“He kept looking down the road that came into the park. I figured he was just watching for the other runners. He was the one who spotted the fire.”
Now Melody remembered. Although she had been some distance from Fred, introducing herself to the other runners, she had heard him yell. She turned and saw the flames shooting up, and her first thought was a fear that Drake had been in an accident. Uncanny, because she didn’t claim to have psychic powers. But after not seeing him for six years, she didn’t want anything to spoil their reunion.
Peaches continued, “Fred yelled for me to get the car. He had me drive as fast as I could. He kept swearing under his breath, like he knew what had happened. When we got to the taxi, the fire was so hot we couldn’t get close to it. He said, ‘Are they inside? Can you see if anybody’s inside?’ That’s when Drake yelled from the field. He looked very relieved when he heard Drake’s voice.”
Peaches stopped again and took another drink of his tea. Melody was confused.
“So what do you make of this?”
“I think Fred knew the accident was going to happen.”
“You mean he planned it?”
“He may have set it up, but it would have been Casey’s idea. Fred wouldn’t have done it by himself.”
“But why? Especially if he wanted Drake in the race?”
Peaches shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve been over it and over it in my head, and I can’t figure it out.”
CHAPTER 28
More of the same today as you run from Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to Palo Colorado Road near the Carmel Highlands, all on Route 1. Early on, the route goes up to over 900 feet and then sharply downhill, bottoming out not far above sea level at the Little Sur River. Then up to 500 feet before falling again. This will be another test of your ability to run in the hills. Watch for traffic; shoulders are often narrow or non-existent.
“How does it feel to be in third place?”
Tom addressed this question to Melody. It was early in the run. Low-lying fog hid the water, and it was hazy enough on the road to keep the temperature cool. The teams were still closely bunched, but they were attacking a major climb. Melody knew from recent experience that by the end of the run, they would be spread out over several miles.
“It feels great; if you and Jerry would agree to walk today’s route, it would feel even better.”
Tom laughed. He and Jerry still held a substantial lead, and they had an annoying habit of dogging the heels of whoever was in first place during the daily runs and never losing very much ground. Not all the runners were as sanguine about the fact that Melody and Drake had managed to go from ninth place to third place in a short period of time. There were grumblings, especially since Melody was a “girl,” but none of the runners had dared to say anything to her face. What could they say-that she had an unfair advantage on the hills because she was lighter? It wasn’t as if she were attached to a helium balloon.
Drake, who was running a step behind Melody, touched her arm and motioned for her to fall back slightly.
“Are you going to fill me in on your dinner with Peaches? I expected you to come to my room last night.”
“It was fairly late when we got back. I knew you would be going through your routine, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“How thoughtful of you. I take it you two hit it off.”
“Yes, we did. Peaches is a gentleman, which makes him a member of a rare breed.”
Melody was sure Peaches had enjoyed her company, although he hadn’t tried anything, and except for wearing her most revealing dress, she hadn’t tried to lead him on. However, she wouldn’t mind causing Drake a twinge of jealousy. On second thought, she didn’t know whether he was capable of that emotion. Maybe she should just tell him what Peaches had told her.
“One reason I didn’t see you last night is because I thought you should be rested when I told you what Peaches said.”
Drake was instantly all ears. “What did he say?”
Melody repeated the description Peaches had given of how Fred had acted before and after the accident and Peaches’ thoughts about Casey’s involvement.
“That bastard.” Drake stumbled and almost fell. “So Casey didn’t want me in the race, after all.”
“If that’s true, he changed his mind. But Peaches doesn’t think it’s that simple.”
Melody told how Drake had been picked because of his father. Drake was livid.
“He’s not only a bastard, he’s a conniving bastard. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
“You may get the opportunity. Peaches thinks that Casey is in Monterey. We’ll be staying in the Carmel area tonight. Carmel isn’t far from Monterey.
Melody insisted on going along when Drake borrowed the company car and drove to Monterey. She was afraid of what Drake might do to Casey. They found out what hotel Casey was staying at from Fred, and after leaving a couple of urgent messages, Casey had called them back and agreed to meet them for dinner.
If Casey was concerned with what Drake wanted, he didn’t show it as he escorted them into one of Monterey’s finest restaurants after meeting them in the parking lot. Drake let him order the wine before he started talking.
“I want to talk about the accident that happened the day the race was supposed to start.”
Casey nodded, apparently unconcerned. “You’re fully recovered from that, aren’t you?”
“Except for my back. I still have spasms; I’m always going to have to be careful of it. But I want to discuss how it happened. Everybody agrees that it was intentional. That being the case, somebody paid the truck driver to cause it. My contacts tell me that my previous employer had nothing to do with it. Any enemies I might have made in the world would have acted years ago.”
“So what do you think happened?”
“One of my contacts has come up with something. All of the evidence points to one person.”
“And that is…?”
“You.”
Drake’s eyes bored into Casey’s. He was enjoying this, even though Casey had on his poker face.
“Me? Surely you jest. I’m paying you to be in this race. As they say on Perry Mason, what’s my motivation?”
Drake shrugged. “Damned if I know. But then I never did understand all the ins and outs of politics. I think I’ll have a talk with my father about this. He’s a lot more politically tuned in than I am.”
Drake continued to watch Casey. Did he see a slight change in his expression? Had he gotten to him? Casey shifted in his seat. Drake waited for him to speak. Casey took a deep breath.
“I have a confession. I really did want you in the race. When we approached you, you agreed to run, but not with the wholehearted enthusiasm of most of the other runners. I was afraid you’d fall behind and drop out. I needed a way to get you to stay. I decided to frighten you into thinking that someone from your past was trying to hurt you, and that the safest place for you was in the race.”
“Frighten me? Hurt me? You damn near killed me.”
“That was a terrible mistake. The truck driver was overzealous. I just wanted him to bump the taxi-to give you a warning. He didn’t get the right message. Look, I want to make it up to you. Starting today, I’m going to double your per diem to two thousand dollars-a thousand apiece.” He managed a smile. “I’m sure you won’t have to mention any of this to your father.”
