Run into Trouble (23 page)

“All right, I’ll do it. After all, I have to
make sure that my conquests remained conquered. All this talking is
slowing us down. Let’s shut up and see if we can beat everybody up
the hill.”

***

Melody decided to dress up for her dinner
with Peaches. She had invited him when she and Drake finished the
run ahead of the pack and found Peaches waiting for them with the
bus. He had been eating dinners alone or with Fred, but not with
the runners. Melody indicated that it would be just the two of
them. Peaches raised his eyebrows but accepted with no
questions.

She was tired of wearing running clothes and
sweat suits. She hadn’t worn a skirt since the “Pageant of the
Masters” way back in Laguna Beach. Even when going out for drinks
with Tom and Jerry and a few other runners, she had dressed very
casually. In addition, in spite of all the men around, she had been
celibate. Other than engaging in a little kneesy with Tom in a bar,
she hadn’t done anything that would distress a nun.

She put on a miniskirt and a top with a
V-neck cut down to here. Backless, it wasn’t built to accommodate a
bra, so she took the Grace approach and went without. She had no
idea what effect this would have on Peaches, the stoic, but figured
what the hell, I’m going to do it anyway.

Peaches drove them in the company car to a
restaurant some distance from the motel. Both motels and
restaurants were so sparse in this area that it was a wonder he
knew where it was, but he did. He was the perfect gentleman, even
holding her chair for her when she sat down.

Melody took off the sweater she had worn
against the fog and chill that had rolled in late that afternoon
and draped it over the back of her chair. Since she had chosen to
wear this outfit, she wasn’t going to hide it or what was beneath
it. Since Peaches was wearing a suit, it was appropriate for her to
be dressed up.

When the waitress came for drink orders,
Peaches ordered iced tea—Melody obviously wasn’t going to get him
drunk—and she ordered a glass of wine. She pondered how to start a
conversation.

She decided on an open-ended question. “What
do you think about everything that’s been going on?”

Peaches smiled a little and paused. “Casey
really wants to be a senator.”

That wasn’t new or startling information,
but Melody sensed there was more behind it.

“Has he been planning to run for a long
time?”

“I think that’s why Running California got
started. He wanted to do something that would bring attention to
himself. Fred told me they picked some of the runners very
carefully. Tom because he won the Boston Marathon. Drake…”

“Because…?”

“Because of his father.”

“Admiral Drake?”

“Admiral Drake is a good friend of Senator
Leffingwell, the other senator from California. He’s been in
Congress for a long time. A word from him could help Casey’s
chances, according to Fred. Or even if he doesn’t say anything
negative about him it would be positive.”

“Hmmm.” Peaches knew more about politics
than the runners, at least as far as Casey was concerned. Casey was
playing all the angles. “When Drake got into that accident before
the race started, it must have really upset Casey.”

Peaches took a swig of iced tea and seemed
to study the ice cubes in the glass. Melody sensed that he wanted
to say something; she decided to wait him out. Finally, he put the
glass down.

“On the day the race was scheduled to start,
most of the runners had arrived at the border park. I remember that
you were there. Drake was one of the few who were missing. Fred
usually doesn’t do anything physical that he doesn’t have to, but
he was pacing up and down like he was anxious about something. I
didn’t notice it so much then because I had just started working
with him, but looking back I can see that it was abnormal behavior
for him.”

Melody tried to think back to that first
day, but she couldn’t remember anything that had happened before
she had received word about Drake’s accident. Again she waited for
Peaches to continue.

“He kept looking down the road that came
into the park. I figured he was just watching for the other
runners. He was the one who spotted the fire.”

Now Melody remembered. Although she had been
some distance from Fred, introducing herself to the other runners,
she had heard him yell. She turned and saw the flames shooting up,
and her first thought was a fear that Drake had been in an
accident. Uncanny, because she didn’t claim to have psychic powers.
But after not seeing him for six years, she didn’t want anything to
spoil their reunion.

Peaches continued, “Fred yelled for me to
get the car. He had me drive as fast as I could. He kept swearing
under his breath, like he knew what had happened. When we got to
the taxi, the fire was so hot we couldn’t get close to it. He said,
‘Are they inside? Can you see if anybody’s inside?’ That’s when
Drake yelled from the field. He looked very relieved when he heard
Drake’s voice.”

Peaches stopped again and took another drink
of his tea. Melody was confused.

“So what do you make of this?”

“I think Fred knew the accident was going to
happen.”

“You mean he planned it?”

“He may have set it up, but it would have
been Casey’s idea. Fred wouldn’t have done it by himself.”

“But why? Especially if he wanted Drake in
the race?”

Peaches shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve
been over it and over it in my head, and I can’t figure it
out.”

CHAPTER 28

More of the same today as you run from Julia
Pfeiffer Burns State Park to Palo Colorado Road near the Carmel
Highlands, all on Route 1. Early on, the route goes up to over 900
feet and then sharply downhill, bottoming out not far above sea
level at the Little Sur River. Then up to 500 feet before falling
again. This will be another test of your ability to run in the
hills. Watch for traffic; shoulders are often narrow or
non-existent.

***

“How does it feel to be in third place?”

Tom addressed this question to Melody. It
was early in the run. Low-lying fog hid the water, and it was hazy
enough on the road to keep the temperature cool. The teams were
still closely bunched, but they were attacking a major climb.
Melody knew from recent experience that by the end of the run, they
would be spread out over several miles.

“It feels great; if you and Jerry would
agree to walk today’s route, it would feel even better.”

Tom laughed. He and Jerry still held a
substantial lead, and they had an annoying habit of dogging the
heels of whoever was in first place during the daily runs and never
losing very much ground. Not all the runners were as sanguine about
the fact that Melody and Drake had managed to go from ninth place
to third place in a short period of time. There were grumblings,
especially since Melody was a “girl,” but none of the runners had
dared to say anything to her face. What could they say—that she had
an unfair advantage on the hills because she was lighter? It wasn’t
as if she were attached to a helium balloon.

Drake, who was running a step behind Melody,
touched her arm and motioned for her to fall back slightly.

“Are you going to fill me in on your dinner
with Peaches? I expected you to come to my room last night.”

“It was fairly late when we got back. I knew
you would be going through your routine, and I didn’t want to
disturb you.”

“How thoughtful of you. I take it you two
hit it off.”

“Yes, we did. Peaches is a gentleman, which
makes him a member of a rare breed.”

Melody was sure Peaches had enjoyed her
company, although he hadn’t tried anything, and except for wearing
her most revealing dress, she hadn’t tried to lead him on. However,
she wouldn’t mind causing Drake a twinge of jealousy. On second
thought, she didn’t know whether he was capable of that emotion.
Maybe she should just tell him what Peaches had told her.

“One reason I didn’t see you last night is
because I thought you should be rested when I told you what Peaches
said.”

Drake was instantly all ears. “What did he
say?”

Melody repeated the description Peaches had
given of how Fred had acted before and after the accident and
Peaches’ thoughts about Casey’s involvement.

“That bastard.” Drake stumbled and almost
fell. “So Casey didn’t want me in the race, after all.”

“If that’s true, he changed his mind. But
Peaches doesn’t think it’s that simple.”

Melody told how Drake had been picked
because of his father. Drake was livid.

“He’s not only a bastard, he’s a conniving
bastard. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

“You may get the opportunity. Peaches thinks
that Casey is in Monterey. We’ll be staying in the Carmel area
tonight. Carmel isn’t far from Monterey.

***

Melody insisted on going along when Drake
borrowed the company car and drove to Monterey. She was afraid of
what Drake might do to Casey. They found out what hotel Casey was
staying at from Fred, and after leaving a couple of urgent
messages, Casey had called them back and agreed to meet them for
dinner.

If Casey was concerned with what Drake
wanted, he didn’t show it as he escorted them into one of
Monterey’s finest restaurants after meeting them in the parking
lot. Drake let him order the wine before he started talking.

“I want to talk about the accident that
happened the day the race was supposed to start.”

Casey nodded, apparently unconcerned.
“You’re fully recovered from that, aren’t you?”

“Except for my back. I still have spasms;
I’m always going to have to be careful of it. But I want to discuss
how it happened. Everybody agrees that it was intentional. That
being the case, somebody paid the truck driver to cause it. My
contacts tell me that my previous employer had nothing to do with
it. Any enemies I might have made in the world would have acted
years ago.”

“So what do you think happened?”

“One of my contacts has come up with
something. All of the evidence points to one person.”

“And that is…?”

“You.”

Drake’s eyes bored into Casey’s. He was
enjoying this, even though Casey had on his poker face.

“Me? Surely you jest. I’m paying you to be
in this race. As they say on Perry Mason, what’s my
motivation?”

Drake shrugged. “Damned if I know. But then
I never did understand all the ins and outs of politics. I think
I’ll have a talk with my father about this. He’s a lot more
politically tuned in than I am.”

Drake continued to watch Casey. Did he see a
slight change in his expression? Had he gotten to him? Casey
shifted in his seat. Drake waited for him to speak. Casey took a
deep breath.

“I have a confession. I really did want you
in the race. When we approached you, you agreed to run, but not
with the wholehearted enthusiasm of most of the other runners. I
was afraid you’d fall behind and drop out. I needed a way to get
you to stay. I decided to frighten you into thinking that someone
from your past was trying to hurt you, and that the safest place
for you was in the race.”

“Frighten me? Hurt me? You damn near killed
me.”

“That was a terrible mistake. The truck
driver was overzealous. I just wanted him to bump the taxi—to give
you a warning. He didn’t get the right message. Look, I want to
make it up to you. Starting today, I’m going to double your per
diem to two thousand dollars—a thousand apiece.” He managed a
smile. “I’m sure you won’t have to mention any of this to your
father.”

It was concession time. Drake would be a
fool not to milk it. “There’s one other thing you can do.”

“What’s that?”

“Give Melody and me a tour of the
submarine.”

“It’s off-limits.”

“Melody and I both had top secret
clearances, as I’m sure you know. You’ve got a lot of strings you
can pull. It’s not too much to ask. How about after dinner?”

Casey appeared to be thinking that over.

“You drive a hard bargain. I’ll see what I
can arrange.”

Casey excused himself and went to a
payphone.

***

The boat was moored in a corner of the
Monterey marina, surrounded by makeshift tarpaulins to hide it from
the view of the common people, and guarded by armed sailors in
uniform who patrolled the pier leading to it. Casey had apparently
talked to the right authorities, because when he flashed his badge
to the naval officer in charge, he was waved through, along with
Drake and Melody.

Drake wondered what the officer thought
about Casey escorting a man casually dressed in civilian clothes
and a pretty, miniskirted blond. Melody’s youthful good looks had
gotten her into places when they worked together that would have
been denied to somebody who aroused suspicions.

The boat looked larger than Drake
remembered, but he had seen it from a distance. It probably could
hold a crew of six, perhaps more. A makeshift gangplank had been
extended from the pier to the boat.

Melody was glad she had worn flat shoes with
nonskid soles. She and Drake had decided to attempt to find a way
to see the boat up close, and so they were prepared. Even the short
skirt was part of the plan. When they reached the boat, they had to
descend a metal-runged ladder to the interior.

Drake said, “Let Melody go first so we won’t
be looking up her skirt.”

Melody didn’t wait for Casey’s consent; she
swung her foot onto a rung and climbed down as fast as she could.
At the bottom she found herself in what must be the control room.
The interior lights were turned on; it should be bright enough. She
reached into her bra and pulled out a tiny Minox camera that she
had used for her work in England. She had brought it to California
because it was the only camera she owned.