Run into Trouble

could have been one of the other runners. The roommates vouched for each other. Everybody was asleep. Peaches was the other person she knew at the motel. His gun hadn’t been fired. Of course, he might have had another one.”
    Melody stared at him. “Are you accusing Peaches?”
    “I didn’t say that. You asked me what happened. I was just trying to examine the evidence.”
    Drake was about ninety-nine percent certain that Peaches hadn’t had anything to do with Grace’s death. Fred was trying to deflect the inquiry away from himself. There wasn’t any sense in pursuing this further at the present time.
    Drake stood up. “Melody and I are tired, dirty, and—as you’ve probably noticed—smelly. Please excuse us while we go get cleaned up.”
    Melody stood also, and they filed out of the room.

    CHAPTER 24
    Today’s run goes from Port San Luis to Cayucos, north of Morro Bay. The first part of the run is free-form, meaning that you get to pick your own route. You can follow the road to the nuclear power plant that’s being built, but be advised that the first part of it is very hilly and curvy. Once you get past the site of the power plant under construction, there are other small roads you can take. From Los Osos you can take South Bay Boulevard past the swamp and turn left into Morro Bay State Park. Take Main Street into Morro Bay and surface streets through Morro Bay, which is dominated by the picturesque Morro Rock. Stay off the part of Route 1 that is freeway, but get on it again before you reach Cayucos.
    ***
    “It’s days like this that make me wonder why I ever got into this race.”
    Drake was panting hard running up the hill from Los Osos. He and Melody had determined that the road to the nuclear power plant was the only practical route after perusing available maps. Melody never panted as hard or sweat as much as the men, but she was struggling. Still, she tried to sound optimistic.
    “It’s days like this that separate the winners from the also-rans. If we can pick the best route, we may be able to gain some time on the others.”
    “If…at the moment it appears that everyone else is copying us.”
    Or vice versa. One of the maps Drake had gotten his hands on was a topographical map that indicated altitude changes. He motioned for Melody to slow down a little and let the other runners pass them. He had the topo map in his hand, folded to show this stretch of the road.
    “The road switches back on itself and passes quite close to here at a higher altitude. There appears to be a path connecting the two sections. If we can find it and follow it without killing ourselves in the process, we may be able to cut off quite a bit of distance.”
    Several minutes later, the two plunged off the paved road onto a dirt path of dubious parentage. They ran on the hard, dry clay, trying to avoid ruts and fissures, between sections of dense and prickly brush that they didn’t want to have to bushwhack through. After a few anxious minutes, during which the steepness of the terrain made them wonder whether they were headed in the right direction, they came upon the other section of the paved road.
    They turned onto it, thankful for the firmness of the asphalt and the knowledge that they knew where they were and took a quick glance to the right before they ran to the left.
    Melody said, “I don’t see anyone.”
    “Since we didn’t spend that much time on the shortcut, I think we can safely assume that we’ve taken the lead.”
    ***
    They still had the lead when they passed Diablo Canyon where the nuclear power plant was under construction. They ran across a cow pasture to connect with a road that went through Montana de Oro State Park.
    Melody watched the placid animals watch them and tried to look for cow pies at the same time. “We’ve seen seals, birds, crabs, and cows today. I’m assuming that all but the cows are native to this area.”
    Drake laughed. “It’s not the cows you have to worry about, it’s the bulls. Although I suspect you won’t find a bull in the same pasture with cows.” He shifted his gaze to the blue water beyond the cliff. “If I’m not mistaken, that rock is called Lion Rock.”
    Melody looked at the large rock that did indeed resemble a lion.
    “What’s that in the water next to it?”
    “It’s a boat of some sort.”
    They detoured closer to the cliff but kept running. Something didn’t look right to Drake.
    “That’s a bad place for a boat. It appears to