to have it cleaned up. “Sometimes I think I ought to just tear the place down,” he muttered.
“Why don’t you?” Brad asked. Harney looked surprised, and Brad realized the chief hadn’t intended to speak out loud.
“I don’t know,” Whalen mused. “Just never get around to it, I guess. Or maybe I just don’t want to. I come out here every now and then. Gets me out of the house.” He started to leave, then stopped and turned back to face the Randalls once more.
“I’m going to tell you folks something,” he said heavily. “Clark’s Harbor is an inbred town. We’re all related to each other, and we don’t take kindly to strangers. And it isn’t just that we’re not friendly. It’s something else—whenever strangers come to town the whole place seems to get sort of out of whack, if you know what I mean. So don’t expect things to be any good for you here. They won’t be.”
“Well, if we don’t go looking for trouble, I can’t see that it’s going to come looking for us,” Brad said.
“Can’t you?” Whalen replied. “Better ask around, Randall. What about Horton here? He and his brother came and trouble found them in a few hours. With the Shellings it took fifteen years, but trouble found them too. And there’s your friends the Palmers. They damned near had a peck of trouble just about an hour ago. Well, nothing I can say will convince you.” He glanced at his watch. “Better be getting back to town. There isn’t any more I can do here. The place is all yours. Rent’s due on the first of every month.”
Then he was gone.
“That bastard,” Elaine said almost under her breath.
“Is that any way to talk about your landlord?” Brad asked. Then he chuckled. “I think he enjoys playing the voice of doom.”
Jeff Horton shook his head. “I agree with your wife,” he said. “He’s a bastard.”
Before the discussion could go any farther, a burly form appeared in the kitchen door.
“You people want this stuff unloaded, or do we take it back to Seattle?”
* * *
From their hiding place in the woods, Robby and Missy watched Brad leave the house. They had been watching everything, watching the movers haul carton after carton into the old house, watching them leave. Now Brad was leaving too.
“I thought he was going to live here,” Missy said plaintively. “That’s what you said.”
“Well, who says he’s not?” Robby asked. “He’s probably just going into town for something. Why don’t we go say hello to Mrs. Randall?”
“I don’t want to,” Missy complained. “I don’t like that house.”
“You always say that,” Robby pointed out. “What’s wrong with it?”
“I don’t know. Bad things happen there. They happen all over this beach. I want to go home.”
“So go home.”
“Come with me.”
“I don’t want to. I like the beach.”
“It’s late,” Missy pointed out. “Mommy’s going to be mad at us.”
“Oh, she isn’t either,” Robby replied. But despite his brave words, he wasn’t sure that Missy wasn’t right; his mother had been acting very strange lately and Robby couldn’t figure out why. Ever since that woman had killed herself, his mother had seemed worried. He gave in to his sister.
“All right,” he said. “Come on.”
He started out of the woods but again Missy stopped him.
“Let’s go through the woods for a while.”
“Why?”
“This is the part of the beach where that man washed up,” Missy said.
“How do you know?”
“I just know, that’s all!”
“You don’t either,” Robby said angrily.
“I do too!” Missy insisted. She began walking away from her brother. “You can go that way if you want, but I’m going through the forest.”
Robby decided his sister was a royal pain, but he followed her anyway, obeying his mother’s edict that the two of them should stick together. A few minutes later Missy clutched his hand.
“What’s wrong?” Robby asked wearily.
“I’m scared. Let’s run.” She tugged at Robby’s arm and almost involuntarily he began running with Missy. When they were near the cabin Missy suddenly stopped.
“It’s all right now,” she said. “I’m not scared anymore.”
“That’s because we’re almost home,” Robby pointed out. Missy looked up, and sure enough, there was the cabin, just visible through the trees. As they walked the last few yards to the house, Missy took Robby’s hand and squeezed it hard.
“Let’s not go on the beach anymore,” she pleaded softly.
Robby looked at her curiously, but said nothing.
Brad pulled up in front of the gallery and made sure he wasn’t parked on the pavement, remembering the ticket Harney Whalen