That left two of them in the house: Bass Paxton and the skinny brunette. The brunette obviously wasn't the woman who'd seen him at the Bend. That one was blonde and had a much better figure. He wondered where the hell she could be. The brunette came out, climbed into her car and backed out of the driveway. That left Bass alone in the house. He could take Bass. He could walk up to the door and ring the bell. Bass would open up. There would be a quick struggle, Bass under him warm and hard-muscled for a couple of minutes, then dead. The images of it brought a smile to Merton's face. Then the garage door swung up and Bass stepped out carrying an overnight bag. As the door lowered, he walked down the driveway and went to the rear of an old red Pontiac parked on the street. Merton figured he was about to stow his bag in the trunk.
