Run into Trouble

CHAPTER 12

Today’s run is being split into two parts. All of it is on hard surface. Start on 2 ^ nd Street and head west into Long Beach. Jog left on Livingston Drive. Jog right on Ocean Boulevard. Follow Ocean west along the beach. Although you are permitted to run this section on beach paths, Ocean is more direct, and if you stay on the left or beach side of the street, you shouldn’t have a problem with cross traffic. You will be able to see the Queen Mary at her permanent dock. Continue on Ocean through downtown Long Beach and across the Gerald Desmond Bridge to Terminal Island. On Terminal Island, Ocean changes to Seaside Avenue. Stop at the entrance to the Vincent Thomas Bridge where your time will be recorded.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge is normally not open to foot traffic, but we have received a special dispensation to have it open it for 30 minutes from 10 to 10:30 a.m. All runners must cross the bridge during this time period. Your time will start again when the bridge opens for us. After crossing the bridge, head south (left). Jog west to Pacific Avenue or Gaffey Street and continue heading south. It is also okay to run on the smaller streets until you get to 25 ^ th Street. Turn right (west) on 25 ^ th. You must be on 25 ^ th Street when you cross Western Avenue. 25 ^ th Street becomes Palos Verdes Drive South. Circumnavigate the fabulous Palos Verdes Peninsula on Palos Verdes Drive South and Palos Verdes Drive West. You will pass Marineland of the Pacific with its orcas, dolphins, and seals. Palos Verdes Drive West becomes Palos Verdes Drive North near Malaga Cove. Jog left on Palos Verdes Boulevard and follow it to Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach where the run ends.

Drake was surprised at how well he was adapting to running almost every day. He was controlling his back pain with chiropractic sessions, lots of stretching, and baths that Melody had talked him into taking when they stayed at a motel that had bathtubs in the rooms. Being English, Melody was used to taking hot baths, but she said that for running, a cool bath was better than a hot bath-in fact, the colder the better.

It took Drake a while to become convinced of that, but he found that in fact a cold bath after running was good not only for his back, but also his legs and feet.

When the wakeup call came at 6 a.m., he felt chipper enough to wish the caller a good morning.

“Mr. Drake?”

“Yes.” He was surprised that the desk clerk was still on the line.

“I have an envelope for you at the desk.”

Drake suddenly felt as cold as if he were taking one of those baths.

“Don’t touch it. I’ll be right there.”

He pulled on some clothes and raced out to the front desk, surprising the meek-looking man with glasses who, he was certain, hadn’t expected him so fast.

“Show me where the envelope is, but don’t touch it.”

The man looked scared. “I’ve-I’ve already touched it, I’m afraid.”

“That’s okay. I…I think it’s a prank. I don’t want a dragon to pop out at you.”

Slightly mollified, the clerk pointed to the envelope, which was sitting on a table on his side of the counter. He opened the door for Drake, who took a handkerchief out of his pocket, stepped behind the counter, and carefully picked up the envelope by its corner. He smiled at the clerk.

“I have this friend who likes to play practical jokes.”

With his free hand, Drake reached into another pocket and pulled out his wallet. Using dexterity fueled by long practice, he extracted a dollar bill from the wallet using only the one hand, and handed it to the clerk.

“Thanks for notifying me so fast.”

“Oh, the envelope came an hour ago.”

“Did you see who delivered it?”

“It must have happened when I stepped away from the counter for a minute. I had to go to the men’s room. When I returned, it was sitting right here.”

Drake thanked the clerk again and hurried back to his room. He sat on the bed and inspected the envelope. It was a white, business-size envelope and had his name typed on the outside, just like the first one. The printing looked different, however. Several of the letters were slightly smeared, as if from dirty typewriter keys. They had been typed on a manual typewriter, not an electric.

The envelope was sealed in one spot, just like the first one. Drake took the small Swiss Army Knife he carried and slid a blade under the flap to unseal it, being careful not to touch the envelope with his fingers. Holding it with the handkerchief, he opened it and extracted the white sheet of paper inside, using a different part of the handkerchief. He unfolded the paper and read it.

To: Oliver Drake

From: The Syndicate

So far good. You have recovered nice from acident. Good news. Now that you back in top shape we need you to do one thing more. Win race. You long shot, exelent odds. Good for both of us. You get million dollers, we get big money to. You have to start working harder. Maybe we help you. Dont forget Melodys mom. Dont show letter to any one.

Win the race? Why not ask him to fly to the moon without a rocket? The stakes were being raised. Shit. Drake retrieved his wallet and found the card that Slick had given him. He picked up the phone and called the number listed for the Christian Bookstore, not expecting an answer this early in the morning. The call was answered on the second ring by a female voice.

“Christian Bookstore.”

“This is Drake. I need to talk to Slick.”

“He’ll call you back in five minutes, Mr. Drake. May I have your number?”

Drake gave her the number and hung up. He debated whether to tell Melody about the new letter immediately. He decided not to for a couple of reasons, including the fact that he didn’t know Grace’s room number. He opened his suitcase and, using the blade from his Swiss Army Knife, carefully reopened a slit in the lining that he had made after his room had been searched.

He had sewed it up again using the sewing kit his mother had put together for him when he left for college. Fine stitches, just like she had taught him. Even a person experienced in finding things wouldn’t spot them during a fast search. He pulled a copy of the original note out of the space behind the lining. Now he could verify the similarities and differences between the two notes.

He would also make a copy of the new note before he gave it to Slick. If he were careful, he could do it without damaging any fingerprints. The motel had a copier; the clerk at the desk would help him.

“We’re running faster today. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

Melody’s question brought home to Drake what effect the letter was having on him. It scared the hell out of him. All the runners were in a tight group as they navigated east Long Beach. Of course, if he and Melody wanted to actually win the race, they had to be ahead of the others, not just with them. Way ahead. They were many hours behind Tom and Jerry overall.

“Let’s drop back ten yards. I need to talk to you.”

“We’ll catch them again if they have to stop for a light.”

“I haven’t noticed that they pay much attention to mundane things like traffic lights.”

It was true. The runners tended to keep moving in these urban areas, regardless of traffic, crossing streets against lights, endangering themselves. It was amazing what the carrot of a million dollars did to one.

Drake and Melody dropped back as they turned onto Ocean Avenue. With the beach now on the left, there was little cross traffic, and it was less dangerous and easier to talk. Drake filled Melody in on the letter, trying to keep his voice calm. He watched her face and saw the strain there, but she didn’t interrupt him. He mentioned that he had talked to Slick.

She pulled a bottle of Gatorade from her pouch and took a swig. “How are you going to get the letter to Slick?”

“He told me he’d meet us somewhere along our route. I gave him the route and approximate times.”

“So you have the letter with you.”

“Inside the envelope, inside a paper bag, inside my pouch. I haven’t touched it with my fingers.”

“The desk clerk’s prints will be on the envelope.”

“We’re covered on that. I asked him to give me a piece of paper to write a note on. I had him pick a sheet from the middle of a pile of typewriter paper, so the only prints on it will be his and mine. I even got him to hold it with both hands. I’ll give that to Slick too.”

“Sometimes I’m amazed at your cleverness. What time was the envelope delivered?”

“About five. The desk clerk was away from the desk and didn’t see who brought it.”

“Drake, Grace’s alarm clock went off at quarter to five. I pretended to be asleep, but I watched her out of one eye. She threw on some clothes and went out of the room. She returned a few minutes after five and got back into bed.”

“If she was under orders, they probably came from Fred.”

“She got a phone call about 8:30 last night. She didn’t say who it was, and I didn’t ask, but she set her alarm after the call.”

“I take it you didn’t talk to Fred about your new sleeping arrangements.”

“No. If it was Fred on the phone, he didn’t know I was there.”

“Just out of idle curiosity, did you sleep in the same bed?”

“Yes, since there was only one. Before you get any prurient thoughts, it was a big bed, and girls can sleep together easier than lads. Hey, now that the mist is lifting, I can see the Queen Mary. You stole it from us.”

Drake saw the great ship, too. It was impressive, even at a distance. “As I recall, you didn’t want it anymore.”

“What an excuse. Since Casey is meeting us at the bridge, we have to figure out what we’re going to tell him.”

“I don’t think we can tell him anything right now. He’d want the letter, and I’m giving that to Slick. I don’t want him to know about Slick and Blade. We can’t trust anyone related to the race. If worst comes to worst, we’ll get Blade to help protect your mother.”

“Cold comfort. However, I think we have to grill Grace. If we scare her enough, she might not tell anybody we talked to her.”

“She may be the weak spot that helps us penetrate the impregnable fortress. We have to take the chance of what she might do.”

The runners all arrived at the Vincent Thomas Bridge together. The rules stated that times were only recorded to the minute, not the second, and that runners finishing a segment in a group without gaps would receive the same time. Although Drake was glad that he and Melody had not lost any time to Tom and Jerry so far today, it wasn’t enough.

The Cat and Mouse duo, as they were called, were smart runners. Their strategy was not to lead but to stay in the lead pack, so that nobody could gain time on them. They were wise to the occasional team that tried to break away from the pack at an unsustainable pace and didn’t try to go with them. Those teams tired and were later caught by the other runners.

As advertised, the bridge was closed to vehicle traffic at 10, and the runners were started on their run over it. Several photographers took pictures. Since it was Sunday, a number of other runners and walkers who had read about the closure joined them. The Running California group was given a head start of several minutes so they didn’t have to run in a crowd.

As Drake and Melody ran up the ramp, Casey appeared beside them in his running clothes. “Mind if I run with you?”

“Happy to have you along,” Melody said, “but I must warn you that we’re going a wee bit faster than we were the last time you saw us.”

“I think I can keep up with you for the length of the bridge. Then I have to go to a meeting. For some reason I’m drawn to running over bridges, especially bridges that aren’t usually open to foot traffic.”

“How did you manage to get permission to have it closed?” Drake asked.

Casey smiled. “I don’t know if you’ve been reading the papers, but Running California is generating a lot of great publicity for the state. I was able to convince the powers that be that letting us run over the bridge would be good for the local economy, including the shipyards-both Long Beach and Los Angeles.”

Drake shook his head. “It’s a shame they didn’t provide a pedestrian walkway when they built the bridge. I said the same thing about Coronado.”

“If I were in charge, they would have.” Casey was puffing with the uphill climb to the top of the arch. “Say, you are running faster.” He took a look at Drake. “I can’t believe how well you’re doing. No limp, and your face looks almost like the picture of you I saw when we were recruiting. I remember thinking I want this handsome guy to be part of Running California. I figured the photographers would love you.”

Melody frowned. “Don’t compliment him. He’s conceited enough already.”

Casey laughed. “I assume that you two have no more doubts about staying in the race.”

“As long as Tom and Jerry remain in good health, we have about as much chance of winning as I, a non-citizen, have of being elected president.”

Casey looked around to see where the other runners were. He spoke in a low voice. “That’s why I’m paying you.”

That triggered something in Drake’s brain. “Why do you care so much whether we stay in the race? If I continue to improve, we’ll probably move up a few places because of problems like Aki’s having, but Melody’s right about our chances of winning.”

“First, because you’re the only woman in the race.” He nodded at Melody. “We talked to several other women we thought could stick it out, but they weren’t able to commit the time. Second,” indicating Drake, “because you’re a war hero.”

“That’s bullshit. I’m no more a hero than hundreds of other guys. Why didn’t you pick somebody younger who fought in Vietnam?”

“Vietnam’s not a popular war. You’re the one we wanted.”

“One more thing. Putting Melody and me together is too much of a coincidence. How did you know we knew each other?”

Casey smiled. “Do you know who’s on our Board of Directors?”

Generals and admirals who had access to top secret information.