Pike Point 1975

By Mark Fenton

Episode One

Chet was doing 72mph in a 1750cc dual shaft Spider Veloce. The top was down. Love Will Keep Us Together played on the radio.

He reached over and turned it off. Ada reached over and turned it back on. Chet knew he’d lose the radio-dial battle, so he opted to eclipse the song by discussing it.

I’m curious to know why someone with your discerning taste would want to endure that for the 50^th time.

Let’s just say I’m intrigued by how poorly it’s understood.

Explain.

Well for a start, have you noticed that it’s not a duet? Even though that’s what everyone calls it.

Two musicians. That makes it a duet in my book.

No. That makes it a duo. A duet is when two people sing a song together.

It’s just her singing. But he’s got all that equipment.                       

I know. You’d think he was on the bridge of a cruise ship for all the technology he’s hiding behind. Particularly since he only plays eight chords.

Exactly eight?

B flat. D minor—D minor 7 with a flattened 5^th if you want to be precise. G7. B flat minor with an augmented—

Alright alright. So he has a warehouse of gear to produce music you can reverse-engineer in your sleep. Which means?

Which means he’s overcompensating. The truth is he’s terrified.

Of what?

Her. Have you watched how he twitches from machine to machine? I’ve never seen a worse case of the fantods.

I think I get it from context but I’m making a mental note to look up fantods. And why does he have them?

Well, we’re only one line past the arguable proposition that love keeps people together and already Tennille is saying ‘You have no idea what you’re in for if you even think of looking at another woman.’ In the unlikely event that the Captain can tear himself away from the dashboard long enough to do that.

Should it scare me that you’ve been thinking about Love Will Keep Us Together this deeply?

The landscape doesn’t offer much to ponder.

Chet turned into a Texaco and pulled up to the pump.

What are you doing? We have two thirds of a tank.

Chet switched off the radio as the attendant approached.

Yes sir?

Could you just check the oil?

Chet’s eyes were on the rear-view mirror as the young man wiped the stick and walked it over to him. From behind her Tiffany sunglasses Ada remained completely still but watched closely.

It looks fine, sir.

Thanks. I appreciate your trouble. It’s a sensitive engine and I forgot to check before I headed out. Actually. Since I’m here. Why don’t you top up the gas?    

When the attendant had set the pump going and walked over to another customer Chet leaned closer to Ada and spoke softly.

There was a green Omega behind us.

I didn’t see it.

That’s the point. It was 300 yards back. The problem is it’s been 300 yards back and coming in and out of view for the last two hours.

It’s a long highway without a lot of turnoffs.

Maybe. But I don’t like it.

Where’s the car now?

Passed when he was showing me the stick.

The attendant returned, removed the pump, and brought over the knuckle-buster.

That’ll be $3.17.

Ada retrieved a credit card from her purse and handed it to him. He swiped it and handed the card back with the carbon.

Chet drove out of the station and turned back the direction they’d come from.

What are we doing?

I’ve got an idea.

He turned north onto a gravel sideroad. Half a mile up he pulled over.

Hand me the map.

Map?

It’s a tool drivers use to navigate. In the glove box.

Ada opened the glove box, found the map, and handed it to him. When he unfolded it the intersections of the rectangles were ragged and torn and made white crosses in the afternoon sun.

Right. We can get to the north routing this way. It’ll take a while, but it’s not like we have a deadline.

Chet refolded the map into the small portion he needed and held it vertically at eye-level just below the rear-view mirror so as not to miss the turns. At one point a thresher approached from the opposite direction and it took minutes for the two vehicles to negotiate a way past each other. The road evened out and they resumed speed.

You know this is sandblasting the paintjob, which I doubt any bodyshop in this country can match.

The paintjob of a vehicle that we shouldn’t be driving. It might as well have “getaway car” painted on the hood. We could sell it tomorrow. It’s in your name.

Ada shook her head.

He’s refinanced it. Any dealer who sees a car like this will run a lien check.  It would circle back to him in no time.

Why would he refinance it? He’s a multimillionaire.

That’s how people like Miller operate. He owns nothing. The whole point of accumulating capital is so you have leverage to accumulate more capital. 

That’s like living in a house of cards.

A very comfortable house of cards.

In another 20 minutes they turned west onto the highway. Ten minutes after that Chet turned into the parking lot of the Pike Point Motor Hotel. Only three cars were parked on the side facing the highway, making the VACANCY sign look desperate. Ada tried to avoid seeing the motel at all and turned to Chet.

You’ve got to be kidding.

Last night we stayed in a five-star hotel and got followed.

Might have gotten followed.

The motel was built with a light brick gone yellow with age. Each room had two transom windows that opened outward from the bottom edge, one above the other, despite the fact that air-conditioning units penetrated through the brick above and to the left of each door. Cheaper not to run them if the rooms aren’t occupied, Ada guessed.

It was really hot now. You noticed it when the car stopped moving. Chet was taking a while and Ada could hear his voice and a young woman’s but couldn’t make out the words. When he came out he had the key to Unit 17 and looked satisfied.

All good?

Better than bad.          

He started the car, drove out from the office bay, and parked it between two dumpsters behind the motel.

Why are we parking here?

I told her I have an expensive car and it’s been dinged way too many times by late night guests coming home from the bar. And I slipped her a five.

You’re really worried that someone’s following us?

If you’re always careful you don’t have to worry.

Chet grabbed the case with his typewriter but left his suitcase and closed the trunk before she could get hers.

I’ll come back for them if the place is acceptable. I do have standards.

They went back around the west end of the building, past the office, and along the front walkway to Unit 17. When they entered Ada’s critique was instantaneous.

Honestly Chet, these drapes must have been chosen from thousands to fight with the florals of the wallpaper.

Mm. My guess is they’ll go the full 15 rounds and the drapes will win by a decision.  

Ada tried the air-conditioner but nothing happened. She turned to Chet, who had already unpacked the typewriter and was rolling in an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper.

Is there a trick to these things?

The trick is that they never work.      

Ada proceeded to the closet and discovered that the rod was bare.

I’m new to this Chet. Is there some reason they don’t trust the guests with hangars?

I wouldn’t overthink it.

At this point it occurred to Ada that she might be better off just leaving her bags in the car, for the few hours they’d be here. She showered and came out of the bathroom wrapped in two towels. Chet didn’t even look up at her. He was madly typing fresh pages of Rendezvous with a Specialist, the latest in his Nurse Mavis series.  

This time Mavis had fallen for an obstetrician possessed by a genius for saving premature babies. Cerebral, big-hearted, and driven, Dr. Rockton didn’t just battle pathology, he battled a system that denied children of the underprivileged the care that only he could provide. At this very moment Chet’s rapid keystrokes landed on two such children newly admitted to his ward, though how Dr. Rockton had inclined so exclusive a hospital towards universal health care was left conspicuously vague. Mavis still addressed him as Dr. Rockton, but in her daydreams she breathily spoke his first name: Lambert.

Ada napped until the heat woke her, at which point she turned on the TV. The vertical hold was gone and the picture rolled intermittently on the Captain and Tennille performing Love Will Keep Us Together. She turned the TV off and went back to sleep.

A high-pitched shriek woke her up. A man and a woman outside, arguing. The woman shouted something about the man being married. The conflict ended and prairie silence returned.

Ada wanted to write a letter to her friend Heidi, but the bag with her stationary was still in the trunk of the Alfa Romeo. She put on the clothes she’d been wearing and went outside but then remembered where the car was parked. She wasn’t going to walk around the hotel to the dumpsters in this heat, so she turned around and went back into the room and took a red pen and typing paper from Chet’s stash and lay back on the bed and started on the letter.

She didn’t get far. Chet was typing even faster now, and she put down the pen and paper and just watched him work. The novels were terrible, but Chet wrote with commitment, delivered on time, and got paid well. Seeing her father work himself to death for nothing had taught Ada how hard it is to make money, and as she grew older the ability came to be what she admired most in a man. Sure, the money Chet made was nothing close to what Miller made. But it was a lot. And Chet didn’t do it by buying and selling the work of other people. He made something with his own brain, his own hands, his own personality. And was compensated well for it. She got up from the bed, walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

He said what he always said when she did that.

Another ten minutes.

I’ll be waiting.

When Chet came to bed and woke her up it was already dark.

*        *        *

She’d lost them.

That was the risk of following at such a distance. She speeded up, but after five minutes it was obvious they’d left the highway.

Did it mean they were on to her?

Gloria did a U-Turn, drove to the Texaco five miles back, and had the attendant top up the tank. When he was done she gave him $2.00 out of her purse, told him to keep the change, and showed him the photos.

They’re driving an Alfa Romeo convertible. Tangerine orange.

Sports car?

Right.

Yeah. They were just here.

How just.

Maybe 10 minutes.

Do you know which way they went?

Couldn’t say. I had another customer.

It didn’t matter. It was obvious what had happened. They either turned onto a side road or headed back the opposite way.

Gloria went back the way she’d come, repassed the fork, used the first overpass to do a 180, and took the north exit this time.

She wasn’t sure that they’d faked her out, but she did know she wasn’t going to catch them today. The trip plan was likely to be as random as everything else in their lives.

Five-thirty and Gloria had been driving since six this morning. It was an absolute fluke she’d spotted them three hours ago. She reminded herself that losing them was balanced by having found them so quickly in the first place. At least she was close.

Gloria was amazed that they hadn’t dumped the car, which blended into the dustbowl prairie about as well as a Bengal tiger would have. Good to know she wasn’t dealing with the shrewdest fugitives.

She pulled into a place called the Pike Point Motor Hotel, checked in, and got the key for Unit 18. It was on the highway-side but she parked on the opposite side of the building so her car wouldn’t be seen by anyone driving by. She grabbed her bag, walked around the east end of motel to her room, unlocked it, threw her bag inside, relocked it, and walked to Tuck’s Tap and Grill 50 yards up from the motel.

She sat at the bar and ordered a tequila straight up with a Michelob chaser. It took her less than a minute to consume both. She hadn’t realized she was so thirsty.

She ordered the same again and took it slow this time, looking up at the TV behind the bar where the Captain and Tennille were performing Love Will Keep Us Together. The see-through dresses of the back-up singers were a mistake, as was their copy of Tennille’s pageboy cut. The Captain’s uniform was a whole other level of bad.

The song was like the tequila and Michelob. It wasn’t great, but if you consumed it often enough you stopped wanting anything else. Maybe that was the future. No choices because choices just confuse people.

She threw back the second half of the tequila and started on the second beer. It was amazing how drinking simplified her thoughts. Which were interrupted by a voice at her back.

I like that song too.

Jesus. She didn’t even know this guy was in the room. The alcohol had hit her fast.

The name’s Neil and I figure I’ll just leave it at that since I’m pretty sure a girl like you has heard every line in the book.

Now he was sitting on the stool next to her and sporting the costume of a triple-X actor. The moustache. The shag haircut. The leisure suit that matched his eyes. The kind of guy whose entitlement rests on his height, his broad frame, and not much else.

Thanks for your consideration, Neil.

Gloria put down a five and went out and walked back to Unit 18. She had her key in the door but hadn’t opened it yet when she heard that voice again.

You remembered my name.

How the hell did she not hear him following? Gloria cursed herself for drinking on the job.

I called you Neil because you’d said it to me five seconds earlier. We aren’t talking the mental gymnastics of Bobby Fischer.

Sure. But you bothered to use it. I figure that means there’s a connection. Don’t get the wrong idea. I just wanted to see that you got into your room OK. I could tell you’d had a few and there’s guys around here would take advantage of that.  Not that I’m calling you helpless. In fact your confidence makes me guess you’re a Leo. Or maybe a Scorpio.

Approaching her from the right Neil put his left hand on her left shoulder.

The best weapon is the one already in your hand. Gloria withdrew the key, stepped back from Neil, crouched, then moved swiftly upward with her arm extended. The power came from the right back leg and carried through her torso as she sent the flat wooden keyfob into Neil’s windpipe.

Neil gave a shriek, sharp and unmanly. Gloria put her left foot behind his right and drove her shoulder into his chest, forcing him hard against the brick wall which bounced him immediately back into her line of attack. Completely unbalanced now it was easy to knock him onto the pavement and get her right knee onto his stomach.

Gloria pulled the wallet from his back pocket and withdrew the driver’s licence.

Three Sunrise Crescent, Tintern. That’s a lot of driving to watch The Captain and Tennille at Tuck’s Tap and Grill, so I’ll guess you’re married. When I come out next it won’t be empty-handed and I recommend you not be here.  You know where I’m staying, but I know where you live.

She tossed the wallet and license onto the pavement, went inside, and bolted the door behind her. After hearing Neil get up and shuffle away she ate the ham and egg sandwich she’d bought at last night’s motel diner and then sat smoking in the chair that faced the window onto the parking lot. She’d requested a highway-side unit for a reason. It left her more exposed, but it also allowed her to see what was coming from the road.

A woman came out of the unit next door, stood for few seconds, then turned and went back inside, revealing just enough of her face for Gloria to know it was Ada.

There was no car parked in front of the unit. They must have hidden it even better than she’d hidden hers.

Gloria grabbed her bag, went out, and walked eastward down the sidewalk in front of the units. She continued around the building until she found the Alfa Romeo Spider parked between two dumpsters. Likely they’d hidden it here without seeing her Omega.

She pulled the camera from her bag and crouched behind the car making sure to capture the plate as well as the Pike Point Motor Hotel sign. Proof they’d crossed a state line.

Gloria returned quickly to her room and tested the knob on the air-conditioner. It didn’t come on. She’d have been able to hear if the neighbours’ air conditioner was running and it wasn’t either. Probably the owner left them as is when they broke. Saving money on electrical, while the sight of the hardware continued to lure motorists out of the heat.

She couldn’t remember a luckier day.

Gloria considered walking back to Tuck’s and giving Segel a report over the pay phone, but decided to wait until she had the goods. Which would be tonight.

*          *          *

The man who’d hijacked the schoolbus looked in horror at the sight of Clint Eastwood on the overpass. This was followed by a shot from below the railway ties of the overpass and then Eastwood leaping onto the bus roof. Maybe eight frames. Just enough to reveal that it was Eastwood, not a stunt double, and that somehow his RayBans stayed on.

Gloria had the TV on with the sound down. The scene from Dirty Harry was a good reminder that what she needed to do wasn’t all that hard.

She turned the TV off and went back to the chair and smoked four cigarettes as she ran the mission through her head one last time, looking for fail points. When she was satisfied that the plan was as airtight as she could make it, she got up, removed the camera from her bag, and stood with it five feet from the bed. She gauged the distance to the sag of the bedspread where it bridged the two pillows, set the aperture at 1.8 and the ISO at 900, then advanced the film and placed the camera gently on the pillow nearest to her.

Inside her travel bag she retrieved a spool of jute twine 1/16” in thickness, a ¼” hex bolt, and a washer two inches wide and 1/16” deep. With her left toe on the end of the jute she unwound it until the spool was level with the top of her head. While pinching the twine with the thumb and first finger of her left hand, she reached her right hand around to retrieve the butterfly knife from her back-pocket. She flipped it open and cut the twine just below where it was pinched, causing the twine to drop to the floor in a loose coil. Then she snapped the knife closed and returned it to her pocket.

Gloria crouched and tied one end of the twine around the bolt with a bowline knot and ran the other end through the loop of the washer, securing it with a crosshitch.

She took the camera from the bed and screwed the end of the bolt into the tripod plate at the bottom of her camera, then used the washer like a spool to wind the jute until it was flush with the plate. When she was done she set the camera with its new attachment back on the bed.

Working with no light other than the ambient glow from Tuck’s Tap and Grill had allowed her eyes to adjust. So when she took the sunglasses from her purse and put them on she could still see well enough.

She pushed the glasses to the top of her head, removed her ankle socks, and put on a pair of wool socks with rubber safety treads on the soles. Then she picked up the camera and left her unit, closing the door behind her as far as she could without latching it.

Thanks to the heat, Chet and Ada had left both transoms of Unit 17 all the way open, angled to 43 degrees. For once Gloria was glad she was only five foot tall and 97 pounds. She ducked under the pane of the lower transom, placed the camera on the carpet inside Unit 17, put her right leg over the lower casement, and brought her left leg after it. It was a tight fit, but she was able to get herself into the room without making a sound.

She found the spot corresponding to where she’d pulled focus in her own room and watched the two sleeping bodies. When she was certain there that there was no inconsistency in Chet’s or Ada’s breathing, she picked up the camera, held it above her head, and allowed the washer to drop on its twine. When the washer stopped penduluming she lowered it onto the rug and covered it with her left foot, along with the first few inches of the jute. She then raised the camera until the line was taught, an action which put the viewfinder exactly at her eye-level, and which would eliminate 98% of the vertical shake and 79% of the horizontal shake.

She lowered the sunglasses, pressed the viewfinder to the right lens, squeezed her left eye tight shut, and took the first shot.

The flash allowed her to see that Chet was on her side of the bed. She advanced the film, counted five seconds, and fired again, revealing that their eyes were wide open now and looking directly at her.

Gloria heard a gasp from Ada and a ‘whatthuf —’ from Chet. She advanced the film, counted two seconds, and pressed again.

This was the money shot. Chet and Ada sitting upright, torsos exposed, eyes wide open.

Gloria fired a burst that used up the remainder of the film roll, and whose synchronized flashes would render Chet and Ada blind for the better part of a minute. In the progression of frozen moments they moved like figures in a flipbook. Chet getting himself fully upright, naked, trying to find his feet on floor next to the bed. Ada trying to escape to the bathroom, too blind to navigate and revealing her full body.

Gloria allowed her left eye to open as she jerked the washer up into her hand and pressed it firmly against the tripod plate of the camera so that it wouldn’t jangle. She left quickly through the front door, slamming it behind her.

Knowing that Chet and Ada might have enough vision to detect her movement past the window Gloria made sure to stay below their line of sight as she scrambled back to Unit 18.

She pushed open her door, entered, and latched it quietly behind her. Concerned about the noise it would make she chose not to throw the bolt. After slipping the camera and sunglasses into her bag she sat with her back to the door and listened carefully for the frenzied exchange that should erupt from Unit 17 at any second.

What she didn’t expect to hear was the sound of footsteps approaching her unit from across the parking lot. 

Gloria crawled quickly past her open window, turned, and hunkered down in the corner facing the door. If someone entered she was on the right side for it.

She pulled the butterfly-knife from her back pocket and flipped it open.

Episode Two

When Rachel walked into the family room Neil was watching Dirty Harry. It was at the point where Harry is being questioned by his supervisor because Scorpio, the rooftop killer, has been beaten up and he’s blaming a cop named Callahan. The news stations are all over Scorpio’s allegations of police brutality and when Harry’s supervisor asks, ‘How do I know you didn’t do it?’ Harry answers ‘because he looks too good.’

Why the hell couldn’t Rachel just stay in the kitchen? Neil didn’t want to miss any part of this movie. And he knew that posture. It was the one that said she was silently composing an accusation against him.

There was a call from the Pike Point Motor Hotel this afternoon. It seems that the desk clerk found your driver’s licence outside one of the rooms. He says you can pick it up at the front office.

Neil didn’t look up.

I’ll grab it on my way to work tomorrow.

You don’t think that’s a strange place to lose it?

Neil reluctantly took his eyes from the screen and looked at her.

It’s not what you think. Some of my customers come into town and do business—

You know, I thought that when I had proof it would be a relief. That I’d finally know what to do. But all it makes me feel is exhausted. And angry at myself. And do you know why I’m angry at myself?

I figure you’re gonna tell me.

Angry because I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do now is what she was going to say. But she didn’t say anything. Just went back to the kitchen and turned on the radio to the Captain and Tennille singing Love Will Keep Us Together. She stared at the bread she’d been spreading mayonnaise on and forced herself to finish making tomorrow’s lunches.  

Neil continued to watch Dirty Harry until it got to the scene where Harry jumps from an overpass onto the highjacked schoolbus. Then he got up and turned the TV off and went out to the car, opened the glove box, looked inside, slammed it closed, and drove to the Pike Point Motor Hotel.  He couldn’t remember ever being this mad. And for something he hadn’t even done. Who did Rachel think she was? Accusing him like that.

The final seconds of Love Will Keep Us Together were playing. He was glad the glove box was hard to reach. He might have shot out the radio.

During the twenty-minute drive to Pike Point his anger continued to grow. There were no lights along the highway and at one point a creeping thing squealed under the tires. He didn’t know what it was but he liked the sound that it made.

Neil pulled into the space he always used when he was meeting a woman at the motel, backing the car up so that it was facing the rooms across the lot, three doors down from Unit 18. He retrieved the Smith&Wesson-19 from the glove box, checked the rounds, and sat composing himself.

He’d knew where he was going to put the first bullet. The very thought of taking one in the stomach scared the bejesus out of every Vietnam vet he’d ever talked to. It left you immobile but fully conscious for whatever was going to happen next.

The last bullet had to be through her head. But where to put the remaining four? And he couldn’t spend a lot of time on it. The main thing was how good he’d feel each time a bullet went into her. No one would ever make a connection between him and this woman. Least of all lazyass Sheriff Lyngstad. To think that his property taxes supported that guy.

The sound of a door slamming brought him back into the world. He looked up from the gun and saw Gloria scrambling below the transoms that separated the doors of Unit 17 and 18. He couldn’t tell what was in her hand, but he’d bet any money it wasn’t hers to take.

The guy picks her up at Tuck’s Tap and Grill and brings her back to his room, Neil thought.  When he falls asleep she lifts something off the side table. Then escapes back to her own room, ducking as she goes past the window in case he wakes up.

He’d known something was off the second he laid eyes on her at Tuck’s. A woman like that deserved everything she got. And by now Neil was too wound up to question why a person making a furtive escape from a sleeping man would slam the door.

Neil got out and walked towards Unit 18, reaching the sidewalk right when Chet came out of Unit 17 wearing only a bathrobe.

Chet’s vision was slowly returning. He moved his head back and forth to assess the man in front of him and he could tell the guy had something in his right hand. Chet wasn’t going to be able to wrestle it from him in this condition, but he might be able to bluff him.

Alright. Hand it over. Now.

You can’t be serious.

The other option is I smash your head against the wall and rip the film out myself.

The what?

Chet lunged at Neil who raised his arm and fired wildly. The shot missed Chet’s head by inches.

From inside her unit Gloria heard the shot a moment before she saw Neil get thrown into the same patch of wall she’d thrown him into earlier today. Neil managed to keep his balance this time, and to avoid Chet who was groping wildly for him. Responding to the stabbing pain in his right arm from the blow against the wall, and forgetting he had a gun, he inadvertently squeezed the trigger again.

The second bullet passed through the point on the door where Gloria’s head had been resting seconds earlier. Shortly after that she heard a sound of metal falling at a distance and guessed that Chet had wrestled the gun from Neil and tossed it. As the sirens became audible Gloria also heard blows being exchanged, and the sound told her that both men were next to useless in a fight. By the time the patrol cars arrived the conflict had dwindled to shouted accusations.

After minutes of discussion and the departure of one of the cars, Gloria heard a knock on the door. She’d been expecting it.

This is the police. We need to talk to you.

Gloria folded the knife quietly with two hands and replaced it in her pocket. She counted seven seconds before going to the door and opening it.

Good evening Ma’am. Are you alright?

Um. I think so.

*          *          *

Sheriff Lyngstad’s frown remained static as he read her report. When he finished he nodded and looked up at her.

Oh. One last thing. Where are you headed?

My destination?

I’m assuming you didn’t check into the Pike Point Motor Hotel, for a week’s vacation.

I’m on my way to see my mother.

Where does she live?

West Coast.

West Coast?

Mm hmm.

Her place on the West Coast got a name?

Sure does.

It’s gonna be like that is it?

I get shot at by a random stranger having a fight with the people next door and I’m the one who’s done something wrong?

In case we need to reach you. You’re a witness.

You must be confusing me with someone who has X-ray vision.

Alright. Why don’t we start with your home address.

Wouldn’t do you any good. I don’t live there anymore. Do you want me to name all the motels I might stop at on the way to see my mom?

Just seems strange. Since you haven’t done anything wrong.

If you’re interested I have an ex-husband who’s still hassling me and I don’t want him to find me.

And you think we’d tell him?

I think this is the kind of place where nothing stays private very long. Forgive me if Pike Point hasn’t made a great impression on me.

And just to be clear. You never saw either of these guys before?

And just to be even clearer. I haven’t seen them since you asked me that the first time.

Sheriff Lyngstad leaned back in a rickety spring chair that almost pitched him onto his back.  As he was regaining his equilibrium Gloria stood up.

Unless I’m under arrest I’ll head out now.

She turned and walked to the door.

I’ll get Petterson to drive you back to the motel Miss Lennox.

Gloria turned. She knew what he was doing, calling her Miss. But she didn’t take the bait.

Thanks. I’ll grab a cab.

Why do I get the sense that you don’t like cops?

My ex-husband is a cop.

Gloria went down the stairs and out into the night and made last call at tavern two blocks away. She downed three tequilas in quick succession and then got the bartender to call her a cab.

*          *          *

Sheriff Lyngstad put down the report and looked at Neil.

So you were going to the hotel to pick up your driver’s licence that had been found by the desk clerk?

I’m sure he can confirm it.

He already did. I’m just puzzled by why you parked at the far end of the parking lot and then were in a gun fight in front of Unit 17. And how you came to lose your driver’s licence at the motel in the first place.

I have a lot of out-of-town clients who do business from the motel. In fact I was meeting one just a few days ago. That must have been when I lost it. As for parking, I’m a salesman and I got a nice car. And I don’t really like the way tired drivers pull in the east access, race past the parked cars and then screech to a halt at the front office. So I always park in the one spot that’s tucked away. Course if I drove a cruiser paid for by the taxpayer I’d probably pull up anywhere I wanted.

The Sheriff let that one ride.

Pike Point Motor Hotel is a centre of commerce for you?

Ask any salesman at John Deere.

Who were you seeing there when you lost your licence?

All a salesman has going for him is his client list and I like to keep my clients.  So unless it’s relevant to a crime that’s confidential.

Sheriff Lyngstad stared at Neil along time. Neil was a talker, but right now he was being smart. The Sheriff continued.

So this guy rushes out of his motel room and attacks at you?

He figured I’d been making time with his wife is all I can think.

Neil got lucky there. That’s exactly what Chet had said the fight was about. The Sheriff was pretty sure they were both lying.

And you shot at him because you happened to be armed?

It’s my constitutional right as—

Sheriff Lyngstad held up his hand.

Am I charged with something?

You’ll likely get a bill from the hotel for damage to the door. They said they know how to find you.

So I can go?

Sheriff Lyngstad leaned back in his chair. Carefully this time.

I could put you back in the cell for the rest of the night. Make sure you’re fully cooled off. Firing two shots and damaging private property would more than justify it. Or you can listen to a story I like to tell and then be on your way. Up to you.

A good salesman is always keen on a new story. For when it gets slow with a customer. 

Nice to hear. This one dates from a couple years back. In this very town. One of our less distinguished residents was coming home from Tuck’s Tap and Grill on a night very like this one. Ran a red light, swerved to miss a car coming through on the green, and rolled his car right over. 360. The driver door was thrown open, but the guy was more or less unhurt. Just sitting there trying to figure out what happened.

I deplore drunk driving.

Knew you would Neil. Problem is there was a woman in a car behind him who saw the whole thing. She’s impatient to get across and make sure the guy is OK. Under the circumstances she doesn’t wait for the light to turn green. It’s late and she looks both ways to see there’s no driver approaching from either direction and then hits the gas.

What she misses seeing is the pedestrian. Another good Samaritan. She’s also in a hurry to make sure the guy’s OK. And she’s got the green so doesn’t look for oncoming cars. Driver hits her and the pedestrian dies instantly.

Of course the judge understood the circumstances. But the husband of the woman who died was a pretty big player in this town and wanted justice done. You value confidentially so you’ll understand why I can’t say his name. But you’d know of him.

This is coming back to me. I read about it in the paper.

You would have. The driver was paroled after three months in jail for manslaughter but the whole experience broke her. Marriage ended. Lost her job. She has a basement apartment a few blocks away and when it’s late and I find her wandering I make sure she gets back to it alright.

And the drunk guy who caused it all?

By the time everything got sorted out around the dead woman it was too late to breathalyse him. The property damage was minimal. I expect his insurance went up. He’s about the same as he ever was.

I doubt this story will serve me all that well on a sit. And to be honest I’m not sure why you’re telling it.

Oh right. Well this is kinda like school. Teacher tells a story then asks a question. Here’s mine. Who would you say was the lucky one that night? The drunk man. The woman who had a lapse in attentiveness rushing to help him? Or the dead woman?

Is it a trick question?

It is not.

Then I’ll have to say the drunk man, unless he’s been plagued by guilt too.

I can’t say he seems overburdened.

So?

So Petterson and I looked at where your bullets hit. From the mark on the wall I’d say you missed killing Chet by inches. I doubt that Gloria was leaning up against her door but the bullet could have ricocheted and hit her. Whatever you were doing around Pike Point Motor Hotel, you weren’t prepared for a gunfight. And hadn’t given much thought to what a gun can actually do. Which is a long way of saying that if your luck had been a hair different this conversation would be very different, and the rest of your life would be unimaginably different.

And?

And so here’s what you do Neil. You go home. Wake up tomorrow and tell yourself you’re the luckiest man in this county and owe it to yourself to fix whatever mess you’ve found your life in.

Neil stood up.

Can I get a lift back to my car?

Why not call your wife and have her come and get you. You can use my phone.

Neil turned and went out.

*          *          *

Gloria woke up to a knock on the door. She’d slept in her T-shirt and jeans and felt for the butterfly-knife in her back pocket before getting up to answer it.

Ada wore a suede skirt, gladiator sandals, and sunglasses that looked expensive. She goes with the Pike Point Motel Hotel the way caviar goes with Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gloria thought, before making as minimal an acknowledgement of Ada’s presence as language would allow.

Yeah?

We met at the station last night but never really got introduced. I’m Ada. But of course you already know everything about me.

Gloria waited to hear more.

Can I come in?

Gloria stepped back. Ada came in, sat in the chair, and lit a cigarette whose ash she proceeded to flick on the carpet like every other occupant had. Gloria sat on the edge of the bed.

How much is he paying you?

I’m sorry?

Here’s basically how it works. My ex-husband wants some adults-only photographs he can show to the judge. To shame me, but also to make me so terrified he’ll do something even worse that I just disappear and don’t ask for a penny. He might even have gotten away with it if I hadn’t figured out who was in my room last night. And it wasn’t the bozo who fired the shots at my boyfriend.

Where is your boyfriend?

Does it matter?

I’m just surprised. Usually when a woman meets with a home-invader she brings her boyfriend. Particularly when he’s six feet away.

He’s been sent on errands for the time being. Fond as I am of him, he’s not the best assistant for a problem like this.

I would have though a woman like you could do better than that.

His other qualities make up for it. To return to the plot, I don’t think last night’s gunman has anything to do with anything. At first I thought he was tracking you from another job, but now that I know he lives around here I suspect it’s simply a case of some meathead who thinks any woman on her own is fair game. As for you, I’m pretty sure you’re just an old-fashioned bedroom dick hired to get the kind of photos that build a case and destroy a reputation in the process. I know him. Ruining my life forever is worth a lot more to him than saving a bit of money. You don’t have to say anything, but I promise I can beat anything you’re getting paid.

If you’re as street smart as you pretend, you’ll know that if someone in this business flips on a client it’s the last job that someone ever does.

I don’t think you’d fare so badly.

Gloria got up and walked to the window. She couldn’t see the Alfa Romeo or any other car and decided that Ada probably had an unlimited budget for cabs. Gloria turned from the window and faced her.

Why do you say that?

Seriously? You had the huevos to work from the other side of a motel wall. Slamming the door was a stroke of genius. The last person anyone would imagine doing that is the next-door neighbour. I’d never have figured it out if it wasn’t for the meathead showing up. You’re a chess player, a cat burger and a prestidigitatrix all rolled into one.

Prestidigitatrix?

I assume it follows the pattern of executor and dominator. Two words that might get relevant. I have a plan, but it has some snags and I think you’re just the person to untangle them. We’ll both come out wealthier when it’s all done.

Gloria went back and sat down and said nothing. Looking as if she was actually thinking about what Ada had said. She stayed that way until Ada had finished her cigarette and was starting to fidget.

OK. I’m listening.

Episode Three

It was 10:30 on Friday night when Gloria walked back across the parking lot and into Unit 17. Ada was dressed and ready to go. A knotted blouse, denim skirt, and cowboy boots. All of it from a mall two towns down the road. She’d done OK with her makeup, but Gloria made her cheapen it even more.

Is he there?

Yep. I didn’t think the lessons of the week would keep Neil from coming to Tuck’s after his last meeting today, and I was right. He pulled up 20 minutes ago and is already on his second rye and ginger. There’s half a dozen rigs parked behind the station. Five minutes up at the bar and you’ll know who the drivers are.Remember, you’re a bored housewife from the next state who finally had enough and got out. But only bring out the story if you need it. It’s more for you to have in your head.

Any working girls?

Two for sure. It’s a truckstop on Friday night, so there’ll be more coming. But it’s not an issue because that’s not your game. Get that across right at the beginning.

OK.

Ever done anything like this before?

Yeah right.

OK. Change your mind I won’t hold it against you. Go now and I’ll slip in 15 minutes later. Don’t look for me.

*          *          *

Ada turned heads the second she walked in. She wasn’t sure what that meant but settled on the theory that any new blood in this one-horse town would get the same.

Neil was up at the bar where Gloria said he’d be, and she went and sat at the empty stool to his left. He turned to her, nodded, and then turned quickly away. Neil had only seen her a few seconds Tuesday night in the dark and, as Gloria predicted, he didn’t make her with the new hair and makeup. And he was deep into chatting up the woman on his right.

Ada ordered a drink and glanced at the guy on her left who seemed plausible. She hoped so. It would put her beside Neil for longer. A lot of people would notice.

She caught the man’s eye.

So do I have a sign on my forehead that says buy me a drink?

The man squinted, comically, and looked closely.

My eyesight’s pretty good and I don’t see one.

Well so far every guy in here thinks he needs to.

The man smiled with his eyes and took a gulp of his beer. He was confident and Ada had a feeling this would go fast.

I respect a woman’s right to dispose of her own cash.

She laughed.

I’m Charlene. New in town. Do you live here?

He shook his head.

It’s just on my route. I can usually break for a half hour or so on my haul and still make duty. One beer max. And I’m Glen by the way.

*          *          *

So I pull over and he gets out and that’s the last I ever see of the guy. If I had to bet, I’d say he wasn’t really a Bible salesman.

Glen had been nursing the last half inch of his beer and drank it now.

It was a good story. Ada doubted it had happened to Glen. In fact it was probably a tall tale that circulated among truckers and that they all used. But it had made her laugh.  Glen wasn’t handsome but he was charismatic, and not in a bad way. And clean, considering he’d been on the road all day.

She could do this.

It had been 20 minutes since she started talking to him and she’d brushed his thigh a couple of times. Now she put the full weight of her hand on it and leaned in.

Look. I’m kind of in a transition. Trying to get my life in order.

We’ve all been there.

Glen was paying close attention.

What I’m trying to say is.

Is?

Is that I like you. But I don’t want a lot of complications right now.

Glen looked slightly away. Then nodded seriously.

I think I know what you’re saying. I definitely think I know what you’re saying.

She was making him wait and she knew that he knew it.

Your rig is outside. Right?

I sure hope it hasn’t gone anywhere on its own.

He hung his head in mock concern, like someone who’d lived this very scenario. She liked his cool.

I still don’t know if Pike Point is where I’ll be settling. But if I do. Um. It’s a pretty small town and you know how people can talk. I’ll head out the front door. Wait five minutes and leave from the side door.  It’ll be fun for me to try and guess which truck is yours.       

Glen looked at his watch and then felt around his pockets. Damn I wish I had a pen a paper. Five minutes? I’ll just have to try and remember that.

Ada smiled and got up.

*          *          *

From where she was hanging back at the jukebox Gloria saw Ada go out through the front door. A few eyes followed. Probably just enough. Five minutes later she saw Ada’s new friend head out the side door, completely unnoticed. Perfect. The washrooms were along that way. Even if someone saw it, no one would assume he’d left the building. She put two quarters into the jukebox and selected Love Will Keep Us Together followed by two slow songs.

The seat to the left of Neil was still unoccupied. As she walked towards the bar she could hear Neil talking to the woman on the stool to his right. He was explaining his favourite part of Dirty Harry, attempting to replicate the voices of the actors.

And then his boss asks How do I know you didn’t do it? And Harry answers Because he looks too good.

Neil laughed loudly at his rendition.

At the end of the bar Gloria bought two rye and gingers. As she walked back with them she opened the capsule in her palm and made a careful note of which glass the powder fell into. People always got the hard stuff right and messed up the easy stuff, Gloria reminded herself. She sat on the unoccupied stool to the left of Neil and slid the glass in front of him.

Here cowboy. On me.

Neil turned with a look of utter surprise. The woman on the other side of him looked at Gloria. First with confusion. Then with relief. And then disappeared.

What the hell do you think you’re—

Easy. Easy. It’s a peace offering. I rode you hard, and you didn’t deserve it. I don’t think you’re that bad a guy.

She’d considered the possibility that Neil would dress down on a Friday night, but to her relief he’d come straight from the job. Or else he just loved wearing leisure suits. You’d swear the designers spent all day thinking of new ways to sew pockets onto them. Gloria had selected Love Will Keep Us Together on the juke box and it began to play.

Drink up and let’s dance.

You aren’t serious?

Neil’s eyes were beyond suspicious. They said that the crowded room was all that was keeping him from pounding her head into a pulp. Though he didn’t reject the drink she’d bought him, and took a huge gulp.

Look. I’m on the road a lot. By myself. I’ve had some serious hassles, and I overreacted. I owe you. And anyway. You said you liked this song.

Gloria slurred her speech just enough to sound like she’d been drinking for a while. This was the decision point on a gamble that Neil’s vanity and blood alcohol would be high enough for this to work.

And both were plenty high. He didn’t smell a set-up. He smelled an opportunity for payback. One side of his mouth curled. He shrugged, took another large swig of the drink and got up from his stool.

Gloria followed.

Love Will Keep Us Together ended and the first of the two slow songs she’d selected came on. She moved closer, which was strange enough to Neil that he felt the need to say something.

So, uh, how did you learn self-defence like that?

My brother and me. We taught each other. Some nights it took everything we had to tackle the old man after he got drinking.

I’m sorry to hear that.

She looked up at Neil, her expression of inebriated semi-awareness turning to anger.

I don’t need anyone’s pity. I can look after myself.

I don’t think anyone would argue with that.

Gloria giggled. Then looked Neil in the eye to gauge his thought process. Something along the lines of: This girl’s really unstable. Or just really drunk. Either way, her mood changes every second.

By the time the next slow song came on Gloria was moving her hands over his jacket and then inside his jacket, leaning into his chest as if to keep from falling. As the song faded she went on tiptoes and whispered to him.

Let’s get the hell out of here.

OK.

She looked at him with dead seriousness.

We can’t go to my room though. My sister found out where I’m staying and showed up a few hours ago. But don’t worry. I made a friend here the day before yesterday and she’s gone for the weekend and asked if I’d look in on her cat. You’re not allergic are you?

No. I’m good.

I’ll just have to stop at the motel to get something we’ll, um, need.

She giggled again.

Neil had met his share of crazy women at Tuck’s. You never saw them again but they sure made for good stories later. Someday he’d have enough to write a book.

It was only a few seconds drive to the motel and Neil automatically parked where he always did, backing in so that he faced the units.

I’ll just be a couple of minutes. Don’t go anywhere.

Gloria kissed him on the cheek, got out, and went into Unit 18.

Over the past few minutes Neil’s anger and suspicion had abated and the universe had grown unexpectedly benevolent.

Working in sales makes a man push too hard, Neil thought. Relax into a situation and anything can come your way.

*          *          *

Gloria bolted the door behind her. Ada was sitting casually in the chair.

You OK?

It was easier than I’d thought. How about Neil?

Exactly where he should be. I dosed him just enough that he’ll lose track of time and shouldn’t have the energy to investigate. But we gotta go fast. You still good for it?

I’ve gone this far.

Gloria put on a rubber glove.

I double checked that he’s right-handed. If you were wondering.

I didn’t even think of that.

You should have.

Gloria hit Ada three times on the left side of her face, maximizing her power with a twist of her

torso. She aimed carefully between each blow. The first cracked Ada’s lip. The second bloodied

her nose. The third landed below the cheekbone and didn’t draw blood, but Ada cried out more than she had the previous times.

This woman knows exactly what she’s doing and she could do a lot worse. The thought made Ada even more afraid than she’d been when she was sitting in the room alone waiting for Gloria to come back.

Stay way from the mirror. It’ll freak you out and mess things up. Trust me, you look awful.

Ada reached for the phone.

We’re not done yet. Pull your shirt off and lie on the bed.

When she did Gloria got above her and grabbed her upper arms hard with each hand, her full weight pressing down. She held for about two minutes.

When Ada sat back up she looked at her arms and then at Gloria.

I don’t see anything.

It’ll show soon enough.

Ada looked distant. Stunned. As thought trying to remember what this was all for.

You OK?

Ada nodded, and then looked up at Gloria from the bed. Her left eye-white was already turning bright pink.

How do you know how to do this stuff?

How do you think I know?

With her bare hand Gloria slapped Ada on the right cheek. It wasn’t as hard, but it was unexpected.

What was—?

Wake up sweetheart. This the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. And you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. We’re not friends. We’re just two people who met on the road. Now get with the program before I do you some real harm. And don’t go off the script.

Gloria picked up the phone, dialed 911 and handed the receiver to Ada.

Ada was sobbing just fine now. Nothing in the next two hours would look like acting to anyone.

*          *          *

Sirens. Cruisers arriving to Unit 17 with red and blue lights flashing. The car door ripped open. Handcuffs.

But the image that would stay with Neil the longest was the mesh in the police car between the back and front seats. He didn’t imagine it protected anyone. It was just intimidation. A taste of what was to come. It erased everything else about the drive to the police station.

Stripped. Searched. Put back into his underwear. Now he was on a folding metal chair under white light in a cinderblock room. It was too many new things too fast. And why was he so groggy? He couldn’t make any sense out of what Sheriff Lyngstad was asking. It was like the man was speaking a foreign language.

Neil! I need you to acknowledge that you understand the charges.

Sheriff Lyngstad stood waiting for a response. Deputy Petterson stood sentinel by the door.

In a flash of enlightenment Neil saw it all. The two women were working together. He looked Sheriff Lyngstad in the eye and spoke with all the sobriety and composure he could manage.

Gloria and Ada aren’t just two strangers with rooms side by side. They know each other.

We know they know each other, Neil. Gloria was in the room with Ada when the call came in. Hardly surprising given that they’ve been holed up next door to each other all week.

And that doesn’t seem suspicious?

Oh. It’s real suspicious. We’ve looked into the story that Ada told us. Her husband is a jealous maniac who wants to discredit her and she’s on the run with a boyfriend.

And how does that involve me?

You were seen with both women tonight. You danced with Gloria. She’s the short one if you’re having trouble remembering.

That woman’s had it in for me since she arrived.

When we talked on Tuesday night you said you’d never seen her before.

I—It was Wednesday I met her. The night after you brought me to the station.

Really? That’s not how the bartender remembers it.

Well what difference does it make? You said it was Ada laying the charges.

And funny that there was a fight between you and Ada’s boyfriend that night. You really know how to work the Pike Point Motor Hotel. Which isn’t exactly news. Your car is a pretty familiar sight there, weekday afternoons.

It’s—. That’s got nothing to do with what happened. They’re setting me up.

Sheriff Lyngstad slapped the photos of Chet and Ada on the table in front of Neil.

What the—?

Let me guess. You’ve never seen these before and you don’t know how they got in your pocket.

Neil glared at Sheriff Lyngstad.

You two planted them. You’ve always had it in for me and now you need a fall guy.

The Sheriff gestured to the pile of Neil’s effects, on a metal table at the back of the room.

That stylish jacket of yours must have a dozen outer pockets sewn onto it, so it took us a while. This was easier to find.

The Sheriff placed an exposed roll of Kodachrome 64 on its end, next to the photographs.

That came out of the inner pocket. Wise choice. It’s worth a lot and I can’t think of a better place to keep it safe. It fits with what Ada told us. Her husband wants incriminating photos so he doesn’t have to pay her the divorce settlement.

I wouldn’t even know how to do something like that.

Right. Well, we’ll have the evidence soon enough. The photolab is ready to process the film. That is if Petterson doesn’t mind taking even more time out of his Friday night to run it down.

More than happy to oblige, Sheriff.

Nice that the lab agreed to reopen for us, wouldn’t you say, Petterson?

And nice that Neil’s tax dollar pays their overtime, wouldn’t you say, Sheriff?

Sheriff Lyngstad looked back at Neil.

Of course, if it’s pictures of your family vacation you have nothing to worry about.

Neil felt completely unmoored. Like he was drifting through a scene in a movie. The effort to continue defending himself required a supreme act of will.

This jealous husband. How would he just happen to hire a guy living in the town his wife is staying at?

These guys use organized crime networks. Someone follows her. Finds out where she’s staying. Then presents a well-paying job to a guy whose favourite hobby is cruising girls at Tuck’s Tap and Grill. Knows Pike Point Motor Hotel inside out. Job pays extra if he brutalizes the woman. Why not? It was a pretty safe gamble for you. Or so you thought.

How’s that?

Come on Neil. Ada isn’t the first woman who’s come to me after having a bad experience with you at the motel. We just couldn’t get any of them to press charges. This we both know. Just like we both know that it’s one woman in a hundred who calls 911 and gets a medical exam within the hour. And you’re thinking that the one in a hundred sure isn’t going to be a woman on the run from a rich, angry husband. A woman like that has enough problems already. Right? But that’s where you got it wrong, Neil. The reason you’re sitting here right now is precisely because Ada has no stake in this place, and sure as hell isn’t going to stick around and face the upstanding citizens of Pike Point. So she says to herself The one thing I can do is make sure this scumbag never does it to anyone else.

Sheriff Lyngstad turned to his deputy.

What do you say, Petterson?

I’d say I got two daughters almost that age and I’m glad there’s someone out there as brave as Ada Forester.

I’d say your luck’s run out, Neil.

Episode 4

It had to be a police car because the driver pulled up along the curb of Unit 18. Didn’t even angle park. The sound made Gloria open her eyes.

She’d fallen asleep immediately after giving her statement last night and had no idea what time it was. She got up and walked to the door in her underwear and T-shirt and opened it a crack.

Yeah.

Can I come in?

I’m not dressed.

I’ll wait while you get dressed.

Gloria opened the door all the way, walked back to the bed, and pulled on her jeans in full view of Sheriff Lyngstad who stood staring at the pavement. He was still standing there when she sat on the chair and lit a cigarette.

If you’re waiting for stilettos and evening gloves you’ll be waiting a long time. This is as dressed as I get.

The sheriff gave a pained smile and entered. There was nowhere for him to sit other than the unmade bed so he leaned against the narrow patch of wall between the transoms and the door, which he left open.

You sure got your money’s worth out of Pike Point Motor Hotel. Since you got here there’s been more drama than this town usually gets in a decade.

You’re saying I brought it?

Just an observation. When new dots show up on a map of the county, the sheriff is supposed to try and connect them. Or so the taxpayers tell me.

OK. Connect away.

Petterson and I were scheduled to meet with Ada and her lawyer today. But it seems she’s checked out and no one can reach her.

Gloria offered him a cigarette but he declined.

And?

The sheriff looked up at her hazily.

Oh. Right. And I just wondered if you knew where your friend had got to.

She’s not my friend.

Well I guess that makes Pike Point an even lonelier place to linger on the way to see your mom. Particularly with an angry ex-husband on your tail.

So far he hasn’t thought to look here.

The sheriff said nothing. Gloria said nothing. She finished her cigarette and lit another.

A lot of people saw you at Tuck’s last night. Dancing with Neil. Odd he picked on your acquaintance, given that you were the one getting the most of his attention.

I guess I’m better at saying no than my acquaintance is.

The ensuing silence was measured by Gloria’s cigarette diminishing by half an inch.

I went into one of the motel units. To get a sense of how Neil took those photos.

With extended arms the sheriff made a frame with his thumbs and forefingers and squinted through it.

Neil and I are both 6’ 2”. But the way the pictures came out would have required shooting more than a foot below our eye level. Funny, wouldn’t you say?

It’s always funny how photos come out. I hated the ones in my highschool yearbook. I swear that photographer had it in for me.

Likely it was due to the camera angle and the photos would have come out just fine if you’d worn the stilettos.

Sheriff Lyngstad got in his car and drove away.

When Gloria put on her shoes and opened her door an hour later a glossy advertisement for pizza delivery fell onto the pavement. She looked along the line of hotel units and discovered that there was one stuck in the crack of every door.  Gloria retrieved the flyers on her side of the building, took them to her car, and drove to an A&P in a town 50 miles away.

She bought three packages of Sainsbury bread, eight jars of Skippy peanut butter, 17 tins of Pemco sardines, ten bags of O’Boisies potato chips in varied flavours, five cartons of Chesterfields, and a box of Glad garbage bags.

On her way to the check-out Gloria passed a book display promoting Love in Nha Trang, the latest in Chet Avonhurst’s Nurse Mavis series. The cover art had men leaping from a deuce-and-a-half to meet incoming UH-1s, while in the foreground a semi-uniformed Mavis was in flagrante with a military surgeon. Strategically placed foliage maintained the required level of decency. The tableau was startling if only because the couple’s assistance to the medevac team would have been useful right about now.

Gloria picked up a copy, read a few sentences, and put it back. It baffled her that people needed diversions like this when real life offered non-stop adrenaline.

On her way back to the motel she pulled the car over to the side of the highway and walked over to a culvert she’d noticed on the way out here. She sat next to it smoking for half an hour and when she was sure no one was watching she put the camera into one of the garbage bags and Russian-dolled that bag into three more. She was about to tie them when she stopped, withdrew the butterfly-knife, stared at it, and decided it wasn’t incriminating enough to risk being without. She returned the knife to her back pocket, goosenecked the top of the four bags, pushed the package deep into the culvert, and went back to the motel.

*          *          *

The passing days didn’t stress Gloria, just allowed her to prepare better for possibilities. The scenario she focused on the most was how to play it if Sheriff Lyngstad showed up with a warrant.

But he never did.

In the previous year Gloria had spent two months working as a secretary for a law firm. She’d done the math. Even though the nine-to-five wage was a fraction of what contracts paid, her net annual income would still have come out slightly better.

But every minute at that office was death. And when she got back to her apartment at 6:15 every night and turned on the TV it was death squared. She slept nine hours and wished it was more.

On a job like this one she didn’t even need TV. Time disappeared into thinking about what had happened so far. Thinking of everything that was happening right now and might be important. But most of all thinking of every possible future. She barely slept. Half the night was spent wide awake staring at the ceiling, running patterns in her head. Like a chess game with squares extending to infinity along every axis.

Gloria paid for the upcoming week midmorning each Monday. Otherwise she never left her room. She was completely sick of the food she’d bought, which made what little remained stretch even further.

Sometimes, between cigarettes, she’d turn on the TV. But she didn’t pay attention and never bothered to change the channel. She’d done the same thing in a lot of places like this and never longed for the project to end.

*          *          *

Perhaps, Gloria thought, I’m turning into a bat.

It was the 17th day after the Sheriff’s visit and Gloria had spent so many days listening to the cars approach that she was able to echo-locate the space that any vehicle pulled into.

She knew that this one was parking in the spot Neil had used. And from the engine timbre she knew it wasn’t the Alfa Romeo, but something big and domestic.

Seconds later Ada walked through the door. She had a small suitcase with wheels and was pulling it with a leather strap. Her face was still swollen but improving. She kept her sunglasses on.

Gloria got up and sat on the end of the bed and Ada sat in the chair.

Did you think I wasn’t coming back?

You know I’d find you.

The bag is yours to keep. You can open it if you want. It’s more than I promised.

Why?

Because I got more than I thought I would and you earned it. My guess was right. Miller was dumb enough to boast that he’d hired a detective to prove I was the slut he’d always suspected I was. He probably used those very words. The news that he paid someone to assault me as brutally as possible without actually killing me isn’t exactly good for business. So he had a choice. I could let everyone know that the attack was unrelated and the media made a spurious connection that Miller didn’t deserve. Or I could use the story he was already telling and crank it up as far as it would go.

It was that simple?

The day-after photos are what did it. You can’t beat fluorescent light in a cinderblock room. My lawyer said that when he showed Miller the Polaroids his face went the same colour as the wall I was standing in front of. Miller made the right choice and paid even better than he needed to. And he’ll be paying the bill for your services. No questions asked.

Why would he do all that?

He’s never seen this side of me and it scares him. He wants the episode to disappear from his life forever.

Gloria said nothing.

What are you going to do?

I’ll check out today and call about another job.

Ada tilted her head.

This is a lot of money. Enough you could walk away.

And do what?

There’s a slip of paper in the inside pocket. The phone number goes to a good friend of mine named Heidi. You’ll say you’re Toni and mention my name. She’ll have work that will pay well and you’d be your own boss.

Toni with an i? Or with an e y?

I was thinking e i g h.

Gloria kept quiet for a while, as though considering it.

How about we never see each other again.

Suit yourself. But you might want to think about it. The reason I’ve done as well as I have is because I leave my options open.

Ada got up to go.

The sheriff came by. He seems to think I keep track of you.

I know. It shouldn’t have been your problem. Maybe that can be what the extra money is for.

Ada walked out and got in the car. Gloria heard her drive away but couldn’t see the vehicle from where she was sitting. She knew if she moved to the window and Ada saw her things would be unfinished between them.

*          *          *

If there was any clue to Chet’s character, it was to be found in those drugstore novels he wrote. Nurse Mavis’s love for the physician of the latest episode was always unconditional. She gave herself to him completely. At least until the man contracted an aggressive mortal illness or abandoned Mavis for a younger nurse. Painful as it was for Mavis and the reader, the series did have to continue.

Chet had that kind of loyalty.

The plan was that Ada wouldn’t even try to contact him until this mess was all sorted out. And she wanted to be well away from Pike Point before making the call.

Part of the deal with her Miller was that he got the Alfa Romeo back. For the short term she’d rented a gold Apollo, which she was still managing awkwardly as she pulled into a town called Porlock and slowed in front of the Black Maria Diner. She thought better of it and meandered until she found a restaurant called The Continental with a sign in cursive neon that might have lit up once. Her hunch that a better class of Porlockers dined at The Continental proved correct. Nobody looked up at Ada when she walked in and sat down. Sinatra sang out of a hidden cassette deck. Better still no TV radiated from behind the counter.

She ordered a soup and ate it with a dry roll, paid, and got back in the car. She turned on the radio to a report on the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Ada had missed the beginning of the story so she didn’t know where.

— following the refrigerator bombing of July 4th that killed 15 civilians and injured 77. A new report reveals that one of the casualties was an unborn baby, rescued from her deceased mother minutes after medics arrived on the scene. Doctors reported today that the incubation has succeeded beyond expectations and that despite weighting only three pounds, the baby is expected to develop normally both mentally and physically.

The news distracted her from driving. Power-steering was hard to get used to after the heavy tension of the Alfa Romeo, so when she became aware that she was about to hit a parked car she overcompensated by pulling the wheel too far the other way. On regaining control she pulled into a space that a blue Galaxie was just vacating, got out and walked into the town’s only park. It was 3:00 pm and scorching and she sat down on the concrete rim of a fountain at the centre of the park and wept. It may have just been a release of all the tension that had built up over the last two weeks, but right now her strongest feeling in the world was for a preterm neonate on the other side of the world. As though she herself had been the refrigerator and this miracle birth had exploded her back into feeling.

All week the prospect of becoming a mother had nagged at her and whenever the thought intruded she pushed it away. Now the idea overwhelmed her and she embraced it.

Ada got up from the rim of the fountain, returned to the phone booth, and put through a collect call. Chet picked up on the second ring.

Ada! Thank God. Are you OK?

It’s all sorted out now. In fact it went better than I expected. We can be together and we don’t have to hide anymore.

That’s the best news in the world. Where are you?

Seventy miles from where we were staying.

Then you’ll be back tomorrow?

I’m going to stop and see Heidi. I owe her and need to—I’ll explain when I see you. It’s too long a drive and I’m exhausted. I need a day to recharge.

Sure. Of course.

And—

Yes?

There’s something else.

She stopped.

What?

I know we talked about it. You said you wanted it too. But a long way in the future.

No. Seriously? You’re—

I don’t know yet. I’ll need to take a test.

It must have been that night in the wretched motor hotel. Just before all hell broke loose.

It must have been.

Well it’s fantastic news. And fitting.

Oh?

Rendezvous with a Specialist. Nigel loves it! He thinks it might be the best seller yet.

Already?

I’ve been working day and night and sent it off two days ago. It was the only way to stay sane without you.

That’s amazing.

It’s an auspicious time.  Wouldn’t you say?

She was having trouble concentrating on what Chet was saying. It was like she’d fallen asleep on her feet and was watching herself talk on the phone in a dream.

Ada?

Sorry. It’s been an exhausting few days. I’m overwhelmed. And I can’t wait to be with you. Day after tomorrow.

Back in her car Ada tilted the driver’s seat all the way back and fell into a dreamless sleep for half an hour. When she woke up she reset the seat and continued on her way with the radio off.

She was looking forward to meeting with Heidi. They’d been putting together a business plan for months and with Miller’s payout they’d have the startup cash.

If she really was pregnant she’d better not dawdle. Ada trusted Chet, but never again was she going to be dependant on a man for her finances. And after everything that had happened in the last month she knew she could solve any problem.

Just out of town Ada passed an 18-wheeler and thought that could be Glen’s rig and neither of us would ever know.

*          *          *

Gloria put out her cigarette, flipped open the four latches on the suitcase, and crouched behind it on the hinge side as she opened it carefully.

She waited an entire minute before turning it 180 degrees to view the stack of bills which she then began withdrawing slowly, concealing them under the bed one by one.

When the suitcase was empty she felt through all the compartments and found the folded notebook paper with the phone number. She memorized it, tore out the portion that was inked, squeezed it into a ball, and swallowed it. She knocked on the entire surface of the suitcase, then slashed the interior fabric with her butterfly-knife and pried off the triangular Prada logo.

Confident that the suitcase was clean she separated out $5,000 for her jacket pocket, another $2,000 for her wallet, and returned each of the remaining stacks to the suitcase as she finished counting it. She closed the suitcase and shook it to test the latches for strength. There was no risk of it flying open unexpectedly. This was quality luggage.

She packed up, checked out, and drove until she discovered a postal worker just turning the corner at the end of the block.

She grabbed the pizza flyers and went from house to house with them. As she was approaching the third address an old man wearing a cardigan with the buttons gone opened the door to retrieve his mail. Gloria laughed good-naturedly as she navigated the missing chunk of the concrete steps and simply handed him a flyer. At all the other houses she flipped quickly through the envelopes after opening the lid to drop the flyer in. When she returned to her car she had four utilities bills and two government envelopes. Thankfully, three of accounts were registered to women. She opened one of the gas bills, memorized the name and address, and drove to Pike Point Savings and Loan. She parked directly in front of the building so she could keep an eye on the trunk of her car.

Using the gas bill for proof of residence she opened an account and deposited the $5,000.

Gloria left the bank, drove to the first dealership she saw, and flipped the Omega for a Daphne-blue Ford Galaxie with 38,000 miles on it. Trade-in plus $500. A car just flashy enough you’d never associate it with someone trying to hide.

At this point the best feature on any car was the rearview mirror. So far she hadn’t seen anyone following her.

She drove into a town called Waverly 50 miles on, found a payphone, dragged the suitcase in with her and called Segel.

He picked up but said nothing. She counted five before speaking.

Jonathan Livingston?

Real original. It’s about time I heard from you. I thought something had gone wrong.

Loose ends. All copacetic now.

Well, you did good. Final payment received.

Happy?

If they’re not happy they don’t pay. I can wire your cut today.

Yeah. But to a different account. I’ll call and let you know when it’s set up.

I have another job. Right up your alley and a day’s drive from the last one. If you’re still in the area.

I don’t like this phone. I’ll call in an hour with the bank info and we can talk about it then.

She hung up and drove for another 20 minutes into a small city called Porlock. She parked and pulled the suitcase across the street with her to a place called the Black Maria Diner which advertised an all-day breakfast. The restaurant was converted from an old bus. Prohibition era and its silver exterior blackened from the coal era. Inside its three patches of blank wall were decorated with posters of Al Capone, Dillinger, and Bonny and Clyde. It was 2:15 in the afternoon and she ordered two sunnyside eggs fried hard as rocks. Bacon so crisp that a minute more on the grill would incinerate it. Toast with extra butter and jam. She told the waitress to keep the coffee coming and when she’d finished she ordered the same meal again and reminded the waitress to keep the coffee coming.

The TV was tuned to the news. Neil was being taken to the courthouse and dodging reporters. The story had the full attention of two men up at the counter.

I used to run into that guy when I worked for John Deere.

You get a feeling about him?

Can’t say I did. But he’s a salesman so how would anyone know? The whole point is being phony.

A man two stools down moved over one so he could contribute to the judgement.

My wife grew up in Pike Point and went to school with the woman that guy married. Knew her from church and said she was the sweetest girl you’d ever want to meet. Didn’t miss a Sunday.

Sounds like he’s agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecution accepted it. But he’s still looking at two years in the state penn.

I wouldn’t bet on a creampuff like that lasting two years in there. Inmates will know what he did.

Serve him right.

The TV cut back to Neil being moved from the courthouse and in his effort to evade the cameras he momentarily stared straight into one. Gloria knew that look. Her dog Gino had it the last time she went out to see him. It wasn’t stoicism or resignation. It was indifference. The knowledge that nothing he did now would change anything. That was just before her dad went out and shot Gino without saying he was going to and she was crying when her dad came back in. ‘It needed to be done,’ he’d said without even looking at her.

Gloria finished her most recent coffee refill. The waitress came towards her with the pot but Gloria held up her hand and the woman turned and went back behind the counter.

Ada knew that the Sheriff had come to see her at the motel. So what kind of deal had Ada done with him? Did Neil’s reduced sentence have something to do with it? Whatever game they were playing, she wasn’t going to be a pawn in it. It was the right move to sever things completely with that woman.

Gloria finished her second breakfast, paid up, went back to her car and threw the bag in the front seat. She watched the rearview mirror for five minutes but saw nothing suspicious.

In ten minutes she found a bank in Porlock, and opened an account using an IRS correspondence as verification for a different name and address than the one she’d used previously. She deposited another $5,000 and noted down the information for wiring money.

She left the bank, got back in her car, drove a block, turned right, drove two blocks, parked in front of a phone booth and watched the rearview mirror for over a minute. Still nothing.

She was about to drag the suitcase out with her but thought again and decided she needed to stop doing that. It had been four hours now and nothing suspicious had happened. Taking the suitcase everywhere she went would just be a red flag. She locked the car and went into the phone booth and just stood listening to the dial tone until it started to beep. She put the receiver back and returned to the car.

Something about that phone-call with Segal had been off.

A new job close to where she was now?

She was nowhere.

Miller could have paid just to have the whole thing put to bed. But why should he? He’d been pushed around enough by Ada. The smart money said that because Segel’s office hadn’t delivered, Miller wasn’t paying.

In normal business they called that a bad debt. But Segal didn’t do normal business. He did two things. He scared people into paying him a lot of money. Or he was given a lot of money to make people disappear. And someone like that doesn’t let an employee get the better of him. Which meant that there were two futures. One without Segal or one without Gloria.

That left Miller. There was a degree of separation between Miller and herself. He wouldn’t have been given her name. But he knew he’d been played, and if Segel disappeared, Miller would know there was someone he needed to track down. And he had the money to get it done. Once again there were two futures. One without Miller or one without Gloria.

In both scenarios Gloria knew which future she liked.

Gloria looked back at the mirror and saw a gold Buick Apollo moving too slowly even for this town. The driving was so erratic it eased her mind a little. A tail would be doing everything not to draw attention.

When the car got close enough that Gloria could see it was a woman driving it, she pulled forward. Best guess a bored housewife coming back from a mostly liquid lunch with her girlfriends. Someone who half wants to get pulled over to remind the officer that her husband’s taxes pay his salary.

Gloria started the car and turned right at the corner, driving slowly and keeping her eye on the backseat passenger-side window. Through the trees she saw the Apollo pull to a stop next to the pay phone. Exactly where Gloria had been parked a few seconds ago. The woman got out.

It was Ada.

What the hell was she doing here? It could be random chance. Particularly given the way she was driving. Still. Gloria didn’t like it.

She took a few more turns then she needed to, then got back on the highway and didn’t see the car again.

When she reached the culvert, she discovered that waterflow had moved the camera in its bags almost to the edge, making it easy to retrieve. She took it and followed the water to a deep bog at the edge of which was a group of concrete blocks, some of them already broken. She raised the package above her head and smashed it against the concrete. Over and over. When the sound indicated that the contents had become a gravel of glass, metal and plastic she unknotted the bags, poured the shards into the bog, and littered the bags one by one as she walked back to her car.

Gloria drove an hour and 20 minutes before turning east onto the I-80 where the Galaxie was quickly absorbed into the flow of cars going everywhere. She thought again about seeing Ada in the same town and couldn’t figure it out.

She was 86% sure it was a coincidence. But that wasn’t anywhere near enough to just let it go.

When Miller disappeared, Ada would put it together. Considering she was already in with the police, they’d happily ignore any charges against her for information about Gloria.

Gloria pulled into the next town, found a pay phone, and dialed the number she’d memorized.

Hello.

Is this Heidi?

There was a long pause.

Can I ask who’s calling?

My name is Tonie. Ada said you’d be the person to talk to about a career change.

*          *          *

Gloria knew she might have to coerce Heidi into giving up Ada’s location and that that would complicate the plan. But she was 61% sure that Heidi would be Ada’s next stop.

Sure enough. There was the gold Apollo parked right out front. She probably beat Gloria by half an hour. Ada didn’t have to worry about keeping to the speed limit.

People think that in affluent suburbs the neighbours are on continuous lookout for strangers. But Gloria had parked four blocks away and didn’t see another person on her way to the house. She just went up the front steps, pulled on the gloves, flipped open the butterfly-knife and walked in. 

Ada was seated on the loveseat with her back to Gloria, who put a finger to her lips as she made eye-contact with Heidi. Freezing her in place. She placed her left hand on Ada’s forehead, pulled back hard, and slit her throat. Though seated eight feet away, the spray gave Heidi’s cheeks a fine pink mist. Ada’s neck released a soft rasp and she was gone.

Heidi’s aspect bespoke incomprehension, her memory having no yardstick to measure the scene against. This time Gloria accompanied the gesture for silence with a shake of the head and was struck for the millionth time by how the directives of those who wield power go unquestioned.

On the side table to Heidi’s left sat a bronze cast of Buddha at the moment of enlightenment.

Knowing that Heidi could use it as a weapon Gloria considered knocking the statue to the floor

as she approached. But the crack of a clay tile would make significant noise and as Gloria

suspected Heidi remained both silent and motionless at Gloria’s approach, her throat giving only

the faintest of burbles as her life evanesced. 

*          *          *

In the utility cupboard Gloria found containers of Comet cleanser and Parsons ammonia. She pushed in the sink strainer, turned on the hot water and was about to pour the Comet in with the ammonia when she remembered hearing that the combination could create chlorine gas. So she just used the ammonia, which was less likely to affect the hinge action on the butterfly-knife anyway.

Imagine the police coming upon my body pitched head-first into the sink, Gloria thought. I’d love to be a fly on the wall watching them untangle that sequence of events.

She’d positioned herself well with each woman. The blood had shot forward and fanned outward. The streaks on her forearms above the gloves washed off easily, and her T-shirt was unstained. She examined the soles of her shoes and they were fine.

As she scrubbed she glanced occasionally at the sun going down on the escarpment. She finished and pulled out the strainer just as the last traces of orange vanished completely.

The knife looked like new. Gloria left it open to dry and sat cross-legged on the floor waiting for night. When it came she arose, folded up the knife, and returned it to her back pocket.

Back in the livingroom the two bloods had become a single congealing pool, hard-edged and skinlike in the reflected streetlight. Gloria had no trouble skirting the gore on her way out.

She latched the screen door behind her, removed the gloves and descended the front steps. The streets were as quiet and empty on her way back to the Galaxie as when she’d walked them earlier.

Fifty miles short of Philadelphia she pulled into the Thunderbird Motor Hotel. It was 3:00 am and she told the desk clerk that she thought she could make it but was nodding off at the wheel. She could tell the guy wasn’t interested. He just wanted to go back to sleep. Three days from now he wouldn’t remember her.

In the morning Gloria drove into Philadelphia and flipped the Galaxie for a yellow Datsun 510. She didn’t get anything close to what she should have for the trade-in, and acted as if she was too dumb to know that. She thanked the salesman and drove to a yet another motel, this time on the north edge of town.

Gloria checked in and parked in front of the unit she’d been given, just like any other traveller would. She was down to the last carton of Chesterfields she’d bought for her stay at Pike Point and she smoked the remainder as she lay on the bed with her knees up, sharpening the butterfly knife on a whetstone. At one point a fly landed on her jeans a few inches from the knife and she cut it in half with a single motion. The halves tried to escape over the denim in divergent and skittery paths, each one dropping to the bedspread as it died. Gloria brushed the specks to the carpet and went back to moving the edge of the blade along the stone at a 23 degree angle. Again and again.

Early next morning she checked out, tossed the Glad bag with the gloves and all of yesterday’s clothes in the dumpster behind the motel, and hit the I-95 for New York. It was convenient Miller and Segel lived in the same city.

The biggest stress was keeping a steady speed just a hair under the limit. Everything about the car was legal, but the last thing she needed was a cop to remember her.

Segel’s location she’d figured out months ago, in case it ever came to this. Miller was all over the news. A call or two pretending to be a legal secretary would get him in place.

If she hit Miller first, Segel would know what was coming. So it had to be Segel, then Miller.

When Miller was done she could start over.

Gloria took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, tilted the seat back a notch, rocked her body to make sure that the butterfly-knife was still in her back pocket, and turned on the radio.

This has been an Albatross Event