In Plain Sight

Nash has an old favorite movie about a detective who, while investigating a murder, falls in love with the victim.Of course, this movie was made in Hollywood, and it was called "The Secret History of Lola". The end of the movie revealed the key point of the case. It turned out that everyone misidentified the victim's identity, so the detective and Laura lived happily together.

Laura lives in a luxurious and exquisite Hollywood villa.Glenn lived in a mahogany and stone house on Riverdale Road. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms seemed too much for a man living alone.

"He got a good discount when he bought the house," said Officer Walker, holding the key and letting Nash in.

It's a nice house with wood floors, skylights, granite counters and a wood-burning stove.The living facilities are all modern, and you can see the undulating scenery of the mountains from the balcony of the bedroom.

The dishes from Nash and Glenn's breakfast were still piled in the sink.Nash's toothbrush was left on the glass shelf in the master bathroom, and he stared at it for a long time; he couldn't remember where he left it before.When anyone packs their luggage, isn't the toothbrush the first thing to pack?

"We shouldn't have come," Walker said after him.

"It's not a crime scene," Nash replied, though he knew exactly why they shouldn't be in.

Why are they coming back? Nash isn't quite sure, for a final farewell?Probably not.Since he wasn't going, he had decided to fly to Salt Lake City and drive to Tremonton from there.He can start with Glenn's abandoned car and continue his investigation.

He heard the sound of Walker opening and closing the cabinet door in the bedroom, and Nash looked at his face in the mirror. He looked like a ghost, and it really happened.His complexion, like everyone who had the same experience with him, was terrible.

Whoever hurt you, I will find him and kill him.

He thought of it with a cruel smile on his mouth.

A chilling laugh.

"We should get rid of these." Officer Walker reappeared behind him, holding a stack of "Coming Out" magazines.

"Keep it."

"Think about his mother."

If Nash couldn't help laughing, he couldn't stop.He mocked, "Officer Walker, you don't even have this bit of common sense, do you? Don't ruin the scene."

Walker shot back: "So you want to keep your toothbrush?"

Nash looked at his toothbrush, its white handle streaked with harmless green.His DNA is on every toothbrush bristle. "You're fucking right, I'm just going to keep my toothbrush."

Walker dropped "You idiot" and went back into the bedroom.

He's probably right.

Nash went back to the bedroom.The beds were neatly made and there was a painting of Bear Lake hanging on the back wall.He helped Glenn make the bed once, and without closing his eyes, Nash could see himself and Glenn lying on the bed, smiling and gazing at each other.He could still feel Glenn's touch, hear his whispers, remember the taste of his lips, the smell of his hair.

One thing that always struck him about The Secret History of Lola was how fragile dead people are, how incapable of protecting their secrets.This is a fact.There were no secrets in murder investigations, and Glenn should know that.But what's so embarrassing about Glenn?He is gay.He is lonely.He has dry skin.That's all there is to it.Well, there's his love of vinegar-and-salt chips, his good luck fishing every time, and his obsession with Linda Rostad.

Nash actually knew nothing about Glenn.No idea about his favorite food, song, movie, color...is he a Democrat or a Republican?Is he religious?Will he want kids?Does he prefer to sleep on the left or right side of the bed?Does he shave before or after the bath?After all, aren't these things all equally important?If you want the relationship to work and need the relationship to work, can't you work hard to make it work?

He kept thinking about the details.In fact, in the end, didn't he know all the important things?Didn't he know enough about Glenn?

Nash was agonized by the fact that it was too late when he realized that Glenn was "the one" in his life.He still didn't know anything about Glenn this past week, except that he was straight, smart, and hard working.Every day, Glenn does his best to make the world a better place.But who doesn't know these things?

What more could you ask of a man?

Well, to be fair, unlike the detective in Lola's Secret History, Nash spends enough time with Glenn that he realizes that Glenn's company makes him more relaxed and calmer than anyone has ever given He feels that way.Glenn can make him laugh, Glenn can make his heart ache, and Glenn can make scrambled eggs better than anyone in the world.

"We should go," Walker called from the lobby.

A row of framed pictures hangs on the wall in the hallway.There's a wedding photo of a newlywed couple from the 60s, a group photo of skinny blond boys in cowboy hats and police badges, and a photo of Glenn in police uniform, looking young and serious back then.

"We should go, Agent West." Downstairs, Walker yelled again. "You may not care about your job, but I fucking do."

He watched Glenn walk up to him. "So it's over? What's next? What are your plans?"

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

"Nothing."

"Then I guess I'll have to catch a flight."

Walker looked relieved.

Before heading out, Nash paused in front of another photo of a pale blue lake surrounded by pine trees. "Is this Bear Lake?"

"Yes."

"What is this place?"

"On the lake."

"I know, I mean where is the lake?"

"There is no specific direction."

"What do you mean?" Nash asked impatiently. "This is a place, there must be a latitude and longitude. How could there be no specific direction?"

Walker blushed. "I mean, this place in the photo can be anywhere around Bear Lake." Feeling Nash's distrustful eyes, he repeated. "Everywhere is possible. The area of ​​the lake is more than [-] square kilometers, and many places look the same."

Nash nodded. To Walker, there may be no difference, but the three photos are all the same trees, mountains and lakes?Even if it wasn't Ansel Adams, he would have seen it, the theme was too obvious.

① Ansel Adams is a famous American landscape photographer.

Walker asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to take you to Pocatello Airport?"

"I rented a car and went to the airport by myself."

"Well, no offense meant, but it doesn't seem like a good thing to leave you at the airport."

"It's okay, I don't care."

After thinking about it, Walker stretched out his hand.Nash hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand and shook it back.

***

He spotted the place near dusk.

Nash's deduction is correct. If there are multiple professional photography works at this location by Bear Lake, then this place must have been photographed many times, and there must be a way to get there.There was a coffee shop next to the hotel where Nash lived, and he found some beautiful postcards in it. The trees, mountains and lake scenes in it were exactly the same as Glenn's photos.This place is called Shoshone Point.

Why the Shoshone Point was important to Glenn, Nash didn't know.Maybe it's a good fishing spot, or maybe Glenn likes the scenery.The significance of the place was another mystery, but Nash had no doubt that Shoshone Point was one of Glenn's favorite places.

He thought it might have been like this on the day of the incident: After Glenn said goodbye to him at the airport, he felt similar to Nash, as if he had made a huge mistake.So Glenn spent the hours before work driving to the lake, to a place that meant a lot to him.Not to go fishing, not to commit suicide, just to clear my mind before going to work.Because it fits with Glenn's way of thinking, that's how he approaches problems.

Then, at Shoshone Point, on the shore of Bear Lake, something very, very nasty happened to Glenn.

Whatever it was, it ended up being Glenn's SUV in Tremonton, Utah.Tremonton happens to have the nearest bus station to Bear Lake, and the distance between the two places is only two hours.It can't be a coincidence.

Nash parked the rental car next to the sand and got out.The bitter air smelled of pine, wet grass, and fish.

The water in the lake is very blue, which is very suitable for the name Caribbean Beach in the Rocky Mountains.Bear Lake is a popular tourist attraction in summer, but it's April, and despite the lake's tropical waters, the blustery shores look cold and barren.The small houses and log cabins in the distance looked as if they had not been lived in for a long time. There were no lights in the windows and no smoke from the chimneys.No one was fishing at the lake, and there were no other cars nearby.

At least in Nash's view, there is no sign of life here.

He raised his hands to cover his eyes, looked at the dazzling sun, and tried to find the hovering birds. The appearance of birds meant that there must be dead things nearby.But the cobalt blue sky was nothing but billowing patches of cloud.He fought a cold war.The wind blows off the lake like a knife, and it was snowing here just a few weeks ago.

He began to walk slowly over the uneven ground, looking for tire marks in the wet soil.

Beside a pile of stones, he found scattered broken bones, and his heart skipped a beat.But the bones are old and too small for human skeletons.But they still remind Nash of a harsh reality: The place is home to a lot of wildlife, from caribou, to mules, to wolves and grizzlies.

"Glenn?" Nash yelled.His voice was a little cautious and full of uncertainty, which made him inexplicably angry.He called out louder, "Glenn?"

His voice echoed in the surrounding mountains, and finally disappeared on the grassy shore of the lake.

Nash walked down the lakeshore, continuing to search carefully for traces of tires in the weeds and moss-covered paths.

According to local legend, there is a creature living under the blue water of the lake, which is called the Bear Lake Monster.If Glenn disappeared because of an encounter with a water monster, it sounds reasonable.

But it's not right to go around hunting around for useless information just to justify one thing.There is a difference between looking for patterns in events and looking for meaning behind them, just as even if a plausible explanation has been offered, it still does not prove that this is the cause.

"Glenn?" Nash yelled.The silent pine forests and mountains seem to swallow all sound.Nash's stubborn temper came up, and he yelled again: "Glenn?"

After walking a little further down, he found the dried tire marks of the SUV next to a fallen tree.Nash squatted down, carefully studying the dry soil and the interlaced cracks on it like a blind man touching Braille.The end of the journey.These traces all prove that this is the place where Glenn stayed for the last time.He could tell where the SUV had parked and reversed because there was a long, wide arc there.The car pressed the previous mark and drove towards the distant mountains.

And avoid all the main roads.

Excitement and fear made Nash's heart beat violently.

He stood up and ran slowly down the shore, scanning the edge of the lake and the rugged, grass-covered slopes and rocks.

He came to a camping site, surrounded by blackened stones, with a lot of scorched driftwood in the middle.Empty beer cans are scattered on the ground, and there are many obliterated footprints around it.

"Glenn?"

Nash heard a faint cry, and he turned his head to search the empty hillside, but there was no movement.Nash pricked up his ears carefully, for fear of mistaking the bird call or his own echo for Glenn's response.

He tried again, but the sound was stuck in his throat, and his pronunciation was more like a sob.Even so, he almost missed the distant response.

He climbed back onto the lake shore, then up the grassy hillside until he could overlook a shallow ravine.

Lying motionless on a grassy hillside, a man in blue jeans and a blue hoodie, with black hair soaked in blood, holds a gun.His bearded face was turned upward, as if looking at dark clouds rolling overhead, but his eyes were closed.

Nash sprinted down the hill, half-running and half-sliding, to the side of the supine man.

His voice trembled. "Glenn?"

Glenn opened his bloodshot eyes, their sockets flushed red.At first, he just looked at the sky blankly, and then a flash of anger flashed in his eyes.He moved his chapped lips: "Nash?"

"It's me, Glenn."

"This is really...a...happy...surprise." Glenn said slowly, enduring the pain.

"Where did you hurt?" Nash's hands trembled, he was careful not to touch Glenn's dislocated shoulder, broken arm, and split—"rib!" Glenn took a painful breath.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry it took me so long to find you. I'm sorry. How bad is your injury?" The question was so stupid that Nash was already a little incoherent.

Glenn gasped: "It's not... that serious. Otherwise... I'm... dead now."

Nash took off his jacket and carefully covered Glenn, then took the gun from his hand.He took out his cell phone, but there was no signal.Nash suppressed his anger and cursed in a low voice. "I'll be right back, I won't go far."

Glenn closed his eyes and moved his pale lips.

Nash climbed back to the stone slope in a few steps until he walked to the place where there was a signal.He called an ambulance and described Glenn's terrible condition in detail: In addition to the ribs, shoulder and arm wounds, his head was also injured; there were shocks, sunburns, dehydration... But these injuries did not A piece of good news comparable to "Finding Glenn."

Glenn Harlow is still alive.

"They'll be here soon, and the ambulance personnel will be there soon. Hold on, it will only take half an hour at most." Nash quickly ran back to Glenn's side. Glenn's eyelashes trembled, although he didn't open his eyes.

He murmured, "I hope you're real..." The rest of the words fell silent.

"I'm serious, I'm not going anywhere."

Glenn's mouth tightened.

"Don't sleep," Nash said anxiously, "Glenn, stay awake, your head hurts."

Glenn started laughing, then yelled "fuck" in pain.

Nash also laughed, although his voice was trembling: "I thought you were dead."

Glenn shook his head slightly.

Nash didn't know what to do, so he bent down, trying to hug Glenn without moving, to warm him.Glenn smelled of blood and sweat, as well as a faint "Old Spice" smell.His cheekbones were prominent, his complexion was gray, and his hair was clotted with blood.

"Glenn," Nash called softly, not because he wanted to talk to him, but because he wanted to call his name... Glenn.Glenn's miracle.He's still here, still alive, still Glenn.

Glenn's pale lips were slightly raised, and his voice was so soft that he could hardly hear him: "Nash, you...were crying."

Nash rubbed his face on his shoulder indiscriminately: "Yeah. Why are you holding a gun?"

Glenn's face wrinkled: "I want to... lure... the ranger... over here."

"What the hell happened? We all thought—" No, maybe he should wait to tell Glenn these things until he's recovered.

Glenn opened his eyes and frowned.His voice was a little louder: "I parked the car by the lake. There's a bunch of... brats messing around there. I think I'd better... stop them." He narrowed his eyes, and his eyes seemed to pass through Nash's eyes. Shoulder. "I kind of... can't remember. Some bastard must have hit me with a rock, or something."

"Thank God."

Glenn's eyes widened and he said weakly, "Yeah. Count me...luck."

Nash laughed: "I mean thank God nothing worse happened." What happened to Glenn wasn't as bad as they thought.He was just struck by the impermanence of life.He was neither implicated maliciously nor involved in any conspiracy, nor was he intentionally hurt.No reason could explain what happened to him.It can only be said that everything is fate.

But...they are still reunited here, fighting against fate together.Maybe Nash's heart softened as he got older.He couldn't help thinking that there must be something to his and Glenn's rebellion against fate.Maybe this is the way fate is supposed to go.Maybe the world wants to tell him something, but he has to go through the tests of impermanence in life to find the true meaning contained in it.

He pressed his face against Glenn's cold cheek, kissing Glenn's eyelashes, nose and mouth tenderly.

"That's great..." Glenn took a breath, "I thought you left, Nash."

"I am back."

Glenn nodded, he took a careful, shallow breath: "Why do you want to come back?"

Good question to ask, right?Nash cared about Glenn.When he thought Glenn might be dead, he came back across the country to find him.He dropped everything, even risking losing his job, which was once more important than anything else.But in the week before Glenn disappeared, such a sacrifice to one person seemed impossible, even crazy, to Nash.But, is it really crazy to try to find ways to be with the one you love?

He felt that the only madness was that it took him so long to see his true heart.

"You know why." Nash said softly.

Nash's arms blocked the sun, casting Glenn's face in shadow, and he saw tears glistening on Glenn's eyelashes. "Yes," Glenn said softly, "I know."

-The End-