Pipeline by Brenda Adcock

and have a
conference period after that, about an hour and a half."
    "Well,
if you give me directions to your school, I'll stop and pick up something for
lunch and meet you there."
    Ventana
Middle School was close to the apartment building where she and Kyle lived, so
I wasn't totally lost and arrived within half an hour. Following her
directions, I entered the school through a side door on the east side of the
building and saw Sarita standing in the doorway of a classroom waiting for me.
She closed the door behind her as I set the bag of food on a worktable near the
rear of the room and pulled out a couple of wrapped burgers. She brought an
extra chair to the table and patted me on the shoulder as she sat down.
    "It's
good to see you again, Ms. Carlisle. I wasn't sure if my visit had been
successful or not."
    "It
probably wouldn't have been if it weren't for my housekeeper."
    "Ms.
Rubio?"
    "Yeah,
she twisted the knife in my back until I agreed to at least do some background
work."
    "She
seems to be a very interesting lady."
    "That's
a diplomatic description," I said as I took a bite.
    Sarita
laughed lightly. "I just mean that she seems like the kind of woman who
would be willing to do anything for a friend."
    "She
helped me get enough information to know Kyle's got a potentially huge story.
For his safety, as well as yours, he might need some help, Sarita." I
reached into my pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "These are the
names of a couple of people who know how to get things done and aren't
interested in taking any credit for the story. Whoever's behind this scheme
isn't going to let one reporter get in their way, but if three or four have to
be eliminated they might decide it isn't worth the risk and back off."
    "What
did you find out?"
    "Enough
to know there's a lot of money involved. People have been killed for a lot
less."
    "I
wish he would let you help him."
    "The
chances of that are slim and none, Sarita."
    "You
know, Ms. Carlisle, Kyle is like you in many ways. Smart, but very
stubborn."
    "Well,
right now he better be working on plain old scared. Whoever is involved won't
let one reporter ruin a good thing. If he gets in their way, they'll kill
him."
    By
late afternoon, I was on the road back toward Kerrville. Sarita had been right
about Kyle and me. We were both stubborn, with a nearly self-destructive need
to work things out alone. I had spent the last fifteen years going it alone,
and only recently realized it hadn't been a particularly happy journey, even if
I had been satisfied with the work. Or at least I thought I had been. It was
hard not to think about what my life would have been like if I had been
less...less what? I could spend the rest of my life wondering about that and
never arrive at an answer. Too bad you can't see what's on the road ahead, so
you'd know when to pull over for a U-turn and when to accelerate toward it.
    The
distance between San Antonio and Kerrville wasn't far enough for much
self-psychoanalysis, thank God. I was too tired to think about what might have
been or should have been and didn't want anything except a long, hot shower
before falling into my own bed.
    Only
the final remnants of sunlight remained on the horizon by the time I turned
into the drive leading to my house. Low mesquite blocked my view until the
second curve on the gravel and dirt road. As the number of trees decreased, I
caught sight of my house for the first time and saw that there was a light on
inside. It was Friday and no one should have been there. Instinctively, I took
my foot off the accelerator and let the car continue rolling forward, but there
was enough gravel on the road to make it nearly impossible to approach the
house without being heard. Rounding the last curve and breaking into the open
clearing that became the front yard, I saw Lena's car parked in front of the
house. I looked around the remainder of the property and wished the sun would
hang in the sky a few moments longer. I didn't see any