Excerpt: Voynich Key

He waited another minute, getting the phone just as the first ring of the fourth try began. Rubbing his forehead, lifting the phone to speak and listen, Warren remained in a sleep-deprived fog, taking some time to form his muttered response. “Hhhhrumh. Oh. Yeah, this is Warren. Who’s…?”
He yawned, inhaling deep and drawing some strength to his voice. “God, it’s early. Who’s calling?”
“Warren! FINALLY! Sorry for waking you man but I'm in trouble, need your help, I need to see you right away, you need to see what I've got right away oh man...”
Warren scowled, keeping his eyes shut rather than opening them. “Wait, whoa, slow down. I need a name.”
“It's me! Troy Viator! Dude, wake up!”
Warren slid his free hand up to his forehead to rub it. “Ooh. Didn’t recognize the… Ah, Troy, it’s late. You should know that, we’re in the same time zone. What are you doing calling from New York? Can’t this wait?”
“I'm not in New York I'm here I'm here in Florida, dude you gotta come here I got something...”
Warren closed both eyes, focusing on the words. “Okay, I take it this can’t wait. But still, can’t you get someone there?”
“I'm here, Warren! I'm IN FLORIDA! I'm trying to get to you in Gainesville but dammit I need you...”
“You’re not in New York? What?”
“I am on the road to Gainesville! DUDE WAKE UP!”
Warren blinked at that. “You were driving to Gainesville? Now? Wow, that’s… You are stopping along the way to get some sleep, right? That’s almost a full day’s drive. And talk slow, I’m still sleeping.”
“I am driving to you, I am heading to Gainesville, I've found something you need to see, something I can't describe over the phone. It is something you need to see in person. But I got stuck here in Waldo, and I need you to drive up here and help me out.”
“You’re in Waldo.” He blinked, and kept his eyes slightly open. “Oh, let me guess. You ran into the speed trap.”
Troy's voice went flat. “Yes. I did.”
Warren tried laughing, but could muster only a giggle. “Oh, man, don’t you carry Triple-A? And besides, even you should know about that place. It’s the second most infamous speed trap on the planet, just right behind the whole state of Virginia…”
“I'm a hurry dammit!” Troy’s voice went back to quick, panicky chattering. “So I didn't see the speeding signs drop from 55 to 30! Listen man, I am in serious trouble up here!”
Warren yawned. “Okay, okay. So you were in a hurry to get here. Fine. Look, just take the ticket and pay the bill and just remember to…”
“Screw the ticket! They threw me in jail! Get up here and get me out!”
Warren woke up with a scowl. “Wait. You’re in jail?”
“YES!” Troy's voice could have been heard from three counties away. “Just please get up here...”
Warren interrupted, and with an arching of his right eyebrow asked, “Just how fast did they clock you?”
Troy mentioned a ridiculously high number.
Warren’s eyes widened, the sudden rage stirring him from his half-sleep. “YOU WERE… YOU DROVE… THROUGH A SPEED TRAP??? YOU TWISTED SON OF A… NO WONDER THEY THREW YOU JAIL!!! DAMMIT! AND YOU CALLED ME FOR THAT??? STAY THERE AND ROT!”
Warren slammed the phone down, not worrying about any damage done to it. He stood for a full minute, growling. “Son of a…” he muttered, letting the anger cool.
He stumbled back to the bedroom, reaching his arms out in the darkness to make sure he didn’t trip over anything in the dark. He found his way to the bed, visible from the dim streetlight filtering through the window blinds. A groaning lump on the far side of the bed kept muttering something along the lines of “need sleep” and “want sleep.”
“Kim,” Warren half-whispered, “Damn hon, sorry about that, can you get back to sleep okay?”
The shape pushed the sheets back enough to expose a woman’s face to the dark room. There wasn’t enough light to spell out features other than a slim face and tussled shoulder-length hair. Kim rolled from her side onto her back, sliding the bed sheet about her, trying to keep warm. “Mmmm. Warren, tell me that’s it for phone calls tonight.”
Warren remained standing, closing his eyes in an effort to encourage sleepiness. “Yeah. I think so. Quiet now.”
“Gods. Who was it calling this late anyway?”
“It was Troy. Troy Viator on the phone.”
“Hmmm. Wait. That librarian friend of yours, from,” she paused a moment, “oh wait, New York, right?”
“Yeah, actually I’m not sure if he’s still working there now, but yeah that was him on the phone.”
“What did he want?”
“A lawyer, I think.”
“Oh.” Kim took a minute to form her next thought. “Did you get him one?”
“No.”
“Mmmkay,” she mumbled, and then rolled back to her side of the bed to sleep the sleep of the just.
Warren crawled into bed. He tried sleeping the sleep of the just for about two hours, but after constant stirring and pondering, he groaned, slid out of bed, and stumbled to the bathroom. He would need a shower and quick breakfast before heading up the road to rescue Troy.