One Way Out: A Rick Malone Novel by Michael Pool

Author:Michael Pool [Pool, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Kidnapping, crime thriller books, Crime, domestic crime, colorado, Noir, Murder mystery, pulp, suspense, private Investigator, Denver, mystery series, Mystery & Suspense, Detective Fiction, traditional detectives, Hard-boiled
Publisher: P.I. Tales
Published: 2020-11-16T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

I ARRIVED BACK IN Glanton forty minutes later. I went to check Marcus’s room first thing, but there was no sign of him or any indication he’d even been there at all. His duffle still sat in the corner, which I had not touched either, along with my backpack still on the floor.

I went back downstairs and walked to Love’s. A clerk I didn’t recognize said she hadn’t seen him, but she’d heard they had a check for him, so he’d probably show up sooner or later.

I checked the Timberline and another small bar a few blocks over called The Mo, the local hangout for pool players and real-time alcoholics. I checked the meager selection of restaurants along main, even the City Market out toward the northern edge of town. In each place I found life going on as normal, but no Marcus. I started to worry right about then.

I was not looking forward to the next two tactics my search would require. I took out my phone and stared at the number in my call log for nearly ten minutes, finally swallowed my pride and dialed it.

“Rick, did you catch up with Marcus?” Katie said, no salutation, our relationship finally having dissolved into nothing but business.

“I can’t find him, and it’s got me worried. Has Phil not seen him?”

“Phil’s with me. We haven’t seen or heard from him.”

“His pack’s in his room, untouched. I checked the Love’s, the grocery store, all the restaurants and bars. No sign of him.”

“You think he left town?” she asked.

“I don’t see how he could have. The pass has been closed for days.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and I got the impression she was looking up something on her phone. “It re-opened this afternoon,” she said. Could be he headed straight to the hitching post and booked out of town without his stuff. He seemed scared when we talked to him day before yesterday.”

“He was scared when I talked to him today, too. But I don’t think he ran off. That pack has all his worldly possessions, far as I know. And they apparently have a check for him at Love’s. I can’t imagine he didn’t take the five minutes to stop there and grab it. Everyone needs money, but especially people on the run.”

“Maybe he panicked. He was never the type, but things change.” Katie’s voice caught on the last of that statement. I let the words hang in the air for a second.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I finally said.

“Don’t do that,” she replied.

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t make every interaction about what happened between us. I’m trying to help Marcus, the same as you. This is as uncomfortable for me as it is for you. Stop acting like some sort of victim, it’s not a good look on you, Rick.”

I ignored this unwelcome trek into a familiar dynamic. The last months of our relationship had carried this exact tone, and I had no intention of reliving that here and now.

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