Chapter 42

Johnny jammed a last armful of pipes into the Ford as Daniel leaned over the main boiler with a hacksaw. They had dragged the metal apparatus into the backyard and worked on it by lantern light. Daniel resolved to whittle it into the smallest pieces possible.

He stopped and brushed the sweat away from his eyes. “What are you going to do with this stuff, anyway?”

Johnny shrugged. “Dump it in the bay, probably. Or out in the woods. Somewhere no one will find it.”

“What about the barrels, the wood alcohol?”

Turning back to face him, Johnny sighed. “Not sure. I hate the idea of dumping that stuff in the Straits. It can’t be any better for the fish than it was for the old man.”

“Can you return it to the mill?”

“Maybe I can leave them by the back delivery gate. Someone will spot them in the morning.”

Daniel braced his foot against a log bench and lifted the saw. It made a horrible rasping sound as it slashed through the metal sides of the still. He glanced up at Laurie’s window. The noise could wake the dead, but he hoped she might get some rest, anyway.

Johnny picked up a few of the pieces that had fallen at Daniel’s feet. “One more secret for Laurie to try and cover up.”

“The still?”

Johnny scoffed. “You—spending the night at her house.”

The strain of the day left Daniel little patience for humor. “You really need to watch your mouth. I’ve been within an inch of clobbering you tonight.”

Johnny threw the metal into the back of the Ford. “What’s stopping you? You owe me one, if I’m not mistaken.” He hooked his thumbs through his suspenders. “Unless you just figure you’re a better man than me.”

Daniel grunted as he pushed the saw.

“That’s it, ain’t it? You’re the high-and-mighty saint and I’m the miserable sinner. It’s no wonder Laurie’s fallen for you. She’s always wanted a hero.”

Daniel threw down the tool and jammed a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. “You don’t know anything about me, Johnny, so why don’t you just can it?”

“Come make me, college boy.”

Daniel rounded on him. “What is it with you? Why are you itching for a fight?”

Johnny stepped forward. “I need to know you’re willing to stand up for her. That you’re not going to turn and run out on her when things get tough.”

Heat rushing up his neck, Daniel stood tall. “I’m here now, aren’t I? You think things are going to get worse than this?”

Johnny chuckled, retrieved the saw and picked up the sheet of metal. “I think you don’t got a clue.”

Laurie twisted in bed, the sheets winding around her legs. She hadn’t bothered to undress. Somehow, knowing that Daniel and Johnny were working in the backyard, it didn’t feel right.

She rolled to her side and stared at the shadowed wall. Her muscles ached with the tension and her ears hurt from listening for the telephone. The only sounds that reached her room were the banging and sawing in the backyard. The neighbors must be livid. And dying of curiosity.

Laurie closed her eyes, her mind racing through the images from the day: her father lying face down in the grass, choking in the bed, disappearing through the hospital doors. She lifted her hands and pushed them against her forehead.

A hot tear squeezed between her eyelids and rolled down her temple and into her hair. At least Daniel stayed at her side. My one honest man.