Multiples of Six (11 page)

“Makes sense,” Norris said.

“We’ll dust the casings,” Fields said.

“You probably won’t find anything,” Norris said.

The Lieutenant ignored that comment and walked over to where the victim had fallen. The snow evidence was still clear.

“He fell almost flat. Then, by the looks of it, he just got up and walked away.

“Which way did he head?”

“We only followed them out to the road, but then he must’ve hopped around in some tire tracks or something cuz they sorta just disappear,” Fields said.

“Start looking in back yards…you’ll find ‘em,” Norris said.

“We’ll do that.”

“And no blood was found, right?” Norris asked.

“Not a goddamn trace,” Fields said.

Norris walked a pace around the corner and stopped, looking down at the tracks in the snow.

“Agent?” Fields said, giving Norris a tap on the shoulder. “Do you want to see the room?”

“Mmmm? Oh, yeah. Don’t know what good it’ll do, but…sure. Lieutenant?”

“Yes?”

“You put an APB out on both vehicles, right?”

The deputy nodded, though almost apologetically.

“I don’t know what good it will have done though. At least not until now. With the weather, and the state of emergency, there isn’t too much manpower to spare. They could have slipped by anyone in the night. Especially the sedan. But, now that it’s daylight…” Fields said, trailing.

“And you haven’t heard anything?” Norris asked.

“No,” said Fields.

Norris scratched the three-day-old scruff on his cheek. It wouldn’t be long before something came up. The question was who would be caught first, and how would that go down. He figured they hadn’t stopped the Barracuda yet. They would have definitely heard something by now. But, that meant that the sedan could have made it out of the state by then.

“Lieutenant, you keep doing your job here. The evidence you collect here will probably be needed down the road. It might not point to the pot of gold, but it’s part of the rainbow, y’know?”

The Lieutenant shrugged.

“Consider it a training exercise. Now, where’s this cozy little room? I guess I’ll have a peak at it.”

Norris tried to laugh, but coughed, then gagged on the chunk of phlegm that had come up to his mouth. He turned away, coughed again and spit into a pile of pristine snow. He didn’t bother to examine it this time. When he turned back to Fields, the man’s eyes were watering and he looked somewhat paler. Norris wiped his mouth with the back of his hand again.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Lieutenant…please…lead on.”

Chapter 24

James’ had not closed his eyes with the intention of sleeping, but his body must have argued otherwise. He dreamed of his mother, standing in the kitchen pouring a cup of tea with one hand, holding a gun in the other. It was pointed at him, and she was saying, in a voice that was not hers, that she should have done this when James was born. She pulled the trigger, but he couldn’t move or scream, and he lurched into a new sequence. He was a small child; perhaps only three or four. His father was there, standing with his Uncle Ted, the two men towering over him. His uncle reached down as if to pick him up, but he picked up someone James had not seen. It was a boy, and his uncle turned quickly away with the boy, and James was running after him, trying to see the boy’s face, but his legs were getting bogged down in the suddenly waist deep grass. He was crying hard enough to sob, but when he turned, the yard,
his yard
, was gone, replaced by an endless sea of grass. They were gone. It was all gone. A voice called to him. It was Nicole. He could hear her, but he couldn’t see her through fog that had seeped in. She called out again, this time more clearly. She was afraid. His voice broke, ‘I don’t know where you are!’

“James.”

“What?” he said, jerking awake in the car seat, half annoyed, half frightened.

“James, wake up.”

He shivered, squinting to focus on the glimmer of light that was coming through the window. The car was stopped, that much he knew. He blinked several times before looking at Nicole. She smiled weakly at him from between the front seats. He sat up straight.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“Nothing,” she said, looking frightened at his response, “you were having a bad dream.”

“Why have we stopped,” James said, looking around the street as if expecting to see flashing blue and red lights.

“We’re here,” she said.

“Here. Where’s here?”

“Chicago, can’t you tell? Windy city? That
is
where you pointed to on the map, wasn’t it? I told her she was probably wrong, but nooo,” Kevin interrupted.

For a moment James was ready to believe him. He sat back in the chair and breathed out heavily, glancing out the windows suspiciously.

“We’re here?”

“There seems to be an echo in here,” Kevin said.

“Nice little Ohio town by the looks of it,” Nicole said.

James looked around the street. Other than being blanketed in nearly two feet of snow, the block could have passed for his own, back in Jersey, though maybe a little flatter. The yards and houses were still that pristine, clean, untouched white snow.

“What were you dreaming about,” Nicole said.

“I don’t…remember,” James lied, the false feeling of loss for Nicole still uncomfortably fresh in his mind.

He ran a hand through his mop of hair and had a strong desire for a mirror. He looked into the window for a reflection of any kind. Even in the dim glare of morning light, his eyes looked tired and he felt like he could curl up and sleep the rest of the day. He was so tired it hurt. He saw Nicole watching him and he reached for her hand. They leaned toward one another and their foreheads met.

“What next?” she said.

“Now we find Doug,” James said.

“Doug?” Kevin asked.

“Doug Peterson. That’s the name that Paynter gave me,” James said.

“And he lives here?”

“That’s what the envelope said,” James said.

“Of course, that was twenty-four years ago,” Kevin said.

“Well, if he’s not here, we can at least get a bead on him,” James said.

“Hopefully, he hasn’t moved to Idaho or something like that,” Nicole said.

“This whole thing is a joke,” James said.

“Jokes are supposed to be funny,” Kevin said.

“Right,” James said, glancing up and down the street they were on, “did you pass a gas station or anything on the way here.”

“There was a 7-11 back on the main road,” Nicole said.

“Let’s go back that way. Maybe we can find a phone book,” James said.

“Let’s hope they still have the endangered North American pay phone,” Kevin said.

The lot to the 7-11 had already been plowed hours ago, and the mid-morning traffic was fairly heavy considering the weather. Hanging just outside the front door was the blue and white sign indicating a pay phone. Nicole carefully backed into the spot, something they might have questioned on a different day. Not today. They were going to wait for James in the car with the engine running.

“You going to be ok?” Nicole asked as he slid out from the back seat.

“Sure, so long as they all haven’t been watching news out of New Jersey,” James said.

“Here,” Kevin said, and handed him a baseball cap. It was an uncomfortable blue color with the words ‘Ted’s Towing’ emblazoned in gaudy red lettering.

“Uhh…thanks. That’s totally random,” he said, curling the brim, placing the cap on his head, and pulling it low over his eyes.

“No, man. Push it up. Otherwise, you look shady. We’re going for average guy here. Faithful, hard-working employee of Ted’s towing. Not creepy outsider who pulls his cap over his eyes,” Kevin said, the hint of a smile on his face.

“This would’ve been a lot easier if you hadn’t shaved,” James said.

“You’re right, but I’m not going to grow a full beard in the next ten minutes…go,” Kevin said.

James jogged nonchalantly across the parking lot and went inside. The pay phone was just inside the door of the store. James glanced at the three people in line and the tired looking clerk behind the counter. He wondered if it was the beginning of his shift or the end, and if it would ever matter to either of them. No one even looked at James when he walked in. Just another tired looking kid who didn’t have to worry about the typical nine-to-five. Out partying the night before probably. Just another kid going nowhere. He wanted to shout at them, wake them up to the potential danger. But, it was he who was facing danger. It was he who had been tossed over the protective fence. He was on the outside, on the wrong side, looking in jealously at the ones who were still safe. The ones who could go about their daily lives without being chased and shot at. He pretended to become interested in the phone book.

It was in pristine condition. Hot off the presses, or perhaps Ohioans just didn’t have the urge that Jerseyans had of destroying phone books. Not that anyone but drug dealers used pay phones anymore. James flipped through to the P’s. He blinked at the first page he found. ‘Pederson,’ followed by the ‘Peterson’ page. Paynter had told him the name, not spelled it out to him. There was almost a half-page dedicated to each, but luckily it was restricted to a small area; just the town and one or two nearby townships. James stared at the page, a growing fear creeping into his already tense shoulders.

He needed two pages from the book. The first page tore out neatly with little effort. James glanced over his shoulder, knowing that it was a sign of guilt, but not being able to resist the urge. He was still invisible as far as anyone was concerned. The second page ripped as he tried to pull it out slowly. He began to sweat as his fingers struggled with the paper. Finally, feeling like he was becoming more and more obvious, he tugged the page from the book with a jerk of his hand, creating a loud ripping sound. He turned to leave. The two people still waiting in line and the guy at the counter were looking at him.

“What?” he said in a louder voice than he had intended, and walked out.

In the car, Nicole quickly scanned the pilfered sheets of white pages.

“We can’t sit here. Drive,” James said.

“Popular name. There’s gotta be over fifty choices here,” Kevin said.

“At least it isn’t a hundred,” James said.

“Do you think we can risk using a cell phone?” Nicole asked.

“I don’t think so, but it’s not like we have a ton of change for a pay phone to call a hundred numbers,” James said.

“Better start dialing,” Kevin said.

James reached into his coat pocket. There was nothing. A sinking sensation ran through him. He rummaged through his other pockets. Nothing.

“Where’s my cell?” he asked.

“When did you have it last?” Nicole asked.

“I had it last night…I think,” James said.

“Before or after all hell broke loose?” Kevin asked.

“I don’t remember…I think I had it in the hotel room, but…”

“Maybe it fell out in the snow,” Kevin said.

“Maybe…I think I took it out of my pocket though. Jesus…I hope I didn’t leave it on the table in that room,” James said.

“Here, borrow mine…I hate making phone calls,” Kevin said and smiled as he handed the phone back to James.

Chapter 25

James stared out the window, the cell phone held up in front of his face. A slip of paper was half-crushed in his other hand, a dozen of the likeliest numbers scrawled haphazardly on it. He listened to Nicole calling the numbers on her list so nonchalantly it made him embarrassed for her. He hated having to do this. He loathed calling strangers, let alone strangers who he needed to lie to. He had managed to call two numbers on his list. The phone just kept ringing on the first one. With each ring, he prayed that no one would pick up. He hung up, and then tried the second number reluctantly. This time, the owner answered before the first ring was complete, startling James. The man explained to him that his name was Darryl Peterson, and that he was tired of receiving calls for other people and that James needed to do something about his database. James began stuttering through a ridiculous made up excuse when Kevin turned in his seat and motioned for him to just hang up. Now, as he hesitated to dial the third number, he was acutely aware of how much be had begun to sweat.

They had found an empty spot in a nearby public parking lot. There, they tried to analyze the pages of phonebook James had pilfered. They had eliminated several that were outside of town, but it still left more than a couple dozen. They split it up as evenly as possible between the two phones. Now he watched as the occasional car passed by on the road. A cold-looking lady walked her cold-looking dog about a block away. She was stopping at every tree to give the dog a chance to go. The dog would make to lift his leg, then change his mind. The dog was right. Sometimes it was just too cold to even piss. James looked back down at the paper. I can’t do this. He suddenly realized Nicole and Kevin were both watching him.

“Just dial the numbers…the rest is easy,” Nicole said.

“Yeah…after they answer, you just move your mouth and make some words come out,” Kevin said.

“Thanks,” James said.

“Listen, I could--,” Kevin started.

“No. No thank you. I can do this. I’m just…I don’t know. Mental block or something,” James said.

He tried to smile, but judging by the looks on their faces, it wasn’t convincing.

“Right, just dial,” James said, and did so.

Of the next four numbers, one was a business, and three politely told him there was no Doug Pederson/Peterson at that residence. He tried the fifth number and it was four rings before James heard anything. His first assumption was that the answering machine had picked up, but there was a faint cough, and the voice of an older woman spoke.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Oh,” James said, already expecting to hang up, “I’m sorry. Is Doug there?”

“Doug?” said the woman, “Might I ask who’s calling?”

James’ stomach fluttered. Another brother. Who am I again? He pushed back at the feeling in his stomach and exhaled away from the phone.

“My name is…Jim. I’m an old friend,” James said.

“An old friend,” the woman echoed, a sound of humor in her voice.

“Yes,” James said, blurting out something generic before he could take the words back, “I’m in town for a couple of days, and I thought I’d give him a call.”

“At 10
am
on a Thursday morning?” she asked.

“Oh, well, I know it’s…early? But…” James stammered.

“Oh, sweetie, you should remember that’s midday for Douglas. He’s been up and out for over six hours,” she said.

James’ face flushed and the phone itself felt extremely hot. He tried in vain to clear his dry throat and tugged at his collar.
He avoided looking at Nicole and Kevin, who had both turned in their seats to watch. Frowning at them, James turned to look back out the window. He needed a sign, any sign. The cross street nearest to them was Michigan Boulevard.

“So, then he still works at that place on…Michigan?”

He could almost hear her thinking it through. James was ready to hang up when she spoke.

“You’ve been out of town a while,” she said.

Something had changed in her voice. He had passed the test.

“Yes, Ma’am, I have.”

“Well, it’s a block over from Michigan, over on Wisconsin. Would you believe they built a Dunkin Donuts across the street?”

“You’re kidding,” James said.

“Like they need two places selling bagels and coffee on that block!”

“It’s a commercial world, Mrs. Pederson.”

“Say hello to my boy for me when you see him,” she said.

“I will,” James said.

He hung up and leaned back against the car seat, a forced smile coming across his face. Nicole and Kevin looked at him expectantly. He shivered, suddenly feeling the dampness from his sweat meeting the cool air of the parked car. He could see his breath rising in rhythmic bursts.

“Well?” Kevin said.

“He’s a block away. Bagel shop by the sounds of it. His mother calls him Douglas,” James said.