"We can download sat shots at eight a.m. That's the fastest processing time."
"She'll be gone before eight in the morning," Vasco said. He leaned back in the Hummer. "She'll go at dawn. So let's see." He paused, thinking. "All afternoon she's been driving, and it's basically south. The minute all this began, our lady went south."
"You thinking Mexico?" Dolly said.
Vasco shook his head. "She doesn't want to leave a record, and crossing the border will leave a record."
"Maybe she'll head east, try to cross at Brown Field or Calexico," Dolly said.
"Maybe." Vasco rubbed his beard thoughtfully. Too late, he felt the mascara coming off on his fingers. Damn, he had to remember that. "She's scared. I think she's heading for a place she thinks will give her help. Maybe meet her father down here. Or meet up with somebody she knows. An old boyfriend? School friend? Sorority sister? Former teacher? Former law partner? Something like that."
"We've been checking all the net databases for the last two hours," Dolly said. "And so far we've got nothing."
"How about her old phone records?"
"No calls to San Diego area code."
"How far back?"
"A year. That's all that's available without a special order."
"So whoever this is, she hasn't called 'em in a year." Vasco sighed. "We'll just have to wait for her." He turned to Dolly. "Let's go to that Best Western. I want to find out what kind of gun the little lady got. And we can get a couple of hours' rest, before dawn. I'm sure we'll get her by tomorrow. I got a feeling." He tapped his chest. "And I'm never wrong."
"Hon, you just got mascara on your nice shirt."
"Ah hell." He sighed.
"It'll come out," Dolly said. "I'll get it out for you."
Chapter 77-78
CHapter 077
Gerard watchedthe dark shapes approach.
They moved with a loping gait, and made a snorting or snuffling sound, and sometimes a mewling sound. Their bodies were low. Their backs were just visible above the sage. They circled his perch, approaching, then sliding away.
But they had clearly smelled him, because they were coming ever closer to him. There were six animals altogether. Gerard ruffled his feathers, partly in an attempt to warm his body.
The animals had long snouts. Their eyes glowed bright green. They had a distinctive musky odor that was unpleasant. They had long fluffy tails. He could see that they were not black but rather brownish-gray.
They moved in closer. "I'm sha sha shakin', I'm shakin' now."
And closer. They were quite close, now.
The largest one paused a few feet away and stared at Gerard. Gerard did not move.
After several seconds, the big animal edged closer.
"You can stop right there, mister!"
The animal stopped instantly, and even took a few paces backward. The other animals in the group backed away, too. They all seemed confused by the voice.
But not for long. The big animal started to move in again.
"Well, hold on!"
This time, there was only a momentary pause. Then the animal kept coming.
"You feel lucky, punk? Do you? Huh?"
The animal was coming very slowly now. Sniffing at Gerard, closer and closer...Sniff, sniff...The creature smelled awful. The nose was just inches away...
Gerard bent and bit hard on the animal's soft nose. The creature yelped and jumped backward, almost knocking Gerard from his perch. He regained his balance.
"Every time you turn around expect to see me," Gerard said. "'Cause one time you'll turn around and I'll be there, and I'll kill you, Matt."
The animal was flat on the ground, rubbing his injured nose with his forelegs. He did that for a while. Then he got up, growling.
"Life is hard, but it's harder if you're stupid."
The whole pack of animals was growling, now. They moved forward in a semicircle. They seemed to be coordinated. Gerard ruffled his feathers, and ruffled them again. He even flapped his wings, trying to make as large and active a shape of himself as possible. These creatures didn't seem to care.
"Look, you fools, you're in danger, can't you see? They're after you, they're after all of us!"
But the spoken voices seemed to have no effect at all. The animals just kept moving forward, slowly. One was loping around behind Gerard. He turned his head to look. Not good, not good.
"Get back to where you once belonged!" Gerard flapped his wings again, nervously, but apparently the anxiety gave him new strength, because there was a bit of lift from the branch he stood on. The growling animals closed in -
And Gerard flapped his wings hard - hard - and felt himself lift into the air. It was weeks since his last feather clip, that was the reason. He could fly! He moved high above the ground, and discovered that he could soar a little. Not much, but a little. The smelly animals were far below, howling at him, but Gerard turned west, following the road that Stan had been driving on. He was heading away from the sunrise toward darkness. With his acute sense of smell, he detected the odor of food, and flew toward that.
CHapter 078
Sleeping inthe front seat of her car, Alex Burnet opened her eyes and saw that she was surrounded by men. Three of them were peering into her car. They wore cowboy hats and carried big pronged sticks with loops on them. She sat up abruptly. One of them waved for her to be still.
"Jes' a moment, miss."
Alex looked over at her son, Jamie, sleeping peacefully in the seat beside her. He didn't awaken. Nothing woke Jamie.
When she looked back outside, she gasped. One of the cowboys raised his stick. A gigantic rattlesnake, easily five feet long and as thick as a forearm, was wriggling on the end of it, making a sizzling sound with its rattle.