Meyer's very quickly becoming more and more sober as they move towards the house. He knows he can't attack Charlie, can't get him to let go of Ned, but maybe once they get inside, he can distract Charlie long enough to get Ned free. If Charlie wants to eat Ned -- he wouldn't have believed it, a couple minutes ago, but apparently anything's possible, and that look he'd given Ned, plus the sniffing, that had signaled that he thought Ned looked pretty tasty.

The sad thing was, Meyer agreed. Ned had been pretty tasty. That didn't mean he thought Charlie should actually eat the guy, though. He, too, remembers the fact that Charlie seemed obsessed with his watch, that he'd had to have it, that after he'd taken it, he'd disappeared into the backyard with it. Maybe Charlie thinks Ned is some kind of prize, too.

"Charlie," he says, his voice stronger this time, not slurring. "He's scared. You're scaring him." This time, he even reaches out a hand to put on Charlie's shoulder, not hard, not threatening, just very cold hand with a gentle touch. "We need to talk about this. Think about this. Let's just get him back to the house, and then we'll have a conversation, okay?"

At this point, he just wants to buy Ned some time. He hopes his glance over at Ned indicates that. He wants to help him. He's trying. But it's going to take some finesse, and right now, he's still trying to remember how to get that finesse back.