Gary clicked his tongue against his teeth and shook his head again. He patted down his frizzed hair and looked like he was concentrating.
“Something doesn’t fit.”
Jake sighed.
“I know. But once we put the story out there, we’ll be fine.”
“Is that how you are supposed to do it?”
“In this case, we have to have the police do more. And with the Development Proposition vote so soon, they’ll be motivated to act quickly.”
“I just don’t know.”
“I know. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
He started typing, drafting the outline of his story. He hadn’t written anything so serious in a long time. He felt his fingers tingle as he began to type, but Gary still stood at the doorway with his arms crossed.
“Just be careful Jacob. Make sure all the pieces come together.”
“I will.”
He still didn’t leave the garage.
“What about Sheryl?”
“What about her?”
“Why did Charlotte suspect her in all of this? And why did she give money to the Initiative?”
“I hate to say it, but Charlotte was wrong. She was obsessed with her silly bridge game.”
Gary shrugged, bringing his cane up two inches off the ground along with his shoulders.
“She wasn’t wrong before.”
“Well, she lost control. She became biased. Besides, you talked to Sheryl, right?”
Gary raised his fingers to his lips.
“Not so loud Jacob! Meryl has ears like a hawk!”
“Ears like a…never mind. Where is she?”
“Asleep.”
“Well anyway, you met with Sheryl, right?”
“I did. I think she’s a good person. But there must be some sort of reason Charlotte suspected her of being involved. And a reason she donated the money.”
“I think Charlotte just didn’t know.” He didn’t want it to be true. “She got involved with a group bigger and crazier than her. Something modern. Something she couldn’t understand.”
Gary finally went up the stairs. But before he closed the door, he turned back again.
“I think you’d be surprised what we people know.”
Jake was left alone in the room. He turned on the light. The red bulbs would have to do. The collage of Polaroids on the wall seemed to glow at their white bases. He looked at his laptop screen pulsing in the darkness and started to transcribe his notes from his notebook into the computer.
It didn’t come as easily as he’d thought it would. He blamed the light, but he couldn’t just punch the story out. Something seemed wrong. Unfinished. He stared at the red glow coming from the ceiling. He’d had a long day. It was time to call it a night. He’d go to his apartment the next day and then he’d be done. Things were as clear as they could be. He switched off the red light.
As he fell asleep on the cot, he noticed the white bottoms of the Polaroid pictures in the collage, and then he looked at Charlotte’s duck, which he’d set beneath them. He could barely make out the orange bill in the light. It was silly, he knew. But as he shut his eyes, he couldn’t help but think that the duck was frowning.
CHAPTER 44
Gary liked to ride with the windows down.
“I like how it feels!” he shouted over the noise of the highway wind. His hair frizzed out around his head and Jake had to keep brushing his own hair back. It was a short drive to his apartment, and he had to admit the rush of air felt good. He was wearing another one of Gary’s shirts and had two buttons undone, the wind flapping against the wide collar. Gary was playing with the duck, unscrewing the neck and then screwing it back in.
“It’s genius!” he shouted.
“It is clever.”
“What?”
“It’s clever.”
“What?”
“You can’t hear me over the wind.”
“It’s clever!” Gary shouted back.
They’d go to the apartment and get a few shirts and some pants. Then he’d go back to Gary’s garage and finish up his story. He’d be done by the middle of the day. They’d figure out what to do next, once he contacted the police. He probably had more driving ahead.
“Just so you know, after this, Thompson wants me to drive to Orlando.”
“What?”
He closed Gary’s window.
“Thompson wants me to drive to Orlando to write about Melinda Ginelli.”
“Who’s she?”
“I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t know her. She’s a celebrity, apparently. She just moved down here, so I’m the only one here who could cover her.”
“They probably want pictures.”
“I guess so.” He hadn’t thought of that. They passed Sunset Cove beneath the highway. “I’ll ask Thompson when I get back. I’ll see if he wants you to come along.”
“Good.”
“It’s funny, Gary.”
“What?”
“I’ll be glad to work on a normal story. But after this…”
“It seems a little boring to write about.”
“Exactly.”
“I still haven’t taken any exciting photographs.”
“That’s true-Melinda Ginelli might be more interesting for you.”
“I can be a paparazzo!”
Jake laughed as the Palmstead whizzed by beneath them. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad-writing about famous people instead of trying to make news. Then he looked over at Gary. He was frowning.
“I hope it turns out OK.”
“So do I.”
They continued down the highway. It was a beautiful day at least. The sun was high in the sky and there weren’t any clouds. He could let himself enjoy it this time. He opened the windows again, now that he and Gary were done talking. Gary’s hair frizzed out immediately. Jake’s blew back, then to the side, and then in front of his face. He grabbed the wheel with both hands and watched the road. The sleeves on the borrowed shirt crept up past his elbows.
He turned on the windshield wipers. It was all there. Palm trees to the side. Heat blasting in. And giant bugs on the windshield. The water shot out and the wipers started pushing the bugs away. They’d all be washed off by the water and the wind. As he did it, he thought about his story. All this was being wiped away. Abram Samuels, Sheryl Goldfein, the Saving Tomorrow Initiative. Charlotte Ward, too.
They descended the ramp and after a few minutes pulled up to his apartment building’s lot. It seemed calm. Empty. He still asked Gary to come with him. They crept up the apartment stairs, Jake moving slowly so Gary could follow with his cane. The sound of the cane tapping on the stairs echoed over and over as they climbed to the second floor.
