Run into Trouble

was little cross traffic, and it was less dangerous and easier to talk. Drake filled Melody in on the letter, trying to keep his voice calm. He watched her face and saw the strain there, but she didn’t interrupt him. He mentioned that he had talked to Slick.
    She pulled a bottle of Gatorade from her pouch and took a swig. “How are you going to get the letter to Slick?”
    “He told me he’d meet us somewhere along our route. I gave him the route and approximate times.”
    “So you have the letter with you.”
    “Inside the envelope, inside a paper bag, inside my pouch. I haven’t touched it with my fingers.”
    “The desk clerk’s prints will be on the envelope.”
    “We’re covered on that. I asked him to give me a piece of paper to write a note on. I had him pick a sheet from the middle of a pile of typewriter paper, so the only prints on it will be his and mine. I even got him to hold it with both hands. I’ll give that to Slick too.”
    “Sometimes I’m amazed at your cleverness. What time was the envelope delivered?”
    “About five. The desk clerk was away from the desk and didn’t see who brought it.”
    “Drake, Grace’s alarm clock went off at quarter to five. I pretended to be asleep, but I watched her out of one eye. She threw on some clothes and went out of the room. She returned a few minutes after five and got back into bed.”
    “If she was under orders, they probably came from Fred.”
    “She got a phone call about 8:30 last night. She didn’t say who it was, and I didn’t ask, but she set her alarm after the call.”
    “I take it you didn’t talk to Fred about your new sleeping arrangements.”
    “No. If it was Fred on the phone, he didn’t know I was there.”
    “Just out of idle curiosity, did you sleep in the same bed?”
    “Yes, since there was only one. Before you get any prurient thoughts, it was a big bed, and girls can sleep together easier than lads. Hey, now that the mist is lifting, I can see the Queen Mary. You stole it from us.”
    Drake saw the great ship, too. It was impressive, even at a distance. “As I recall, you didn’t want it anymore.”
    “What an excuse. Since Casey is meeting us at the bridge, we have to figure out what we’re going to tell him.”
    “I don’t think we can tell him anything right now. He’d want the letter, and I’m giving that to Slick. I don’t want him to know about Slick and Blade. We can’t trust anyone related to the race. If worst comes to worst, we’ll get Blade to help protect your mother.”
    “Cold comfort. However, I think we have to grill Grace. If we scare her enough, she might not tell anybody we talked to her.”
    “She may be the weak spot that helps us penetrate the impregnable fortress. We have to take the chance of what she might do.”
    ***
    The runners all arrived at the Vincent Thomas Bridge together. The rules stated that times were only recorded to the minute, not the second, and that runners finishing a segment in a group without gaps would receive the same time. Although Drake was glad that he and Melody had not lost any time to Tom and Jerry so far today, it wasn’t enough.
    The Cat and Mouse duo, as they were called, were smart runners. Their strategy was not to lead but to stay in the lead pack, so that nobody could gain time on them. They were wise to the occasional team that tried to break away from the pack at an unsustainable pace and didn’t try to go with them. Those teams tired and were later caught by the other runners.
    As advertised, the bridge was closed to vehicle traffic at 10, and the runners were started on their run over it. Several photographers took pictures. Since it was Sunday, a number of other runners and walkers who had read about the closure joined them. The Running California group was given a head start of several minutes so they didn’t have to run in a crowd.
    As Drake and Melody ran up the ramp, Casey appeared beside them in his running clothes. “Mind if I run with you?”
    “Happy to have you along,” Melody said, “but I must warn you that we’re going a wee bit faster than we were the last time you saw us.”
    “I think I can keep up with you for the length of the bridge. Then I have to go to a meeting. For some reason I’m drawn to running over bridges, especially bridges that aren’t usually open to foot traffic.”
    “How did you manage to get permission to have it closed?” Drake asked.
    Casey smiled. “I don’t know if you’ve been