Midnight Sun (55 page)

He
emphasized
the
finality
of
the
conversation
by
clicking
the
electric
locks
and
pressing
the
automatic
opener
for
the
side
doors.
Then
his
bearded
face
spread
into
his
trademark
wide-eyed
toothy
grin
and
he
nodded
his
head
toward
the
doors.
The
women
got
out
of
the
van
and
walked
up
to
the
sidewalk.
Mike
stayed
in
the
seat,
a hard stare attempting to bore into Kharzai's will, but to no avail.
Realizing
he
was
not
going
to
get
an
answer,
he
shook
his
head
in
frustration,
opened
the
door
and
stepped
out,
then
flipped
it
shut
with
an
angry
whump
.
He
stepped
to
the
sidewalk
where
the
women
waited.
The
electric
hum
of
the
power
window
buzzed
behind
him.

“
Hey,
preacher
man!
”

Mike
turned.

“Have a good night,” Kharzai said, then pressed the button for the window to rise. Its hum stopped short and went back down again, and he added, “
Beware
the
dudes
who
smell
like
vinegar
and
stale
bread.
Bad
juju.
” He
started
the
window
up
again, put the
van
in
gear,
and
started
forward
only
to
bounce
to
a
shuddering
stop
and
bring
the
window
back
down
again.
He
smiled brightly,
winked
at
Lonnie
and
Hilde,
and
wiggled
his
fingers
in
a
childish
wave.
“
G'nite,
pretty
ladies.
”

He
pulled
away
from
the
hotel
entrance,
the
automatic
side
doors
pulling
themselves
shut
as
he
turned
onto
F
ourth
A
venue.

Chapter
11

Captain Cook Hotel

Tuesday,
June
21st

12:19
a.m.

Steam
floated
out
of
the
bathroom
like
a
Finnish sauna
,
greeting
Marcus
as
he
stepped
into
the
hotel
room.
He
glanced
through
the
open
door.
Lonnie
smiled
back
at
him
from
behind
the
glass
of
the
shower
stall. White
mist
hung
in
the
air
around
her
naked
body.
The
door
slid
open
with
the
smooth
sound
of
the
Teflon
rollers
against
the
metal
track,
and
she
stepped
out,
grabbing
a
thick
terry
cloth
towel
from
the
chrome
bar
on
the
wall.
Water
dripped
from
the
tips
of
her
hair
as
she
lifted
the
towel
and
wrapped
it
like
a
turban
around
her
head.

With
the stream
of
water
stopped,
she
took
a
second
towel
and
patted
her
body
mostly
dry,
then
wrapped the towel around
her
waist
and
stepped
in
front
of
the
vanity
mirror
and
picked
up
her
lotion.
The
plastic
bottle
made
a
splattering
sound
as
she
squirted
a
dollop
of
the creamy
cocoa-butter
mixture
onto
her
hand.
She
massaged
it
on
to
her
swollen
breasts
and
distended
belly,
hoping
to
keep
the
stretch
marks
to
a
minimum.
As
her
hand
moved
gently
across
the
taut
skin
around
her
belly
button,
the
baby
responded
by
pressing
one
of
its
limbs
from
within the chamber
of
her
womb.
A
smile
slid
across
Marcus
’
s
weary
face
as
he
stared,
mesmerized
by
the
image
of
mother
and
child
communicating
with
each
other,
two
individual
persons
in
one
body.
Her
golden
skin
shimmered
in
the
bright
lights
of
the
vanity
as
beads
of
moisture
rose
through
the
lotion
and
settled
on
the
surface
like
tiny
diamonds
that
swelled
in
size
until
they
let
go
and
slid
into
the
absorbant
cotton
towel.