Fire Lake by Jonathan Valin Read Free Book Online Page B

preposterous. "You
just don't know him, Harry. You don't know what he's like when he's
mad or stoned. He probably tore your bed up because of me. It's a
symbol. Get it? That's how his mind works."
    "And the couch and the bureau and the desk?"
    She shrugged. "He was looking for money. He was
looking for ... I don't know what. For some way to strike back at the
world."
    "There aren't any signs of a struggle," I
admitted.
    "Signs of a struggle?" she said blankly.
The certainty drained out of Karen's pretty face. "You mean
Lonnie might have been hurt, right? Somebody might have come here and
. . . hurt him?"
    "I don't know, Karen," I said. I was
beginning to scare her and I didn't want to. But it was a scary
situation, any way you looked at it. And the fact that there weren't
any bloodstains on the floor didn't mean that all the violence had
been directed against the furniture.
    "How did these kidnappers know Lonnie was here?"
Karen said, as if she was trying to confound me with common sense.
    It was a good question. And the only answer I could
come up with was the Encantada Motel. Lonnie had used my name and
address when he'd registered. Someone might have noted it, and then
followed us to the Delores. That was, if Lonnie hadn't trashed the
apartment himself, as Karen had said.
    The Encantada seemed like a good place to start
looking for Lonnie anyway. Something was wrong at that motel. I'd
known it the night before. The beating Lonnie had taken, the fact
that his money was missing, Claude Jenkins's intransigence about the
police--there was something wrong with all of it. It would have
helped to know why Lonnie'd gone to the Encantada in the first place.
But the fact that Jenkins had said there were bikers there--bikers
who dealt dope--was a fairly disturbing piece of information.
    I explained to Karen about the Encantada, the bikers,
and the fact that Lonnie had registered under my name. "I
realize it's a long shot, but I'd better try to find out what was
going on at that motel. And whether Lonnie did this or not, I also
think we should call the cops."
    "But we can't throw him to the police," she
said in a shaken voice. "He just got out of prison, for
chrissake. He'll kill himself for sure if he gets busted again."
She put a hand to her mouth. "I don't think I could stand
that--if I put him back in jail."
    "Karen . . ." I said.
    "Please, Harry."
    I gave Karen a sharp look.
    "I know, I know," she said helplessly. She
had begun to blush. She wiped her cheeks with her palms, as if she
could rub away the embarrassment she felt over still caring for
Lonnie. "I'm acting like an idiot. I shouldn't give a damn what
happens to him anymore. Neither should you. He ruined your apartment,
for chrissake. Aren't you mad?"
    "I'm worried," I said pointedly.
    She stared at me for a moment, blank-faced. "I
guess I never stopped thinking of the police as the enemy. It's a
throwback to another era of my life." She took a deep breath.
"Go ahead. Call them."
    "You're doing the right thing--for Lonnie,"
I said with conviction.
    She nodded slowly, but she didn't look convinced.
    I called Al Foster at Central Station and told him
that I was looking for a missing person. I made up a story about
being hired by Karen, then gave Al a description of Lonnie. I also
told him that Lonnie was unbalanced--a possible suicide. I didn't
mention anything about Lonnie's record or about what we'd found in
rny apartment.
    "If you do turn him up, Al," I said, "I'd
appreciate a call. 'The wife is very upset."
    "Okay, Harry," he said. "I'll see this
goes in the morning report."
    I thanked him and hung up. Karen was staring at me
nervously, from where she was standing by the sofa. "That didn't
hurt, did it?" I said.
    "It didn't hurt me," she said balefully.
    I walked over to her and put my arm around her
shoulder.
    "C'mon," I said. "Let's get out of
here."
    "Where?" she said, staring up at me with an
uncertain look.
    "We've got to find you someplace to stay."
    "I've got