The Light at the End of the Tunnel (19 page)

He glanced at her. Nicole’s radiant smile was
lit.

As they left they noticed a young man in
uniform—the only uniform in the room—glanced up, and for one second
looked directly at them.

****

First detective reappeared about ten minutes
after the chaplain and Nicole had left, “Devin! Are those two PD’s
still back with the boy?”

Devin looked up from his desk, “Ahhh, I don’t
know.”

First Detective hurried to the door leading
to the meeting room, “Gone! Christ, man, how could you let them
just walk away?”

“Well…,” Devin stood up and held his arms
apart, “What did we want from them?”

“Their names for one thing, and did anyone
see their PD licenses, or badges, or anything? Hell, do private
detectives even
carry
a badge?” First Detective looked
around the room full of desks and detectives filling out reports.
Nobody responded. “God! I work with morons!” First Detective
glanced around the room again, “Please, somebody tell me you at
least got a vehicle description!”

Finally a young uniformed patrolman stood up,
“They’re driving a cream minivan, sir…probably the chick’s outfit.”
The young patrolman grinned, “I’d say the old man is more a
four-door sedan type.”

“Old man…?”

“Hey, he’s got white hair…I guess the rest of
him doesn’t look so old…not too old for his partner, anyway.”

“Yeah,” First Detective said, “He kind of
reminded me of the priest in that Tom Hanks movie.”

“Wasn’t that The Da Vinci Code?”

“I think so,” First Detective said, “And
didn’t that priest have some kind of genetic problem?”

The patrolman waved, “Yeah, probably.”

“So, did you get a license plate number
too…?”

“Got that too, sir. From the great state of
Nebraska.”

“Good work, patrolman. You put in your papers
for advancement. I’ll sign’em. In the meantime you do some research
on those two, if anything comes up you’ll be with me.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!”

Chapter 31
Marriage

“Radford,” Nicole said as they were leaving
town, How on earth did Les Paul get way down here to Kansas?”

“I’d guess Nebraska simply gave up on
him.”

“Ya think?”

“Stranger things have happened, I imagine.
Maybe it’s not even official, maybe someone who handles the
children brought him down here.”

“To get rid of him?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“Come to think of it, yes, I would have given
up long ago.”

“And you did…wouldn’t even finish changing
his diaper.”

Nicole laughed, “You’re so right.” She
hesitated, then blurted it right out, “I want to go back and adopt
Cassandra.”

“I wish we could, kid, but there’s one little
problem. We still aren’t married.”

“But we could
get
married.”

“My dear, you are a smokin’ hot young
woman—what are you, anyway? About thirty?”

“Thank you, Chaplain Ohare, I’m thirty-nine.
I was still thirty the day we met, and I would marry you in a
minute, and I think it’s time we had this conversation.”

“We’ve really been together for nine years,
Nicole?”

“As they say, ‘Time flies when you’re having
fun.’ So what about it?”

“But why would you marry me?”

“Because of the kind of man you are, Radford.
You have given up your career to go after this criminal, and now
you’ve found him. You could have just forgotten that book you came
across—most people would have—in fact, most people wouldn’t have
been trusted to
see
it. You could have kept your job and
your apartment and your retirement, and now you have nothing.”

“I have you.”

“Yes you do—stop the van and park in that
field by that tree.”

“What?”

“Please, Radford, just do it.”

He did it, then waited for further
instruction, “Now what?”

“Put it in park and shut the motor off.”

He did that too, and again waited. Nicole had
that smile—that he couldn’t get enough of seeing—shining.

“After we heard that story about those two
boys raping that woman we didn’t take time to even stop so I could
show you what you mean to me. So now I’m going to. Come over here,
Radford, and kiss me.”

The chaplain swung his legs toward her, then
reached for her, slipped his right hand and arm behind her and
around her waist and his left hand under her legs, then, surprising
even himself, he lifted her from her seat and onto his lap. The
kiss happened, just a gentle peck on her closed lips, but Nicole
wouldn’t allow that to stand. She enveloped him with one hand and
arm around his back, the other behind his head, and opened her
mouth for a real kiss…and was not disappointed.

They had kissed before, but mostly just those
quick peck and retreat kisses, and never before on the lips. This
time she forced a real kiss, and she had known for a long time
that, with a little physical encouragement, she would never be
disappointed by kissing the chaplain, “Now, sir, we aren’t that far
from Las Vegas. Let’s go get married.”

“All right, young lady, I am all yours.”

****

“Their names and a credit card number just
showed up in Las Vegas, Lieutenant,” the young uniformed patrolman
said

“Las Vegas?” First Detective wasn’t expecting
Las Vegas.

“Yes, sir. Justice of the peace. They just
got married.”

“No shit…!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, now that you’ve got a name and a card
number. Track them.”

Second detective Devin looked up, “You mean
they can do that?” he asked, “Follow a person by credit card use?
Like they do it on TV?”

First Detective glanced at Devin and gestured
to the patrolman, “Well, fill him in, patrolman.”

“Yes, sir, I’ve already started—yeah, it’s
true, Devin. With their plate number I got her name and some
history. I can go backward too. The guy is a bit fuzzy yet, but
wherever she has been this credit card number shows up, so I just
put 2 and 3 together—“

“Isn’t that
‘2 and 2’
together?”
innocently asked the second detective.

The patrolman looked at Devin, then glanced
at First Detective and gave a slight grin, then back at the screen,
“You’re right, Devin, it is
‘2 and 2.’
My bad. Anyway, so
far just charges for food and gas. They must be living in that van,
partly anyway—oh, wait, just before Las Vegas they paid for a motel
room.”

“Good. Okay, patrolman, you keep going, and
check into that kid they wanted to talk to also—no, wait, check
into the one they just wanted to see, too—hell, check into the
foster care system about both of those boys—especially the
blond-headed one—at least as far in as you can go. They sort of
feigned interest in the blond,” First Detective added, “But that’s
where their interest lies. I’d bet money on it—do what you can,
Patrolman.”

“Yes, sir.”

****

Pretty sure they would now be able to keep
track of Les Paul, the chaplain and Nicole were on the second day
of their honeymoon. They had drunk a little, gamboled a lot, and
had visited several clubs to watch the comedians, dancers and
singers.

But their own hotel had the best food, at
least according to Nicole, “I love the salads they prepare here,”
she said, as the chaplain seated her, “And the toppings, I wish I
could get some of their recipes.”

“For enough money I expect you could,” he
offered.

“How are we doing on money anyway? Do we have
any pay coming from Riley?”

“Riley’s holding our money for us, and, long
as my bank continues paying my credit card bill we’ll be fine.”

“And you have a bottomless account?”

“Not really. My dad left me some money, and a
farm that I’ve never visited since I’ve grown up. I get rent money
every autumn for grain and corn, and for cattle running in the
pasture.”

“Wow!” Nicole exclaimed, “The three of us
could live there happily ever after!”

“Yes, we could.” That thought had crossed his
mind too, and he wasn’t surprised that Nicole jumped right on
board. He had long suspected she would be a downhome type of
girl.

“How come you’ve never mentioned this farm
income before?”

A legitimate question. He thought for a
minute, “I can’t answer that, Nicole. It’s been such a long time
since I’ve been there…it’s almost like it doesn’t really exist. I
wasn’t trying to keep it from you.”

“So we’re okay…financially?”

“Pretty okay, yes.”

“Good. So have you thought anymore about us
adopting Cassandra?”

“Nicole, we don’t know a thing about that
girl. She could be a sociopath by now. And she might have parents
that will again…eventually, want her.”

“Yeah, right, eventually—why don’t they want
her
now
?”

“And, of course, she might be an orphan. I
guess they do still make them.”

Nicole smiled, “I’m glad to see you can make
a joke.”

“Sweetheart, as you said, we’ve been together
for nine years now. Surely I’ve made a joke or two before now.”

“Not many, my man. You’ve been a pretty
serious guy.”

“Well, we’re on a serious mission.”

“And what do you mean by sociopath, Radford?
I believe sociopaths are born that way. I don’t think they just
become
one.”

“I’m sure you’re right, my dear. I was
referring to the way she has lived: kicked around in the foster
care system, raped at seven years old. That kind of life can harden
a person, especially a child. I’m just saying, even if we could get
to adopt her, I think we would have a lifetime job of bringing her
back from the brink.”

“She just needs love, Radford. You saw how
she looked at me, how she…
wanted
to trust me.”

“Yes, I saw it too, my dear, well, here comes
our server.”

Chapter 32
Learning his Trade

Les Paul couldn’t figure out why he was still
in jail. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, he squirted a little
urine, or something, on his new foster mother but that was an
accident. He wasn’t sure it was urine, though. It didn’t exactly
feel like it felt when he urinated, similar, but a lot more
intense…he didn’t really know how to describe it. He liked that
intense sensation, though, but pretty much didn’t have a clue as to
how it could possibly happen again.

He wondered about Jasper, too. They had
ridden in together in the police car but were separated as soon as
they reached the station. Jasper had been different during the
ride. He didn’t say much, seemed scared if anything. Strange,
though, for the few hours he had known Jasper he had never seen
fear in him. Just a lot of hot air, arrogance and obnoxiousness,
two of the new words he had learned listening to some of the school
girls talking about some of the boys. Still in the third grade at
nine years old.

Lots of pretty girls in the third grade
though, but the boys mostly just teased them, or bullied them, or
showed off to them, or even ignored them if the prettiest girls
weren’t around. He had too, but he wouldn’t ignore them in his next
school. And he looked forward to his next school, as he had learned
a few things about girls. Not the details about girls he
wanted
to know, but maybe the girls would help him. Far back
in his mind he suspected there was something special about
third-graders, or girls that age or that size…and that recent
memory of being in a cave came back, with his woman, and his little
girl child, and what had happened, and his feelings about the
younger girls—he shook his head furiously and refused letting the
memory continue, and felt surprised that he could stop it. But
another one began to take its place. The second one he
couldn’t
stop…

He was riding somewhere in a car. Lots of
people on the street. He was riding but everybody else was walking.
There didn’t even seem to be any other cars, not anywhere. He
wondered how that could be. People weren’t even watching out for
the car he was riding in. Men, women, children—then he saw them. A
woman, a beautiful woman about thirty, with brilliant black
hair…she looked familiar. And a little girl, about six or seven, a
beautiful child with flowing hair like her mother’s but lighter.
She too looked familiar, in fact, the two together looked familiar,
as if he had seen them every day, but where? People seemed to be
celebrating something.
He didn’t know what, and didn’t
care!—Just another stupid ass memory that wasn’t even his! He shook
his head so hard it hurt. It even felt like it hurt his neck but he
kept shaking it!
Get rid of that stupid, stupid-ass,
memory!

It went. But still another began taking its
place…

He felt his arms being…shackled; then he was
climbing a stairway with a man in a uniform on either side of him.
They reached a platform; the two men guided him to stand in a
certain spot. They tied his legs. People were standing around
everywhere. They looked like cowboys, and pioneer women, and kids,
lots of kids, boys and girls both. Some of the boys had grins on
their faces. The girls just stared with wide eyes. Then they put a
black bag over his head and tied it closed—then he felt something
nudge his head, then slip over his head and go around his neck,
then tighten…a lot, then it went slack and he heard a man reading
something—a Bible verse he thought. Then it was quiet. Maybe
whatever was happening was over…then he heard a loud noise like
metal against wood, then the floor beneath his feet opened…

He heard a loud snap. He heard his neck
break. He felt his body hanging and swinging, his tied legs
whipping but doing mostly nothing, then all was quiet.

Les Paul came out of those memories and
wondered why he had seen such a thing. It seemed horrible, and he
didn’t want to remember, and he stopped remembering, and the memory
went away as if it had not happened. Then he realized he was
hungry, he wished for a hamburger and a malted milk—if he was free
he could have what he wanted.