Chapter 11 midnight tracking

When I opened my eyes, it was already Sunday morning... I turned on the radio, and a melodious music came from the speaker. This is a popular song sung by Riles.The main idea of ​​the lyrics is: a lonely old man, he has neither wife nor children, and he doesn't know where to go.On a Sunday morning, he sat alone at home, feeling very sad and melancholy. This melancholy and sad song also made me very sad, because the man in the song was in a very similar situation to me—there was no relatives around me, and no future. I got up and got out of bed, made a cup of coffee, and went to the balcony to look outside.

I live in San Francisco, USA. My house is located on "Pacific Hill", and I can overlook the entire bay from the balcony.The weather outside is really good, the sky is clear, and the sea water is a dark green under the sunshine.There are large and small white yachts floating in the sea, just like a map with many small white flags. I went back to the living room from the balcony and walked to the bookshelf.It was a large bookshelf that took up an entire wall of the room.There are more than 6,000 copies of detective novels and science fiction magazines on it, which I have collected one after another since 1947.I stroked the spine of the book with my hand, and the familiar names came into my eyes - "Black Mask", "A Corner Detective", "Clue", "Detective Fiction Weekly"... It took me thirty years to read Collecting these books is three-fifths of my time in this world, because next Friday I will be fifty.

I casually took down a copy of "Black Mask" and looked at the names of the authors printed on the cover - Chanler, Martin, Nie Bo, Mike... They are as familiar to me as old friends, It was they who accompanied me through the boring weekends, and they were the ones who dispelled my bad and depressed emotions, but today... I'm afraid they won't be able to make me happy again... Just when I was immersed in reverie, the phone rang suddenly.I went into the bedroom, picked up the receiver, and it turned out to be an old friend of mine in real life, Hugh Ben.He was a police detective and my friendship lasted thirty years.

"Hey," he said, "did my call wake you up?" "Oh no, I woke up hours ago." "As I get older, I feel less and less." "Isn't it!" I said. "I want to ask you to drink and play cards with me this afternoon. My wife and children are going to Suriyadaw this weekend. I'm bored at home alone." "I'm really sorry, I'm not in the mood for poker," I said, "I'm not in a good mood today." "Dude, it looks like you're having a tantrum again?" "Yeah, a little off." "The blues of a private eye, eh?"

"Yeah—the blues of a private eye." Speaking of which, we both laughed on the phone. Hugh Ben smiled and said: "Is it because you are about to cross the threshold of fifty years old and feel very disappointed? Let me tell you, fifty years old is the prime of life, don't be discouraged! Brother, I am fifty-two years old this year , I have a deep understanding." "Of course, I take your word for it." "Okay, since you believe what I say, cheer up and come to my house in the afternoon, let's have a good drink!" Faced with the gracious invitation of my old friend Hugh Ben, it was really hard for me to refuse, so I promised to visit him at his house in the afternoon.

After hanging up the phone, I went back to the living room and finished the rest of the coffee in the cup.I still feel very depressed and am walking aimlessly around the living room. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my chest. It seemed that the old problem of my lungs had recurred.I began to cough violently, and I was even a little out of breath. I had to sit on the sofa and cover my mouth with a handkerchief. The sound of coughing echoed in the empty room.To be honest, I regretted it in my heart at this time, it was the cigarettes that hurt me!I lived to be nearly fifty years old, but I have been smoking for thirty-five years.I once estimated that over the past thirty-five years, I have smoked an average of two packs of cigarettes a day, a total of no less than 500,000 cigarettes, and more than 10 million puffs... Well, what's the use of regretting now?It's too late!The toxins in tobacco have completely destroyed my health.

My breathing improved a bit, and I stood up slowly, thinking to myself: "It's not a good idea to sit at home all the time, I should go outside for a walk." After driving for a few hours, I went directly to Xiuben's house. Having made up my mind, I put on an old cotton jacket and headed out the door. I drove north of the city, over the Golden Gate Bridge, across 101, and finally south along the coast.The fog on that road blocked the sun, and you could smell the fresh sea breeze.There are very few vehicles on the road, and I haven't seen one after driving for a long time.On the side of the road, you can see the surging waves beating against the coast from a distance, and the scenery is very spectacular.After a while, I came to the bay called "Anchor Bay". I parked the car in an open space on the side of the road, then got out of the car, and walked on the beach alone.

I walked slowly along the beach, watching the waves rushing to the beach and receding slowly, and occasionally there were a few crisp seagull calls in the air.It's very secluded, away from the hustle and bustle of the world, which is a good place for me. I lingered on the beach for about half an hour. I felt a little cold and started to cough again, so I turned and walked back.In the distance, I saw another car parked next to mine, a green pick-up truck with a dilapidated body and a small, equally dilapidated RV attached to the back.I noticed that the right rear of the truck was leaning a little bit, obviously the right rear tire had blown out.There were two men and a woman standing near the truck. They seemed to be talking about something, but I was too far away from them, and I couldn't hear anything. I could only see the wind blowing their hair and the corners of their clothes.

I walk over to my car.They probably heard my footsteps, looked up at me together, and then, after exchanging a few words among themselves, came together towards me, and stopped a few yards away. "Hello!" one of them greeted me. I looked him up and down, and saw that he was about 21 or 20 years old, with long red hair and a mustache around his mouth. He was wearing a coarse windbreaker, blue work pants, It's a pair of worn shoes.Although he didn't see anything unusual, there seemed to be an uneasy expression on his face, and his smile was also very forced, as if trying to hide something.

I turned my gaze to another man and woman standing beside me.They are also young people in their early twenties. The boy has short black hair and a square face. He is wearing a checkered lumberjack jacket, trousers, and brown leather shoes; the girl is ordinary-looking, Pale complexion, thin lips, a green bandanna wrapped around her head, with a bow like a nun's headcloth, reddish-brown hair draped over her shoulders, and wearing a long, thick windbreaker.Both of them had their hands in their pockets and looked tense too. "Hi!" I said, nodding friendly to them. "We have a flat tire," said the red-haired boy.

"Oh, I see it." "We don't have a jack, do you have one?" "I have it in my car and I can lend it to you." "Thank you so much!" In the process of questioning and answering with the red-haired boy, my thoughts were spinning rapidly—what are the identities of these three young people?Why do they seem so nervous? I am a lover of detective novels. During my thirty years of reading career, I have developed a detective way of thinking.Now, I have a vague premonition: there is something wrong with these three young people—their uneasiness is only a superficial phenomenon, and there seems to be some kind of special relationship between the three of them. Perhaps their affairs have nothing to do with me, but the detective's instinct and natural curiosity prevent me from turning a deaf ear to these doubts.So I said, "It's lucky for you to meet me here, you know, there is almost no traffic in this area." At this time, the red-haired boy took his left hand out of his pocket, stroked the beard on his lips, and said, "Yeah, I'm lucky to meet you." The girl next to her took out a handkerchief and blew her nose vigorously. The boy shifted his weight from one leg to the other, wrapped his jacket tighter, and said, "It's a bit cold now." Calmly, I took a quick glance at the pickup's license plate—it was an Oregon license plate.I asked curiously, "Are you going far away?" "Going on vacation to Montana," said the dark-haired boy. "Just a few of you? Vacation?" I asked suspiciously.Because, I don't see it in the slightest that they look like they are going on vacation. "Forget it," the red-haired boy explained hastily. "Anyway, we're going to Montana." "I'm afraid it's a bit crowded for the three of you in a small truck?" "That's how we like it!" The red-haired boy's voice suddenly increased, and he seemed a little anxious, but then he controlled his emotions and said in a gentle tone, "Can I borrow the jack?" I nodded, went to the back of my car, and opened the trunk with the key.The three of them did not move, but watched my every move intently. At this time, I suddenly became alert and thought to myself: "Could it be that they are not in the same group? The red-haired boy looks more fashionable, while the black-haired boy is more conservatively dressed. As for the girl, there is nothing special about it. It's just that her eyes squinted in the wind are always looking straight ahead. What is the relationship between these three people?" I took out the jack from the trunk of the car, closed the trunk lid again, turned to them and said, "It's better for me to replace it for you, I'm afraid you're not used to this thing." "I'm sorry to bother you, but let us do it ourselves," said the black-haired boy. "It's okay, I'm happy to help." After finishing speaking, I called them over and carried the jack to the back of the pickup truck.I saw a spare tire and some repair tools lying on the ground. Apparently, they had tried to change the tire themselves before, but since they didn't have a jack, they had to give up. That's when I noticed that there were two small windows on the back door of the RV, one of which was covered with a thick curtain, while the other window was broken and was only sloppily pasted with clear plastic paper.I peeked in through the broken window, and vaguely saw a small cabinet, a small table, and two reclining chairs in the car. These utensils were all neatly arranged and fixed in the car with ropes. In order to avoid rolling and collision during driving. The three young men gathered around me to watch me change the tire.I squatted down, first put the jack under the axle of the right rear wheel of the truck, fixed it, and then shook the handle of the jack vigorously to jack up the truck little by little.Both the black-haired boy and the red-haired boy helped me while I was busy, but it seemed to me that their clumsy movements only added to my confusion. Fifteen minutes later, I changed the tire.I started looking for opportunities to chat with them, trying to find some clues from the conversation to determine what the relationship between them was.But their vigilance was high. The two boys only occasionally answered me with concise words, while the girl stood aside and said nothing. I shook the jack handle again and slowly lowered the truck.Finally, I patted the dust off my hands and said, "Okay, you're done! I suggest that you fix that blown tire if you come across a repair shop, otherwise, if another tire breaks, you won't have any problems." It was replaced." "Okay, thank you!" said the dark-haired boy. I sent out a smile trying to communicate: "Have you brought beer or soda? I have been busy for a long time, and I am a little thirsty." The red-haired boy looked first at the girl, then at the brunette boy, and said uneasily, "Sorry, we don't have anything in the car." "It's time for us to go!" said the dark-haired boy, and picked up the replacement tire, threw it into the metal storage rack at the back of the truck, and then the three walked towards the door. Although I felt their behavior was very suspicious from the beginning to the end, I had no reason to let them stay, because, on the surface, everything was very normal-the seat, the dashboard, the small shelf behind the seat, the floor under the passenger's feet... Nothing suspicious.I just watched them get into the car and start the engine. "Slow down, don't panic." I yelled and waved goodbye, but they didn't even look at me. The pickup truck moved quickly, kicked up a cloud of dust, and then drove south, disappearing in a short time. in my field of vision. I froze for a moment, then returned to my car. "Where should I go now? That's right! Go to Hugh Ben's house and forget about it!" Even though I was thinking this way, the shadows of the three young men kept flashing before my eyes, and I couldn't get rid of them.I'm sure that the three of them are definitely not in the same group. Although they all showed a tense and anxious mood, they gave people different feelings. "No! I have to use my own strength to investigate this matter to the bottom. It seems that the date with Hueben can only be discussed later." I secretly made up my mind. So, I quickly started the car and drove in the direction they left.After driving about four miles, their pickup truck reappeared in my field of vision. Their speed was relatively fast, estimated to have exceeded the speed limit by ten miles, but still within a safe range.I also adjusted the speed of the car to match them, and followed them at a distance of about a few hundred yards.Before I knew it, it was dusk, the fog on the road was getting thicker and thicker, and the visibility was poor. Fortunately, their taillights were still on, which allowed me to follow them.The fog was getting thicker and thicker, and even water droplets condensed on the windshield, and I had to leave the windshield wipers on.Slowly, night fell. After driving for more than an hour, the pickup truck in front had already entered the Montana border, but they did not slow down, but continued to go straight across.Sure enough, the brunette boy lied to me that they weren't going on vacation to Montana, as I expected.So where are they going?Are you going to another state?I decided to follow it to the end until I had all the doubts cleared up.Besides, I'm not afraid even if I keep following him until tomorrow, anyway, I have nothing to do now. The pick-up truck drove through Ford Village, Ray Town... When I followed them to a place about thirty miles away from the Golden Gate Bridge, I found that the gasoline was low. Will not be able to support my drive back to San Francisco. Just when I was hesitating whether to find a gas station first, I found that the pickup truck suddenly slowed down and turned west from the expressway onto a secondary road. Seeing this situation, I immediately followed. About two minutes later, I came to an intersection and saw a sign saying: "Public campsite three miles ahead".It looked like they were going to spend the night at a public campsite.I looked up at the sky, although it was completely dark, but fortunately the fog here is thinner, in order not to attract their attention, I deliberately turned off the car lights and walked in the vast night. This area is the fault zone of St. Annvis, the road surface is rough and potholed.I drove around a small pond, and about three miles further on, I saw the public campground.The campsite is not far from the beach, it is bounded by a few sand dunes to the west and a grove to the south.In the middle of the campsite, in addition to some iron racks for barbecue and a few trash cans, there is also a small wooden house, which is the campsite management office.I saw the pickup truck that I had been following for hours parked in the camp with its lights on. After confirming the location of the pick-up truck, I didn't drive in through the main gate, but went around to the outside of the campsite, stopped the car and turned off the engine in order to avoid alarming others.I held the steering wheel and sat quietly in the car, thinking about what to do next. Along the way, I have been trying to figure out what it is that makes one or two of the three of them suspicious to me, but I can't figure it out. When I can calm down and think slowly, I seem to be It suddenly dawned on me that if I think about the three separate things that have been bothering me in tandem, the answer becomes clear.To test my reasoning, I decided to get close to their car. I got a flashlight out of the toolbox, got out of the car, and approached their pickup under the cover of darkness.The mountain wind at night was very strong, cutting my face and hands like jagged teeth, and a wisp of mist above my head drifted in the darkness, like cold fingers looking for warmth. I first detoured into the small woods on the south side of the campsite. Through the sparse bushes, I judged that the pickup truck was about forty yards away from me.It was dark inside the truck, and there was no one there, but there was a faint light in the towed RV behind—obviously, the curtains on the two windows on the door were drawn down. I walked slowly towards the pickup truck. There was a big pine tree not ten yards from the pick-up truck, and I hid behind the trunk and listened, but there was no other sound except the howling of the mountain wind and the sound of the distant waves.I took a closer look at the environment around the caravan, and found that it was surrounded by a piece of soft soil, covered with thick dead leaves, and it would not make any movement when I stepped on it.So, I tiptoed to the truck, put my ear to the side of the RV, and listened intently to the movement inside. In order to avoid the interference of the wind and waves, I also blocked the other ear with my finger.After listening for about half a minute, I heard nothing but a slight sound of walking. Just when I was about to give up, a voice suddenly came from inside. "Is the sandwich ready?" a voice asked sternly. "Oh, right away," said another voice timidly. "Hurry up, I'm starving! I don't want to sit like this anymore!" "This cooker is not easy to use, if you..." "Cut the bullshit! If you don't want to get shot, do it now! We're a long way from Mexico." "Yes Yes!" After listening to this conversation, I already understood eight or nine points in my heart.I guessed right before, one of these three people is likely to be held hostage, maybe there are other serious crimes hidden in it! It seems that the detective I played should call a curtain call, and the police should appear next.I decided to leave this place of right and wrong immediately and report the case to the police.So, I took a few steps back, turned around, and prepared to go back to the car on the same road through the woods. But just when I was about to turn around and leave, an accident happened. A sudden gust of wind blew off a branch of a nearby tree, and that branch happened to hit the roof of the RV. bang" loud noise. This is simply an instant change!I didn't react, I just stood there blankly.However, there was an immediate reaction in the RV, and shouts and footsteps came out.When I understood what was going on and was about to take cover quickly, it was too late when I saw the door of the caravan opened and a person rushed out from inside. The person saw me at a glance and shouted: "Stop, Stop!" He said, pointing a black object at me, it was a gun! With the light in the car, I could see clearly that the person was the young girl I saw during the day.But he is not a woman, but a man.He wore no wig or turban, with short, light brown hair, and a pale, womanly face.No wonder when I saw him during the day, I always felt that he behaved strangely. It turned out that he was a man disguised as a woman! The man stood there with his legs spread out, aiming his gun at my head.With the help of the faint light, I could see that he was a little nervous, and the hand holding the gun was trembling slightly. "Come this way!" he ordered. I hesitated for a few seconds, then followed his words and stood at the door of the RV.He backed away quickly, swinging his gun from side to side, aiming at me and the other two boys poking their heads out of the RV. "I know who you are! Why are you here?" said the man with the gun. I didn't answer. "Say it! Who are you? Why are you following us?" I stared at him for a while, then said, "I'm a policeman"—I wanted to see how he would react.As a result, as soon as my words came out, his hand holding the gun shook, as if he was too frightened to hold the gun. Seeing his nervous appearance, I couldn't help but sweat on my back, worried that he might jump the wall in a hurry and pull the trigger on me and those two young people.However, he did not shoot in the end, but said, "Aren't you surprised when you find out that I am not a woman?" "I'm mentally prepared for this. I think you're suspicious during the day." "Oh? Is there something wrong with my daytime attire?" "Of course, I saw your flaws in three details." I said to him, "First, when you were in the parking lot, you kept blowing your nose loudly, and that posture was not the appearance of a normal woman; second, I noticed that you walked in the wrong way, not only with long strides, but also with heavy feet. Obviously, this is the way of men; I haven't seen anything similar, how can a woman not have these things?" He subconsciously wiped his nose with his hands and said, "Well, the reasoning is good! It seems that you are very smart." At this time, the red-haired boy who had been standing behind me trembled and said, "You, what are you going to do?" He didn't answer right away, just stared at me nervously, the corner of his mouth twitching.After a while, he said to the other two boys, "Is there any rope in the car? Like a clothesline or something?" "Yes." The dark-haired boy said. "Go and fetch this man and tie him up, we must take him with us," he ordered. I kept my face on the surface, but there was a surge of anger in my heart, and I said to myself secretly: "He is coming to kidnap you, can you be indifferent? Why don't you just let this guy take you and the other two children to an inaccessible place?" Kill it in the place?" Thinking of this, I said, "Then you might as well kill me now!" "You shut up!" he said sullenly. I take a step towards him. "Stop!" he threatened with the gun, "Old man, I warn you, if you come any closer I'm going to shoot!" "It's up to you!" I said, and I rushed towards him suddenly. There was a "bang" and I felt the bullet fly past my right cheek, only an inch away from my head.The heat of the bullet scorched my cheeks, and the pain was burning. The deafening sound of the gunshot almost pierced my eardrums, but in the blink of an eye, I also grabbed his wrist and knocked out his gun. Before he could react, he punched his stomach and chest hard. He bowed in pain and took two steps back. I tripped him, then rode on him, and slammed him in the face. A series of heavy punches, finally, he was knocked out by me. I stood up and picked up his gun from the ground. When I touched my face, I found that the skin had been burned, and my eyes were stinging, and I couldn’t stop crying. However, I was a little weak except for my legs. Other than that, there is no injury to other parts, and there is no feeling of sluggishness in reaction and action. Seeing that the man with the gun had been knocked down, the two red-haired and black-haired boys also rushed over, their stiff and pale faces showing joyful expressions of being rescued. "Saved," I said to them, "you better get the rope out now." They quickly got rope from the RV, and we quickly tied up the guy with the gun and drove him to a nearby Highway Patrol station. On the way, the two boys who were held hostage told me that their names were Anthony and Ed, and they were students at the Agricultural and Forestry College in Max City, Oregon, and that the guy with the gun was Julien.Early this morning, they drove from school and wanted to go camping in the wild for two days.However, they met Julien who was pretending to be a woman on the road. At that time, Julien asked for a ride. They let him get into the car without thinking much, but after getting into the car, Julien showed his fierceness. It turned out that he was a prison escapee. Jail for robbery at gunpoint and two counts of attempted murder.Julien forced them to change direction with a gun, because he wanted to go to Mexico, but he couldn't drive, so he ordered Anthony and Ed to drive.In the car, Julien also told them that in order to avoid being chased by the police, he had been hiding all the time, and later found some women's items in an empty house, such as wigs, scarves, etc., so he had the idea of ​​men disguised as women. idea…… Julien was still awake when we reached the highway patrol station. Officer Mel received us, and Anthony and Ed gave him a detailed account of the incident, and I gave a brief introduction to my part.Anthony and Ed were very grateful for my act of kindness, and they hailed me as a hero in front of Officer Mel. When Officer Mel and I were alone in the office, I told him I was a detective fan.After he finished listening, he gave me a vague smile and said, "That's no wonder, the way you handed Julien's gun is the same as that of a detective. You must have learned it from the novel, right?" "That's right," I said wearily. "I've read a lot of detective novels, and I didn't think they would come in handy today." "Not only that, but you also have extraordinary courage." Officer Mel praised. "No, I don't have any guts. I've never done anything like this in my life, but I can't stand by and see those two boys being held hostage hurt, I know, and Julien After achieving their goals, they will definitely be killed, they are still young and have a bright future, so they cannot just die in vain." "My friend, but you are also very dangerous. Didn't his shot almost hit you?" Officer Mel said, rubbing his hands. "Yes, but my safety doesn't matter," I said after a pause, "I only care about those two children." "You're a selfless person, aren't you?" "No, it's not!" "Why do you say that? Don't you care about your own safety?" Officer Mel asked after stopping rubbing his hands. "Oh." I was silent for a moment.In the end, I decided to tell the secret that I had buried in my heart for a long time. "Well, Mr. Inspector, I tell you, in fact, you were the first to know." "Know what?" Officer Mel asked. I walked to the window, looked at the night, and said calmly: "I have lung cancer, and it is at an advanced stage. The doctor said I only have eighteen months to live."