him anyway.”
“That’s the chance we have to take. But we can be sure they’re working on it from the church angle. Maybe they’ve found the good reverend.”
“And maybe not. Los Angeles is so big. How are we going to find Nathan if he doesn’t call back?”
“If he comes here, we’ll find him. And this looks like a logical place.”
Tony tried to exude confidence. Shahla looked vulnerable. He placed a consoling hand on her arm. They held each other for a while. Tony pictured a battery charger connected to a cell phone to recharge it. In this case, both of them were the chargers and both of them were the cell phones. They were trying to recharge each other-with courage and hope.
It was 5:30 when the cell phone rang again. Shahla and Tony had eaten more fast food a while ago. Shahla had lost her appetite, but Tony said they needed to eat to maintain their energy levels. She forced herself to swallow, but this time the food was tasteless, and she realized that if Tina was killed, the whole world might be tasteless for a long time to come.
They were sitting at a picnic table in the Kenneth Hahn park, surrounded by the green grass. The grass must be regularly watered or it would look like the brown brush on the hillside. Tony was making notes. He said he was writing a plan of action, in case Nathan didn’t call again. Shahla suspected he was doing it primarily to try to keep his spirits up.
Shahla was holding the phone when it rang. She activated it and said hello. Nobody answered and at first she thought it might be a hang up. But there were noises in the background. The line was still open.
“Nathan? Is that you?” There were times when it was just too difficult to stay silent.
“Are you alone?”
She wanted to snap, “Of course I’m alone; let’s get on with it,” but she forced herself to modulate her voice and said evenly, “Yes.”
“Are you still…interested?”
“Yes. Where should I meet you?”
Silence. Had she pushed too hard? But acting passively hadn’t gotten her very far.
“Have you got a car?”
“Yes. I can meet you anywhere.”
“You’ll have to give it up.”
“The car? If I’m going to heaven, I won’t need it anymore.” It was difficult for her to speak those words. She watched Tony’s reaction out of the corner of her eye. He was showing signs of impatience again.
Nathan named the two streets of an intersection and said, “Meet me there in an hour. Make sure you’re alone.”
Shahla repeated them out loud so that Tony would hear them. “Is that where the Ascension is going to be?”
“I’ll drive you from there.”
“What about Tina?”
There was a pause. Then Nathan said, “I will release Tina at that time. Unless she wants to be part of the Ascension.”
“Let me talk to her.”
She heard a click.
“Tony, he didn’t guarantee he’d release Tina.”
“He’d better release Tina,” Tony said grimly.
“The intersection he named is not far from here,” Tony said, checking a page of the map book. Let’s reconnoiter the area.” He got up and started walking back to the car.
Shahla followed him. “He may already be there. He’ll recognize your car.”
“Well, maybe we can park a few blocks away and walk to it.”
“If he’s there, he’ll see us. It’s still daylight.”
True. But Tony was running out of ideas.
“Can we rent a car?” Shahla asked.
“There isn’t time. By the time we drove to a rental agency, did the paperwork, drove back…”
“Okay, what are we going to do? Call the cops?”
“The question is, what does Nathan do when he spots a police car? Stab Tina, figuring he’s going to be taken up to heaven even if he isn’t at the exact right spot at midnight?”
“Yeah, too risky. He’s unpredictable. What else can we do?”
What, indeed? He certainly wasn’t going to let Shahla meet Nathan alone. They exited from the park and started driving in the direction of the rendezvous, still discussing the issue. Soon they were going slowly through a residential neighborhood. A couple of hundred feet ahead of them a man came out of his house and walked toward a pickup truck parked in the driveway.
“Change cars with that man,” Shahla said suddenly.
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. Stop, Tony.”
“He’s…” Tony hesitated.
“He’s what? Black? African-American. So what? You’re white and I’m mixed and we get along. It’s all one world, remember?”
He couldn’t do it. He drove past the driveway. Then he slammed on his brakes. He shoved the gearshift into reverse and backed up, stopping in front of the driveway. He saw the man, poised to climb into his truck, looking at him curiously. Probably thought he needed directions.
Tony got out of the car and walked around the front of it. How did one start? “Hi,” he said to the man. That was inadequate. “Uh, I was wondering if you’d like to change cars for a few hours.”
The man looked past him to the Porsche. If it had been an old VW beetle, the answer would have been obvious. But he looked interested.
“What’s the deal; is it hot?” he asked.
“No, no. I’ve got the registration inside. I’ll show you.”
“That’s okay,” the man said, as Tony took a step back toward his car. “But I mean, are you on the level?”
“Yeah.” He owed the man a fuller explanation. “We’re trying to find a guy, but if he sees my car, he’ll bolt.”
“I see.” The man smiled. “I’ve always wanted to drive a Porsche. I’m leaving for work. I won’t be back until morning. And I generally sleep until noon.”
“That’s okay. We can change back tomorrow afternoon. Do you know how to drive a stick?”
“This is a stick.” The man indicated the truck. “If you want to do it, I’m okay with it.”
Shahla was getting out of the Porsche. “Bring the phone and the map book,” Tony told her. “And our sweatshirts.” He walked up to the man and said, “I’m Tony.”
“Richard.”
They shook hands. Shahla came up the driveway.
“This is Shahla, my, uh…friend.”
They exchanged pleasantries. Tony and the man exchanged keys. And phone numbers. The man reached into the truck and pulled out a metal box.
“Tools,” he said.
He glanced at the bed of the pickup. It contained a coiled rope, a white tarpaulin and some other things.
“Nothing there I can’t live without for one night,” he said. “Okay. It’s all yours.”
He strode down the driveway and got into the Porsche. Tony watched apprehensively as he started it and
