by Jon McGoran
I ducked down low and watched him pull out, then got in the truck and went after him.
Teddy was a pain-in-the-ass-douchebag-spoiled-punk, rich kid, but he was involved in something way over his head. I needed to warn him. And then I needed to quit, before I got in over my head as well.
I ran out of Basin Road before I caught up with him, and I was worried that I had lost him. But Menemsha was almost at the western tip of the island, so I turned east and soon spotted him up ahead. He was moving at a decent clip, and I had to push it to catch up with him.
I flashed my lights at him and gave the horn a brief toot, but he didn’t respond. On the next straightaway, I pulled alongside him, in the oncoming lane, and tapped the horn again.
He turned to look at me, annoyed, but not as much as I expected. I realized he didn’t recognize me. I pulled off Moose’s hat, and he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Teddy!” I yelled. “We need to talk. Pull over.”
He nodded back at me with an utterly unbelievable expression of sincerity. Then he stood on his gas pedal and pulled ahead of me. We were approaching a bend, and suddenly a UPS truck, too. I tapped my brakes and pulled in behind Teddy, then had to push it again to catch up with him.
As we sped through Chilmark, I tried pulling alongside him again, but he tried to block me, flipping me off as he did.
We were speeding past the Chilmark Library, approaching a three-way intersection with a triangle in the middle, and Teddy wasn’t even slowing down. At the last second, he jerked to the right, and almost plowed into a minivan when he did. It screeched and swerved into the other lane, causing more screeching and swerving. Suddenly, there was a knot of cars between us, and he was speeding away.
By the time things got straightened out, Teddy was a hundred yards away and I was still behind a minivan. Traffic had thickened up, and when I finally passed the minivan, Teddy was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just kept passing cars when I could. To my surprise, a couple of miles later I spotted him up ahead. I kept a little space between us and satisfied myself with keeping pace with him. We drove on like that for two or three miles, me following at a distance, him not making any effort to elude me. As we approached the airport, I could see cars backed up and a cluster of flashing lights.
Teddy’s brake lights came on as he approached the mess. The two cars remaining between us both turned and went back the other way. I slowed down behind him.
There was no sign of an accident, but a cop was standing at the entrance to the airport, stopping traffic.
I was just pulling up behind Teddy’s bumper when he coasted onto the side of the road. Instantly, the traffic cop was pointing and blowing his whistle as more cops climbed out of parked cruisers and feds began magically appearing out of unmarked black cars.
Teddy got out of the truck and lowered the tailgate, and for a moment I thought things were about to go violently bad. I pictured Teddy turning back with a weapon or a bomb, or even a banner or some paint. But instead he pulled out a dirt bike, bouncing it onto the ground.
I got out of the truck and watched as he swung a leg over the bike and paused to flip me off one last time. Then he started it up and took off, zigging and zagging between the trees as he disappeared into the woods across from the airport.
I stood there watching, wondering what that crazy asshole was up to.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the caliber of people you’ve been hanging out with.”
It was Jimmy Frank, standing at my elbow. I nodded hello.
“What was that all about?” he asked, nodding in the direction of the distant sound of a dirt bike fading into the woods.
I shook my head. “I’m sure I don’t know.” I tilted my head toward the commotion in front of the airport. “What’s this all about?”
“Motorcade,” he said as two police motorcycles emerged from the airport and turned left, followed by a cruiser and a stretch limo.
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow as the limos kept coming. “Who are the bigwigs?”
He sighed and looked at me. Then he lowered his voice. “Well, lets see,” he said as the limousines rolled out. “I believe that’s Senator Wilson Deveaux, then Senator Jeffery Wilden, Senator George Burlholme. Maybe some others, but that’s who’s on my list.”
“What are they here for?”
He looked at me sideways. “I was thinking of asking you the same thing.”
“Me? What would I know about it?”
He shrugged. “You tell me.”
The line of limousines was interrupted by another pair of motorcycles, then a string of massive black SUVs with diplomatic flags on the front fenders. I recognized the Kenyan flag, with its Masai warrior shield, and several others that were mostly just blocks of color.
As I watched, Jimmy stepped back. “I gotta go follow along,” he said. “Part of the official ‘make ’em feel important’ escort.”
He was deliberate about saying it, like he was telling me I should be listening to him.
I got back in my car and waited for the entire motorcade to pass, Jimmy Frank bringing up the rear. It took a few minutes for the knot of traffic in front of me to loosen. Then I followed along behind them.
34
As we made our way across the island, I had a pretty good idea where we were headed. Even before we turned toward Vineyard Haven, onto Main Street, past the stores and restaurants.
Way up ahead, I could see the motorcycles pulling over to the left, taking their places on either side of the grand entrance to the Renfrew house. The limousines turned up the driveway, and the security vehicles pulled over on either side of the street. By the time I pulled up behind Jimmy Frank’s cruiser, it seemed like a reenactment of the previous day, only four times as big. I half expected Archie Pearce’s helicopter to come screaming over the water, but I guess with this much security, even Archie Pearce knew better than to pull any stunts.
Jimmy and I got out of our cars at the same time. He gave me a short nod and mumbled, “Fancy meeting you here.” Then he ambled over to where the other local cops were standing, probably making snide comments about the feds and the private security types.
I strolled over to the driveway, near one of the motorcycle cops. “I just need a quick word with Mr. Renfrew,” I said, holding up my badge.
He laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think so, but you can try.”
Before I could, though, the guy who had led me in on my last visit came striding down the driveway, shaking his head. “Sorry, sport,” he said. “You’re not getting anywhere close to him until after six o’clock, after all this wraps up. No chance.”
I decided against leaving the message that I didn’t want to work for Renfrew anymore and that his son the amateur screw-up was about to step up to the major leagues. Looking up at the roof, I saw the same sniper there, looking down at me. I waved to him, and this time he gave me the finger.
* * *
Whether he knew it or not, Teddy Renfrew was involved in something big and bad. I had tried to tell him, and I would try again. I had tried to tell his dad, and I would try to tell him again, too. I didn’t know how close Nola had gotten to Teddy, but it was close enough that if he got hurt, she might get hurt. So I had to try to tell Nola, as well.
I wasn’t looking forward to that, so I was kind of relieved when I got a text from Moose.
YOU STILL ALIVE?
YES.:)
I use smiley faces very sparingly, but I figured if not now, when, right?
IS MY TRUCK?
YES.
CAN I HAVE IT BACK?
* * *
Moose was back at Mocha Mott’s getting lunch, but when I got there I could tell he was ready to go.
“Is my car okay?” he asked when I walked in.
“Without a scratch,” I said as I handed him the keys.
He nodded as he pocketed the keys. “Not yours.”
“What do you mean?”
“That guy came back and smashed one of your taillights.”
“Are you serious?”
“He looked pissed.” Moose sipped his coffee and leaned back in his chair, giving me an appraising look. “What’s the story there? You said he shot at you before? What’s up with that?”
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Teddy Renfrew is involved in something big and messed up. The other night he was having this secret meeting with some guy in the dark behind the Tabernacle. I followed him, and that guy, the guy who was following me today, he came up behind me and tried to take me out. I got away from him, he chased me, started taking shots at me.”
“Why were you following Teddy?”
I didn’t want to get into the whole thing. “It’s a long story, but the other night, when I was staying in the cabin with Nola, Teddy was acting suspicious, and he went off for a secret meeting in the woods in the middle of the night.”
“So you followed him?” Moose snorted and rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’re unbelievable. How do you know he wasn’t, like, meeting someone for sex, or buying a bag of weed or something?”
“Huh?” I said, because that hadn’t occurred to me. “Well, you’re right, that would have explained a lot. But he wasn’t. They were just talking, and I saw them again at another secret meeting, only this time I got a good look at the guy.”
“So you were following him.”
“Yes. I was. And maybe that was totally messed up, but Moose, believe me, this guy he was meeting with, he was bad news. Seriously bad news. I know Teddy’s gotten into some minor trouble before—spiking trees and graffiti and stuff—but this guy, he’s on a different level.”
“And how do you know this?”
“I just know.”
He shook his head. “You’re a piece of work.”
I couldn’t argue.
“Benjy’s mom called.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, except she’s pissed off that Benjy never showed up.”
“Really?”
He nodded his head. “I called him but there was no answer, so I borrowed a bike and rode over to his place, but there was no sign of him.” He fiddled with his cup. “Not like him to blow stuff off, but his mom’s a bit of a pain, so maybe he just couldn’t deal.”
“Huh.”
He shrugged and started to close his computer.
“Wait,” I said, grabbing the top of it. “Can I look something up before you go?”
He rolled his eyes. “Dude, I have stuff I have to do.”
“It’ll only take a second.”
He stood up. “Okay. I gotta take a leak anyway.”
I opened a new tab in his browser and searched: “Senator Wilson Deveaux” “Jeffery Wilden” “George Burlholme.”
That got me a million hits about the Senate, but several of the top ten referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
I added Kenya, and it narrowed down a fair amount, but it was the same mix of results. I added “Thompson Company” and came up with nothing.
Moose was walking back from the bathroom. On a hunch, I removed “Thompson Company” and added “Stoma Corporation” and the results dropped down to nine hundred hits, but almost all of them were about an initiative called Agricultural Solutions for Sustainable Peace, or ASSP. It seemed to be a controversial foreign-aid program exporting genetically modified corn to third-world countries.
“All right,” Moose said as he walked up. “I’m out of here. I want to check the rest of the monitoring sites by tonight.”
I nodded. “Okay. Maybe I can help you later.”
“Where are you going now?”
“I have to go talk to Nola about Teddy.”
35
It felt strange being back at Teddy’s farm. I’d never felt like I belonged there, but now it felt like enemy territory. The place seemed strangely quiet, and I wondered if there was something going on, or if it was all inside my head.
The door to Nola’s cabin opened, and she stepped onto the porch. Part of me wanted to run to her, to take her in my arms, to tell her I was sorry. Tell her that I loved her.
I couldn’t tell if any part of her wanted to do the same thing. Neither of us did it.
My duffel bag was dangling from her right hand, swaying slightly. She moved her hand just a bit, and when the bag swung out away from her, she let it drop onto the porch.
“We need to talk,” I said.
“Did you sleep with her?”
“What?” The question caught me off guard. “You mean Annalisa? No, of course not.” I let a little laugh creep into my reply. I was relieved she didn’t ask me if I’d thought about it.
She shook her head. “Anybody else, then?”
“No.”
She sighed. “Then we can talk when I get home.”
Deep inside, part of me was giddy that she was still planning on coming home. “Did you sleep with him?”
She looked indignant, then kind of repulsed. I hoped at the thought of the person I was referring to. “No,” she said.
“Good,” I said. I laughed again, just from nerves, but it seemed to thaw things out a little. She took a step forward, down off the porch. I took a step toward her as well.
“Doyle,” she said. “I never … I just needed a break, okay? I needed some time to myself. That’s all.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“Just go on home, okay? And I’ll be home soon. Then we can figure out where to go from here.”
I started to nod, but then stopped abruptly.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You have to come away from here.”
“What?”
“I know you need time, I get that, but it can’t be here. You can’t stay here.”
“What are you taking about?”
“I can’t explain all of it, because I don’t know all of it, but Teddy is involved in something bad, something real bad. I don’t know what it is, but I’m pretty sure it’s about to blow up.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look, Teddy’s done stupid stuff in the past, little stuff, but this is different.”
“It wasn’t stupid, it was important. He was making a stand for what he believed in.”
“Well, this is different. He’s been meeting with some hard-core bad guys. Secret meetings, off in the woods, in the middle of the night, that kind of stuff. And whatever it is, it’s about to come to a head. I don’t want you caught in the middle of it when it blows up.”
“Have you been following him?”
Uh-oh. I guess I’d known that question was coming, but I hadn’t really prepared for it.
“Have you been spying on Teddy?” she asked, because apparently I was taking too long to answer. “Have you been spying on me?”
“I wasn’t spying on you,” I snapped back. I took a deep breath. “Teddy’s father said he was worried about him. About his safety. He asked me to keep an eye on him. It was a mistake. I should have said no and I didn’t. I’ve been trying to get in touch with him to tell him I’ve quit. But the fact remains, Teddy is involved in something bad, and I don’t want it to hurt you.”
Nola growled and grabbed the strap of my duffel bag, flinging it at me.
“Get out of here, Doyle,” she said. “And don’t come back.” This time when she turned around, she didn’t look back. She stormed into the cabin and slammed the door.
The whole building shook, and in the back of my mind, I thought that tiny little cabin wouldn’t hold up to a medium-sized huffing and puffing. But I didn’t like picturing myself as the big bad wolf, so I picked up my bag and got into my car.
It felt sad and final, leaving that place, but I was angry enough and indignant enough not to dwell on it too hard. I needed to get out of there, and I needed to do it in a hurry. The car fishtailed a bit as I swerved around the big house, and I was just straightening out onto the driveway when Teddy showed up on his dirt bike. I braked hard and he swerved hard,
pulling off the driveway and onto the grass. He ground out a wide circle, looping around me, then circling a second time before stopping next to my door.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I was just leaving,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “Don’t come back.”
“Look, whatever it is you think you’re involved in, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. The people you’re involved with, they’re seriously bad news.”
He laughed. “You don’t know shit about me or what I’m involved in. So here’s my warning to you. You might think you know what’s going on, but you have no idea, because you’re an idiot, and an asshole, and a tool. So go on and get out of here before I call the real cops.”
He gunned the bike’s engine, and spun a half circle so his back wheel peppered the car with dirt and gravel. I thought about running him over.
Instead I hit the gas and pulled away, listening to the gravel pelting the paint job and thinking how much I was going to enjoy it when that douchebag inevitably went down.
* * *
The Mustang had been fun, but it was conspicuous, it was known, and it was damaged. And it was a rental.
Steve at the airport auto rental was happy to see me, but not for long.
“Can’t stay away from here, huh?” he said, smiling as he came outside. “Leaving town, or you back for round three?”
“Round three,” I replied. Then I lowered my voice. “I think I need something a little less flashy.”
“Whoa,” he said, walking around the back. “What happened here?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I left it parked on the street. When I came back, boom.”
He came around to the driver’s side, and when he saw what Teddy had done to the paint, he let out a little shriek. “Jesus! What happened?”
“I think it incites envy,” I told him. “The whole fancy sports car thing.” I punched him in the arm. “But I sure am glad we got the extra insurance.”
