I AM JARED WALKER PHILBURN
IN THE EVENT OF MY DETH
PLESE DONATE MY BELONGINGS
TO THEM WHO NEED HELP
An uneven signature was scrawled across the bottom.
I stood and looked around.
“Mr. Philburn? If you’re here, I would very much like to speak with you.”
Philburn didn’t answer and neither did the brush.
I put forty dollars into the billfold and the billfold into the duffel. I put everything back as I’d found it, walked to the lip of the shoulder, and studied the people below. I studied everybody I saw for as far as I could see, but I did not see Jared Philburn or anyone wearing a faded purple cap.
I took out my phone and called Joe.
“I found it. His things are here, so he’ll be back.”
“Say location.”
“The top of the shoulder across from the dump. He was right on top of them. He saw it.”
“On my way.”
Pike was cruising the western side of the park.
“He’s probably down in Los Feliz making his rounds. I’ll call Lou. Lou can have the area cops look for him.”
I was saying it when I saw the red truck. It was far away and small and moving very slow, coming up the eastside road with a line of cars bunched behind it. I could not see the driver, but it was the gardener’s truck. A tiny figure darted across the truck’s path and the truck swung hard past oncoming cars.
“Joe! This side! They’re here!”
I scrambled and slid and ran as hard as I could.
42
Jared Walker Philburn
Jared yearned to smile at the walkers and joggers and dogs he passed. The world held too little joy and comfort to turn one’s back on a smile, but Jared’s smiles were rarely welcomed and almost never returned. This left him sad. He did not wish to impose on others, so he kept his eyes down and shared a smile with himself.
Almost home and his mouth was watering.
Jared was imagining the joys to come when horns startled him so badly he stumbled.
A red pickup truck crept behind him a mere twenty feet away. The cars behind it passed when they could, but were otherwise trapped by oncoming vehicles.
Jared was well out of the street at the far side of the shoulder. He posed no obstruction. The truck could have easily passed, but idled along behind him.
Jared moved farther to the side and glanced back again. The truck didn’t pass. Horns blew. Cars roared past when able. Drivers cursed.
The red truck seemed familiar.
Jared tucked the white bag under his arm like a football and increased his pace. He glanced back again.
The driver’s face was a threatening mask. His mouth was a slash with down-turned corners and angular sunglasses masked his eyes. When Jared looked at the man, a sharp-eyed demon looked back.
Familiar.
Jared lowered his head and strode forward, waving his arm for the truck to pass. Go, go around, please.
The truck stayed behind him.
Jared walked faster. His legs moved faster than they’d ever moved before and his arm windmilled. Pass me, please, the street is yours!
The truck stayed with him like a shadow.
Get out of the street, fool!
Jared abruptly stepped off the shoulder onto the sandy dirt well off the road and stopped in a clump of weeds. He was completely off the pavement.
The truck stopped.
Jared stared.
The truck idled.
And then Jared knew. This was the truck with the men who had come in the deep of night, the men who had flashed and slashed with their lights to find him.
The driver raised a cell phone to his lips and Jared knew he was doomed. A terrible grief for the young gentleman’s kindness filled his heart and the bag of tacos fell to the earth.
Jared said, “My only friend, the end.”
He bolted across the street. Horns blared and tires screamed. The red truck swerved after him. Jared plunged downhill into the chaparral, fell, and slid to his feet. He glimpsed the driver, gun in hand, plunging after him.
The slope was steep but flattened quickly. Jared pushed past grasping oaks and prickly balls of sage. He tripped, stumbled, and saw the man gaining.
“Gracious Lord, help me!”
Jared knew trails were ahead, though he’d never been on them. He clawed and fought his way down, but the man steadily drew closer. The crashing behind him grew louder like a wave thundering ashore and when Jared glanced again the man was almost upon him.
“Lord, please!”
Jared pushed blindly through a thick wall of brush and fell forward onto a trail. The man broke out behind him and pinned Jared with a knee. He pressed the gun hard into Jared’s neck.
Jared clenched his eyes and shrieked.