Watchers

crusading type, he could’ve called in the press and blasted the Pentagon for funding this kind of research.”
    “But he didn’t,” Cliff said, frowning.
    “Which means, first and foremost, he’s committed to the dog, committed to keeping it for his own and to preventing its recapture.”
    Nodding, Cliff said, “Which makes sense if what we’ve heard about him is true. I mean, this guy lost his whole damn family when he was young. Lost his wife after less than a year. Lost all those buddies in Delta Force. So he became a recluse, cut himself off from all his friends. Must’ve been lonely as hell. Then along comes the dog . .
    “Exactly,” Lem said. “And for a man with Delta Force training, staying undercover won’t be difficult. And if we do find him, he’ll know how to fight for the dog. Jesus, will he know how to fight!”
    “We haven’t confirmed the Delta Force rumor yet,” Cliff said hopefully.
    “I have,” Lem said, and he described the photograph he had seen in the wrecked bedroom.
    Cliff sighed. “We’re in deep shit now.”
    “Up to our necks,” Lem agreed.
     
     
11
    They had reached San Francisco at six o’clock Thursday morning and, by six-thirty, had found a suitable motel—a sprawling facility that looked modern and clean. The place did not accept pets, but it was easy to sneak Einstein into the room.
    Although a small chance existed that an arrest warrant might have been issued for Travis, he checked into the motel using his ID. He’d no choice because Nora possessed neither credit cards nor a driver’s license. These days, desk clerks were willing to -accept cash, but not without ID; the chain’s computer demanded data on the guests.
    He did not, however, give the correct make or license number of his car, for he had parked out of sight of the office for the very purpose of keeping those details from the clerk.
    They paid for only one room and kept Einstein with them because they were not going to need privacy for lovemaking. Exhausted, Travis barely managed to kiss Nora before falling into a deep sleep. He dreamed of things With yellow eyes, misshapen heads, and crocodile mouths full of sharks’ teeth.
    He woke five hours later, at twelve-ten Thursday afternoon.
    Nora had gotten up before him, showered, and dressed again in the only Clothes she had. Her hair was damp and clung alluringly to the nape of her fleck. “The water’s hot and forceful,” she told him.
    ‘So am I,” he said, embracing her, kissing her.
    ‘Then you better cool off,” she said, pulling away from him. “Little ears are listening.”
    ‘Einstein? He has big ears.”
    In the bathroom, he found Einstein standing on the counter, drinking out of a sinkful of cold water that Nora had drawn for him.
    “You know, fur face, for most dogs, the toilet is a perfectly adequate source of drinking water.”
    Einstein sneezed at him, jumped down from the counter, and padded out of the bathroom.
    Travis had no means of shaving, but he decided a day’s growth of beard would give him the look he needed for the work he would have to do this evening in the Tenderloin district.
    They left the motel and ate at the first McDonald’s they could find. After lunch, they drove to a local branch of the Santa Barbara bank where Travis had his checking account. They used his computer-banking card, his MasterCard, and two of his Visa cards to make cash withdrawals totaling fourteen hundred dollars. Next they went to an American Express office, and using one of Travis’s checks and his Gold Card, they acquired the maximum allowable five hundred dollars in cash and forty-five hundred in traveler’s checks. Combined with the twenty-one hundred in cash and traveler’s checks left over from their honeymoon, they had eighty-five hundred in liquid assets.
    During the rest of the afternoon and early evening, they went shopping. With credit cards, they bought a complete set of luggage and purchased enough clothes to fill the bags. They got toiletries for both of them and an electric razor for Travis.
    Travis also bought a Scrabble game, and Nora said, “You don’t really feel in the mood for games, do you?”
    “No,” he replied cryptically, enjoying her puzzlement. “I’ll explain later.”
    Half an hour before sunset, with their purchases packed tightly in the spacious trunk of the Mercedes, Travis drove into the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin, which was the area of the city that lay below O’Farrell