The Aftermath

55

Jim Stewart chided himself as he drove his van up the mountain to Ramona, on his way to Julian. It was obvious now, and twenty years ago he wouldn't have made such and oversight. He was put off the scent by the Beth Blake swearing to him that she had nothing to do with Tom, that they were estranged for more than ten years. She didn't even know where he lived.

Jim shook his head, "Getting old Jim, you are getting old."

He knew better than to overlook an obvious source of information just because a captive under duress was attempting to save their life by distancing themselves from the true objective. Charlie did the same thing, in her own way, and he was sure that Teri would have done the same if he had been able to get his hands on her. Teri Mast was out of his reach for now, but maybe Tom Blake's wife and daughter were now. If nothing else, he had the sister now.

He should have checked Beth Blake's house that night, or at the very least the next morning, but he didn't, which was an amateur's mistake. He only went back out of desperation making him retrace the trail. With in three minutes of being in the house, he knew he made a huge mistake. There on the hallway wall were pictures of young Tom Blake and a slightly older girl, who was obviously his sister. The family resemblance was blatant. Taking the picture from the frame, he found written on the back Tom and Drew, 1986.

Beth Blake. His sister. Getting old Jim. Getting old.

On the kitchen counter by the phone was Beth Blake's personal phone book. Again, another obvious target of acquisition, even if the photo didn't exist.

After leaving the house, well ahead of the police response, he spent an hour with that book and discovered only one listing for Drew. No last name, but Drew was enough, wasn't it? The entry had the address and the phone number. The address was in Julian, California, about a ninety minute drive from Oceanside.

From what Bobby told him, Blake had sent his wife and daughter out of the city via the airport. Perhaps this was the case, perhaps it was not, but finding the location of his sister -- well that had potential. It was certainly worth a trip to Julian to find out where this potential might lead.

The map device in his rented van found the address, but also gave him a view of what was around the area. He found a fire-break road near the sister's house and set is sights on that destination.

It was after midnight before he arrived. He sat in the van, drinking coffee, listening to Bobby's sleep-breathing. There was no need to wake the boy. Scouting was dull work; tedious lurking and sulking through the sparse woods, then waiting -- not knowing what you were waiting for, only knowing it needed to be done. Bobby was not up for such a task quite yet. In a few years -- perhaps, but then he wouldn't have a few years now.

The news was projecting his image and Bobby's across the United States, on CNN, Fox News, and in most of the major newspapers. Jim could always go down into through Central America and into Venezuela. He had resources there, and contacts. Twenty years was a long time but contacts like his were apt to survive. His resources were the kind which aged well.

He thought about this as he left the van, and closed the door softly. Sound in the chill night traveled great distances. Dogs were the main concern. People who lived in areas like Julian generally owned several. Up on the mountain he heard the yipping of coyotes. When they yipped like that as a pack, it was the announcement to the night and he stars that they had made their kill. Jim understood their joy.

Pressing quietly, but steadily into the grass and low brush, he made his way East through the sparse trees until he found a well used trail. He followed the trail moving at the same pace, planting his feet in the dark, under the meteor shower sky, with care. The moon would not rise for another two hours and when it did it would be three days from full. In this chill thin air the light would be bright to anyone who was hunting through the dark. Bright enough to banish shadows in some areas, and created deeper darkness in others.