The Guilty - Jason Pinter [49]
in person than it does over the phone."
For a moment I assumed we'd been disconnected, but then
I heard the dial tone and knew Rex had hung up on me. My
heart began to beat faster. But I had to confirm it.
I dialed the number again. The same man picked up.
"Hi, I just called about your Winchester 1873 model
rifle, and--"
"Hey, either come to the museum like all normal folks or
stop calling."
Once again I was greeted by a dial tone. I stared at the
phone for a moment. This museum clearly didn't like my line
of questioning. Then I recalled that the museum was in New
Mexico. The heart of the Old West.
I picked up the receiver and dialed again. This time a different number. It picked up on the first ring.
"Hey, Henry," Amanda said. "Missed me much?"
"I have to go to New Mexico," I said. "And I need to
leave tonight."
There was silence on the other end.
"Does that mean I shouldn't wait for you for dinner?"
"If you don't mind waiting until tomorrow to eat."
"As if I don't have enough trouble getting out of bed in
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the morning," she said. "So you found something out there?
New Mexico?"
"Yeah, something to do with the murders. I know it."
"Something about the gun?"
"Yeah, I think I have a lead at a museum."
"Then go. Do whatever you can to find this guy," she said.
"I'll be here when you get back. Dinner might be a bit cold,
though. I'll just rename it vichyssoise and call it a gourmet
meal."
I laughed. "No way. When I get back you're getting the
finest grilled cheese in North America."
"I'll keep a bowl of Kix nearby just in case."
"Thanks, babe. I'll call you when I leave."
Then I hung up and checked departure times for flights to
New Mexico.
23
I cashed Jack's check at a local Chase branch, then took a
cab home and threw a pile of clothes into a duffel bag, hoping
I'd buck the odds and end up with a matching outfit or two.
I took the Xeroxes from Agnes Trimble's book, packed them
in a valise.
As I zipped up the duffel, I stared at the bed. Neither
Amanda nor I had bothered to make it that morning. I could
still make out the ruffled sheets where we'd lain the night
before. I could re-create it; where Amanda's arm lay across
my chest, where her legs curled around mine. My hand gently
stroking her leg, the way she smiled and kissed my cheek.
I had to leave before I thought about it anymore, because
the more I did the more Jack's words resonated.
I made sure my phone was charged and I had a clean
notebook and tape recorder. The bills made my wallet fat.
I thought about the last time I traveled across the country, several men wanting me dead and Amanda unaware of
the lie I'd fed her. And now she shared my bed. I still had
to prove myself to her, and to do so I had to put her life
before mine.
And yet for the first time since we started seeing each
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other, despite how much I loved her, I thought about my
conversation with Jack and wondered if Amanda deserved
better.
Another cab sped me to the Continental terminal at LaGuardia Airport. I ran to the reservations desk and made the
seven-thirty nonstop flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I
paid the five-hundred-and-sixty-dollar round-trip ticket with
a handful of cash, drawing a slightly raised eyebrow from the
woman at the ticket counter.
"How long is the flight?"
"Four hours and thirty-five minutes," she replied, eyes
down as she counted out the numerous crisp twenties.
"And what's the time difference in Albuquerque?"
"New Mexico is on Mountain Standard Time. Two hours
earlier than New York."
"Is there an in-flight movie?"
"Let me check...that would be Shrek 2. "
"Couldn't get Shrek 3? "
She did not find me funny.
My flight was scheduled to land at midnight, or ten New
Mexico time. On arrival, I still had to rent a car and drive
down to Fort Sumner, which was about a hundred and sixty
miles southeast of Albuquerque. Barring any major driving
mishaps or being kidnapped by a herd of mountain lions, I'd
make the drive in two, two and a half hours, putting me in Fort
Sumner at