“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.” Melody reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a roll of adhesive tape and a foam pad. “I’m going to cover the cut. That will protect it and should reduce the pain.”
She squeezed some disinfectant from a small tube onto a gauze pad, which she placed on the cut. She covered the gauze with a foam pad and taped it firmly to Aki’s foot.
“Wait ten minutes for the bleeding to stop. Then put on your sock and shoe. Start running slowly. If the pain is bearable, you can speed up. That should hold you for today. If we get to San Clemente before you, we’ll arrange for you to see a doctor.”
“Thank you.” Aki looked gratefully at Melody.
Mike said, “Most of the runners wouldn’t have taken the time to stop and help us.”
“It’s a long race,” Drake said. “We need to help each other. Good luck.”
He and Melody started running along the beach. After they had gone a hundred yards Drake looked back at the pair. They were still sitting on the sand.
“This is the first time we haven’t been in last place during a day’s run. And you’ve acquired a couple of new admirers. It’s a good day.”
“It will be a good day if we find out that my mum is okay.”
“I’m actually glad you called.”
Blade’s voice sounded upbeat. Drake suspected that he didn’t have a woman with him tonight that he had to impress.
“I take it you’ve got some information for me.”
“One of our girls tracked down Melody’s mother. I like Melody, so I gave it a high priority. Tell her that if she ever wants to come back, the agency has a place for her. And if she just wants to live the life of a princess, she can live with me. I’ll take care of her. Tell her that.”
“Fat chance. What about her mother?”
“Blondie went to her house; she wasn’t there. She went next door and talked to a neighbor. It seems that Mrs. Jefferson is off visiting a friend in Sheffield. Blondie got the number and called her in Sheffield. She’s having a jolly good holiday, as she said.”
Relief flooded through Drake. He had been more worried about her than he had allowed himself to believe. Mona Jefferson had befriended Drake when he had been stationed in England. She had cooked scrumptious meals for him. Melody had complained that he liked Mona more than he liked her. Drake copied down the information about where she was.
“I appreciate you doing that.”
“I know you do, you bastard, but I did it for Melody, not you. I did, however, out of the goodness of my evil heart, make a minimal effort to find out some information about Giganticorp.”
“Shoot.”
“Big G, as it’s called in government circles, develops and manufactures a variety of electronic equipment and other stuff for the military. They have a sweet deal going. Some of their contracts weren’t put out for bidding. They’re privately owned, and I haven’t seen the figures, but a contact at the IRS told me that they are immensely profitable.”
“Ike’s military-industrial complex in action.”
“Looks like it. Casey Messinger, the CEO, is rolling in it. He owns several houses, including one on the Riviera. He’s married to his second wife, a former Miss Galaxy, or something like that.”
“It’s funny that I haven’t heard much about Giganticorp.”
“Nobody has. They keep a low profile. When you’ve got it as good as they do, you don’t want to spoil it by having people ask too many questions. Some generals and admirals own part of it. It’s true that your Casey has filed for the U.S. Senate, but there hasn’t been a lot of publicity about that yet. He’s made his money, so now he wants to become a do-gooder and bask in the love from the proletariat that he deserves.”
“The universe save us from do-gooders. All that is very interesting, but did you find out anything about betting on Running California.”
“Ah, the race. An attempt by the humble Casey to publicize the great state of California-but also himself. He’s been quoted about it in every major newspaper in the country, including the New York Times , Washington Post, et cetera. I even saw Oliver Drake, the military hero, mentioned. It brought tears to my eyes, and I found myself humming ‘God Bless America.’”
“Save it. What about betting?”
“ Nada. Zilch. The boys in Vegas couldn’t care less.”
“What about an international syndicate?”
“This is small potatoes for them. Nobody cares, Drake. Except me. I’ve always cared about you. Look how many times I’ve gotten your ass out of a jam-”
“I’ll remember you in my will. Do you have any other information for me?”
“You don’t care about me; you only care about what I can do for you.”
“I’ll call you again in a few days to see if you’ve learned anything more.”
“I’ll wait here-all alone by the telephone-pining for your call.”
Drake hung up. Good news about Melody’s mother. Bad news about the threatening note. It must be some sort of inside job. But inside what? And why?
CHAPTER 9
Today’s run goes through some of the richer areas of Orange County. It starts out on the beach at San Clemente State Beach. Stay on the beach past the private homes that are built on the sand. It will be low tide, and you should have no trouble getting by them. At San Juan Creek in Doheny State Beach get on Route 1 and follow it for the rest of the run. You will pass Dana Point, commemorating Richard Henry Dana who wrote “Two Years Before the Mast,” and Laguna Beach, the home of many artsy people and the annual “Pageant of the Masters.” After passing through Corona Del Mar you will enter Newport Beach. The run ends at MacArthur Boulevard (Route 73). Please observe all traffic laws when you’re running on Route 1.
“Maybe I should feel thankful to the person who wrote that note. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have stayed in the race.”
Drake and Melody were running through Laguna Beach on Route 1, past art galleries and other touristy buildings. A horde of shorts-clad tourists competed with them for sidewalk space, often slowing them down.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, but don’t push it. The note said we had to finish the race. My mum was rather shocked when I called her, by the way. She wanted to know how I found out where she was.”
“She always struck me as being very independent.”
“Too independent. I’m trying to talk her into coming to the U.S. and living close to me so I can keep an eye on her, but she won’t hear of it. She says she would miss her friends too much.”
Drake looked behind him. “I wonder how Aki and Mike are doing. I haven’t seen them since we got off the beach.”
“They’ll be okay. Aki said the doctor didn’t think the cut was too bad. He just told him to stay off his feet for a few days.”
“Which of course he isn’t going to do.”
“When did runners ever pay attention to what doctors say?”
“At least we’re not in last place today. There’s someone in worse shape than I am. I’ll be happy when we’re not in last place overall.”
“As I said, don’t rush it.” Melody put a hand on his shoulder. “I feel your competitive fire returning, which isn’t
