The Second Man

That, undoubtedly, was what saved me.

The next thing I knew, we were surrounded by blue uniforms, and Copely was being pulled away from me and being dragged off.

The guy who had been in the dark sedan the other day was there, and he was pulling me up, and helping me put my running shorts back on. The waistband of the jock strap had been snapped in Copely's run to get it off me, so it was of no use.

The guy helped me over to the picnic table and had his handkerchief out, dabbing at the blood at the corners of my nose and mouth.

"I'm Detective Madison. Henry Madison. Sorry we didn't get to you sooner. If he hadn't pulled you off the trail—"

"Sorry. That was me," I said. "I left the trail. You from Vice?"

"No, Homicide."

I moaned at the recognition of what that meant.

"We had planned to take him before he did this to you. Sorry about that. If you'd ID'd him the other day . . . but your description of the truck helped us narrow it to Warren Copely."

"You've been watching for him?"

"Every day. Every day you were running. You were the second man. We figured he'd come back for you."

"The second man? That's what he said too . . . while . . . while he was taking me."

"That's was what linked the crimes. This guy had it out for homosexuals and targeted them. But, go figure, his way of punishing them was through sexual assault. So, you can figure what that said about him. Well, he had a pattern. He'd murder one man and then find a second man to have sex with."

"So, that first day, when the light was on in that house and the red truck was outside."

"Yes, we found the body of a young man inside. Copely killed him there. Those folks are on an around-the-world trip. The young guy was house sitting for them. Their neighbors called in the light being on and the truck in the driveway. It was gone by the time anyone responded, though.

"So, I was—"

"The second man that day, yes. I can understand you not telling me when I asked you about him. But if I'd known he'd attacked you that day, we would have been faster in pulling him off you today."

"And this second man?"

"On a subsequent day, the second man became the first man. That's what was happening today."

"Oh."

"Let's get you home now, if you live nearby."

"In the apartment complex across the railroad tracks beyond this development."

"Good. We'll get you cleaned up and when you feel like it, I can take your statement. We can see what we can put together that will keep you as much out of this as possible."

"You'd . . . you'd do that . . . for me?"

He went on, as if I hadn't spoken. "Then, when you felt well enough for it, we could see about working off that $50-tab I'm running with you."