Race with Death

by Gilbert, Morris

  Dani shook her head. “He’d see I wasn’t here, Ben. We’re the bait, and it’s got to look good.”

  “May not work, anyway,” Savage remarked. “It seemed like a good idea, but right now it looks pretty flimsy.” He shifted around, peered down the road, and shook his head. “I hope Catlow and Oakie are better at hiding out than most cops are. All Herndon needs is one hint of cops around, and the whole thing’s blown.”

  “I’ve got a feeling Catlow’s pretty good at his job,” Dani nodded. “It’s Fontenot I’m not sure about. He’s not too swift, and if s asking a lot for him to fool a smart operator like Herndon.”

  “I think he’ll do fine,” Ben said. “All he had to do was stick to his story.”

  The idea had been to get Dax Fontenot to go to Herndon with a scare story—to tell him that unless something happened, Herndon would be in trouble. Ben had argued that if Herndon could be stampeded, he might make a mistake. And the bait in the trap was themselves.

  They had gone to Catlow with the plan, and he’d hated it. But in the end, he’d agreed to cover them. Now the trap was set—but neither of them was convinced that it would work.

  “It’s the only thing to try, Ben,” Dani said, trying to console him. “We’ll just have to go with it.”

  But Savage was only half listening. He sat up, straightened, and peered into the distance. “Car’s slowing down,” he murmured. The two of them watched, and finally he said, “It’s him. Watch yourself.”

  They waited, watching the red Corvette as it swung into the graveled area overgrown with weeds and stopped. The door opened and a man got out, leaving the engine running. He called out, “All right, get out, and let’s talk. Leave your engine running.”

  “The noise of the engines would ruin any recordings if we were wired. There might be somebody in the car, but I don’t think so,” Ben muttered. “Come on.” The two of them got out and walked over to where Herndon was standing. Savage could see the bulk of the weapon beneath Herndon’s jacket and kept his eyes on the man. “All right, Herndon,” he nodded. “We’re here. Start talking.”

  Fixing them with a hard stare, Herndon shrugged. “It’s quite simple, actually. I want to buy you off.”

  His blunt remark made Dani blink. “Well, that’s pretty plain,” she said. “How much are you offering—and for what?”

  “I think you know what we’re talking about, Miss Ross,” Herndon said. He looked nervous, but he was determined. “You lay off the Prejean affair. That’s all I want.”

  “And how much are you willing to pay?” Dani demanded.

  “Fifty thousand in unmarked bills.”

  “Not enough,” Dani said at once. “And who are you fronting for, Herndon? You don’t have that kind of money.”

  “Never mind that,” Herndon snapped. “I can get the cash, but you’ve got to be reasonable.” He scowled and tried a threat. “I didn’t have to offer you this deal,” he said. “There are rougher ways than this to get you off my neck.”

  “You had some practice getting rough with Cory Louvier, didn’t you, Herndon?” Savage said. “But we’ll be harder than she was to take care of.”

  “Look, I didn’t kill that girl,” Herndon hastened to say.

  “You buried her,” Dani shot back. “Who are you covering for?”

  Herndon started to answer, but Savage said, “Look out!”

  He’d been watching a car that had appeared out of the falling darkness, and when it slowed down and swerved toward the old parking lot, he knew it was trouble.

  Herndon threw one quick glance over his shoulder, whirled, and made a run for his car. He had yanked the door open when the boom of shotguns shattered the air. Something struck him in the arm, and he fell to the ground, grabbing wildly at the .45 under his coat. The shattered glass from his window fell on his face, and he was blinded for a moment. He heard the booming of the shotguns and the sharper cracks of handguns. The Corvette was rocked as blast after blast riddled it. Finally, Herndon was able to open his eyes. The windows of the black car were open, and shotgun muzzles were extended, jumping as they fired.

  Herndon knew at once what had happened, and he leveled the .45. He began firing, noticing at the same time that Ross and Savage had taken shelter behind their car and were blazing away at the big sedan.

  “Keep down, Dani!” Savage shouted. “Those shotguns will go right through the glass!”

  Dani had known that, for the windows of the Hawk were shattered, and she had heard the pellets striking the old building behind her. Her greatest fear was that she would be shot in the feet or legs, so she moved down and got behind the wheel of the Studebaker. When the firing of the shotguns lessened, she lifted her gun and threw a shot at the car. Savage, she saw, was raking the sedan steadily with his Python Colt.

  “Hold on!” Savage yelled. “Here come the cops!”

  The driver of the car heard him, for he yelled and sent the big car spinning away, throwing gravel as it dug into the rough earth. As it took off, two police cars came roaring down the road from the east, and as they shot past, Dani saw Oakie driving one and Catlow leaning out the window, blazing away at the rear of the black sedan.

  “Are you all right?” Ben was at her side, and Dani nodded.

  Her face was pale, but she said, “Yes, I’m all right.”

  “Come on, let’s go see about Herndon.”

  They ran to the Corvette and found Herndon getting to his feet. He held the .45 but offered no resistance when Savage took it from him. His eyes were wide open and his mouth pulled tightly together as if he’d bitten into something spoiled.

  “They were out to get you, Herndon,” Dani said. “Who knew you’d be here?”

  Herndon began to shake. His arm had taken some pellets, and the blood was running down from his cuff. He lifted the bloody hand, stared at it, then said woodenly, “He tried to take me out—after all I’ve done for him!”

  Dani and Ben exchanged quick glances. “The governor?” Dani asked quietly.

  “Yes, it was him!” Herndon dropped his hand to his side and began to curse. He called Layne Russell every vile name he could think of, then stared at the two. “He killed that girl—Cory Louvier.”

  “Russell killed her?” Dani whispered.

  “Yes. It was at that party. He took her off, and when he tried to force her, she held him off. He’s got a mean temper, and he hit her, knocking her against the sharp edge of the mantle. Freak accident—but he was the one, not me.”

  “So he came and got you to take her out and bury her?” Savage asked.

  “Sure—and I did it! I bribed that guy at the Leonard to say he saw the Louvier woman leave with Prejean. I took care of all of it.”

  The sounds of gunfire came to them, sounding like faintly popping firecrackers. Then they stopped, and Savage said, “That’s the end of that, I’d say.”

  Dani said, “We’ve got proof that you buried the girl, Herndon. You’ll have to stand trial.”

  “But not for murder,” Herndon said angrily. “No, it’s Russell who’ll have to answer for that!”

  “You’ll testify against him?” Dani asked quickly.

  Herndon, staring at his bloody hand and at the wreckage of the Corvette, nodded. “For that—and for many other things. I know enough on him to send him to jail. He’ll probably get off from most of it, but he won’t be governor anymore. I’ll have that to laugh about!”

  “Better let me look at that arm,” Savage said. “You’re losing a lot of blood.”

  “If it wasn’t for getting even with Russell, I’d bleed to death,” Herndon mumbled grimly, but he made no protest as Savage stripped off the coat and examined the arm. By the time he’d made a bandage to stop the bleeding, a police car roared back, and Catlow almost fell out of it in his eagerness.

  “Just like the good old days in Nam,” he said. He nodded, saying, “Well, Phil, you’ve gotten into a bad one this time. I’ll have to arrest you.”

  “Layne Russell killed Cory
Louvier,” Herndon said at once. “Take good care of me, Lieutenant. I’m your star witness.”

  Catlow’s face showed shock, but when Dani and Savage nodded, he murmured, “I’ll do that. Come along and we’ll get that arm seen to.”

  As Oakie put Herndon in the car, Catlow stared at the couple. “Well, it all winds down like a real bad movie, with all the ends neatly tied together. Eddie Prejean will be glad.” He suddenly grinned and put his hand out, “For a pair of PI’s, you two aren’t so bad! Now, you’ll have to go to the station. Won’t take long.”

  “Have to bum a ride, Riley,” Savage said. He stared at the Studebaker, then shook his head sadly. “Sure hate to lose that Hawk.”

  “I’ll buy you another one, Ben,” Dani said, bringing a huge grin to Ben’s face. “A man’s got to have a few toys.”

  They rode in the back of the police car with Herndon all the way back to town. Dani held one of Ben’s hands, and he held her tightly with the other. She was so tired that, when she lay back on his arm, she went to sleep.

  Oakie looked back and grinned, but said nothing. Turning back to Catlow, he remarked, “I knew all along that Savage was a good one!”

  21

  From This Day Forward

  * * *

  Sunny Sloan smiled into the camera, radiating confidence. “. . . and so we have the fall of a titan! When Governor Layne Russell was arrested by police this morning, it marked the end of a giant. Not a gentle giant, but a colossus who took what he pleased, plundering an entire state. The charge was not first degree murder—as some critics insisted would have been fair. But when a governor who has manipulated the law for years is charged with manslaughter, that’s news!”

  At her home, Dani and Ben were sitting together on the couch in the den, sipping coffee and watching the special report. The other viewers included her family and Luke Sixkiller. The burly police officer squinted at the screen, observing, “That outfit is pretty revealing for a reporter, isn’t it?”

  Savage looked more closely, then shook his head. “No, looks about right to me.”

  Dani yanked her hand away from Savage and glared at him. “I noticed you noticing it.”

  “I’m a trained detective,” Savage grinned. “And besides, I noticed you noticing me noticing Sunny. I did it to make you jealous.”

  “You sound like you work in the Department of Redundancy Department!” Rob said. He looked back at the screen and asked, “When does she tell about how it was you two who did all the work that’s making this broadcast possible?”

  “Coming right up,” Savage promised.

  Sunny was winding up the program. “. . . and in the future, we will be bringing you up-to-date reports on the sordid saga of Louisiana’s reverse Robin Hood governor, who robbed the rich to give to himself!”

  “Did you give her that line, Ben?” Dani demanded.

  “No, I guess her writers came up with it. All I ever heard Sunny say on her own was, ‘Do you like this dress, honey?’”

  “Will you two hush?” Ellen spoke up. “I want to hear this.”

  Sunny had reached the end of the program, and now she said, “I want to thank everyone who helped me on this special report—” She began to name people, including the producer and the cameramen, and finally paused and said, “My thanks to all of these. But there are two people who deserve special thanks. Without the help of these two, you would not be watching this story tonight—”

  “Here it comes!” Sixkiller said loudly.

  “Be quiet, Luke!” Ellen said with exasperation. She was leaning forward, her eyes glued to the screen.

  Sunny Sloan paused dramatically, then said soulfully, “And these two wonderful people are—my mom and dad!”

  As Sunny smiled and was faded away by the TV people, a groan went up from Dani’s family.

  “Why—that ungrateful wench!” Rob yelled. He took off his moccasin and threw it at the TV, missing it by a broad margin. “She’d have been zilch without you, Sis, and here she thanks her parents!”

  Ellen tried to conceal her disappointment. “Well, it’s nice that she remembers her parents.”

  Ben laughed suddenly. “Sunny hasn’t spoken to her parents in years,” he said. “Her father abandoned Sunny and her mother when Sunny was a baby. And she’s fought with her mother ever since she grew up. They don’t even send Christmas cards to each other!” He shook his head with admiration. “That was pretty good drama, though. Almost as good as Nixon’s Checkers speech. I predict great things for Sunny Sloan.”

  “Move over, Dan Rather,” Allison said with a sour grin. “But I’m glad she didn’t take you away from Dani.”

  “Take him away from me?” Dani exclaimed. “Why, that piece of fluff couldn’t take her own temperature.”

  “A sexist remark if I ever heard one,” Sixkiller spoke up. Then he got to his feet, saying, “Well, enough of life’s little pleasures. Got to go catch some criminals.”

  “Oh, Luke, can’t you stay longer?” Ellen asked at once. “We’re going to make some fudge and then play Trivial Pursuit.”

  Sixkiller shook his head regretfully. “Next time, Ellen. Thanks for the meal.” He waved his hand at the rest of the group, saying, “See you later, guys.”

  When he left the room, Dani got up suddenly and went out after him, a disturbed look on her face. When the door closed behind her, Allison said, “Luke’s taking losing Dani pretty hard, isn’t he?”

  Savage nodded soberly. “Yeah, he is.” He got up and wandered off to the kitchen, adding, “I know what I’d feel like if it were the other way around.”

  Allison turned to her mother, saying, “I hate it when things like this happen!”

  Ellen shook her head sadly. “Luke’s such a fine man! But he’ll find somebody. God will bring him just the right wife.”

  Outside, Dani had caught up with Luke just as he got to the car. He turned and faced her, his expression unreadable, but Dani knew the big man better than most. She put her hand on his arm, her eyes filled with grief.

  “Oh, Luke—” she said, her voice breaking. “I feel terrible!”

  Sixkiller grinned and shook his head. “That’s not right,” he shrugged. “You’re getting the best guy there is.”

  “I know,” Dani whispered. “But I know that you—”

  When she couldn’t finish, Sixkiller nodded. “It hurts, Dani. But the Scripture says that God sets the solitary in families. God’s chosen Ben for you, and somewhere out there he’s got somebody for me. I’ll just have to wait. But don’t be sad. It wouldn’t be fair to Ben.”

  Dani blinked the tears back and summoned up a trembling smile. “I know the theory, Luke, but putting it into practice is what’s hard.”

  Sixkiller suddenly reached out and enfolded her in his strong arms. He held her tightly for a long moment before releasing her. “You brought me to know Jesus,” he said. “I can’t ever forget that. But the rest of it, God will take from me. Now, you go in and tell Savage he’d better treat you right—or I’ll arrest him and throw him in the slammer!”

  Dani watched as Sixkiller got into his car and drove away. She had a strange, empty sensation in the pit of her stomach as though she had lost something that could never be replaced. Slowly she turned and walked back into the house.

  The den was empty, and Dani wandered into the kitchen where she found Ben and her mother sitting on high stools talking quietly. They both looked up when she walked in, but neither mentioned Sixkiller.

  “What are you two talking about?” Dani asked. She moved to the stove and after getting a cup of coffee, turned to face them. “What are you plotting? I can’t trust either of you.”

  ‘“Oh, we’re just deciding about the future,” Savage shrugged. “After we get married, we’ll have to have a place to stay. Don’t think you’d enjoy my apartment all that much.”

  “It’s not a maiden’s dream,” Dani admitted. “But I like your cat.”

  “I’ll share her with you. But I have a plan—a mast
er plan,” Savage said. “It’s a stroke of genius!”

  “It’s his idea, Dani,” Ellen said quickly. “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  Dani stared at her mother, wondering why she seemed so defensive. Then she shifted her gaze back to Ben. “What’s this wonderful master plan of yours?”

  Savage grinned at her, saying, “I’ve always been sort of a freeloader. So I’ve been asking myself, ‘Savage, where could you get free room and board? Where could you get the best cook in the world? Where could you live where someone could take care of you when you get sick?’”

  Dani stared at him. “And the answer is—?”

  Savage waved his coffee cup toward Ellen. “Why, I’m planning to move right in with my mother-in-law,” he said airily. “Just what she needs—a son-in-law under her feet, bumming free room and board!”

  Dani glanced at her mother quickly, and in that instant, they both understood what Ben was up to.

  He knows Mother is having a hard time, Dani thought. He’s willing to give up his privacy to help her through this time—and to help with Rob and Allison. They’ve all been unhappy since we lost Dad, and Ben sees that.

  “Well, that’s a fine way to start a marriage, mooching off my family!” Dani exclaimed, hiding the sudden surge of affection that had come to her. “Don’t I have anything to say about this?”

  “Nope, not a thing.” Savage reached out, picked up a brownie, and took a bite. “I’ve got no character at all, Sweetie. You’ll just have to take me as I am. What you sees is what you gets.”

  Ellen rose and went to Ben. She bent down and kissed him, whispering huskily, “Thank you, Ben!” and then she left the room hurriedly.

  “Now, you see what an operator I am?” Ben nodded at Dani. “Here I am moving in like a parasite, and she’s thanking me!”

  Dani moved over and sat down on Ben’s lap. Putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him long and hard. Then she moved closer and put her head on his shoulder. “Oh, Ben, I just love masterful men!” she whispered.