terrific.”
“I mean, she might have a nasty old wound somewhere.”
“Why don’t you just leave her the way she is?”
“Because she’s here, man.” He smiled over his shoulder at Pete. “You sure you don’t want to help?”