She pulled up to the front office under a canopy, and I got out.
Inside, a desk clerk saw me through the glass door and buzzed me in. I guess I looked respectable in my suit, even if it was crumpled and smelled.
I went to the desk clerk and showed him my credentials. I said, 'I think we have colleagues registered here. Rooms one-sixteen and one-seventeen.'
'Yes, sir. Do you want me to call them?'
'No, I just need to leave them a message.
He gave me a pad and pencil, and I scribbled, 'Kim, Scott, Edie-Sorry I couldn't stop by-See you in the morning-J.C.' I gave the note to the clerk and said, 'Call them about eight. Okay?' I slipped him a ten and said casually, 'How can I find the road to the Reagan ranch?'
'Oh, it's not too hard to find. Go north another six tenths of a mile, and you'll see to your left Refugio State Park, and to your right is the beginning of the mountain road. Refugio Road. But you won't see a sign.' He added, 'I sure wouldn't try it tonight.'
'Why not?'
'You can't see anything. Near the top, the road makes a lot of switchbacks, and it's real easy to zig when you should zag, and wind up in a ravine. Or worse.'
'No problem. It's a government car.'
He laughed, then looked at me and said, 'So, the old man is home?'
'Just for a few days.' I asked him, 'Am I going to have trouble finding the ranch?'
'No. It's sort of at the end of the road. Bear left at the Y. There's another ranch to the right. You'll see some iron gates if you bear to the left.' He again advised me, 'It's a tough drive in the daylight. Most people have four- wheel drive.' He looked at me to see if he was getting through, wanting, I'm sure, to give it his best shot so he could say to the State Police later, 'I warned him.' He said, 'It will be light in three hours and some of this fog might burn off an hour or so after sunrise.'
'Thanks, but I have six pounds of jelly beans I have to deliver before breakfast. See you later.'
I left the reception area and got back to the car. I opened Kate's door and said, 'Stretch a little. Leave it running.'
She got out and stretched. 'That feels good. Did you get us rooms?'
'They're full.' I slid behind the wheel, closed the door, and lowered the window. I said, 'I'm going to the ranch. You staying or coming?'
She started to say something, then let out a sigh of exasperation, came around to the passenger side and got in the car. 'Do you know how to drive?'
'Sure.' I drove back onto the coast road and turned north. I said, 'Six tenths of a mile, Refugio State Park to the left, Refugio Road to the right. Keep an eye out.'
She didn't reply. I think she was angry.
We saw the sign for the state park, then at the last second I saw a turnoff and cut the wheel right. Within a few minutes we were headed uphill on a narrow road. A few minutes later, the fog got worse, and we couldn't have seen the hood ornament if there had been one.
We didn't say much, but just crept along the road that was at least straight at this point as it went up a sort of ravine with walls of vegetation on either side.
Kate finally spoke and said, 'They're just going to turn us back.'
'Maybe. But I have to do this.'
'I know.'
'For the Gipper.'
She laughed. 'You're a total idiot. No, you're Don Quixote, tilting at windmills. I hope you're not showing off for me.'
'I don't even want you along.'
'Sure you do.'
So, up we went, and the road got steeper and narrower, and the surface started to get rougher. 'How did Ron and Nancy get up here? Helicopter?'
'I'm sure of it. This road is dangerous.'
'The road is fine. It's the drop-offs on each side that are dangerous.'
I was really tired, and I had trouble keeping awake, despite the fact that I was starting to become anxious about the road. I said to Kate, 'I own a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I wish I had it now.'
'It wouldn't matter if you had a tank. Do you see those drop-offs on either side of us?'
'No. Too much fog.' I asked her, 'Do you think we should turn around?'
'You can't turn around. You barely have room for the car.'
'Right. I'm sure it widens up ahead.'
'I'm sure it doesn't.' She added, 'Kill the headlights. The parking lights should be better.'
I switched to the parking lights, which didn't reflect as much off the fog. We pushed on. I was becoming disoriented by the fog, but at least the road remained fairly straight.
Kate called out, 'John! Stop!'
I hit the brakes and the car lurched to a halt. 'What?' She took a deep breath and said, 'You're going off a cliff.'
'Really? I don't see it.'
She opened the door, got out, and walked ahead of the car, trying to find the road, I guess. I could see her, but just barely, looking very spectral in the fog and parking lights. She walked off into the fog and disappeared, then came back and got into the car. She said, 'Keep bearing left, then the road makes a hairpin turn to the right.'
'Thanks.' I continued on, and caught a glimpse of where the right edge of the blacktop ended and a very steep drop began. I said to Kate, 'You have good night vision.'
The fog actually got a little thinner as we climbed up the mountain, which was good because the road got a lot worse. I put the headlights back on. The road started to make hairpin turns, but I could see about ten feet in front of me now, and if I kept the speed down, I had time to react. Zig, zag, zig, zag. This really sucked. A city boy shouldn't be out here. I asked her, 'Are there wild animals around here?'
'Besides you?'
'Yeah, besides me.'
'Maybe bears. I don't know. I never came this far north.' She added, 'I think there may be mountain lions up here.'
'Wow. This place really sucks. Why would the leader of the Free World want to be here?' I answered my own question and said, 'Actually, it's better than Washington.'
'Concentrate on the road, please.'
'What road?'
'There's a road. Stay on it.'
'Doing my best.'
After another fifteen minutes, Kate said, 'You know, I don't think they're going to send us back. They can't send us back. We'll never make it.'
'Exactly.'
Her cell phone rang, and she answered it, 'Mayfield.' She listened and said, 'He can't come to the phone, Tom. He has both hands on the wheel and his nose against the windshield.' She listened again and said, 'That's correct. We're heading for the ranch. Okay. Yes, we'll be careful. See you in the morning. Thanks.'
She hung up and said to me, 'Tom says you're a lunatic.'
'We've already established that. What's up?'
'Well, your special rapport with Mr. Khalil has opened the gates for us. Tom says that the Secret Service will let us into the ranch.' She added, 'They assumed you would drive up at dawn, but Tom will call and tell them we're on the way.'
'See that? Present them with a fait accompli, and they find a way to give you permission for something you've already done. But ask for permission, and they'll find a reason to say no.'
'Is this in your new manual?'
