Free Night Tide by Mike Sherer Page A

damage! than! if! it! had! been! a!
    Night&Tide —Sherer&

    58&
    round! like! the! hollow! point! boat! tail! SWAT! uses.! That! bullet!
    fragments!in!a!zillion!pieces.!Would!have!killed!him!for!sure.”!
    !
    “They! looked! like! pros! to! me.! How! could! they! screw! up!
    that!bad?!Not!that!I!wish!they!hadn’t.”!
    !
    He!shrugged.!“Guys!use!FMJs!for!target!practice.!Maybe!the!
    shooter!just!mixed!up!his!magazines.!Grabbed!the!wrong!one.!
    Like!I!said,!lucky.”!
    !
    I!nodded.!
    !
    He!shifted!awkwardly!in!the!silence.!“Thanks,!by!the!way.!
    You!know,!for!being!there.!Most!folks!would!have!ducked!and!
    covered.!I!heard!you!took!one!of!them!down.”!
    !
    “Sure.”!!
    !
    “Well,!I’ll!see!you!around,!then.”!
    !
    “Yeah,!see!you.”!
    !
    I! watched! him! walk! down! to! the! elevators,! then! entered!
    Charlie’s!room,!knocking!on!the!door!as!I!went.!Charlie’s!chalky!
    face! barely! stood! out! against! the! white! hospital! pillow,! his!
    expression!vacant,!eyes!dull!and!slow!to!pick!up!on!movement.!
    A! corner! of! his! mouth! turned! up! in! recognition,! not! a! smile!
    exactly,!but!an!indication!he!was!lucid.!!
    !
    “You!look!like!shit,”!I!said.!
    !
    He!licked!his!lips.!“Feel!like!it,”!he!said!in!a!scratchy!voice.!
    “Told!you!I’d!live.”!
    !
    “If!you!call!this!living.”!I!looked!around.!“I!can’t!tell!if!this!
    looks!more!like!a!florist!shop!or!a!mortuary.”!
    !
    He!managed!a!full6fledged!grin!this!time.!It!didn’t!last.!“You!
    did!good.”!
    !
    I! hesitated.! He! stared! at! me,! brows! knitting! in!
    concentration.!His!eyes!went!out!of!focus!and!despite!his!effort!
    to!hold!it!steady!his!head!bobbed!from!the!drugs!dripping!into!
    his! IV! tube.! When! I! finally! nodded! his! eyes! shuttered! and! he!
    relaxed,!head!lolling!back!on!the!pillow.!
    !
    “What! happened! out! there,! Charlie?”! I! wasn’t! sure! he!
    heard!me.!
    Night&Tide —Sherer&

    59&
    !
    He!struggled!to!raise!his!eyelids.!“Been!trying!to!figure!it!
    out.”!He!winced,!and!pressed!a!hand!against!his!side.!“Hurts!to!
    breathe.”!
    !
    I!squeezed!his!forearm.!“Don’t!talk.”!
    !
    Gratitude! washed! though! his! eyes.! We’d! have! to! play!
    Twenty!Questions.!!
    !
    “Any!idea!who!those!men!were?”!
    !
    He!shook!his!head.!
    !
    “You!never!saw!them!before?”!
    !
    His!mouth!was!a!grim!line,!lips!white!at!the!corners.!
    !
    “Did!they!tell!you!about!the!tunnel?”!!
    !
    He!nodded.!
    !
    “Did!you!know!about!it?”!!
    !
    A!headshake.!!
    !
    I!sighed.!“I!don’t!imagine!there’s!any!possibility!Clayt!and!
    Connie! decided! to! augment! their! retirement! account?! Open! a!
    meth!lab?!Grow!sinsemilla!out!in!the!woods?”!
    !
    The!headshake!was!vehement!this!time.!
    !
    “Fine.!I’ll!take!your!word!for!it.”!I!stared!at!him.!He!blinked!
    first.! “They! expected! trouble,! Charlie.! People! who! expect!
    trouble!are!usually!the!ones!stirring!the!pot.”!!
    !
    That!elicited!a!grunt—acknowledgement,!I!guessed.!
    !
    “You!knew!about!the!security!system?”!
    !
    “Helped!them!put!it!in.”!
    !
    “Seems!like!overkill!to!me.”!
    !
    “They’re! city! people.! Out! in! the! country.! They! worried! a!
    lot.”!
    !
    “Or! they! expected! it,! like! I! said.”! I! paused.! “You! have! no!
    clue?”!
    !
    “No,”!he!said.!“Couple!of!middle6aged!hippies.!Harmless.”!
    !
    “And!no!idea!where!they!might!have!gone?!Who!was!after!
    them?!Nothing?”!
    Night&Tide —Sherer&

    60&
    !
    “They’re! my! parents.”! He! winced! and! raised! a! hand! in!
    helplessness,! the! effort! draining! him.! He! didn’t! have! to! say!
    more.!
    !
    “Where’s! Babs?”! My! head! swiveled! reflexively! as! if!