Night Tide
Page 10
face.!I!blinked!and!looked!away.!!
!
If! there! was! any! truth! to! what! she! suggested,! it! could!
explain!the!FBI’s!interest!in!finding!Wink.!He!wasn’t!just!a!skip6
trace!to!them.!And!if!he!was!innocent,!he’d!had!a!lot!of!time!to!
think!about!who!might!have!blown!up!that!lab.!
!
“You!think!Wink!is!out!here!somewhere.!In!Seattle.!Why?”!
!
She!shrugged.!“I!don’t!know!where!he!is,!actually.!I!thought!
you!might!be!able!to!help.”!
!
“How?!How!would!I!know!where!he’s!gone?”!
!
“I!took!a!chance.!I!thought!he!might!try!to!find!you!first.”!
!
“Why! on! earth! would! he! do! that?! I! left! him! hanging.! My!
best!friend,!and!I!didn’t!even!say!goodbye.!If!I!were!him,!I’m!the!
last!guy!I’d!try!to!find.!Unless!he!really!is!trying!to!kill!me.”!
!
“Everyone!in!that!damn!town!of!yours!said!you!two!were!
connected!at!the!hip!when!you!were!kids.!You!must!know!how!
he!thinks,!what!he!might!do.”!Her!eyes!were!pleading!now.!
!
“I! never!knew!what!he’d!do.!That!was!part!of!the!thrill!of!
hanging!around!with!Wink.!You!never!knew!what!was!coming!
next.!Twenty!years!later…?”!I!wagged!my!head.!“No!clue.”!
!
“But!you!might!know!where!to!start?”!
!
I!considered!the!question.!Drucker!had!said!Wink!might!be!
in! the! area.! If! Wink! was! on! the! trail! of! whoever! had! bombed!
the! lab,! then! they! might! be! here! somewhere,! too.! Find! the!
bombers,!and!we’d!find!Wink.!Find!Wink,!find!the!bombers.!All!
the!same!to!Keely,!no!doubt.!I!wasn’t!so!sure.!To!pick!up!Wink’s!
scent!meant!going!back!to!the!trailhead,!the!place!where!it!all!
started.!!
!
“You’ll!help!me,!right?”!she!said.!
!
I!stretched!and!got!to!my!feet.!“I’ll!sleep!on!it.”!
!
I’d! made! up! my! mind! to! look! for! Wink! long! before! Keely!
walked! in.! For! self6preservation,! if! nothing! else.! I! owed! it! to!
him!for!that!one!act!of!cowardice!long!ago.!I!owed!it!to!myself!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
78&
for!not!standing!up!for!him!at!his!trial.!But!I!wasn’t!giving!Keely!
the!satisfaction!of!being!the!one!to!convince!me.!
!
She!grabbed!my!wrist!on!my!way!past.!“Wait!!At!least!let!
me!tell!you!how!to!get!in!touch.”!
!
I!glanced!down.!She!let!go,!pawed!through!her!purse!for!a!
pen,! scribbled! something! on! a! napkin! and! handed! it! to! me.! I!
put!it!in!my!pocket!without!looking!at!it!and!walked!out.!!
*!*!*!*!*!
!
The!couple!stepped!through!the!darkened!motel!doorway!
quietly.! She! hesitated,! pressing! herself! against! the! wall! while!
he! pulled! the! door! shut,! her! eyes! scanning! the! parking! lot!
nervously.!He!turned!now,!face!partially!illuminated!by!the!dim!
light!from!a!fixture!over!the!door.!He,!too,!wagged!his!head!to!
and! fro! as! if! looking! for! something,! then! the! pair! headed!
furtively!for!the!stairs!down!to!the!lot.!!
!
Langford! watched! them! from! his! car! across! the! street,!
taking!a!sip!of!coffee!from!a!large!take6out!cup!he’d!purchased!
at! an! all6night! gas! station! less! than! an! hour! earlier.! At! the!
bottom! of! the! stairs,! the! man! raised! his! arm! toward! the! SUV.!
The! interior! lights! popped! on! as! he! thumbed! the! remote,!
barely! visible! through! tinted! glass! covered! with! heavy! dew.!
While! the! woman! opened! the! passenger! door! and! got! in,! the!
man! opened! the! lift! gate! and! deposited! the! small! overnight!
case! he’d! carried! from! the! room,! then! climbed! behind! the!
wheel.!
!
The! day! before,! Langford! had! followed! the! green! SUV!
south! from! Washington! all! afternoon! and! evening.! Long! after!
dark,! the! couple! had! pulled! off! the! interstate! somewhere! just!
north!of!Sacramento!and!had!checked!into!the!motel.!Langford!
had! waited! until! he! was! sure! they! were! settled,! then! had!
parked!in!the!back!of!a!Wal6Mart!lot!next!to!an!RV,!where!store!
security!likely!wouldn’t!bother!him.!He’d!climbed!into!the!back!
of! the! Scout,! set! the! alarm! on! his! watch! and! fell! into! a! light!
sleep.!!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
79&
!
Only! a! few! hours! later,! he’d! topped! off! the! gas! tank! and!
gotten!coffee!and!a!semblance!of!breakfast!from!the!mini6mart!
inside.! Figuring! the! fugitives! would! want! an! early! start! to!
minimize!drawing!attention!to!themselves,!he’d!set!himself!up!
in!a!good!vantage!point!across!the!street!from!the!motel!well!
before!dawn.!The!sky!was!just!now!beginning!to!turn!gray!as!
the!couple!in!the!SUV!turned!out!of!the!motel!lot!and!headed!
back! toward! the! freeway.! Langford! waited! until! they! were! a!
few!blocks!away!before!starting!the!Scout!and!pulling!onto!the!
street!behind!them.!
!
As! soon! as! they! turned! onto! the! freeway! entrance! ramp!
heading! south,! Langford! knew! they! were! headed! for! Mexico.!
They!were!running.!He’d!known!it!the!day!before,!but!wanted!
to! be! sure.! Now! he! was! worried.! They! could! easily! make! the!
border!before!dinner.!He!needed!to!come!up!with!a!plan!long!
before!then.!In!fact,!the!sooner!the!better,!before!day!broke!and!
the! road! filled! with! the! normal! flow! of! north6south! interstate!
traffic.!!
!
Reaching! behind! the! seat,! he! patted! the! stock! of! the! old!
Remington! 760! .306.06! hunting! rifle! through! the! canvas! and!
leather! case,! as! if! assuring! himself! it! hadn’t! walked! off! in! the!
middle! of! the! night.! Then! he! leaned! over,! opened! the! glove!
compartment,! removed! the! M1911A1! Remington! .45!
automatic!pistol!his!father!had!been!issued!during!the!Korean!
War!and!laid!it!on!the!seat!next!to!him.!Putting!both!hands!back!
on!the!wheel,!he!accelerated!down!the!ramp!onto!the!freeway,!
pulled!into!the!passing!lane!and!slowly!began!to!overtake!the!
green!SUV!down!the!road!ahead.!!
!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
80&
!
! Chapter(14(
!! Frank!Shriver!nursed!a!shot!of!what!looked!like!bourbon!
and! chased! it! with! a! big! gulp! of! beer.! He! wiped! foam! off! his!
upper! lip! with! the! back! of! his! hand,! sharp! facial! features!
softened! by! the! brume! hanging! in! the! air! as! if! smoking! in!
restaurants! hadn’t! been! outlawed! years! earlier.! The! thin,!
dispirited! lunch! crowd! barely! raised! the! restaurant’s! volume!
above!a!library!hush.!A!sudden!clatter!from!the!direction!of!the!
kitchen!stirred!barely!enough!interest!to!lift!one!or!two!heads.!
I!eased!into!the!chair!across!from!him.!
!
“Blake,! buddy.”! Frank! raised! a! hand! in! gree
ting! and!
spewed!questions!before!I!opened!my!mouth.!“How’s!the!hero?!
Racking! up! points! against! future! troubles! with! SPD?! Your!
friend! the! cop! okay?! Heard! his! wife! hasn’t! shown! yet.! What’s!
with!that?”!
!
“Nice!to!see!you!again,!Frank.!Still!have!a!job,!I!see.”!!
!
“Touch!and!go.”!!
!
“There’d!been!rumblings!about!selling!the!paper!for!a!long!
time.”!
!
“Would!have!been!better!than!shutting!it!down!altogether!
and!trying!this!online6only!crap.!Not!many!other!websites!out!
there!looking!for!a!metro!editor,!and!I’m!too!old!to!start!over.!
Won’t! be! long! before! they! dump! me! for! some! high! school!
computer! geek.! What! about! you?! You! seeing! your! route! get!
smaller?”!
!
“Subscriptions!are!down,!sure.!Gee,!must!give!me!an!extra!
five!minutes!of!sleep!a!night.”!
!
He!laughed!until!his!eyes!watered.!Nicotine6stained!fingers!
long!and!thin!as!a!pianist’s!stripped!wire6framed!glasses!off!his!
face.! With! his! other! hand! he! pinched! the! bridge! of! a! nose!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
81&
webbed!with!spidery!red!capillaries.!Replacing!his!glasses,!he!
raised!his!beer!in!salute!and!took!another!swallow.!
!
“The!shit!you!went!through,!I!guess!that’s!a!good!attitude,”!
he! said.! “Just! shows! we! might! as! well! make! the! best! of! what!
we’ve!got,!right?”!!
!
I!grimaced.!“Breakfast!of!champions,!Frank?”!
!
He! glanced! at! a! blocky! stainless! watch! too! heavy! for! his!
thin!hairy!wrist.!“Breakfast!time!for!you,!maybe.!It’s!after!noon;!
good!enough!for!me.”!
!
“Things!that!bad?”!
!
He! glowered.! “Your! nickel,! is! all.”! He! tipped! his! glass!
toward!me!again.!“Let’s!see!what!it!buys!you!besides!halfway!
decent!whiskey.”!
!
A! short! woman! in! jeans! and! a! black! sport! shirt! ambled!
over! to! the! table! to! take! our! order.! Body! art! decorated! both!
arms,!starting!at!her!wrists!and!disappearing!into!the!sleeves!
just!above!the!bulge!of!biceps!that!had!spent!time!in!a!weight!
room.!Blond!hair,!dark!at!the!roots,!was!pulled!back!tight.!She!
wet! the! tip! of! a! pencil! with! her! tongue! and! waited,! eyes! on!
Frank.!In!keeping!with!the!nooner,!he!ordered!a!patty!melt!and!
a!double!order!of!fries.!!
!
I!handed!the!menu!to!the!waitress!without!opening!it.!The!
Belltown! neighborhood! joint’s! nod! to! healthful! food! was! a!
house! salad! consisting! of! a! wedge! of! iceberg! lettuce!
accompanied!by!a!tasteless!slice!of!indestructible!tomato.!
!
I!smiled!at!her.!“Half!a!Reuben!and!a!cup!of!soup.!Please.”!
!
“Navy!bean,!chicken!noodle!or!cream!of!broccoli?”!
!
“Surprise!me.”!
!
“Anything!to!drink?”!Her!gaze!flicked!to!the!glasses!in!front!
of!Frank.!
!
“Water’s!fine.”!!!
!
She!shrugged!and!walked!away.!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
82&
!
Frank! watched! her.! “She! reminds! me! of! someone…”! He!
shook!his!head!and!turned!back!to!me.!“What!can!I!do!you!out!
of?”!
!
“Other! way! around,! Frank.! I! want! to! test! your! memory.!
What! can! you! tell! me! about! the! bombing! at! Southern! Illinois!
University!back!in!the!’Eighties?”!
!
“You!can!find!all!this!crap!online!now.!Why!come!to!me?”!
!
“The!Internet!can’t!provide!personal!insight.”!
!
He!sat!motionless!for!a!moment!and!blinked!a!few!times.!
Idly,!he!swirled!the!ice!cubes!in!his!bourbon,!and!finally!took!a!
sip.!
!
“You!have!any!idea!what!I’m!talking!about?”!I!said.!
!
“Yeah,!yeah,!I’m!with!you.!Took!me!a!moment,!but!I!got!it.!
Engineering!lab.!Girl!got!killed.!Graduate!student.!What!about!
it?”!
!
“What!do!you!remember!about!it?”!
!
“Not!much.!The!only!reason!I!remember!it!at!all—I!mean,!
Christ,!we’re!talking!about!some!Podunk!town!in!the!Midwest,!
right—is!that!there!was!a!local!connection.”!
!
“Go!on.”!
!
“Day!after!the!bombing,!E.L.F.—the!original,!not!that!Earth!
Liberation! Front! bunch,! but! the! Environmental! Life! Force,! I!
think!it!was—took!credit.”!!
!
“Why?!What!was!the!point?”!
!
He! rubbed! his! chin.! “Something! about! protesting! a!
research! project.! Coal,! maybe?! I! think! that! was! it.! Coal!
gasification.!Something!they!said!would!cause!acid!rain!all!over!
again.!Wire!services!all!said!local!cops!caught!a!student!at!the!
scene.!Lab!that!got!destroyed!didn’t!have!anything!to!do!with!
coal!research.!Two,!three!days!later,!E.L.F.!issued!a!retraction.!
Said!its!people!weren’t!responsible!after!all.”!!
!
“And! the! student! had! no! connection! with! the!
environmental!group?”!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
83&
!
“Hell,! there! was! no! group.! Guy! who! founded! the! original!
E.L.F.! went! to! prison! down! in! Lompoc! for! some! mischief! and!
mayhem,! and! the! group! disbanded.! That! was,! let! me! see,!
’seventy6eight!maybe.!Until!the!early!’Nineties!when!the!Earth!
Liberation! Front! started! firebombing! and! burning! shit,! there!
was!no!E.L.F.”!!
!
“Why’d!somebody!want!people!to!think!E.L.F.!did!it?”!
!
He!shrugged!and!drained!his!beer.!“Why’d!that!kid!set!off!a!
bomb?!Crazies.!All!of!’em.”!
!
“You!followed!the!investigation!pretty!close?”!
!
“The!part!out!here,!yeah.!My!job,!you!know.”!He!waved!to!
get!the!attention!of!the!waitress,!held!up!his!empty!glass!and!
pointed!to!it.!“Okay,!so!there!wasn’t!much!of!an!investigation,!
when! it! comes! down! to! it.! Cops! checked! in! with! the! guy! who!
founded! E.L.F.! Said! he! didn’t! know! what! the! hell! they! were!
talking! about.! He! got! religion! or! some! such.! Said! he’d!
renounced!violence.!Had!an!alibi.!Kept!his!nose!clean!after!he!
got!out!of!prison.”!
!
He! waggled! a! finger.! “Oh,! yeah,! that! was! another! thing.!
Back!in!the!’Seventies,!before!he!got!caught,!the!head!elf!was!all!
about! pesticides! in! food.! Not! acid! rain! or! coal.! Why! pick! a!
target!in!the!Midwest!so!far!from!home!when!he!had!so!many!
to!environmental!beefs!to!choose!from!here!on!the!West!Coast?!
And!why!would!the!guy!wait!ten!years?!So,!that!was!that.!Cops!
figured!some!nut!job!just!wanted
!attention.!Especially!since!the!
FBI,!ATF!and!local!cops!back!in!Illinois!had!this!kid!at!the!scene.!
Along!with!a!ton!of!evidence.”!
!
“And!that!was!the!end!of!it?”!
!
His! eyes! narrowed.! “What’s! this! all! about?! Why! the!
interest?”!
!
“I!knew!the!guy!they!put!in!jail!for!it.”!
!
“What,! and! now! you! want! to! prove! he’s! innocent?”! He!
snorted.!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
84&
!
“Not! me.! He’s! out.! Looking! for! the! people! behind! it,! I!
heard.”!
!
His!ears!perked.!“Who!from?”!
!
“Reliable!sources.”!!
!
That! made! him! smile.! He! sat! back.! “What’s! your! part! in!
this?”!
!
“I!don’t!know!yet.!Self6preservation,!maybe.”!
!
He!waited,!attentive!now,!but!I!didn’t!elaborate.!He!looked!
up! as! the! waitress! came! over! with! our! food! balanced! on! one!
forearm!and!a!beer!for!Frank!in!her!other!hand.!Frank!dug!into!
his!patty!melt!with!gusto,!mouth!full!after!two!bites,!a!snail!of!
melted!cheese!sliding!toward!his!chin,!leaving!a!trail!of!grease.!
Small! and! thin! as! an! ascetic! monk,! there! didn’t! appear! to! be!
room!anywhere!in!his!body!for!all!the!food!on!his!plate.!
!
He! worked! some! food! into! his! cheek! and! swallowed,!
making!space!in!his!mouth!for!words.!“How!well!did!you!know!
this!guy?”!!
!
“We!grew!up!together.”!
!
“Close,!then.!You!been!in!touch?”!
!
“No.”!
!
“There!a!story!here?”!
!
“There’s!always!a!story.”!
!
He!nodded.!“You!know!where!he!is?”!
!
I!shook!my!head.!
!
“But!you’re!looking!for!him?”!
!
“Unless!he!finds!me!first.”!
!
His!eyebrows!went!up!and!he!stopped!chewing.!“So!what!
do!you!want!from!me?”!
!
“Root! around.! See! what! else! you! remember! from! back!
then.! Anything! that! might! tell! me! what! or! who! he’s! looking!
for.”!
!
A!glint!reflected!off!his!glasses!like!the!one!in!his!eye.!“Like!
somebody! responsible! for! a! bomb! twenty! years! ago?! Sure,!
that’d!play!with!readers.!I’ll!dig!up!the!file,!see!what!I!can!find.”!
Night&Tide—Sherer&
85&