Lost Lake

CHAPTER TWELVE

Talking about his battle with Mark Torrance had worn Carl out. He reached for the glass of water on his bed stand and took a sip.

“Did you tell General Wingate what you’d done?” Ami asked.

“Not directly. There was a story in the newspaper, a novelty item about a black belt being beaten up. I cut it out and mailed it to him anonymously.”

“What happened after you mailed the clipping?”

Carl’s lips twisted into a cynical smile. “The General never mentioned the news story, but he must have received it, because I was drafted a few weeks later.”

“And you think Wingate was responsible for your draft notice?”

“I didn’t at first. I even went to him for help. I had a scholarship to Dartmouth by then, a full ride. The General was the only person I could think of to ask for help. It took a while to get through to him. I kept calling and calling, but he didn’t get back to me for weeks. I’d almost given up when he phoned to say that he’d be in California for the weekend. I went out to the estate. I had all my hopes riding on our meeting.”

“What did he say?”

Carl looked as if the memory of the meeting had exhausted him. He shut his eyes when he spoke.

“Wingate was very blunt. He told me that he couldn’t help me avoid the draft. He thought that I should go. He reminded me that we were in a fight to the death against Communism. He asked me how I could justify going to fraternity parties and football games while boys my age were giving their lives for their country. He said that I’d make an excellent soldier and I could always go to school when my tour was up.”

“How did you feel about his advice?”

“I was very confused, but Wingate…the way he put it, he was so positive and he made it sound cowardly to try and get out of my duty to my country.”

“Did you fight to stay out of the army?”

“No. In the end I just gave in. The General convinced me that it was my duty and that I would regret shirking it for my whole life. He talked so glowingly about the army and what I could accomplish. He asked me if I hadn’t had enough of school, if I wasn’t ready to test myself in the real world.”

Carl rubbed his eyes. “The thing I regret most was what going in did to my mother. She had sacrificed so much for my future; my going to an Ivy League school was her dream come true. When I turned down the scholarship she aged overnight.” Carl’s voice became hoarse, and he could not go on for a moment. “She died while I was on a mission, thousands of miles away. I never knew if she forgave me.”

“What did Vanessa say when you told her that you were going into the army?” Ami asked softly.

“She went ballistic. She was convinced that Wingate had engineered my draft notice to break us up. When I decided to go in, she stopped talking to me. She wouldn’t take my calls, and she avoided me at school. By the time the school year ended I was cutting class so I wouldn’t have to be around her. I just couldn’t take it. To tell the truth, it was a relief to go into basic training.”

“If Wingate did engineer your notice, do you think he did it to break up your romance with his daughter?”

“It might have been one reason, but mostly I think he wanted me in the Unit. You know those special tests I took in basic, the way I was singled out for Special Forces. I think Wingate manipulated my career every step of the way.”

Ami was puzzled. “What is the Unit?”

Rice laughed. “It’s the little man that wasn’t there.”