The Protector

18

At the nearest gas station, Cavanaugh rushed to a pay phone. He shoved a phone card into a slot and pressed numbers.

"Rutherford," the deep voice said.

"How are you coming with those lists?" Speaking quickly, Cavanaugh was surprised by how breathless he felt.

"We've got a dozen agents working the phones from Washington. We sent agents from San Francisco and San Jose down to liaise with the agent we've got in the Carmel/Monterey area. But we still haven't been able to contact a lot of the Realtors, and as for the golf courses, I wish I had a dollar for everybody who wants to play there."

"You've got to hurry. Check this license number. It's a California plate and goes with a new Porsche Carrera. White." Cavanaugh dictated the number. "Who owns the car?"

"Are you at…" John recited the location and number of the pay phone Cavanaugh was using.

"Your caller ID system's damned good."

"Damned and good don't go together," the Southern Baptist said. "Stay where you are. I'll contact the California DMV and call you back in ten minutes."

"Make it as quick as you can. I'll be waiting."

The instant Cavanaugh hung up, he hurried to the Taurus and drove away, certain that in a very short while, a police car sent by Rutherford would arrive, looking for him. He went ten blocks and stopped at another gas station with an outside pay phone. Time, having sped by, now dragged agonizingly. Exactly when he was supposed to, he shoved his phone card into a slot and pressed numbers. His hand sweated on the phone's receiver. "What did you find?"

"You were supposed to stay where you were."

"What did you find?"

"The Porsche's leased."

"What?"

"Only for a month. To someone named Joshua Carter. The company he leased it from says he gave his address as seventy-eight Vista Linda in Seaside, California. The local police department's sending an unmarked car to check it out."

Cavanaugh could barely speak. "Tell them to forget it. Carter doesn't live there."

"Doesn't live there? If you knew that, why on earth did you ask me to-"

"I was hoping you'd find a different address."

"This is crazy. I need you at the command center we're setting up. This time, stay where you are."

"Right." Cavanaugh hung up and ran to the Taurus.