Джонатан Келлерман: Night Moves

“He wanted his life to be meaningful.”

“ That’s the word he used! Meaningful, everyone needed to be meaningful. I told him my meaningful was finding Mom and having the fucking devil punished. I told him I’d given up, now it was just piano that filled in... the spaces in my brain. He said, ‘At least you’re good at one thing, most people aren’t.’ I’m thinking how does he know, he never heard me? But why argue, someone says something nice?”

He choked back a sob. “He was a great guy. I’m so sorry for what happened to him.”

“Not your fault.”

“I let him do it.”

“Talking to Paul was his decision, Cory.”

“That’s all it was supposed to be! Talking. What he called ‘appealing to his humanity.’ I said I don’t think he has any, he said everyone has some. So I gave him the address. He was supposed to call me after he went but he didn’t. I figured he changed his mind and never went. I got mad at him. For being another bullshitter. I knew where he lived because he gave me his address, told me I could crash there if I needed. I went there to talk to him. A bunch of times but chickenshitted out. The last time I really was going to knock on his door but there was this old guy giving me the evil eye so I got out of there. Thinking the Camaro, the tags, if the cops came, I’d lose my home.”

He threw up his undamaged hand, stared at the other, as if it had let him down.

“It was messed up, Doc, I was angry with everyone. Then I decided, take care of your own business, dude. When I had enough gas, I went back to Pacific Palisades, late at night, so no one would see me. Did it a bunch of times, I’d park blocks away and walk and look at his house. I never saw much. That was the bad part of at night. Nothing can happen. Except, then...”

“You did see something.”

“Nothing important, this girl, from next door. She’d come out and look at the other house — on the other side. Sometimes she’d smoke, sometimes she’d just stand there, I thought she was weird.”

I said, “Eventually, you discovered the Marquette house. And the cabin in Arrowhead.”

“Both of them were kind of connected. One night, I was watching and finally, she came out. Not the girl. His new wife. Her.” Grimacing.

“She came out late at night, got into the truck, and left, so I followed. I thought maybe I’d tell her about him, mess him up at least a little. I don’t really know what I was thinking, Doc. I’d already spent so much time watching and nothing happened, I felt like a loser... she drove to the other place. The place where she...”

He shuddered. Limp hair swayed. “It was weird. She drove into the garage but came right out and waited. This was like two in the morning. Soon after, the Range Rover showed up. I recognized it because it was from next door — where the weird girl came out of. But she wasn’t driving, a guy was. I’d seen him, too, coming home in a black Uber or some kind of limo. The guy who lived there, big, he looked like a coach.”

“Chet Corvin.”

“Didn’t know his name, just that he was next door. She got into the Rover and they left. I figured maybe I’d tell him. Your wife’s doing the guy from right next door and you don’t have a clue, you’re a total loser. Turns out, he did have a clue, huh, Doc?”

“You followed them all the way to Arrowhead?”

“Barely made it, barely had gas money but I’d done a few extra gigs at The Carpenter, also a pizza place in Goleta, rich college kids, no one tipping but I had at least some dough. When I hit San Bernardino, I needed to fill up but I was lucky, so did they. I pulled into the same station they did, they never noticed me.”

Smiling. “I’m like that. Invisible.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Cory.”

“No? Hang out with me and you’ll see, I just kind of fade out—” Blushing. “I’m not being weird, Doc.”

“I know that. So you drove to Arrowhead.”

“All the way up to that pointy house. I turned my lights off for the last part of it, pretty hairy driving in the dark except for I could see their taillights. They went into the house, his hand was on her ass, her hand was on his pants, in front, over his dick, it was pretty obvious this was their fuck pad. I’m thinking, Asshole, I’m going to take pictures, want to see the look on your face when I tell you you’re a loser. Then all of a sudden, he shows up. ”

“Paul.”

“I don’t even use his name, he’s Mr. Evil... yeah, him, in his Taurus, he drives right past me, I was off the side of the road, it was dark, under some trees, I nearly shit. What if he was there from the beginning and saw me get gas? But I guess he didn’t because he just cruised up the road and sat there looking.”

“At the house.”

“For a long time, Doc. Then he drove away. I was freaked out, it was unreal. I called Hal but he didn’t answer. I was sure he was blowing me off. I had no idea. ”

“No reason for you to.”

“You think so?”

“I know so, Cory.”

“F’you say so... I got outta there, drove back to Santa Barbara, couldn’t stop thinking about it. Figured my best shot was talking to her. Telling her what a dick she was married to. What he did to Mom, she was in danger.”

His laughter began as a light, not unpleasant sound, ended up acid running down a pane of glass. “That sure worked out well... I’m tired, Doc. I’m like, there’s nothing inside me, I’m real tired.”

I pushed the call button and a cute nurse around Cory’s age came in and squirted something into his I.V. He was already out but the juice slowed his breathing.

She watched him for a second, touched his arm.

“He’s so brave, Doctor. A real hero.”

I went down to the hospital cafeteria. Milo was at a corner table eating a sandwich filled with some kind of meat and drinking a sweating glass of iced tea.

“How’s he doing?”

“Pretty well, considering.”

“Can you talk about it? He waive confidentiality?”

“He waived yesterday.” I recapped.

He said, “Braun thought he could just walk up to Mearsheim and tell him to do the right thing? What the hell was that, a death wish?”

“Hard to say.”

“Is it really, Alex? C’mon, it’s like those do-gooders who pack up and go to the Congo or Syria or wherever hell currently is and get their heads chopped off. I’m not saying their intentions are bad, but still.”

I said nothing.

He said, “Fine, be profoundly nonjudgmental.” He drank tea. Put the glass down. “I am not blaming the victim, but still, it’s a death wish, right? Maybe even a type of suicide.”

I got up, poured coffee from the doctor’s urn, and returned.

Milo said, “You look offended.”

“God forbid,” I said. “Just thinking.”

“About...?”

“You probably won’t like my answer.”

“ What, Alex?”

“People vary. There are all types of stories.”

“Fine,” he said. “We won’t malign the dead. At least not the noble dead, like our man, Braun.” Under his breath: “Virtuous idiot.”

My cell chirped. I read the window, clicked in.

Felicia Corvin said, “Lieutenant Sturgis filled me in. I’m so glad it’s over.”

“He’s right here. We’re at the hospital.”

“With that poor boy.”

“Yes.”

“Please give him my best, Dr. Delaware. I contributed to his fund, he’s been through so much — if you were a girl, I’d say give him a kiss for me.”

“I’ll pass along the message.”

“Good...”

Silence.

“What’s up, Felice?”