Book of Days_ A Novel - James L. Rubart [33]
Twenty minutes later he panted out a rhythm in concert with the spinning pedals of his Novara road bike up the McKenzie Highway. He glanced at his odometer, then his watch. Another hour and he'd reach the summit of McKenzie Pass. A perfect distance for pushing his lungs and muscles to the breaking point.
Which is exactly the point his head was at.
When he reached the Dee Wright Observatory, he stopped and sucked in big gulps of air. The site offered a panoramic view of the Cascade Mountain Range as far north as Mount Hood.
Beautiful, but it didn't ease the squeezing feeling in his stomach.
Cameron got back on his bike and headed back, quads burning, lungs burning, mind burning, as he glanced at the cars rushing past him in the right lane.
No one would guess.
It would be so easy to swerve in front of one of them. In seconds it would be over and he would be free. His heart rate kicked into another gear.
No way. Knock it off.
But what choices did he have?
Slowly lose his mind like his dad had? No thank you. Keep digging for fantasies here in Three Peaks and continue to get nowhere? Sorry. Follow Jason? A questionable plan at best. Option number four, please.
Find out more about Taylor Stone? Definitely.
As soon as he got back to his car, he pulled up Safari on his iPhone and went to www.whitepages.com.
She would know Taylor Stone.
Cameron dialed Susan Hillman's number as he sat at a red light at the north end of Three Peaks and stared out the window at a banner hanging over the street. "Meet You in the Park!"
The banner promoted the sixty-ninth annual Three Peaks Jazz Festival. It boasted itself as the Biggest Little Jazz Festival in the World. Might be worth going to.
Three rings. Four.
"Hi, Cameron. Nice to hear from you."
Cameron pulled his cell phone away from his ear and stared at it for a second. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Even out here in the sticks, we have this nifty little invention called caller ID."
Cameron smiled and thumped his head with two fingers. "You probably have microwaves and cable TV too."
"What can I do for you?"
The light turned green and he stomped on the gas a little too hard. Slow down. He needed to relax. "I've had some intriguing conversations with someone named Jason Judah."
"Ah yes. Interesting man."
"You know him?"
"In a town our size you know everyone. I've known Jason since grade school, but my guess is you didn't call up to get a deeper understanding of the man."
"True." Cameron braced his yellow notepad against his steering wheel and scratched Susan Hillman and the date at the top. No point in forgetting anything.
"Jason says I should talk to a man named Taylor Stone who knows a lot about the Book of Days that he's not telling."
"That's Jason's opinion." Susan laughed.
"So you know him?"
"Taylor? Very well. He ran the Three Peaks Post for almost twenty years. I think it's an excellent idea that you meet him."
"Okay."
"I'm curious, have you figured out why this Book of Days is so important to you?"
Cameron hesitated. As much as trusting Jason seemed like foolishness, trusting Susan seemed like great wisdom. "Yeah. Because of . . . I need to find it for my dad, and for my late wife, and also for me." He pulled into the parking lot of the Best Western and killed the engine.
The crackle of the connection was the only sound.
"And why is that? Why do you need to find it for yourself?"
Cameron paused a long time before saying, "Because I'm afraid I'm losing . . ." He didn't finish and didn't know what words to use to fill the silence.
"Did your dad say who wrote his book?"
"No, Jason says God did."
"What do you think?"
"I'm not sure if I believe in God."
"That doesn't prevent Him from believing in you."
Cameron smiled. "Thanks, Susan. I'll be by for another peanut butter cookie soon."
"I'll hold you to that. Now, here's Taylor's phone number and address. Ready?"
Cameron said good-bye, hung up, and stared at the information scrawled on his yellow notepad.