Snowbound by Bill Pronzini

Author:Bill Pronzini
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Thrillers, Fiction
ISBN: 9781612321028
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Published: 2011-09-30T18:30:00+00:00

Kubion returned to the cabin at eight fifteen.

They heard the sound of the car coming up the access lane, and Loxner wet his lips and looked at Brodie. Brodie said, “Deal the cards”—they were playing gin again—and obediently Loxner dropped his gaze to the deck. He shuffled it awkwardly, dealt ten cards to each of them with diffident flicks of his wrist.

When the front door opened, Brodie did not glance up. But there were no footsteps, no sound of the door closing again. A cold prescience formed inside him, and his head lifted then, and Kubion was standing there smiling a skull grin and holding the .38 backup automatic. His eyes seemed huge, streaked with lines of blood, and neither they nor the lids above them moved. No part of him moved, he did not even seem to be breathing.

Brodie’s lips thinned, his body tensed. He thought: Oh fuck yes he’s blown out, I should have known it yesterday, I should have killed him yesterday; we waited too long.

Loxner saw the change in Brodie’s face and jerked his head around. Color drained out of his cheeks. He struggled to his feet, sweat once more breaking out on him, mouth opening as if he were going to speak, closing, opening again, closing again—all like a huge fish caught on an invisible line.

There was a long moment of silence, heavy and menacing. Snow fluttered across the threshold behind Kubion, like a sifting of white flour; chill, biting air rushing into the room robbed it of warmth, made the flames in the fireplace dance and gutter.

“We’re going down to the lake,” Kubion said finally. “Got a little something I want you to see.”

Brodie forced his voice to remain even. “What’s that, Earl?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

“All right—sure. But what’s the gun for? There’s no need for throwing down on us.”

“Isn’t there? Well we’ll see about that.”

Loxner began thickly, “Look, look now—”

“Shut up, you gutless prick!” Kubion said with sudden viciousness. “I don’t want any arguments, get over here and get your coats on, we’re going now right now.”

Brodie got up immediately and walked with careful strides to the closet; sweating heavily, not looking at Kubion, Loxner followed. They donned coats and gloves, and when they were ready, Kubion gestured outside and trailed them at a measured distance around to where the car waited, engine running and headlights burning, in front of the garage. He said there, “Vic, you take the wheel. Duff, you sit in front with him.” He waited until they had complied and then opened the right rear door and slid into the back seat. “Go. I’ll tell you where.”

Brodie drove down to Mule Deer Lake Road and turned right and went along the eastern lakeshore. The taut silence was broken only by Loxner’s asthmatic breathing. They passed the Taggart cabin and several other winter-abandoned structures; then Kubion said, “That house there on the left —pull up in front.”

The house—a two-story frame with green shutters—was set back from the road, inside a diamond-pattern, split-log fence.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.