“Ten-thirty.”
“No! I haven’t slept that late in years. I’d better get dressed.”
“Relax. Have your coffee. A lot of people are working on this.”
“Nate?”
“May soon be in a foster home. His mother’s name is Susie Johnson. She lives in Markleeville. She’s a Washoe tribe member. Sandy knows her.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“Yes. Sandy says Susie’s husband died recently in a farm accident. Coyote is her oldest kid. He told her he was doing fine in Monterey County and held a big job with the Forest Service. Susie has two younger daughters besides Nate. So she sent Nate to live with him.”
“She should have known better!”
“It’s puzzling. She says Coyote always treats Nate gently and loves him a lot. Also, Nate was on meds when he went down there and has gotten into this state since then.”
“Coyote gentle? That’s a good one. The mother needed to persuade herself that Nate would be taken care of.”
“And he sure isn’t an employee of the Forest Service. After he lost the part-time work at Valley European, he did day labor on ranches and vineyards out there.”
Nina ate, leaving Paul the cleanup. He was efficient in his tidy kitchen. They didn’t talk, like old married folks, but one issue they should be talking about weighed heavily on her heart.
What was she going to do about Bob? The moment was quickly arriving when she needed to discuss this issue with Paul. She should buy Bob’s airplane ticket. She should call him, tell him where they would be living.
She had no idea.
She needed more time.
She shelved it and was relieved when Paul kicked shut the pots-and-pans drawer and said, “I have to go talk to Crockett. We have to find Coyote before he hijacks a school bus.”
“You’re going to report on what you found in Coyote’s tent? But we haven’t discussed it yet. I told you, you have some exposure there. You could possibly be charged with obstructing justice or-”
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ve got it covered.”
“It’s a legal matter and I’m a-”
“Yeah, you’re a lawyer, I noticed. But I know Crockett. If I’m fair with him, he’ll be fair with me. The sooner I tell him about the conchos I found, the better.”
“I agree.” Nina spoke coldly. He wasn’t consulting her, and this insulted her self-pride.
“That’s good,” he said shortly. She interpreted this to mean lay off.
“You didn’t mention telling him about the deposit slip you stole from the bankbook in the tent,” Nina said, because she was unable to let him go in peace.
“I decided not to mention that. I’m leaving the deposit slip here.”
“Want the benefit of my legal advice?”
“No.”
“Good decision.”
He went into the study and came out with his envelope. “See you later.”
“Call me if you’re wrong about Crockett and need to have bail arranged.”
“No worries.” But he lingered. They both felt that they had just spoken to each other from a distance, and it pained them. Nina went to him and laid her head on his shoulder. After a moment she felt his hand stroking her hair, and breathed a sigh of relief as the moment of conflict passed.
“I’ll hold the fort,” she said.
“Just rest today.”
“I’ll be fine. Paul, uh, I just wanted to say, you’re a prince. Yesterday, with the dog-you saved Hitchcock. I couldn’t have helped Nate on my own.”
“No problem.”
“For so long I’ve done everything by myself…”
They had separated and Paul was examining his gun by the front door. He replaced it carefully in the shoulder holster before responding. “Me too,” he said. “Eat my eggs alone, face the dishes alone, pass out in front of the tube at night. You’ve made this place feel like home.”
“Okay, then,” Nina said. She offered him her biggest smile.
“Eat up the pineapple in the refrigerator.”
“Go save the world.”
“Back asap, world all saved.”
She blew him a kiss. “I love you,” she said.
“Love you too.”
The day passed. Afflicted by a strange paralysis of the will, she slept, read, worried about Bob. Night came on. Sometimes she heard creaks from the wind, chittering, distant voices. Nina got up and sat at the kitchen table.
Who was Coyote’s partner on Siesta Court?
Had they understood Nate? Was there really a threat to some children?
Frustrated, she got up to sort laundry. She threw in a load of whites that tested the limits of the washing machine. She emptied pockets of pens and miscellanea, marveling at the things Paul stuffed into his pockets, reading each crumpled business card and receipt for clues to his inner self.
Wish’s half-burned jeans and jacket and socks were lying on the floor of the laundry room in the corner. She didn’t have time to deal with them now, so she rolled them up and left them there.
Paul didn’t return. Rain began falling on the roof. Sometime past eleven, Nina finally fell into troubled sleep.
PART THREE
19
A S NINA FELL INTO RESTLESS DREAMS at Paul’s place on Tuesday night, Elizabeth started and stopped the tape recorder with the foot pedal in her house on Robles Ridge, her fingers moving rapidly over the keys as she turned the party tape into written data.
She paused and moved to the word-processing file containing the draft of her article, and the title page came up:
Locals v. Newbies:
INTERACTIONS, AFFILIATIONS, AND CONFLICTS IN A
SIX-HOUSEHOLD ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD
UNDERGOING GENTRIFICATION
The title was too long and the word
She sat at her desk, wearing her robe, curtains closed tightly against the rain, her notebook bulging with her transcripts and observations of the Siesta Court Bunch over the past two years, her tape of the over-the-top party on Saturday night at the side.
For the next hour, she rapidly processed the tape into word-processing files. Then she began organizing the local v. newbie interactions.
Locals: old-timers. They had grown up in the community and adapted very slowly to new conditions. They experienced jealousy and outrage as the more affluent newbies moved in and initiated rapid, sometimes devastating, change.
Newbies: newcomers. They moved in from San Francisco, L.A., or Silicon Valley. As soon as possible, they built their dream homes or developed their property to the max, and now did not approve of any further change in the neighborhood. They had what they wanted, and shifted over into conservationist mode.
She referred back to her Basic Population Description: eleven adults, eight children. Six households. Of the adult population, not counting Danny Cervantes, who had once been on the list:
Seven Locals:
Darryl and Tory Eubanks; four children
Sam and Debbie Puglia; no children at home
George and Jolene Hill; two grandchildren
Ben Cervantes
