The Kaleidoscope (18 page)

****

“He’s got two cracked ribs and a mild concussion. We stapled a laceration, but it wasn’t as bad as all the blood might have suggested. He’ll be pretty sore for a few days.” A murky voice Harold didn’t recognize was talking about him. The dull, throbbing pain confirmed the madman and his mountain squalor was reality, not a nightmare. He squinted up into a room lit from every direction with impossible brightness, and closed his eyes again.

“We gave him some IV pain medication, and I’ll send a prescription to the pharmacy downstairs. Here’s a kit to remove the hardware when he’s healed.”

Harold reached up to palpate the bumps on his scalp, almost choking on the bile in his throat when he recalled the blood. Footsteps, and then a thin drape parted, and Pepper appeared. “Hey, Superman, you’re awake.” Her gentle smile was better than any painkiller Harold could imagine.

“How’s Glenda?”

“She’s fine. Morrie’s with her. They wouldn’t let her inside.” She poured a cup of water from a plastic pitcher. “You probably saved her life. That brute could have killed her.”

Harold let her help him sip, trying to remember all that had happened. “We didn’t find Joseph, did we?”

“No, we found us a hornet’s nest, though.” Pepper tipped water onto a cloth and wiped Harold’s brow with comforting coolness.

Harold moved to find the ’scope, but the pain made him gasp, and besides he wasn’t wearing trousers. “Are you okay? How long have we been here?”

“A couple hours. Morrie and I ate something in the hospital cafeteria while you were in X-ray. Are you hungry?”

“Where’s the ’scope?”

She lifted her purse strap from her shoulder. “In here. Don’t worry, it’s safe. They emptied your pockets and gave me your wallet, too.” She wound her fingers around his, careful to avoid the monitor on his finger. “You don’t mind, do you? I have to tell you something about—”

“I’ve got your discharge papers, sir.” A nurse came in and began disconnecting Harold’s IV. “You can stay in this bed for another hour or so if you feel like you need to, but the doctor said you do not need to stay overnight. He’s sending you home with some painkillers, and I have a sheet that explains how to care for your head wound and wrap. You should probably see your primary care physician when you return home.” She lifted the bed sheet, checked his side, then his head, and after a tug or two, smiled at him. “I also need to let you know we’ve alerted the authorities, and you can expect a call from the local police. Your friends testified there was a gun discharged.”

“I understand,” he panted, recovering from the brisk exam.

“Wait here for a wheelchair before you leave the premises. Any questions?”

When she’d gone, Pepper helped Harold sit up. He clamped an elbow against his side, thick with bandages, as if the support would erase the pain. While she shook out the legs of his trousers, he had an urgent need for the restroom.

“Hang on, I need to go in here.” He let her help him into the small room and when he was finished, Pepper was ready with his bloodied shirt, but after a few yelps of protest, she gave up and draped it over his shoulder and buttoned it at the neck.

He doubted he could put on his pants. “What were you starting to tell me when the nurse came in?”

“I need to tell you what I saw in the old man’s room.” She spoke in a hushed whisper while holding his pants open for him to step into.

“What?” He gripped his own thigh to hold his shaky leg steady while she dressed him.

“It was creepy.” She tugged the garment over his knee. “There was a whole wall covered in articles and pictures, like those creepy shrines in slasher flicks. Old yellowed newspaper clippings and pictures and maps. And a table with tools to make I don’t know what with. What do you think he’s up to, Harry? You think he makes torture devices?” She didn’t seem bothered by the intimacy of her hand on his zipper, and slid the button through the hole. “We have to tell the police what I saw, Harry. That man is messed up.” She was nose to nose with him, and if he wasn’t so tortured with pain and dizzy from the medication, Harold might have kissed her right there in the hospital.

“What do you think, Harry?”

“I think I need that wheelchair.” He sat back down and tried to imagine what the ride home to LA was going to be like, since he couldn’t take a full breath without wanting to cry.

****

The pain medications turned his head to mush, and his vision swam through the heat mirages rising from the road ahead as they drove south. The police officer had stopped in to take their statement soon after Harold was dressed, so they were able to get on the road before midnight. Passing headlights drilled into his brain, and he shut his eyes against their daggers.

“Harry, when was the last time you took a sick day?” Pepper’s question came through to him as if a cotton blanket hung between them.

Jaw clenched, Harold murmured, “If you’re suggesting we spend any more time looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found—”

“Harold is correct,” Morrie agreed. “We should get him back home. The pain must be unbearable.”

Pepper nodded, her shoulders rounded over the wheel. She stared at the road ahead in a trance. They had all had a long afternoon since the battle at Gus’ mountain.

She switched the AC on, and the cool air revived Harold. “Do you have my cell phone?” He patted the empty pocket where it usually rode, but he couldn’t bear to check the other one.

Pepper tugged her purse onto her lap and rummaged, one hand on the wheel, the other scooping through the contents. “Here’s your ’scope.” She gave it to him. “I don’t remember seeing your cell.”

“We better call your provider and report it missing,” Morrie advised.

Perfect. Now the motion of the car was making Harold queasy, and his phone was gone. He leaned back and closed his eyes. Whatever had made him agree to this trip was long forgotten. The rhythm of the wheels and motion of the car soon lulled him, and Harold was dozing when the car slowed to pull off.

“I’m drowsy, I need coffee, and you’ll need to eat something with your next pain pill,” Pepper announced, parking near a brightly lit restaurant. Several lifted pickups, a couple of RVs, and a police cruiser were already in the lot of an all-night diner.

Of course she was right. Harold had only been thinking of himself as he longed for his own bed. Pepper had been taking care of him all day long, and it wasn’t fair to expect her to taxi him home without stopping. He managed to get out without too much trouble, and followed them inside after he stood for a moment, hand on the car to steady himself. Over laminated menus, the waitress took their drink orders and Harold tried to focus, glad the room had stopped pitching and rolling. It did feel good to be out of the car, and the smell of grilling onions reminded him how hungry he was

“I’m having a burger. What do you want, Morrie?” Pepper set aside her menu.

“I’ll have chicken soup.” Morrie peered out the window, and Harold settled on a bowl of soup as well.

“I know things haven’t turned out like we thought they would.” Pepper covered Morrie’s hand with hers. “We’ll get Harry back home, and then you and I can come back some weekend and keep asking around.” Her gaze found Harold’s from across the table. “You look pretty good considering what you’ve been through.”

“Morrie, I hate to say this.” Harold measured his words. “But maybe you’ll just have to accept you might not find your cousin. Crazy Gus just convinced me some people don’t want to be found.” The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his friend. Morrie’s face changed from hopeful to hopeless, but someone had to be honest with him. Like ripping off a bandage, he must be the friend to help him face the hard facts. And if anyone knew about people living outside the norms of society, Harold did.

“Have you tried searching on hiking blogs?” Pepper swiveled to look at Morrie. “Maybe you can find someone who knows of him. I’m sure it’s a fairly small community when you focus on the full timers.”

Morrie held up a hand. “No. You two have done enough. And you’re right, I am going to let it go.”

“Give me the picture.” Harold held out a palm. “Pepper will check out the hiking blogs, and I’ll post it for you.” Morrie had never mentioned having any particular expertise with computers.

“No!” People at the surrounding tables turned at Morrie’s outburst. “You’ve already done enough.” He drew back and started again. “And now you’re injured. Let’s leave it at that.”

Maybe it was the concussion, but Harold couldn’t figure out why Morrie was so resistant to being helped all of a sudden.

Then Pepper suggested something he hadn’t considered. He’d been too scared. “All I can think of now is how lucky we were to get out of there. I hope the police find him and lock him up! I hope your cousin, and anyone else who may have crossed him, hasn’t been seriously hurt.”

“I doubt it. I think he was all bluff.” Harry watched Morrie for a reaction. The man remained pensive. Harold couldn’t read anything else into his expression or body language.

“Y’all decide what’cha want?” The waitress appeared, pencil poised.

“I’ll have iced tea and a burger well done. Can you substitute fruit for the fries?” Pepper asked her, but the waitress’ attention was focused on Morrie.

“You got it.” She addressed Morrie. “You want your usual?”

Something flashed behind Morrie’s eyes, and he said in a deliberate tone, “You must have me confused with someone else, I’ve never been here before.”

Eyes narrowed, she continued to study his face. “Okay, hon, my mistake.” But she continued to study him while Harold asked for toast with his meal.

When she’d left to clip their order to the metal spinner over the grill, Morrie slid out of the booth for the restroom.

“We’d have to drive all night to get home.” Pepper yawned when they were alone. “Would you mind if we get a couple of hotel rooms for a few hours?”

A shower and soft bed sounded really good to Harold. “I don’t want to be selfish by making us drive all the way back.”

Pepper chatted about something or other, and Harold tried to concentrate on what she was telling him, but something else was bothering him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about Morrie’s behavior, his reaction to the waitress, was odd. Ever since they left the compound, Morrie had seemed different. But then again, their lives had been threatened and so much had happened, why wouldn’t he seem changed?

Morrie slid back in beside Harold.

“Excuse me.” A woman in the booth across the aisle was calling to them, and they turned to her. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” Bright eyes shone at them from underneath a halo of neatly combed white hair. “My husband, Ralph, and I just toured the underground house in Fresno today. My husband recently had a by-pass, and he was able to walk around the tour no problem.” She tipped a butter-smeared knife toward Harold’s sling. “You should have no trouble at all. It’s very interesting. If you’re going to be staying, you should see it while you’re in the area.”

“Thanks, we’ll think about it.” Pepper raised a brow at Harold. “How cute is she?”

“I’ve read all about the gardens.” Harold’s obsession with Yosemite and its surrounding environs included even the most obscure places of interest.

“Morrie, if you don’t mind, we’re going to find some rooms tonight and go back tomorrow.” Pepper’s speech had slowed. Sometimes her fragile health couldn’t keep up with her zeal for life.

By the time their table was cleared and Pepper had gotten up to pay the check, Harold was almost asleep sitting up.

“You know,” Morrie told him when they were alone. “She was very worried about you. You are lucky to have her for a girlfriend.”

“She’s not my—”

“We should find something fun to do before we drive back. She deserves that don’t you think? Considering what she’s been through recently.”

Morrie’s point struck harder than Gus’ boot. “Of course you’re right. Why don’t you take her on that tour tomorrow, and I will stay at the hotel with Glenda?”

In the car, Morrie piped up, “If you want, I will go with you in the morning. Maybe end this trip on a high note?”

Pepper glanced over at Harold. “Would you mind, Harry?”

“It was his idea,” Morrie told her.

“That’s so nice, sweetie.” She started the car. “I would like that very much. Maybe you’ll even feel like going with us.”

They found a chain motel near the interstate. Harold took a pain pill and was grateful to lie down. He didn’t stir until a soft knock at the door the next morning woke him.

Harold ambled to the door, and Pepper breezed in wearing a fresh skirt and new peasant blouse as if she had packed a steamer trunk for an ocean crossing. Refreshed, she smelled like the floral shampoo Harold had grown to expect, along with the heat that rose within whenever she was near him. Lavender maybe?

“I checked with the manager, and we can leave Glenda in the room until noon.” She waved a brochure for the Forestiere Underground Gardens under Harold’s nose. “If we take it slowly, can you manage to go along? Please, please, please?”

Small knights on horseback ran up and down his side, piercing their swords between his ribs whenever he breathed, and his head throbbed dully. “Sorry. I’ll stay here with Glennie while you and Morrie go.” The doctor’s instructions to rest trumped Harold’s desire to take the tour. “As much as I’d like to go.”

She watched his hand move up and down the bandage. “When was your last pain pill? It’ll make you feel better whatever you decide.”

Resigned, Harold knew she wouldn’t easily give up, and he enjoyed her attention. But he couldn’t go, and besides, he had work to do. “I have three days until the interview, and I want to design several new PowerPoint charts. I also need to call my cell phone carrier.”

“Workaholic.” Pepper feigned a pouty face, but softened her scowl when he winced for her. “You need to eat no matter what, and Morrie’s already in the breakfast bar. Get dressed and join us. We’ll be there for another twenty minutes.” She tossed the brochure on the rumpled bed.

When he didn’t join them, Pepper returned with the dog, who sniffed around the room and settled on the other bed. “Brought you this from the breakfast bar.” Pepper set down a banana and container of yogurt, then stopped in the small hallway, her hand on the doorknob. “I walked her so she should be okay until we get back. Call downstairs if you need anything. I wish you could go.”