“Am I in trouble?”
“Not at all.” Keller dropped his voice in aconfidential tone. “Zach, your dad sent me to find you. We’ve got a problem.”
“A problem?”
“It’s your mom.” Keller put his hand on Zach’sshoulder. “She’s had an accident.”
“What? So fast? How could — I just left.”
“Your dad went with her in the ambulance. I livenearby and he called me to find you.”
“Wha — I - what happened?” His voice was trembling.“Is she — ”
“Tell you on the way. You have to come with me to thehospital.”
Zach grabbed his pack. “Is she going to be okay?”
“I’ll tell you all I know on the way, son.”
They left the store, hurrying to Keller’s rental van.Zach froze when he recognized it. It was the same van he had seen parked nearhis grandma’s for the past couple of days. The guy unlocked the passenger doorand swung it open. Zach didn’t like those sunglasses. Wasn’t he the guy had seenhanging around down the street? Something didn’t feel right. But didn’t he sayhe lived down the street? Still something didn’t feel right.
“Why didn’t grandma come find me?”
“She’s on her way to the hospital, Zach.”
“Well, how did you know where to find me?”
“I saw the direction you left in just before your dadcalled me.”
A distant siren sounded his dad’s warning aboutstrangers.
Never go with a stranger, no matter how smooth theirline is. They may say I’m hurt, or Mom’s hurt, or there’s some emergency. Theycan make it sound real bad. And they’ll be the nicest people — they won’t looklike creeps. Trust your instincts. If you don’t know the person then don’t go,Zach. Don’t go!
“Are you scared because you don’t know me, Zach?”
That was it. But Zach didn’t know how to say thetruth. He looked at his feet, agonizing about his mom.
The man removed his sunglasses and smiled. A friendlysmile.
“Tell you what son, we can go back to the store, callthe hospital and leave word for your dad or grandmother to come for you. I’llwait with you if you like?”
Zach looked at him. “All right.”
Keller patted Zach’s head and they started back to thestore. No problems, no protest, which led Zach to conclude, this guy was forreal. A bad guy would not take you back. He’d try some scam to get you in tohis car while he had you on the street. He’d never take you back.
Zach stopped. “I changed my mind.”
“You’re sure, son?”
He nodded. “Tell me what happened.”
Keller bent down, eye to eye with him.
“It may be her heart. She collapsed after you left. Iguess she managed to get hold of your dad.”
Zach’s chin crumpled. “A heart attack?”
Keller put his hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know.Your dad didn’t tell me any more than that. We should get to the hospital, ifyou still want me to take you.”
He did.
“I think it’s my fault,” Zach mumbled, bowing his headto sob as he let Keller help him into the van and buckle his seatbelt.
“The whole thing with my mom and dad is my fault.”
Keller climbed behind the wheel, slipped on his darkglasses, turned the ignition, felt the engine come to life with gloriousvictory, and pulled away.
Zach had drawn his knees to his chest, hiding his faceon them under his arms, crying softly. Keller stole glimpses as he drove southon Interstate 80 to Oakland.
He radiates with the light of one million suns.
His face buried, Zach did not know where they weretraveling. “Is she going to die?” He sniffled from under his arms.
Keller did not answer. They approached the Bay Bridge.
“Mister, is my mom going to die?”
The new van hummed silently, save for the tires — rhythmicallyclicking along the freeway. Keller touched Zach’s shoulder.
Heaven’s warrior.
Keller kept his eyes forward. “What is it like to lookupon the face of God?”
Zach recoiled.
“Serpent slayer, chief of Heaven’s army.”
Zach’s mind gathered speed, his eardrums pounded intime with his beating heart, for suddenly he knew. He knew what happened.
Kidnapped. He had been kidnapped by a psycho.
“You are my light and my salvation.” Keller smiled. “Ipraise you, beloved of God.”
As the van moved west along the upper deck of thespectacular bridge to San Francisco, Keller reached under his seat for theplastic bag and the chloroform-soaked cloth.
SIXTY-SIX
Some days,when the mid-afternoon sun hit it just right, the Bay Bridge glowed like a portalto paradise. For an instant, its majestic span and spires changed from flatsilver to a surreal white against the blue-green waters of the Bay a fewhundred feet below.
Today, its beauty was lost on Tom Reed. For him, thebridge had become a tangible span of despair between everything he had donewrong and the futility of his future. It was his third crossing, and with eachtrip, his emotional freight increased, unraveling the worn thread by which hislife was swinging. Reed was rushing east on the lower deck and wondering howmuch more crap a man was supposed to stomach in one day.
His marriage lay in ruin, he was fired from his job,he was an alcoholic, or on his way to becoming one. He had caused the suicideof an innocent man and very nearly accused another. And now Zach pulls a firstand funs away. Nine years old and he takes off.
Could it get any worse?
Sunlight strobed through the bridge’s steel girders.Reed glanced over his left shoulder at San Francisco’s skyline, then at themesmerizing whitecaps below. Why not end it all? He had considered it when hearrived at his room in Sea Park after the blowup with Ann. It was a dumb-assnotion, supplanted by his need to get into his room and reacquaint himself withJack Daniel’s. Lila had not returned. So, he kicked the door. It opened withlittle damage on his second try. He’d pay for that move when Lila got back.
Reed collapsed in the sofa chair, his head pulsating.What was he going to do? Leave town? Chicago? He had some buddies at the Tribuneand the Sun-Times. He could beg for a job. He could see Molly tonightafter she finished her shift. She wasn’t the answer and he knew it.
Reed decided to take the care of his immediate needs: shaving, showering, and changing into better-smelling clothes, ignoring theflashing red light of his telephone answering machine until he finished, whichwas half an hour later.
The first call he played back was the most recent one.
“Reed, Walt Sydowski. Give me a call a soon as youcan.” He left his cell phone and pager numbers.
Sydowski? Reed sneered. Likely found out he had beenfired and wanted to relay condolences from the Homicide Detail. Sure, I’ll getback to you, Walt.
Next, came a panicked message from Ann: “Tom, is Zachwith you? I can’t find him! I think he’s — ”
The phone rang. Reed stopped the machine and grabbedthe call.
“Tom, do you have Zach?” Ann was hysterical.
“No, Ann, I don’t. What the hell is going on?”
“I can’t find him! It’s my fault. He ran away. He tookhis school backpack with some of his favorite stuff and his savings, about ahundred dollars. I’m so scared!”
Ran away? He must have heard us. “How long has itbeen?”
“An hour, forty-five minutes, I don’t know.”
“Did you call Jeff and Gordie’s parents?”
“But they’re in San Francisco.”
“That’s likely where he’s headed.”
“I’ll call them!”
“Call all the Berkeley cab companies. Call BART security.He may try to cross the Bay that way.”
“All right. I already called the police. They saidthey put out a description and will send a car over.”
“I’m on my way.”
Now, as Reed guided his Comet along the interstateoff-ramp for Berkeley, he could not stop blaming himself for dragging Ann andZach into the cesspool of the self-obsession which blinded him to the toll itwas taking on Zach. He would talk to Ann, tell her everything. Make one lastintelligent effort to work things out before it was too late. If anything,anything happened to Zach, he’d never forgive himself. He glanced at the waterbelow.