Night Tide
Page 4
!
“Osteomyelitis.”! The! word! sent! a! twinge! through! the!
muscles!around!my!artificial!hip.!I!clamped!my!jaw!shut.!
!
He!nodded.!“Yeah,!that.”!He!raised!an!eyebrow,!but!I!didn’t!
enlighten!him!further.!
!!!
Drucker’s!face!puckered!as!if!he’d!bitten!a!lemon.!“Can!we!
move!on?”! !
!
Taylor! shrugged! and! stepped! back! in! deference! to! his!
partner.!I!got!a!sudden!sense!of!who!was!who!if!they!decided!to!
play!good6cop6bad6cop.!!
!
“Perry!Langford,”!Drucker!said!to!me.!“Name!ring!a!bell?”!
!
They!noted!my!surprise.!A!little!voice!told!me!I’d!probably!
be! smart! not! to! let! them! know! why.! With! the! hundred! other!
thoughts! and! questions! rebounding! off! the! inside! of! my! skull!
like!pinballs!it!wouldn’t!be!tough.!
!
“Sure,”!I!said.!“We!were!friends!when!we!were!kids.”!They!
knew!that!or!they!wouldn’t!be!standing!in!my!apartment.!
!
“Have!you!seen!him?”!
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!
I!shook!my!head.!“Not!since!he!went!to!prison.”!
!
“Has!he!tried!to!contact!you!at!all?”!
!
“Why!would!he!do!that?”!!
!
“You!just!said!you!were!friends.”!
!
“A! long! time! ago,”! I! said.! “I! haven’t! seen! him! or! been! in!
touch!in!twenty!years.!Why!would!he!try!to!contact!me?”!
!
Drucker! considered! me.! Instead! of! answering! he! asked!
another! question.! “Why! didn’t! you! ever! visit,! if! you! were!
friends?”!
!
I!shrugged,!hoping!the!heat!I!felt!creeping!up!from!under!
my!collar!wasn’t!evident.!
!
“I!was!in!school!out!here,!a!couple!of!thousand!miles!away.!
Kind! of! hard! to! visit,! if! you! know! what! I! mean.! I! never! went!
back.!There!didn’t!seem!much!point!in!writing.”!
!
“You! knew! that! Langford! was! released! from! prison.”! It!
wasn’t!a!question.!
!
“No,”! I! said.! Not! really! a! lie.! A! few! hours! earlier! I! hadn’t!
known.!“When?”!
!
“Several!weeks!ago.”!
!
I!looked!from!Drucker!to!Taylor.!“What!does!this!have!to!
do!with!me?”!
!
Drucker!hesitated.!“He’s!disappeared.”!
!
“Free!country,!right?!He!did!his!time.”!
!
Drucker!frowned.!“He!was!released!early,!on!probation.”!
!
“I!still!don’t!see!what!this!has!to!do!with!me.”!
!
“We!have!reason!to!believe!he’s!in!the!area.!We!thought!he!
might!get!in!touch!since!you!two!were!buddies!once.”!
!
I!shrugged!again.!“Sorry!I!can’t!help.”!
!
“But!you’ll!let!us!know!if!he! does!contact!you?”!
!
“I!suppose.”!!
!
Drucker!cocked!his!head!half!an!inch.!
!
Taylor!shifted!his!weight!and!looked!at!Drucker!uneasily.!
“We!need!to!tell!him.”!
!
I!glanced!from!one!to!the!other.!“Tell!me!what?”!
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!
Drucker! didn’t! acknowledge! him,! but! something! behind!
his! eyes! clicked! into! place.! He! loosed! a! soft! grunt.! “Langford!
might!make!an!attempt!on!your!life.”!
!
It!wasn’t!just!my!palms!sweating!now.!“Why?”!!
!
“Good! question.! What’s! he! got! against! you! after! all! these!
years?”!
!
I!could!have!sworn!I!saw!a!bright!yellow!feather!sticking!
out! of! the! corner! of! Drucker’s! mouth! before! he! turned! and!
walked!out.!!
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!
!
Chapter&6&
!
!
It! had! started! out! as! a! joke.! A! stupid! college! prank.! But!
pranks!inevitably!lead!to!trouble.!I!just!came!along!for!the!ride,!
a!bad!idea!unless!you’re!willing!to!pay!for!the!gas.!
!
Wink!had!sketched!out!a!simple!plan:!get!in;!take!the!stuff;!
get!out.!!
!
Getting! in! was! easy.! The! building! always! remained! open.!
Before! Columbine,! before! 9/11! and! Virginia! Tech,! classroom!
buildings! had! no! security! cameras,! no! magnetic6stripe! key!
cards.!Everybody!got!along.!Well!enough,!anyway,!to!be!a!little!
more! trusting,! a! little! less! paranoid.! The! ’60s—Vietnam! War!
protests,! riots! in! Watts,! campus! shootings,! lynchings! of! civil!
rights!volunteers—were!ancient!history.!At!the!time,!the!Iron!
Curtain!was!about!to!succumb!to!the!onslaught!of!capitalism,!if!
not!democracy.!And!students!in!that!narcissistic!decade!of!the!
1980s! were! far! more! interested! in! crass! materialism! than!
making!social!statements!or!scoring!political!points.!
!
Finagling! our! way! into! a! chemistry! lab! proved! only!
moderately!more!difficult—keys!were!easy!enough!to!come!by!
if!you!knew!the!right!grad!students,!according!to!Wink.!Wink!
was! an! undergrad,! a! junior,! starting! his! third! year! of!
engineering,! but! with! a! minor! in! chemistry.! A! security! guard!
might!question!our!presence,!if!we!actually!ran!into!one!in!a!lab!
after! midnight,! but! Wink! could! probably! bluff! our! way! out! of!
trouble!if!it!came!to!that.!
!
The! chemical! supply! locker! had! been! the! most! difficult!
part! of! Wink’s! plan.! Not! even! graduate! students! would!
relinquish! a! key! unless! they! were! supervising! an! experiment.!
Wink! used! one! I! cut! for! him! in! my! father’s! hardware! store,!
from!a!duplicate!he’d!fashioned!out!of!a!soda!can.!That!made!
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me!implicit,!an!accessory.!I!didn’t!ask!how!he’d!managed!to!get!
the!impression!of!the!original!key.!I!still!thought!of!myself!as!a!
passenger,!not!a!co6pilot.!!
!
We!got!in;!Wink!got!the!stuff;!we!got!out.!!
!
A!hot!breeze!stirred!the!leaves!in!the!campus!woods,!their!
rustling! canceling! out! the! loud! percussion! solo! my! heart!
thumped!against!my!ribs.!But!the!air!did!little!to!dry!the!sheen!
of!sweat!that!coated!my!skin,!plastering!my!shirt!to!my!chest.!
The! heavy! blanket! of! late! August! heat! and! humidity! pressed!
down!as!though!tucked!in!too!tight.!Not!even!the!breeze!could!
throw!it!off.!
!
“One!more!stop,”!Wink!said.!
!
I!looked!at!him!blankly.!
!
“Come!on,!Legs.”!Wink!said.!“Let’s!go.”!
!
I!hurried!to!catch!up,!falling!in!step!as!he!hustled!down!the!
walk.!Our!shadows!lengthened!and!melded!with!the!darkness!
&nb
sp; as! we! moved! away! from! the! building.! We! crossed! the! road!
toward! another! large! classroom! building.! As! we! drew! closer,!
white! letters! engraved! in! a! stone! marker! announced! the!
engineering!building.!
!
I!slowed.!“What!do!you!need!here?”!
!
Wink! stopped! a! few! paces! ahead! and! turned.! “Tubing.”!
When! I! didn’t! move,! he! said,! “The! stuff! in! the! chem! lab! is! all!
rubber.!I!need!latex!tubing.!Surgical!tubing.”!
!
“From!engineering?”!
!
The!darkness!hid!his!face,!but!I!knew!perspicacity!painted!
it!with!disdain,!pity,!amusement.!I!felt!his!withering!gaze!even!
if! I! couldn’t! see! it.! With! Wink,! amusement! always! won! out.! I!
think!my!obtuseness!entertained!him.!
!
I!shook!my!head.!“You!go.”!
!
“Scared?”!
!
“Hey,!I!was!right!beside!you!back!there.”!!
!
He!smiled.!Watching!him!steal!a!few!yards!of!latex!tubing!
didn’t! frighten! me.! I! wasn’t! even! all! that! afraid! of! getting!
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caught.! I! feared! what! my! old! man! might! say! when! I! lost! my!
scholarship! if! we! did! get! caught.! He! couldn’t! actually! say!
anything,!of!course,!since!he’d!keeled!over!from!a!heart!attack!
two!years!earlier,!a!few!weeks!after!I’d!been!offered!a!near!full6
ride!basketball!scholarship!to!college.!That!didn’t!prevent!the!
sound! of! his! disappointment! from! reaching! for! me! from! the!
grave.!!
!
“I’ll!stay!out!here!and!keep!watch,”!I!said.!
!
He!shrugged.!“Suit!yourself.”!
!
Hooking! a! thumb! under! the! strap! on! his! backpack,! he!
hitched! it! up! higher! on! his! shoulder! and! strutted! down! the!
walk!to!the!entrance!as!if!going!to!class!at!two!in!the!morning!
was! customary.! The! brightly! lit! doorway! delineated! his! wiry!
figure! for! a! moment! before! he! disappeared! inside.! The! glass!
and! steel! door! closed! softly! behind! him! as! if! hermetically!
sealing!him!off!from!the!rest!of!the!world.!
!
I!melted!into!the!shadows!under!the!trees!lining!the!path,!
the! black! velvet! night! caressing! me.! I! felt! drawn! to! the! dark!
side! even! then.! Not! criminality,! though! the! adrenaline! rush!
caused!by!the!danger!Wink’s!foray!put!us!in!excited!me.!Rather,!
the! quiet! and! peacefulness! of! the! sleeping! world! and!
comforting!cloak!of!darkness!appealed!to!me.!Nighttime’s!lack!
of! sensory! input! stilled! the! thoughts! that! by! day! caromed!
around!the!inside!of!my!head!like!billiard!balls!on!a!break!shot.!
!
The!metronomic!chirp!of!crickets,!the!sweet!far6off!call!of!a!
whippoorwill!and!the!oppressive!heat!lulled!me!into!a!stupor.!I!
sank! onto! my! haunches! and! let! gravity! take! me! all! the! way!
down!until!I!sat!cross6legged!on!the!grass,!feathery!blades!cool!
under!my!fingers.!Pain!radiated!from!my!left!hip!down!my!leg.!I!
straightened!it!and!stretched.!The!pain!had!gotten!worse!and!
more!consistent!recently.!I!shrugged!it!off.!Stiff,!no!doubt,!from!
a!long!run!earlier.!
!
Headlights! in! the! distance! flashed! and! winked! out! as! a!
late6night!reveler!pulled!into!a!dorm!lot!and!parked.!One!of!the!
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black!squares!on!the!third!floor!of!the!building!in!front!of!me!
turned! white,! spilling! light! from! within.! I! lifted! the! old! watch!
close!to!my!face,!one!of!the!few!things!handed!down!to!me!by!
my!father!that!I’d!had!any!interest!in!keeping.!The!luminescent!
green! tips! of! the! hands! glowed! dimly.! Two6seventeen! in! the!
morning.!
!
The!lighted!window!went!dark!again.!Nothing!stirred.!My!
shirt! stuck! to! me! damply.! Even! the! breeze! had! died,! another!
hint! that! most! of! the! world! blanketed! by! night! had! gone! to!
sleep.!Three!more!days!before!I!headed!to!Seattle!for!my!junior!
year!at!UW.!Killing!time!until!then!hanging!out!with!Wink.!
!
The!lights!in!the!entryway!suddenly!winked!out,!too.!Two!
dark!figures!emerged!a!moment!later,!paused!and!darted!away,!
disappearing! into! the! night.! I! blinked,! wondering! if! lack! of!
sleep!had!me!hallucinating.!A!third!figure!emerged!dressed!like!
the!first!two,!in!black!from!head!to!toe,!despite!the!heat.!A!man,!
from! his! size! and! build.! I! shrank! back! farther! into! shadow,!
fingers! and! toes! tingling,! blood! singing! in! my! ears.! Now! a!
fourth! man! appeared! and! conferred! with! the! one! already!
outside!the!building,!their!low!tones!barely!audible.!The!third!
man!trotted!up!the!path!toward!me,!the!opposite!direction!of!
the!first!two.!I!held!my!breath!as!he!passed!not!more!than!ten!
yards!away;!he!didn’t!pause.!!
!
I’d! told! Wink! I’d! keep! watch—for! campus! security,! not!
people!coming! out!of!the!building.!I!froze.!The!last!man!strolled!
a!few!yards!from!the!door!and!stopped.!He!turned!and!tipped!
his!head!back!as!if!inspecting!the!upper!floors.!Taking!a!quick!
glance! around,! he! raised! his! wrist! toward! his! face,! and!
suddenly!raced!back!to!the!entrance,!hugging!the!building.!
!
Seconds!later,!an!explosion!on!the!top!floor!shattered!the!
stillness,! lighting! the! night! with! a! blinding! flash.! It! ripped! a!
chunk!of!roof!off!the!building!and!blew!the!wall!apart,!the!blast!
spewing!chunks!of!brick!masonry,!mortar!and!broken!glass!all!
the! way! out! to! the! street.! Little! bits! of! building! whizzed! past!
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like!angry!bees.!The!trees!protected!me!from!most!of!it,!but!a!
few! stung! me,! drawing! dots! of! blood,! black! against! my! skin.!
When!the!last!of!the!debris!rained!down,!the!night!fell!deathly!
silent! again,! insects! and! nocturnal! creatures! temporarily!
hushed.! For! a! moment,! I! heard! nothing! except! the! ringing! in!
my!ears.!
!
Sudden! screams! let! me! know! the! detonation! hadn’t!
deafened!me.!Long,!agonized!shrieks!of!a!human!in!mortal!pain!
rose! and! faded! to! a! moan.! The! black! shadow! detached! itself!
from!the!side!of!the!building!and!slipped!back!inside.!Numbed!
by!the!explosion,!I!sat!rooted!to!the!spot.!!
!
Where*was*Wink? !
!
The! screaming! began! again,! shrill! and! high6pitched.! This!
time,! a! loud! popHpop! ended! it! abruptly.! Quiet! reigned! once!
more.!
!
The! figure! in! black! emerged! through! the! door! moments!
later,! running! now.! Stripping! off! the! mask! as! he! ran! through!
the!night,!he!gave!me!a!brief!glimpse!of!his!profile,!a!streetlamp!
carving!sharp!features!out!of!the!surrounding!ebony.!And!then!
he!was!gone.!
!
Where*the*hel
l*was*Wink? !
!
A! siren! wailed! distantly.! Unsteadily,! I! got! to! my! feet! and!
took!a!few!tentative!steps!toward!the!building,!willing!the!door!
to!open.!But!it!remained!sealed.!Another!siren!joined!the!first!
from!across!campus!somewhere.!
!
I!turned!and!ran,!forgetting!the!pain!in!my!hip,!the!screams!
still!echoing!in!my!head.!
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!
!
Chapter&7&
!
!
The!long!gravel!drive!meandered!through!a!quiver!of!old!
growth! Douglas! firs! aimed! at! a! cloudless! cerulean! sky,! then!
dipped! through! a! wash! and! climbed! a! gentle! rise.! Around! a!
short!bend,!crackling!tires!went!silent!as!the!surface!changed!
from!gravel!to!concrete,!the!drive!widening!and!spilling!into!a!
large! clearing! like! the! mouth! of! a! river.! A! modern! rambler!
spread! out! across! the! delta,! living! quarters! to! the! left! and! a!
four6bay!garage!flowing!off!to!the!right.!The!tailgate!of!Charlie’s!
pickup! peeked! from! behind! a! far! corner! of! the! house,! parked!
on!the!grass.!
!
I! pulled! up! in! front! of! one! of! the! garage! bays! next! to! a!
silver! Prius.! Stickers! on! the! back! bumper! supported! a! state!
referendum! (YES! TO! I61000!),! opposed! Big! Oil! (NO! ANWR!
DRILLING),! and! gave! a! nod! to! political! affiliation! (AL!
GORE/MOTHER! EARTH! ’12).! I! parked! and! walked! to! the! house.!
Rhododendrons! laden! with! pink! and! magenta! blossoms!
shielded! the! windows! from! prying! eyes.! Sunlight! dappled! the!
front!porch!through!the!branches!of!a!flowering!dogwood!and!
danced! across! the! door! in! ripples! of! light! and! shadow.! The!
sensation! of! reaching! for! the! knob! almost! felt! like! swimming!
underwater.!!
!
The!door!swung!open!before!my!hand!touched!it,!revealing!
a!handsome!woman!with!a!long!plait!of!gray!hair!wound!on!top!
of! her! head! and! a! broad! smile! on! her! round! face.! She! wore! a!
simple!white!peasant!blouse!with!flowers!embroidered!on!the!
lace! yoke.! A! teal! cotton! crepe! skirt! hung! below! her! knees.!
Dangling! from! a! thin! leather! cord! around! her! neck! a! small!
sterling!peace!symbol!rested!in!the!hollow!of!her!throat.!
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!
“Blake!”! She! pulled! me! inside! and! wrapped! her! arms!
around! my! waist! for! a! quick! hug.! “It’s! been! such! a! long! time.!
Good!to!see!you.”!
!
Holding!me!at!arm’s!length,!her!eyes!roved!from!my!feet!to!