SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ

"You're not getting another beer, are you?" Martha called from the upstairs bedroom.

Harry Carstairs stood before his open refrigerator, marveling at the acuity of his wife's hearing.

"Just one more."

"Harry!" She drew out the second syllable. "Haven't you had enough for one night?"

No, he thought. Not yet.

"It's just a light."

"Aren't you ever coming to bed?"

"Soon, hon."

She grumbled something he didn't catch and he could visualize her rolling onto her side and pulling the covers over her head. He twisted the cap off the beer, took a quick pull, then stepped over to the bar. There he carefully lifted the Seagram's bottle and poured a good slug into his beer.

Gently swirling the mixture, he headed for his study at the other end of the house.

He was drinking too much, he knew. But it took a lot of booze to put a dent in a guy his size. Still he didn't think it was a real problem. He didn't drink during the day, didn't even think about it when he was surrounded by the hordes of young sims he oversaw. Their rambunctious energy recharged him every morning, filling his mind and senses all day.

But when he got home, when it was just Martha and he, the charge drained away, leaving him empty and flat. A dead battery. Not that there was anything wrong with Martha. Not her fault. It was all him.

He wished now they'd had kids. Life had been so fine before when it was just the two of them. And SimGen, of course. Martha worked for the company too, in the comptroller's office. SimGen became part of their household, turning their marriage into a menage a trois. But it had been a rewarding arrangement. They'd built their dream house on this huge wooded lot, traveled extensively, and had two fat 401(k)s that would allow them comfortable early retirement if they wanted it.

But a few years ago he'd begun to feel an aching emptiness in their home, to sense the isolation of the surrounding woods. He knew the day, the hour, the moment it had begun: When Ellis Sinclair had informed him about the sudden death of a sim.

Not just any sim. A special sim, one Harry had known throughout his entire time at SimGen. He'd taught that sim chess and turned him into a damn good player. They used to play three or four times a week.

And then he was gone. Just like that. Died on a Saturday, into the crematorium on Sunday, and his quarters stripped by the time Harry returned to work on Monday morning.

The boilermakers - Martha thought they were just plain beers - numbed the ache. But the ache seemed to require more anesthetic with each passing year.

Harry settled himself at his desk and reached out to restart the computer chess match he'd paused in midgame when -  He stopped. That feeling again. A prickling along his scalp...as if he was being watched.

Harry abruptly swiveled his chair toward the window directly behind him and caught a glimpse of a pale blur ducking out of sight. He sat stunned, frozen with the knowledge that he hadn't been imagining it. Someone had been watching him through that goddamn window!

He leaped from his seat, lumbering toward the sliding glass doors that opened from his study onto the rear deck. He slipped, fell to one knee - damn boilermakers! - then yanked back the door and lurched onto the deck.

"I saw you, damn it!" he shouted, voice echoing through the trees, breath fogging in the cold air. "Who are you? Who thefuck are you!"

He stopped, listening. Where'd he go? But the woods were silent.

And then Martha's voice, frightened, crying: "Harry! Harry, come quick!"

Harry ran back inside, charging the length of the house, shouting her name. He made it up the stairs to the master bedroom where he found her standing in the dark, staring out the big window overlooking the front yard.

"What is it?"

"I saw someone out there!" Her hand fluttered before her mouth like a hummingbird over a flower. "Just a glimpse. He was moving away toward the road but I know I saw him!"

"Nowdo you believe me?"

He'd told her before about this feeling of being watched but Martha had always chalked it up to his drinking.

"Yes! Yes, I do! And I'm calling the police!"

"Good. You do that," Harry said, feeling a deep rage start to burn - damn, it was good to feel something again. He headed for the stairs. "And tell them to hurry. Because if I get to him first they'll have to scrape what's left of him into a goddamn bucket!"

"Harry, no!" Martha cried.

Harry ignored her. His blood was up, he could feel it racing through his head, his muscles. He'd been spooked, he'd been doubted, he'd even doubted himself, but now it was clear he'd been right all along and it was time for a little payback, time to kick some major donkey.

He hit the front drive running and sprinted for the street. In seconds his heart was thudding, his lungs burning.

Out of shape. And four sheets to the wind. But he was going to catch this fucker, and before he wiped up the road with him, he was going to find out why he -  Ahead...to the right...a car engine turning over, gears engaging, tires squealing on pavement.

Shit!

By the time Harry reached the street all he could see was a distant pair of taillights shrinking into the darkness.

He bent, hands on thighs, grunting and gasping for air. Maybe it was for the best. If he had caught up with the guy he might have been too winded to do much more than grab him and fall on him and hope he crushed the fucking hell out of him.

But the worst part was he still had no answers. Why was somebody watching him? Why should anyone care enough about him to come out here and sit in the cold dark woods to watch him play chess with his computer?

Get a life, man!

One thing was certain - no, make that two...two things were certain.

First, he was going to get a gun. Tomorrow.

Second, he was going to stop drinking. At least stop drinking so much. Also tomorrow.

Right now he was thoroughly rattled and needed a double of something. Anything. Just so long as it was a double.