Even Steven Read Online Free PDF Page A

behind them might be chasing someone else. Yeah, right. The strobes slipped in behind them.
    "What are you going to do?" Susan asked.
    "I don't know."
    Bobby's mind raced. What were his options? By his calculation, he had exactly none. Maybe this was for the best. They'd done what they'd done, and maybe it was best for them just to fess up to it and face the music.
    Out of nowhere, he remembered the pistol he'd casually tossed onto the passenger seat as he climbed into the truck, and he quickly reached over to get it out of sight. Through his side-view mirror, he saw the cop's door open, and his heart did a quick somersault. The very last thing he needed was to greet the cop with a gun in his hand. Hesitating for only an instant, he tucked the weapon under his butt and tried to look innocent.
    Ten seconds later, the cop was at the window, and Bobby pressed the button to lower it.
    "Good evening." To his own ear Bobby sounded petrified.
    The cop shined a flashlight in his eyes. "Howdy." Next, he shined the flashlight in through the rear window. Bobby noted with a tiny flutter of hope that the man's weapon was not drawn. "Y'all okay?"
    Hope bloomed even larger. "I think so," Bobby said, forcing a smile. "Any reason I shouldn't be?"
    The flashlight came back around, but this time at a less imposing angle, aimed more at his door than his face. "None I can think of. We just don't get many people driving the roads this time of night. You haven't had anything to drink tonight, have you, sir?"
    Bobby had to fight off a giddy little laugh as relief washed over him. Could it really be this simple? "No, sir, not a drop. Water and coffee, that's it."
    With the light redirected, the top half of the cop's body was a faceless shadow, but Bobby readily saw the man's gold badge on the green shirt. This guy wasn't a cop at all. He was a park ranger. "I see y'all been camping. Is there a reason why you're bugging out so early?"
    Bobby startled himself with his answer. "I'm afraid the wife's not cut out for the out-of-doors life. I could stay awake all night explaining sounds, or I could drive us back home. This seemed to make more sense." He marvelled at how easily the lie materialized, and how rational it sounded.
    The ranger laughed. He'd been there, done that. "I don't suppose you have a camping permit I could look at, do you?"
    This time, honesty served Bobby well. "Yeah, I do, but it's on my pack in the back. Do you want me to get it for you?"
    The ranger thought about it, but after another quick glance in the backseat, he shook his head. "No, that's okay. I'll take your word for it. I'm sorry your trip didn't work out better for you. Have a good night, and drive carefully for me, will you?"
    You bet." Bobby smiled. "Thanks." As his window climbed its track, he shook his head and allowed that giggle to escape. "Would you believe that?"
    Susan saw none of the humor. "Just get us home, okay, Bobby? Just get us home."
    Once the adrenaline high subsided, leaving only the monotony of a long drive in a quiet car, reality began to sink its hooks.
    Jesus, he'd killed a man.
    You can't murder another human being and just walk away. Life doesn't work like that. You do something wrong, and you step forward to take ownership of your crime. Throw yourself on the mercy of the court.
    But he was a cop.
    Why couldn't he have been anyone else in the world but a cop? Bobby didn't buy for a second that the guy was the kid's father, but maybe he was on the feather edge of solving a kidnapping case. Or, maybe, like the Martins, he was minding his own business in the woods when he saw this kid in his filthy, torn pyjamas, and like any other public servant, he stepped forward to do the right thing.
    But I didn't know that, Judge, Bobby imagined himself saying in a future courtroom. He scared me so badly that I rushed him, and then when he pulled his gun, what choice did I have but to wrestle it away and shoot him?
    His stomach tumbled at the very thought of it.