He Started It(31)

Eddie shrugs. “Not saw them, exactly. But—”

“Who else would’ve done it?” Krista says. “I saw one of them in the parking lot the same night.”

“Which parking lot?” Feldman says.

“At a motel, not here, but I mean they’ve been following us for a while,” Krista says.

“And the starter relay?” says the other patrolman. His name is Pineda. “Anyone see who took that?”

No one answers.

Krista huffs. “I mean, come on!” she says. “I don’t have to see every little thing to know what’s going on.”

Portia was right for staying in the car, and I wonder if it was college or the strip club that made my little sister smarter than me. Or maybe it’s because she’s single. I’ll have to spend some time pondering that when I’m not with law enforcement.

“What exactly would you like us to do?” Pineda says.

Eddie jumps in before Krista does. “Look, we probably overreacted. It’s been a weird trip for us, and to be honest, we’re all a little raw right now. Our grandfather passed away and we’re bringing him to his final resting place. That’s why we’re on this trip.”

The patrolmen exchange looks. Feldman turns and walks back to his motorcycle, pushing up his sunglasses as he goes.

Pineda sighs. “You should have taken a plane.”

He isn’t wrong.

Oklahoma is where strange things happen, both now and then.



* * *



–––––

Grandpa started feeling woozy from the pain pills along this same thirty-four-mile stretch, and he pulled over as soon as he could. Nikki and I laid him out in the back of the van. He was slurring his words like he had been drinking.

“We have to call 911,” Eddie said. “Then Mom and Dad.” He reached into Grandpa’s pocket for the cell phone.

“I have it,” Nikki said, holding it up for him to see.

“You call then.”

Nikki shook her head. “We’re not calling anyone. He isn’t sick.”

“Look at him. How can you—”

“He’s had too many pills,” she said.

“How do you know?”

“I switched them around.”

She stared at Eddie, daring him to say something. He looked at me. I looked to Grandpa, who was out of it but not unconscious. He understood what Nikki had said.

“Why?” Grandpa said.

We were in the van, pulled over in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant right off the interstate, and we all stared at Nikki. Even I had no idea. I never asked her why because I didn’t want to look stupid.

“Because of what you did to Grandma,” she said.

“What are you—”

Nikki held up her hand to shut him up. “Don’t. She told me everything.”

Grandpa tried to sit up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you don’t?” Nikki bent down, sticking her face close to his. “You don’t remember hitting her?”

Everyone was too stunned to respond. I know I was.

“It’s true,” Nikki said. “You slapped her, you shoved her, you even punched her a few times.” She stared at him, her eyes hard. “She told me everything. She wanted someone to know before she died.”

“No,” Grandpa said.

“Yes.”

Portia dove into my lap, wanting protection from whatever was going on. “What’s happening?” she said. She tried to whisper and failed.

“What’s happening is our grandfather is a horrible man,” Nikki said. “He was an asshole to Grandma and he’s been an asshole to us.”

Grandpa slumped back down on the seat, looking like he was in shock. He didn’t say a word. Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. Portia buried her head in my lap.

I didn’t hate Grandpa before then. Never had a reason to. Then all of a sudden I did.

Only later did I learn that Grandma didn’t think she was talking to Nikki. She was too delirious at the end. Grandma said all of those things because she thought she was talking to her sister, not her granddaughter.

But the stories were true. All of them.

Nikki, still with the phone in her hand, nodded at me. Once. A sharp, sure movement.

“This is our road trip now,” she said.





Who is the person from history that you would most like to meet and talk to?

Dr. Lang already asked me this question. I guess it must be especially revealing or something. I knew he wanted me to say Jesus, Washington, or Lincoln, because those are the obvious choices. So I did. I said Washington because he was the first US president so he had a unique insight into our history. Unique insight—I said it just like that and Dr. Lang laughed, but screw him. He gets paid by my parents, or our insurance or whatever, so he’s just an employee.

He hates it when I say that.

But if I had to answer honestly, I’d say I want to talk to the guy who invented Risk. I always thought Dad was being dramatic when he said Risk isn’t just a game, it’s a metaphor for life.

Each turn has three parts: Draft, Attack, Fortify.

So, first you have to draft your troops. Your allies. My closest ally has always been Beth.