Chapter 16             It was approaching 11:20 when Derek had received his latest report from
     Harrisburg: Axel's address had been checked; no one was there So far about 2/3
     of the bowling alleys had been cleared of any sightings. There were no other
     leads to go on, but all roads out of town were being closely patrolled. And yes,
     they'd checked it out, and Axel Green was a licensed gun owner.
         That last bit of info didn't come as much of a surprise to Trevor, but it shook him just
     the same. He kept Belinda and Tim busy wrapping Amanda's presents, as if Janet
     were to come in any minute, apologize for being late, and get going on the
     fudge cake she had planned to make. But he'd opted to sit out on the porch
     steps by this time, growing more distant by the minute.
         It wasn't because his hopes were fading, though. He was trying to stay positive,
     and somehow the scene in his living room wasn't doing it for him. So he sat alone,
     watched the moon, and thought about Hawaii. In ten days that's where they
     were supposed to be, so that's where he envisioned Janet, collecting shells for
     Amanda in the moonlight while he'd be busy spreading a midnight picnic out
     across a couple of blankets. He'd get some candles lit, then look up and see her
     watching him from the shore, her hair and shoulders lit from behind, a living flame
     standing alone on the sand, just waiting to be smothered in him arms---
         The phone rang again. Derek nodded to Tim; his turn to answer. Trevor pulled
     himself away from his vision and back into the house, where Tim handed the
     phone to Derek after all. It was the Harrisburg force. They had a solid lead. Finally.            More than at any time since she'd first been kidnapped some 6 hours ago... Janet
     had a bad feeling about this. Axel, with a half dozen beers under his belt (and
     one open in the car), seemed more reckless than ever. She shut her eyes
     every time he pushed a red light, every time he challenged the speed limit. If he
     didn't shoot her, perhaps he'd wrap his car around a tree instead, she thought
     wryly to herself. Maybe it's all been borrowed time she's been on after all----
         "HEY!"
         Axel's gruff voice made her jump. "Must you bark at me?" she snapped.
         He smiled leeringly. "You used to love it when I did that."
         "No, I used to respond because you refused to talk to me any other way."
         "All I wanted to ask you was what you did with my electric bill."
         "Axel, it's been over a decade since I had to deal with your bills," she reminded
     him.
         "I mean the one I gave you tonight! When you wanted to call lover boy,
     remember? And I wrote down what you were gonna say?"
         Uh-oh.
         "It's... gone," she said simply, wondering if he'd accept that answer.
         "It can't be gone, it was overdue," Axel grumbled. "If I don't pay that thing tonight,
     I don't get to see 'Wheel of Fortune' tomorrow."
         "Wow, this gets more and more like an old date every minute," she muttered in
     astonishment.
         "So where is it?"
         "I told you, it's gone. I threw it away."
         "Threw it away?!"
         "Well I didn't know it was your ticket to... Vanna-ville!"
         "You are so... STUPID! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!" Axel smacked the steering wheel with
     his hand. Janet tensed up and stared straight ahead. ENOUGH OF MEMORY
     LANE, SHE THOUGHT TO HERSELF.
         "It's damn lucky for you that I even wanted you back after all this time. Now I'm
     halfway across town and I can't even pay my bill!" He pulled the gun back out,
     settling his voice to a low growl. "You know, Jan Jan, we're not too divorced for
     me to take this gun and just... get you back in line."
         "If this is how you figured you'd win me back, Axel, I've got to tell you... candy and
     flowers might work a little better."
         "I'm serious baby. I could shoot Lover boy, those kids, whatever it takes. What
     makes you think that someone else gets to have you back if I don't get to have
     you?" He waved the gun barrel close to her face.
         HE'S DRUNK, HE'S DRUNK, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, HE'LL BE IN JAIL SOON...
     "Better be careful, Axel," she said slowly, methodically. "You're not used to a life of
     crime. I'M the one with the rap sheet."
     DOTTIE MAY HAVE DONE WHAT I ASKED, BUT IT'S STILL TAKING TOO LONG...
         "But I'M the one with with the gun. And even if gave it to you, you couldn't use it.
     You'd be back in jail, like that--" clumsily he tried to snap his fingers, taking the
     gunless hand off the steering wheel in the process.
         "Axel, watch the road, PLEASE..." An earlier time in their lives suddenly flashed
     through her head.
         "-- You'd be back in jail and it'd be 'bye bye Amanda'!"
         "We've got a train at this railroad crossing, Axel," she told him calmly. Not because
     she was fearing a crash, but because she'd made up her mind: she was NOT
     going down this road with him. Not figuratively... not literally. She slipped quietly
     out of her shoes. NOW, IF I CAN JUST GET HIM TO GO A LITTLE FURTHER...
         Axel slowed the car to a stop, laughing in his own little world. "You can't have the
     gun..." he sang like a child sings Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah. "You can't have the
     gun..." and he twirled it around on his finger, just like Janet wanted. And in light of
     his hampered coordination... he dropped it into the back seat. Just like Janet
     wanted.
         In the blink of an eye she unlocked the passenger door and bolted from the
     NOVA.
         "Hey... HEY!"
         Five seconds later, he had control of the gun again. But Janet was five
      seconds further away.
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