Running Northwest (24 page)

“Hey Darlin, how are you doing today?” Derrick said with a big smile as he walked towards the counter and leaned over it to give his friend a hug.

“I’m great! Wow, look at you all decked out in your riding gear,” Tracie answered.

“Hell yes, it’s a great day for riding; and I bet you’re great because…well, you know why. I heard you and Erin had a very long conversation last night,” Derrick said giving her a knowing smile.

“Bah, it was just simple girl talk, you know about shoes and shopping and stuff like that,” she said.

“Two hours for simple girl stuff huh?” Derrick said.

“Mmm hmm,” she answered smiling.

“Okay well I’ll let it go, but for what it’s worth I’m happy for you and Tom, just be careful. I told Thomas the same thing,” Derrick said.

“What are you my damn brother?” she asked pretending to give attitude
.

“Pretty much, best you ever had,” Derrick said.

“Fine, fine, whatever,” she said smiling and then asking, “What can I get you to drink Derrick?”

“Umm…cold brew sounds good today Sweetheart, for here. Where’s the old man at” he asked.

“Oh he’s in the office; he’s been busy all day. I’m assuming he’s expecting you so just go ahead and go back there” she said as she handed him his drink.

“Okay thanks Tracie,” Derrick said as he took his coffee and left a three dollar tip in her tip jar.

As he walked around the counter and past Tracie, she lightly grabbed his arm and said, “Derrick is everything okay with Tommy? There’s something going on and I’m worried about him”

“Everything is going be fine, Sweetheart. Try not to worry, some things just came up that’s all. Thomas will tell you if, and when he is ready. But I promise everything is gunna be okay” he said as he gently patted the top of her hand.

“Okay thanks Derrick,” she said.

Derrick walked into the back room and into Thomas’ office, shutting the door behind him. He sat down in a leather chair, pulled out a folder from his backpack, and set it on the desk. Thomas was on the phone with what sounded like his sister at the moment so Derrick waited patiently and texted a message to Erin on his phone. A few minutes later Thomas hung up the phone.

“Sorry about that man, the sister called and wanted to chit chat about their vacation to come out here and see us,” Thomas said.

“No worries man, about time they came out here to see you and Daniel. It’s been a while, so when are they getting here?” Derrick said, then asking, “Did you get a chance to look at the cameras?”

“Yeah, it has been a while but I’m just glad they’re going to come out; Daniel misses his grandpa and his cousin. It seems they’re coming out a month from now, or at least that is the plan. They are going to be a here for a week. It looks like it’s going to be my old man, Amanda, and my niece Ariel this time around; my brother-in-law Sam has to work. I did look at the videos, it took forever though,” Thomas said.

“Sounds like fun,” Derrick said trying not to laugh knowing full well Thomas and his sister did not get along sometimes.

Derrick was silent for a moment and then finally asked, “So was the guy here?”

“Yeah, he was here, he came in on Wednesday. It seems he came here just after he left The Whaleback since they’re so close. Alexis was working, Tracie had the day off and I wasn’t in the shop at the time. He ordered tea.” Thomas said as he gave a Derrick a look.

Derrick snorted. “How long was he in the shop for?”

“Not too long, here’s the video; I have him from a few different angles,” Thomas said as he turned his laptop so Derrick could watch it.

The video showed the same man they had pictures of come into the shop. They could see him stand outside the door and look through the windows for a few minutes before he came in. When he finally did walk in, he nodded politely at a few of the customers that were sitting down. He looked at the menu for a little bit and kept turning his head and scanning the shop, at one point he arched his neck to look towards the back of the shop. He eventually ordered his tea and made no attempt at sitting down.

“That’s kind of weird; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anybody be that obvious…and stupid. He reminds me of a minor trying to sneak into the bar,” Derrick said slightly amused at what he just saw.

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to talk to Alexis when she gets here today. She had the music up so damn loud it obscured the audio on the tape; I couldn’t hear a damn thing he was saying to her. I want to know if he said anything to her or asked anything that may have come off as weird…if she can remember him that is” Thomas said.

“I don’t know, man; she’s not exactly the smartest thing out there,” Derrick said with a laugh.

Alexis had rubbed Derrick the wrong way the last time she was in Oregon visiting and he had never really let it go. Since then he never thought to highly of Tracie’s cousin, but it was an opinion he only shared with Thomas.

“Tell me about it man, so did you hear from our favorite sheriff today?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah but just briefly though, he had a busy day and said he would get back to me tomorrow. He said he would send anything he finds in an email” Derrick answered.

“Okay sounds good, besides from all appearances I don’t think he’s a huge threat so there’s no rush. At least that is the impression that I get so far. I am more curious as to why the sudden interest in me and my life, and yours also…just don’t make sense really.” Thomas said

“Yeah I’m wondered the same thing man, so we’ll just wait and see what news we get tomorrow I guess” Derrick answered

“So it’s the big day man where you gunna do it at”?
He
asked.

Derrick laughed as he drank more of his cold brew coffee and lit a cigarette then said, “Well I’m waiting for her to get out of work which is in about ten minutes. I told her I was going to stop by and talk to you then I am going to pick her up at home and we’re going to ride down to Newport and stay there for the night. I haven’t decided exactly where I am going to do it for sure, but it will be some time tonight. So be ready for a phone call from us and tell Tracie the same” Derrick explained

“Well I’ll look forward to a very high-pitched female screaming on the phone to me,” Thomas said with a laugh.

“No doubt; she’s going to be screaming her ass off,” Derrick said.

“All right well get the hell out of here man, it’s a nice day to get engaged” Thomas said

“Fine, I will” Derrick said laughing as he got up to leave.

“In all seriousness though, good for you. I know you have been looking forward to this for a long time. I’m really happy for you,” Thomas said.

“Thanks Bro, I don’t think I’ve been this excited and nervous in a long time,” Derrick said with a big smile.

“Good luck man, have fun and be careful okay,” Thomas said
.

“Will do” Thomas’s friend answered and a moment later he was out the door and on his bike, another minute later he was gone.

Thomas leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face. He had not shaved in two days and his stubble was already getting quite long. He felt tired and worn out. A lot had gone on in the last few days and he was still trying to catch up mentally. He reached for his cup of coffee and as he did, he heard Alexis’s voice outside the office door. He looked at his watch, she wasn’t due in for nearly two hours. “What the hell is she doing here so early?” he said to himself and a moment later, she popped her head in the door and said hello.

“Hey Thom
as, how are you today?” she asked
.

“I’m great kid how are you, what the hell are you doing here so early
?
” Thomas asked.

“Well Tracie has an appointment at one thirty so she asked me if I would come in a few hours early for her” the young women explained
.

“Okay sounds good to me I guess, however you two work it out is fine with me
,
” Thomas said and then adding “Alexis do you have a second, I need to talk to you about something”
.

“Yeah sure, should I shut the door?” she asked.

“No, you’re fine. Leave it open. I just need to have you look at a video and ask you about a customer who came in last week,” he said.

“Okay sure” she said in a cheery voice

Thomas turned the laptop and showed her the same video he had shown Derrick a few minutes before, except he had him watch it twice.

“Yeah I sort of remember him, why what’s up”?
She
asked.

“Did he say anything to you that seemed out of place or weird, any weird questions or anything” he asked as he watched her face as she studied the video.

“Hmm no not especially I don’t think, he tipped good on his tea though, like three bucks. I thought he was dressed kind of odd for around here” she said and then adding “actually he did ask if the owner was in though. I told him no and he did not press the issue. Then he just made small talk about the weather. I think I caught him looking at my ass once but that is about it. Why what’s going on”
?

“Oh nothing just some issues with him maybe that’s it. But if that’s all he said then that’s all I need from you Darlin. But if you think of anything else let
me
know okay” Thomas said.

“Okay cool then, well I’m going to go let Tracie leave then” Alexis said

“Oh and Alexis before you go I have one more thing to ask you” Thomas said.

“Yeah what’s up
,
” she said half out the door already and leaning on one foot.

“Do me and the customers a favor and keep the music down okay. I do not care what you play, just nothing raunchy, keep it clean and keep it down okay
,
” Thomas said firmly giving her a knowing look.

Alexis face turned bright red and then she quietly said okay, and then apologized for the music being up so loud. A minute later, she was gone and starting to work. Thomas decided to leave for the day since he had some running around to do before he picked up Daniel. He quickly packed up his things and left his office, locking the door behind him. Tracie was on the way out also so he walked her to her car and kissed her goodbye and promised to call her later. It was sunny and warm and would be a good day to take the dogs for a walk on the beach by the house. Maybe it would be a good time to talk to his son about Tracie and his dad dating each other. Thomas got in his truck, left, and went to the post office and to do his other running around.

Thomas sat at one end of the couch as he watched his son talking on the phone with his grandfather Edward back in Michigan; the constant hand gestures his son was making were amusing to say the least. It was nearly 6:30 pm now on the Oregon Coast and that meant it was nearly 9:30 pm, back in Michigan.

After picking up Daniel from school, they had to make a trip to the library and pick up some books for school that the boy needed. While they were there, Thomas also picked up a book for himself about Northwest shipwrecks. He hoped he would have a chance to read it; he was so busy it took him a long time to read a book let alone finish one. They had stopped at a fast food restaurant on the way home and picked up something quick to eat, the remnants of which were scattered across the coffee table in front of them. Daniel drank what was left of his milkshake as he talked his grandfather’s ear off on the phone, telling the old man all the “cool” things they would do when he was in Oregon on vacation. Ever since Thomas had told his son the news after school that his Grandpa Ed, Aunt Amanda and cousin Ariel were coming to visit, the boy could barely control himself he was so excited. Thomas was excited also for the visit, especially about seeing his niece and his father. It had been
nearly two years since Thomas’
dad had been able to come and visit and he had not seen his dad since his last brief trip back to Michigan for a funeral.

Thomas stood up and stretched his long leg then bent down to pick up the garbage from their dinner. He walked into the kitchen to throw the garbage away when he heard his son yell from behind him.

“Dad Grandpa wants to know if you need to talk to him or if he can call you tomorrow. He said he’s getting kind of tired…and that his ear hurts, I don’t know what that means” Daniel said.

Thomas laughed hard at the last comment knowing exactly what his dad meant.

“Tell him that’s fine and that I understand about the ear thing and that I’ll call later” Thomas said smiling.

The boy repeated what his father had told him to say to his grandpa and a moment later was off the phone.

“Dad, Grandpa said okay and to call him sometime in the morning” the boy explained as he poked his dads side with a finger.

“Sounds good to me, seems like you have some big plans for your grandpa when he gets here” Thomas said