Part 12 (1/2)

”You know, The Fugitive-the guy who hunts down the one-aroing to find a one-aruy with three balls after all this ti up I've found the loose end of a ball of yarn and I just need to give it a yank and everything will start to unravel Like the snapshot I found a snapshot hidden in Kip's old bedroom, an Instamatic-”

”Instamatic?”

”You know-those cheap little cameras people used before cellphones were invented Here, I'll show you” I patted throughto remember where I'd stuck the snapshot

”Not here,” Bear said hastily ”So the building?”

”I don't think so I didn't want to get you in trouble”

Bear grinned ”Mazie, you're the biggest celebrity this state has produced since the Fonz I only hope half your popularity rubs off on me”

”The Fonz wasn't actually fro circles on et this ridiculous outfit? Who's been helping you?”

”I stole them out of a janitor's closet”

I don't knohy I fibbed After all, Bear would have to know about Labeck sooner or later I was about to launch into an explanation when muffin suddenly ith a snort, shot out of the toolbox, and lunged for Bear, snapping ferociously at his calf

”Goddareat reflexes; he sidestepped quickly and I snatched up ave one sharp yip before I ht to be on a leash,” Bear growled, exa it was ripped ”Listen, baby, against ment, I'll do what I can to help you”

”I knew you'd coh”

He rubbed his forehead His hair had receded a lot since I'd last seen hiot to do this fast Your clock is ticking away here I want you to drive out to my summer place You remember where it is?”

I nodded The westerne is closed do-Charlene's in California, and I've been staying at our condo don, so the place will be empty You'll be safe there I'd drive you thereyour neck out as it is” I started getting teary I couldn't help it; I was a big, briuy

Bear flashed his s tooth worth twenty thousand votes ”It's been a long ti riskier than ot howthe law” He handed me a set of keys with an attached card ”Take er-happy cop in the state will be gunning for you I'll get out there as soon as I can”

Escape tip 17: Get connected

When he was in DC, Bear drove a Mercedes, but in Wisconsin he was careful to be seen driving an A his car in the parking garage: a large, black, testosterone-injected Chrysler with a sheen like lights on dark water Power steering, power brakes, power shi+fting, power everything-it practically drove itself All I had to do was vaguely aie, I didn't even have to worry about a ticket taker; just slide Bear's parking card into a reader slot and wait for the gate to go up before floating out onto the street

muffin was in heaven He bounced back and forth between the front and back seats and rolled around on the upholstery, trying to soak the rich leathery aro it a couple of exploratory licks My favorite part of the car was the tinted s I could see out, but no one could see in

More police patrols than usual seemed to be out on the street Traffic snarled and then stopped A motorcycle cop swarmed up next toHow had they foundsee-in-the-dark scopes that could pierce through tinted s? The cop jerked his thu that I should pull over

What would Doctor Richard Kih traffic, and lead a whole squadron of pursuers on a high-speed chase Then he'd drive off a da to do? Get out, spread 'e for mercy

I steered toward the curb Wait! Mine wasn't the only car being nudged off to the right There was some kind of disturbance up ahead, near the public h they'd just learned that scalpers had snapped up the last ticket to the Bon Jovi concert Protesters wereinto the street, chanting and brandishi+ng hand-lettered signs They see iant banner draped across the museum's faux-Grecian columns It depicted a thirty-foot-tall man with skin cut away to expose his h your dreahts when you've snacked on jalapeno peppers and peppermint schnapps before bedtiave way, traffic started flowing, and I began breathing again What had that been about? Going with the flow, I cruised west over the long viaduct that straddled the Menominee Valley, Milwaukee's industrial underbelly The aro bread sh the car's closed s

Soon the landscape began to change froreener, streets got wider Traffic dwindled, kids pedaled along on bikes,the sidewalks

The Chrysler drove like a winged chariot; even the biggest potholes felt no bumpier than a pea beneath forty layers of mattresses, unlike my old Ford van, which had ridden like a ed across the Rockies by an ox tea it even after I'd e had not ih to buy a new car Kip drove a natty Lexus convertible, a gift froes, its air-conditioning didn't work, and Kip was always talking about trading it in for soht have been able to swing one if he'd lied on his credit application But a Maserati? Auctioning a lung, kidney, and testicle to the highest bidder, he'd only have been able to afford a Maserati's front bumper What bank had he robbed to obtain that paid in full from the Maserati dealershi+p? And what had happened to the car? Shouldn't the dealer have refunded the money when he'd heard of Kip's death?

Preoccupied, I missed the Brenner driveway I braked sharply, reversed, and ates that guarded the entrance to the drive The gates swung open with a click of a dashboard button and I followed the winding driveway up a wooded slope until it ended in a turnaround in front of the cottage

What Bear called a cottage was three lass, redwood, and fieldstone It had four bedroo roorounds were a tad scruffy, the grass in need of watering, and the shrubbery overgrown, clear indications that the place hadn't been occupied for a couple of weeks I parked the Chrysler in the garage, remoted the door closed, and used Bear's keys to let hted to have a new place to explore, his tail stub wagging like a o, at a Labor Day barbecue the Brenners had thrown for three hundred of their closest friends and caht after Kip and I had announced our engagement Bear was one of the few relatives who'd welcoht, this big, good-looking guy with the booh and raunchy sense of humor Unlike the rest of the stick-up-the-ass Brenners, who looked like they slept with their wingtips on and had the servants starch their underpants, Bear was vibrant, outgoing, and always up for a bit of mischief We quickly discovered we had a lot in coies, we both loved an's Heroes, and we both believed that Vanessa ought to have horse tranquilizers slipped into her e juice

Okay, full disclosure here: the truth is I'd always had a crush on Bear Brenner

Kip and Bear bore a strong physical reserew off a 's peak, and slightly bulging brownish-green eyes Studying Bear, you could see what Kip would look like in a few years Itsecond fiddle to his older cousin

Bear had the cool nicknah school football days as a defensive tackle

Kip was the kind of nicknauys ear their backpacks squarely on their shoulders and letter in golf

Bear was six-two

Kip was five-eleven

Bear had a stock portfolio worth arnisheed salary

Bear had a collection of Cezanne nudes

Kip collected Xeroxed copies of bare female backsides

Bear was Batman

Kip was Robin

Bear had shattered the Brenner mold Slash, burn, take no prisoners was his motto He'd experimented with every illicit substance that could be smoked or snorted; he'd driven his motorcycle across the country; he'd been arrested for public drunkenness during a rock festival His e him out, sent Bear to Mexico for a starter job in the fa its bottle and can production to Janos, Mexico, and was a good place for Bear to learn the ropes If he messed up, the important people back in Milwaukee wouldn't hear about it What happens in Janos stays in Janos

To everyone's surprise, Bear did an outstanding job during his Mexican tenure He was brought back to Milwaukee and proot rooht the political bug He'd started out doing organizational work for his party, but as his leadershi+p capabilities becae Five years ago, his party had nominated him to run for a US Senate seat

His war chest plumped with his own private funds, Bear Brenner had swamped the airwaves with co voters, kissing babies, cho for a zillion photos Despite his wealth and faine sitting down and hoisting a beer with hi a sweat