Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
The name was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t recall why. “Who’s that?”
“The graduate student who used to work with Mercanti. One of the SPAM scientists mentioned him and said he was from Oregon. I don’t know if he went back home after he quit grad school, but maybe his family is there, and maybe they can tell us where to find him.”
“Why would we want to do that?”
We stopped walking, and Sam turned to me. “Because it’s driving me crazy, Andy. That formula is bouncing around in my head, and I have to know—can it actually do what we think it does? Our pursuers are going to keep hunting us no matter what, because they believe it’s the real deal. But I need an answer for my own peace of mind, and the only person who can provide it is probably this grad student.”
“Could Rosselin somehow predict that we’d go to see this guy?”
“Harington left the lab a long time ago, so I really doubt he’d be on Rosselin’s radar. The only reason we even know about him is because he was randomly mentioned in passing.”
“Okay, let’s try to find him. I want answers about the journal, too, and you’re right that no one else would be able to provide them. Maybe Harington can’t either, but I’d still like to talk to him and learn about Mercanti and his work, given the way it’s impacted our entire lives.”
We started walking again. At one point, a squirrel and I stared each other down, and Sam asked, “What are you doing?”
“Just keeping an eye on him. He was probably one of the rodents that swarmed the deck the other day. I wonder if some part of him remembers me, and if he’s considering flinging himself at me and stuffing himself in my shirt or something.”
“I don’t think he remembers you.”
I glanced behind us and saw that the squirrel had moved to the center of the trail. “I don’t know. He’s still watching.”
That made him grin. “Hold it together, Andy.”
We decided it was best to avoid the heavily traveled interstate that ran right up the middle of California. Instead, we cut across the state, heading west on back roads and minor highways, with the plan of veering north once we reached the coast. Our logic was that no one could possibly predict we’d take such an out-of-the-way path, and that gave us some peace of mind.
Along the way, we stopped at a thrift shop and picked out some clothes. When Sam grabbed a couple of throw pillows and blankets, I asked, “What are those for?”
“We’ll probably end up sleeping in the car tonight, and I want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
Nothing about sleeping in a car seemed very secure. Somehow though, it struck both of us as a better idea than checking into any sort of lodging, even in a totally random location. They’d found us once in a motel, so maybe they could do it again, whether it was through luck, technology, a superpower, or a combination of all three.
After we loaded our thrift shop finds into the car, we visited a local mom-and-pop market. We bought a cheap ice chest, groceries and snacks, some toiletries, and a case of water before getting back on the road.
“I feel better now that we have some supplies,” I said. “And pants without the word ‘juicy’ on the ass, though it was nice of Reg to let me keep these.” I tugged at the fabric of my lavender sweatpants as I said that.
“Yeah, it was.” Sam glanced at me before merging onto a two-lane country highway. “Speaking of Reg, you haven’t said much about meeting him. That had to be weird for you, right?”
“It was startling to have him show up out of the blue like that, but he was exactly what I expected from seeing his photos. I guess I already worked through my feelings of inadequacy from comparing myself to him, so I wasn’t intimidated by the fact that he’s tall, gorgeous, successful, and quite possibly still in love with you.”
“He was never in love with me. I was more like his project, something to fix.”
I glanced at Sam’s profile. “Can I ask a question that’s absolutely none of my business? It’s about your sex life.”
“Reg and I are both vers, if you’re wondering who topped who.”
“That’s exactly what I was wondering, because I’m incredibly nosy.” I glanced at him again. “Does it bother you that I’m only comfortable bottoming?”
His answer made me smile. “Nothing about you bothers me, Andy.”
“There’s no way that’s true,” I said, as I rested my hand on his thigh. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”
It was very late when we reached a small town on the coast. We found a place to park on a quiet side street, close enough to the beach to hear the waves breaking and smell the briny sea air. Then we climbed into the backseat, which wasn’t the roomiest thing ever, but we were exhausted and quickly fell asleep.