Authors: Brett Battles

Tags: #Conspiracies, #Suspense, #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction, #Aircraft accidents, #Thrillers, #Television Camera Operators, #General

No Return (40 page)

“That was Dori’s doing, I think. He saw signs that someone was nosing around the mine on several different occasions. He was afraid the body would be discovered. He asked me to help him. But … but I chickened out. I’m so sorry, Wes. I should have been there. Maybe if I was, he’d still be alive.”

Wes shook his head. “No. What would have happened is that Dori would have realized you were involved, too, and you would have been killed years ago.”

Lars gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”

They talked for a few more minutes, then the door opened and Anna came in.

“Sorry,” she said when she saw Lars. “You guys need a little time?”

“No,” Lars said. “Not at all. I need to leave, anyway. Got to drive back up this afternoon.” He looked at Wes. “Let’s not let it go another seventeen years.”

Wes shook his hand. “Yeah. Let’s not.”

Lars gave Anna a hug and then was gone.

Alone with Anna again, Wes felt that maybe, just maybe, life was going to be okay.

“Move in with me,” he said, knowing it was partially the drugs talking, but also knowing it was the truth.

She looked around. “This room isn’t big enough for both of us.”

“Very funny.” He shut his eyes for a moment, then popped them open as he realized he’d started to drift off. “I’m … serious.”

She leaned over and kissed him. “I know you are. Now sleep. I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled, not sure if she’d just said yes, but knowing even if she hadn’t, she’d get there.

As soon as his eyes shut, an image flashed in his mind. Trees and the coast and Anna’s arms wrapped around his waist as they rode on his father’s old motorcycle.

The bike, his father, the trees …

… A memory. No, not so much a memory as a promise unable to be fulfilled. A trip his father was going to take him on. A camping trip on motorcycles to Redwood National Park near the California-Oregon border. A trip that had never happened.

As sleep began to overtake him, he knew that as soon as he was out, he and Anna would take that trip.

For his father.

And for himself.

It would be the right thing to do.

There are two people
I’d like to dedicate this novel to—
Gunnar, the best friend the teenage me
could have ever had,
and Lieutenant Commander Theodore Faller,
a true hero

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE SAYING IS: YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN
. Well, I hope I’ve proved that wrong. While I’ve manipulated and added things to aid in the telling of this story, Ridgecrest and China Lake are very real places, ones that have played important parts in my life. I won’t spell out what’s real and what I’ve invented (though those who have lived there will easily pick those out). The one exception I will say is that the Drama Rocks do exist, though if they are still called that these days I have no idea. And, with apologies to many old friends, I’ve also taken the liberty of moving them several miles to the east.

There are several people whose help has been invaluable in the writing of
No Return
. My friend and fellow novelist Bill Cameron’s comments and suggestions were invaluable, as was the support of Robert Gregory Browne, Sophie Littlefield, Tasha Alexander, and Tim Hallinan. Which reminds me, a big thank-you to the folks at the Novel Café for the food, the table, and the friendly smiles.

A big thank-you, also, to childhood friend and retired Naval Commander Richard Evert, and two other friends from those early days, Ted Lemon and Karen Mendonca. Motorcycle tips came from Chris Franklin (thanks, Chris!), but any mistakes I’ve made would be mine alone. Thank you to Sue Ann Jaffarian for pointing me toward Jonathan Hayes on drug matters, and to Jonathan for helping me find what I needed … not for me personally, but for the story.

Finally, stories are often sparked by something an author has heard or experienced. In August of 1979, Lieutenant Commander Theodore Faller had just taken off from China Lake in a QF-86 Sabre when his engine failed. Below him were the homes and businesses of Ridgecrest. Fighting with his controls, he managed to crash land in an empty field just beyond the fence of an elementary school that now bears his name. While he survived the crash, he did not survive the fire that consumed the plane once he was on the ground.

I remember the smoke that day, rising above the town, me and my friends wondering what had happened. The story came out in the days that followed, and we all knew that Lieutenant Commander Faller died a hero.

His story has stayed with me all these years, and my intention in using a similar event in
No Return
is intended as a way for me to honor what he did so many years ago.