Chapter 71 first quarter

Decker's house felt like a stranger's.He wiped the fingerprints off the Ford and dropped it on a muddy side road off Old Pex Trail.He ran wearily through the darkness towards his home.To his despair, he didn't feel at all home.What had been his sanctuary for the past year and three months, a symbol of his new life, was now just a place, not unlike the apartment in Alexandria, Virginia, he had let go of. He looked around warily to see if anyone was watching his house.Although he found nothing, he still felt that he had to be careful.He climbed the dwarf pine-covered slope behind the house, the same path that last night's attacker had taken.He took out the key from a dark place under the back door, opened the back door, and entered the house in a flash.In case the police drove by and found the light he had turned on, he didn't touch the switch, but quickly locked the door behind him.He groped his way into his bullet-riddled bedroom by the moonlight streaming through the windows in the back wall.The room was in a mess, and the stench of gunpowder still lingered.This is the symbol of his present life.

For the third time in less than 12 hours, he took a cold shower and changed into clean clothes.This time, he packed a small travel bag with what he should bring.He gathered up the few jewels he had—a gold bracelet, a gold chain, and an emerald ring.He never wore these things.They were remnants of his former life, when he carried them as a contingency, to sell them in case the money ran out.In addition, there are 12 gold coins in a pouch.He tossed them in a drawer in disgust when he moved in.He had planned to convert these items into cash or deposit them in the bank's safe deposit box for valuables, but he never got around to it.At this moment, he also put the jewelry into the bag containing the gold coins, and sandwiched the bag between the clothes in the travel bag.

He was almost ready, and walked to the door leading to the carport with his bag in hand.This door is just outside the kitchen.Reluctantly, he paused, opened the refrigerator, hastily whipped together a ham and cheese sandwich, gobbled it up, and gulped down the remaining skim milk in the carton.He wiped the milk from his mouth, went into the study, and checked the answering machine, hoping for a call from Beth.But he heard mostly calls from reporters wanting to talk to him about the attack on his residence and the bombing in the house next door to him.Several colleagues also left messages expressing shock at what they heard.Esperanza made five or six phone calls. "Decker, as soon as you hear that, call me. I've been trying to get in touch with you. By God, if you've left Santa Fe..." Decker's face turned serious.He went back to the kitchen, picked up his bag, and headed for the carport.The high-power engine of the Jeep Cherokee started up at once, and with a roar, the car disappeared into the night.