Fiction
The Death Of Henry James Part 6
A Sunny Alexander-Johnson and Roberto De La Cruz Series By P.G. & Sharon Barnett
My name is Sunny Alexander-Johnson. And I’m Roberto De La Cruz, and we’re writers for Dark Sides of the Truth magazine.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
We chose the next site, Guadalupe Peak, based on our current location, sitting on the shoulder of Highway 290 just outside Dripping Springs, Texas. The difference between traveling to Saint Eleana Canyon as opposed to Guadalupe Peak was which direction we turned once we arrived at Fort Stockton. Turning south on Interstate 10 would have taken us to Big Bend and Saint Elena Canyon. Turning north would take us to Guadalupe Peak about seventy miles east of El Paso.
Three and a half hours later, with Fort Stockton city limits almost in our sights, our ethereal partner in this charade again made his appearance in the back seat of the car.
Now starting to be a normal occurrence, his appearance caused little disruption until he once again, pointed out our errors.
“It seems our traveling buddy is back.”
“What’s he saying?”
“Nothing. He’s just shaking his head back and forth. Let’s see what we’re doing wrong now. Roy, what’s wrong now?”
“You are supposed to find me.”
“That’s what we’re trying to do, Roy.”
“You are going in the wrong direction.”
“Oh, for the love of God.”
“What now, Sunny?”
“He’s still telling me we’re heading in the wrong direction.”
“Wow, okay. So now what?”
“Third times a charm. Where’s the last place Loretta wrote about in her journal?”
“The Lighthouse at Palo Duro Canyon?”
“Where is it?”
“Up in the panhandle. Okay, now what Roy is telling us makes sense. He was right, Sunny. We are heading in the wrong direction. We should have been traveling north all along.”
“Roy, so we need to travel north, right?”
“You are supposed to find me. You are going in the wrong direction.”
“What’d he say?”
“Same thing, Roberto. We’re supposed to find him, and we’re going in the wrong direction.”
“I guess we need to reroute then.”
“No. Look, we’ve wasted most of the day in this damned car. I think we ought to head into Fort Stockton, spend the night, and then head out in the morning.”
“Uh, what about Robert and Manny?”
“Oh, yeah. Okay, hang on.”
Using the BlueTooth connection in the car, we dialed Robert’s phone. It was as if the man had been waiting for the call because he connected on the first ring.
“What’s up?”
“Hey, baby. It appears as if our specter friend has once again indicated his displeasure in our traveling direction. We think the final destination is Palo Duro Canyon. A place called The Lighthouse.”
“That’s up in the panhandle, isn’t it?”
“Why yes, Manny, it is. How’d you know that?”
“Victoria, Gorgie, and I were planning to go there this fall.”
“Uh, you two want to discuss your vacation plans later? We’ve still got this dude tailing you we need to worry about, Sunny. What’s your plan?”
“We’re going to stop for the night at Fort Stockton, then head out tomorrow morning.”
For several seconds we listened to connection static. Either our news had caught them completely off guard, and they were trying to recover, or something else was going on. When Robert spoke, we realized something else had definitely been going on.
On the fly tactical planning at it’s finest.
“Sunny, you’re not going to like this, but to make sure we don’t blow our cover and the dude makes us, I’d suggest you and Roberto find a motel, then check in. Manny and I are going to play this by ear. Whatever this guy does, we need to stay on him.”
“What are you two going to do? Sleep in your car?”
“If we have to. I’ll say one thing. This fellow is patient and seems to have no problem laying back and following you two around for now. That’s what worries the hell out of Manny and I. He’s not trying to rush things, which probably means this isn’t his first rodeo.”
“Meaning he’s dangerous.”
“Exactly, Roberto. Manny and I don’t think he plans on using his car to take Sunny out like he did Henry.”
“Which means this one is going to be up close and personal?”
“Yeah, baby. Once you and Roberto check in, you need to wait to hear from us before you two do anything, and I mean anything. Do not even think about leaving your rooms until you hear from Manny and me. Got it?”
“Yes, dear.”
“I’m serious, baby.”
“I know Robert. I’m just trying to lighten the mood here.”
“Not helping. Just do like I said okay, Sunny?”
“Right.”
We disconnected and drove in silence for several minutes, the hushed sounds of the tires against the pavement rhythmically announcing our forward progress. In a few minutes, we would be in Fort Stockton and after that, be sitting in our motel rooms waiting for next steps from Manny and Robert.
Up until now, we’d been laser-focused on this story on finding Roy. But this last call with Robert and Manny seemed to have finally driven home the fact one of us, or maybe even both of us may not get through this story alive.
“You okay?”
“Sorry, Roberto. What”
“I asked if you’re okay.”
“Not really. You?”
“I just hope Manny and Robert are as good a team as you and Henry were. You know Tim and I would be at the bottom of the Colorado River right now if it hadn’t been for you and Henry.”
“We wouldn’t have had to do that if your partner had listened to Henry in the first place.”
“Yeah, in a way, Tim is probably just as stubborn as Henry was.”
“They are.”
“They are what, Sunny?”
“You said you hoped Manny and my husband are as good a team as Henry and I was?”
“Yeah?”
“They are.”
“So you’re not worried?”
“Never said that. It’s like Henry always used to say. What’s the worse that could happen?”
“I really don’t think I want to know Sunny.”
“Neither do I, Roberto. Neither do I. Okay, Fort Stockton dead ahead. Start looking for a decent motel.”
“Got a price range in mind?”
“Whatever Rick McDonnell’s willing to approve on our expense reports.”
“We’d probably be better off sleeping in our car.”
Read On — The Death Of Henry James Part 7
Let’s keep in touch: P.G. & Sharon Barnett ([email protected]) © P.G. Barnett, 2020. All Rights Reserved.
