Doyle called yesterday.
He said he'd catch up to me somewhere along the line today so I should stay out until at least noon. This time, I thought I knew what this was about. Four years ago yesterday, we met for the first time down at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
That's when he proposed my involvement in The Project. That's when this whole thing started.
I began my day by stopping at the Main Library on St. George Avenue. There was only 1 other car in the front lot. A silver SUV on the right-hand side. I parked on the left. As I got out, I saw an older man standing on the grass to the side of the SUV, smoking a cigarette. I assumed he was the owner.
I walked up the ramp to the front doors, but they were locked. That's when I remembered that they don't open until 10 in August. Annoyed, I walked back to my car. I was all set to back out of my space when I noticed the old guy through my rear window. He was still standing there.
He could have told me that the library wasn't open yet, but he let me walk all the way there and back. I took a quick look around - we were the only ones there. I backed up straight into the empty spot between him and his SUV. He ignored me.
Point, press, Flash.
I drove on. I had some other stops to make.
I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for a blueberry muffin and a small iced tea, black. I had a book with me ("Night of the Hunter" by Davis Grubb) and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.
I decided to start at the Target in Edison, and headed down along Chain-of-Hills Road. I love this road. It's a winding, quiet little stretch. Up ahead I noticed this woman.
I slowed down a bit, and did a quick check of my mirrors. All clear.
Point, press, Flash.
I spent about 15 minutes in Target. They had some small 3-drawer, plastic storage units on sale and I wanted to see what they really looked like. I ultimately didn't get one, but I did pick up some OTC meds that I needed.
From there, I drove over to the Barnes & Noble's in the Menlo Park Mall. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I do like to browse. I checked the time when I left the store. A little after 10. I had to stay out for another 2 hours.
I headed towards the thrift store in South Plainfield that I like. I drove down Parsonage Road to Route 27, turned left, then right on Grove, and left on Oak Tree. I passed a small strip mall along the way and, on a whim, drove through. In the back, I saw this guy.
No one was parked back here.
Point, press, Flash.
I drove on to the thrift store but didn't go in. Today was one of their sale days, and I don't like dealing with the type of crowd that draws. I turned back to Oak Tree, took the left on Wood then the right on Inman. I was heading to Iselin and a used book store there.
This one doesn't quite have the ambiance of the one on Main Street in Metuchen, but I've gotten some great buys here and they know me well enough not to have to keep an eye on me. They also have this "Buy 12 Get One Free" thing that they do and I only had one more hole to punch on my card. I picked up a copy of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Phillip K. Dick for $4.50. My next book there will be free.
I walked back to my car, and found Doyle leaning against it.
"Hey, Denny!" He stuck out his hand. I shook it.
"Doyle. Good to see you. How're things?"
"Same old, same old." He smiled, "Just wanted to bring you up to date on a few things."
"Oh? Are there things happening? Does this involve Gordon?"
He nodded.
"Yeah. It seems he's active again. Three weeks ago, his Flasher signal was registered in New Providence, up in Union County. Two weeks ago, down in Cape May. Last week in Trenton. He's out there again, all right."
I was quiet for a moment, taking it in. I thought about telling Doyle about the box Gordon had sent me, the unopened one in my kitchen, but I didn't.
"So .. you still can't find his tracker, only the Flasher signal?"
This time, he was quiet for a while. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
"Denny, that about sums it up. We're still scrambling, but this whole NSA leaks thing has everyone's panties in a twist and I've been spending way too much time reviewing personnel records." He stood up straight, stretched, then slapped me on the back.
"And I didn't want too much time to go by without wishing you a Happy Anniversary."
He actually grinned. Then he sobered up.
"Seriously, Denny, this Gordon situation seems to be heating up. I don't know what that means or where it's heading but I got a gut feeling about it. Whatever he's planning is gonna happen soon."
"You think he's planning something? It all seems pretty random to me. Like ... you know .. what I do."
"No. Well, maybe. I think what he's done so far has been random but I have a feeling that he has something in mind .. some kind of end goal. I just can't quite figure out what it might be."
His phone went off. He listened for a minute or two, then closed it and shrugged.
"I gotta go, Denny. Look .. I don't know what Gordon plans on doing, so be careful, OK?"
I told him I would.
"OK. Well. Good to see you again, Denny."
We shook hands and he headed towards his car. Then he turned around and looked back at me.
He saluted.
Then he got in his car and drove away.
I got in my car and sat there a while.
I like Doyle. He's a nice guy who believes in his job.
Should I have told him about my contact with Gordon? This bothered me but I finally decided not to.
I owed Gordon that much.
Doyle had a singular focus on the situation.
I had a different perspective.
