Triple Threat

Melrose in West Hollywood. Pellam--for whom the line between movies and reality was always a little hazy--thought immediately that he could have stepped right out of a Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez flick. He wore no-nonsense hiking boots. Clutching his backpack, he laughed nervously again. To Pellam he nodded a rueful glance--the sort soldiers might exchange when they’ve just survived their first firefight. His hair was cut flat on the top, short on the sides--the kind of cut Pellam associated with characters in the comic books of his childhood; he mentally dubbed the man Butch.
    Was she his wife? Girlfriend, sister? She wore a wedding ring but was easily ten years older. Not that that meant anything nowadays—if it ever had. Pellam was experienced, but not particularly successful, in the esoterica of romance. His job didn’t allow much room for relationships.
    Or that’s what he told himself.
    The medic pressed a bandage on his jaw. “You’re good to go. Keep your guard up.”
    “It was a—”
    “Then against dangerous entertainment devices.” The man nodded a farewell to the sheriff, shoved a chaw in his mouth and left with his fix-’em-up bag.
    Pellam rose unsteadily and walked toward the driver and sheriff, who said, “Everybody, pull out some tickets for me, if you would.”
    Butch said evenly, “Yessir. Here you go.” A moment’s pause as he dug through his wallet, which was thick with scraps of paper. Pellam noted his license was Illinois. Taylor was his real name. Pellam was somehow disappointed at this.
    “Don’t look much like you,” the sheriff said, examining the license.
    “I didn’t have a beard then.” Pointing to the picture. “Or short hair.”
    “Can see that. I ain’t blind. Still don’t look like you.”
    “Well…” Taylor offered, for no particular purpose.
    “This your current residence? Chicago?”
    “For the time being. Where I get my mail.”
    The sheriff took Pellam’s license, too, which contained a picture that did look like him. Still, the sheriff frowned slightly, perhaps at the word on the top, California. You saw a lot of Californians in Telluride and Vail and Aspen. Probably not a lot down here in this neck of the woods.
    The door opened and a woman walked in. She looked around. “Hey, Sheriff. Everybody all right?”
    Pellam squinted. It was the bicyclist they’d nearly squashed. Frizzy blond hair, massive curls. The helmet was gone. She was short and stocky. The bicycle latex revealed serious thighs. She’d taken off her sunglasses and was scanning them all with green eyes—Pellam in particular, probably because of the bandage. A spattering of sun-enhanced freckles dusted her face.
    Somebody had come to pick her up. The bike was racked on the roof of an old battered car, a man in the driver’s seat. Short hair, lightish colored, but Pellam couldn’t make out any details of the driver. He was preoccupied with something else—the camper, it seemed.
    “Lis,” the sheriff said, glancing their way. “Fine. More or less. That Chris with you?” A nod toward the car.
    “That’s right.”
    She explained that she was a witness, not mentioning that she’d nearly been run down. “Happy to give a statement if you want.”
    “Good of you to come forward,” Werther said. “Most people wouldn’t’ve.”
    “I figured you’d track me down sooner or later. Didn’t want to be leaving the scene of an accident.”
    “Go ahead. Tell me what you saw.”
    She gave a pretty accurate description. He jotted a few notes, every fifth or sixth word, it seemed. This was apparently the investigation of the year.
    “That’s helpful, Lis. Thanks. And why don’tcha give them one of our cards. For their insurance companies.”
    A little hesitation, as if she hadn’t counted on this level of attention.
    She dug into a massive purse, found some cards and gave them out. Lis and Chris were the codirectors of the Southeastern Colorado Ecological Center. Seemed a little odd that such a group was based here, since vegetation was sparse and the human footprint minimal.
    “Scared the you know what out of me.”
    “I’m sure,” Pellam said. “Sorry about that.”
    The driver was silent. She didn’t seem to care. She pulled a cell phone from her pocket, looked at the screen. Pellam was impressed. Hers was one of those new fancy ones where you didn’t need to tug the antenna up.
    She put the phone back.
    “Thought you guys were racing at first, but then I