CHAPTER NINETEEN! WITH HIS careful slow driving, Carter earned more than a few evil looks from his fellow motorists, but the Dart held together. He’d had a late start and made only gradual progress, so he didn’t attempt the trek all in one day. Instead he checked into a hotel in Ashland and spent a good part of the evening floating over the Rogue Valley. The view here was different from Yosemite, which was lit at night almost entirely by moon and stars, and different from San Francisco with its quilt of sparkling lights. He liked it nonetheless. But as the hour grew late, he settled into his recumbent body and slept. He arrived in Portland the following midafternoon and easily found John’s duplex. He had to bite his lip, though, as he parked in front of the little yellow building and looked at the lace-curtained windows. It hurt knowing that John wasn’t inside and never would be again. The pain didn’t subside after Carter fumbled open the locks and dragged in his luggage.
