Alan Cook - Run into Trouble

Peaches smiled a little and paused. “Casey really wants to be a senator.”

That wasn’t new or startling information, but Melody sensed there was more behind it.

“Has he been planning to run for a long time?”

“I think that’s why Running California got started. He wanted to do something that would bring attention to himself. Fred told me they picked some of the runners very carefully. Tom because he won the Boston Marathon. Drake…”

“Because…?”

“Because of his father.”

“Admiral Drake?”

“Admiral Drake is a good friend of Senator Leffingwell, the other senator from California. He’s been in Congress for a long time. A word from him could help Casey’s chances, according to Fred. Or even if he doesn’t say anything negative about him it would be positive.”

“Hmmm.” Peaches knew more about politics than the runners, at least as far as Casey was concerned. Casey was playing all the angles. “When Drake got into that accident before the race started, it must have really upset Casey.”

Peaches took a swig of iced tea and seemed to study the ice cubes in the glass. Melody sensed that he wanted to say something; she decided to wait him out. Finally, he put the glass down.

“On the day the race was scheduled to start, most of the runners had arrived at the border park. I remember that you were there. Drake was one of the few who were missing. Fred usually doesn’t do anything physical that he doesn’t have to, but he was pacing up and down like he was anxious about something. I didn’t notice it so much then because I had just started working with him, but looking back I can see that it was abnormal behavior for him.”

Melody tried to think back to that first day, but she couldn’t remember anything that had happened before she had received word about Drake’s accident. Again she waited for Peaches to continue.

“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.”

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.”