The Burning Man by Phillip Margolin Read Free Book Online Page A

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    "It was the fourth quarter. Texas A&I had a three point lead and we were backed up on our own six with less than a minute on the clock. I was supposed to hand off to Rick Sandusky, but the son of a bitch slipped. I turned back toward the line, only to be confronted by three of the biggest human beings I have ever seen. Their eyes were redrimmed, steam was coming out of their nostrils and I could see that they were dying to commit an act of extreme violence on yours truly. That's when I was inspired to make one of the greatest runs in football history. You can find a wall-size photo of me in the Whitaker gym galloping the last ten yards before the end zone. In this town, Pete, I'm an immortal.
    After graduation, most of the class gravitated to the big city, but people remember me here. I've got a great practice, I'm big in the Chamber of Commerce and," Mancini added, puffing up his chest, "my ship may soon be sailing into the dock."
    "Oh?"
    "Yeah. Bend has the track on the next Winter Olympics and I'm involved with some guys who are building condos just fifteen minutes away from Mount Bachelor."
    "How long have you been in town?" Donna asked.
    Peter decided that Steve's fiance was every bit as good-looking as the wife he remembered.
    "This is my second day," he said.
    "Have you found a place to live?"
    Peter shook his head. "I'm still at the Riverview Motel."
    "We can't have that," Donna said, turning to her fianc. "Can't you help him, Steve?"
    "I think so. I own a few rental properties near the college, if you're interested."
    "I've got my own house," Gary said proudly.
    "You shouldn't interrupt, Gary," Donna reprimanded her brother gently. "Peter and Steve are talking."
    Gary stopped smiling. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking down at the table.
    it suddenly dawned on Peter that Gary Harmon was retarded. Peter shifted a little toward the wall. Gary looked harmless enough, but Peter had still not recovered fully from his encounter with Christopher Mammon and he felt uncomfortable sitting so close to a person whose behavior he could not predict.
    "Gary just moved into his own home and he's work ising as a janitor at the college," Donna explained. "He's very excited. It's his first job." -oh, yeah," Peter said, trying to be sociable. "Do you like your job?"
    Gary frowned and considered his answer. "It's hard, but Mr. Ness says I'm doing good. He says I work real hard."
    "Well, that's great," Peter answered lamely, at a loss for anything else to say.
    "I think I might have a place for you," Mancini said.
    "It's furnished and only three quarters of a mile from town, not too far from my house."
    Mancini took out a business card and wrote an address on the back. Donna looked at her watch.
    "We'd better go. Mom's expecting us."
    "It was good seeing you," Mancini told Peter. "Give me a call after you look at the house. I'll take you out to lunch and give you the lowdown on Whitaker. And, since you'll be living here, I'll send you an invite to the wedding."
    Mancini followed Donna and her brother out of the bar and Peter ordered a pitcher of beer and a burger with everything. He felt a little better. At least he knew someone in town. Peter remembered Steve Mancini as a real party animal. If there was anything going on in this hopeless burg, he would know about it.
    When Peter finished eating, he suddenly remembered the last name of the nurse he had spent the evening with the last time he had been in Whitaker. It was Kates.
    Rhonda Kates. He decided to go back to the motel and give her a call.
    On the way out of the Stallion, Peter looked in the trophy case. There was Mancini's helmet and cleats, a program from the championship game and a photo of Mancini's famous run. Fame and fortune, Peter thought wistfully. Steve Mancini certainly seemed to have it all.
     
    Chapter FIVE.
    At six-thirty on Friday morning of his second week in town, Peter awoke in the house he was renting from Steve Mancini, then ran four miles through the