Storm Surge

Chapter 6

Chapter 6THURSDAY, AUGUST 25.

THE BITTER TASTE of cold coffee returned him to his unfinished task. I should tell Ash that story. He'd been so absorbed that he hadn't noticed the time. When Ashley opened the back door, the last plate went into the dishwasher.

“You still haven't cleaned up?”

“I've been thinking,” said Fritz.

Instead of an Ashley-typical snide comment, he asked. “What about?” Fritz told him about some of the trips he had taken. He described his visit to Franklin with the president, as well as watching the Alamo fall, meeting Lindbergh in Paris, pretending to be a reporter at the Potsdam conference, witnessing the connection of the railroads in Utah, and meeting FDR at Hyde Park.

“It's been a lot of fun to see those things. Sorry you couldn't join me.”

“We've both been travelling for the summer. You just didn't pay for gas.”

They grabbed sandwiches at the deli and ate at Fritz's backyard picnic table. “Ash, tell me what happened in the desert?”

Ashley put his sandwich down, licked his lips, and examined the garden. “I've had thousands of miles to relive it, Fritz. You saw the hole the sniper dug in the sand dune. Coming down I stepped in it, and fell to the bottom. When I looked up, the rifle was aimed at us. All I remember was getting hit, and Jane falling on top of me. They told me in the hospital they took out six bullets, and that my insides were shaken up a bit.”

“A bit? You were in surgery for hours.”

“Jane was hit and they told me it was bad. They wouldn't let me see her.” Tears dripped off his lashes. “When she died, they still wouldn't let me see her, to say I was sorry. If I hadn't tripped, she'd be alive.”

Fritz put his hand on Ashley's arm. “It's not your fault. The sniper shot her. He had a perfect place to hide and he found it far in advance. He dug a tunnel through a sand dune, reinforced it and then camouflaged it. From what I've determined, the Caballeros planned it. If anyone's to blame, it's me, for letting you go in. Like Linda said, I should have stopped you.”

Ash looked up, tears trapped on his beard. “You couldn't have. She was in trouble. No one but me could save her, and I failed. Again. It never stops. They all die.”