Part 21 (1/2)

”He told me that when they separated from the rest of the platoon in the Ho Bo Woods, he saw his chance to rid himself of Noonan, who he saw as a threat. Not so much in Vietnam, but when they got back home and into politics. Douglas could see himself playing second fiddle to Noonan for the rest of his life.

”You know . . . now that I think of it . . . I remember Douglas's att.i.tude changing soon after Thorson arrived. Under normal circ.u.mstances, new guys aren't readily accepted. Their lack of experience can get a whole unit killed. This guy, Thorson-Thor's son, he made a big deal of it-latched onto Douglas the moment he arrived and was constantly huddled together with him.

”I'm telling you, the man was strange-this Thorson fellow. One time in the middle of a firefight I happened to look up and there he was sitting at the top of a tree paying no attention to what was going on down below. Well, one of the VC saw him and fired at him. The guy dropped out of the tree like a ripe piece of fruit. Then, when we went to get him-to pick up the pieces, we thought-the guy wasn't there. It was as though the earth had swallowed him up. No one saw him until later that night when he came strolling into camp, pretty as you please. Said he'd gotten confused and it took a while for him to find us.”

”Thorson . . .” I said, reaching for a writing pad I keep in my s.h.i.+rt pocket. ”I don't believe I came across that name in my research.”

”First name, Gregory. I think he was from New Jersey, but that don't matter. Don't bother to look him up. Near the end of our tour of duty, Thorson wandered off during an ambush and never came back. Presumed MIA.”

”And you think he influenced Douglas into killing Noonan?”

Doc shrugged. ”A hunch. I just know I never liked the guy. He always acted like he was better than everyone else. Which is strange, because how can anyone from New Jersey think they're better than anyone?”

I laughed.

Doc laughed too, but his levity was short-lived. As he thought of what he was going to say next, he turned deadly serious. ”In the Ho Bo Woods,” he said, picking up the story, ”when Douglas and Noonan were separated from the rest of the platoon, a grenade exploded near them. No real damage done. It stunned Noonan, knocked him out. Douglas said he saw an opportunity, a big one, the kind that can change a person's life.

”Noonan stirred and started to come around, so Douglas leveled him with the b.u.t.t of his machine gun. Then he took one of Noonan's grenades-Douglas was very clear about this. He figured by taking one of Noonan's grenades, should anyone notice that he hadn't thrown one, his grenade count would bear testimony against him. Douglas pulled the pin, stuffed the grenade in Noonan's pants pocket, and rolled him over, face to the ground.”

The huge Montana sky stretched over us in silence. The only sound on Doc Palmer's farm was as a breath of wind whipped a cloud of dust past us.

Clearing his throat, Doc took up the story again. ”He miscalculated, Douglas did, and got some shrapnel in his own leg. But even that worked to his advantage. He was an instant hero when the other soldiers saw him bloodied and limping and carrying Noonan's body back to the night defensive position.”

We sat there. The two of us. Mourning Noonan's death. But also, at least for me, mourning a day that would be sadder when I went to bed than it was when I woke up.

Doc slapped, then rubbed both legs. ”I don't know about you, but I could use a drink. But I'll settle for a cup of coffee. Want a cup?”

”Thanks,” I said, ”but I still have a couple of hours on the road if I'm going to make my flight.”

Truth was, I just wanted to be alone right now. My world had changed dramatically and it would take me some time to adjust.

”Word of advice?” Doc offered. ”Don't mess with them. A smart man knows not to fight if he has no chance of winning. There's no shame in picking your battles. Do what I did. Disappear, Mr. Austin. Plenty of land around here to do that. Once they see you're no threat to them, they'll leave you alone.”

Find a big hole, Mr. Austin.

Ten minutes later I was driving south on Interstate 15 mulling over my encounter with a dead man. His story. His advice.

I was angry with myself. I drove away without asking him what all that business was about having me take off my shoes.

My head hurt from thinking. When you write a book you create a world that has a sense of order to it. But since my book had come out, it seemed that every time I turned around someone was challenging that sense of order, and my grasp on reality. I kept hearing the same refrain played over and over- Things aren't the way you think they are.

The first thing I was going to do when I got back to Was.h.i.+ngton was slap Doc Palmer's obituary on Ingraham's desk and tell him that for a man who is supposed to be dead, Doc has some interesting opinions on life and presidents.

Then what? Would I rewrite the book? Do an expose on the president's medication addiction for the New York Times? It wasn't in my nature to be a muckraker reporter, but then I hated thinking that I'd been played for a patsy.

For the moment, though, out here under an endless sky, pa.s.sing endless stretches of scenery, driving down an endless road, I was going to give it a rest. A brain can only take so much stirring up. After a while everything becomes murky, like an ocean bottom when the silt is fanned. It does no good to thrash around. You have to let the silt settle. And what better place to do that than on a Montana road?

I punched the radio ON b.u.t.ton.

For some reason I remembered a television commercial from my youth. The scene is of a cowboy herding cattle in the great open s.p.a.ces. He is listening to music on a transistor radio, a live performance of a New York opera. Joining voices with the featured tenor, the cowboy belts out the signature aria from Pagliacci.

Cla.s.sical music in cowboy country. That might be fun. I pushed the search b.u.t.ton and listened to the cascading lineup of stations, most of them country-western or news.

”. . . next week where President Douglas will attend several key fund-raisers. San Diego party officials have pulled out all the stops on the president's trip, knowing that this may be . . .”

San Diego.

I muttered the words of the president's warning to Christina. ”Under no circ.u.mstances is Grant to go to San Diego. Is that clear? Hog-tie him if you have to, but keep him away from San Diego!”

Turning the radio off, I pressed the accelerator and calculated my new arrival time at Great Falls airport at the increased speed. I tried using my cell phone to call the airline. No bars showed on the display. I was still out of range.

I didn't know when the next flight was from Great Falls to San Diego, but I knew I was going to be on it.

After coffee and a nap, Doc Palmer nudged the screen door open with his elbow. His arms were full. One arm carried empty whiskey bottles; the other, his shotgun. Both had become a significant part of his daily routine. The whiskey helped him sleep better at night; and the shotgun . . . well, it helped him sleep better at night.

Maybe it was his Montana surroundings, but he felt like an old, retired gunslinger. He knew sooner or later they'd send someone to hunt him down. He knew they'd kill him. All he wanted was to get a shot or two off before he died, get a lick or two in, just so they'd say that Doc Palmer didn't go down without a fight.

The empty bottles clanked in his arms as he walked into the barn and found his case of whiskey. He put the two bottles back in the carton and pulled out two fresh bottles.

When he turned around, someone was standing just inside the door of the barn. With the light behind him, he appeared as a flat silhouette. The figure was empty-handed, so Doc was startled, but not alarmed.

Doc took a couple of steps toward the stranger, ready to drop the whiskey bottles and raise the shotgun at the first sign of trouble.

The man made no move. He just stood there.

”Whoever you're looking for,” Doc said, ”he's not here.”

Doc heard a rustling sound behind him. Holding his ground, he glanced over one shoulder, then the other. There were two more of them, black and featureless, standing in the shadows. The back of the barn was closed off. They must have already been in the barn waiting for him. Doc saw no weapons. That meant they were sneaks, and sneaks were never up to any good, but were usually scared off with a gunshot blast or two.

”I don't have anything worth taking,” Doc said. ”Leave now and no one gets hurt. I'm going to give you only one chance.”

They didn't move. The three of them just stood there, not making a sound. Doc dropped the whiskey bottles, one of them broke in half, spilling spirits in the dirt. He pointed the shotgun at the man standing in the barn door, figuring he was the leader.

”I'm telling you, you're wasting your time. There's nothing here for you.” He could hear fear in his voice.

The figure in the doorway took a step back. With one foot, he stepped on the heel of the other foot and kicked off a shoe. Then he kicked off his other shoe.

Doc saw the man's feet. He gasped.

The figure said, ”Douglas told you about us, did he?”

Doc had seen some strange things in his life, but nothing like this. The man's feet didn't reach the ground. He stood a good inch above the dirt.

He approached Doc. He made no footprints.

As he came closer, Doc was able to get a better look at him. ”Thorson!” he cried.