The Ninja (Shadow Warrior) by Eric Van Lustbader

Author:Eric Van Lustbader
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781784080372
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2014-06-30T23:00:00+00:00

The day was bright, not a cloud in the sky. The dazzle off the car’s chrome was so intense that he put on his sunglasses.

Nicholas left the town behind as he drove back out to Dune Road. He slid into the driveway at the side of his house, picked up the Times lying outside his door. He glanced uninterestedly at the headlines, went down the steps onto the beach.

He came up on Justine’s house from the right, so he could not tell if her car was there. Both the screen door and the outer door were closed but the Times had been taken in. He went up the sandy stairs.

“She’s not in.”

Nicholas turned. Croaker was just coming around from the left side of the house. He was dressed in a rumpled brown suit. His tie was pulled half off. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in two or three nights.

“Car’s gone.”

“What are you doing here, Croaker?”

“Let’s take a walk.”

He led Nicholas down to the beach.

“You’re not exactly dressed for it,” Nicholas observed.

“That’s all right. I like sand in my shoes. Reminds me of when I was a kid. We used to stay in the city during the summer. Never had any money to go anywhere. We used the hydrants. Turned them on and cooled off.” The water crashed and creamed past them on the right. Far down the beach, blankets were being set up. A portable radio blatted out disco, all booming bass and tattoo percussion. “There were seven of us. I don’t know how my old man made ends meet. But you know, once a month during the summer, as regular as clockwork, he’d call me over just before he went to work. ‘Lewis,’ he’d say, ‘c’mere. I have something for you.’ He’d give me enough money for carfare out to Coney Island and an ice cream. He knew I loved the beach. ‘Promise me one thing,’ he’d say every time. ‘Take a towel. I don’t want your mother to worry. Okay?’”

Someone went running out into the surf, laughing. One could see heads bobbing in the water past the surf line. A woman in a Danskin one-piece walked toward them, a bright beach towel slung nonchalantly over one shoulder. Nicholas thought of Justine, wondered where she’d gone.

“Yeah, we’re old friends, the sand and I.”

The woman was close enough for them to see how beautiful she was. Her long hair had been streaked by the sun. She ran past them to meet her lover.

Croaker squinted up at the sun for a moment. “I threw Alison out of the house last night.”

Nicholas looked at him silently.

Croaker gave him a quick smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well, it wasn’t really like that. I think she wanted to go, too. Getting restless. Yeah. We both were.” He stuffed his big hands in his trousers pockets. “It was bloodless. Relatively. She’ll get over it. These things”—his shoulders lifted and fell—“you know, they pass and—”

They both stopped at once as if on cue.

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.