“ The kid?” said Tony Hill. “I’ve met him a number of times. He’s like twenty-two.”
“ Perving knows no age,” I said. “I think.”
“ I don’t know. Seemed nice enough.”
“ How long ago did the flashing start?”
“ Six months back. Maybe. I can check.”
“ How long have he and his grandfather been giving singing lessons?”
He thought about it as we cruised at a good distance behind the kid. “Shit,” he said.
“ Six months ago?”
He nodded. “Seems about right.”
“ What’s his name?”
“ Charlie, I think.”
“ Why am I not surprised?”
“ And why isn’t he heading for the exit?” said Tony Hill.
“ Where does this road lead?”
“ Deeper into the park.”
“ Are there back exits?”
He shook his head. “None that we allow visitors to use.”
“ You guys run a tight ship.”
“ The park is five hundred and thirty-three acres. We have to run a tight ship.”
“ That’s a lot of old people,” I said.
“ And a lot of visitors.”
The vehicle, a Volkswagen something-or-other, turned right into what appeared to be another parking lot. The park was full of such parking lots. His vehicle slowed and turned towards us in one of the spots.
I drove slowly past. “Don’t look at him,” I said.
Tony Hill didn’t like it, but he looked forward, although I knew every fiber of his being wanted to turn and look.
“ He’s watching us,” I said.
“ How do you know?”
“ This isn’t my first car chase.”
“ Car chase?”
“ Slow-moving car chases count, too.”
I turned right down the next street, then turned into another parking lot. I slipped in next to a Dumpster. I ditched the lights, rolled down the windows and killed the engine.
“ What are we doing?”
“ We’re listening.”
“ Listening for what?”
“ Let’s see. Or hear.”
It was just past 9:00 p.m. and Leisure World was perfectly quiet. So quiet, in fact, that I was certain I could hear a car start up and pull away. Five minutes later, that’s exactly what happened. We couldn’t see him, but we could hear him.
“ He’s moving again.”
With the headlights still off, I pulled out of the parking lot and nudged my way slowly toward the street.
“ There,” said Tony Hill, pointing.
A pair of brake lights appeared in the far distance, just as the vehicle hung a right.
“ What’s over there?”
“ The amphitheater.”
“ Is there a concert going on?”
“ No, but there’s a play being performed. The old geezers are putting on The Grapes of Wrath.”
“ When’s it over?”
Joe Hill checked his cell. “Right about now.”