Run into Trouble

CHAPTER 20

Today’s run goes from the top of the hill on Route 1 near Gaviota to the top of the next hill, which is past Lompoc. That hill is almost comparable to the hill you climbed yesterday, so be prepared. The whole distance is on Route 1. Since it is a Monday, traffic should be lighter than it was yesterday, but be careful, especially on the narrow road until you get to Lompoc. After Lompoc, the road widens to four lanes with wide shoulders. The combination of the heat and the hill climb yesterday scrambled the rankings. We expect to see more changes after today’s run. Remember to carry plenty of liquids and energy food with you. Watch for the watering places.

“If there’s anything worse than a steep uphill for a runner, it’s a steep downhill.”

Drake made this pronouncement as he and Melody made the long descent from their hilltop starting point. They had been wearing two-ply socks all along, but each of them wore an extra pair of socks today, expecting the downhill to be hard on their feet.

Melody looked at the last of the other runners disappearing around a curve in front of them. “Well, we’re bringing up the rear this morning. It’s just like old times.”

“Not quite. We’ve moved into seventh place overall. We’ve finished first two days in a row. We must be doing something right. Six more days like this and we’ll be in first place.”

Melody laughed. “The Tom and Jerry and Phil and Brian teams are so far ahead of us that it’s going to take more than a few good days to catch them, I’m afraid. However, I’m glad to see you so optimistic. I suspect we won’t be finishing last today. Too much youthful exuberance can hurt the other lads. If their feet don’t get them on the downhill, their knees will get such a pounding that bad things will happen.”

“Don’t forget the climb at the end of the run. We’ve proven to be the best climbing team. I don’t know whether to thank Fred for putting the steep climbs at the end of the runs or not.”

“There isn’t any good time to do killer climbs like those. Although I’m sure Fred would help us if he knew how. He’s got a stake in the outcome.”

“Had a stake. Blade assured me that the noose was tightening on the Las Vegas bunch. They’ve been under surveillance for some time. The Sterling incident just means that things will move faster.”

“Fast enough so that none of the runners get hurt, I hope. Do you think we should talk to Casey and have him cancel the race?”

Drake took a fast swig of Gatorade.

“Blade will let me know if there’s still a risk. I think we should talk to Casey and fill him in, but in person, not on the phone. He’s traveling around the state, campaigning. We’re bound to run into him. When he finds out what happened, he’ll probably can Fred.”

“Good riddance.”

“I need to have a little chat with Fred. I’m waiting until tonight because I promised Sterling he’d have a head start. Although, why I’m keeping my word I don’t know. I also don’t know whether Fred has any contacts in Vegas, himself, or whether it was all done through Sterling. He may be wondering where Sterling is right this minute.”

“I’m wondering where Sterling is right this minute. Do you think he’s on a plane to Brazil?”

“The girl from Ipanema must be looking pretty good right now.”

“Did Blade tell you whether there’s any new intelligence on the Malibu incident?”

“Nothing new, unfortunately. Casey is still agitating for doing something. He made another speech in front of a business group somewhere. Mentioned the land grab idea. At least he hasn’t suggested attacking the USSR yet.”

The first team they caught was that of Glen and Winthrop. Drake and Melody had an easy time catching them because the two were walking. Winthrop was walking very stiff-legged. As they approached them, Drake slowed down. “What’s the matter?”

Winthrop grimaced. “My knees have locked up.”

Melody nodded. “You took the downhill too fast. You’ll have to walk it off.”

“It’ll take us all day to finish.”

“Do you have anything better to do?”

There was nothing Drake and Melody could do for them, so they sped up. Drake was making mental calculations.

“Those two are right in front of us in the standings. I suspect that by the end of the day we’ll have moved up another position.”

“I’m going to eat some gorp-what Fred calls energy food. We’re going to need all the energy we can find for the uphill.”

The heat and the uphill climb were taking their toll again. Although Drake and Melody weren’t running fast by any marathon standard, they had passed all the teams except Tom and Jerry and Phil and Brian during the ascent. They were gaining on those two teams, which were in sight. They figured to at least catch them by the end of the day’s run. They shouldn’t lose any time to them overall.

“This may turn out to be a three-team race,” Drake said.

Melody nodded. “Don’t count us out. Maybe we should have bet on ourselves.”

Fred’s only sign of nervousness was that he was smoking a cigarette. Drake knew that he smoked, but he usually did it in private because none of the runners smoked. Of course. And yet, Drake had once met a man in England who said he was a mountain runner, meaning that he ran up mountains such as Scotland’s Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Great Britain at 4,400 feet. Drake was impressed, and then dumbfounded when he found out that the man smoked.

They were in Fred’s room at the motel in Lompoc. Drake mentioned that he had talked to Sterling-he kept Melody out of it-and that Sterling had admitted his part in the betting. Fred took a drag on his cigarette.

“I hired Sterling to make sure that the runners followed the rules-and also to check up on them during the runs to see if anybody was in trouble. I didn’t expect him to bet on the outcome.”

Drake produced copies of the two letters from a folder.

“Sterling admitted he wrote the first letter, but he says it was at your insistence. We’ve proved that the second letter was written on his portable typewriter. He said you got it delivered it to the motel where we were staying.”

Fred reached out his hand and took the two letters. He studied them for a long time.

“I love the broken English. I suppose he wanted you to believe that the writer was Russian or something. How did you say you found Sterling?”

“His fingerprints were on the first letter. They were in the FBI database. He’s a known felon, and he’s used the U.S. mail for extortion, among other sins.”

“I wouldn’t have hired him if I’d known that. So you tracked him to a motel in Solvang. Clever of you.”

Drake didn’t mention Peaches or Grace. Let Fred think he’d done it all himself. He waited for Fred to say something more. Fred reread the letters, as if trying to memorize them.

“You had Sterling cornered. Of course he’s going to try to spread the blame. I can assure you that I and my staff didn’t have anything to do with these letters.”

Drake could prove otherwise, but he wasn’t going to play his trump cards at the moment. “Anyway, Sterling’s gone. Actually, fleeing for his life would be more apt. You never know what those Vegas folks are going to do.”

Was that a shudder from Fred or just a noisy exhale of cigarette smoke? Whatever it was, Fred quickly gained control of himself.

“Drake, I want to thank you very much for bringing this to my attention. I guess I don’t have to take any action on Sterling because he’s gone. We don’t really need him anymore. The rules have changed, and it’s going to be easy to keep track of the runners on Route One, which we will be following for many miles. I apologize for the problems this has caused you. I trust that you won’t be harassed again during the rest of the race.”

“There’s one thing more you should know. I asked Sterling why they bet on Melody and me since we were such long shots. He said all we had to do to win was to finish. The mob would take care of the rest. As I said before, they can get pretty nasty. Our good guys should have them neutralized soon, but I just wanted you to know what could have happened.”

Fred’s hand shook as he put the cigarette to his lips.