Backtracker (81 page)

"
I know,
"
sighed Billy,
"
but it doesn
'
t seem like it
'
s panning out.
"

"
It will,
"
Dave said sourly.

"
But if it doesn
'
t, what can we do? We
'
ll have to do
something
, that
'
s for sure.
"

"
Don
'
t worry,
"
curdled Dave.
"
It won
'
t come to that.
"

"
Well, you know it might,
"
Billy said tentatively.
"
As much as you hope otherwise, we just might not be able to find him. If it turns out that way, seems to me like we
'
ll have to bring the cops in on this.
"

Billy waited for an answer, but Dave said nothing, just longed for peace in which to concentrate on the name.

"
Now, I
'
m going along like you wanted, okay
?
"
proceeded Billy.
"
I mean, this is
really
against my better judgment, but I
'
m trying to help you out, man. I just want you to be prepared for what we might have to do if things don
'
t turn out like you want. If we don
'
t manage to track down Larry, we
'
ll pretty much
have
to go to the cops. We
'
ll have to do
something
to try to stop him...and, besides, we
'
ll have to tell
somebody
about that kid he killed back there. We can
'
t just leave him to
rot
, man.
"

"
We won
'
t,
"
Dave huffed irritably, glaring at the berm.

"
Well, all right,
"
said Billy.
"
I just hope you
'
ll be cool about, y
'
know...about getting the cops. It
'
s like, if we don
'
t figure out how to find this guy pretty soon, we
'
ll have to get somebody after him who
'
s got a shot at catching him.
"

Another car zipped past, and Dave sighed loudly. Billy was broadcasting too much interference; the babble was making it tough for Dave to concentrate on the mystifying name.

"
It shouldn
'
t be a problem for you, anyway,
"
Billy said with certainty.
"
Going to the cops, that is. By the time we get around to it, Larry
'
ll probably be so far away he won
'
t be able to get your family.
"

Dave battled to block out his partner
'
s voice, focus entirely on the name; he only partially succeeded,
couldn
'
t
wholly banish the nagging chatter.

"
I figure he
'
ll hit the road sometime,
"
theorized Billy.
"
I mean, I bet he
'
s still in town right now, but he won
'
t be able to stick around forever. Once he finishes what he wanted to do in town, he
'
ll have to make tracks because he
'
ll know you
'
ll go to the cops sooner or later.
"

The name; Dave struggled to center himself on the name and nothing else. It filled his mind like a feverish prayer, like a blazing neon sign.

Frank Hoffman.

FRANK

HOFFMAN.

"
Yeah,
"
said Billy.
"
He
'
ll make a run for it, all right. We might not be able to get to him, but hopefully the cops
'
ll round him up.
"

FRANK HOFFMAN.

Frank Hoffman Frank Hoffman Frank Hoffman.

"
I
'
m sure he
'
ll steal himself another car, of course,
"
continued Billy.
"
At least we
'
ll be able to give the cops a good description of him, though.
"

FRANK HOFFMAN. What
was
it about that
name
?

"
I wonder what that son of a bitch
'
ll be calling himself,
"
said Billy.
"
He won
'
t go by
'
Larry Smith
'
anymore, I
'
m sure.
"

Frank Hoffman.

"
He
'
ll have to whip up another phony name when he goes on the run,
"
mused Billy.
"
Shit, man. I bet he
'
s got
dozens
of
'
em. He must have a new batch of names for every town he comes to.
"

Dave wished that Billy would stop yapping; he believed that he could unscramble the clue if only his partner would cease his pointless gabbing.

"
I wonder what his
real
name is, anyway,
"
continued Billy.
"
It
sure
as shit isn
'
t
'
Smith,
'
man.
"

Frank Hoffman. What
was
it about...

Any minute now; any minute now, Dave would spin around and shout his partner into silence. The chattering was no longer bearable, had become an obstacle to all concentration.

Any minute now.

"
Geez,
"
snorted Billy.
"
He isn
'
t too
original
,
is he? I mean,
'
Smith
'
is about as bad as
'
Jones,
'
man. Didn
'
t work too hard on
that
one, did he?
"

Billy chuckled.

Dave bristled.

Any minute now.

"
Let
'
s see,
"
chirped Billy.
"
What were the other two? I think they were a
little
better than
'
Larry Smith.
'
"

Frank Hoffman. Frank...

Any minute now.

"'
Frank,
'
right
?
"
said Billy.
"
He was
'
Frank
'
at the youth center.
"

Frank...

Any minute now, Dave would command his friend to shut up, just shut up.

"'
Frank Moses,
'"
said Billy.
"'
Frank Moses.
'
Yeah, I guess that one
'
s pretty good. The other one was
'
Mike
'
something, wasn
'
t it?
"

Frank...

Any minute now.

Frank Moses?

"'
Mike
'
...uh...damn. Mike Mike Mike.
"
Billy clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, then paused for a moment. A tractor trailer thundered past, barreled on down Route 26.

Any minute...

Frank?

Frank Moses?

"
Shit, I can
'
t think of it,
"
Billy said disgustedly.
"
What
was
his other name, man?
'
Mike
'
what?
"

'
Mike
'
what? What was the rest of it?

For an instant, Dave
didn
'
t
remember,
couldn
'
t
recall the rest of Larry
'
s third alias. For just a beat, his mind remained in a hopeless tangle.

Then, abruptly, a switch flipped in Dave
'
s head, and he knew. All at once, the lights came on and he knew.

Stopping as suddenly as if
he'd
just spotted a rattlesnake on the berm, Dave spun to face his partner.

"
I
'
ve
got
it
!
"
he shot excitedly, eyes wide and fiery with triumph.

"
Got what
?
"
asked Billy, looking bewildered.

Hearing the whir of an approaching car, Dave hastily hooked his thumb over the road; now that he knew, knew how to proceed, he wanted to get moving immediately.
"
Larry! I know how to find
Larry
!
"

"
You
'
ve lost me,
"
frowned Billy.
"
What the hell
'
re you talking about, man?
"

"
It
'
s so easy
!
"
Dave gushed breathlessly.
"
I can
'
t believe how
stupid
I
wasn
'
t
to
'
ve gotten it before!
"

"
I
'
m
not
following you,
"
Billy stated crankily.
"
What
'
re you
getting
at?
"

"
Hoffman
!
"
cried Dave, waving his thumb at the oncoming car.
"
Larry
'
s other
name
was
Mike Hoffman
!
"

"
Oh yeah,
"
nodded Billy.
"
That
'
s
what it was. I don
'
t know why I couldn
'
t remember it.
"
Pausing, Billy appeared to ponder the information; then, his confused frown deepened.
"
So how does that help us find Larry?
"

"
Mike
Hoffman, right
?
"
Dave said excitedly, still jubilant though the latest car had passed without slowing.
"
Mike
Hoffman...
Frank
Hoffman! Same last name as that kid!
"

Billy
'
s eyes suddenly widened with recognition.
"
Well, I
'
ll be damned,
"
he said slowly, shaking his head.

"
I
knew
it
!
"
crowed Dave, pumping his thumb at another car which was cruising toward him.
"
I
knew
that name sounded familiar! I
knew
there was something important about it!
"