Soulmates by Jessica Grose

Author:Jessica Grose
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-08-04T04:00:00+00:00

Ray

I told the sheriff about all this already. About Rosemary’s involvement.

Why didn’t I tell you? Because it was none of your goddamn business. You’re not solving the crime. You’re not putting anyone in jail. I promised Rosemary a long time ago that we’d put her past behind us.

But since you already know what you know, I guess I’ll start at San Francisco. That’s where I met Rosie. After my second tour in Vietnam was over, I told my CO I would re-up, but only if I could get stationed in California. I grew up in King City, a sleepy, dusty farm town a ways outside San Francisco. My dad had passed while I was in high school, and my mom wasn’t in the best health, so I wanted to be closer to her.

I got stationed in the Presidio when the war was winding down, probably ’75 or ’76. It was like living in a dream. King City was just a few hours south, but I grew up so poor I’d only been to San Francisco once, when I was about eleven. All I remembered was the wind whipping off the Pacific. King City was so stifling in every way—I was trapped by the stink of farm animals and the lack of opportunity for me there. I wanted to live in that clean, eucalyptus-scented air.

I was posted with the Military Intelligence Group, and my office overlooked the Golden Gate Bridge. Sometimes I would just stare at it for hours, watching the fog roll in and out. At night, I’d be lulled to sleep by the repetitive sounds of the foghorns. Those were the first good nights of sleep I’d had since I joined the army right out of high school in 1970.

No, the war wasn’t so hard on me. It wasn’t a goddamn tea party, but it was my job to serve my country and I did it to the best of my ability. I was not affected in any major way, at least not compared to some of the other guys I came across. I saw some of the worst cases coming into Letterman hospital in the Presidio. Guys so mentally messed up I didn’t think they’d ever get back to regular society. They’d pass through the Presidio and then end up on the streets of San Francisco, where they were vulnerable to guys like John Brooks.

What? Hold your horses, I’ll come back to him in a minute.

I did love being in San Francisco, but I was a little lonely. A lot of guys on the base were married and starting families. There was one neighborhood nicknamed “Diaper Gulch” because there were so many kiddos running around. I had a few girlfriends here and there, one who worked with me at the base. But nothing serious, even though I was ready to settle down and really start my life.

Most evenings, I would go over to a bar right outside the Presidio gates with some of my buddies. The bar was called Yacht Harbor.

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