Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

D ane

"But Walter," I said. "He saw me last time. If I use the board to find him, won't he know we're coming?"

Walter held my hand in both of his as Denny started the drive down Laurel Canyon.

"I think we may need to take that chance. I want to know what he's got planned, and maybe with the board we can see that. Hey, Den, you needed to go the other way?—"

"I know, I know, fuck! There's no place to turn around."

"By the Canyon Store, you can turn around… right there, turn left?—"

Denny cursed as he took a sharp turn, but he missed the driveway and passed the store.

"Stop!"

He slammed on the brakes at my command, and we stopped right in front of the two old ladies with their stand. And like me, they looked the same as they had always looked.

"Shit, pull over, Denny," Walter said. "That's them? Where you got the board?"

As soon as Denny was at the curb, I was out the door with the board, Walter hot on my heels.

The old women sat in their camp chairs in the late afternoon light, sunglasses on, heads down almost as if they were napping. Their wild curly gray hair blew gently in the breeze. Music played from under their table on a tinny radio, Carly Simon, I believed. The table was covered with crystals of all shapes and sizes in bowls with little cardboard signs saying what they were and how much. There were also piles of handmade hair pins, candles, some jars filled with questionable substances, and a… Magic 8 Ball toy?

They didn't look up as I approached.

"Excuse me, this is going to sound strange, but?—"

"No returns or exchanges." They didn't even move so I wasn't sure they'd actually spoken.

"No, I don't… I have questions."

No response.

"I bought this board from you years ago, and I need to know… can I make sure that what I see, can't see me?"

Neither of the women moved nor spoke. The traffic went by and the breeze blew my hair off of my face for a moment, and then my surroundings seemed to fade away, go still.

The women's voices echoed in unison around me, but they still didn't move.

"You are in control of the board. It will do what you need it to do. You must be clear in your intentions. It will show you what's true. You're limited by your limitations. The possibilities are endless, in spite of you."

They'd spoken in rhymes, like I heard the words when I used the board. Were they connected to it? Was I connected to it on another level? Was that what this was all about? A link on another dimension where truth was spoken only in rhymes? The board and I were linked, and I knew that it didn't just belong to me, since Ryan had said his friend had it at one time. But then, how did Evans link with me when I used the board? And what did they mean by my limitations?

"How do I keep others out when I'm in ? I don't want to put anyone in danger, and I need to stop these killers."

"Make of your question all that you desire. Be ever thoughtful and in control of your ire. Picture your intent as taut as a wire. Remain steadfast or the end will be dire. As pure as ice and hot as fire, love is the power behind all you aspire. Trust in the truth and never the liar, and you will avoid the funeral pyre."

I felt a weight in my palm, and I looked down. I swore the women hadn't moved, but in my hand were two large, rough stones.

"Obsidian will keep your heart and mind clear, to bring you balance and keep away fear. Quartz for clarity both far and near, together the stones protect all you hold dear."

I closed my hand and felt heat emanating from the stones. It took my breath away for just a moment?—

The breeze blew my hair off my cheek.

"You gonna pay for that?"

I shook my head to clear my vision, and Walter stood beside me, pulling out his wallet.

"How much?" he asked them.

"Twenty bucks."

Walter looked between the women and fished a bill out of his wallet.

"For a couple of rocks?" Denny muttered.

"You, take this." One of the women moved for the first time that I could see and she plopped the black plastic ball in Denny's hand, catching him by surprise.

"That's more your speed," the other woman said, and they both cackled. They fell silent as quickly as they'd moved, and we were left staring at them, which had me wondering if it was possible we'd just imagined this whole scenario.

When they said nothing else, Walter gave a gentle tug on the back of my shirt. He gestured for us to move toward the truck. I walked with him, glancing at Denny, who was examining his ball?—

"It's a Magic 8 Ball. What the fuck do I need with a damn kids' toy?"

I chuckled and turned to look back—but then I stopped in my tracks.

"Walter!"

He turned as he got to the truck.

The women were gone. There was no sign anything at all had been on that stretch of sidewalk. But as the wind died down for a moment, I heard their tinny radio, just as I had on that afternoon all those years ago.

"Oh, fuck this shit," Denny said. "I'm out of here."

Denny darted over to the truck, hopped in, tossed the Magic 8 Ball into the backseat, started the engine and barely waited for Walter to shut the door after us before he sped away, squealing the tires as he pulled into traffic going up Laurel Canyon.

"Are you all right?" Walter asked me.

I brushed my hair back behind my ear with a shaky hand. "I don't know. You just saw that, right?"

Walter nodded.

"Did you hear them speak?"

He frowned. "But their mouths didn't move. It was like, in my head. Wait, the words. Here." He tapped on his smart rectangle phone thing, then handed it to me with a blank screen and a flashing line. "Here," he said, tapping the screen, and an image resembling a typewriter keyboard appeared.

I'd ask questions later.

I took the device from him and did my best to type without too many mistakes. I tried to do as she'd ordered, and focused on the heat from the stones, now in my pocket, and attempted to find clarity. I focused on my breathing, on the ticking sounds of each tap my fingers made.

"Yeah, that's what I heard, too." Walter had been watching over my shoulder as I typed. He placed a hand on my back and squeezed my shoulder. "Does it make sense to you?"

"Sort of? I guess it's just that I need to consider every possibility when asking my question, including who I bring into focus, who I allow access to my thoughts, to what I see and hear. I can't just ask a question. I need to be aware of all the elements involved." I turned to him and moved the board in between us on the backseat. "I want you to go in with me, Walter. But help me to make this as specific as possible. What do we need to know? Who do we go after first? What if they're together? How will we… I don't know, Walter! Help me."

"Hey, it's okay." He cupped my jaw with his hand, and I saw the words from the women. Love is the power behind all you aspire. Walter was the love, and the power would come from trusting in him. He would stand beside me, and together, we could put a stop to this nightmare.

I smiled and leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. It seemed to catch him by surprise, and then he sighed softly, kissing me back with an intensity that matched mine. I refused to let the intrusive thoughts in. This could be the last time I kiss him. We might not both make it out of this. I could lose him too.

I would trust him. I would trust in my own power.

"Got a message from Dax," Denny said, breaking through our moment. "They've met up near the Highway 2 spot and they're mobilizing to go in. He's got unmarked units at Buttonwillow in case either of them show up there."

Walter smoothed my hair back and kissed me once more. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and let go of his hands. I took a deep breath and tried to remember that state I was in when the women spoke to me. Shut everything out except for Walter .

"What I seek is for our eyes only. No prying eyes shall fall upon us. Take us to the current location of Hunter Holland. Show us what he's planning to do. Show us his weakness. Show us how to stop him." I locked eyes with Walter. "Anything else?"

Walter thought for a moment. "Show us how he's traveling so if he slips away, we can catch him."

I sucked in a deep breath, we both placed our hands on the planchette, I focused on my intention, and then I breathed out.

"Show us."

We were once more sucked into the darkness, but it wasn't pitch, it was dusk. A series of images flashed before my eyes: cornfields, eucalyptus trees, cinderblock buildings. I could hear the rumbling of big rig motors, the whoosh of cars flying by, and the leaves of the trees rustling in the wind. The flushing of toilets? But it was different, unlike the Buttonwillow rest stop.

And then he was there, in the shadows of the dying light, smiling, his teeth slick with saliva. He gripped the hair of a man I felt I should know, but there was so much blood.

"I'm ready. It's almost time. I can't wait to be with you. I'm ready. I'm ready ready ready . I'm ready." Red and blue lights splashed across his face, and he laughed, throwing his head back in the throes of madness.

Questions. I had so many questions for him. I wanted to know why? Where was Evans? What was their endgame?

The words came, but they were short.

Two cannot be got

One shall go free

Choose the spot

End the spree

"No no no," I heard myself saying as the blackness took over and I was slammed back against the seat. "No, it wasn't enough, no!"

I grabbed Walter's phone and typed the words in and then slammed my fist against my knee. "I'm sorry, I thought?—"

"Honey, no, that was great. He's there, Denny, he's at Buttonwillow, but the northbound side this time. Tell CHP and Fern County officers to approach with caution, he's got a hostage."

Denny called someone on the phone and started to fire directions at them, and Walter took my face in his hands.

"Did you recognize the man he had?"

I shook my head. "I feel like I should?—"

"Yeah, me too."

I felt my throat tighten and I swallowed back fear. "We have to save him, whoever he is!"

"We'll do everything we can. Tell me, do you know if what we saw has happened already, or if it's going to happen?"

"I…" I didn't know. I hadn't thought to ask that. "I don't know, Walter, I don't know how the time works."

I hadn't asked that of the ladies. I hadn't accounted for time.

"How much further?"

"Thirty minutes," Denny said from the front seat. He was driving so fast, everything was passing us by at a blur. "They've got SWAT mobilizing to go to the northbound side. When we get there, Dane, you need to stay in the truck?—"

"I want him with an officer," Walter said. "I don't want you unprotected for one second."

I couldn't protest. I wasn't going to be helpful.

I poured over the words and the images I'd seen as we drove through the twisty mountain road and then down into the valley. It seemed that the more focused I was with the board, the less I'd seen that was helpful. I was still trying to gather meaning when a car went flying past us on the shoulder, and Walter shouted.

"Watch it, Den?—"

My gaze followed the sedan as it clipped the car in front of us, which swerved into the right lane and hit the front of a big rig that began to jackknife right into our path.

"Sonofabitch." Denny expertly applied the brakes and was able to go around the semi and onto the shoulder to pass the accident. "Walt, call it in."

"On it." Walter used his phone to call emergency personnel to come to the accident site.

"Shit, that motherfucker had been following us for a while. This was no accident."

Sure enough, another car came flying up on the left side of Walter's truck, and the man inside stared us down.

"Step on it, D."

But before Denny could get away from the guy, the exit for the rest area came up on the right. He tried to pull off the road onto the ramp, but the car sideswiped us and Denny ran off the asphalt. A row of pilons appeared in front of the truck, and Denny swerved to miss them. He got control of the truck just in time to crash into a cyclone fence. A huge white ballon exploded in front of Denny, Walter threw out an arm to catch me, and I screamed as I threw my arms up to protect my face, afraid I'd hit the seatback in front of me.

"D?" Walter said, then he turned to check me over. "You hurt?"

I didn't know, honestly. I must have nodded. Walter unhooked both of our seat belts and pulled his gun out.

" Fuck . I'm okay," Denny said, fighting to get the car balloon out of his face. He pulled his weapon and turned around. "Get down on the floor, Dane," he said, and then he was out of the truck, his weapon in front of him.

"Stay down," Walter said, before he, too, climbed out. I did as he asked. My ears were ringing, and I was having a hard time hearing anything. This was all wrong. There was nothing about this?—

A shot rang out, Denny and Walter started yelling, then more shots were fired. I heard sirens, shouting, and more gunfire so loud, it sounded like it was next to my head. A shot hit the back window, then the metal bed of the truck.

Then it stopped. It was silent outside. I wanted to go to Walter, be sure he was okay. Yet, I didn't want to move.

The board was on the floor in front of me.

What is my intention?

To end this.

"Take me to him."