“May, it sounds like he’s in a lot of trouble.”
“I know. I’m so frightened.”
“Do you think he might be the killer?”
“No, I don’t believe it, Malachi.”
“Well, then, you wait there and I’ll be right over. We’ll go downtown to the jail together.”
She waited for Malachi, smoking cigarette after cigarette.
He arrived in twenty minutes.
It was good to have someone to talk to, someone who would not pass judgment. They talked as they walked to the bus stop. She told him how much she cared for Cricket; how he was the only person who had ever really loved her. And then she explained that, even if he were guilty, she would find it in her heart to forgive him.
“I’m not a young man, May. But I have come to care deeply for you. It’s a hard word for me to say, but I suppose you could call it love. You are a very special young lady. You have the heart and wisdom of some one three times your age. I will help you in any way that I can.”
“Malachi, my heart belongs to Cricket. And even with him, there is always a piece of me that I try to hold back. I cannot love completely. I am afraid to give anyone my total trust. That’s my fault, one I have to live with. Now, let me say that you are a very important person in my life, and I have grown to rely on your wisdom, but as far as returning your love…well…I don’t have an opening for the job of lover right now. Cricket is my only one. And I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I will always be your friend May. I have no expectations. Just because I have these feelings for you doesn’t mean that I expect you to have the same ones for me. I am happy just as we are.” He smiled, and in his eyes she could see that he was sincere.
Chapter 64
They’d caught him, caught the killer; so why was it that Brenda Jenkins still could not sleep? There was no doubt that she was exhausted. It had been difficult for her to close her eyes since she escaped from the Route 66 Killer. The doctor had prescribed a strong sleeping pill. She’d take it and fall into a deep sleep. But then the dreams would begin, dreams of large coiling black serpents. Their eyes glaring at her were fire red… burning…burning through her soul. She awakened bathed in sweat…and then she remembered.
Chapter 65
The police station was filled with people. Newsmen, followed by camera crews, ran in circles, trying to be the first to lay their hands on the story of the Route 66 Killer. Both Malachi and May requested to see Cricket, but their pleas were denied. There was to be a bail bond hearing in the morning.
“Do you want to go home, and we’ll come back together tomorrow?” Malachi asked May. “I’ll close the book shop for the day.”
“No. I’ll stay here tonight and wait.”
“I think he needs a lawyer,” Malachi said.
“We don’t have the money for a lawyer. I think the court will appoint him one.”
“I’ll get one. I’ll go and make few calls. I know some people. And then I will wait with you until the morning.”
“You’re a good friend, Malachi.”
He nodded and rubbed her shoulder. Then he went to the phone booth and began making calls.
Chapter 66
Glen Birdsong sang as he soaped up his chest in the shower. It had been a long haul, and he was tired. As much as he hated being home, it did give him a break. After this last one got away, he knew he’d better be careful. When he’d gone off into the wooded area to take a crap, she’d escaped. How foolish of him not to tie her up first, or even just kill her first. Even though he liked to savor the actual murder, due to the circumstances, he should have just killed her and gotten it over with. But his stomach had been acting up all day. And if he gave it any thought, he hadn’t had a minute to murder her; if he’d waited, he would have shit all over himself.
In fact, he’d barely made it getting his pants down as it was. Yeah, he could have shit right there by the car, but then he would not have enjoyed having his fun with her. The way he was feeling, it would have stunk too much. What a stupid situation to almost have gotten him caught. Well, no need to worry now; they’d picked up some poor bastard in his place. And once again, Glen would get away with murder.
He smiled to himself.
He put his head under the shower and allowed the water to run down his body. The black cobra tattoo on his chest glistened as the soap disappeared, its red eyes gleaming brightly.
Chapter 67
The lawyer Malachi hired was a wiz kid. He’d graduated law school at seventeen. Since then he’d been practicing for ten years. At twenty-seven, he was experienced and quick witted.
Malachi, May, and the lawyer all sat in the courtroom when Cricket was brought in. His hands were in cuffs. He looked at May, and she saw the pain in his face. She tried to give him the best smile of confidence that she could muster. He returned it with a sad, weary smile.
The judge called the lawyer up to plead the case. He planned to ask for bail. But just as the hearing began, Brenda Jenkins, the escaped victim, came running in. The clicking of her high heels against the court room floor was the only sound to be heard. Her hair was a mess, and she wore an orange flowered mini-skirt.
“Your honor,” she said as she came forward from the back of the courtroom. “I have some information that is very relevant to this case.”
“Come forward,” the judge said. He looked like an old vulture with his long pointed nose, white hair and black robe. “Who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Brenda Jenkins. I am the only known victim to escape the Route 66 Killer.”
“Go ahead and speak then,” the judge said. His brow was furrowed and his curiosity piqued.
“Before you sentence this man, I have something to tell you.”
“We aren’t going to sentence anyone here. We haven’t even begun to try him.”
“Well, I’ve been having nightmares, your honor, and I remembered something. Something very important. It’s been driving me nuts. I have to be sure we have the right guy. Can I see his chest please?”
“An odd request,” the judge said. “Why?”
“Because, if he doesn’t have a tattoo of a black cobra with red eyes, then you have the wrong man,” Brenda said. “When he raped me, I tore his shirt. At first I couldn’t remember. But then I kept having nightmares I about the snake and suddenly I knew why.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes, very sure.”
Cricket’s shirt was removed. The skin was bare of tattoos.
“It’s not him,” Brenda said. “Hurry…get the pictures back out there on the televison. The killer is still on the loose, and I am sure he is going to come looking for me.” She was panicked.
The judge looked at Cricket and his lawyer. “He’s free to go, but it is advisable that he does not leave the state. Just until we’re sure.”
Chapter 68
The news of Cricket’s arrest was delivered to Red by one of his gang members who’d heard it on the radio. Red refused to believe the news until he turned on the television and saw his brother alive and well, and arrested in San Francisco. His head spun. Cricket was alive. But he was in trouble.
What was all this about? And then he saw the hearing…and he saw her - May. She was alive too, sitting right there in court. He watched in fascination as Cricket was cleared of the charges. His heart raced as he watched, dumbfounded, as his brother took May into his arms and kissed her before they walked out of the courtroom, hand-in-hand. Red tasted a bitter bile in his mouth; it was the taste of their betrayal.
Chapter 69
Cricket and May clung together as the sun set. They lay wrapped in each others arms. May wondered how she could ever have doubted him. He was most gentle man she had ever known. Finally, she felt that she could give her trust to someone completely. Finally, she would give him her whole heart, willingly.
They planned to marry two weeks later. It would be a small wedding. Although it was not legal for May to marry because of her age, Malac
hi had a friend who was a preacher who had agreed to perform the ceremony. Malachi and Keith would be there, as well as some of Cricket’s friends from work.
“I wish we could tell Red. I really wish he was going to be there to share in our happiness,” Cricket said.
“Oh, Cricket, please, don’t spoil this.”
He nodded. He knew she didn’t want Red there, and so he would not call him.
Almost a week after the ordeal with the police, Cricket and May were watching television one evening. As they lay in bed munching popcorn and drinking soda, they heard that the Route 66 Killer had been caught. His wife had heard about the tattoo on television. She knew her husband had a tattoo of a black snake with red eyes on his chest. This had prompted her to look further, and when she did she found duct tape and a hunting knife in the back of his truck. There was dried blood, too. His wife was convinced that her husband was the murderer. She’d turned him in to the police. Then, after his arrest, Brenda had been called in. And she identified Glen Birdsong as her attacker. Now he was in jail, where he awaited trial.
“Do you think that was the same guy who we saw on Route 66 on the way down here? The one I kept mistaking for you? I mean, you guys looked so much alike.”
“Yeah, I do. Gosh, he gave me such a bad feeling. That was why I was so protective of you. I know you hated it, but I kept getting these really bad feelings every time we ran into him.” He squeezed her gently.
“Sometimes it’s intuition, I guess,” she said.
“Yeah. Thank God nothing happened to you.” He kissed the top of her hair.
“Do you remember when the knob fell off the window crank and you said you glued it back on? I never found the glue. And that really made me worry because you had a big cut on your hand.”
“Yeah, when I squeezed the glue the bottom of the tube burst open so I threw it out.”
“Gosh, Cricket, I’m such an ass.”
“No, Baby…you’re not. I can’t believe you were there for me. I didn’t think anyone but Red would have stuck by me when I was arrested. But you came through.”
“From now on Cricket, I am going to love you unconditionally. The way it’s supposed to be. I’m finally going to really let my guard down and trust you with my heart.”
“I’ll never disappoint you,” he said.
Chapter 70
The wedding took place late on a Friday afternoon. May wore a white cotton mini-dress that offset her long black hair. Cricket wore a black sport jacket and tie. Early that morning, Cricket had purchased a bunch of lillies for May to carry. The ivory ones with the red centers - the ones she’d been named for. Together, holding hands, they stood facing the preacher. He was an old hippie. His long gray hair and beard gave him an appearance of being very wise. His rich baritone voice rang out as he read the marriage vows.
“Do you, May, take Sam, Cricket, to be your lawful wedded husband…” May trembled as she answered, “I will.” She turned from the preacher to look at Cricket and she saw the love shining in his eyes.
“Will you love, honor and cherish this woman for all the rest of your days on earth?” the preacher asked Cricket.
“I will, and even after death…I will still love and cherish her. She is my wife forever throughout eternity,” Cricket said.
May felt the tears run down her face.
“Although this marriage may not be legal in the eyes of the law it is sacred in the eyes of God,” the preacher said.
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Malachi had insisted upon hosting the dinner. He arranged the location, ordered the food, and paid the bill.
The dinner celebration was at a Chinese restaurant a few blocks from the church in Chinatown. They had egg rolls and fried rice, chop suey and egg foo young. As a special treat, Malachi ordered sweet plum wine which was a delicious complement to the food. A folk singer played love songs in the background. It was nearly eleven when the couple cut the small cake and tenderly fed each other a piece. By midnight it was time to go home.
When they arrived at the apartment, Cricket carried May over the threshold and into their new life.
That night they made love until dawn.
The following day they spent just walking leisurely around Fisherman’s Wharf and eating cold lobster from paper cones. They sat at the water’s edge and watched the ships come in, bearing flags from all over the world.
“You are my life, May. I will make you a good husband. You’ll see; I’ll give you everything that you never had, and more. Do you believe me?”
“I do… I do…” she said, and she did.
Maybe it was the salty air, perhaps it was the lack of sleep the night before, but by four o’clock that afternoon, they were both exhausted. They took the bus back to their apartment, arriving close to five. May went into the bathroom to take a shower while Cricket ordered a pizza to be delivered from the restaurant across the street.
He turned on the television while he set the table.
May washed her hair and carefully combed it until all the knots were gone. Then she dressed in a white cotton nightgown.
The doorbell rang and Cricket answered, it thinking it was the pizza delivery man. He had the three dollars in his hand to pay when he opened the door, and Red came barreling in.
May came out of the bathroom when she heard the knocking.
Red stood in center of the room. It had been a long time since she’d seen him. But the rage in his eyes was painfully familiar. She felt fear, like a bolt of lighting, run through her veins.
“What the fuck happened here?” Red looked from Cricket to May and back to Cricket again. “You fucking betrayed me, Cricket. You took my woman and ran off, leaving me to think you were both fucking dead. Do you know what I did? Do you?”
Cricket shook his head.
“I killed half of the Evil Brothers and ran them out of town…for you…for my brother…for the disloyal bastard who betrayed me. I trusted you; I believed in you.”
“I’m sorry,” Cricket said.
Red reached into the side of his pants and pulled out a pistol.
“No!” May yelled. “Please, Red, let me explain.”
“Shut the fuck up bitch. You got nothin’ to say that I want to hear.”
She wanted to go to him, to soothe his anger before something happened, but she could not move. His eyes glued her to the spot where she stood. Before she could be released, she would have to look away from him, and she could not. Instead she stood, fixated on his face. There could be no doubt in her mind that things were going to be bad, but she felt powerless to change the avalanche of destiny that had begun.
The gun glistened in the overhead light. Its sleek black body awaited direction from the man who held it pointed at May.
“Red, you might as well know this. It’s not May’s fault; it’s mine. I wanted to go. I wanted her to be mine. If you’re going to kill anyone, kill me. I love her, Red. I can’t help it. You know I would never hurt you if I could do anything to stop it. But I love her so much.”
“You love her more than me?” Red asked. His face was flushed with drink, and the shiny metal of the gun reflected in Red’s glassy eyes.
“I love her different than I love you. You’re my brother. You will always be my brother. But she’s my woman. She’s my wife.”
For a moment Red said nothing. He just stared at Cricket, his eyes burning as red as his name. Then he turned to May. “You caused this. You’re a demon without a heart.”
The story of Lilith flashed through May’s head, but only for a mere second.
The blast of the gunfire was deafening. It took a moment for May’s mind to register what had happened. Then she fell to her knees, ignoring Red and the vile words he was shouting at her. She could not hear him. She was kneeling beside Cricket, shaking him, as she lay her body upon his, pressing her heart against his own. If only she could restore his life by giving him hers.
“Don’t die Cricket. Plea
se God, don’t let him die. I beg you. Take me instead. I deserve it.”
Her small hands and the front of her white cotton gown were covered in hot, sticky blood. And still more pulsated out of the angry wound in Cricket’s chest. The red sea snaked across the floor, pooling as it surrounded, drowned and enveloped May in a liquid red-black poison.
A noise escaped her lips. The words she spoke were indistinguishable, but the sound was a cry of pure anguish. It echoed through the room…through the walls and through heaven and hell. The angels and demons heard the howl and were paralyzed.
And then…
And then there was silence. May never heard the shot before it penetrated her body.
Outside a light rain fell as darkness had just begun to descend upon the Haight. People sat outside head shops, smoking pot and playing music. Everything was as it always was. The traffic was heavy, as the rush hour was in full motion.
Before he left the apartment, Red looked at the gun in his hand. Then he saw, as if for the first time, the bodies that lay in front of him. He threw the gun down, and ran from the apartment into the streets. The drizzle wet his hair and mingled with his tears. An ache deeper than he’d ever known filled his empty heart as he thought of his brother. Now, Cricket was really gone…forever. And his death had been at Red’s hand.
As Red’s feet pumped faster against the wet pavement, his mind transcended to a time when his aunt had forced him and Cricket to go to church. The voice of the preacher came back to him. It was an oddly high voice for a man. And the only part he could remember of what the preacher had said was “And Cane rose up and slew his brother, Abel…”
A Time of Anarchy- Mayan's Story Page 23