Night Tide (11 page)

fingertips! turned! red.! The! chair! wobbled! and! nearly! tipped!

over.! “Charlie’s! upstairs! with! a! bullet! hole! in! his! chest.! Clayt!

and! Connie! are! on! the! run! from! some! commando! squad,! and!

you! tell! me! to! be! patient?! How! can! you! just! sit! there?! Do!

something!”!

!

“I! saved! Charlie’s! ass! out! there!! Nearly! got! killed.! I’ll! do!

what!I!can!here,!Sarah,!but!you’re!not!helping.!What!the!hell!do!

you!want!from!me?”!

!

She! raised! her! hands,! took! a! step! away,! faced! me! again,!

cheeks!aflame.!“I!don’t!know.!
Some
thing.!I!…”!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

70&

!

Tears!flowed!instead!of!words.!She!bit!her!lip!and!hurried!

away.!!

!

!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

71&

!

!
Chapter(13(

!! A! familiar! looking! blond! cornered! me! in! my! favorite!

morning! coffeeshop.! The! only! one! in! the! neighborhood! open!

for!business!that!early.!Fresh!makeup,!a!light!coat!of!pale!pink!

lip!gloss!that!matched!her!nail!polish,!and!a!well6rested!air!put!

her!out!of!place.!The!restaurant!was!half6filled!with!hollowed6

eyed! night! ghouls! and! adrenalized! early! risers.! All6night!

revelers!quiescent!as!they!came!down!off!whatever!high!they’d!

been!on.!Homeless!kids!who’d!managed!to!panhandle!enough!

change!the!day!before!to!buy!food,!look!for!a!little!warmth!and!

a! glimmer! of! hope.! Coffee6fueled! construction! workers! and!

Seattle! University! students! girding! themselves! for! the! day!

ahead.!!

!

Blondie! leaned! over! the! table.! Nail! tips! lightly! resting! on!

the!shiny!surface.!Waiting!for!an!invitation.!Or!guarding!against!

an!attempted!escape.!

!

“We!need!to!talk,”!she!said.!

!

“An!overrated!concept!this!time!of!day.”!

!

“Mind! if! I! sit?”! She! slid! into! the! opposite! chair! without!

waiting!for!a!response.!!

!

Odors! of! pyrolized! bread,! bacon! and! burnt! coffee!

permeated! the! worn! industrial! carpet! and! cracked! vinyl! seat!

covers.! The! barest! whiff! of! floral! perfume! wafted! across! the!

table.!The!exotic!scent!a!sharp!contrast!to!the!smell!of!grease!

that!coated!windows!and!other!hard!surfaces!with!a!light!haze.!

Reminding!me!how!much!I!wanted!a!hot!shower.!And!sleep.!

!

“How!did!you!find!me?”!

!

“It!wasn’t!hard.”!!

!

“Kiley,!I!don’t—”!!

!

“It’s!Keely.!Keely!Radcliffe.”!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

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!

“Keely,! then.! I! don’t! know! what! you! hope! to! accomplish!

following!me!around.”! !

!

“I!want!you!to!help!me.”!

!

“I’m!not!interested.”!

!

Blue!eyes!drilled!several!holes!in!my!resolve.!

!

“I! just! turned! twenty6one! when! my! sister! Jill! died,”! she!

said! in! a! low! voice.! “She! was! twenty6six.! A! grad! student.! In!

engineering.! Unusual! for! a! girl.! At! the! time,! anyway.! But! she!

really!liked!it.!And!she!had!something!to!prove.!Or!thought!she!

did,!I!guess.!She!was!the!oldest.”!

!

A! heavyset! waitress! ambled! toward! our! table,! a! pot! of!

coffee!in!one!hand,!pitcher!of!water!in!the!other.!Keely!noted!

her! approach! and! shook! her! blond! locks.! The! woman’s! gaze!

shifted! to! me.! I! moved! a! hand! over! my! cup! and! she! veered!

away,!another!table!already!in!her!sights.!!

!

Keely!glanced!down,!then!leveled!those!blue!headlamps!at!

me!again.!“We!weren’t!what!you’d!call!close.!She!was!too!much!

older.!Didn’t!want!me!hanging!with!her!and!her!friends!at!any!

age.!But!she!never!treated!me!like!a!baby.!I!never!felt!like!she!

resented!me,!or!thought!I!was!a!pain.!When!our!parents!went!

out!and!she!had!to!watch!me!and!my!brother,!she!usually!took!

an! interest! in! me.! In! what! I! wanted! to! do.! She! played! games!

with! me.! Read! stories! to! me.! Helped! me! with! homework.! I!

looked!up!to!her.!Admired!her.!Loved!her,!in!my!own!way.”!

!

My!fingers!drummed!the!edge!of!the!table.!!

!

Her!eyes!slid!toward!the!sound!and!back!to!my!face.!“The!

point! is! she! was! loyal.! She! treated! me! with! respect! and!

kindness.!None!of!that!sibling!rivalry!crap.!No!petty!jealousies.!

And! because! of! that! I! would! have! done! anything! for! her,! Mr.!

Sanders.”!

!

I! ran! my! fingers! through! my! hair.! “Are! you! going!

somewhere!with!all!this?”!

!

“Do!you!know!where!my!sister!did!her!graduate!work?”!

!

“Enlighten!me.”!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

73&

!

“Southern!Illinois.”!

!

The! words! illuminated! her! route! like! a! GPS! device.! But! I!

still!didn’t!know!her!destination.!!

!

“She!was!killed!in!the!lab!explosion,”!I!said.!

!

She!tipped!her!head.!“You!remember.”!

!

“Hard!to!forget.”!I’d!spent!twenty!years!trying.!“It!was!big!

news!in!my!hometown,!up!the!road!from!there.”!

!

“She!didn’t!die!in!that!explosion.!She!was!murdered.!Two!

shots.!One!to!the!heart.!One!to!the!head.”!

!

The! dam! she’d! blown! a! hole! in! earlier! burst,! memories!

flooding!my!head!with!images,!a!torrent!that!drowned!out!her!

face,!her!voice.!!

!

Late!one!hot!summer!night,!in!the!ruins!of!a!lab!on!the!top!

floor!of!the!engineering!building!at!SIU,!campus!security!found!

the!battered,!bloodied!body!of!a!young!woman,!crushed!from!

the! waist! down! by! the! weight! of! a! chunk! of! collapsed! ceiling.!

Dead!from!gunshot!wounds.!Shots!I’d!heard.!

!

“She! was! your! sister?”! A! chunk! of! hot! lead! threatened! to!

burn!a!hole!through!my!gut.!

!

She! nodded,! brushing! aside! a! sheaf! of! hair! that! fell! over!

her!eyes.!

!

“And!now!you!want!to!find!Perry!Langford.!Twenty!years!

...!Don’t!you!think!he’s!paid!up?”!

!

“I!told!you.!I!don’t!think!he—”!

!

“They!found!him!standing!over!her!body,!holding!a!gun.”!

!

Without! realizing! it,! my! fingers! tattooed! a! tabletop!

drumbeat! again.! She! reached! across! the! table! and! covered!

them!firmly,!containing!their!energy.!

!

“Do!you!really!think!your!friend!was!capable!of!that?”!

!

Capable?
! Wink! had! been! more! than! capable! of!

constructing! and! detonating! a! bomb.! He’d! been! collecting—

stealing—materials! to! make! a! contact! explosive! that! same!

night.!With!my!help.!But!the!stuff!he’d!planned!to!make!would!

have!been!a!firecracker!compared!to!the!bomb!that!had!ripped!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

74&

apart!the!engineering!building.!And!murder?! I!hadn’t!thought!

him!capable!of!that!until!his!arrest.!And!because!I’d!never!had!

the!guts!to!face!Wink!after!that!night,!the!question!had!nagged!

at!me!ever!since.!

!

“Pretty! strong! evidence! when! you’re! holding! a! smoking!

gun,”!I!said.!

!

She!shook!her!head.!“Langford!always!maintained!he!saw!a!

man!in!the!hallway!outside!the!lab!before!the!explosion.”!

!

I!leaned!back!and!took!a!deep!breath.!“It’s!ancient!history.!

And!even!if!it’s!true,!what!good!does!it!do?!It!didn’t!make!any!

difference!at!his!trial.”!

!

“I!don’t!remember!ever!seeing!you!there.”!

!

“I!was!here.!At!U.W.”!

!

“Of! course.”! She! eyed! me! curiously! for! a! moment.! “You!

don’t!seem!to!have!much!faith!in!your!friend.”!

!

I! fingered! the! rim! of! my! cup.! “Wink! liked! to! live! on! the!

edge.!Always!pushing!the!envelope.!A!challenge,!any!challenge,!

Wink!was!first!in!line!to!take!it!on.!He!had!no!fear.!Willing!to!

mix!it!up!with!guys!twice!his!size.!Tried!things!for!the!hell!of!it!

just!to!see!what!would!happen.!I!saw!him!jump!out!of!a!hayloft!

holding! a! patio! umbrella! to! see! if! it! would! slow! his! fall.! On! a!

dare,! he! rode! a! unicycle! around! the! entire! school! building!

once—on!the!edge!of!the!parapet,!three!stories!up.!Kid!was!a!

genius.! Brilliant.! Built! a! gyrocopter! out! of! spare! parts.! A!

computer,! too,! back! when! a! Commodore! Sixty6Four! was! an!

expensive!novelty.!I!wouldn’t!put!anything!past!him.”!

!

“But!that’s!my!point.!He!was!too!smart!to!have!done!what!

they! say! he! did.”! She! propped! her! elbows! on! the! table! and!

uncurled! a! manicured! finger.! “First,! he! would! have! given!

himself! enough! time! to! get! out! of! the! building.! Second,! he!

would!have!checked!to!make!sure!the!lab!was!empty.!Third,!he!

wouldn’t!have!let!himself!get!caught.”!

!

“How! do! you! know?! How! do! you! know! what! Wink!

Langford! might’ve! done?! Spend! a! lot! of! time! with! him?”! I!

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leaned!forward.!She!didn’t!shrink!from!the!heat!radiating!from!

my! face.! “I! grew! up! with! the! guy.! Called! him! my! best! friend!

once.! We! practically! lived! at! each! other’s! houses! as! kids.! And!

even!
I
!couldn’t!tell!you!what!happened!that!night.”!

!

What! I’d! seen! that! night! might—
might
—have! kept! Wink!

out! of! jail.! But! the! one! thing! I! hadn’t! seen! was! what! actually!

happened!to!that!girl.!Keely!Radcliffe’s!sister.!So!I!couldn’t!say!

for!sure!whether!Wink!was!guilty!or!innocent.!!

!

She! clasped! her! hands! and! rested! her! forearms! on! the!

table.!“I!don’t!know!if!I!can!adequately!describe!how!I!felt!when!

my!sister!died.!There’s!no!way!you!can!understand!it.!The!pain.!

The!anguish.!Grief.!And!anger.!I!think!I!quite!literally!went!out!

of!my!head!for!a!time.”!

!

“I!think!I!can!picture!it.”!!

!

My!tone!brought!her!head!up.!She!studied!me.!Decided!not!

to! press.! I! pushed! away! thoughts! that! circled! in! the! depths!

below!the!surface!of!my!consciousness,!thoughts!of—!
No!*Don’t*

go*there.
!!!

!

“They!had!him!dead!to!rights”!she!said.!“Smoking!gun!and!

all!like!you!said.!I!wanted!nothing!more!than!to!see!him!put!on!

Death!Row.!You!understand!what!I’m!saying?”!

!

I!nodded.!“An!eye!for!an!eye.”!I!understood!perfectly.!

!

She! turned! her! palms! up.! Flipped! them! back! over! and!

clasped!her!hands!once!more.!“I!wasn’t!good!for!much!during!

that! period.! Couldn’t! concentrate! on! school.! Wasn’t! much!

interested! in! anything! else.! Even! simple! things—eating,!

sleeping. .!So!I!did!the!only!thing!I!could.!I!took!a!semester!off.!

Went!down!to!Benton!for!the!trial.!Visited!Centralia!and!found!

out! everything! there! was! to! know! about! Perry! Langford.! You!

have! no! idea! how! much! I! hated! him,! how! much! I! wanted! to!

hate! him.! But! the! more! I! learned,! and! the! more! I! sat! and!

watched!him!in!that!courtroom,!the!more!convinced!I!became!

that!he!didn’t!murder!my!sister.”!

!

“It!could!have!been!an!accident.”!!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

76&

!

The! pale! unblemished! skin! between! those! Bahamas6blue!

eyes!puckered.!!

!

I! rushed! on.! “Not! the! shooting! part.! I! meant! maybe! she!

wasn’t! supposed! to! be! there,! and! when! she! got! hurt! in! the!

explosion! he! put! her! out! of! her! misery.! I! heard! she! was! so!

badly!injured!she!wouldn’t!have!made!it!anyway.”!

!

She!dipped!her!chin,!eyes!brimming.!

!

“Sorry.”!

!

She!fanned!the!air!in!front!of!her!face.!“It’s!the!only!reason!

he!didn’t!get!the!death!penalty.”!

!

My! hand! beat! the! table,! the! trembling! completely!

involuntary! this! time.! I! snatched! it! away! and! clamped! it!

between!my!knees,!trying!to!still!the!tremors.!

!

“Are!you!all!right?”!

!

“Sure.”! I! blinked! away! visions! of! 1246grain! bullets!

smacking! into! a! human! target.! For! a! moment! the! ground!

dropped!away!in!front!of!me,!dark!clouds!roiling!over!an!angry!

black!sea!far!below,!salt!foam!spiraling!up!to!kiss!my!cheeks.!

!

I!stepped!back!from!the!edge.!“I’m!fine.”!

!

“Are!you!sure?!You!don’t!look!well.”!

!

I! took! a! sip! of! water,! pressed! the! cool! glass! to! my! cheek.!

“Why! do! you! want! to! find! him! anyway?! Guilty,! innocent,! it!

doesn’t!matter.!He!did!his!time.!Leave!the!poor!guy!alone.”!

!

“I! think! he! wants! the! people! responsible.! I! think! he’s!

looking!for!them.”!

!

“And! you! want! him! to! lead! you! to! them.! That! dish! is!

seriously!cold!by!now.”!

!

“Justice,!Mr.!Sanders.!That’s!what!I!want.”!

!

“Blake.”!!

!

“If!you!wish.”!

!

“What! I! wish! for! is! twelve! hours—eight! even—of!