Marie’s nursing business had benefitted from all the publicity, and she had gotten behind on her paperwork. She told Dex that she was going to have to work overtime for several days to get caught up. For the next few days she arrived at the office early, ate lunch and dinner at her desk, only left for scheduled appointments, and didn’t close the office before midnight. On the third day of her exhausting self-imposed schedule, Marie had been sitting at her desk so long that the words on the computer screen were beginning to blur. She had dozed off twice with her fingers still on the keyboard. When her eyes popped open moments later, there was a jumble of letters stretching across the page. That was the final sign that she had been there too long.
Marie turned off the computer, stood up for the first time in two hours, picked up her purse, and left the office. Her apartment was only a few minutes away, but she had driven today although she often walked to work if she had no out-of-office appointments for the day. Dex was watching a late football game on television so she knew that he would still be awake at midnight. She hit his speed-dial number on her cell phone during the short drive home and was still talking to him when she parked at her apartment. She had the phone to her ear when she stepped out of the car and saw Dr. Bill Bishop standing a few feet away.
She whispered into the phone, “Dex, Bill Bishop is here outside my apartment, and he’s got a pistol.”
Bishop said, “Turn off the cell phone, Marie.”
She made the motion as if she was turning off the phone but wisely didn’t do so.
“Bill, what are you doing with a gun, and what do you want?”
“I just want to talk to you, and you won’t sit still long enough if I don’t have some way to force you to listen to me.”
“So talk; I’m listening.”
“No, we’re not going to talk here. You were probably talking to that damn Dex, and he’ll no doubt be here in a few minutes.”
“Well, I’m not getting into a car with you, so you’ll just have to shoot me.”
“Marie, don’t make this more difficult than it has to be; just get in the car. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want you to come to your senses before your silly schoolgirl crush leads you into the mistake of your life with a do-nothing jock.”
Dex was still listening to her conversation with Bishop since she had not disconnected the call. He grabbed the pistol and the box of shells as he ran out the door to his car. He realized Marie was trying to stall Bishop to give him time to get there. He could be at her apartment in less than ten minutes.
Dex knew that Bishop didn’t realize that Marie had not disconnected the cell phone call, so he tried not to make any noise that might alert him. He pressed his phone tight against his chest to block the sound as he opened and closed the car door and started the motor.
“Marie, we can take your car and you can drive, but if you don’t get in it right now, I’m going to be forced to hit you in the head again.”
“Again? You mean you were the one who knocked me out and killed Hoagie?”
“I didn’t intend to kill him; it was an accident. I was just trying to get him out of the way.”
“No, Bill, an accident is when something unexpected happens. You deliberately hit him in the head, and that’s called murder.”
“I told you, I didn’t mean to do it.”
Marie sarcastically replied, “Well, I’m sure it would be okay with his mother as long as you didn’t intend to do it.”
Bishop raised the pistol over his head as if he was going to strike her with it, and Marie said, “Okay, I’ll drive my car, but we’re not going out of the city limits, and I’m not going to go inside any building with you. You kept me locked up in the cabin for days, and I’d rather you just shoot me now than to chain me up again.”
They both got in Marie’s car with her behind the wheel. She laid the cell phone in her lap.
Bishop said, “I had no choice but to keep you in the cabin. You were hysterical, yelling, and cursing at me. I wasn’t going to try to talk to you until you calmed down. You are getting mixed up with someone who doesn’t deserve you and could never support you the way I can. I just wanted to make you understand that.”
The cell phone was still in Marie’s lap, and Bishop was not paying any attention to it. Dex was now in his car, speeding toward the apartment.
Marie asked, “Where do you want me to go?”
“I don’t care, just drive around town while we talk.”
“Okay. I’m going to take Andrews Parkway downtown, turn north onto Battleground, and at the dead end I’ll double back down Main Street. That should give you plenty of time to say whatever it is you want to say.”
Surprisingly, Bishop didn’t pick up on the way she so carefully detailed the route she planned to follow. Dex understood why she was doing it and immediately turned right and cut diagonally across town. From the directions Marie had given, he knew that he would have time to intercept them on Battleground.
Dex reached the intersection of Battleground and Oak Street and waited at the intersection until Marie’s car passed. The pause gave him the opportunity to load the pistol and cram his pockets full of shells. When her car passed through the intersection, he slowly pulled out and started following about one hundred yards behind it. When Marie turned onto Main, he took a chance and flashed his lights twice. He figured it would get her attention in the rearview mirror and not be noticed by Bishop, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat.
Unfortunately, Bishop was turned toward Marie and saw the flashing lights. He glanced quickly at Marie and saw her looking in the rearview mirror.
He said, “What was that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. I saw you looking at the flashing lights. That’s your boyfriend, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do, and if you don’t speed up and lose him, both of you are going to be sorry.”
Marie was worried about Dex; she had no way of knowing that he was also armed. She increased her speed, and Bishop told her to get out of town and onto a highway. She turned north onto the highway leading to the next town, and he told her to speed up to about seventy miles per hour. She saw Dex also make the turn and continue to follow them.
Bishop had removed his seat belt and turned in the seat so he could watch the car following them. They were outside the city now, and Marie suddenly stepped on the brakes and swerved off the road into a sage field. The bump crossing the shallow ditch between the road and field caused Bishop to bang his head on the roof and drop the pistol in the floorboard. As soon as the car stopped, Marie bolted out the door and within a few steps was running at full speed.
When Bishop regained his equilibrium, he located the pistol in the floorboard and started after her. In the meantime, Dex had stopped and was getting out of his car. To distract Bishop and give Marie more time to get away, he fired a round toward him. Bishop was running after Marie, but he turned and shot back in the general direction of Dex’s car. A half-moon was the only light available so there wasn’t much danger in either of their shots doing any damage.
Dex could still see Marie running in the distance, and he was afraid to shoot again for fear of hitting her. Bishop was about twenty yards behind her when Dex saw her stumble and fall. Bishop was on her before she had a chance to get to her feet again. They both disappeared below the top of the four-foot-high sage.
Dex couldn’t shoot for fear of hitting Marie, and if he got any closer he would be an easy target for Bishop. He yelled, “Are you okay, Marie?”
“I’m okay, but—”
Whatever she was about to say was garbled. Bishop had obviously put his hand over her mouth.
“Martin, I’ve got a gun to her head. I don’t want to hurt her, but I
will if you don’t stand up and drop your gun right now.”
“How do I know you won’t shoot me and her as soon as I’m unarmed?”
“I don’t want to hurt Marie, and I don’t have a problem with you as long as you stay out of the way and don’t try to keep us from leaving.”
Dex thought about the dark and how Bishop was so far away; the chance of getting shot if he stood up was pretty slim. He decided to do it while he tried to figure out some way to end the stand-off.
“Okay, Bishop, I’m going to stand up and drop the pistol.”
He slowly stood and dropped the pistol at his feet. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Bishop had taken a wild shot in his direction. Fortunately, Bishop did not fire his pistol.
Bishop said, “We’re going to get up now, but remember that I’m still holding the pistol to her head. Don’t try anything funny if you don’t want her hurt.”
Dex saw them stand up, and they were not as far away as he had estimated. It was dark but he could see enough by moonlight to see that Bishop had his left arm around Marie’s shoulder and was pressing the pistol against her head with his right hand and arm. They started walking slowly toward Dex. They had to pass him to get back to the cars. If they continued on their present path, when they passed Dex, Marie would be between him and Bishop.
Bishop said, “I’m going to have to borrow your car. Marie’s is probably bogged down in this field. Give me your keys.”
“I don’t have the keys. They’re probably still in the car. Bishop, why can’t we just work something out? Marie obviously doesn’t want to go with you, so why don’t you just take my car and go? You could be a long way from here before we could walk to get help.”
“Marie doesn’t know what she wants. She’s got a silly schoolgirl crush on you. As soon as she gets out from under your influence, she’ll realize what a mistake she was about to make. I’m not leaving here without her, so just shut up and stay out of the way.”
Bishop was leading Marie around Dex, making sure there was about a ten-foot separation as they passed him. Marie hadn’t said anything during their verbal exchange, but she was afraid Dex was going to try to be a hero.
“Dex, don’t do anything. He’s crazy enough to shoot you. Just let us go and maybe he’ll come to his senses and release me.”
Dex didn’t see any way to stop Bishop without endangering Marie, so he let them walk past him and on toward his car on the road. Marie’s car was in the field only about twenty yards from where Dex was standing, but he didn’t know if it could be moved out of the field.
Dex watched as Marie and Bishop got into his car. Marie was in the driver’s seat, and she made a U-turn and headed back toward River City. It was also toward the Georgia state line. Dex figured Bishop intended to pass through the city and on to Georgia where he was more familiar with the area.
As soon as they started his car, Dex picked up his pistol and ran to where Marie’s car was sitting in the field. He found the keys still in the ignition and held his breath as he started the car and put it in gear. Fortunately it wasn’t stuck. It started moving forward, but he wasn’t sure if he could get up enough speed to jump the shallow ditch and get back on the highway. Then he spotted an entrance on his left that tractors obviously used to get in and out of the field. He took that exit onto the highway and turned in the direction Bishop had taken.
Dex floored it and was quickly traveling well above the posted speed limit. In a few minutes he saw the tail lights of their car in the distance. He was steadily catching up when he suddenly remembered that his car was almost out of gas. He had thought he was going to run out while he was following them out of town. He knew they were not going to get very far before running out of gas, so he slowed down and was content to follow them as long as he could still see their tail lights.
Bishop and Marie were just inside the city limits when the car drifted to a stop. As Dex was getting closer, he saw Bishop get out of the car and walk around to the driver’s side. He pulled Marie out and they started walking away from the car. Dex stopped about half a block behind the car and got out. The area was well lit with streetlights, and he was sure they had seen him.
Bishop was carrying the pistol down at his side, probably so a passerby would not notice it. Dex suddenly saw Marie pivot her body and slam her elbow back into Bishop’s face. He dropped to his knees, and Marie started running toward Dex. Bishop was dazed and it took him a moment to realize what had happened. Marie was now barefooted and running full speed but was caught in the open, halfway between Dex and Bishop. Dex couldn’t shoot toward Bishop without taking a chance of hitting Marie.
Dex yelled, “Run to your right,” just as Bishop fired his pistol. Marie wasn’t hit, and Dex heard the bullet hit something metal behind him. He didn’t know if Bishop was trying to hit him or Marie, but he quickly fired two rounds directly at Bishop.
Marie reached Dex, and he yelled, “Take cover, Marie.” She continued by him as she ran toward where Dex had left her car.
Dex saw Bishop stumble and knew he’d been hit, but he was back on his knees and shooting again in Dex’s direction. Dex was in the open so Bishop wasn’t a very good shot. Dex ran to the side of the road and knelt behind a telephone pole. He took time to aim carefully, and when he fired this time, Bishop straightened up and then fell forward on his face. When he didn’t move for several minutes, Dex stood and walked slowly up to where he was laying in the street. He knelt beside him and felt for a pulse. There wasn’t one.
Marie ran to where he was standing over Bishop’s body and said, “I found my cell phone in the car and called 9-1-1. The police should be here in a minute.”
“Marie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Dex. You weren’t hit, were you?”
He shook his head and they began to hear sirens coming from both directions. Two police cars arrived at about the same time. Both cops got out of their cruisers and knelt behind the doors. One of them yelled for him to put the pistol down. Dex did as he was told and raised his hands over his head. The officers walked to him with their guns drawn and pointed at him.
“Officer, my name is Dex Martin, and this is Marie Murphy. I hope you’ve read the newspaper lately and know what has been happening to us. The man I just shot is Dr. Bill Bishop. He killed my friend and abducted Marie. He took her again tonight and was holding her at gunpoint while he tried to kill me.”
“Martin, I know who you are and all about what has been happening, but I need to see some identification from both of you. Remove your wallet with your left hand and pass it to me.”
Marie said, “Officer, my purse is in my car. That’s it parked in the middle of the street.”
The officers checked both of their identifications and then holstered their pistols. An ambulance arrived, Bishop’s body was placed in it, and it left the scene.
One of the officers said, “We’re going to need complete statements from both of you. Please follow us to the station and we can get started. We’ll have the area canvassed by a crime scene unit.”
Dex said, “May I call Detective Lester Morgan of the county police and have him meet us at the station? He’s the one who has been investigating the murder and abduction. I’ve got his number stored in my cell phone.”
The officer agreed and Dex called Morgan and briefly told him what had happened. Morgan said he would meet them at the station. They spent several hours talking with the city police, and Morgan was there to support everything they said about what had happened in the past.
Chapter 53
Over the next few months things returned to normal, or at least as normal as possible for individuals who had reluctantly been in the public spotlight for months. Dex and Marie were recognized everywhere they went and had grown accustomed to the stares and whispers. They had reached the point where they were no longer offended by personal questions
posed by strangers. They understood that people thought they knew them just because they had followed their story so closely in the media.
Marie’s business continued to grow exponentially. She no longer handled patients herself but still tried to spend some time each week visiting with a few. She regularly visited the nursing homes to check on patients and evaluate the facilities for future patient referrals. The reputable nursing homes welcomed her visits and regularly sought her opinion on elder care.
Marie knew she received more credit than she was due but was happy with the way the publicity had helped her business. She was now established as a local authority on eldercare, and the media regularly quoted her on the subject. She was also overwhelmed with local speaking engagements.
Dex’s career was also going well. EaseFast was now firmly established in the marketplace, and he had received a bonus and substantial salary increase. His travel schedule eased off considerably after the initial sales blitz and he was able to spend more time with Marie in River City.
Marie testified in the fraud trial of Norton and McPherson. They were both convicted and confined to the state prison. A date had been set for Snake’s trial, and Dex and Marie were both scheduled to testify.
Marie was told she would be the key witness, but Dex could only testify to the possible motive related to their schoolyard fight and his role in Snake’s capture. He didn’t recall anything about being shot until he woke up in the hospital after surgery. The prosecution had dropped the first-degree murder and kidnapping charges against Snake, but he was still charged with attempted murder and auto theft. He had escaped an almost-certain death decree when it was discovered that Dr. Bill Bishop had murdered Hoagie and abducted Marie.
The district attorney was planning to run for congress and didn’t want to take a chance in the high-profile case against Snake. He did what DA’s with political ambitions often do: he copped out and let Snake plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for a shorter sentence. He would still spend many years behind bars for shooting Dex.
Appalachian Intrigue Page 25