I tapped on the top of the tread a couple of times to settle it into place and once it was in, you couldn’t tell it had ever been out. I wondered if Colonel McNaulty had been up and down the staircase. Had he stepped over this step and missed the small difference? Since it was obvious the step had not been moved for a long time, I was sure McNaulty hadn’t found the secret place. Also, I was positive if he had found the hiding place, it would have been empty.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, Beanie was there waiting. She danced between my legs and we headed to the truck. I thought for a moment about where I might hide the things I had just found and decided to hide them in a storage compartment behind my seat, and we headed back for home. I wasn’t going to open either of them until it was someplace I felt was safe, or at least a lot safer than sitting in my truck out in the open.
Beanie and I caught the ferry back to Seattle. I hadn’t been followed for a couple of days, but I was still leery of it happening again. I thought the best place to examine my find was at my hideout, my man cave where I keep my car collection stored. I had no idea if the van that had been following me a few days ago was still around or if they had perhaps switched vehicles. I decided I needed to find a different car, a car they would have no way of knowing was mine. The cars I had in storage were all too memorable. What I needed was something that people were used to seeing every day. Suddenly Scott, my poker buddy and close friend, came to mind. One of his cars is an old Lincoln Town Car. The kind you see every day taking people to and from the airport and delivering people all over Seattle. I knew the windows on his car were tinted and people wouldn’t notice it. I called Scott.
“Matt, what’s up?” Since this was Scott’s greeting, I figured he must have recognized my number off his incoming screen.
I cut straight to the chase. “Scott, can I borrow the Town Car?”
“Are you serious? The man who has every car anybody could possibly want? Do you really want to borrow that piece of shit?” He laughed out loud as he teased me.
I was perhaps a bit short with him as I replied, “I’ll explain later, can I borrow it?”
“Yeah, it’s here in the garage. There’s a key in the glove box.” Many of Ford’s products have a keypad on the driver’s door. If you know the five-digit code, you can open the door. Scott gave me the code to open the car and I thanked him. I already knew the access code to his condo garage.
I lucked out and there was a space right next to his Lincoln. Since Scott owns the building, I wasn’t worried about taking somebody’s parking spot. I moved Beanie to the car and then checked to see if I was being watched. When I was positive it was safe, I moved my find into the trunk of the Lincoln. I found the keys where Scott had said they would be and I left the garage from the other entrance.
I watched my mirror a lot as I weaved my way through downtown. A few blocks before my building I turned down an alley and drove to the end. I waited several minutes and when nobody pulled in behind me, I decided it was safe to go up to my man cave. Thanks to Pop’s foresight by purchasing properties scattered around town, I own a row of three buildings. I could park in the garage of one building and then walk down the alley and sneak in the back door of the building I wanted. I took the elevator up to my floor and found a backpack I’d left in the small office. I returned to the Lincoln and retrieved the box and the pouch. Holding Beanie under one arm with the backpack slung over my other shoulder, we went to my garage on the top floor of my building.
I have a bed for Bean to curl up in and I put her down on it. I cleared off a spot on one of the workbenches and turned on the light over it. I stood for a moment and looked at the two items lying in front of me. I couldn’t believe I’d found them. I also wondered if I should consider myself lucky or unlucky. The old leather pouch was crumbling and I hated to even move it. I had no idea about any of the places it had been in the past, but I the tower hadn’t been good for it. It was no wonder it was so deteriorated. I carefully sat the pouch aside and picked up the box.
The box had once been lacquered black but now age and weathering had blistered it in several places. The hinges on the back were crusty and it had an old rusty lock set into the face. I turned the box over in my hands several times and shook it for good measure. The box was fairly heavy for its size and when I shook it there were no sounds.
I looked around my workbench and in the tool chest. I picked out a tool I thought I could pick the lock with, but I didn’t have any success. I decided it didn’t matter if I destroyed it so I got a drill and bit and drilled out the center of the lock.
I set the drill to one side, took a deep breath, and carefully lifted the lid. The inside was lined with deep blue velvet and there was a block of wood fitted to sit tightly. There was the wood was notched and nestled inside the notch was what I guessed to be a key. I’d never seen anything quite like it. The key was much bigger than any standard key, it was as long as my hand. The part where the teeth should have been was just a round piece of metal, like a long skinny barrel. I picked up a magnifying glass and looking at it closer I could see little notches around the barrel.
This was like no key I had ever seen before. I looked through the rest of the box and there was nothing else inside, just the block of wood covered in velvet and notched to hold the key tightly in place. I was disappointed.
I wondered aloud, “Where does the key go? What lock does it fit?” There was no indication on either the key or the box. I put the key back in the block of wood and closed the cover.
I carefully picked up the pouch and when I opened the flap, it came off in my hands. As gently as I could I placed it on the bench but even as careful as I was, as I set it down it crumbled into two large pieces and several smaller ones. Part of the sides sloughed away, revealing a book wrapped in some sort of wax paper. It was like the book had been sealed inside a heavy wax bag.
Picking up the book and setting it aside, I pushed away the remains of the old deteriorated leather pouch. I found a sharp knife and I carefully started to cut open the paper. I was surprised at the condition of the book. It was in relatively good shape, all things considered. Once free of the envelope, as carefully as I could, I slowly opened the cover. The first page read DIARY and below that was written, Hayward Hollis.
Oh shit!
I set the book down with trembling hands and thought for a moment. Did I really want to know what was in the book? Was this something I really wanted to read? Walter’s warning echoed in my mind.
I was guessing information about the key might be contained in the diary. But I was also sure there were a lot more interesting things written in that diary than what the key was all about. I decided I needed to think about this for a while. I knew if McNaulty got ahold of me and found out I had the diary, there was no way I was going to convince him I hadn’t read it. But for my own peace of mind, I just didn’t know if I wanted to read some of the stuff Hollis had been involved in.
The only person I could discuss my findings with was Walter. He might not want to read it either, but at least he would understand my problems with knowing the contents of the diary.
My next challenge was to find a hiding place. I had never had to hide anything in my buildings before. I discarded the idea of putting it in any of the cars. If anybody ever found out I had the diary, the first place they would look would be in the cars. After my mental exercise of trying to hide something in my workshop, I decided there was no place I was comfortable hiding them. I would take them with me and see if I could find a better spot. The one thing I did need to do was get a letter to Walter as soon as possible and tell him I was coming over again.
Suddenly it dawned on me, each of my apartments has a storage unit. The person who rented Sharon’s place didn’t use theirs. There were still some things Sharon had left and I had a key. Her locker was the safest place I could come up with until I could get over to see Walter and discuss what to do with m
y find. I wanted to go see him and I didn’t want to wait for mail to get to him and let him know I was coming. I was going to go over and take my chances I could find the cabin. It was just too dangerous to wait much longer.
The next day I’d be off to the peninsula to talk about Crescent with Walter. I knew that the two items I had were dangerous, but I also had to dispose of them in such a manner that I didn’t get screwed. Finding them had put me on a tightrope, and I had no choice but to get to the other side. I thought Walter, don’t fail me now!”
CHAPTER 19
WALTER II
I decided the best thing to do was to leave Bean with Sharon since this was going to be a quick trip over and back. I didn’t want her slowing me down. I was still using Scott’s Lincoln and so far I hadn’t seen anybody parking out in front of my apartment I didn’t recognize. I was aware there still could have been somebody watching me, but right now I had some chance to move around without the colonel and flyboy watching me.
For the first time in a long time I was impatient at how long the ferry was taking. Normally I can relax and enjoy the trip over, but today I was in no mood to take in the beauty. I wanted to get to Walter’s as quickly as possible. I went topside and purchased a cup of overpriced coffee and stood at the rail watching the water go by.
After what seemed like the longest ferry ride of my life, we docked and I was headed off for the mountains. I parked the car in the gravel lot and headed down the trail. I made a couple of wrong turns but I quickly realized my mistake and returned to the right trail.
I had moved so quickly, I was surprised when I came around the big rock behind his cabin. As I approached, I called out. When I stepped around to the front deck Walter came out of the house, naked. “Holy shit, please put on some clothes,” I told him.
Walter laughed, “Why? This is my place,” and he turned around. As he walked into the cabin I heard him call out to Thien, “Put on some clothes, we have a guest.”
I heard her answer, “Who is it dear?”
Walter answered, “I think it’s a lost door-to-door salesman. The guy’s offended I’m naked in my own home.”
I called out as loudly as I could, “Hey, leave your clothes off. I don’t care if you want to run around with a pink ribbon tied around your twanger. Just get out here! I need to talk to you.” When Walter finally came out of the house he didn’t have on much more than when I first saw him. He motioned for me to come up on the deck and pointed at a chair. “Sit. What can I get you to drink?”
“Water, please.” Walter turned and asked Thien to bring out some water for me, and pulled up another chair and sat down. When Thien brought out my water she had on an outfit exactly like Walter’s. She didn’t seem to be the least bit self-conscious about being almost naked in front of me. I stood when she came out and she handed me the glass, and then wrapped her arms about me and gave me a big hug. I bent over for her and as she kissed me on the cheek she remarked, “What an unexpected treat. It’s nice to see you.”
“Okay. Now what brings you out to my lair?” Walter inquired. I handed him the bag with the things I’d found in the lighthouse. “What’s this?”
“I found them in the lighthouse on Ross Island. They were under a step that had a small crescent carved in it.”
Walter quickly extended the bag back to me. “No. I don’t want to see what’s in there. Drink your water and then go back to Seattle. I don’t want to get involved.”
Walter had started to push himself out of his chair and I leaned over and placed my hand on his arm. “Walter, over the years we’ve become fairly good friends. You saved my ass back in Nam and I like to think I kind of saved your ass back in Seattle.” Walter leveled a gaze at me. “I can think of nobody I trust as much as you when it comes to our time back in country. I value your judgment. A lot!” Walter grunted and I continued, “I need your advice. Please at least look at what I have. Please?” I pleaded.
Walter reached over and picked up the bag and opened it. First he took out the box. He held it up and looked over each face very carefully. “It looks very old, see all the blisters in the paint?” He opened it and examined the inside just as carefully as he had the outside. When he picked up the key he looked at me. “This is a storage box key from a high-security lockbox, like in a big bank. I’ve seen one before. I wonder what it’s doing in this box? I don’t know of any banks in the US that have anything like this. This comes from what I call a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ kind of bank.”
“Could it be the key to the box where the gold from Crescent might be kept?”
Walter continued to turn the key over in his hand. Finally, he slipped it back in its place in the velvet box. He looked over at me and shrugged his shoulders. “Could be.” He reached back in the plastic bag and drew out the diary. As he shook the book out of its envelope and saw what it was, his tanned face turned white. He opened the cover and immediately snapped it closed. “Jesus!” he exclaimed. “This is Hollis’ diary.” Walter shut his eyes as he continued, “I wasn’t just dreaming it. In a way I’m glad to see it and know I was sane, but I also have to tell you this scares the shit out of me. Matt, have you read this?”
“No. I wanted to see you first. I need your advice. If the flyboy and the colonel know I have these, I am afraid they’ll think I read the diary. I wanted to—you have no idea how much I want to read it. But if they think I’ve read it I’m afraid they’ll kill me. I also need to know what you think.” I waited until Walter was looking directly at me. Pleadingly I asked, “I need your advice.”
Walter leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes once.. Suddenly he stood and walked to the edge of his large porch. For a long time, he stared off into the distance. Eventually he turned back and returned to his seat. I could see he was wrestling with the problem.
Walter cleared his throat and started, “My first reaction is still to tell you take them and go away. But, we are friends and I can tell you need a friend right now. One thought is for you to take these back to the tower, put them under the step and forget you ever found them. However, that’s not going to make flyboy and our colonel go away. Since neither of them is going to believe you haven’t read the diary, I guess if you want you can read it.”
Walter leaned forward. “My advice is still not to read it. If that diary goes into detail about his missions, I doubt you want to know what went down.” I understood what he meant.
Walter looked off into space for a while, took a deep breath and then let it out. His voice took on a dreamy quality as he spoke, “I’ll be honest, I’d love to read the diary as well. But I’ve spent too many evenings out here or in bed with Thien holding me. I’m not going to purposely take myself back there. Most of the time I’m in a good place. Thien is very protective of me and I think she would be really upset if I read it. She works hard at keeping me sane.”
I don’t know if she was listening, but when Walter said her name, Thien came outside. She pulled up a chair and sat between us. “I heard my name,” she said.
Walter leaned over and put his hand on top of hers. “I was just telling Matt about the difficulty I had putting away what I did over in your country. I don’t know if I ever could have managed it without you, but you know that.” Thien smiled at Walter, the love and affection written on her face. “Matt brought Hollis’ diary—you remember me telling you about Price and Hollis.” I actually saw fear in her eyes. “I was telling Matt I was interested in reading the diary, but I don’t know if I want to deal with what that might do to me.”
Thien reached out and rested her hand on top of Walter’s forearm. “I do not want you to read that. Those nights when you wept in my arms were as difficult for me as they were for you. I love you. If I thought it would help, I would take that damn book and burn it.” Thien’s voice was filled with anger. “You are a good man. Yes, you did some bad things. So did Matt. But that is not who you are now. If you read that boo
k, both of you are going to relive what you did. Is that necessary? And you Matt, if Walter reads the diary, he has me here to help him deal with any bad effects it might cause him. Who do you have?”
She had me there. I don’t know exactly where I stand with Sharon or how she would feel if I showed up some night with my problems. As much as I cared for Gladys, I don’t know how she would react. I had never told her much about Nam or what I had done over there. I had felt comfortable with Sharon when I had shared my problems, but I was nowhere near that point with Gladys and I really didn’t know if I would ever get to that point.
“Okay Thien, you’ve talked me out of reading the diary. How do I get rid of these things and come out alive on the other end? I am positive both of my ‘friends’ will think I read the damn thing and since I don’t know what’s in there, it might be something they think they need to get rid of me for.” All of us sat there for a while thinking.
Finally, Thien smiled and looked at us. “I have an idea. Go and have a copy made of the book. All of it. Take it to the lawyer that helped Walter when he got in trouble back in Seattle.”
“You mean…”
“Yes. Tell them if anything happens to either you or Walter, if either of you even stubs your toe then he is to read the diary and then decide who he needs to take it to in order to deal with whatever is in it Do you trust your lawyer friends?”
Code Name: Crescent: A Matt Preston Novel Page 22
