lightweight jacket.
Leaving the house, I walked about a quarter mile until reaching the park, where the cell phone rang. I took the phone off my belt and said, “Hello?”
“Now walk to the Dairy Queen,” said the tinny voice. “Don’t go in. Stand at the curb. Should take you about five minutes to get there.”
Good thing I didn’t mind walking at night. I followed the instructions of the electronic voice, and headed to the neighborhood DQ. I slowed down as I got near and looked around. Since it was Friday night, many of the townsfolk were out with their children buying ice cream. My cell phone rang again, and the voice said, “Walk to the post office.”
“I’m starting to get a little tired,” I said.
“I know, sorry, but this is how it’s got to be.”
So I walked a few blocks to the local post office, a little further down the street and just around the corner. There was minimal traffic and I was soon out in front of the small government building. I hoped I wouldn’t get mugged; this part of town wasn’t exactly the newest addition to the city.
As I looked around, I saw headlights coming my way. It looked huge, and turned out to be an RV camper; it made its way up the street and stopped directly in front of me. I could see that there was a man in the driver’s seat with glasses, thick eyebrows, big nose and mustache, all in one piece since it was a disguise, who leaned out his side window and said, “Get in, quick!”
The Specialist
Once in the passenger’s seat, I said, “Walter, I’m guessing that’s you behind those spectacles.”
The man behind the steering wheel held up his finger in front of his lips, signaling me to stay quiet. “Not even close, mister,” he said.
He looked straight ahead and drove well within the speed limit, like an old retired man in his recreational vehicle, like someone who was traveling on the road in strange territory. He signaled every turn, observed all stop signs and lights, and within ten minutes slowly steered the large vehicle to the south and out of the city.
When trees appeared, the driver took the glasses and nose off and said, “Hello, Randall! How have you been? Long time no see!” It was Walter Dale, after all.
“Can we talk now?” I asked. Walter nodded while looking ahead. “I’m doing well, thanks. Haven’t seen you in a while either, but then again, I don’t know where to look!”
Walter liked that and laughed a bit.
“I understand you wanted to see me,” he said. “Got something needs handling? Something broke? What?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to keep up with him, hoping he wouldn’t get too far ahead of me. “I did and I do. But first… how did you get my cell phone number? It’s brand new, I upgraded only last week, and it came with a new number!”
“Heh-heh-heh! Trade secrets, Randy boy; I can’t be telling all I know; in my business, knowledge is money!”
“Hmmmmm” I pondered. I got that cell phone so I’d have a little more privacy from work; they only had my hard line number, and I haven’t had the chance to share my cell number with friends yet. Walter somehow got it, but at least he knows how to keep a secret. “Okay, you,” I finally sputtered. Walter laughed a little more and kept driving.
Walter’s a strange creature. Although I find him easy to get along with, those with a certain social standard cringe when they’re around him. They know his priorities are not shared around the “upper-crust, high-society” minded, so they tend to avoid him. He also speaks his mind, which has gotten him into trouble more than once. I suspected he was currently between jobs, and probably living in this RV.
“Why did you have me walk all over the neighborhood? I appreciate the exercise, but it’s dark outside, and you don’t always know who’s lurking around out there.”
“Don’t worry Randy,” he grinned. “I had you in sight most of the time.”
I thought back quickly, and said, “I didn’t see you, and this vehicle would be hard to miss.”
“I didn’t have you in eyesight,” he replied, “but you were on the screen right here,” and reaching towards the dashboard, he turned on a built-in screen display, which showed a bird’s-eye satellite view of the neighborhood I had just walked. I could see the tops of people’s heads as they moved on the sidewalk nearby what I took