Within Striking Distance Read Online Free PDF

wasn’t really into it. Never got a good driver after Shanks quit.”
    “Who was Shanks?”
    “Young fella. Name of Hank but everyone called him Shanks because he was skinny as a rail. Looked like he was an up-and-comer but instead he up and quit.” He stabbed the air with his index finger. “Now I remember why Floyd kept to himself. He had a wife who used to light into him. Geez, she didn’t care who was around when she had a bone to pick. She traveled the circuit with him so he never got a break until the year the kid came along.” He laughed. “Guess ol’ Floyd found a better way than talking to take her mind off his faults.”
    So, Floyd and Lizzie Peters had a volatile relationship, Jake thought. Interesting.
    “Hey, that was in ’78, too,” Earl said. “Had to be. Everyone was talking about Shanks quitting and Shillington getting out and there was Floyd, showing off baby pictures like he didn’t have a care in the world. He didn’t worry. Hewas good enough to get a job anywhere. Just bad luck that he never signed on with a winner.”
    “It sounds as if he was pleased about the baby.”
    “Sure. Kept his wife happy and at home for the second half of the season.”
    The second half? That agreed with what Becky had told him, that she had been adopted during the summer. Jake wouldn’t expect Earl to have noticed that Floyd’s wife hadn’t appeared pregnant. That kind of detail wouldn’t have stuck in his mind because it wasn’t directly related to cars. Depending on Lizzie’s weight to begin with, it might have gone unnoticed anyway. “Do you remember when the baby arrived?”
    Earl pinched one end of his mustache and rubbed it between his fingers as he thought. “I don’t know exactly. We were working for different teams. I just remember him showing the pictures.”
    “Okay.”
    “Poor Floyd. I haven’t seen him around since the mid-eighties. Probably got a job that let him stay home with his family more, but I don’t know why he’d want to. Wonder if his wife nagged him to death…” Earl’s words trailed off as he looked past Jake’s shoulder. “Huh, she looks familiar.”
    Jake planted the tip of his cane and half pivoted so he could scan the crowd. The public area of the garage was rapidly filling with fans after autographs and pictures. No one appeared to be paying any attention to the two of them. “Who do you mean?”
    “Over near the doorway. That girl in the blue No. 414 shirt. She reminds me of somebody.”
    Even before Earl had finished the description, Jake had spotted her. Becky Peters was as easy to notice in a busy garage as in a sun-filled park or a store window. She wasn’t glammed up today—she wore sneakers and baggy cargo pants, and her hair was stuffed beneath a wide-brimmedstraw hat. Instead of neon pink, she was wearing a light blue T-shirt with white numbers on the front.
    Kent Grosso, Gina’s twin, drove the No. 414 car. His colors were blue and white. Becky was obviously making a statement. Was it confidence, or hope?
    Jake wasn’t comfortable with either possibility. Nothing he’d learned so far had ruled Becky out as Gina. In fact, the evidence tended to support her claim, but he was a long way from proving anything.
    He turned back to Earl. “You’ve probably seen her picture. She’s a model.”
    “Huh. Guess that explains it. Coulda sworn for a second there that I knew her.”
    Jake snorted. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had experienced that phenomenon. “Believe me, I know what you mean. Earl, could you give me the names of some of the guys who worked with Floyd Peters on Shillington’s team?”
    Earl gave him three names, then launched into a rambling tale of their particular talents and their subsequent employers. Jake jotted down the pertinent bits in his notebook. One of the men was currently with Matheson Racing and should be here today. Though he was grateful for the information, he found himself eager for Earl to finish. Not