Bob Moore: No Hero

Chapter 9

As I had guessed, the house I had gone to with Doc Arts was in Leederville. While Hillside had mostly supers and the filthy rich and Avondale had the merely affluent, Leederville was strictly middle class. With the regenerative power I'd seen in the mother, she had all the makings for a high level citizen of the Super State. The only reason she wasn't must have been because she hadn't been around long enough. That fit with the information Gale had given me.

The house was as quaint on the outside as it was inside - white with green shutters, two car garage and well manicured lawn complete with white picket fence. After Gale left, I grabbed my keys, a tracker, and exchanged information with Khan. He had probably listened in on everything but I brought him up to speed anyhow. I rarely had a visit from my ex-wife and my moods after such meetings were universally grim. Khan knew to keep it professional. I confirmed that he hadn't officially pulled anyone off of surveillance yet and all the trackers were still in place. I decided to bring the tracker to Ed and Sue myself as they at least knew my face. Having Khan show up unannounced wasn't exactly going to work.

It was late, after 10 p.m., by the time I rolled up in front of the house. I grabbed a handful of trail mix and chewed it noisily. I wasn't looking forward to this meeting. I could only hope the child was with the mother and I could drop off the tracker with a minimum of fuss. If I thought I could get away with sticking it in an envelope and dropping it in the mail slot, I would. I swallowed the trail mix, hoping it would counteract some of the alcohol I had consumed. Whenever Gale was around, I couldn't help but drink. She ran away; I drank. We all cope in our own ways, I suppose.

I knocked on the door, at first lightly, then more forcefully. I rang the doorbell once…twice. No answer. I stepped back from the door. Lights were on both upstairs and down. There wasn't a car in the driveway, but the garage door was closed. Plus, who would leave home with a new baby only hours old? I tried the doorknob, but the door was locked. Circling around the house, I noticed a few windows ajar. It was a cool evening but had been a warm day. If I had to, I could pull off one of the screens and get in that way, but that was a last resort. I cringed as I thought of the time I had gotten half way through the bedroom window just to meet the owner face to face as he exited the bathroom with only a towel on. I wasn't thrilled at the notion of repeating that experience.

The latch for the gate to the backyard was on the inside so I had to reach over the top of the fence to gain access. I opened the gate slowly, wary of dogs. I let the gate creak a bit; if there was one around, I'd rather be close to an exit. If I had thought I'd be traipsing through the backyard, I'd have grabbed my flashlight out of the trunk. It was a large, nearly two foot metal job that was as good for personal protection as it was for illumination. I considered going back for it. Seemed a bit overkill. Convinced there wasn't a dog about, I entered the backyard proper.

With the homeowners expecting a baby, I found the backyard to look exactly how I'd expected it. While keeping up appearances for the neighbors was motivation enough to keep the front yard in check, the back was a bit overgrown. Not so much that I needed a machete, but I could guess that the next person to cut the lawn was going to have a bad time of it. Typical for the neighborhood, there were tall privacy trees planted around the fence perimeter with flowers and other aesthetically pleasing plants in front. The majority of the property was covered with two week’s worth of overgrown grass. A small wooden deck housed a pergola, which sheltered some teak outdoor furniture. The deck was flanked at the corners with bamboo torches that held mosquito repellant fuel.

As I approached the deck, I noticed that there was a wisp of smoke escaping the chimney. More evidence that someone was home. While I wasn't sure how Sue was reacting, I know that Gale had been a mess during her pregnancy. If it wasn't strange foods, it was the temperature. The weather didn't justify a fire, but if a new father (or father-to-be in my case) learns one thing, it's to not argue with his wife. Since Gale could control the temperature, I hadn't had much choice in the matter anyhow.