David Baldacci - The Last Mile

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s something good at least.”

Oliver studied him. “Melvin, what’s wrong?”

He glanced up at her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been around you long enough to know your moods. Something’s bothering you.”

Jamison said, “He got a visit last night from his father.”

“Only he’s not my father.”

Oliver choked on her toast. “What?”

Mars took a few minutes to explain.

Oliver looked stricken. “My God. I never would have thought... I mean.” She touched Mars’s hand. “That’s awful.”

Decker said, “And it also means Roy has no incentive to help us.”

“But wait a minute. I need to get filled in. What have you discovered so far?”

Mars and Jamison looked at Decker. He cleared his throat. “We have some persons of interest. We have no proof against them.”

“Who are they?”

“The police chief of this town, for starters,” said Jamison. “Roger McClellan.”

“The police chief! Wait a minute. What crimes exactly are we talking about?”

“Bombings in the 1960s,” answered Jamison.

Oliver looked bewildered. “You have totally lost me. Bombings?”

Decker said, “We followed some leads. We learned some things. But we still need proof.”

The waitress came over and asked Oliver if she wanted some coffee. She said, “Yes, and make it extra strong.”

The waitress smiled and picked up the cup in front of Oliver. “Let me just swap this out, hon, it’s dirty.”

“Thanks.”

Decker flinched like he’d been slapped. He mouthed one word: Swap .

Oliver turned back to Decker, who instantly refocused. “Do you think you can get the proof?”

“We have some avenues to get there. But it won’t be easy.”

The waitress came back and poured out fresh coffee for Oliver and everyone else. After she left Oliver said, “What can I do to help? If it’s legal issues, I can definitely provide assistance.”

Decker nodded. “Thanks. It may very well come to that.”

Jamison added, “The key will be to find what was in Roy Mars’s safe deposit box. We think that will be more than enough proof.”

Oliver said, “And since he met with Melvin, we know he’s nearby.”

“He was nearby,” corrected Decker. “He could be a long way away by now. Particularly if he got on a plane.”

Mars looked at the others. “I’m not sure we should pursue this.”

They all looked at him.

Oliver said, “Melvin, we have to.”

“Why? To correct the wrongs of the past? By my count a mother has been killed and her son left as an orphan because of our investigation. The guy I thought was my father is a stone-cold killer. My mother was dying of brain cancer before he blew her head off. Decker, Milligan, and me almost died in a fire set by these assholes. And these crimes from the sixties? I’m not saying I don’t want to nail the bastards responsible, but at what price? Are you going to get killed next, Mary? Or Alex? Or Decker?”

Decker said, “We all signed on for this.”

“Well, I didn’t. I think maybe I need to get on with whatever life I have left.” Before they could say anything else, Mars rose and left.

“He’s upset and frustrated,” said Oliver. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Let him be for now,” said Decker. “He’s had to deal with one body blow after another. Those punches add up. I’m surprised he’s still standing.”

“He’s tough,” pointed out Oliver.

“He’s going to have to be,” replied Decker. “We all are.”

Once more Decker was awoken from a dead sleep.

This time the man wore a mask. The hand over his mouth was gloved. The other held a semiautomatic pistol. The muzzle was placed against Decker’s temple.

It was a hell of a way to wake up.

“You need to really listen to what I’m going to say,” said the man in a low voice. “Nod if you understand.”

Decker nodded.

“You have two choices. One, you abandon what you’re doing and go home. Your buddy is out of prison and he’ll stay out. We’ll see to that. You will pursue this no further. Do you understand the first choice?”

Decker nodded.

“The second choice is that you continue investigating. The consequences of that will be that you start to lose people close to you. Jamison first, then Oliver. It won’t be pretty. But it is guaranteed. There will be no second request. One step more and they die. Then you. Do you understand the repercussions of the second choice?”

Decker nodded once more.

Then something stuck him in the neck, his eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he passed out.

Sometime later his eyelids fluttered a bit and then popped open.

Decker sat up so fast he felt nauseous. He thought he was going to be sick, but he took several deep breaths and his stomach quieted down. He rubbed his neck where they had injected him. Powerful stuff. It had knocked him out in a second.

He slowly touched his toes to the floor and stood. He was shaky at first, but his balance returned and he walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face.

He checked his watch.

Six a.m.

He had no idea how long he’d been out.

Whoever had been here was long gone, of that he was sure.

He went back to his bed and sat on the edge.

Two choices. Two very different choices.

He groaned and covered his eyes with one big hand.

He just sat there for a while and then made up his mind.

He dressed, walked to Mars’s room, and rapped on the door.

“Yeah?” the voice said immediately.

Mars apparently was already up. Maybe he hadn’t even gone to sleep.

“It’s Decker, we need to talk.”

Mars opened the door and Decker strode in. Mars closed the door and the two big men faced off in the center of the room.

“Look,” began Mars. “I know what I promised you, but this was before the case took this detour to the sixties. It’s not just Roy out there. He’s bad enough. We got killers coming after us, Decker.”

Decker said, “I know. They were just in my room.”

Mars simply stared at him for a few moments. “Come again?”

Decker quickly explained the two choices.

“So you’re abandoning the case?”

“I’m not, but I want the three of you to get the hell out of town. I’ll contact Bogart and tell him what happened. They can arrange for protection until this is all over.”

“You mean until you’re dead.”

“I can’t tell the future, Melvin.”

“Seems pretty clear to me. You pursue the case, they kill you.”

“And that’s my choice.”

“Why are you willing to die for this? It’s not even your problem.”

“It is my problem, because I chose to make it mine.”

“I don’t get you, man, I really don’t.”

Decker sat in a chair and stared up at him. “It’s all about radio timing, Melvin.”

Mars slumped on the edge of the bed. “Well, that clears everything up, doesn’t it?”

“I was driving from Ohio to my new job in Virginia. For some reason I turned on the radio. And right that second the story comes on.”

“What story?”

“ Your story, Melvin. A minute off here or there and I never would have heard it. And nothing that’s happened since would have happened.”

“So you believe in fate?”

“No, I believe in not ignoring something staring me in the face.”

“They said they’d kill you.”

“And that gives me hope.”

“Are you losing your damn mind?”

“Why threaten me unless they’re afraid?”

“ You should be afraid.”

“I am afraid. I was afraid every time I stepped on the football field. Or did a patrol round as a cop. Still didn’t stop me from doing my job.”