Hotline to Murder

CHAPTER 37

One of the reasons that Tony was driving around was to show activity. He hoped that they-especially Shahla-would see activity as progress. In any case, it was better than sitting in one place and waiting for Nathan to call again.

Tony and Shahla explored the open areas adjoining La Cienega Boulevard. Tony hadn’t realized how many grasshoppers pumping oil still existed in the middle of Los Angeles. They sat on various levels of the hillsides, bobbing their heads up and down with a regular beat, oblivious to the city that had grown up around them.

But the most logical place from which to ascend into heaven seemed to be the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. Tony remembered that there had been a Los Angeles county supervisor named Kenneth Hahn, one of the five powerful people who governed one of the most populated counties in the nation.

The spacious park had amenities to suit various tastes. Some people fished in the lake and others picnicked on the grass of the urban oasis, sheltered from the traffic and noise. But what caught the eyes of Tony and Shahla was the hillside. It was steep, and it had a ridge that extended for some distance along the north side of the park. But the first trails they saw that led to the ridge appeared to go straight up.

“If they have to climb one of these,” Tony said, “only the fittest and healthiest are going to get into heaven.”

They looked around some more and found an official trail that snaked up the west side of the hill and then went along the crest, according to a map they found at the trailhead. It did not ascend as steeply as the others they had seen. They decided to climb it and did so, slowly, to allow for Tony’s knee.

The dirt path was wide enough for a four-wheel-drive vehicle to navigate. They walked east along the ridge and found several roofed shelters where hikers could receive a temporary respite from the unforgiving sun that baked the brushy hillside, parched from a summer without rain. They could see a substantial sweep of the Los Angeles basin. It was like looking over a calm sea-but the sea in this case was composed of houses.

“I’ll bet this is beautiful at night,” Tony said, “with all the city lights. You can picture millions of people peacefully going about their business.”

“Or in some cases, not so peacefully,” Shahla said. “Maybe we should have told the police that we talked to Nathan and that Tina is with him.”

“If we told them that we talked to him by cell phone they might try to call him. If they did, don’t you think he would suspect that we’d tipped them off?”

“That I had tipped them off. You’re not with me, remember? But you’re right. Of course, they may try to call him anyway.”

“That’s the chance we have to take. But we can be sure they’re working on it from the church angle. Maybe they’ve found the good reverend.”

“And maybe not. Los Angeles is so big. How are we going to find Nathan if he doesn’t call back?”

“If he comes here, we’ll find him. And this looks like a logical place.”

Tony tried to exude confidence. Shahla looked vulnerable. He placed a consoling hand on her arm. They held each other for a while. Tony pictured a battery charger connected to a cell phone to recharge it. In this case, both of them were the chargers and both of them were the cell phones. They were trying to recharge each other-with courage and hope.

It was 5:30 when the cell phone rang again. Shahla and Tony had eaten more fast food a while ago. Shahla had lost her appetite, but Tony said they needed to eat to maintain their energy levels. She forced herself to swallow, but this time the food was tasteless, and she realized that if Tina was killed, the whole world might be tasteless for a long time to come.

They were sitting at a picnic table in the Kenneth Hahn park, surrounded by the green grass. The grass must be regularly watered or it would look like the brown brush on the hillside. Tony was making notes. He said he was writing a plan of action, in case Nathan didn’t call again. Shahla suspected he was doing it primarily to try to keep his spirits up.

Shahla was holding the phone when it rang. She activated it and said hello. Nobody answered and at first she thought it might be a hang up. But there were noises in the background. The line was still open.

“Nathan? Is that you?” There were times when it was just too difficult to stay silent.

“Are you alone?”

She wanted to snap, “Of course I’m alone; let’s get on with it,” but she forced herself to modulate her voice and said evenly, “Yes.”

“Are you still…interested?”

“Yes. Where should I meet you?”

Silence. Had she pushed too hard? But acting passively hadn’t gotten her very far.

“Have you got a car?”

“Yes. I can meet you anywhere.”

“You’ll have to give it up.”

“The car? If I’m going to heaven, I won’t need it anymore.” It was difficult for her to speak those words. She watched Tony’s reaction out of the corner of her eye. He was showing signs of impatience again.

Nathan named the two streets of an intersection and said, “Meet me there in an hour. Make sure you’re alone.”

Shahla repeated them out loud so that Tony would hear them. “Is that where the Ascension is going to be?”

“I’ll drive you from there.”

“What about Tina?”

There was a pause. Then Nathan said, “I will release Tina at that time. Unless she wants to be part of the Ascension.”

“Let me talk to her.”

She heard a click.

“Tony, he didn’t guarantee he’d release Tina.”

“He’d better release Tina,” Tony said grimly.

“The intersection he named is not far from here,” Tony said, checking a page of the map book. Let’s reconnoiter the area.” He got up and started walking back to the car.

Shahla followed him. “He may already be there. He’ll recognize your car.”

“Well, maybe we can park a few blocks away and walk to it.”

“If he’s there, he’ll see us. It’s still daylight.”

True. But Tony was running out of ideas.

“Can we rent a car?” Shahla asked.

“There isn’t time. By the time we drove to a rental agency, did the paperwork, drove back…”

“Okay, what are we going to do? Call the cops?”

“The question is, what does Nathan do when he spots a police car? Stab Tina, figuring he’s going to be taken up to heaven even if he isn’t at the exact right spot at midnight?”

“Yeah, too risky. He’s unpredictable. What else can we do?”

What, indeed? He certainly wasn’t going to let Shahla meet Nathan alone. They exited from the park and started driving in the direction of the rendezvous, still discussing the issue. Soon they were going slowly through a residential neighborhood. A couple of hundred feet ahead of them a man came out of his house and walked toward a pickup truck parked in the driveway.

“Change cars with that man,” Shahla said suddenly.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. Stop, Tony.”

“He’s…” Tony hesitated.

“He’s what? Black? African-American. So what? You’re white and I’m mixed and we get along. It’s all one world, remember?”

He couldn’t do it. He drove past the driveway. Then he slammed on his brakes. He shoved the gearshift into reverse and backed up, stopping in front of the driveway. He saw the man, poised to climb into his truck, looking at him curiously. Probably thought he needed directions.

Tony got out of the car and walked around the front of it. How did one start? “Hi,” he said to the man. That was inadequate. “Uh, I was wondering if you’d like to change cars for a few hours.”

The man looked past him to the Porsche. If it had been an old VW beetle, the answer would have been obvious. But he looked interested.

“What’s the deal; is it hot?” he asked.

“No, no. I’ve got the registration inside. I’ll show you.”

“That’s okay,” the man said, as Tony took a step back toward his car. “But I mean, are you on the level?”

“Yeah.” He owed the man a fuller explanation. “We’re trying to find a guy, but if he sees my car, he’ll bolt.”

“I see.” The man smiled. “I’ve always wanted to drive a Porsche. I’m leaving for work. I won’t be back until morning. And I generally sleep until noon.”

“That’s okay. We can change back tomorrow afternoon. Do you know how to drive a stick?”

“This is a stick.” The man indicated the truck. “If you want to do it, I’m okay with it.”

Shahla was getting out of the Porsche. “Bring the phone and the map book,” Tony told her. “And our sweatshirts.” He walked up to the man and said, “I’m Tony.”

“Richard.”

They shook hands. Shahla came up the driveway.

“This is Shahla, my, uh…friend.”

They exchanged pleasantries. Tony and the man exchanged keys. And phone numbers. The man reached into the truck and pulled out a metal box.

“Tools,” he said.

He glanced at the bed of the pickup. It contained a coiled rope, a white tarpaulin and some other things.

“Nothing there I can’t live without for one night,” he said. “Okay. It’s all yours.”

He strode down the driveway and got into the Porsche. Tony watched apprehensively as he started it and drove away, waving as he went. He accelerated slowly, shifted smoothly, and seemed to be a good driver. Tony and Shahla climbed into the truck. It was somewhat messy inside, but appeared to be drivable. It was quite new. It had a remote for locking and unlocking the doors.

“You need to find a better way to introduce me,” Shahla said as he backed down the driveway. “‘My, uh…friend’ doesn’t cut it.”

“Sorry. I was going to introduce you as my sister, but then I thought there was no reason to lie.”

“Just ‘friend’ is fine. It’s the hesitation that hurts. We are friends, aren’t we? We’ll still be friends when this is all over, won’t we?”

“Of course.” Of course. Tony concentrated on getting to the intersection Nathan had named. Shahla watched the map and gave him directions. They approached from the south. Nathan had said the southeast corner. Tony stopped the truck a hundred yards from the corner. Nathan’s car wasn’t there. They were on a residential street with some vacant lots. The corner lot was vacant. Traffic was light. Nobody was outside.

Tony said, “I know you haven’t driven a stick-shift before, but you’re going to have to drive this from here to the corner. You can do it in first gear. I’ll talk you through it.”

“Where are you going to be?”

“On the floor in front of your seat. In fact, let’s trade places right now.”

They managed the switch with some jostling.

“We need a plan that protects your safety,” Tony said. He was getting more and more apprehensive as the meeting time approached. “I will hide when Nathan comes into view. When he parks, drive up until you’re behind him, but not too close. We want to be able to pull out fast if we have to. Leave the engine running and the door open when you get out. I hope to hell we’re right in thinking that he doesn’t have a gun.”

“Tina only mentioned a knife.”

“All right, but stay behind his car. Under no circumstances are you to get in the car. Do you understand that? If he starts to get out of the car, you immediately get back in the truck.”

“But we’ve got to get Tina out.”

“Tell him that Tina has to get out before you get in. But as soon as Tina is out, you yell for me, and I’ll get out of the truck. Then both of you hightail it to the truck.”

“What if he comes at you with his knife?”

Tony had been rummaging in the glove compartment of the truck. He pulled out a box cutter. “I’ll use this. It’s what the terrorists used on 9/11.”

“It won’t do any good against a knife.”

“Let’s see what else we’ve got.” There were some items behind the seats. Tony found a large flashlight and a crowbar, among other things. “I’ll use the crowbar as a weapon. Maybe I should get out of the truck when you do.”

“But seeing you will be like seeing the police for him. He might kill Tina before you can do anything.”

There was no safe way to do this. The discussion continued. Tony showed Shahla how to use the clutch to shift into first gear and neutral. That’s all she would have to be able to do, like the terrorists who had to be able to fly a plane but not land it. They were talking, and when the car came up behind them, Tony almost didn’t hear it, even though the truck windows were wide open.

Shahla glanced in the rearview mirror and said, “It’s him.”

Tony ducked, hopefully before Nathan could see him through the rear window of the truck, and hunched down on the floor in front of the passenger seat. The position was painful to his knee. He heard the car drive slowly past them.

“Tina is in the front seat,” Shahla said, sounding relieved, but without moving her lips. “She looks okay. I think Nathan saw me. He’s stopping. Now he’s parked at the corner.”

“All right, drive up behind him.” Tony’s heart was hammering. He wished he could play a more active part in this. He was afraid for both Shahla and Tina.

Shahla started the engine all right, but when she shifted into first gear and released the clutch the truck stalled.

“A little more gas, and then release the clutch very slowly.”

She tried again. This time the engine roared as the truck crept forward. Then suddenly it lurched ahead.

“Foot off the gas,” Tony yelled over the noise of the engine. “Depress the clutch and coast.”

Shahla got the truck under control and coasted slowly to a stop. She put it in neutral and set the parking brake. She made a move to open the door.

“Wait,” Tony said, softly. “What’s he doing?”

“Nothing,” Shahla whispered, speaking like a ventriloquist. Just sitting in the car.”

“Open the door, but don’t get out yet.”

Shahla did that. After a few seconds, she carefully stepped down to the pavement, moved around the open door, and was out of Tony’s sight. He gripped the crowbar hard with one hand and put his other hand on the handle of the passenger door, ready to open it and jump out of the truck. He strained his ears, trying to hear over the idling of the truck engine.

Tony heard engine noise from the other car. It was starting up. Did Nathan have Shahla? In a panic, he raised his head and looked through the windshield. No, Shahla was standing right in front of the truck. Something had spooked Nathan, and he had taken off.

Tony scrambled over to the driver’s seat and sat down. Shahla ran around to the passenger side and jumped in. Tony slammed the gearshift into first gear and took off after the silver car. It had immediately turned the corner and was heading back toward La Cienega.

“Call the Bonita Beach Police,” Tony said. “They can coordinate the chase. We’ve got to try to keep him in sight and give the police an opportunity to stop him.”

“What about Tina?”

“We’ll have to take the chance. As long as he’s driving, he won’t hurt her-unless he cracks up. And we won’t get too close to him”

Shahla got the Bonita Beach station on the line. She gave reports on Nathan, which were passed on to other units. “He’s heading north on La Cienega…he’s turned left…he’s turned left again…he’s disappeared.”

Nathan had lost them again, through a series of risky but clever left turns. When he was sure Nathan was long gone, Tony parked the truck, despondent. He and Shahla sat slumped in their seats, not speaking. A police car rolled by a few minutes later, but aimlessly, without direction.