The Stake

�Think you could get it working?� Jean asked.

�Sure.�

He probably could, Larry thought. The guy�s house was a museum of resurrected junk: televisions, stereo components, a toaster oven, lamps, a dishwasher and vacuum cleaner, all once disgarded as useless, picked up by Pete and restored to working order.

�You might get it playing again,� he said, �but it�s too messed up to ever look like anything.� Its chrome trim was dented and rusty, one side of the cabinet was smashed in, the speaker grills looked as if they�d been hit by shotgun blasts, and bullets had torn away at least half the square plastic buttons used for selecting tunes. �You probably can�t even get replacement parts for a lot of this stuff,� he added.

�Sure would be neat, though.�

�Yeah.� Turning his head sideways, Larry blew dust and sand from its chart of selections. Bullets and shotgun pellets had ripped away some of the labels. Those that remained were faint, washed out by rainfall and years of pounding sunlight. Still, he could make out the names of many titles and artists. Jean crouched and peered over his shoulder.

�There�s �Hound Dog,� � he said. � �I Fall to Pieces,� �Stand by Your Man.� �

�God, I used to love that one,� Jean said.

�Sounds like it�s mostly shit-kicker stuff,� Pete said.

�Well, here�s the Beatles. �Hard Day�s Night.� The Mamas and the Papas.�

�Oh, they were good,� Barbara said.

�This one�s �California Dreaming,� � Larry told her.

�Always makes me sad when I think about Mama Cass.�

�All right!� Larry grinned. � �The Battle of New Orleans.� Johnny Horton. Man, I must�ve been in junior high. I knew that sucker by heart.�

�There�s Haley Mills,� Jean said, her breath stirring the hair above Larry�s ear. � �Let�s Get Together.� And look, �Soldier Boy� �

�Here�s the Beach Boys, �Surfin� U.S.A.� �

�Now we�re talking,� Pete said.

�Dennis Wilson, too,� Barbara said. �So many of those people are dead. Mama Cass, Elvis, Lennon. Jesus, this is getting depressing.�

�Patsy Cline�s dead, too,� Jean told her.

�And Johnny Horton, I think,� Larry said.

�What do you guys expect?� Pete said. �This stuff�s all at least twenty, thirty years old.�

Barbara took a few steps backward, stumbled when her sneaker came down on a rock, but managed to stay up. Sweaty face grimacing, she said, �Why don�t we get out of this hellhole and look around town? That�s what we came here for, isn�t it?�

�Might as well.� Jean pushed against Larry�s shoulder and rose from her squat.

�Let�s see if we can lift this thing,� Pete muttered.

�Oh no you don�t!� Barbara snapped. �No way! You�re not carting that piece of trash home with us. Uh-uh.�

�Well, shit.�

�If you want an old jukebox so bad, go out and buy one, for godsake. Jesus, it�s probably got scorpions in it.�

�I think you�d better forget it,� Larry said, rising to his feet. �The thing�s beyond saving.�

�Yeah, I guess. Shit.� He gave his wife a sour look. �Thanks a heap, Barbara dear.�

She ignored his remark and started climbing the slope. Below her rucked-up blouse her back looked tawny and slick. The rear of her shorts was smudged with yellow dust from the rock where she�d sat. The fabric hugged her buttocks, and Larry could see the outline of her panties � a narrow band inches lower than the belt of her shorts, a skimpy triangle curving down from it. Jean, climbing behind her, was hunched over slightly. Her blouse was still untucked. It clung to her back, and the loose tail draped her rump.

Pete was watching, too.

�Couple of good-looking chicks,� he said.

�Not bad.�

�You ever get the feeling they run our fucking lives for us?�

�Only about ninety-nine percent of the time.�

Pete choked out a laugh, slapped Larry�s arm, and took a long drink of beer. �Guess we�d better be good little boys and go with them.� He glanced back at the jukebox. He sighed. He shrugged. �Adios. No more music for you, old pal.�

�So much for that,� Larry said when he saw the padlocked hasp across the double doors of the Sagebrush Flat Hotel.

Pete fingered the lock. �Doesn�t look very old.�

�Maybe someone�s living here,� Barbara said.

�Hey, Sherlock, it�s locked from the outside. What does that tell you?�

�Tells me we�d be trespassing.�

�Yeah,� Jean said. �The doors are locked, the windows are boarded. Somebody�s trying to keep people out.�

�Kind of sparks my curiosity. What about you, Lar?�

�Sparks mine, too. But I don�t know about breaking in.�

�Who�s gonna find out?� Pete turned away from the doors. He stepped off the sidewalk, bent over and swept his head slowly from side to side in a broad pantomime of scanning the town�s only road. �I don�t see anyone. Do you see anyone?�

�We get the point,� Barbara told him.

�I�ll just mosey on over to the van.� He started across the pavement, walking at an angle toward Holman�s.

�What�s he got in mind?� Jean asked.

�God knows. Maybe he�s planning to ram the doors open.�

�That�d be rather drastic,� Larry said.

�It�s a matter of pride, at this point. A challenge. Pete wouldn�t be Pete if he let a little thing like a lock keep him out.�

Jean rolled her eyes upward. �I guess this means we�re going to explore the hotel whether we want to or not.�

�Just consider it an adventure,� Larry suggested.

�Yeah, right. Jail would be an adventure, too.�

Pete climbed into the rear of the van. A few seconds later he jumped down, swung the door shut, and waved a lug wrench overhead. It had a pry bar at one end. In his other hand was a flashlight.

He�s really going to break in, Larry thought. Good Christ.

Barbara waited until he was closer, then called, �We�ve been having some second thoughts about this, Pete.�

�Hey, what�s life if you don�t take a little chance now and then. Right, Lar?�

�Right,� he answered, trying to sound game.

�You�re a lot of help,� Jean muttered.

Pete bounded onto the sidewalk, grinning and brandishing his tire iron. �Got my skeleton key right here,� he announced. �Fits any lock.�

�Anybody want to wait in the van?� Barbara asked.

�Ah, pussy.�

�Well, I guess I�d like to have a look around,� Larry said.

�Good man.�

Pete gave the flashlight to Larry. Then he rammed the wedge end of the bar behind the metal strap of the hasp. He yanked with both hands, throwing his weight backward. Wood groaned and split. With a sound like a small explosion the staple burst out of the door, bolts and all. �Well, that was a cinch.�

He shoved the bar under his belt, turned the knob on the right and pulled the door open.

�I suppose we could always say we found it like this,� Barbara muttered.

�You won�t have to sayanything. Half an hour or so, we�ll be long gone.�

�If we don�t get shot for trespassing.�

Ignoring her remark, Pete leaned into the doorway and called, �Yoo-hoo. Anybody home?�

Larry winced.

�Here we come, ready or not!�

�Cut it out,� Barbara whispered, slapping the back of his shoulder.

�Nobody home but us ghosts,� he said in a low, scratchy voice, and turned around grinning.

�Real cute.�

�So who�s coming in?�

�I think we should all go in or none of us,� Larry said, hoping Pete wouldn�t figure him for a pussy. �I don�t think we should split up. I�d be worried the whole time that something might happen to the gals while we�re in there looking around.�

�Good man,� Barbara said, and patted his back.

�Guess you�re right,� Pete admitted. �If they got themselves raped and murdered while we were in there, boy would we feel like a couple of heels.�

�Exactly.�

�Real cute,� Jean said, borrowing not only Barbara�s phrase but also her disdainful tone.

�What do you say?� Barbara asked her.

�They�ll hold it against us forever if they can�t go in on our account.�