4th of July

Chapter 40

IT COULD ONLY GET worse, and it did. The Watcher sat in the van in a parking lot on Kelly Street across from the two-story house the doctor used as his office.

He flicked his eyes over to the Seeker, who looked dazed and confused in the seat beside him. Then he surveyed the parking lot again. He nervously noted the shoppers, the few cars entering and leaving.

When Dr. Ben O’Malley stepped outside, the Watcher jostled the Seeker. They locked eyes. “Get ready.”

Then the Watcher got out of the van. He sprinted toward the doctor, overtaking him before he reached his SUV.

“Doc, Doc, thank God! I need help.”

“What is it, son?” the doctor asked, looking both startled and annoyed.

“It’s my friend. Something’s happened. I don’t know if it’s a seizure or a heart attack or what!”

“Where is he?”

“Over there,” he said, pointing to the panel van fifty feet away. “Hurry, okay? Please?”

The Watcher jogged ahead, looking back to make sure that the doctor was following. When he reached the van, he wrenched open the passenger-side door, stepping aside so the doctor could see the Seeker slumped across the front seat.

The doctor peered into the interior, reached in, and lifted one of the Seeker’s eyelids. He jerked in surprise as he felt the sharp point of a blade piercing the nape of his neck.

“Get in,” said the Watcher.

“Don’t say a word,” said the Seeker, charming, disarming, unflappable, “or we’ll kill your whole family.”