Package Deal(91)

Another car pulled in front of him just as he was estimating where to move closer to the curb.

Get out of the way!

The other car turned at the corner, leaving him free to sideswipe the runner.

But just as the man veered briefly into the street around a parked car and closer to the road, a truck crossed in front on Carlton’s car, forcing him to brake abruptly. The cat meowed as she again slid off the seat and onto the floor. He stopped the car and leaned over to pick her up, the tic in his cheek itching, forcing him to rub his face. He stroked the cat until she started purring.

When he looked up at the now-deserted street, the runner was nowhere in sight. He swore, pulled over to the curb and waited for his anger to slowly abate. The next time I see you, Marcus. Next time you won’t be so lucky.

Carlton drove past a small cemetery on the way to campus. It reminded him of a similar place in Madison, when he’d visited the child’s grave, after everyone else had left. He’d told her he was sorry. If only she hadn’t started to cry and scream. It was her screams that made him press his hands against her throat. If he went back there, he would bring her flowers. Maybe then she would forgive him.

He pulled up behind the building housing the Campus School and sat there for several minutes.The article in the newspaper, now several weeks old, about child predators was really about him. He knew it. He re-read the article while petting the cat, as it perched on his right thigh and purred loudly. That reporter had it in for him, he was sure of it.

“You were just trying to use Cecelia to get close to Amanda, weren’t you? I know your type, Marcus Dunbar.You didn’t really like Cecelia. You were just trying to cozy up to her so you could get to her mother.”Something he would never do. It was the children he loved and wanted to be close to. He would never stoop to Marcus’ distasteful tactics, never.

He peered through the foggy car window then rolled it down to remove the condensation. It was starting to drizzle, streaking his view of the playground near the school and the soccer field just beyond the building. His stomach growled again. He pulled out his wallet. “Not much cash left, Kitty,” he mumbled. Maybe if he landed a quick construction job out of town, or clearing trails in the nearby national park. That would give him enough money to buy food. Then he would go inside the building to reclaim his box when no one was around.

“When did Hillier say those renovations would be done, Kitty? Amanda won’t still be using the old office, will she?” If he could just get in there to find his papers. Maybe he would try the door after everyone else had gone home. He felt for the knife he kept in the glove compartment. He would use it to jimmy the door if his keys didn’t work anymore.

A man and a small child emerged from the Campus School. Her hair coloring and the way it floated in the breeze about her shoulders reminded him of the little girl in Madison and her backyard playhouse. After he had pushed her in the swing, she had liked it that he offered to play tea party with her—until he tried other games and she fought to get away from him. That’s why he had taken her to the river—away from the houses and play equipment. No, playhouses were dangerous. He wouldn’t do that again.

If he could just get a real job. If he found a place to stay, maybe he could look after the children during their hikes. He would make sure they were safe from men like Marcus Dunbar. Men who cozied up to their mothers. Two men walked past the Campus School and headed in the direction of the door he wanted to use, the one closest to the English department. One of them looked up at him before his companion opened the door and they disappeared into the building.Carlton turned the car around and headed for the nearest fast food place. He would come back when no one was around.



The Scouts sang their way to the high camp in the National Forest, laughter ringing against the trees as Cecelia and her troop tramped up the trail. When they reached a high meadow with a glacier-fed lake nearby, the girls gathered near a pile of fallen logs to catch their breath.

“Ssh! Look over there.” Sam poked Cecelia. “Right near the big tall tree.”

The girls fell silent as a bull elk emerged from the forest and approached the shoreline of the lake. A cow followed and then another. The big animals drank and then began to browse, working their way gradually along the edge of the lake.

The girls were about to leave when Cecelia pointed. From the other side of the lake, a pair of coyotes slunk out of the darkness of the trees. The smaller cow was nearest them. Suddenly, the bull elk raised his head with its heavy rack of antlers, looked at the coyotes, and charged. The coyotes scampered along the edge of the lake and disappeared over the ridge of a nearby hill. The big elk snorted, moved around the two females and led them into the woods.