Backtracker (57 page)

"
What
?
"
asked Dave, frowning apprehensively.
"
What was it?
"

Billy was silent for a moment. Eyes closed, he placed a hand against his forehead, grimaced in concentration...and then he suddenly cried out.
"
Geez
!
"
he hollered.
"
I don
'
t know why I didn
'
t remember this
sooner
.
I should
'
ve thought of it right away. It was a real big deal,
man!
"

"
What
?
"
pressed Dave.

"
There was a big fire.
Roger Kimmel
'
s
house
burned right to the ground.
You know the place, right? That big mansion out near Stanley?
"

"
Sure,
"
nodded Dave.
"
It
'
s on top of that mountain.
"

"
Not anymore it isn
'
t,
"
said Billy.
"
Man, I can
'
t believe you didn
'
t
hear
about this. It was all
over
the TV and the newspaper.
"

"
Just tell me what happened, okay
?
"
Dave said insistently.

"
Okay, okay,
"
said Billy.
"
Anyway, the mansion burned, and Roger Kimmel
'
s
son
died in the fire. The place was a total loss, this kid burned with it, and they
s
till
aren
'
t sure what caused
the fire. At first, they thought it was an accident...like, something short
-
circuited, the kid was asleep, and he never woke up. Then, they thought maybe it was a suicide, that this kid wanted to go out with a bang.
"

Wide
-
eyed, incredulous, Dave stared straight ahead.
"
What else
?
"
he asked.
"
Do you remember anything else?
"

"
Well, just that they still haven
'
t decided what caused it,
"
said Billy.
"
The fire marshals say it might
'
ve been an accident, a suicide, anything. Here
'
s the good part, though: last I heard, they were saying there might
'
ve been a break
-
in...like, somebody was robbing the place, and they started the fire on their way out the door. I mean, they don
'
t know, maybe they never will...but still...
"

"
Geez,
"
said Dave in a soft, lost voice. The implication of Billy
'
s words left him reeling; another stone had been turned over, yet another surprise exposed.

"
Looks like ol
'
Larry
'
s mixed up in another big
'
coincidence
'
,
"
said Billy.
"
He pays his rent with a Rolex...the Rolex has an inscription that says
'
Kimmel
'
...and it just so happens that
Roger
Kimmel
'
s house burned down and his son died in the fire about two weeks ago.
"

As he guided the Torino down a side
-
street, Dave slowly shook his head.
"
I don
'
t know,
"
he mumbled.
"
Maybe the watch...maybe it belonged to a different Kimmel.
"

"
Oh, come
on
,
"
Billy piped cynically.
"
No
way
, man. Larry
'
s
'
Mr. Coincidence,
'
isn
'
t he? Every time something
bad
happens, he
'
s
in
on it somehow. When Boris tried to kill himself, Larry was right there! Before Ernie
'
s mom and dad died, he asked all kinds of questions about where they were going! He was at Tom Martin
'
s house the night Tom did
himself in!
You think there
'
s the slightest
chance
that Rolex didn
'
t belong to Roger Kimmel?
"

Dave was silent for a moment; he could feel Billy
'
s eyes upon him, expectant and convinced.
"
I don
'
t know,
"
he said.
"
Maybe...maybe Larry had a flash about the fire, and he was at the house trying to prevent it.
"

"
Okay,
"
Billy said peremptorily.
"
Then how did he end up with Roger Kimmel
'
s Rolex? You think he just accidentally walked out with it? You think he took it as payment for trying to stop the fire, a little something for his trouble?

"
He must
'
ve had a reason,
"
said Dave.
"
Maybe...maybe the watch had something to do with the fire somehow. Maybe it was important in his vision, and he took it, but the fire started anyway.
"

"
You
'
re grabbin
'
at straws,
"
sighed Billy.
"
Isn
'
t it possible, isn
'
t it
remotely
possible that he just
stole
the damn thing?
"

"
Maybe he needed the money then,
"
Dave said halfheartedly.
"
Maybe he really desperately needed the money, and this was just a one
-
time thing.
"

"
Y
'
know,
"
said Billy,
"
I don
'
t understand why you keep de
fending him. I mean, the
son
-
of
-
a
-
bitch
lied
to you. He uses a different
name
everywhere he
goes
.
He
'
s got you worried that your whole family
'
s gonna
'
die
,
but he doesn
'
t even have the decency to let you know what
'
s going on!
"

"
I know,
"
said Dave.
"
You
'
re right. I just...I still think he must have a good reason for whatever he
'
s done.
"

"
Okay. Whatever,
"
said Billy, and he sighed.
"
If that
'
s what you wanna
'
think, go on thinking it. You just better be prepared.
"

"
Prepared for what
?
"
asked Dave as he turned the car onto a busy main street.

"
Prepared for anything,
"
said Billy Bristol.

*****

Chapter
24

Dave and Billy had been keeping watch over the youth center and surrounding buildings for fifteen minutes. They were well
-
positioned for the reconnaissance; the Torino was parked in a small lot across the street from the center, hidden among other cars yet angled in a way which provided a clear view of the premises. Gazing over hoods and through the windows of other vehicles, Dave and Billy could clearly see the front of the youth center and the adjacent church...but, unless he crossed the street and walked right up to the lot, Larry probably
wouldn
'
t
be able to glimpse the observers.

For what seemed like the millionth time, Dave scanned the structures across the street, starting with the church. Saint Mark
'
s
wasn
'
t
large,
didn
'
t
have an ornate exterior; it was constructed of plain gray stone and was only about fifty feet wide. A low tier of steps led to a set of wide double doors, at either side of which were mounted cast
-
iron lamps; above the doors, a single window interrupted the gray stone, a circle of stained glass which was darkened and colorless in the mid
-
day sun. The face of the structure rose past the peaked roof in a stone steeple, a spire which was unadorned save for a cross standing at its summit.

As had been the case since the partners
'
arrival, the doors of the church remained closed,
didn
'
t
swing open, as Dave kept hoping that they would, to reveal Larry Smith. Dave cast his gaze onward, to the right of the church, again examined the next
-
door youth center. This second building was longer, but even plainer than the first; built of cement block, painted white, the structure was featureless except for three small windows and a door at its far end. There was a low sign posted along the sidewalk by the door, a marker with the heading
"
Saint Mark
'
s Hall and Youth Center
"
; the sign was enclosed in
Plexiglas
and included a listing of upcoming events beneath the bold heading.

Since Dave and Billy had begun their watch, they had seen many people enter the youth center, mostly teenagers and kids dressed in sweatsuits and athletic shoes. There had been a steady stream of arrivals, but no Larry Smith; if he was inside, he
hadn
'
t
shown himself, and if he was on his way to the place, he
wasn
'
t
yet in the vicinity.

Dave again scanned the area, peered up the street, then down the street; a pickup rolled past, but Larry
wasn
'
t
at the wheel, and the only pedestrians in sight were a young black man and woman. Anxiously, Dave watched the sidewalk, the bar on the corner, the dilapidated row houses...but there was no trace of the man whom he sought. If Larry was anywhere in Doddsville, that hard
-
luck, run
-
down sector of Confluence, he was currently concealed from Dave
'
s view.

Caught by a sudden wave of weariness, Dave yawned and rubbed his aching eyes. Staying cooped
-
up in the car for fifteen minutes
hadn
'
t
helped his alertness; for the first time since leaving the house, he was starting to feel the effects of an entire night without sleep. His body ached dully, especially his arms and neck, and he felt sluggish and light
-
headed; there was a creeping sense of disorientation, a lag between his thoughts and movements.

Shaking his head vigorously, trying to blow away some of the cobwebs clogging it, Dave turned to his friend. Gazing through the windshield, Billy appeared as collected and patient as ever, unafflicted by the anxiousness and exhaustion from which Dave was suffering. Elbow propped on the armrest of the door, chin resting between his thumb and forefinger, Billy looked perfectly at ease; his bright blue eyes were calmly focused ahead as if he
weren
'
t
necessarily waiting for anything to happen.

Dave emitted a long sigh and slapped the seat with the palm of his hand.
"
Let
'
s just go in,
"
he said.
"
He
'
s probably been in there the whole time we
'
ve been sitting here.
"

Billy continued to watch the site across the street.
"
Could be,
"
he said coolly.
"
If he
'
s in there, it won
'
t hurt to wait another minute or two.
"

Dave clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
"
Aw, come on,
"
he said disgustedly.
"
I
'
m sick of waiting. If he
'
s inside, why the hell should we keep pissing around out here?
"

"
Because we wanna
'
make sure he
'
s in there. If he isn
'
t in the place yet, it
'
s better if we wait. If we
'
re just standing around in there, and he walks in the door and spots us, he might beat it before we can nab him.
"

"
He
'
s probably inside already,
"
protested Dave.
"
It
'
s almost twelve
-
thirty.
"

"
Well, fine,
"
shrugged Billy.
"
If he
'
s in there, we let him settle in. If he
'
s all relaxed and wrapped up in whatever he does in there, he
'
ll be easier to corner.
"

"
He
'
s had enough time to settle in,
"
Dave said gruffly.

"
Try and calm down,
"
advised Billy, still gazing tranquilly through the windshield.
"
I know you
'
ve got good reason to be uptight, but you
'
ve gotta
'
get ahold of yourself. Larry
'
s a tough customer, and if we just go running after him like chickens with our heads cut off, we aren
'
t gonna
'
get anywhere and you know it.
"

"
I vote we go in there,
"
Dave said stubbornly.
"
We
'
ve waited long enough.
"

For a moment, Billy said nothing, just looked in the direction of the youth center. Just as Dave was about to speak up, Billy raised his left arm and peered at his watch.
"
Okay,
"
he said smoothly.
"
You
'
re right.
"

Dave lunged a hand to the door handle; he opened the door and swung a foot onto the pavement before Billy grabbed his shoulder.

"
Not you,
"
Billy said sternly.

"
What
'
re you talking about
?
"
lashed Dave, bucking at his friend
'
s restraining grip.

"
It
'
ll be better if just one of us goes in first and has a look around,
"
replied Billy.
"
There
'
ll be less chance of Larry catching on.
"

"
Fine,
"
Dave said glibly.
"
Then
I
'
ll
go in first, and
you
can wait out here.
"

Forcing Dave
'
s shoulder back against the seat, Billy shook his head.
"
No
,
"
he said firmly.
"
Who do you think Larry
'
s more likely to run away from? You think he
'
d rather avoid
me
,
when for all he knows, I don
'
t know jack shit about what he
'
s been up to...or do you think he might just wanna
'
stay away from
you
,
since you know
everything
and you could blow his cover like
that
?
"
Emphatically, Billy snapped his fingers in front of Dave
'
s face.

"
You
'
re
not
leaving me
out
here,
"
barked Dave.

"
I won
'
t leave you out here for long,
"
assured Billy.
"
I
'
ll run in, check the layout of the place, see if our buddy
'
s around, and then I
'
ll hightail it right back out here to fill you in. If he
'
s not there, we
'
ll wait a while longer, and if he is, we
'
ll go after him with a better idea of what to expect.
"

Dave again tried to jolt from his partner
'
s grip.
"
Let
'
s go,
"
he snapped defiantly.
"
One way or another, I
'
m going
in
there.
"

"
Geez
!
"
flung Billy.
"
You wanna
'
really
screw things up for your folks? If something
is
gonna
'
happen to them, and you blow
this
, you might not get another chance to find out the
truth
before it
'
s too late!
"

"
If Larry
'
s in there, I want to talk to him
now
,
"
insisted Dave.

"
Just do what I
tell
you
!
"
shouted Billy, rare anger boiling up in his tone.
"
I think this is the best way to
do
this, all right?
"

Momentarily cowed by the surprising outburst, Dave glared at his friend and said nothing. Heart pounding, he considered launching himself out of the car and dashing across the street; though Billy
'
s grip was tight, Dave believed that he could wrench away from it if he made a sudden, forceful move.

Still, after pondering the situation for a moment, Dave found his will faltering. Though he desperately wanted to confront Larry without another minute
'
s wait, he realized that Billy might be right, that a cautious approach might be wise. Dave knew that if he ignored his friend
'
s strategy and dove recklessly into the youth center, only to lose his chance to secure answers in the process, he would have only himself to blame for the resulting consequences.

With a petulant click of his tongue, Dave yanked his foot back into the car.
"
Okay,
"
he muttered, slamming the door shut.
"
Go ahead then. Go see if he
'
s in there.
"

"
All right,
"
said Billy Bristol, removing his hand from Dave
'
s shoulder.
"
I
'
ll just be a minute, man, I swear, and then I
'
ll be right back.
"