farther you go. If you want any food, supplies, or gas, you’d best get it in Westfield, because there isn’t anything between there and the property except woods.”
“Are there any roads on the property?” Alex asked.
“Yes, if you have four-wheel drive. Your Jeep is ideal.”
“Good.”
Hal pulled out a paper from under the map. “I drew this out for you. It shows the state road, here, that’s on the regular maps, and then here I drew in the private road that isn’t. This takes you onto the property. Here’s the combination for the locks. We keep the gate locked at all times to keep people out.
“These roads, here, on the property, are only accessible by four-wheel drive. You can only drive into the land for a short distance, and then you have to hike the rest of the way to Castle Mountain. That’s here,” he said as he tapped the homemade map. “I marked it for you.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. “This will be a big help.”
The man extended his hand. Alex and Jax shook it in turn.
“I’ll call my people and tell them they can expect to see you out there sometime probably late tomorrow morning,” Hal said. “I’ll give them a description of your truck and the license number so that they won’t get spooked when they see it.”
“Good idea,” Alex said.
“I’ll tell them to watch your back, and make sure you aren’t followed once on the property.”
“Thanks, but I’m afraid that won’t do a whole lot of good. These people can show up out of thin air.”
Hal sighed heavily. “I suspected as much.” He handed Alex another piece of paper. “Here’s my number. It’s a new phone, never been used. Call if you need anything. If need be I’ll come with guns blazing.”
Alex smiled. “Will do.” As he gathered up the maps he saw a small envelope. “What’s this?”
Hal frowned as he took it from Alex’s hand. “I don’t know. I had the maps sitting on the table earlier, before you two arrived. I must have picked it up with the maps without seeing it.”
He turned it over. Both sides were blank. He ran a finger under the flap, tearing it open. He unfolded the piece of paper that was inside and stared at it a moment, reading.
“All it says is, ‘Hamburg, Germany, seven-fifteen a.m. local time. London, England, six-thirty a.m. local time.’ ”
Alex took the paper and looked it over. The words were handwritten with precise care. He handed it back.
“Any idea what it is?”
“Not a clue.”
“Well, we have a long drive tonight. We need to be on our way.”
As Alex and Jax climbed in the truck, Hal came to the driver’s door. “You be careful, Alex.” He ducked down so that he could look over at Jax in the passenger seat. “You too, and please take care of him for us?”
“That’s why I’m here,” she said with a smile.
“We all have been waiting a very long time for you to finally come to the property, Alex. We’d all hate it if you got yourself killed on our watch.”
Alex didn’t want to tell the man what he thought of his chances of success. “You be careful, too, Hal.”
Alex turned the key as Hal nodded.
Nothing happened. Alex sighed.
“Hal, could you give me a little push, please, to get us rolling. The starter has a dead spot in it.”
Hal put a hand against the windshield pillar. “If this happens once you get out on the property you’re going to be in trouble. You can’t roll the truck to get it started on those rutted dirt and rock roads. Listen — I assume you planned on grabbing some sleep in Westfield tonight?”
“That’s the plan,” Alex said. “Unless you have a better place.”
“No,” Hal said, shaking his head. “Not a lot of choices going that way, unless you’d like to sleep in the truck, but I don’t advise that, not out all alone where unfriendly eyes could look in and spot you sleeping. Kind of dangerous. Better to stay in a room.”
“I thought the same thing.”
“A lot of people up that way drive four-wheelers. Westfield has a small Jeep dealership. You ought to stop in first thing in the morning and let them fix the starter while you get any supplies you need.”
“Thanks for the tip. You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been putting off getting the starter fixed.”
“Take care,” Hal said as he leaned his weight in and pushed. “As soon as I run the background checks I’ll head out to the property to be close if you need me,” he said as he trotted along beside the truck, pushing.
As they picked up enough speed, Alex let the clutch out. The engine turned over and started without a fuss. Alex waved good-bye to Hal, then rolled up the window as he made his way out of the lot back toward Hammond Street.
“You can take a nap if you’d like,” he said to Jax.
“I’d rather keep a lookout. Cain’s people are waiting for us somewhere out in that darkness.”
52
MAY I SEE YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE, PLEASE?” the young woman behind the counter asked as she entered information into a computer.
Alex glanced out the side window, keeping an eye on Jax to make sure she was all right. The blue “Vacancy” sign lit up the side of her face as she sat in the idling Jeep just outside watching him. Tired as he was, he reminded himself that he had to remain vigilant.
Alex tossed the license that said “Hank Croft” across the counter to the woman. Displayed under the glass that covered the counter were brochures for sightseeing tours, kayak rentals, a logging museum, and nearby places to visit. Menus from several local restaurants were also on display.
Alex didn’t know if the phony name would do any good in throwing their pursuers off track. To get to the land he had to drive in from Westfield or come the long way around from the other side of town, or come in from way north. Those were the only three possible routes to get to the road onto the land, or to even get close to the remote property. He was sure that there had to be people watching for him and Jax on all three of those routes. Those people would have a description.
Unless he dropped in from the sky, Alex had no real hope of sneaking onto the land unseen. Cain’s people had the advantage of knowing right where he and Jax were headed, while they, on the other hand, had no way of knowing who was from another world and might be watching them, ready to pounce at any moment.
For all Alex knew, the Westfield Inn could be run by people from another world just like the ninth floor of Mother of Roses had been. He and Jax could be ambushed in their sleep. He wondered if he was starting to be too paranoid. Given everything he knew, he wondered if that was even possible.
The young woman handed his license back. “Thank you, Mr. Croft. Here’s your key and your receipt.” She leaned forward to look out the screen door as she pointed to the right in an exaggerated manner. “Down the drive to the end of the building, follow it around to the second entrance. The room is inside to the left.”
“Thanks.” Alex picked up the key and papers. “Can you tell me where the Jeep dealership is?”
“Sure.” She pointed in the opposite direction. “Just keep going down the highway into town. It’s only a tenth of a mile or so. You can almost see it from here. It will be on your right. You can’t miss it.” She snorted a little laugh to herself. “It’s not like Westfield is very big.”
Alex drove through the fairly crowded lot and found their room without any difficulty. He took the box with the knife in with him. He was afraid to let it out of his sight.
Entering the room, he flicked on a small light over the door. He saw by the glowing red numbers on the clock on the nightstand that it was well past midnight. He was dead tired and falling asleep on his feet. He kept his hand on his holstered gun as he checked the small closet and the bathroom.
“How’s the arm feel?” he asked, after clearing the room and quickly covering the mirrors.
Jax looked equally sleepy. “It’s fine.”
“Liar,” he said as he closed the drapes over the small window that looked out into darkness. He imagined
