Chapter 11

Chapter XI

Ruby gave Pete a light salad with a hefty plate of spaghetti and meat sauce.

“Trying to fatten me up?” He asked.

“You’ll need the carbohydrates.  Have to have something to burn on that second run.”  Ruby studied Pete and finally asked, “Are you okay with this?”

“Truthfully, I’d rather be with you.  I trust you.”

Ruby smiled and shook her head.

“No,” Pete said, “I mean it. I hope Spacer isn’t another Wilson.  My Rumble don’t stop on the trail.  She doesn’t turn red and scare the shit out of me.”

“I think he’s in good enough shape to make any trail,” Ruby said, “I don’t know if he believes in the hazards.”

They had finished dinner and were relaxing in the living room, when the doorbell rang.

Pete answered the door.  Spacer and Kurtis entered on Pete’s invitation.  Spacer was ready, dressed in jogging shorts and a tank top.  He was lean and sinewy, built to run any of the trails on the treadmill.  Both Pete and Ruby were impressed.

“Are you ready to get this show on the road?” Spacer asked.

“You know the rules?” Pete asked.  “No stopping, definitely no dismounting.  The treadmill is not seen on the trail; so, if you get off you’re lost and you and I are a team.  I don’t want to be lost in there.”

“Can we see the house on the trail first?” Spacer included Kurtis in gesture when he said, “We’re both curious on that one.”

Ruby made sure Spacer’s treadmill was set for trail eight.  She glanced at Pete’s to be sure she set it right.  The men mounted the machines and Ruby and Kurtis stared as they disappeared.

“That part scares me,” she said.

“Must scare them too,” Kurtis replied.

“They don’t notice it.  They’re looking at the monitor and the monitor becomes life-sized.”

“You’re walking inside the monitor at that point?” Kurtis asked.

“Neither Wells or Johnson has answered that one yet.”

“I want to thank you for sending Johnson to us.  Weird story, but I understand why he doesn’t really want anyone to know he’s back.”

Kurtis paused then went on, “You think he was trapped by accident?” Kurtis was conversing not interrogating.

“I hope so.  This place was vandalized so much in the last six months it’s hard to tell.”

“I wish you hadn’t cleaned it up before we got here.”

“Oh?  Oh shit!  I’m sorry.   I watch enough TV, I should have thought of clues.”

Kurtis read the regret in her face and said, “Would have been hard to believe any story you had to bring us at that point.”

“Maybe that’s why they killed Ms. Styles.  They could have been afraid, if she went to the police with what she was telling Wilson, it would be investigated.”

We’re going to have to ask Wilson why she didn’t come to us, Kurtis thought, then said, “I better check to see if a report was filed.”

Pete was happy with the progress they were making.  Spacer set a good pace and they would make the end of the trail in a time frame that was close to what he and Ruby ran.

“There’s the house,” Pete said, pointing to what looked even more like a caricature than it had when they first found it.

“I’ll have to take this for sale sign down,” Pete joked.

“You moved in with Ms Vickers just to turn the electricity on in this place?” Spacer asked.

Pete laughed, “I didn’t need Rumble to turn on the electricity in the house.”

“You did buy it together.”

“We didn’t know each other in the real world.  We had a hurry-up situation to handle.  It’s easier to settle things fifty-fifty, if they don’t work out, but I don’t see that happening.”

Pete pointed to the cellar window.  “That’s where we found Al.  We’ve never been inside this house.  I don’t think it’s complete.”

“It doesn’t seem to have a lot of depth.”  Spacer looked down the street.  “That car always there?  I ask because it was there when we pulled up.”

“I don’t recall seeing it here before,” Pete said, following Spacer.

Alongside the car Spacer stopped and bent to look in. 

After a minute Pete said, “Hey, walk.”

Spacer looked at him and said, “Oh, sorry.  Damn windows are so dark you can’t see in, but it looks like blood on the door.”

He took a plastic envelope from his pocket and scraped a little of the residue into it.  He had stopped again.  He stepped off the treadmill and went to the other side of the car.  Spacer took out his cell and called Kurtis.

“Hey, check out the black Jetta.  I think I found blood,” Spacer said into the phone, then looked at the phone surprised it seemed to work.

“Walk,” Pete’s voice was distant.

“Oh,” Spacer said, still concentrating on the car.  He went back to where he had left the treadmill.

“Walk,” the distant call came again.

“I can’t find the treadmill.”

“Fuck.” Pete shouted his anger, fear and frustration.  He finally said, “You won’t see it just step on to where you left it and start walking.”

Spacer felt a difference in his stride and reasoned he was back on the treadmill.

“Where the hell are you?” he called to Pete.

“Way behind you.”  Pete was running to get back to him.  “Will you slow down.  You sent me all the way back to start.”  He finally caught up.

They went through the final gate. 

When they popped back into the real world, Kurtis was coming in the door.

Pete got off the treadmill and plopped into a recliner.

“You were right; we’ve got a body in the car,” Kurtis said.  “I have the locals taping the scene.”

“What the hell?” Pete was still not over his bad ride.

“That was you who called him?” Ruby was gasping in amazement.

“What?” Pete said.

“He made a phone call from – from there,” Ruby said.

“What?” Pete didn’t seem to be able to say anything else.

“We should look at the body before they mess it up.  I’d sure like to go on the trail where you saw Styles,” Spacer said.

“No way,” Pete said.  “I can’t handle another trail tonight.”

“I could …” Ruby started.

“No!” Pete said, with such dominance he surprised even himself.  His voice softened he said, “You’re not going on any trail with him.  It’s too dangerous.”

“The trail?” Ruby stared at Pete.

“Him.  He sent me back to start twice and lost his damn treadmill – And – and.”

Ruby went to hold Pete close and comfort him.

Spacer took Kurtis’s arm.  He wanted to escape and let Ruby soothe Pete.  The two detectives left.

Pete pressed his cheek to Ruby absorbing some of the calm of her presence.

“Did I hear right?  Spacer made a phone call from the other side?” Pete asked. 

The tow truck had the car in tow.  The body was in the bag and on the way to the morgue and Kurtis was hanging up his cell.

Kurtis turned to Spacer. “Maxwell knew nothing.  Wilson said he was part of security under that Ralph guy.”

“Why would anyone off a security man?  What was this guy’s name?”

“Dieter.  Works graveyard usually; came in a little early tonight.  Swing shift had a call from a pregnant wife.” Kurtis filled Spacer in on what he learned from the phone calls.

“Two things, why is someone watching the house?” Spacer asked.  “And why kill a guy that’s just watching the house?”

After a moment’s thought the two detectives looked at each other with one thought.

“I want someone watching the house,” Spacer said.

“I’m thinking a crew watching.  This gets rid of the guard,” Kurtis said.

“But just to slip in you don’t need to kill someone.  There are easier ways.  Got to be more to it.” Spacer was trying to reason it through.  “In any case, we have to be sure those kids are safe tonight.  Maybe you should warn them.  I think Peterson has had enough of me tonight.  I don’t blame him.  That’s a weird situation in there.”

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