Hot Storage (25 page)

   “Wait here,” he said softly and hooked an arm around to catch the door. “Lock the door, turn off the lights.”

   I did an eye roll he couldn’t see and turned off the lights.

   “Stay here, Marlena. It’s probably a raccoon shopping in mom’s boxes.” I noticed he kept his voice barely above a whisper.

   “Then I’ll go with you, in case he needs help bagging.”

   He sighed and tugged on the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I show him the gate. Lock up. Please.”

   The last sounded almost painful. I don’t think he used that word much.

   “All right. I’ll make some coffee to go with that pie.”

   He shook his head. “Keep the lights off till I get back.”

   “Don’t forget to come back. I don’t want to sit here in the dark wondering if you’re all right.”

   “I won’t forget,” he said, and pulled again on the door.

   I let go and the door closed with a snick. I went between the captain’s chairs in the cabin and looked out the windshield. Patrick went across the drive and blended into the deeper shadows beside Building Seven. In a minute I lost him completely.

   I waited for maybe ten minutes. No sign of him, no sounds. No sounds I could hear anyway. I backed out of the cabin and went to the dining area. Did he leave? No. His truck was still outside. I would have heard it start.

   No cloud cover tonight. The harbor lights reflect off the cloud cover to provide a dim light. With no moon it was very dark outside, barely lighter than the inside of the motor home. The facility lights were all out, from the lights on the buildings to the perimeter lights. None of them came on when darkness settled in for the night.

   Careful with the door I opened it and stepped outside. I waited, breathing slowly, and listened. Moving on my toes I made my way alongside Pat’s truck. When I was between the truck’s bed and the nose of the motor home I paused and listened again.

   Something wasn’t right. By my watch it had been twenty minutes since Patrick went to check on a noise. I could circumvent the whole facility in that time. Looking both ways to be sure it was clear I hurried across the drive to the same area that swallowed Patrick earlier. Staying in the darker strip alongside the building I tiptoed forward to the corner letting my eyes adjust to the dark. Pausing at the corner I held my breath and listened again.

   A faint noise, almost a white noise, came from Building Three. I crossed the aisle as quickly and as silently as I could and took up the same position beside Building Five. At the next corner I paused again and listened.

   Something was in front of Building Three, the next one over. I couldn’t make out what it was. I used the trick of looking to the side of it rather than straight at it. It looked like boxes. Stacks of boxes.

   I heard footsteps crunching on the pebbles of the asphalt. A grunt. I dropped to my knees, bent over and got as close to the ground as I could. Easing my head forward I looked around the corner.

   A dark pickup truck was parked in the aisle, close to the fallen roof. A dark figure stood in the bed of the truck and another lifted something over the tailgate. Another grunt. The one on the ground bent, picked something up and lifted it. In the dark there was no way to see if I knew them.

   A whisper sounded loud in the silence. “Hang on a second,” it whispered. I made out the words clearly. The figure behind the truck turned towards me and I ducked back, staying close to the ground, making myself as small as I could, breathing through my mouth.

   I watched as Paul Murphy materialized out of the darkness. He was less than fifteen feet from me when he stopped. I thought he might be looking around so I hugged the ground, wishing he had a light so I could see him better, be sure it was Paul. He turned around and went back towards the truck. I lost him in the darkness. It was like watching a ghost materialize and fade.

   There was no sign of Patrick. I wondered if he was maybe helping Paul load something but why wouldn’t he let me know? The figure in the truck bed had looked too short to be Pat but it was hard to tell in the dark. I got to my knees, one hand on the building to keep my balance and eased upright.

   Light suddenly blazed at me, blinding me. I put up a hand to block it and still saw stars. “Hello, Marlena.”

   Paul Murphy. I knew the voice although my eyes were still seeing yellow stars.

   “What’s going on? I heard noises.”

   “Where did you come from? I thought you were staying at the motel.”

   I shook my head, blinking rapidly, trying to avoid the light.

   “No, I was here,” I said.

   “I see that,” he said, and dropped the light from my face. It shone in a yellow puddle at my feet, the outer edges lighting a stack of cartons next to the corner of Building Three. I watched the light draw closer, heard his footsteps close in on me. “What are you looking for?”

   “Me? I wanted to know what that noise was. Did you hear it?”

   Enough light reflected off the ground and the cartons that I could see Paul behind the flashlight he held. “You didn’t answer me, Marlena. Where did you come from? Why are you spying on me?”

   “Spying? I wasn’t spying on you, Paul. I heard a noise and came to see what it was.”

   “Came from where. Last time I’m gonna ask.”

   I gestured with my hand. “From the motor home.”

   “What’s going on?” Behind me Burke spoke. “Who are you talking to?”

   Paul stepped closer and flashed his light on me. “Look who I found spying on us.”

   “Marlie? What the hell are you doing here?”

   “I could ask you the same thing, Burke.” Burke was dressed in black but even the faint reflection of light glinted on his bright blonde hair. “What are you doing here? The gates are closed. No one is coming in tonight.”

   “Checking on things, making sure the facility is secure,” he said, hopping down from the truck bed. “I ran into Paul and gave him a hand. He’s trying to get his mom’s things moved. Take them up to the house.”

   I glanced back at Paul. “Why now? Why not wait till daylight? That roof can let go completely. Kinda dangerous to be in there in the dark.”

   “It’s braced pretty well on those boxes,” he said. “I got in, shoved some out and Burke stacked them. Mom is real worried about her stuff.”

   In the dark? I wasn’t buying it. And where was Patrick?

   I moved towards the truck bed and Burke caught my arm.

   “What?” I asked him, tugging my arm free. Paul shone the flashlight on me. The light reflected off me and onto the cartons already loaded. Enough to see the packing tape with the three main strings running through it. Not enough light to see the colors but enough to see the pattern of those reinforcing strings.

   “Get that light out of here,” Burke said, slapping Paul’s hand. The beam of light went up, spun wildly across the corner of the building then hit the ground and went out to the sound of shattering glass. Without that narrow beam of light the dark wrapped around us, seeming darker than before after the loss of the light. Paul started cursing at Burke.

   “Grab her,” Burke snapped.

   Acting on pure instinct I took off, up on my toes, digging in and trying not to make noise. I sprinted for the next building and got around the corner before I heard the slap of feet on the asphalt. I flattened against the wall, mouth open, trying not to make a sound.

   “Find her?” Burke calling from behind me.

   “Not yet. Watch the gate!” Paul called from somewhere ahead, near the motor home. “Turn the truck lights on. Give us some light in case she tries to circle back.” I held my pose till my heart quit pounding. Then I was up on my toes and moving again, as fast as I could run. I ran for the back of the lot, away from both of them. I cut left as soon as I hit the cross aisle and waited again, stuck close to the back of the building.

   The next aisle suddenly lit up. No way could I get across there without being seen. Behind me I heard faint footsteps coming my way. I turned and ran the other way, across that aisle and then hooked another left and ran for the back of the lot. Behind the buildings I could stay in the dark and watch for their silhouettes against the walls as long as the headlights stayed on. There was a narrow track there, between the back of buildings and the fence.

   The best thing about long legs is how far they will carry you in full flight. I cleared the corner of Building Eight and slowed, feeling my way along the fence till I found the last outdoor slot. Ed White kept his boat in this space, a smaller cabin cruiser he was going to have rebuilt.

   I felt for the tongue on the trailer then felt my way up to where the hull rested. Climbing carefully, trying not to make a noise, I caught the top rail and pulled myself up until I could swing a leg up and catch the side rail. Using my left hand and my heel I pulled myself up and got a grip on the deck rail. I managed to get my right arm around the rail and pull myself upright. I heard Paul yell something but couldn’t make out the words. If Burke answered him I didn’t hear it. I managed to roll between the rails and drop onto the deck. I misjudged the drop and my sneakers hit the wood with a thunk that sounded to me like thunder.

   I froze again, breathing through my mouth, trying to stay quiet. My throat was dry from the sprint and the open mouth breathing. I could feel a cough coming. Turning my head into my shoulder I tried to muffle it. Then I waited some more.

   In a few minutes I heard an engine idling. I watched a faint light on the wall across the aisle, watched it gain intensity as the truck came closer. Another light played back and forth, across and back, up and down. A spotlight on the truck. The sound of the truck came closer, the big engine rumbling down the aisle, echoing off the walls of the buildings. I waited.

   “Marlie? Come on out, babe. What’s the matter with you?” Burke’s voice. Calling over the rumble of the truck. Minutes went by. I waited. Burke waited. I wondered where Patrick had gone. Was he, too, playing cat and mouse out here? Or had he gone on home wherever that was.

   I took a chance and lifted my head a little to see what was happening.

   “Marlie?”

   Burke sounded so close I dropped my head again.

   “What on earth is wrong with you? Come on, babe. I’m worried about you. Let’s go get a pizza and talk.”

   I stayed where I was.

   I heard footsteps crackle along the drive. “Did you find her?”

   Paul.

   “No,” Burke snapped. “I told you to watch the damn gate! She’ll run that way.”

   “Well, expert, why didn’t you know she was here? She said she was staying in your motor home. Don’t you keep track of your damn women?”

   “Not my motor home,” Burke said. “I have the keys. Come on, let’s get loaded and get out of here. She may already be out the gate. I don’t want to get caught with this.”

   “Give me a lift.”

   I heard the door of the truck open and slam shut. The gears shifted and slowly the sound faded along with the light. I waited until the darkness was solid again before I pushed myself to a sitting position and took a deep breath. Burke asked a good question – what was going on? I didn’t even know why I ran, let alone why they were hunting me. And where was Patrick? Thinking about it I realized he couldn’t have left. His truck was parked by the motor home. Unless he walked off and left it, he was still here.

   Being as quiet as possible I climbed over the rail and dropped back to the asphalt. Staying low I made my way along the row of boats and cars by feel, moving slowly, counting the spaces as I went. Blessings of a good memory, I remembered what was in each space. If I was right, I should be coming up to another aisle. Across that and up this row should bring me to the end of the row where Patrick’s motor home was parked. If his truck was still there, I’d know he was still on the property. For that matter, he might be in the motor home right now, wondering where I went.

   I came to the end of this row and stopped to listen. I could hear faint sounds coming from the right. I sprinted across the aisle and slipped under the boat trailer in space 9. The next two spaces were cars. I went behind them, easing along the fence. Space 12 was empty and if I was right space 13 held another boat, an aluminum dinghy flat on the ground without a trailer. That one I had to feel for in the darkness. It would sound like a cannon going off if I ran into it.

   Burke called out suddenly, sounding very close. “He’s gone! I told you to tie him up!”

   Paul answered from somewhere further away. I couldn’t make out his words.

   “Well, it’s too late now,” Burke snarled. “Get the last of it and let’s get out of here. Did you take his phone?”

   Another muffled answer.

   The sound of Burke’s cussing faded away.

   Who was gone? Who was tied up? This whole thing was beyond me. Sound travels, especially at night when the air is heavier. Burke had surprised me, sounding much too close. I picked up my speed, my hands out in front of me, hoping I would have time to stop when I felt the boat.

   Luck was with me. I touched the boat before I ran into it. Dropping to the ground again I felt along its sides where it laid on the ground. It was stored upside down, to keep from holding rain. If I could get under it, I could wait them out. Wait for daylight.