Out of Time

by Beth Flynn

  Tommy and Ginny watched her leave. Then they looked at each other, and then the notebook.

  “Moe’s journal wasn’t the only surprise today,” Tommy told her quietly.

  “You’re telling me? Let’s just add it to the pile of garbage that is going to trigger the end of life as we know it.” At his curious expression, she gave a short laugh and began to tick off the day’s events on her fingers. “Let’s see, you’re Grizz’s son, Moe had a secret journal, Corbin told Jason we went to see some guy get fried, what else? What else could there possibly be, Tommy?”

  “We got a delivery today, other than the journal.”

  “Oh, yeah? What did we get?” she asked bitterly.

  “Grizz’s chess set.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  1971

  “Why can’t you just let Moe drive me? Then I don’t have to wait so long in between,” Grunt told Blue as they were pulling into the motel.

  “I don’t know. I never said Moe couldn’t drive you. Have you ever asked her?” Blue gave Grunt a sidelong glance. They had just come from the library. Blue was juggling the gang, a wife, and a full-time job, so library visits were few and far between for the twelve-year-old.

  “Of course I asked her.” Grunt shrugged. “She doesn’t have her own car.”

  “She can take one of Grizz’s cars.”

  “No, she can’t. She can’t see over the steering wheels of most of them, and he’d never let her take his Mustang.” A thought occurred. “Blue, can you talk to him? Can we get her a car of her own that she can drive easily?”

  Blue considered it. “Yeah, I’ll ask him. We’ll come up with something.” He parked the car by the motel office, slamming the door hard. “Put your books away and come on out to the pit.”

  Grunt watched as Blue headed for the fire. He made himself comfortable in one of the chairs and didn’t seem to object when one of the girls walked over to him and parked herself in his lap.

  Grunt carried his library books to his room, then went to the pit to seek out Grizz. Even though he’d asked Blue to talk to Grizz, it was probably better if he talked to Grizz himself. He noticed the girl on Blue’s lap now with her hand down the front of his pants. Blue had his head leaned back, his eyes closed.

  Grunt secretly hoped his sister-in-law would never show up at the motel. Jan would probably kill Blue on the spot if she saw what he did with the other women. Sissy in particular. He wondered how Blue managed to juggle two women at once. They were both demanding of his time. He was surprised they’d never actually found out about each other—yet. Grunt remembered hearing Blue explain to Grizz once that he wanted a woman who wasn’t connected to the gang. A wife who would take care of their home and future children. He wanted a lady—and according to Blue, Sissy was no lady. They had argued about it, and Grizz had actually warned Blue that he didn’t think a woman like Jan would ever be able to accept her husband excluding her from this lifestyle.

  “She wants to be excluded,” Blue had said. “She doesn’t want this lifestyle. I told you, she’s a lady. And she’s okay with me not bringing her into it.”

  “She may not want to participate, but she won’t like it when she finds out you won’t be giving up other women for her,” Grizz had told him.

  Blue had confidently replied that he could handle Jan.

  Now, surveying the scene, Grunt swallowed back a smile. Blue got his lady all right, and all of the baggage that came with her.

  Grunt spotted Grizz standing near the playground equipment talking to someone. He walked purposefully toward him, giving Moe a little wave as he strode past. She was sitting by the fire, staring into the flames, as was her habit. She waved back, then continued her gaze.

  “Grizz, can I ask you something?” the boy said, interrupting Grizz’s conversation.

  Grizz turned around to look at him. He didn’t answer right away. “Yeah, I’m done here.” He dismissed the man he’d been talking to with a nod, and the man walked off. “What do you want?”

  “I asked Blue if you could get Moe a car so she could drive me places. Can you?”

  “Why does she need to drive you? Blue takes you out.”

  “Blue is always busy.” Grunt made a face. “If you get Moe a car, she can grocery shop and everything, and I can go with her. All the cars around here are too big for her to drive herself.”

  Grizz thought about it for a second. He hadn’t really given much thought to Moe. The kid was right. Moe didn’t have a car; she always just relied on whoever was available to take her to the store or anywhere else she might need to go. She rarely left the motel. She made sure the rooms were clean, the laundry was done, and the refrigerators were stocked. He hadn’t thought about the inconvenience of her having to beg rides to the grocery store and everywhere else.

  He also hadn’t noticed Grunt wasn’t getting out as much.

  “It makes sense,” came a voice from behind, and Grunt turned to see Blue had walked up behind them and was listening to the conversation. “And it would help me out. Why don’t you give her the Caddy? It just sits there. You never use it.”

  Grunt shook his head. “It’s too big. She needs something little, like her. Something she can drive and actually reach the gas pedal.”

  Grizz stared at the ground for a minute, considering. “You’re right. I don’t use the Caddy. Maybe we can trade it for something smaller.” Blue started to say something, but Grizz knew what he was thinking. “It’s legit. Title says Richard O’Connell. Martin couldn’t pay up a couple years ago and I took the car. But still, call Axel and see who he knows that will accept the title transfer without any questions.”

  Axel was one of Grizz’s mechanics and Grunt was certain he handled more than tune-ups. He was in charge of all of Grizz’s car needs, including planning well-executed car heists and converting the stolen autos in his garages to vehicles that couldn’t be traced. Grunt knew that as good as Axel was at his job, Grizz would never risk Moe getting stopped in a stolen vehicle, especially if there was a chance that Grunt was with her. Grizz would make a lawful purchase.

  Grunt heard the low rumble of a motorcycle pulling into the motel and grinned, pointing. “You don’t even need to call him. He’s here!”

  Grizz called Axel over and filled him in on the plan. Axel told him about a car dealership off Dixie Highway. Blue was given the order to take Moe to get a car.

  “I want to go, too,” Grunt quickly added. “It was my idea, so I should help her pick it out.”

  Grizz looked at Grunt and nodded. Then he turned to Blue. “Make sure they don’t get screwed. The Cadillac is in excellent condition. I expect her to drive away with something nice and the title will be made out to Richard O’Connell.”

  “You got it, Grizz.”

  “I’ll make a call,” Axel said. “They’ll be taken care of.”

  “I’ll make sure it’s handled,” Grunt spoke up, standing up a little straighter and puffing his chest out. “I know how to wheel and deal. We won’t get screwed. I got ya covered, Grizz.”

  Grizz and Blue tried not to smile as the kid headed toward the pit to tell Moe.

  “Moe, guess what?” Grunt was saying as he approached the fire. She was sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring into the flames. He stopped short when he saw a guy in a lawn chair shove her from behind with his foot, just enough to jostle her a little. Grunt could tell he wasn’t hurting her, but she was uncomfortable and clearly trying to ignore him.

  Grunt approached slowly now, watching as the guy stood and began to address some of the people sitting in the pit. He was new to the group and went by the name Monk. Stupidest name ever—probably short for Monkey. Grunt just watched, keeping a careful distance.

  “Guess she thinks if she doesn’t answer me, I’ll leave her alone,” Monk said to no one in particular. Nobody replied. He turned toward her again, this time using his knee to shove her harder, closer to the fire. “I said I want some time alone with you, baby. You keep ignoring me and I’
ll make sure you’ll cry tonight. And not in a good way.”

  Monk laughed to himself, raising his knee again. In a sing-song voice, he began to taunt, “Moe the ho, Moe the ho, I’ll screw her ass to and fro—”

  Before Monk could say more, Grunt charged him with a head butt to his stomach that knocked the wind out of him, toppling the bigger man onto his back. Grunt jumped on him, pummeling his face with both fists as hard as he could. Moe leaped from her place by the fire and started to drag Grunt away. Unfortunately, this gave Monk the chance he needed to get to his feet. With a roar, he shoved the boy away from him. Grunt quickly jumped up, the momentum causing him to stumble and fall backwards, knocking Moe and himself to the ground.

  Monk whipped out a switchblade. “You little shit. Who do you think you’re fucking with?”

  Blue and Grizz had been approaching the pit. Even though they couldn’t hear what was being said, they saw the entire scene play out. When Monk took out the switchblade, Blue started to go after him, but Grizz put out his hand to stop him.

  “Wait. Just wait.”

  Blue looked at Grizz with an “are you kidding me?” expression, but didn’t go any further.

  The pit had fallen quiet now, and Blue and Grizz could hear them. Blue clenched his fists and watched as Grunt quickly got on his feet.

  “You should show more respect.” Grunt glared at Monk.

  This seemed to amuse Monk. “Respect? To who? That whore?”

  Monk absently waved the knife in Moe’s direction. She had gotten herself back up and was standing just behind Grunt. She started to grab Grunt again, but this time thought better of it. She was probably the reason he’d lost the upper hand in the first place.

  “She’s not a whore. She’s a person. She’s a lady.” Grunt said, the muscles in his back tightening. He pictured his own switchblade resting on the nightstand next to his bed. He didn’t have a weapon on him. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  “A lady?” Monk snorted. “You little shit. I don’t care what you think she is, but I know what you are. You are fucking dead.”

  He lunged at Grunt, swinging the knife. Grunt managed to duck and avoid it. Monk took two more swipes, narrowly missing Grunt both times. The more the kid evaded the blade, the madder Monk got.

  Grunt finally saw his chance. He managed to block the knife-wielding arm while thrusting his right fist up under Monk’s chin. This caused Monk to stumble backwards. He was dazed from the blow but didn’t lose his footing.

  “Stop it now,” Grizz told Blue.

  As Blue approached, Grunt briefly glanced over. It was just enough time for Monk to make one more lunge for Grunt.

  Grunt knew the instant he looked away that he’d made a mistake. The last thing he remembered was white hot pain like he’d never imagined and the look of terror on Monk’s face as Blue grabbed him from behind and said, “You got some big ones fucking with my brother.”

  Then everything went black.

  Nobody realized Monk had stabbed Grunt. Blue roughly shoved Monk to his knees and wrestled the switchblade easily out of his hand. Blue looked up at Grizz, who gave the nod.

  In one swift motion, Blue slit Monk’s throat ear to ear.

  “Get rid of this piece of shit,” Blue muttered to one of the guys standing nearby, wiping off the blade on Monk’s shirt. Then he folded Monk’s knife and shoved it in his back pocket.

  When he looked up again, he was surprised to see Grizz carrying Grunt to one of the motel rooms. Moe was running alongside him trying to keep up with his long, urgent strides.

  Grizz yelled back over his shoulder, “Get Doc here, now!”

  **********

  Moe’s Diary, 1971

  Dear Elizabeth,

  It’s my fault he was stabbed. If I’d just gotten up and taken Monk to my room, Grunt wouldn’t have gotten hurt. He hasn’t woken up for two days. Doc said he should be okay. The cut was deep but missed all the important organs. He said not to worry. The pain pills are going to make him sleep a lot. Still, I’m worried.

  I can’t believe he went after Monk like that. Nobody’s ever stuck up for me before. Grunt really is my friend. The only reason Blue killed Monk was because he was fighting with Grunt, though I can’t believe he didn’t try to stop it sooner. Grunt could’ve been killed. But nobody cared that Monk was kicking me. Nobody cared what he was saying. Just Grunt.

  I don’t think I would ever forgive myself if Monk had killed him.

  Axel told me that when Grunt gets better I’m going to get my own car. Blue could take me now, but he said that Grunt really wanted to be there. I can’t believe Grizz is letting me trade his Cadillac for a car of my own. I haven’t had something of my own in a long time. Not for a long, long time.

  I guess it should make me feel better. But it doesn’t. I won’t feel better until I know for sure that Grunt is gonna be okay.

  **********

  A few weeks after Grunt’s recovery from the knife wound, Blue showed up at the motel around eleven one morning. Grunt was still a little sore, but very anxious to go with Blue and Moe to find her a car. Blue banged on the door of number four and went in without waiting to be invited. Grizz was coming out of the bedroom and zipping up his jeans.

  “Sorry man. Got company?” Blue asked as he nodded toward the bedroom.

  Grizz scoffed. “When do I ever have company in here? Just taking a piss. What do you want?”

  “Keys to the Caddy and the papers. I’m gonna take Moe and Grunt today to get her a car.”

  Grizz disappeared without a word into the bedroom and returned with keys and an envelope. “Title’s in here,” he said, handing them to Blue.

  Less than an hour later, Blue, Moe, and Grunt pulled up to the car dealership Axel had recommended. Al’s Auto wasn’t as bad as Blue had thought it would be. From the looks of it, they offered a pretty decent variety. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried the selection wouldn’t be up to Grizz’s standards, so he’d anticipated a day of hopping from one dealership to the next. Axel had made several backup recommendations in the event Al’s didn’t work out.

  A man in a light blue polyester suit and slicked-back hair approached them as they got out of the Cadillac.

  “Here to make a fair trade.” Blue said, nodded at the Cadillac. “Axel sent us.”

  The man stopped short and smiled wide. “Yes, Axel told me you’d be coming. Expected you a few weeks ago. I’m Al.” He smelled like cheap hair tonic and fried chicken. They must’ve interrupted his lunch.

  “Got held up. Can I use your phone?” Blue asked.

  “Yeah. Right inside the door,” Al said, waving his hand in the right direction.

  Blue went inside to make a call. When he came out he spotted Grunt and Al standing next to a convertible Mercedes. Moe was sitting in the driver’s seat. Blue smiled. Grizz said a fair trade. I think this will work out just fine.

  Grunt looked over at Blue, who nodded. Grunt smiled and listened as Al did his best to enlighten them on the many advantages of owning a high-end foreign auto.

  Blue leaned up against one of the cars and waited. Less than fifteen minutes later, a car pulled into the lot. A pretty brunette was behind the wheel.

  Grunt noticed the approaching vehicle and squinted in the sunlight to see who was driving. It was Pauline, one of the girls from The Red Crab. She wasn’t with the gang, but after realizing she wouldn’t be anything more than a lay to Grizz, she’d clearly set her sights on Blue. She didn’t care that he was married. She wanted a man of her own and if luring one away from his wife was her ticket, then so be it.

  Blue walked over toward the threesome now standing next to another expensive foreign car. He looked at Al. “I’ve got business. Give them what they want.” Before Al could respond, Blue said to Grunt, “You can take care of this. You’re looking at the right kinds of cars. Grizz will be happy. Moe can drive you back to the motel. Title’s in the Caddy.” He looked at Moe. “You have your license?”

  She n
odded her reply, and without waiting for any kind of acknowledgment from Grunt, Blue headed toward Pauline’s car.

  “I’ll drive. I could use some ‘servicing’ while we’re on the road,” he said as he approached the driver’s side.

  Pauline put the car in park and slid over. Blue jumped in the driver’s seat and did a sharp U-turn in the lot. As they pulled out of the dealership and onto Dixie Highway, Grunt noticed Pauline was no longer visible next to Blue. He slowly shook his head. One day Jan is going to kill him.

  Less than two hours later, Moe and Grunt had finalized their purchase with Al. Moe was adamant about the car she wanted. It was a little noisy, but Grunt was certain it was something Axel could fix. He was happy for her. He hadn’t seen her smile in a long time.

  When they got back to the motel, Grizz was bent over with his head in the refrigerator. He was hungry and didn’t feel like driving to get food. “Damn,” he said to no one. He had to admit Grunt made a good call where the car was concerned. It would be better for Moe to have her own transportation. It was obvious nobody, himself included, had taken her shopping recently. Not that he ever took her shopping. He ordered the others to do it, but from the lack of food, it seemed everyone had somehow avoided it this week.

  He decided he would take a ride over to Razor’s, another one of his bars, and grab something to eat there. He shut the refrigerator door and was reaching for his car keys on the kitchen counter when he was distracted by a noise from outside. Motorcycle? Hmmm, that ain’t like no motorcycle I ever heard before. What the fuck is causing all that racket?

  He swung open the door and walked outside. He squinted as he saw a black Volkswagen Bug circle the pit and make its way back toward him. His jaw dropped as he recognized who was in the car. Moe was driving and Grunt was waving excitedly at him.