They descended the courthouse steps, license in hand, and were walking along facing traffic, what there was of it. An old, white pickup was barreling toward them. The glare on the windshield obscured the driver.
Danilo said, "Is Poirier coming to the wedding?"
He stopped, and Danilo turned round to face him. "If he is invited, Ochoa, which I assume he is."
Danilo smiled. "I'm not sure that is...."
Whatever Danilo was going to say was lost in the roar of the pickup truck which was almost upon them. It swerved onto the broad sidewalk heading straight for them.
Danilo was just standing there. He grabbed Danilo's arm and dove toward the grass.
There was a thump and Danilo may have grunted amid all the engine roaring and tire squealing.
He rolled over and watched the truck swerve back onto the street and into the oncoming traffic. A blue SUV had no where to go, and the pickup slammed into it.
It was a glancing blow, and they scraped past each other. The rear fender of the SUV was ripped off; the pickup dragged it for half a block before it was dislodged.
The pickup kept going, accelerating through a red light and speeding north.
It had Delaware tags, and he thought he had the number.
He looked at Danilo. He was shaken and confused, and his glasses had been knocked off. They were lying on the grass, and Danilo tried to roll onto his knees to reach for them, but he screamed and grabbed his left leg.
"What is it?"
Danilo glared at him. "My leg is broken, Bergeron."
"Are you sure?"
He snarled. "Yes!" And he may have said other words...hurtful words about the intelligence and perspicacity of Gabriel Bergeron.
So getting the marriage license hadn't gone off without a small blip.
Someone wanted Danilo dead. His bride to be, Ezmeralda Gutierrez, wasn't trying to kill him...probably not. They seemed happy, and Ezmeralda was not one to hide her feelings. But Danilo had enemies lurking everywhere. And that didn't count Ezmeralda's brother or his own relatives or Rey Ángel Zamora, son of Aunt Flo's dead husband.
Or possibly even Aunt Flo herself? She said she was fine with the wedding; as fine as frog's hair.
Everybody said they were happy for the couple, but Danilo kept getting almost murdered. It was a puzzlement.
