Multiples of Six (14 page)

Chapter 29

It was nearly thirty minutes before any of the Pederson family was ready to talk again. Nicole leaned outside and beckoned James back inside. His cheeks and nose were red and he sniffed loudly as the warmth hit him upon reentering the house. He rubbed his hands together. Mrs. Pederson motioned them into the kitchen, her eyes still a bit red. Coffee was offered and poured and they sat without speaking so long that Kevin turned toward the wall as if to assess the quaint village scenes on the wallpaper. James shifted uneasily in his chair before speaking.

“I need Doug to come with me…us,” James said, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “I need him to help us figure out just what exactly is going on.”

The three Pederson’s all seemed to stop what they were doing to look at James. James stared resolutely back at Doug.

“You’re all the family I’ve got, and I’ll be damned if I came all this way to still be left hanging. Something…screwy…has happened here, and many lives have been tossed into the fire.”

“I can’t just leave, James,” Doug said after a moment.

 “I understand that, and I’m not talking about something permanent, but, what I need for you to understand is that I can’t just leave you now. You’re my brother, Doug. That much should be very clear. My brother,” James said.

He laughed a little and said the word again.

“Brother. I spent all my life wondering what it would be like to have one and in a matter of twenty-four hours I have two. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

“Douglas needs to keep his job if he’s to finish school,” said Mrs. Pederson, walking over now and placing her hands on her son’s shoulders.

“I don’t want to get in the way of your life, Doug, but please try and see this from my…our…point of view,” James said.

Doug tapped his mug on the kitchen table. The kitchen, like much of the rest of the house was country décor to a fault. The curtains in the windows were as white as the snow outside. The border around the top of the ceiling had a boy and girl figure holding hands amongst cows, sheep, and barns. It was all so pristine; the kind of immaculate that made tidy look filthy.

“I can’t get into something like this,” Doug said.

“I hate to tell you, but it might be too late to decide whether you
want
to be involved or not,” Kevin said.

“My parents still don’t know where I am. Gone two days and no word, they’ve probably called out the air national guard,” Nicole said.

“Sweetie,” said Mrs. Pederson, “You can use our phone if you need to call.”

James shot her a look, before shaking his head.

“I’m sorry…we just can’t take that kind of chance. I don’t want them to be able to trace us back to you,” James said.

She made a dismissive wave of her hand.

“These people are serious, Mrs. Pederson. They’ve already killed a man who was traveling with us.”

He had done it on purpose of course. James had considered the odds and decided that dropping that bomb on Doug’s parents was possibly the only way to get Doug to change his mind. He allowed the words to sink in. James had never seen someone’s jaw drop, until he watched Mrs. Pederson’s slowly yawn open and stay that way in a frozen look of utmost awe. Nicole shifted uncomfortably at his side.

“K…killed?” she stammered.

“The man who led us to Doug was killed last night by men who were out to stop us from finding you. They killed him without regard, and I’m afraid that the same fate may await all of us,” James said.

Mrs. Pederson gave a little cry. Mr. Pederson sat stoic, glancing between the three boys. Doug looked nonplussed.

“And, you think they’ll eventually seek Douglas out?” Gerard said.

James laughed harshly.

“I have no idea. I don’t know what they want, or why they would be willing to kill, but yes…they are definitely after us…all of us. There’s something they want kept secret, and they’re willing to kill us to keep it that way. None of it makes sense to me, and the one man who could have made some sense out of it…well, he’s dead.”

“Then maybe your problem’s gone away,” Gerard said.

“I wish I could believe that,” James said.

They all sat, dwelling on their own thoughts. The ring of the phone startled James out of his chair, and everyone else jumped.

“Who knows you’re at home?” James said.

“Everyone, James,” Gerard said, striding out of the room, “we’re retired.”

James sat back down, Nicole patting his arm. He felt a bit of the fool and at the same time an anger welled up inside. He had never lived like this. Never had he been so on edge. Would he ever get a decent night’s sleep again? As if in response, Nicole yawned into her hand. Gerard stepped back in the doorway.

“That was Leo at the shop. He was wondering where the hell you’d got to.”

“I’ll drive you back,” James said, “it’s the least I can do.”

Doug looked across the table at him. They were really quite alike in the most bizarre ways. They even had the same funny little ridge of cartilage at the top of their left ear.

“I have to go back,” Doug said.

“I understand. I just…hope that you understand I’m not being entirely selfish here. I’m concerned for you…for your family. At least if we’re together…well, I don’t know…maybe I am being selfish,” James said.

“No, James,” Mrs. Pederson said. “It’s we who’ve been selfish. None of this is your fault, son.”

James smiled. He hoped she couldn’t see the hollowness he felt inside.

They stood and said their goodbyes. Mrs. Pederson hugged Nicole and Kevin without hesitation, as if they were family. Kevin blushed and said nothing, moving quickly toward the door. She held James at arm’s length and looked him up and down.

“You could do with a few more pounds on you,” she said. The anger in her eyes was gone.

“My mother used to say the same thing,” James said.

“Used to?” she said.

“She passed…recently,” James said, and though he didn’t want to, he felt the emotion well in his chest. She saw this and pulled him back into a hug. He hugged her back without saying anything.

“You’re always welcome here, sweetie. When the trouble passes, and it will, you’ll have to come and stay for a while. And Kevin too.”

He thanked her and gave her one last hug. She shuddered back a sob as they broke away. Gerard gave him a firm handshake, but said nothing. His eyes said it all. Take care.

The rest were waiting outside for him. He looked at Doug as they walked toward the car.

“They’re good people. I hope you can…forgive them,” James said.

“Forgive them…yeah. She’s my mom…he’s my dad…no matter what…y’know? I’m sure it hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I don’t know how much I’ll have to forgive. They did what they thought was best. Maybe they were right,” Doug said.

“Two days later and I still keep waiting to wake up, but so far…” James shrugged.

James made his way to the driver’s side door, but Doug caught his arm with his cane.

“Mind if I drive?” Doug said.

“Uh, sure…I guess. It’s not that far back, though. I think I remember.”

“I know…” Doug said and he smiled sheepishly, “I just…don’t get to drive too often.” He waved the cane as if that might explain things.

“You don’t have a car?” Nicole said.

“Had one…a while back now, though. Wrecked it.”

“And that’s the reason for the cane?” Kevin said.

“Yeah…pretty much ruined my life,” Doug said.

“If you don’t mind my asking…” Nicole said, her question fading in the cold air.

“Oh, well, I used to be a pretty good footballer. I…uh…don’t like to toot my own horn, but I was
really
pretty good, I guess. Had the scouts looking at me. Division 1-A. Free ride pretty much anywhere I wanted to go. Then there was the accident and they had to replace my hip and put pins in my leg to keep it from falling off. That pretty much shot my football career. I rehabbed, but nobody was looking at me anymore. I couldn’t pass a metal detector, let alone a physical.”

They stood looking at him for a moment. Doug just shrugged and tapped his cane in the snow.

“You know…you could’ve just said you really like driving. You didn’t have to come up with a bullshit story like that,” Kevin said, having a hard time not smiling.

He laughed and jumped in the back seat. 

“How the hell can I say no to a story like that?” James said, a smirk on his face. He tossed Doug the keys, which Doug caught deftly.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Doug said.

He climbed in, somewhat awkwardly, to the driver’s seat. He placed his cane on the floor of the back seat.

“I walk to work, normally. Saves money. Helps me pay for college. Anyway, driving is sorta like a treat now. When you don’t do it every day, you don’t take it for granted.”

They were all piled into the car now, Nicole sitting in the back with Kevin, rummaging through her stash of junk food and handing out sandwiches from the full lunch bag Doug’s mom had packed them. Doug settled in behind the wheel, adjusting the mirrors and the seat, frowning at the automatic transmission shifter.

“Yours?” he asked.

James shook his head slowly.

“Dead guy’s,” he said.

“Oh…then I guess it would be pretty inappropriate to comment on his choice of wheels,” Doug said.

“Yeah, it would,” Nicole said.

Doug started the car with a relish James had rarely seen. He even goosed the engine a little as they waved to the house. Despite the cold, Doug’s parents came out and waved from the porch.

They drove off slowly in relative silence. When James heard the chiming sound, he nearly jumped.

“Stop the car…stop the car! Pull over!”

“I only got a couple blocks…I’m not driving that bad, am I?” Doug said.

“James?” Nicole said.

“Shhhhh,” James hissed.

There it was again. A distinct sound that could only mean one thing.

“Cell phone,” James said.

James opened up the glove compartment. A small flip phone sat on top of a stack of papers. A light was flashing at the top, and as Doug reached over to pick it up, it chimed again. He flipped it open and turned it to James.

“James?” Nicole said.

“What’s the number?” Kevin said.

“It’s mine,” James said.

“The cops?” Doug asked.

“Paynter,” Kevin said.

“That’s impossible,” Nicole said.

“Just like having a twin brother,” James said slowly.

“Answer it!” Doug said.

“What if it’s not him?” James said.

“Then you hang up…it’s called the magic of the end key,” Kevin said.

He pressed a button and said nothing.

“James, listen and listen good. I don’t have time to explain and the longer we’re on, the longer they’ll have to pinpoint both of us. I’m in a hospital, about five miles from the hotel we were in. Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in Lewiston, Pennsylvania. They’ll figure it out sooner or later. I need you to come get me,” Paynter said.

“You’re alive.” James said.

Nicole inhaled quickly through her teeth.

“I am,” Paynter said.

“You’re registered?” James said.

“Nuh-uh. I snuck in through a service entrance. No one knows I’m here…and I’d like to keep it that way,” Paynter said. 

“You stole my phone,” James said.

“I
took
your phone….there’s a difference. And, as it turns out, it was the smartest thing I did. Listen, you’d better high tail it here. I think I’ve already heard cops in the building.”

“We’re on our way,” James said.

“Did you find Doug?”

“We did,” James said.

“Did you get his envelope?”

“Envelope? What envelope?!”

“Shit…I have to go. Someone’s coming. Send a text when you get here. Just get here…”

“Dammit!” James said, but the line was already dead.

He turned in his seat. Nicole was quietly hugging Kevin, her head buried in his shoulder. For his part, Kevin looked like he wanted nothing more than to be a million miles away. He rolled his eyes at James who reached back and patted Nicole’s shoulder.

“He’s alive,” she mumbled from Kevin’s jacket.

“And kicking,” James said. James turned to look at Doug. “We could use you, y’know.”

“James…I…” He turned away and looked up the road.

“You think I didn’t have a life back in Jersey? It wasn’t much, and it certainly wasn’t this exciting, but I did have a life. All this, though…this changed everything. It made me realize what a gap there was in that life. I had no real family to speak of anymore. Now I have more than I know what to do with! And…there must be another.”

“What?” Kevin, Doug, and Nicole spoke at the same time.

“Didn’t you hear me?” James said. “Paynter asked if we had gotten Doug’s envelope.”