Run into Trouble

RUN INTO TROUBLE

    by

    Alan Cook

    SMASHWORDS EDITION

    “Running and fiction don’t often mix well, typically because few authors who have attempted the trick have been able to capture the authentic nuances of training and racing. But author Alan Cook has pulled it off with Run into Trouble …”
    —Peter Rosato for Running Times Magazine

    “The main characters are likable, and the story is compelling. As the runners close in on the end of the race, pages turned faster…”
    —Sherry Benec

    “The plot is most unusual—a thriller set in a race from the San Diego coast all the way to San Francisco. Woven in among the action and intrigue are wonderfully described settings of the California coast.”
    —Marilyn Meredith for American Authors Association

    PUBLISHED BY:
    Alan Cook on Smashwords
    Run into Trouble
    Copyright © 2009 by Alan L. Cook.

    All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

    Smashwords Edition License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

    ALSO BY ALAN COOK

    Gary Blanchard Mysteries:
    Honeymoon for Three
    The Hayloft: a 1950s mystery
    California Mystery:
    Hotline to Murder
    Lillian Morgan mysteries:
    Catch a Falling Knife
    Thirteen Diamonds
    Other fiction:
    Walking to Denver
    Nonfiction:
    Walking the World: Memories and Adventures
    History:
    Freedom’s Light: Quotations from History’s Champions of Freedom
    Poetry:
    The Saga of Bill the Hermit

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    I appreciate the assistance of my running consultants, Mike, Phil, and Brian, who provided me with information and anecdotes about running. Mike read a draft copy of the book and made good suggestions. Any errors, of course, are mine.

    DEDICATION

    To Andy, a freedom fighter

    CHAPTER 1
    They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
    — Benjamin Franklin
    If the Communists took over, I’d go to them and say, “What do you want me to do?”
    — Young woman at a party in the Hollywood Hills, December 1961
    ***
    The taxi driver suddenly swore, causing Drake to snap out of his reverie. He glanced at the back of the head in front of him. The man appeared to be looking in the rearview mirror. Drake spun around in the backseat, and an identical expletive escaped his lips. A truck was overtaking them at a high rate of speed. It couldn’t pass them on the narrow road without crossing into the opposing lane of traffic, and the driver apparently had no intention of doing that.
    “Step on it.”
    Drake’s order came too late. He instinctively ducked his head an instant before the collision, which drove his face into the thinly padded seat back. The noise sounded like an exploding bomb, and he thought he was back in the army.
    Then all was silent. Drake wondered whether he was dead, as he always did after a similar occurrence. He heard a noise. The engine of the truck was revving. He raised his head in time to see the truck backing up. Was the driver planning to hit them again? Probably not. He would have to drive into the field where the taxi had landed after being momentarily airborne. The truck swerved onto a side road. It skidded to a stop and then lurched forward, accelerating back toward Interstate 5.
    The rear end of the taxi had telescoped, and Drake realized that a few