FOLLOW THE LEADER - Chapter 39

 Chapter 39



I had gauged Rollins wrong: Instead of dragging his feet he called me and asked to go earlier—way earlier: Seven. It was no problem for me since I’m an early riser. 

He drove the first leg. We crossed the Bay Bridge and took the 580 Freeway to the turnoff to I-5 south toward Los Angeles. I had seven hours to tell him what I knew about the Charles Manson connection. 

It took me seven minutes.

Meanwhile he was speeding along at eighty-five.

“What’s the big hurry?” I asked. “It’s a lovely spring day.”

“Really?”

Bad timing on my part. We were approaching the Harris Stockyards. Even with our windows closed, the noxious odors seeped inside.

“Okay, not so lovely in these parts,” I admitted. “But if you get a speeding ticket, that’s going to slow us down big-time. Not to mention a hefty fine.”

He slowed to seventy-five.

We had already done two hundred miles when he took the Stockdale Highway turnoff to Bakersfield. My butt was sore from sitting so long. 

“Let’s grab some lunch in Bakersfield,” I said.

“We don’t have that far to go, we should keep moving.”

“Did you look at the map?  We’ll be winding around on small highways past tiny towns. Besides, I need to stop and take a leak.”

“If you insist.”

We ate lunch at a Denny’s. I ordered a big breakfast, always a safe bet.

I said, “I thought I’d be dragging you down here, but it’s the other way around.”

“Fast in, fast out. That’s what I want. For me it’s going to be like walking on hot coals.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Don’t tell me what it’s going to be like!” he sputtered, spitting out toast crumbs from his Tuna Melt. 

“I didn’t.”

“What the fuck are you saying, then?”

“I meant keep an open mind. Sure, you’re a grieving father. I get that and I’m sorry. Now I need you to be something else.”

“Such as?”

Come up with something, Francis!

“Pretend you’re a jury member. You’re being led to the crime scene and the immediate surroundings. You’ve been asked to notice things. Details.”

“Okay, I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“Ears, too. I’m going to ask questions. If we’re lucky, somebody will volunteer something we can use. Maybe something will trigger your memory.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said.

I said nothing to that. What could I say?

 


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