Warning Signs

CHAPTER 43

Cruising taxicabs are rare at any hour in Boulder. Past midnight there was no hope I would find a cab prowling the streets of Boulder, so I used my cell phone to request that a taxi be sent to the emergency entrance of the hospital. The dispatcher yawned twice before he responded by asking for my phone number and telling me to watch for a car within five minutes, maybe less.

The cell phone rang a few seconds after I ended the call with Yellow Cab. I guessed it was the dispatcher phoning back to ascertain that I was someone who really wanted a ride.

I said, "Hello."

A male voice said, "Is this Alan Gregory?"

I thought the voice was young, and immediately recognized that it wasn't the bored dispatcher with whom I'd just spoken. "Yes, it is. Who's this?"

"Never mind. Tell me what you know about Paul Bigg. I want to hear everything."

My ass suddenly stopped hurting. My ass actually stopped existing. I repeated, "Who is this?"

"Use your imagination and you'll know who this is. Now tell me what you know about Paul Bigg. This is a test, by the way. It's pass/fail. You get one chance. There are no retests."

My mouth felt as though I'd just tried to swallow a dirt clod and failed. I almost coughed out the answer to his question. "He died in a Little League accident about six years ago. A heart rhythm problem, I think."

"Go on."

I assumed I was talking to the infamous Ramp. I couldn't begin to guess what he wanted or how he'd managed to reach me on this number. "His mother, her name is Naomi, acts-acted-as though he were alive sometimes. She talked about him as though he'd never died."

"You passed," Ramp said.

"Good," I said. I suspected my trials weren't complete.

"You have a tall blond friend?"

God. He had Lucy. That's how he got my number. He was holding Lucy. "Yes," I said, "I do. Is she okay?"

Sam, I knew, was going to want to know every word, so I began to chart the conversation in my head to help me remember the details.

"As far as I know, she is."

"Do you have her? Is she with you?"

"I'd prefer to be the one asking the questions, if you don't mind."

"How can I help you?" I said. It was a variation on the line I used to start therapy sessions with new patients. It was similar to the line I'd used with Naomi Bigg only a couple of weeks before. I don't know why I used it right then.

"What have you told the police?"

"I've been talking to them ever since the bomb went off outside my office. I've told them a lot."

"Are they with you right now?"

"No. I'm standing by myself waiting for a taxi to take me home."

"Where?"

"I'm at the hospital in Boulder. Community Hospital."

"Were you hurt today? By the bomb?"

"Yes. I got a piece of shrapnel in my butt and had a minor concussion. I banged my head on the door."

"I'm sorry you were hurt. What do the police know?"

I hesitated. "I'd like to answer your question. But I've told them a lot of things. Do you want me to try to-"

He sighed. "Just tell me about the wouldn't-it-be-cool games. What do they know about those? Before you begin your answer, a reminder: Please don't forget about your tall blond friend."

I hadn't forgotten. "I told them everything Naomi told me about the games. They've put together a list of the people who they think might be on Marin's list and they've already searched all of those people's homes and offices for explosives." I remembered what Sam had said about Fox News letting the cat out of the bag about the bomb at Nora's house. "The police have already found one device. It was in a prosecutor's garage. They've disarmed it."

"They don't actually disarm them. They disrupt them. They blow them apart with water cannons."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I knew that. I'll try to be more specific."

"Did you say 'one device'?"

Did he sound relieved? I wasn't sure. "One," I repeated.

"What about any other wouldn't-it-be-cool lists? Besides Marin's?"

"To the best of my knowledge, they're still working on compiling the… other list."

I actually thought I could hear him smile over the phone.

"See you," he said, and the line went dead.