The liquid was only lukewarm but the sudden dash had given him some awareness of his own body again, like the first sound of the alarm faintly pressing through deep layers of sleep. "Sam, Sam, _please_ don't make me do it! Please, Sam, _don't_!" Nancy had the gun in her hand, rising from her chair. His hands wanted to grab her clothes and _tear_. But that's _suicide_, he screamed at his body. As his hand went up with the intention of ripping, he deflected it just enough to shove the barrel of the gun away from him. The shot went off, but he knew instantly that it had not hit him. The gun fell to the floor, and with its fall, something else dropped away and he was in command of himself again. Nancy sighed, and slumped against him, the left side of her breast suddenly glossy with blood. * * * * * Ed Michaels stared at him. Both eyes unblinking, just staring at _him_. He had only taken one look at the girl lying on the floor, blood all over her chest. He hadn't looked back. "I didn't know who else to call, Ed." Collins said. "Sheriff Thurston being out of town and all." "It's okay, Sam. Mike swore me in as a special deputy a couple years back. The badge is at the store." "They'll hang me for this, won't they, Ed?" Michaels put his hand on Collins' shoulder. "No, they won't do that to you, boy. We know you around here. They'll just put you away for a while." "The asylum at Hannah, huh?" "Damn it, yes! What did you expect? A marksman medal?" "Okay, Ed, okay. Did you call Doc Van der Lies like I told you when I phoned?" Michaels took a folded white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his square-jawed face. "You sure are taking this calm, Sam. I'm telling you, Sam, it would look better for you if you at least _acted_ like you were sorry.... Doc Van der Lies is up in Wisconsin with Mike. I called Doc Candle." "He's an undertaker," Collins whispered. "Don't you expect we need one?" Michaels asked. Then as if he wasn't sure of the answer to his own question, he said, "Did you examine her to see if she was dead? I--I don't know much about women. I wouldn't be able to tell." It didn't sound like a very good excuse to Collins. "I guess she's dead," Collins said. "That's the way he must have wanted it." "_He?_ Wait a minute, Sam. You mean you've got one of those split personalities like that girl on TV the other night? There's somebody else inside you that takes over and makes you do things?" "I never thought of it just like that before. I guess that's one way to look at it." The knock shook the back door before Michaels could say anything. The door opened and Doc Candle slithered in disjointedly, a rolled-up stretcher over his shoulder. "Hello, boys," Candle said. "A terrible accident, it brings sorrow to us all. Poor Nancy. Has the family been notified?" "Good gosh, I forgot about it," Michaels said. "But maybe we better wait until you get her--arranged, huh, Doc?"