Or maybe Gus was waiting to find out if something was seriously wrong before bringing Shawn into it. Something medical, for instance. Maybe Gus had been slipping away all those times to see doctors and he’d come here to visit a specialist. If that was the case, Shawn had promised himself, if Gus led him to a medical building he’d back off and wait for Gus to give him the news when he was ready. And he’d do everything he could to make Gus’ life easier until that moment came.

By the time the train doors whooshed open Shawn had almost convinced himself that he should turn around and go straight back to Santa Barbara. If Gus needed a little privacy to deal with a medical crisis, Shawn certainly owed him that much. But since he’d been standing in the doorway when he reached that conclusion, he was pushed out to the platform by a surge of exiting passengers just in time to see Gus heading toward the escalator. He figured he might as well trail his friend for a block or two, if for no other reason than to see how good Gus was at spotting the tail.

He was appallingly bad. By the time they were halfway through the station, Shawn was considering jumping up and down and screaming Gus’ name, just to see if he’d notice that. Even when Shawn used the exit turnstile right next to his, Gus didn’t look around to see him. If Gus had simply inclined his head a few degrees while he was riding the steep escalator that brought him from the station up to the street, he would have spotted Shawn a dozen steps behind him. But he remained oblivious.

This, to Shawn, suggested strongly that he had indeed figured out the reason for Gus’ odd behavior. If you’ve traveled four hundred miles to ask a complete stranger whether you’re going to live or die, you’re probably not concerned with much of anything else.

That made Shawn glad he was following Gus. This way when he found the name of the mystery doctor Shawn would check up on him.