by Jeff Vrolyks
There was an answer to that. A solution to their crisis. But what was it? What was it she had thought just moments ago, which now seemed like lifetimes ago? A last-ditch attempt at getting out of this, which seemed foolish at the time but not so foolish now. What was it…
She was about to be defiled by this man, she had no reason to doubt that. She’d rather die, and that didn’t seem so hard to imagine now. Once he was done with her, his money on the way, he’d put a bullet in her. And when the money arrived, he’d put another in Gary. Maybe Theo, too, though she couldn’t be sure about that. Theo was a bank for John to make withdraws from indefinitely. To shoot him was to kill the golden goose.
They needed to act now. It was now or never. Capitulating to John meant their lives; fighting him meant a chance at overcoming this.
What was it? She grasped to remember. God, please show me the way. Tell me what needs to be done.
She felt Theo’s hand around her tighten into a fist.
Then it came to her.
Chapter Twenty Three
Theo second-guessed using the gun, which was damn near touching his left foot. He thought maybe he’d lunge at John instead. John stood beside the cart, only the corner of it in Theo’s path. It would work. Reaching down for the gun would afford John too much time, time which would be spent unloading a few rounds from that magazine clip. His best chance was to lunge at him, tackle him, overpower him. He couldn’t envision this happening without a bullet being fired at him, but he didn’t think it would be more than a single bullet. If he took it in the shoulder, or gut, or even in the lung instead of the heart, he stood a chance to survive. To do nothing meant they’d all die. But that wasn’t entirely the truth, not all of them would die. But Carmen would. John would take her body before taking her soul.
“Well?” John said impatiently, tapping his hand on the rail of the cart. He pointed the gun at Theo. “Go get my money.”
Theo released his hand from Carmen. He positioned his right foot aft, to push off of, and coiled his legs ever so slightly, hoping John wouldn’t notice.
God, please guide me through this. Help me subdue this man. Guide his bullet away from me.
Theo drew a breath, the breath which would remain in his lungs as a bullet entered his body, God forbid.
Carmen remembered as Theo let go of her. She looked over and saw what he was meaning to do, his back leg coiling to lunge, the front foot beside the handgun. No! Don’t do that, Theo!
It was so loud and nonsensical that for a split second it derailed Carmen’s train of thought, as was its intention, only it was done so for John Whitmeier, not Carmen. Gary bellowing something that made no sense to her, other than it was done as a distraction. Gary’s gibberish was still echoing off the walls when Carmen directed at Theo, “Shoot him! Now.”
Theo’s plan had changed in the time it took her to utter those three words, and he was now reaching down for the gun at his feet.
Having just blustered a bunch of nonsense, Gary was now stooping down to his shotgun, which also lay before his feet.
John was wide-eyed, mouth open, gun at full length before him, jumping from Theo to Georgette to Gary, unsure who to shoot first, who would be most beneficial to his situation. It was Georgette. Shooting her would turn Theo and Gary’s attention to her, if only for a moment, then he’d shoot Gary, order Theo to drop the gun or he was next. He’d still get his money.
John met eyes with Carmen. He thought she’d squint or shield herself with her hands when he put a bullet in her heart, but she didn’t. She stood there placidly, eyes calm, too calm for what was coming. John pulled the trigger.
Chapter Twenty Four
A wave of comfort washed over Carmen. The Hand of God, she had no doubt. It was God watching over her when she had thumbed the safety of the gun after shooting some bottles several months ago. God who ensured the safety remained locked on her gun when John stole it from her drawer and briefly inspected it and the magazine clip. God who hindered John’s awareness of the safety-lock in the minutes preceding this moment. Just above the trigger, on the handle, was a little silver nub retracted back, invisible to her now but as clear as day in her mind. A quick depression of that little nub would turn her gun lethal, but not before that.
John squeezed the trigger until it stopped. No report, no gunfire, no instant death for Georgette. He saw the corners of her mouth upturn. He squeezed again. Nothing. His mind was racing a mile a minute, frantic to find the solution to this crisis. Both Theo and Gary were down to the ground, taking their weapons, and John was dumbfounded.
The safety! John thought, and angled the gun to the side, flashlight shining on the silver nub. He thumbed it forward, redirected the light on Georgette, aimed the gun, and nearly pulled the trigger before the narrow mine exploded in light and sound.
Buckshot sprayed out of the twelve-gauge into John’s chest as a .38 caliber bullet bored into his head. The force of the impact threw him back to the wall. Dead before his body lay still on the dirt floor.
Theo dropped his gun and took either of Carmen’s shoulders, examined her for gunshot wounds, as he had no idea if any of the deafening gunfire was from John’s gun. She lurched forward, enveloping him in her arms. He put his cheek on the top of her head, squeezed her body even closer to his.
Gary glimpsed Theo and Georgette, who appeared just fine, discarded the shotgun and approached the body of John, snatched up the Maglite on the ground and shone it at his lifeless eyes.
“Thank you, God,” he muttered.
Chapter Twenty Five
The three sauntered up the mine, Gary shining the light in one hand, resting his shotgun like a baseball bat over his shoulder. Carmen and Theo were conjoined, arms around the other’s waist, her head never leaving his shoulder. There were tears, and Theo thought they were joyful tears. Tears of relief. This was behind them now, for good. And their dark secret kept for ten years between them was now shared with another, and somehow that was like medicine for her soul. And Theo’s.
“You say you’re heading back to California tomorrow?” Gary said before reaching the portal of the mine.
“That’s the plan.”
“Do you think you could meet me at the office first thing in the morning? We ought to come back out here and bury them.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know, six?”
“Could we make it five? I can’t disappoint my dad again. He is expecting to go fishing tomorrow. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do, but it means everything to my dad.”
Gary smiled at him and nodded.
“I want to come, too,” Carmen said. “And help.”
“It’s nothing for a woman to endure,” Gary said. “Theo and I will handle it.”
“No, I will come. I need to. I need to be here when they’re put into the ground and covered. I don’t know why, but I do.”
Gary smirked at Theo and said, “She’s a strong willed one, that Georgette. Just like her mother.”
“And I love her for it,” he said mindlessly.
Carmen smiled on Theo’s shoulder. How easily that could have more direct. She thought back ten years. “If I told you I loved you would it make a difference? Would you come back knowing someone loved you? I… I think I do, Theodore. You’ll come back because you love me, too. You’ll come back, I know you will. We have something special together.”
She said in almost a murmur, “Would you come back knowing someone loved you?”
“Nothing will keep me from coming back for you.”
The Jeep was still running when they reached it. It was full dark outside, headlights blinding them. Gary put the shotgun under the seat, Carmen got in back. Theo got in back with her, leaving the passenger seat empty. He backed up and turned around, began the trip home.
“They’d better be really good seats, Theo,” Gary said.
“The best,” Theo said with a grin.
Chapter Twenty Six
It was still dark ou
t the next morning, the grass and dirt wet, but at least it had stopped raining. Theo and Carmen shared the front seat of the Jeep. She was on his lap, recumbent, her mouth breathing against the side of his neck. Behind them the seats were folded down to accommodate the wheelbarrow and shovel. Her lips reached forward and pecked a kiss, panging Theo’s heart.
“You’re so sweet,” he murmured.
“You need to have a talk with Matthew,” Gary advised as he piloted the vehicle along the invisible path around the hill.
“I will.”
“Today.”
“I will.”
Gary glanced over and smiled at them, returned his gaze forward. “Would it be too much to ask that I be considered to be your kids’ godfather?”
Carmen glared at Gary. “Kids? Don’t pull the cart before the horse.”
“There will be kids, lots of kids,” he said. “Future football players.”
“I’m sure you’d just love that,” she said and giggled. “Hey, would you stop by John’s tent, please?”
“Why?”
“Because I asked politely and you do what I say.”
“Yes ma’am!”
Gary pulled the Jeep up to the tent, much as it was yesterday, only today there were no white knuckles gripping firearms. He left the vehicle idling as Carmen got out and went inside.
Gary looked over at Theo, his face sober and thoughtful when he said, “You will take great care of Georgette, won’t you?”
“If she’ll have me.”
He looked to the tent, then back at Theo. “I think we both know she’ll have you.”
“I will. Of course I will.”
“Women will be throwing themselves at you. It won’t be easy to remain faithful.”
“It wouldn’t be easy if it were anyone other than Carmen.”
“She’s going to turn down a good man for you. A man who would provide her with a good comfortable life. If it comes to be that she regrets this decision, because of some stupid thing you did, like get a little too friendly with the Niner cheerleaders, I’ll add a fourth body to this grave.”
Theo smiled his eyes, but Gary weren’t humored. He swallowed. “Gary, you can trust me to take good care of her.”
“Trust,” he said. “There will be plenty of that between us three, won’t there be?”
“And silence,” he added.
Gary nodded, patted Theo’s knee, squeezed it. “I think things will be alright. Juuust fine.”
Carmen came out of the tent, zipped her windbreaker, and got back inside, using Theo as furniture.
“What did you do?” Theo asked her.
“Got what belonged to me.” She patted the square bulge in her windbreaker pocket. “It was in the knapsack.”
“Ah, the camera.”
She squirmed until she found the most comfortable position upon him, her head resting on his shoulder. Shoulders she loved, broad and powerful.
Gary shifted the Jeep into drive and continued to the mine.
“Will you get them developed?” Theo inquired.
“No. They are the past. I’m burying the camera with the bodies.”
Theo was doing some thinking. The only sound came from the six cylinders of the Jeep. After much deliberation, he said, “You know, Carmen, I think I’m fine to never know who that man is in the mine. I don’t know if I’d want to know. If it had been Michael Reese Gibson we killed, how miserable would it be knowing we killed a husband and father of two; a good man. Not that I’m okay with killing the other man, it just helps to not know the details. In my mind he was a bad man, banished just like John Whitmeier was, for some obscene crime. He was a bad man with no desire to go on living his miserable life, so he stayed on the rails… heck, maybe he moved into our path, to end his life.”
Gary nodded. “God rest his soul, but perhaps that is what happened, and it was for the best. Bury those pictures and your memories of him in the grave.”
And bury them they did. It was the end of a ten year chapter and the beginning of a new.
Epilogue
A Forty Niner’s banner stretched across the wall in the Graham’s living room. Handwritten in gold on the banner was #9, his longtime jersey number. There were so many people in the living room that it overflowed into the kitchen and even the hallway. There was but one celebrity present, and it was Jim Harbaugh, the coach for the Forty Niner’s. He was conversing with Scotty, both laughing and gesticulating. Random people—Theo’s friends and relatives—would tap him on the shoulder as they passed by and wish Jim luck next season.
“He’s here!” someone exclaimed from in front of the living room window.
People withdrew their noise makers and horns, some held confetti poppers. The room grew silent. When the door opened an orchestra of loud obstreperous noise clamored. Theo was dressed smartly in slacks and a dress-shirt, smiling and waving at the throng as he entered. Carmen wore a light-blue dress, not quite formal, not quite casual, and was attached to Theo at the arm.
He let go of her to hug his father, who congratulated him on being drafted. Then he hugged his mother, his sister Jessica, and then stood eye to eye with Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh shook his hand as tight as a vice, pulled him in and hugged him, patted his back.
“You’re taking us to the Super Bowl this year, Teddy. You got that?”
“Yes, coach. You bet your ass I am.”
The coach released him, and said, “Subway… I couldn’t believe it when I saw that commercial. Already, huh?”
“I thought I looked pretty good. Hey, I want you to meet my girlfriend Carmen.” He guided her by the arm to coach Harbaugh. He shook her hand, it was a pleasure to meet her.
Too many people were jostling their way to Theo, eager to congratulate him. He thought it would be rude to bring it up now, but did so anyway. “Coach, you still have connections at Stanford, I’m sure. You know anyone in the admissions office?”
Jim’s eyes flashed to Carmen. She grinned bashfully at him.
“Carmen is getting her bachelors this semester, would love to get into the medical program at Stanford.”
“Is she smart?” he said jokingly, but not entirely.
“Smarter than me.”
He studied Carmen, then gave a little nod and a wink.
* * *
Once again the Graham residence was in a shambles, confetti and noise makers strewn everywhere, enough empty beer cans and bottles to fill their recycle bin twice over. Theo and Carmen sat deeply in the couch, drained emotionally from the party. He stared incessantly at the Niner’s banner on the wall, still in disbelief that he was officially a member of his favorite team. Of course the contracts weren’t drawn up yet, but they would be soon enough. Carmen tugged at his arm, told him with her eyes she’d like to be kissed now: he kissed her.
James was in the recliner facing the huge flat-screen TV, rewinding footage of the draft from the DVR. Lea brought a tray of tea and coffee in, two cups of each, and admonished her husband to leave the TV alone, that there was time for that later. James acquiesced, but only after he showed them one quick part. He finally had it lined up and made certain they were all watching when he pressed play. It was stock footage of the Fiesta Bowl, shown during the highlights of the draft. Theo had escaped from the pocket, narrowly avoiding a sack, and looked up field to Glazier (his preferred receiver) and chucked a zinger at him, resulting in a touchdown. It was the commentary James wanted his son to hear.
“How about that arm, huh?”
“No doubt. It was a Graham cracker.”
“A Graham cracker it was.”
James pressed pause, smiled at his son. “Graham cracker is what they’ll call your fast passes from now on, you wait and see. You have your own thing now.”
“He’ll still be my Teddy Graham,” Carmen said adoringly at Theo.
Lea handed Carmen her requested tea and said, “So you want to go to Stanford Medical School, huh?”
“I do. I hope they accept me.”
�
�Trust me,” Theo said, “they’ll accept you. I know Jim well enough to know that not only will he take care of it, there won’t be any bills coming your way.”
“Will you guys share a house or apartment or something?” James asked.
Theo said yes as Carmen said no. She raised her brow and repeated her negative answer. “Not until I’m married will I live with a man. You know me better than that, Theodore.”
He nodded and kissed her forehead.
“There are some in my community who think that what I am doing is wrong, but most don’t. I will be getting an education out here this fall. They know you aren’t Mormon, and I think people are holding on to hope that you’ll convert, but I know you won’t. And I don’t want you to. I want you to be yourself, believe what you believe. Let me believe what I believe. I want you to love me for who I am as I will love you for who you are. God is in our hearts. God brought you to me once, then again recently. It is His will that I found you, and my will that I keep you, and never let you go. And I never will let you go.”