“Sheryl, we have to run. There’s a news emergency. We have to take a picture of some beaches.”
She yelled across the room.
“Will you be capturing the eternal sunsets on film?”
Gary hit his free hand against his forehead.
“Jacob, don’t ask.”
They emerged into the night and started walking down the main path.
“It’s a long shot, but we might run into Abram.”
“Do you think we will find him?”
“Maybe not. But we have to try.”
They walked along the path, their route lit alternately by overhead lights and small ones half buried in the ground. No one else was out. Gary tapped his cane on one of the lights.
“He walks every night?”
“Yes.”
“That means that the night that Charlotte went to the beach…”
“I know. He was out here. Or maybe he was there on the beach too, with her.”
They scanned down the path but couldn’t see anything more than a few feet in front of them. Suddenly, Gary grabbed Jake’s arm. Jake turned to him and saw that he was shaking.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jacob, I would never betray Meryl. That woman Sheryl. She listened to everything I said. That hasn’t happened in years.”
“Right.”
“It scares me.” He let go. “I wanted you to know.”
They continued down the path, Gary’s cane tapping the concrete lightly every step. They could see the beach on the left and hear the water spitting on the sand. Jake pointed.
“Right here, this must have been the way Charlotte got here.”
“But how did she get here without her walker?”
“Somebody took her.”
Then they both fell silent. Standing on the beach, looking outward, was a man wearing a brimmed hat. Jake couldn’t see the color, but he guessed that it was red.
“I think that’s him.”
“Abram?”
“Abram Samuels. And see that concrete building right there? The concession building?”
“Jacob,” Gary whispered, “now might not be the best time for snacks.”
“I don’t want snacks, Gary. That’s where they found Charlotte.”
“Oh. Of course. They probably aren’t open anyway.”
“They found her there, in back of the building.”
“So they aren’t open?”
“Gary.”
“I’m sorry. I got hungry in that room, talking so much. It takes a lot of energy to say those things. Have you ever had a pretzel with chocolate on it? They are surprisingly good!”
“I’m sure. Wait, what’s he doing?”
Abram was walking closer to the water, to the wet foot of the beach. He took off his shoes and sat down on the sand. He looked out at the water and sat very still.
“I want to go up to him.”
“Should we disturb him?”
“Who knows when I’ll get another chance? And we’ve met before. I can make it seem like a coincidence.”
“There are no coincidences.”
“Is that one of your lines for Sheryl?”
He just lifted his cane and pointed it toward Abram. He had already gotten up and was walking the other way. Jake headed down the stairs to the beach and motioned for Gary to stay in place. Abram turned around when Jake was about twenty feet away, but then he kept walking.
“Mr. Samuels, please wait just a second.”
Abram looked back, the hat casting a shadow over his face. He kept his hands in his pockets. Jake wouldn’t have been sure it was Abram if he hadn’t recognized the red brim on his hat.
“Hello. Usually I don’t see anyone on these late night walks.”
Jake looked at his watch.
“Mr. Samuels, it’s 7:30 PM.”
“I know. I cannot change the fact that I am a nocturnal creature.”
“Do you always walk here?”
“Not always. I changed my route recently.”
Jake moved closer, but he still couldn’t see Abram’s face. It was just a shadow under the hat. Jake’s notebook was still in his pocket, turned to the same page. He looked back but couldn’t see Gary.
“Mr. Samuels, I was wondering-did you see Charlotte Ward the night she passed?”
The hat tipped down and his hands came out of his pockets. Jake tensed. He noticed the sound of the waves again, crashing louder than before.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Did you see her?”
“Was I unclear?” He started walking again, more quickly. Jake followed, his feet mashing down the sand.
“I just want to get an idea. It’s not a big thing. I need to know more about her.”
“Why should I talk to you about that?”
“Why shouldn’t you?”
“It’s personal. So good night.”
“Wait-”
He kept walking away and Jake let him go. He watched him go up the other set of steps and back to Sunset Cove. Gary was still waiting at the beginning of the path, and Jake shook his head.
“Something’s wrong.”
“What happened? I stayed up here like you wanted.”
“I know. Thanks.”
“So what happened? I saw him look at you and then walk away. Did you fight?”
“Yeah, he walked out on me. Wouldn’t answer any questions.”
They walked back to Jake’s car. Gary led.
“So what do you think it means? Why did he walk away from you?”
Jake looked back at the beach one last time.
“Because he’s running from something else.”
CHAPTER 23
The next day, his phone call with Thompson made him want to keep trying. Not that Thompson would care about Sheryl Goldfein or Abram Samuels. But Jake knew they’d be talking that day. And he knew that he had to be aggressive to learn why Charlotte Ward died. He’d gotten Abram’s phone number from the community’s directory. Once he finished with Thompson, he’d start asking Abram the real questions. But first, the phone rang.
“Russo!” Same old Thompson. He still sounded like he had a frog in his throat. Or something larger. “I got the article about the banquet spaces.”
“Did you like it?”
“Definitely good enough. Very good enough. I bet you loved writing that one, didn’t you?”
“Why?”
“The food, Russo! You could gobble it up. It’s a free pass. You’re welcome.”
Better to ignore him.
“How are things going up there?”
“The usual. Terribly. You won’t believe it. We’re in a newsstand war again. We pushed down our prices to a quarter. But we gave away half…half the issues yesterday. We still lost.”
“How?”
“We lowered prices, they added ‘features.’ Features-seriously. One day it was coupons. A lottery. Then…then the other day they had a great one.”
“What?”
“They gave away 3-D glasses! Like the kids used to have in the fifties. They sold out. We had to give papers away just to hold even. Brutal…just brutal!”
He heard Thompson laughing with someone. Probably Carla. Then he heard him breathing in the receiver again.
“They are evil geniuses. We’ve got good competition.”
“They really put in 3-D glasses?”
“Geniuses!”
Jake looked at his desk and picked up the ones Gary had given him. He took out his wallet and slid them in. Genius worked in mysterious ways.
“But enough of the competition, Russo. You need to get back to your meal. And your other hobby. What was it? What was that internet site you spent all your time on?”
“I stopped going on that site.”
“What was it called?”
“I’m not going to tell you, sir.”
Thompson would forget. He’d have to forget.
“I remember,” Thompson said. “That TV show, Buffy! Message boards. You were always there! I look at your screen-there he is. Presto. Buffy!”
“I stopped that, I’m telling you.”
“You gave so much time to that cute little vampire.”
“Actually, she wasn’t a vampire.”
“Oh really? What…what was she?”
He sighed.
“She was a vampire slayer, sir.”
“Fantastic. Hell of a fact checker.”