Hamilton, Donald - Matt Helm 14 by The Intriguers (v1.1)

Author:The Intriguers (v1.1) [Intriguers, The]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter XVI

I didn't like returning to the same grove of trees. It was poor technique to use the same hideout twice. However, Oklahoma isn't exactly jungle country, and I knew of no other place in the area with cover enough to hide two vehicles.

After parking, I left Martha to babysit the sleeping prisoner, and slipped up on the ridge with my binoculars. There was time for some apprehension before I reached the crest. I could have blown the job-the Carl phase of it, anyway-by leaving the house unwatched. If my vengeful colleague was working fast, he could have set up a rendezvous already, and the sheriff could be heading for it right now. If so, there'd he no way in the world for me to catch up, not knowing where he was going.

However, Rullington's official car was still parked in the yard, along with the shiny new Volkswagen and Cadillac. There was also a blue pickup truck, presumably the one belonging to the cigarette-weary sentry Martha had described. in addition, there was a second official vehicle complete with buggy-whip and cherry-top. Two men lounged on the shadowy front porch of the house. I caught a glimpse of at least one wandering around back, near the barn. The lights were on in the house, behind drawn window shades.

As I watched through my big old seven-by-fifty night glasses, liberated on another continent in another war-if what I was currently engaged in qualified as a war-the sheriff came out of the house with two men, both with big hats, revolvers, and badges. He accompanied them to the second cop-type car, held them for some last-minute instructions, and sent them away. I had a good look at him in the dusk through the powerful lenses, as he stood there alone for a moment, bareheaded: a chunky, balding man with things on his mind. Then he turned and disappeared into the house after speaking briefly to the two men on the porch.

Anyway, he was still there. Well, I hadn't really expected Carl to get on the phone so quickly. He'd want to let them worry a while. He'd want to let them check out all the unlikely angles: that the boy had picked this day to run away from home, or had become the victim of a hit-run driver or a homosexual child molester, or had tried to crawl through a drainpipe after a rabbit and got stuck halfway. He'd want to let them use their imaginations, dreaming up the very worst that could have happened, so that the phone call would actually come as a relief.

I made a little scouting expedition off to the east about half a mile along the ridge, and found a better vantage point-better in that it was closer to the road. From it, I couldn't get a good view of the house and yard any longer, but I could still spot anybody driving into the place or out of it; and if a car emerged and turned my way, I'd have a little warning before it reached me.

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