Her eyes blazed. “Is that where it’s going to happen?”
I shook my head doubtfully. Probably not, but I knew
“He was going to hide the rifle and come back for it later.”
“Hide it
“It doesn’t matter, because that part already happened. That part’s the past.” I put my hands over my face because the light in the room was suddenly too bright.
“Stop thinking about it now,” she said, and snatched the newspaper story away. “Relax, or you’ll get one of your headaches and need one of those pills. They make you all sloppy.”
“Yes,” I said. “I know.”
“You need coffee. Strong coffee.”
She went into the kitchen to make it. When she came back, I was snoring. I slept for almost three hours, and might have remained in the Land of Nod even longer, but she shook me awake. “What’s the last thing you remember about coming to Dallas?”
“I
“Where did you stay? A hotel? A motor court? A rented room?”
For a moment I had a hazy memory of a courtyard and many windows. A doorman? Maybe. Then it was gone. The headache was cranking up again.
“I don’t know. All I remember is crossing the state line on Highway 20 and seeing a sign for barbecue. And that was miles from Dallas.”
“I know, but we don’t have to go that far, because if you were on 20, you stayed on 20.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s too late today, but tomorrow we’re going for a Sunday drive.”
“It probably won’t work.” But I felt a flicker of hope, just the same.
She stayed the night, and the next morning we left Dallas on what residents called the Honeybee Highway, headed east toward Louisiana. Sadie was at the wheel of my Chevy, which was fine once the jimmied ignition switch had been replaced. Deke had taken care of that. She drove as far as Terrell, then pulled off 20 and turned around in the potholed dirt parking lot of a side-o’-the-road church. Blood of the Redeemer, according to the message board on the fading lawn. Below the name, there was message in white stick-on letters. It was supposed to say HAVE YOU READ THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD TODAY, but some of the letters had fallen off, leaving AVE YOU REA THE WORD OF AL IGHTY GOD TOD Y.
She looked at me with some trepidation. “Can you drive back, honey?”
I was pretty sure I could. It was a straight shot, and the Chevy was an automatic. I wouldn’t need to use my stiff left leg at all. The only thing was…
“Sadie?” I asked her as I settled behind the wheel for the first time since August and ran the seat as far back as it would go.
“Yes?”
“If I fall asleep, grab the wheel and turn off the key.”
She smiled nervously. “Oh, believe me.”
I checked for traffic and pulled out. At first I didn’t dare go much above forty-five, but it was a Sunday noon, and we had the road pretty much to ourselves. I began to relax.
“Clear your mind, Jake. Don’t try to remember anything, just let it happen.”
“I wish I had my Sunliner,” I said.
“Make believe it
“Okay, but…”
“No buts. It’s a beautiful day. You’re coming into a new place, and you don’t have to worry about Kennedy being assassinated, because that’s a long time from now. Years.”
Yes, it was a nice day. And no, I didn’t fall asleep, although I was plenty tired — I hadn’t been out for this long since the beating. My mind kept returning to the little side-o’-the-road church. Very likely a black church. They probably swung the hymns in a way the white folks never would, and read THE WORD OF AL IGHTY GOD with lots of hallelujah and praise Jesus.
We were coming into Dallas now. I made lefts and rights — probably more rights, because my left arm was still weak and turning that way hurt, even with the power steering. Soon I was lost in the side streets.
Only it hadn’t been the Moonstone; it had been the Monteleone. And the hotel where I’d stayed when I came to Dallas was… it was…
For a moment I thought it was going to waft away, as even Sadie’s name sometimes still did. But then I saw the doorman, and all those glittering windows looking down on Commerce Street, and it clicked home.
I had stayed at the Adolphus Hotel. Yes. Because it was close to…
It wouldn’t come. That part was still blocked off.
“Honey? All right?”
“Yes,” I said. “Why?”
“You kind of jumped.”
“It’s my leg. Cramping up a little.”
“None of this looks familiar?”
“No,” I said. “None of it.”
She sighed. “Another idea bites the dust. I guess we better go back. Want me to drive?”
