“I don’t know man,” said Jack, walking back to the window.
Suddenly, Jack felt a tug on the back of his waistband and before he knew it Joel was holding the gun.
“Think I didn’t notice you were holding? What kind of an idiot do you think I am?” Suddenly Joel appeared much more sober than before. “Why’d you bring it?” Joel asked turning the small pistol over in his hand and examining it.
“Give it back to me, Joel!” Jack said alarmed.
“You think you were gonna warn me off? Or maybe, just maybe you were gonna shoot your own brother?” Joel turned the handgun toward Jack and pointed the muzzle at his stomach.
“Whatever,” said Jack. “ I carry it for protection is all.”
“Liar! You keep it in the closet with rest of your stash!”
Jacks face went pale.
Joel continued, “Yeah you thought I didn’t know. You thought you were so sly. Where’d it come from? You rob a bank? You deal more dope than I know? You snitch that many times that you gotta protect yo’self?”
Frank looked away.
“No way! That’s it isn’t it? That big shootout and snitch job you did. You took the money and the dope! That was you!”
“Look, it wasn’t planned. I grabbed the bag out of instinct. I didn’t mean to keep it. But then Jimmy was shot and one of those detectives was blaming it on me so I had to run man. I had to.”
“That cop got in tons a trouble over that! Dekker was his name? That shmuck!” Joel laughed, “I kinda admire you for sticking it to the popo. So awesome! You still managed to make out.” Joel looked at his brother with a wide grin and shining face full of admiration. He was clearly impressed and proud.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Look Joel, I’ve been under the radar and if you don’t stop messing with me your gonna get me caught.”
Joel stood on shaky legs and the gun wobbled in his hand. “If you don’t give me what I need you’re gonna get caught anyway.”
“What exactly is it you think you’re going to do? Snitch me out to the cops?”
“Why not? Maybe you could show me how it’s done? Maybe there’s another backpack of cash in it for me this time,” taunted Joel.
“Just give me the gun Joel.”
Joel popped the magazine out of the gun and laughed as he wracked the slide to the free the last bullet from the chamber. “Sure. You can have it back after you give me what I want.”
Jack felt his blood begin to boil. “I said give me the damn gun!” Jack lunged towards his brother’s hand.
Joel seemed to have anticipated this move and as Jack lunged forward Joel brought the empty gun up hard, striking Jack square in the jaw. Jack’s vision blurred and before he could recover Joel struck him a second time in the temple.
Joel laughed. “Had enough yet bro?” Jack doubled over at the waist trying to clear the stars from his eyes. He glanced up at Joel’s laughing face and quickly lunged at his brother driving his shoulder into Joel’s stomach. The momentum drove Joel backward into the nightstand and they both crashed to floor.
Jack quickly pushed himself up and straddled Joel’s mid-section, ready to throw another punch. Joel didn’t budge. Jack stopped and examined Joel’s face. Maybe the fall knocked him out?
Jack shook him. “Joel?” Joel didn’t respond. Jack noticed a lump starting to form on Joel’s head. He must have hit his head on the table when they went down. “Joel!” Jack called his brother’s name a little louder and shook him just a bit harder. Joel still didn’t make a sound.
Jack pressed his ear to his brother’s chest. He was still breathing. Relief washed over Jack. He climbed off his brother and sat on the bed catching his breath. The dope. Now would be the perfect time to plant it. Jack began to look around the room for the ideal place to stash it. It had to be a place his brother wouldn’t find it.
Jack walked over to the air conditioning unit and popped the cover off. It wasn’t warm enough for air conditioning yet so it made the perfect hiding place. Jack took the large envelope out of his jacket pocket and wedged the drugs inside of the air conditioner.
Joel moaned.
Jack quickly replaced the air conditioning cover and turned back to his brother. Blood had started to seep from the wound on Joel’s head. For a brief moment Jack entertained the idea of calling an ambulance. But how could he explain this?
Jack couldn’t just leave him here. Joel was going to be pissed when he did come to. He might just go off the deep end. Jack considered going outside to the payphone. He could call 911 anonymously and say he heard an argument from the room and could someone please come check it out before someone got hurt.
Joel moaned again. His eyes remained closed but he muttered, “I’m going to kill you.”
“Joel! Man, I’m sorry!” Jack got down on the floor next to his little brother. Jack took a pillow from the bed and gently placed it under Joel’s head. Joel’s speech was slurred but Frank understood clear enough when Joel mumbled, “You blew it. You’re gonna pay for this. It’s all or nothing now.”
Jack quickly pulled the pillow back out from under Joel’s head. He let Joel’s head hit the floor with a thud.
Ice seemed to fill Jack’s veins. He had just about enough of his brother’s nonsense. Without a second thought he held the pillow down over Joel’s face. Joel barely moved in response.
Joel’s left hand thumped weakly against the gray, threadbare carpet as Jack pushed the pillow down harder. Jack counted to sixty. Joel had stopped his meager struggling but Jack counted for an extra thirty seconds before releasing his weight from the top of the pillow. Frank sat back on his haunches and then scooted back up against the side of the bed. He stared at Joel’s body with disbelief. Dear God, what did I just do?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jack barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting up everything he had eaten in the last few hours. The sickening smell of the beer he had sipped made him vomit even further. He vomited until he was wracked with dry heaves. Perspiration spilled down the back of his neck and soaked his shirt.
Had he really just killed his own brother? Jack justified his actions to himself, thinking, Joel would’ve died from the head wound anyway. Jack walked back to his brother’s lifeless body. “You would have just ended up ruining your own life as well as mine.” Jack knew he shouldn’t really blame himself. Joel drove him to it. At least now his problems were solved. Jack stared at his brother, laid out like a dead fish on the floor. He had done the right thing.
Jack went to the bathroom and let the tap water run ice cold before splashing it on his face. He found a dusty glass on the counter and filled it. Taking a swig, Jack swished and spit until the taste of vomit no longer lingered. Jack realized he had one more problem to solve; what to do with the body.
Jack looked around the bathroom. He reached over and ripped the plastic curtain from the cheap hotel shower. So damn cliché but it would be the easiest to wash out and return if he had to. There wasn’t much blood after all.
Jack walked back into the bedroom and using the toe of his shoe, he flipped the filthy pillow off of Joel’s face. For a minute Jack was afraid the vomiting would start all over again. He moved his gaze to the ceiling and took deep breaths. In through his nose and out through his mouth, Jack breathed deeply until the nausea faded. He had to get on with this. It was getting late.
Jack laid the shower curtain flat on the floor next to Joel’s body. He checked for breathing one more time. He couldn’t help it. He half expected Joel to wake up and start cussing him out. Jack felt numb. He rolled Joel face first onto the shower curtain.
Jack removed the pillowcase from the pillow and wiped as much of the blood off of the floor as possible. He threw the stained pillowcase on top of Joel’s body before he wrapped it up tight. Jack took a quick look around the room. Now what?
Jack had never killed anyone before. Any ideas he had of how to dispose of a body were straight from the movies. He tried to roll Joel’s body closer to the fro
nt door. Jack could have bench pressed his brother in life, but now the finality of death seemed to add 500 pounds to Joel’s small frame.
Jack drug Joel’s body to the door and glanced around the room once more. He decided he had better clean up a little. Maybe make it look as if no one had been here at all? Jack made the bed. He searched and found a thin garbage bag in the cupboard under the bathroom sink. He collected all the beer cans, cigarette butts and the rest of Joel’s meager belongings.
Jack opened the drawer in the bedside table. Inside were the motel room keycard and a set of car keys. Of course his brother was still stealing rides. Jack bet his brother had one stashed close by. Jack took a few minutes to wipe the room for prints.
Jack left Joel’s body on the floor near the door and headed back to the parking lot. The stolen car had to be in the back somewhere out of sight. Jack casually walked the back parking lot, pressing the lock button on the car key fob. An older blue Honda with Oregon plates beeped in response. This had to be the one. No doubt his brother had switched the plates with those from a valid registered car. If a cop ran the plate it would come back clean.
Jack climbed into the driver seat and started the Honda. He drove around to the front parking lot and wedged the Honda into the one disabled parking space. It was the closest available space to Joel’s door and he wouldn’t be here long enough for a cop to spot it and ticket him.
Jack felt a sliver of panic. He had been gone too long. What if Joel hadn’t really been dead at all but only dazed? What if he had somehow regained consciousness and made a call to 911 or worse, gotten out. Jack tried desperately to keep his breathing even as he tried not to run back to Joel’s door. He swiped the motel key card. It didn’t work! What was going on? Was this even the right room? Jack re-checked the number on the door. 318. Right room. He frantically swiped the card again. This time the light signaled green and Jack let himself in quickly.
Joel was right where Jack left him. Pocketing the room key and car keys, Jack bent down and hoisted Joel’s wrapped corpse into a seated position. Bending down, he put all of his weight under Joel’s body. Utilizing a fireman carry, Jack stood up straight with Joel draped across his shoulder. It wasn’t far to the car but Jack wondered how the hell he would be able to explain this if he came across someone? He would just have to chance it. It was almost two in the morning. No one is going to be out here at this time of night anyway.
Jack opened the door to the motel room and took a quick glance outside. Nothing stirred. Jack carried Joel’s body as quickly as he could manage to the stolen car. Using the key fob once again, Jack popped open the trunk and dropped Joel inside.
Jack closed the trunk and headed back to the room one last time. He was sweating again and he was sure that if he hadn’t been in such good physical shape he would have had a heart attack by now.
Back inside the room Jack gathered up the garbage bag and the pillow. He slowly scanned the room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. He went to the refrigerator and found a fifth of vodka inside. Crap! He almost missed that. Jack unscrewed the top of the bottle and took a huge swallow to steady his nerves.
Jack went back to the air conditioning unit and retrieved his drugs. He wiped down all the surfaces with the edge of his shirt and then let the door close softly behind him as he exited into the parking lot.
Jack opened the trunk and threw the bag of Joel’s belongings on top of his lifeless body. He got into the driver seat once more. After starting the car he sat quietly for a moment. He spotted a pack of Joel’s cigarettes on the dash. Jack picked the pack up and turned it over in his hand as he considered what he had done. Murdering his own brother had to be the worst. If he had ever thought he could come clean with Lizzie and find understanding, it was too late now. There was no coming back from this.
Jack shook a cigarette loose from the pack and put it to his mouth. He reached over and punched in the car lighter. The lighter popped out and Jack held its glowing coil to the cigarette. He inhaled deeply. It had been years since he smoked. It still tasted good. He might just have to take up the habit again. No time like the present! Jack put the Honda in gear and steered it out of the motel parking lot. Time to dump a body.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jack pointed the stolen car towards Roland. Lizzie had no idea that Jack knew Roland like the back of his hand. Roland was where he had met Jimmy. Jimmy had shown him things and because of Jimmy’s tutelage, Jack knew exactly where to hide Joel’s body.
Just before entering Roland city limits, Jack exited onto a frontage road. He continued south through an industrialized area made up of railroad tracks, government housing and freight storage. Jack was fairly certain there would be no cops out at this time of morning. He calculated that he had an hour or so to do what he needed to do.
Ten miles further, the frontage road met up with the freeway once again. The two roads intersected at a train yard. Under the overpass where the freeway covered the frontage road and the rail yard, there was plenty of vacant space to hide. Vacant to some anyway. Sometimes homeless people used this yard to set up camp.
Jack wasn’t too concerned. The yard was frequently covered with spare rail equipment and trash blown in by the wind. The lack of security and lighting made this the perfect spot to hide the stolen car and its occupant. It would take days for the cops to find him here and even then they wouldn’t care.
Jack arrived at the rail yard gate and found it wide open. Jack cut his headlights and drove slowly into the empty lot. This was the perfect spot. Even in the daylight the empty rail cars would cast shadows deep enough to hide the car.
Jack put the car in park and took a deep breath. He got out of the car and went around to the trunk. Jack stared at the closed lid for a brief second. Maybe he should just leave him in the trunk? No, a body in the trunk definitely signified murder. Duh. No one dies on accident and then ends up in the trunk of a stolen car.
Like it or not, Jack wasn’t going to be able to avoid this part. He started to sweat just thinking about seeing his brother’s body again. “Screw it,” he said to himself as he popped the trunk.
Jack stared at the body and took a half step back. He walked a few steps away to gather his nerve once again. He knew he had to get this over with quickly. Returning to the trunk, Jack reached inside and unwrapped the shower curtain from Joel’s corpse. He grabbed Joel’s stiffening arms and pulled the body out onto the ground with a thud. Jack dragged the body by the arms toward the driver side door. Jack opened the driver door and struggled to get the body in. Lividity had already started to set in and Jack had to strain to get the body into a seated position behind the wheel.
Jack managed to stuff Joel’s feet into the car and he tipped Joel’s head down to rest on the steering wheel. With Joel finally in the car, Jack returned to the trunk and took the shower curtain out. He walked to a nearby trash pile and stuffed it deep under some garbage.
Jack returned to the trunk and grabbed the bottle of booze he had thrown in. He uncapped it and took a swig. He gasped at how harsh the alcohol stung his throat. Jack drank another deep swallow of the liquid courage and then took the bottle with him to Joel’s body.
Jack poured the remnants over Joel body. If and when someone found the body it would look like Joel drank himself to death. Jack left the empty bottle on Joel’s lap. Jack took one last look around as he closed the driver door. He had to get out of here. He had that sudden feeling that if he stayed any longer he would get caught.
Jack quickly retraced his path to the train yard entrance. Once clear of the gate he walked toward the freeway on ramp. A lone cabbie drove by slowly and Jack flagged him down with a wave of his hand.
“Hey man what are you doing out here so late,” asked the cab driver.
“Ah, nothing. Partying with some friends. You working or not,” Jack asked anxiously.
“As long as you got money. Where do you want to go?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jack got into t
he cab and gave the driver the address to the motel where he had left his truck. He flopped back against the seat and tried to bring his blood pressure under control. His heart was still beating a million miles an hour. He felt restless. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his cell phone. He had three messages and they were all from Lizzie.
Jack pressed play and listened to the first message.
“Hey babe, I hope you’re ok? Call me when you get a chance so I don’t worry too much. You didn’t come home last night. I’m on my way in to work. We have a search warrant this morning so I have to be in early. Ok, well, I’m just getting off the freeway into Roland now. I’ll try you again this afternoon if I don’t hear from you before then. Get some sleep. Love you!”
Jack cringed at the message and briefly considered calling her back. He decided to wait until he could think of what he was going to tell her. He erased the other two messages without even listening to them. Lizzies voice was evoking a guilty feeling and he didn’t want to deal with that just now.
The cabbie pulled up to the front of the hotel and Jack paid him in cash. He waited for the cabbie to disappear around the corner before moving into the parking lot and approaching his truck. Jack nervously examined the truck to make sure no one had touched it. He laughed at himself. He was getting paranoid!
Jack considered going back into the motel room to double check he had remembered everything. No. He was being ridiculous. The least amount of times the door was opened and closed with the card reader, the better. He hoped he had remembered to get everything out of the car that would identify him.
Jack reached inside his jacket pocket for the pack of cigarettes he had commandeered from Joel’s corpse. He shook one out and fished a lighter from the glove compartment. He lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply and froze. The butts!! The cigarette butts in the ashtray would have his DNA on them! Damn it!!! Jack threw his lit cigarette down on the ground without bothering to extinguish it. He threw the rest of the pack onto the seat and climbed into the truck. As the truck engine roared to life Jack realized he would have to hurry. It would be daylight soon. He had to get back to Roland
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