Read Online Fool's Gold by Ted Wood - Free Book Online Page A

went back to the counter, where she made salad and put steaks under the grill. We were talking easily now. She was as bright as she had been the night before when I walked into the office at the motel. It seemed that Ivan was a forgiving ghost. Now she had paid her dues, the chill was off the evening, the way it had gone from the room under the influence of the big Fisher stove.  
    She brought out a bottle of California red wine. The name meant nothing to me, but it was better than most of the French wine you can buy in Ontario. We ate and drank wine and listened to Willie and talked. She had a cheesecake, made by a German woman in town, she confessed, and after that coffee and Hennessy and a seat, side by side, in front of the stove.  
    And then, in the warmth of the fire and the friendship we had built up over the few hours, we kissed. Her mouth was soft and when she pulled away she looked into my eyes and smiled. "You've done that before, haven't you?" she said.  
    "I did warn you I'm an ex-husband, a secondhand man," I told her. She reached up again and this time when we broke she said, "Come with me."  
    I followed her up the open staircase, like a companionway on a ship, and found that the whole second floor was a bedroom. She turned at the top of the stairs, one step higher so that we were eye to eye. "You like?" she asked playfully.  
    "I believe I could grow to love it," I said, and picked her up and carried her over to the bed.
    It must have been three when I left. She was half asleep and I kissed her on the nose and got dressed. "Love 'em and leave 'em, eh, Bennett?" she said drowsily.  
    "I'd love to stay but I live in a small town myself. I know the neighbors are going to be watching by daylight." I stroked her hair. "It's up to you."  
    She sat up then, the sheet slipping down so her firm breasts were uncovered. I kissed them both. "Maybe you're right," she said. "Will you be in town tomorrow?"  
    "I'm here for a while and my dance card is completely open."
    "Good," she said, and settled down again. "Lock the door as you go. And put me down for the next boogaloo."
    The northern lights were flickering across the sky as I went out, and the air was colder. I stood and looked at her house for a minute, then got into the car and drove back to the motel.  
    Sam was restless and I let him out for a while before going in through the side door into the corridor of the motel.
    The whole place was in darkness except for the emergency exit light behind me. I was surprised. Most places, even this far north, would keep the hall lights on. But I found my room and tried the key, scraping it slightly as I searched for the lock. It swung open and I stepped inside and stopped, still in the short corridor that led to the room itself. My hair was prickling on my neck. Something was wrong, I could feel it. The light didn't go on when I hit the switch and I could smell cigarette smoke in the air. I crouched instinctively, left arm up over my head, staring out through the darkness toward the translucency of the gauze curtains, lit from outside by the sky. And as I watched a form sprang into my vision, reaching up to swing a club as hard as a Blue Jays batter trying for a homer.  
    Â 

 

 
    6
    Â 
    Â 
    I had an advantage. Whoever it was had put himself between me and the window. I straightened, arm still raised, stepped forward under the club, and brought my knee crashing up into his testicles. At the same time I upper-cut a solid right hand, bringing it up into his descending face like a hammer.  
    He collapsed like a falling wall, the club clattering uselessly behind me. I stepped back and felt for it with my foot, listening for other sounds than the anguished gasping of the man at my feet. I could hear none, but I crouched carefully and retrieved the club. It was a piece of rough lumber, still with the bark on it, about four feet long. It felt like a small fence post. I held it by the