by Bob Blink
Jake wasn’t certain what more he could hope to gain at the moment. It might be interesting to see how the exchange would affect how events progressed, but this wasn’t the time for such experiments. He had given Ray too much information in the process of extracting what he wanted to learn himself. It was best this interview never happened from Ray’s perspective. Jake back-tracked to the point where he’d watched Ray drive into the newspaper parking lot. Instead of pulling in, he continued on and headed home. He had some thinking to do.
Chapter 9
Karin was at work when he arrived home. There was a daycare center her office used for those with younger children, which Janna had visited a few times in the past. She was there today because Jake was uncertain when he’d be around. The house was empty and quiet, and Jake made himself lunch while he tried to interpret what he had learned. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but the reactions he’d gotten from Ray weren’t exactly what he had anticipated. Now he had little option left but to try and follow the man tomorrow when he made his last appearance at the newspaper. Agnes had told him when he had visited with Laney roughly what time Ray had left, so Jake could adjust the time he set up his watch accordingly.
Drink in hand, Jake headed into the study. The room was entirely surrounded by other rooms, with no windows to the outside. Karin frequently complained it felt claustrophobic, but he found being cut off from the outside was serene and comforting. He set the drink down and pulled over a legal sized pad of paper and drew a vertical line along the left end. At the top he wrote “Attacks”, and at the bottom he wrote “Kerns”. He marked the distance with brackets and wrote twenty-two months. His intent was to mark out what he knew to help him picture the situation. He also thought he’d try and bounce the situation off Karin tonight.
A couple of inches from the top he made a large dot on the vertical line and added a label that marked Ray’s last day at the paper. This was six weeks back from the attacks that had started this mess. He added another dot farther down the page with a label that marked it as the time when Ray had switched to the current paper from his old position across the Bay. Another two months back was the situation he’d helped Carlson and the FBI sort out. That was the joint effort that had revealed his abilities to Laney and a few others. Jake had guessed that was the event that had somehow allowed Ray to become aware of what had actually happened during the attack on Senator Kerns, but in truth there was little to link Ray to the event. Henry Ray lived on the West Coast, and that effort had been concentrated in Washington, DC. Perhaps he had learned something through another reporter. Apparently, however, whatever had happened had not resulted in Ray learning his real name.
There were other events he could add onto the timeline, but none of them seemed relevant at the moment. He was torn between adding them in case their presence would trigger a connection he was over-looking, and the concern that they would make the drawing so busy he wouldn’t be able to make sense of anything. He stared at the paper. There wasn’t much information represented. No brilliant ideas formed in his head. Frustrated he took out a second sheet of paper, making a second timeline, filling it in with items he could think of from the past two years. He tried to included every case he’d worked, both officially and privately. As he’d feared, the paper was so cluttered he had trouble sorting out the items, especially as he’d placed a couple wrong and he’d had to draw arrows to show where they truly belonged. In the end, the second sheet told him nothing new. He pushed the pages aside and headed upstairs for a shower.
Jake had dinner ready when Karin arrived later in the day. She had Janna on one hip, but still looked very professional in her business suit. She did something that held her long hair up, and now that she was home she reached up a hand, unlocked something, and the golden mane tumbled free. Janna gurgled in glee at seeing Jake, and reached out her hands for him
“Diapers,” Karin said as she passed the toddler over, taking some of the edge off the moment.
Jake didn’t particularly mind changing the diapers, and he’d changed a lot of them. He did realize wryly, that he was moving away from the time his daughter would be potty trained, not closer to it.
“You made dinner?” Karin asked as she sniffed at the air to try and determine what it might be.
“I did,” Jake replied as he headed off to the changing area with his youngster. “Carnitas,” he added before disappearing.
Once Janna was down for the night, Jake pointed toward the study area.
“Let’s talk in there,” he said. “I marked up something that will help the discussion.”
Karin settled into the soft leather sofa and accepted the tumbler of scotch that Jake handed to her. As he settled in beside her, she asked, “What did you learn?”
Jake explained what had taken place that day. He tried to be as detailed as he could.
“He’s faking,” was Karin’s first reaction.
Jake shook his head. “I don’t think so. I was watching and I don’t believe anyone is that good of an actor. My appearance and my name meant nothing to him. But when I mentioned Bob Trask and Stan Mathews, the names I use with Carlson’s projects, he perked right up.”
“He knows something then.”
“Yes, but the question is just how much, and equally important where did he learn it?”
“How are you going to find out?”
“I don’t know. There seems to be little option other than to follow him and see where things lead.”
“When you told him your name, or even that of Trask and Mathews, he didn’t seem angry?”
“Not at all,” Jake replied. “There was nothing that would suggest he was masking his feelings. Again, I doubt he could have hidden that. He referred to the event as an accident, triggered by events that I, as Mathews, had a hand in. There was something, though.”
“What kind of something?”
Jake thought back on what he had observed. “Surprise, certainly. But more. A certain nervousness that I had presented myself in his office. He knew about someone named Trask or Mathews, and had obviously considered the possibility of meeting him. I don’t think he knew what he should do about me?”
“How did you leave matters?”
“Once I had all I thought I could expect, I jumped back to a point where I had never stopped at the newspaper. For him, the encounter never took place.”
“I think that’s best,” Karin agreed. “His learning about your name early might have significantly changed the actions he will take and how it all turned out.”
Karin thought for a moment, then asked, “What do you think changes his mind and makes him decide to blame you and create all the trouble?”
“I wish I knew. It is obviously something that happens after he disappears. I’ll just have to try and follow him and see what happens.”
“You said he is going to end up in Europe. You can’t simply travel all the way across the Atlantic, follow him around for weeks, and leave Janna and me here alone.”
Jake had thought about this himself. He’d also decided that Ray wasn’t really going out of the country. The map had to be a red herring. Someone had to be linked to him. Someone who knew more, and who had told Ray what little he knew. It was only six weeks until the attacks started. That wasn’t very long for the man to undergo such a drastic change in attitude, and for him to be able to setup such an elaborate series of attacks, he almost had to be located nearby somewhere. Someone else who had an interest in the dead sister must be somehow involved. He explained his thinking to Karin.
“Maybe you should simply contact Carlson, tell her what is going to happen, and have her arrest him. Put an end to this right now. If Ray is arrested, it might flush out anyone else at the same time.”
“Carlson can’t do that. Ray hasn’t done anything wrong yet. He is an innocent reporter, about to set off on a new facet of his career. We know what’s going to happen, and Carlson will believe what I reveal, but it can’t be used the way we would like.”
>
Karin hesitated, then spoke so softly that Jake wasn’t sure at first he’d heard her right.
“Maybe you should simply eliminate the problem now and end it all,” she’d said.
Jake was shocked. This was a drastic change in Karin. After all the arguments they’d once had about his taking direct action.
“You mean kill him?” Jake asked.
Karin flushed, but wasn’t to be deterred. “You said he wants to hurt Janna. That can’t be allowed. If he is allowed to disappear, then it will all happen again. Maybe he’ll succeed.”
Jake realized Karin’s protective mothering instincts had been aroused. “Whatever happens, I can back-track and protect you,” he reminded her.
“Maybe not,” she argued. “You said he threatened to kill you first, then come after Janna and me. We can’t allow that.”
Jake pulled her close. “We know that nothing is going to happen for more than a month. If I can’t resolve what is going on, perhaps that is the solution, but I’ll admit that I’m not comfortable with it.”
“You’ve killed others who were going to harm someone,” she protested. “And they weren’t even people you knew.”
“In all those cases the person was in the act of committing the crime. It was a moral choice of killing the perpetrator, or allowing many innocent people to die. This is different. Ray, at least the Ray of this time and place, isn’t out to harm anyone. He isn’t about to commit murder. I’m not sure I’d be at peace with myself if I were to kill him under these conditions. The threat isn’t there.”
“From what you said, that’s just a matter of a few weeks. You know it will materialize. I don’t see the distinction that the gap in time presents.”
Jake sighed. “A fuzzy distinction, I admit. Let’s see what happens when I follow him tomorrow. There will be plenty of time to decide what to do.”
Karin stared at him a long time, then said, “Promise me you’ll protect Janna.”
Jake nodded. “Of course. Both of you. That comes first.”
Satisfied, Karin stood and pulled Jake toward the bedroom. Their love-making that night was intense, as if Karin feared the worst.
Chapter 10
Jake started the Highlander when he saw Ray coming out of the building and walking toward the ancient wreck he drove. Now perhaps he would see where the man was going to go. Jake dearly hoped he wouldn’t simply return to the house in Oakland. Even if he did, it couldn’t be for too long. The house had been deserted for some time when Jake and Laney had checked it, so at the worst, Jake would only have to watch him for a few days.
Ray backed out of his parking space and drove through the gate, turning left onto the road. Jake had guessed he’d go that way, and had parked with his own vehicle facing that direction. He gave the man a little room, easier this time of day because the roads were relatively empty, and then pulled out to follow. Ray drove leisurely, and with no apparent concern that he might be followed. Jake couldn’t help but wonder how this drive would have gone if Ray recalled Jake’s visit the previous day.
Instead of turning onto the freeway, Ray turned south on one of the main streets. At least he wasn’t returning directly to his home! They drove for several miles, and then Ray turned into the large parking lot of the Daly City BART [Bay Area Rapid Transit] station. Jake followed, parking several rows behind the other, getting out and following his quarry inside the station when it was clear he planned to head for the trains.
Ray moved purposefully, passing through the gate. Jake had to scramble and buy a BART ticket, then followed after the other. At first Jake feared this was a ploy for Ray to see if anyone was checking on his movements, but Ray still wasn’t watching behind him to check and see if he was being followed. He was intent on finding his train. They wound through the terminal and ended up on the platform headed north.
Several trains stopped and took on passengers, but Ray allowed them to pass on without attempting to board. Jake had wandered away from the platform, staying where he could watch without being observed. He’d have to scramble if Ray decided to board, but Jake decided as long as Ray was seated, he probably had no intention of boarding. Perhaps he was meeting someone on one of the trains?
Finally, after nearly an hour wait, Ray stood and walked toward the tracks. A train for every BART route had already passed, which had made Jake more certain that Ray was waiting for someone, but now suddenly it looked as if Jake might be wrong. Unless Ray intended to quickly interact with someone on the train, who wouldn’t even get off, or perhaps might step off, exchange something, and then step back on the train before it could leave. Jake decided to start toward the tracks himself. If this was a feint, he had the ability to change the outcome.
As the silvery train pulled into the station, the waiting passengers readied themselves to board. Jake could sense that Ray was like the others, and was mentally preparing himself to cross through the doors into the train. Then the doors opened and the people moved. People passed out of the doors from many of the cars, and more than a dozen pushed their way into the car that Ray entered. Jake had pondered whether he should board an adjacent car or the same one as Ray, but since the man had not known him when he visited the other day, he would only see Jake as another random face in the crowd. Ray boarded and turned to the left. He boarded behind the other, and moved to the opposite end of the car to see what developed.
The train was fuller than Jake would have guessed. He could see Ray, but there were at least two dozen people between them. Looking through the windows to the adjacent cars, Jake could see they were similarly filled with passengers. The buzzer sounded and a moment later the doors closed. After the slight hesitation, the train began to move, picking up speed quickly.
The departure from the station must have been some kind of signal for Ray. Within moments of the train leaving the station, Ray turned and pushed open the door that connected to the adjacent car. He walked through, and then began to move through the crowd on the far side. Heading toward the door at the far end of that car.
Interesting, Jake thought, and began his own movement toward the end of the car. As he approached the door, the crowd thinned, except for two burly men who stood near either side of the small passageway. As Jake stepped forward, as if on signal, the two men stepped toward one another, effectively blocking his way.
“Excuse me,” Jake said, indicating he’d like to pass through.
One of the men, the scar under his eyes visible when he looked directly at Jake, shook his head minutely. The meaning was clear. Jake wasn’t going to be passing through the doorway. The men also blocked Jake’s view, so he couldn’t see what was happening in the other car.
Jake backed away and considered his options. He could pull out the Sig and see if he could move them that way, but he was certain that would create a panic. He also realized these were the kinds of men who might be armed themselves. Besides, any altercation would almost certainly alert the disappearing Ray that something had happened, and the train might even be stopped, which would change where Ray would end up. Instead, Jake stepped back into the center of the car. Then he back-tracked to the time just before the train arrived. The station was still close enough for him to do so.
As the train pulled into the station, Jake slowly walked over to a position that would place him into the car on the left where Ray would go, rather than boarding into the same car as he had before. As before, the train soon pulled away smoothly from the station, which triggered Ray to move through the doors into the car. Jake was waiting at the farthest end of the car, watching to see what would happen. He wouldn’t have predicted what happened next. Ray was roughly halfway down the car, when he abruptly stopped, turned around and returned back the way he had come. Jake was certain he hadn’t looked his way, not that it should matter anyway. Yet, there Ray went, back into the first car. Jake could see he was moving through to the far side. Jake started after him, this time guessing what would happen when he reached the doors that connected the cars
. As he watched Ray stepped through the doors on the opposite side of the next car, the two men that had stopped him before, once again prevented his passing into the adjacent car.
For a moment, Jake was dumbfounded. For the very first time he’d seen where history didn’t repeat itself. He’d been able to alter the course of history by his actions, but this had happened without his doing anything. Ray had altered the flow of events. In both cases, the outcome was that Jake was unable to see where the other was going.
Out of curiosity, Jake jumped back, and boarded the train once again, this time entering into the car on the right side, opposite to where Ray would go initially. He wanted to see what would happen this time. Once again events played out. This time Ray headed off to the left just as he always did. Jake expected that would be the end of it. On the contrary, a few minutes later, Ray reentered the car he had left, then walked across and entered the car where Jake stood. Without hesitation, Ray continued through the car and continued on to the right, moving to the next car. Predictably, Jake was blocked when he tried to follow.
Jake back-tracked to the platform again, this time well before the train arrived. He needed time to think. Finally he decided he was influencing events contrary to his initial thoughts. Somehow his positioning changed what Ray did.
“They know about you,” Karin said that evening when Jake related what had happened. “Someone on the train was able to recognize you and warn him. It has to be.”
“That’s what I started thinking at first as well,” Jake replied. “I spent a lot of time looping back and seeing what he did. I think he set things up not knowing who or even if someone might follow him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I finally decided his moves were based on whether someone tried to follow him when he switched cars. When I tried to come after him, the two thugs stopped me. Somehow they must have communicated that to him, and he continued on, secure that he was no longer being followed. But if I didn’t follow him, then he assumed that I was waiting for him along the route he followed. In that case, he switched and went the other way. There were more hirelings to try and block me that way as well.”
