Darkly Dreaming Dexter | Page 9

ape and c ut aw ay hi s c lot he s. I di d the pre lim ina ry w ork
qui
ckl y; sha ving, s crubbi ng, cutting a way t he thi ngs tha t s tuc k out untidi ly. A s a lw ays I fe lt t he
w
onde rful long s low bui ld t o re le a se be gin i ts poundi ng throughout my e ntire body. It woul d fl utte r
t
hrough m e w hile I w orke d, rising a nd taki ng m e w ith i t, unt il t he ve ry e nd, t he N ee d a nd t he pri est
s
w im m ing a way t oge the r on a fading t ide . A
nd j ust be fore I sta rt ed t he seri ous work F athe r D onova n opened hi s e ye s a nd l ooke d at m e. T here
w
as no fe ar now ; t ha t ha ppe ns som etim es. H e l ooke d stra ight up a t m e a nd hi s m out h m oved. “
W hat? ” I s aid. I m oved m y he ad a lit tle c los er. “ I can' t he ar you.” I he
ard hi m bre athe , a slow and pe ace ful bre ath, a nd t hen he said i t a ga in be fore his e ye s c los ed. “
Y ou' re w elc om e,” I s aid, a nd I w ent to w ork. CH
APT ER 2 B Y
FOU R-T HIRT Y IN THE M ORN ING T HE P RIE ST W AS a ll c le a ne d up. I fe lt a lot be tt e r. I
a
lw ays di d, a fter. K illi ng m ake s m e fe el good. It works the knot s out of da rling D ext er' s da rk
s
c he mata . It 's a sw eet re le a se , a ne ce ss a ry l etti ng go of a ll t he litt le hydra ulic va lve s i ns ide . I e njoy
m
y w ork; sorry i f tha t bot hers you. O h, very sorry, re all y. But the re it i s. A nd i t's not jus t a ny
ki
lli ng, of c ourse. It ha s t o be done the right way, a t t he right tim e, w ith t he right partne r—ve ry
c
om plic ate d, but very ne cessa ry. A
nd a lw ays som ew ha t dra ini ng. S o I w as t ire d, but the tens ion of t he last w ee k w as gone , the col d
voi
ce of t he D ark P ass e nge r was qui et, a nd I c ould be me a ga in. Q uirky, funny, ha ppy-go-lucky,
de
ad-i nside D ext er. N o longe r Dext er w ith t he kni fe, D ext er t he A venge r. N ot unt il ne xt tim e. I put
all t he bodi es ba ck i n t he ga rde n w it h one new ne ighbor a nd tidi ed t he litt le fa lli ng-dow n
hous
e a s m uch a s I c ould. I pa cke d m y things int o t he pri est's c ar a nd drove sout h to the sm all s ide
c
ana l w here I ha d left m y boa t, a seve nteen-foot Whale r w it h a sha llow dra ft a nd a big e ngi ne. I
pus
hed t he pri est's c ar i nto t he cana l be hind m y boa t a nd c lim be d on boa rd.