The Dinosaur Hunter(60)

Jeanette didn’t take my question as silly at all. She thought about it, then said, “Help the folks putting up the decorations on the main drag. Have you seen Ray?”

I hadn’t, nor Amelia, now that I gave it some thought. They had friends in town, though, and I figured they were hanging out with them so that’s what I told Jeanette. “Find him and find her,” she ordered. “Take him with you to the fairgrounds to help you. Send Amelia to me. I’ve got work for her to do.”

I clicked my heels and saluted with a stiff arm and a Heil Jeanette. Actually, I said “OK, boss,” and headed back to the motel to consult Mori who knew everything that was happening in town and would probably know the location of the two kids.

Along the way, I ran across Laura and Tanya who were strolling along the sidewalk taking in the sights of Jericho. The ladies seemed to be heading in the direction of the gas station, which was also a restaurant. They confirmed that by saying, “We’re going for lunch. Want to come along?”

“Jeanette’s got me on a mission,” I said. “But how about ordering me two six-inch subs, one veggie for me, one turkey and all the fixings for Ray, and I’ll pick them up in about an hour.”

They agreed to this and I kept going to the motel. I rang the bell on the office in the back and Mori opened the door. “I’m looking for Ray and Amelia,” I said. “Got any idea where they might be?”

“Sure,” she said. “They’re in room number twelve.”

Two teenagers, one male, one female, both in love with each other whether they admitted it or not, were in a motel room together. This was not good. I thanked Mori and abruptly departed, heading for room number twelve which was the room I’d assigned to Laura and Tanya. I hesitated in front of the door, then pounded on it. “Ray, open up!” I cried, a little frantically. Jeanette was going to kill me if what was happening in there was what I feared it was.

It was Amelia who opened the door. She was fully clothed, she didn’t appear flushed or out of breath or anything, but when I looked past her, there was Ray lolling on the bed and it looked a bit rumpled. “What’s going on?” I asked, knowing full well what had been going on.

But on my second look, I saw the reason for Ray on the bed and the rumpled appearance of it. There was a Monopoly game in its center. Amelia went back to the bed, took up station cross-legged in front of the board and said, “I am killing Ray.”

“She is not,” Ray said. “I just bought Boardwalk.”

“Well, that’s all you’ve got,” she said, “and it took nearly all your money to buy it. You’re cooked.”

What was I thinking? This was Fillmore County, which is to say it was 1950s U.S.A., and teenagers alone in a motel room were more likely to play Monopoly than literally screw around. But I knew that could change on a dime, considering that Ray and Amelia were, after all, the real deal so I said, “Ray, your mother wants you to go with me to the fairgrounds. The vendors always need a lot of help. Amelia, Jeanette wants to see you as soon as possible.”

Amelia hopped up. “I’ll beat you later, boy,” she said.

Ray and I headed to the gas station/restaurant where our subs were waiting for us. We got some cold drinks, chatted briefly with Tanya and Laura who were enjoying the air conditioning, then departed for the fairgrounds via Bob, eating our subs on the way. There, predictably, a Chinese fire drill was going on (as we used to call confusion and turmoil before we all became politically correct and the Chinese bought our country) and Ray and I waded in to help sort everything out. It was midnight before he and I got back to the motel. We were both tired and hungry but more tired so he went to the room he was sharing with his mother and I went to mine. I didn’t know where Laura was or Tanya, either. I considered going down to the bar to see if they were there but instead I stretched out on the bed and fell pretty much instantly asleep. This was getting to be a habit and maybe it was time to admit I was getting old. Either that or stop working eighteen hour days.





19




Jericho was buzzing with excitement the next morning when I arose, which was around five in the morning. Brian and Philip were sharing the room with me but I hadn’t heard them come in. Brian was on the other bed, asleep on top of the covers and Philip was asleep on the floor in a sleeping bag. They were lightly snoring and I didn’t do anything to wake them up. Instead, I stepped outside to a bright white sun already rising and skies so clear I could see all the way to the moon, which was also hanging up there, the man in it apparently enjoying the view of Fillmore County on its biggest day of the year. Every crook, crevice, and alley in town had a pickup parked in it and people were out and about. It was sort of like a family reunion  , everyone in the county related by ranching, if not genetically, and come to town to enjoy the day. I spotted clusters of men, their hats pushed back on their heads, mugs of coffee in their hands, standing around telling lies and laughing. A few women were out, too, most of them on the way somewhere. Both the library and the bar were already open, their doors swinging open and closed as patrons went in and out. The parade wasn’t supposed to start until ten o’clock but already the fire truck and the floats were lined up. It looked like Jeanette was going to have a tough time keeping them from starting early.