Midnight Sun (20 page)

He
turned
the
wheel
abruptly
when
the
truck
hit
the
road,
turning
toward
south
Anchorage
and
sending
Deano
sliding
across
the
vinyl
bench
seat.
He
flipped
the
gear
lever
into
drive
and
floored
the
gas,
spitting
gravel
from
beneath
the
tires
as
he
shot
down
the
road.

“
We
’
ll
see
who
’
s
stupid.
”

The
truck
bounced
over
a
rut,
making
Deano
’
s
head
bob
as
if
nodding
in
agreement.

“
You
’
re
my
only
real
friend,
boy.
” H
e
reached
over
and
rubbed
the
dog
’
s
head.
“
Jimmy don
’
t
know
I
’
ve
got
a
big
score
coming,
and
he
’
s
not
going
to
be
part
of
it.
”

Deano
rested
his
head
on the seat by
Sammy
’
s
leg,
looking
up
at
him
with
watery
brown
eyes.
As
they
rounded
a
bend,
Deano
slid
closer,
his
head
landing
on
Sammy
’
s
lap.
Sammy
reached
down
and
massaged
the
dog
’
s
neck.

“
Homes
got
a
moral
barrier
around
them.
Churches,
too,
‘
cuz
you
don
’
t
wanna
mess
with
God
’
s
house.
 
I
’
m
pretty
sure
I
ain
’
t
going
to
make
it
to
heaven,
but
I
don
’
t
want
to
totally
blow
whatever
chance
I
got
by
burglarizing
God
’
s
house.
My
folks
are
Messianic
Jews.” The
dog
had
heard
the
story
before.
His
eyelids
fluttered,
then
slid
back
shut.
“
I
was
both
Bar-Mitzvah
’
d
and
baptized,
so
there
’
s
a
chance
in
there
somewhere.” He slowed
to
make
a
turn
and
came
into
view
of
the
Hillside
Nazarene
C
hurch
’
s
steeple,
its
cross
highlighted
against
the
crystal-blue
sky.
“
Now
cars
is
different,
of
course,
if
some
idiot
leaves
it
unlocked,
or
not
locked
enough.
”
He
laughed
at
his
own
joke.
“
Cars
and
m
osques.
”

A
new
Muslim
Retreat
Center
and
Mosque
now
stood
on
the
rural
south
side
of
Anchorage,
away
from
prying
eyes,
and
far
from
regular
police
patrols.
The
previous
week
’
s
news
said
it
’
d
been
built
because
of
a
split
with
the
congregation
from
the
only
other
m
osque
in
Anchorage.
One
group
was
called
“
Sunny
”
or
“
Soomee
”
or
something.
The
name
of
the
other
group
was
easy
to
remember.
They
were
Shiites.
His
friend
Martin
had
made
a
joke
about
the
name.
He
raised
his
foot,
looked
at
the
bottom
of
his
shoe,
curled up
his
nose,
and
said,
“
Aww,
man!
I
just
stepped
in
some
Shiite!
”

Sammy
laughed
so
hard
when
he
heard
that,
he
could
never
forget
the
name.
He
had
no
idea
which
group
owned
this
mosque,
nor
did
he
care.
The
only
thing
that
mattered
to
him
was
that
the
m
osque
was
out
of
the
way
and
in
a
very
quiet
location
on
the
south
end
of
the
city
just
beyond
the
edge
of
the
wealthy
neighborhoods.
It
was
perfect.
Sammy
had
seen
pictures
of
the
Dome
of
the
Rock
in
Jerusalem.
If
they
had
enough
money
to
build
a
mosque
with
the
whole
roof
covered
in
gold,
they
had
more
than
enough
to
spare.