“Did you tell her about our past?”
“She’s not interested in our past, only our present.”
They had agreed that Melody would be the hard-ass in the questioning, and he would be the good guy, instead of the reverse. Drake picked up a straight-back chair and positioned it so he could sit facing Grace. Since he was the good guy, he gave her a little smile. Melody stood beside her bed, assuming the dominant position in the room. Drake let her speak first.
“Where did you go when you got up early this morning?”
“I…nowhere.”
“Where exactly is nowhere?”
Drake watched Grace’s face closely. When they had talked about Fred, her face had given away her feelings. Now it might be registering fright.
“I…I was running an errand.”
“For whom?”
Grace didn’t answer.
It was Drake’s turn. He spoke in a reasonable voice, as if it were obvious. “You were running an errand for Fred, weren’t you? You said you sometimes run errands for Fred.”
“I can’t tell you.”
She zippered her mouth and hugged her knees. Drake had been trained to read body language. Her actions showed her agitation-and her legs.
Melody spoke. “Let’s see if we can reconstruct what happened. You received a call from Fred last night. He told you he needed you to run an errand for him this morning. You set your alarm for quarter to five. You went to his room and he gave you an envelope. You went out the side door of the motel, circled around, and went in the front door. You put the envelope on the counter and then retraced your steps. You returned to your room and went back to bed.”
Grace had her chin on her knees, and looked as if she might be going to place her hands over her ears and make a noise to drown out Melody.
“You must have looked at the envelope, so you know who it was addressed to.”
No answer, but Grace’s eyes flickered briefly on Drake’s.
“Did you see the contents of the envelope?”
“No.”
She realized what she had said and shut her mouth again. It might be true that she was an unwitting accomplice. Drake decided it was time for a softer line. “The envelope contained a threat to Melody and me. The first one you delivered did also.”
“I didn’t know what was in the envelopes. I was just told to deliver them in such a way that I wouldn’t be recognized. Nobody saw me this morning.”
“But they did the first time. Where did you get the hooded jacket?”
“From Fred. It’s his. He also gave me the dark glasses.”
Melody said, “With all this clandestine behavior, didn’t you feel that something was seriously wrong?”
Grace shrugged her shoulders. “Fred said to think of it as a game, just as the race itself is a game. He said it wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“And you believed him?”
“I’m paid to believe him. He’s my boss.”
“So to recap. You went to Fred’s room; he gave you the jacket, glasses, and envelope. You-”
“He didn’t give me the envelope.”
Melody waited for Grace to speak.
“I got it from a man in the parking lot. He was sitting in a car.”
“Was it the same man both times?”
“I’m not sure. The car was parked in the dark, away from the lights. I couldn’t see his face.”
“It wasn’t Peaches?”
“No. I would have recognized him.”
“What about the car?”
“I think it was the same car. A Ford or something like that.”
“Color?”
“In the dark all cars are black.” Grace looked from one of them to the other. “Are you going to tell Fred what I told you? I don’t want to lose my job.”
“Did you touch the envelope with your bare hands?” Drake asked.
“Fred gave me a pair of gloves, too.”
Melody broke in. “You must have known the gloves were to keep you from getting fingerprints on the envelope.”
“I…yes, I guess so.”
“So that makes you an accessory.”
Grace looked scared again. “What are you going to do?”
She was naive, and she wanted to keep her job. She had good reason to not like Fred. It was also evident that Fred wasn’t the end of the line in this operation, so getting him out of the way wouldn’t necessarily kill it. Drake had an idea. “Would you like a chance to redeem yourself and keep your job at the same time?”
She nodded.
“It involves keeping an eye on Fred and everything else that goes on. If you see or hear anything suspicious, let Melody or me know. By the way, do you, Fred, or Peaches have a portable typewriter?”
Grace shook her head.
“Do you know the other people who are helping with the race, the plainclothesmen, so to speak?” Melody asked. “Watching for violations, that sort of thing?”
“No. I know there are several of them. Fred deals with them directly. I suspect he feels I’d tell the runners who they are. I-I’m sorry I delivered the notes. What do they say?”
“It’s better that you don’t know,” Drake said. “Not knowing will help keep you out of trouble.” And reduce the chances of her speaking out of turn.
Drake and Melody spent the next half hour briefing Grace on the kinds of things she should be looking for and how she could do it without Fred catching on. Melody softened her tone, and Drake put on his instructor hat.
When they were wrapping up, Melody changed the subject. “After what I’ve done to you tonight, you may not want to room with me anymore.”
“No, I do. I feel safer with you. With both of you. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I get the feeling that you’ll protect me.”
Drake smiled. “We’ll try. We’re not sure what’s going on either. I guess we’re all in this together.”
CHAPTER 14
Today’s run is almost entirely on the beach. Run on the bike path or walking path where available. You will have views of surfers, volleyball players, chainsaw jugglers, piers, marinas, power stations, airplanes, and dolphins if you’re lucky. Starting on Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach, take Avenue I to the Esplanade. Head north and take the first available ramp down to the sand. Follow the bike/walking path to the Redondo Beach pier. Go through the parking structure and alongside the dock to Harbor Drive. Follow it past King Harbor and return to the beach at Herondo. Follow the walking path through Hermosa and Manhattan Beaches, and continue on the bike path through El Segundo Beach and Dockweiler Beach, which goes under the takeoff path from Los Angeles Airport. At the north end of Playa del Rey follow the bike path across the first channel. Turn right and then left on the path to Fiji Way. Follow Fiji Way, turn left on Admiralty Way, right on Via Marina, and left on Washington Boulevard back to the beach. Follow the beach paths through the kooky area of Venice Beach. Continue through Ocean Park, and you’re in Santa Monica. Go through Will Rogers State Beach and Pacific Palisades to Topanga State Beach at the end of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. If this part of the beach is impassable due to high tide, run on Route 1 but watch for cars.
“Running on concrete is more jarring to the knees than running on asphalt.”
Drake made this observation as they wended their way past the many souvenir stands of Venice Beach. Interesting characters of all ages and manner of dress threatened to slow them down, but by going single file, the runners kept up a good pace.
Melody did a double take at a man juggling several objects, including a whirring chainsaw, and hoped that his arm wouldn’t be amputated in the process.
“When it’s a choice of concrete or sand, like today, I pick concrete for speed, but, of course, sand is easier on the body, at least for short distances. Because of our new policy of staying with the leaders, when the others are running on concrete, we have to also.”
They had been within sight of the leaders all day. So had Tom and Jerry, which meant that nobody was gaining on them. Drake felt twinges in his back, a result of their faster pace. He was sure that Fred had set him up with a chiropractor for this afternoon, probably in Pacific Palisades or Santa Monica. Fred had been very good about taking care of his needs. Thinking of Fred reminded him that they hadn’t had a chance to discuss what if anything they should be doing about Fred.