Now You See It... Part 47

Ca.s.sandra edged closer to the casket.

"Anxious to view your lover's remains?" asked Max.

The look she gave him was now as apprehensive as ma- lign. I could not believe that he could sound so casual if this was really it. Unless he had surrendered inwardly already.

They watched (I watched) as the Sheriff unlocked the cas- ket's upper lid and opened it.

Reaching in. Plum lifted out the partial replica of Max and set it on the floor, then rejoined Ca.s.sandra, who was looking down into me casket.

Their reaction made it obvious that they were seeing nothing.

Max chuckled again. "I told you," he said.

Moving to the Sheriff/ he removed the key from Plum's fingers and dropped it back into his pocket.

Ca.s.sandra had backed off, frowning, but me Sheriff still looked down into the interior of the casket- Max looked inside with him.

"Satisfied?" he asked.

Does he feel as sick inside as I do? I wondered. I'm sure he did.

The Sheriff remained silent, peering into the casket.

"All right if I put my quarter-duplicate back in?" asked

Max.

Plum did not respond. He reached down into me casket,

. feeling at the padding.

"Grover?" Max put his hand on the Sheriff's shoulder.

Plum shook it off.

Abruptly men, he raised the bottom lid of the casket,

160 Richard MatbewR

hinging it aside. He poked at the interior padding once again. What is he looking/or? I wondered.

Max wondered, too.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his tone a rattier obvi- ous attempt to sound casually curious.

Still the Sheriff didn't speak. He began to press both hands against the padding now. He was on to something, I could see.

Also seeing it, Ca.s.sandra returned. "What is it?" she asked.

"Sheriff?" Max inquired.

Plum remained quiet, pressing harder at the inside pad- ding of the casket, poking it and plucking at it.

The approaching thunder rumble sounded ominous to me. Like a dnunroll prior to some explosive finale.

Now Plum reached into his right-hand trouser pocket and removed a folding knife.

"What are you doing?" Max asked quickly.

Plum opened the knife.

"What are you doing?" Max repeated, now more urgently.

Phun reached into the casket, the open knife in his right hand.

Max grabbed his arm. "You aren't going to do this," he declared.

"Let go of me." Plum said. His tone was threatening.

Max swallowed and withdrew his hand. "You'll regret this," he said.

Ignoring him. Plum began to cut away the padding on the bottom of the casket.

"You're going to pay for mis," Max told him.

Ca.s.sandra watched in silence as the Sheriff hacked at the casket padding, pulling it up in handfuls.

Suddenly, Ca.s.sandra looked inside the casket in shock.

"Oh, my G.o.d," she murmured.

What is it? cried my mind.

Now You See H-. 161

The Sheriff was pulling something up from an apparent cavity in the bottom of the casket.

Something heavy.

Oh, no. Max, no, I thought.

The Sheriff hauled up what appeared to be a cloth sack.

Ca.s.sandra (and I) choked on breath as the Sheriff yanked the heavy bag up higher and it toppled from the casket, landing on me floor with a soggy thump.

Dripping blood.

c

a.s.sandra made a sickened noise; somewhere in my vege- tated bowels/1 did alike.