The Zero Game

38

“You there yet?” Sauls asked, his voice breaking up as it came through Janos’s cell phone.

“Almost,” Janos replied as his Ford Explorer blew past yet another thicket of pine, spruce, and birch trees as he made his way toward Leed.

“What’s almost?” Sauls asked. “You an hour away? Half hour? Ten minutes? What’s the story?”

Gripping the steering wheel and studying the road, Janos stayed silent. It was bad enough that he had to drive this piece of dreck — he didn’t need to listen to the nagging as well. Flipping on the radio in the truck, Janos turned the dial until he found nothing but static.

“You’re breaking up…” he said to Sauls. “Can’t hear you…”

“Janos…”

Slapping his phone shut, he tossed it into the empty passenger seat and focused back on the road in front of him. The morning sky was crystal blue, but from the nonstop bending of the two-lane road, and the claustrophobia from the surrounding mountains, this was a tough drive during the day, let alone at night — especially if you’d never done it before. Add that to the late hour of Harris and Viv’s arrival, and they may’ve even turned off for a snack, or even some sleep. Whipping around yet another curve, Janos shook his head. It was a nice thought, but as he realized an hour ago when he blew past that diner in Deadwood, it’s one thing to stop for food or toiletries — it’s quite another to set up camp before you reach your destination. If Harris was smart enough to get them this far, he was also smart enough to make sure they didn’t stop until they got to the very end.

Welcome to Leed — Home of the Homestead Mine, the billboard said along the side of the road.

Janos breezed right by it, recalculating the timeline in his head. Even if their jet got off immediately, they couldn’t have arrived before midnight. And if they didn’t get in until midnight, they had to sleep somewhere…

Making a sharp left into the parking lot of the squat sixties-era building, Janos read the signs in the neighboring storefront windows: Out of Business… Lost Lease… Gone to Montana. Sauls was at least right about that — Leed was definitely on its last legs. But as he parked his car and eyed the neon Vacancy sign out front, it was clear at least one place was still open: the Gold House Motel.

Janos opened his door and headed straight inside. On his left, he noticed the metal rack of tourist brochures. All of them were faded by the sun, every single one of them — except for the one entitled The Homestead Mine. Janos studied the rich red, white, and blue colors of the pamphlet. The sun hadn’t faded it a bit — almost as if… as if it’d just been exposed in the last hour or so.

“Hiya, there,” the woman at the front desk called out with a friendly smile. “So what can I do for you today?”