In the Belly of the Beast

36

"This night will never end," Abby said to Mecham.

Her cheeks were numb.

All of them.

Mecham still insisted they cruise with the windows down. She'd sat with her butt pressed to the seat for so long that it was numb, too.

Perhaps they'd all fall off.

Two from the cold. Two from lack of circulation.

She toyed with the mental image of no butt cheeks and no face cheeks. A most bizarre profile, she decided.

"Pull over Rich. I gotta' pee."

"You're kidding," he said incredulously.

"No, I'm not. Pull over."

"You're going to take a leak right on the public streets?" he asked.

"Why not? You guys do it all the time."

"Yeah. We do. But it's different for us. One quick rip of the zipper, draw your gun, and walk away. If done properly, no one's the wiser."

"There's no difference, Rich. Urine's urine, whether it's male or female. Just pull over. Kill the engine and don't tap the brakes. I'm going behind the car. It's as black as a nun's habit. Who's gonna see me?" she asked.

He rolled to a stop. As she opened the door, the interior light shined.

"I'll go first, then you, if you need to. You keep this little secret, and I'll forget that you've lost your stomach for wino cologne. No one will ever have to know that a little street smell greens your gills."

"Whatever," he said without commitment.

He would surely spread it all over the station. Fontaine irrigated the asphalt behind the squad car. She could hear them even now, but her bladder was so full that she really didn't care what story the limp one told.

***

The water splashed upon the street with incredible force. A cow was peeing on Southside. In this blackness, who could tell the difference?

One thing in Mecham's favor, he hadn't touched the brakes. The car was as dark as her surroundings.

The yellow river stopped flowing, and she rose to redress.

With no warning, a bloodcurdling scream broke the night's quiet. Mecham was out of the car and standing beside her before she could get her pants completely up.

"Where'd it come from?" he asked.

"Hard to tell from where I was squatting," she said.

"Think it came from over there," he said pointing across the street.

"The glowing house of horrors?" Abby asked as she looked at the candle-filled home.

"I'll check around back. You knock on the door and see if you get a response," Mecham directed Abby.

She should be racing across the street and up the step, but the darkness hindered her. It would do no one any good if she tripped and broke an ankle.

She opened the gate on the chain link fence and prayed there were no dogs. If there were, she hoped their owner had locked them in for the night.

She listened, but there was only stillness. Mecham's thread of light had disappeared around the corner of the house.

She picked her way through the littered yard and advanced up the steps.

She pressed the doorbell but heard no sound. She knocked and identified herself.

The door was opened by a youngster, a boy of ten to twelve. He told her his name was Sam.