'You think you might like to, I don't know, hang with me after I get back?'
'Only if you promise me we get to do something really, really dull.'
'I promise.'
They kissed once more before he headed back to Ellen. As he passed Grimes's bullet-riddled body, he paused.
'See, I told you there was proof,' he said.
CHAPTER 36
Clearly pleased with the responsibility Lewis had bestowed on him, Lyle Slocumb hopped up behind the wheel of the old Ford pickup. Matt saw Ellen mulling over how best to negotiate the gearshift protruding up from the floorboards and saved her the maneuvering by taking the center seat.
'I could have handled it,' she said, sliding in beside him.
'Hey, after watching what you did with that rock, I would say you can handle just about anything. I just figured since me and Lyle have known each other from when I was a boy, he might enjoy rubbing elbows with me.'
'Yer nuts,' Lyle said.
'Yes, and don't you ever forget it.'
As they pulled away, Matt looked back toward the mountain, feeling an odd mix of horror, relief, and foolishness. True, there was a toxic waste dump just as he'd suspected. Soon the mine owners were going to be exposed for the callous, unscrupulous profit-mongers they were, and the cave would be cleaned out. But his narrow-mindedness regarding the mine owners and the cause of the Belinda syndrome had kept him from the truth and had, to some degree, cost lives — most notably for him, his godfather's. He also knew that there was going to be trouble for Lewis and his brothers. The Slocumbs had become legendary for their mysterious, hermitlike existence. Now, unless a way could be found to dissociate them from the carnage in the tunnel, there was going to be publicity, inquisitions, and scrutiny, and probably weapons charges as well.
Inwardly, he shrugged. He had done what he thought was right and had tried his best. That was the way he had been taught to live his life. There was nothing more he could ask of himself. But there was also no hiding the fact that his exuberance about the mine had almost enabled Grimes and his Lasaject cronies to pull off their lethal deception. Over time, he would have to deal with the way he had handled matters, perhaps with Nikki's help. For the moment, though, it was essential to focus on other things. All that mattered right now was beating the clock to Washington, and placing Ellen in a position to stop the initial injection of Omnivax and all subsequent injections as well.
Three percent.
The figure reverberated in his mind. Three percent of tens of thousands — biological time bombs with an untreatable, communicable disease that had no diagnostic test and didn't manifest itself for a decade or more.
Three percent.
'It'll be close, but we'll make it before that first shot is given,' he pledged.
'Not if we try too hard and end up as roadkill.'
'Okay, okay. I'll introduce myself to the speed limit. Have you ever been on a motorcycle?'
'Once.'
'And?'
'I've been around for a long time, Doctor. Over those years, there have been plenty of motorcycling opportunities. Doesn't my saying 'once' tell you anything?'
Matt grinned.
'You'll love my bike, Ellen. I promise. Lyle, make the next left. My uncle's road is about three miles from here.'
'Ya got it,' Lyle said.
Studying the man — thinning gray hair, aquiline nose, weathered skin, engaging, toothless smile — Matt wondered if Lyle, or any of the brothers, for that matter, had ever had a driver's license. They were certainly a strange lot, but they also seemed to be living lives that were quite fulfilled on many levels. And now, once again, Matt owed them his life. Becoming their friend was certainly an unmerited gift of that bicycle ride to their house so many years ago.
'Know whar the key ta yer bike is, Doc?' Lyle asked.
'In the kitchen on the counter.'
'Jes in case, Ah'll wait round 'til Ah'm sure ya foun it.'
'Thanks, pal. So, Ellen, what's our plan once we get to D.C.?'
'I don't really know. The community health center is in the Anacostia section of the city. I suspect security will be exceedingly tight, what with the First Lady there and everything else that's been going on since nine-eleven. I don't know anyone I could call, and I don't think phoning someone would accomplish anything in time. But once the people at the clinic see that I'm no menace and hear who I am, and assure themselves that the wild man who's with me is no threat, I imagine they'll let me speak with someone in authority. Whether whoever that is believes us in time or not is another story. There's a heck of a lot of votes at stake here, and I'm sure the last thing the Marquand camp needs is something that looks like a screwup on their part.'
'Maybe you can get in front of the cameras to explain what's happening.'
'I doubt it, but I suppose anything's possible. The bottom line is, we've got to get there in time to find someone who'll listen to me.'
'If we don't, doctors all over get the green light to start shooting Omnivax.'
'Four days to two weeks old,' Ellen said. 'That's the age range where Secretary Bolton says they're going to start administering the inoculations. But soon, Omnivax will be available to all.'
'Oh, that's just great.'
'They're justifying that decision by stating that except for those who are allergic, there's no evidence that being overimmunized is dangerous.'
'And every single man, woman, and child in this country should be grateful for the protection against Lassa fever.'
Ellen laughed sardonically. 'Exactly,' she said.
'But nobody's ever studied the adverse effects of vaccinations over the long term.'
'Not in any organized study that I'm aware of.'
'I feel like I've been such a medical ostrich about this stuff.'
'Believe me, you have company. It's not that on balance vaccinations do more harm than good. It's just that no one really knows.'
'Well, then, let's get us to Washington. Lyle, that's Grandview Road, right there. Hang a left. The house is at the very end. Wait until you guys see my uncle's place. You won't have any trouble understanding why they named the street Grandview.'
The road remained paved throughout. Hal's house was at the end of a long, gravel driveway that cut through a peninsula covered with low-lying shrubs and scattered pines.
'I'm sure coming here like this will be hard for you,' Ellen said.
'I still can't believe this has happened. Hal's always been very good to me and my mother. I'll miss him, and I know she will, too.'
Matt decided against going into any details about his mother's deteriorating mental state.
The thin woods gave way to a broad, beautifully landscaped lot, at the end of which was Hal's expansive lodge, perched on a promontory two hundred feet above a large, pristine lake.
'Magnificent,' Ellen whispered reverently. 'Just beautiful.'
'Wait! Stop!' Matt cried.
Lyle skidded to a halt.
'What is it?' Ellen asked.
'There, parked in the driveway on the side. That's my uncle's car.'
