again.”
“I’m giving you facts, nothing more. I made a few bucks and I got hungry so I stopped at this restaurant…”
“Are you playing blackjack again? I thought we agreed…”
“Just a hand or two.”
“Just wait a minute. Back up. Elliott, where are you exactly? Vegas? Atlantic City?”
“Tahoe.”
Silence on the other end of the line while she digested the information and passed it along to Raj. Well, he had wanted to shock her earlier, and now he had gotten his wish.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“It’s been two years. I wanted to find out whether it was all over. It’s been bothering me.”
“I don’t know what to say to you, Elliott. You promised you’d stay away from there.”
“Yes, and that’s not the only remarkable thing happening. I ran into Carleen earlier.”
“Carleen?” Silke sounded confused. “She was with the robber?”
“No, no! She was playing cards. I left her at the casino and drove to another part of town. I’m coming out of this restaurant and some dude in a hat has got his hand on my wheel cover and he’s bending down. He stands up and sees me and leaves. It’s him.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No.”
“You got a good look at him?”
“It was dark. He wore a baseball cap this time. But it’s him. Ski Mask.”
“You say he followed you.”
“I’m at Zephyr Cove in a tract where the locals live. It’s midnight. There’s nobody around but me and the people who work at the restaurant. And I come out to find this guy examining my car.”
Silke said, “Remember how in junior year you thought a police siren was following you all the time and you had to stop driving…?”
“I’m not imagining this.”
“How can you be sure you recognized him?”
Elliott hesitated. “I still couldn’t tell you what his face looks like. But his right foot turns outward about eighteen degrees.”
“Oh, no.” She covered the phone and he heard muttering on the other end.
Raj got on the phone. “Hello, old man. Has he gone?”
“He left. I’m safe, I think. The car’s right in front of the restaurant front door.”
“Was it unlocked?”
“No, and the alarm was on. You think he was trying to steal it?”
“Maybe he saw you win. Maybe he wanted to steal your money. He robs people. You know that.”
“He’d know my cash was on me. Damn, Raj. Could it be a coincidence? Do you think he remembered me? Maybe he planned to hide in the back seat and attack me…”
“Take it easy.”
“No problem! Meanwhile, you lie peacefully in bed with a-a woman three thousand miles away. I’d better call the cops.”
“Don’t do that! Look, we’ve kept things controlled all this time. You say you’re safe, and you might still be wrong about who he was.”
“I recognized him!” Elliott said. He heard a pounding on the bathroom door and some Spanish expletives. “What should I do?”
“Go home to Seattle. Hurry. Can you manage that?”
“Okay.”
“Call us then and we’ll talk. And just to be sure, you might check the underside of the car before you leave.”
“Oh, hell,” Elliott said, and he couldn’t control the tremor in his voice. “I shouldn’t have come back. It was foolish, wasn’t it?”
Raj, always the diplomat, cautious with Elliott’s moods, said nothing.
“I’ll check under the car,” Elliott said. “I definitely will.”
“Be careful. Call us the minute you get home.”
The waiter followed him to the door, locking it pointedly behind him. It was only after the lights went out in the building and the dark closed in that Elliott realized the two rear tires on the rental had been slashed.
Frantic, examining the woods at the edge of the parking lot for a lurking figure, he pounded on the restaurant door, but nobody answered.
Elliott started to punch in 911, but before he could send the call, the waiter and a buddy walked around the corner into the parking lot, talking loudly. Elliott rushed over to them, wallet in
“I’m giving you facts, nothing more. I made a few bucks and I got hungry so I stopped at this restaurant…”
“Are you playing blackjack again? I thought we agreed…”
“Just a hand or two.”
“Just wait a minute. Back up. Elliott, where are you exactly? Vegas? Atlantic City?”
“Tahoe.”
Silence on the other end of the line while she digested the information and passed it along to Raj. Well, he had wanted to shock her earlier, and now he had gotten his wish.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“It’s been two years. I wanted to find out whether it was all over. It’s been bothering me.”
“I don’t know what to say to you, Elliott. You promised you’d stay away from there.”
“Yes, and that’s not the only remarkable thing happening. I ran into Carleen earlier.”
“Carleen?” Silke sounded confused. “She was with the robber?”
“No, no! She was playing cards. I left her at the casino and drove to another part of town. I’m coming out of this restaurant and some dude in a hat has got his hand on my wheel cover and he’s bending down. He stands up and sees me and leaves. It’s him.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No.”
“You got a good look at him?”
“It was dark. He wore a baseball cap this time. But it’s him. Ski Mask.”
“You say he followed you.”
“I’m at Zephyr Cove in a tract where the locals live. It’s midnight. There’s nobody around but me and the people who work at the restaurant. And I come out to find this guy examining my car.”
Silke said, “Remember how in junior year you thought a police siren was following you all the time and you had to stop driving…?”
“I’m not imagining this.”
“How can you be sure you recognized him?”
Elliott hesitated. “I still couldn’t tell you what his face looks like. But his right foot turns outward about eighteen degrees.”
“Oh, no.” She covered the phone and he heard muttering on the other end.
Raj got on the phone. “Hello, old man. Has he gone?”
“He left. I’m safe, I think. The car’s right in front of the restaurant front door.”
“Was it unlocked?”
“No, and the alarm was on. You think he was trying to steal it?”
“Maybe he saw you win. Maybe he wanted to steal your money. He robs people. You know that.”
“He’d know my cash was on me. Damn, Raj. Could it be a coincidence? Do you think he remembered me? Maybe he planned to hide in the back seat and attack me…”
“Take it easy.”
“No problem! Meanwhile, you lie peacefully in bed with a-a woman three thousand miles away. I’d better call the cops.”
“Don’t do that! Look, we’ve kept things controlled all this time. You say you’re safe, and you might still be wrong about who he was.”
“I recognized him!” Elliott said. He heard a pounding on the bathroom door and some Spanish expletives. “What should I do?”
“Go home to Seattle. Hurry. Can you manage that?”
“Okay.”
“Call us then and we’ll talk. And just to be sure, you might check the underside of the car before you leave.”
“Oh, hell,” Elliott said, and he couldn’t control the tremor in his voice. “I shouldn’t have come back. It was foolish, wasn’t it?”
Raj, always the diplomat, cautious with Elliott’s moods, said nothing.
“I’ll check under the car,” Elliott said. “I definitely will.”
“Be careful. Call us the minute you get home.”
The waiter followed him to the door, locking it pointedly behind him. It was only after the lights went out in the building and the dark closed in that Elliott realized the two rear tires on the rental had been slashed.
Frantic, examining the woods at the edge of the parking lot for a lurking figure, he pounded on the restaurant door, but nobody answered.
Elliott started to punch in 911, but before he could send the call, the waiter and a buddy walked around the corner into the parking lot, talking loudly. Elliott rushed over to them, wallet in
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