Just a Memory

by Lois Carroll

  Harry reached for Mac’s good arm at the wrist and in a flash snapped on a handcuff he pulled from his pocket. “Mac here has generously provided us with the handcuffs. These and his gun and the TV was about all he had in his house.”

  Laughing, Harry pulled the other end of the handcuff around a metal post in the headboard next to Carolyn’s head. The movement raised Mac’s arm up over his head and although he gritted his teeth, he couldn’t prevent the low groan of pain.

  “You slide down,” Harry told Carolyn. “I’ll handcuff you two together. Then I know you’ll stay put.”

  Harry slackened the pull of the cuff allowing her room to slide down until her head was at the same level as Mac’s. Harry reached for her wrist and snapped the other cuff on her.

  “And don’t forget, I got my friend to keep you two in line.” He opened his jacket and patted the gun in his shoulder holster.

  Carolyn shivered, and Mac thought she was reacting to the cold. “How about a blanket?”

  “What am I, a butler or somethin’?” Harry complained quickly enough, but he grabbed the bloodied bedspread and tossed it to them. Carolyn managed, using her free hand and her legs, to arrange it somewhat over them both.

  “Give me your hand so the cuffs won’t pull.” He held her hand high on the pillow so the cuffs didn’t bite into their wrists.

  “Thanks.”

  He bent the elbow of his injured arm so his hand lay on her other arm across her stomach. He leaned close enough to kiss her temple. She turned to him and their lips met.

  Goodbye, Caro, he intended the kiss to say. You’ll never know how much I love you or how happy I’ve been since I met you.

  Mac’s last thoughts were that they had to make their move before the fever got the best of him. Carolyn had to get away. She had to if it was the last thing he did. With her free, she would have a chance at staying alive, even if he did not.

  Their foreheads touching, Mac and Carolyn fell asleep, their bodies exhausted and in need of healing rest.

  “Looks like a roadblock ahead,” the driver said when he saw the red and blue flashing lights flickering across the snow-covered road.

  The radio news in the long black car announced that the New York State Highway Department had closed the upstate highway system and advised no travel except in an emergency.

  “Do whatever they say,” Morris said from the back seat, his dark eyes taking in the scene. “Don’t give them any reason whatsoever to stop us.”

  The flashing lights reflected rhythmically on the driver’s face as they turned near the police cars and headed up the off ramp.

  “Keep going on this plowed road. When you get a chance, get out a map. We’ll find another route to that damn town, but we’re not stopping.”

  “Yes, sir, boss…ah, Lieutenant.”

  The big car’s chained snow tires hummed as the driver turned onto the county highway heading west.

  Bathed in the blue light from the television droning on through the night, Carolyn smiled as she dreamed of sunbathing on a South Sea island. She could feel the warmth of the sand and sun on her face. Slowly the dream faded away, and she woke up to the fact that the warmth was none other than Mac’s fevered body leaning heavily on hers. She looked up to find him watching her.

  “This isn’t the way I ever pictured us in bed together,” he whispered with a smile.

  “Me neither.” After peeking to see that Harry was still asleep, she leaned up to captured Mac’s mouth in a gentle kiss. “Mac, there has to be a way I can get away and get help.”

  Mac thought about the plan he had formulated. It meant she would be in danger, but it was their only hope. “There is a way,” he said.

  “Just tell me what to do.” If there were any chance of getting out of the cabin to get help, she’d do it. They had no chance if she stayed.

  Mac nuzzled her cheek and she moved her head up so his mouth was right next to her ear. Their whispering might wake Harry if they weren’t careful. “Caro, we’ve only got one chance to make it work. First, we get you out of the handcuffs and into your coat. Then you get yourself into the bathroom and out the window. I was loosening the bottom section that was stuck shut when I broke the glass tray in there. It should open for you now, but use running water to hide the sound.”

  She nodded.

  “Once you’re out the window, skirt away from the cabin down to the road for help. The snow may be crunchy, and he could hear that through these crummy walls since he’s got the TV so low. I’m praying you know where we are, and you can find some place to call for help.”

  She turned her head to whisper directly into his ear. “I know someone who lives back down the road. I thought about going there before I fell asleep, but I couldn’t figure how to get out of here.”

  The relief on Mac’s face was enormous.

  “When you talk to Hines, tell him I finally remember the whole night my partner was killed. This is very important, Caro. The killer was a cop. Tell Hines it was Brown Eyes who murdered Sam and shot me.”

  “Brown Eyes,” she repeated.

  “Now here’s what you have to do to get out of here. We’ve got to be quick. First, unbutton the waist of my jeans.”

  Carolyn gulped in surprise.

  “Why, Caro, what are you thinking of?”

  She looked at his smile and recognized a tease when she heard it. It helped her relax a little. She slid her hand down across his hard stomach to the waist of his jeans. Finding the button she slid two trembling fingers inside the belt to hold it while she pulled the buttonhole off the button with her thumb and first finger.

  She didn’t think Mac’s sharp intake of air was all from shoulder pain. She looked up into his eyes sheepishly and whispered, “Sorry.”

  “My pleasure,” he whispered with a smile.

  As soon as he felt the button release, he went on with the instructions. “Now run your hand around the waistband until you come to the little leather patch with the brand name of the jeans on the back of my hip.”

  A couple of seconds later she nodded.

  “Now the waist should be loose enough to get your finger under the label from the slit on the side and get the extra handcuff key I keep there. Be careful not to drop it.”

  “I wish you hadn’t added that last part,” she responded. “I wouldn’t have thought of dropping it if you hadn’t suggested it.”

  “Just think about how lucky we are I didn’t have any nylon cuffs in the house. Once they lock on we’d be sunk.”

  Realizing it was their only chance made her sure-fingered. She managed to get the key firmly between her fingers and around Mac’s waist to the bed between them. She looked up for further instructions.

  “I want you to loosen mine just a little–enough to force my hand through to get it free later. I’m hoping that when Harry realizes what is going on he won’t notice it’s loose. Leave your side just as tight as it is. I’ll wake him to say I need a drink, or… No, better yet, we’ll tell him you have to use the bathroom this time. He can’t refuse that and he should leave you alone in there long enough to get out the window.”

  She followed his directions turning the key slowly so the band could expand one click at a time until Mac judged it was barely big enough for escape.

  After making sure the metallic clicking hadn’t disturbed Harry, Mac told her to put the key back, just in case. She returned the key under the waistband patch, though she doubted Mac could ever retrieve it with his bad arm if he couldn’t get free without using it.

  She felt the adrenaline flowing as she listened to Mac go over the rest of the plan once more.

  After entering the Lakehaven Police Station, Ellie didn’t get much time to take off her coat and stomp the snow from her boots before Hines was working with her enumerating all the clues to the whereabouts of Mac and Carolyn.

  “Ellie, with this storm, I’m gambling they haven’t gotten far. Mac disappeared last night, but Carolyn has been gone only since about noon today.
I’m betting they’re together so they can’t be far away if the abductor could come back to Lakehaven for her.”

  Ellie nodded.

  “Their lives are at stake and Mac has been wounded. We’ve got to find them fast. Who can we get to help who knows the countryside around Lakehaven like the back of their hand?”

  “Well, someone who knows the lay of the land and what’s actually out there would be Jeff Morgan,” she suggested. “He’s a photographer with the newspaper over in Ithaca. Besides covering the news, he’s a nature photographer too. He goes all over the Finger Lakes Region taking great shots. They put a photo story of some unique spot in the area in the paper each Saturday. I bet he’d know every road by heart.”

  “That’s who we need,” Hines told her. “I knew I could count on you to know someone.”

  She smiled. “I can call him, but the snow’s still coming down. He might have trouble getting here.”

  “Call the highway department and get him here on a plow if you have to.”

  Hines followed her out of Mac’s office as she swung into immediate action at her phone. The two other officers from the Lakehaven force came in the door just then in a flurry of wind and snow. “Get your coats off and come on in here,” Hines called, raising his thumb over his shoulder to point to the Chief’s office.

  “Who the hell put you in charge here?” one of the men asked.

  Hines turned to face him and inhaled deeply, making his chest stand out at its broadest size. Their gazes locked. “I did,” he said, pointing to his own chest with his thumb. “You have a problem with that?” Hines asked slowly and deliberately. “If so, get out now!”

  The officer looked at the man beside him and then at Ellie. They offered no support for his objections. He glanced back at Hines and shook his head. “I guess not,” he muttered before turning away to take his coat off.

  Hines returned to Mac’s office and as soon as the others were settled around the desk, they started a list of all the details they knew about the suspect and the car so they’d know what to ask when they got the list of rural residents.

  “If only collecting all the details didn’t take so much time,” the cooperative part-timer said.

  “Right now time is our worse enemy,” Hines admitted. “Mac’s out there somewhere bleeding. We truly hope Carolyn is with him even though he would hate that. I’d bet each would have a better chance of survival with the other to help.”

  “Hines,” Ellie said from the doorway. “We’ve got some bad luck. The storm has brought down most of the phone lines and a lot of the electrical lines all across the county. I can’t reach even one of these people on the list by phone.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Why the hell did you wake me up?” Harry growled.

  Mac concentrated on staying conscious as the escape scene he and Carolyn had planned began to play out.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” Carolyn told him. “Will you please get me out of this handcuff?”

  Harry groaned but finally got up and let Carolyn loose. He fastened the cuff that had been around her wrist to the headboard. Mac’s cuffed wrist stayed hidden partway under the pillow and Harry didn’t look at it. As Harry returned to the other bed, Mac breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.

  “Brr. It’s gotten cold in here,” Carolyn complained as soon as she was out from under the bedspread. She reached over the foot of the bed for her coat and put it on. “As long as I’m up, I’ll freshen up the cloth for your head, Mac, and get you a drink.”

  He was surprised by this twist in their plan, but there was little he could do about it as she went back and forth to the kitchen to tend to him.

  Finally, with a kiss, she told him she would be back in a little while. “I’m going to get cleaned up,” she told him, louder than Mac thought was necessary.

  He yawned. “I’ll be asleep before you get to the bathroom door,” he responded groggily.

  She stroked his cheek one last time and even promised to walk him to the bathroom as soon as she was done in there.

  Mac worried she was taking too much time and laying it on too thick, but Harry seemed to have dismissed her as being non-threatening.

  From behind the closed door, Mac heard Carolyn humming softly for a minute or so, and then he heard the water turn on in the sink. Mac shut his eyes most of the way and watched Harry through his lashes. After he watched the television for a couple of minutes, Mac saw his eyes flutter closed as sleep started to take control of his tired body again.

  Mac heard the flush. He had the back of his cuffed hand between the bars of the headboard and against the wall behind the bed. As the water rushed noisily, he felt the vibration he was sure was the window opening. All the while he watched Harry carefully to see if he showed any signs of arousing.

  Exhaling the breath he’d been holding, Mac heard the shower water turn on. “Just get the hell out the window, Caro,” he wanted to shout to her.

  Finally he felt vibrations in the wall again, but he couldn’t hear anything over the spray of water. She had to be going through the window. Yes. He felt a knock against the wall–probably her feet hitting as she lowered herself out.

  Mac watched Harry whose head rolled to face him. His eyes stayed shut. Mac held his breath. Seconds passed and Harry began snoring again. The sounds hadn’t been loud enough to wake him. Mac exhaled.

  After the bump, there was only silence from outside while the shower water hitting the metal stall droned on inside. Had Carolyn fallen and hurt herself?

  Finally, after what seemed like forever but was merely seconds, he heard what he thought were her first steps in the snow as she crept away from the back of the cabin. Or maybe a clump of snow had slid from the roof.

  Go, Carolyn. Get away where you’ll be safe.

  The water sprayed on like a lullaby. Mac’s breathing returned to normal. Relaxing his neck, he slid his cuffed hand back under the pillow that still held Carolyn’s sweet scent.

  Carolyn had escaped from the cabin. There wasn’t anything else he could do now. He was too weak even to think of fighting Harry or trying to get his gun. It was all up to her. Run, my love, run.

  Mac lay there and thought about all that had brought him to Lakehaven. He thought about Sam. I finally remember, Sam, he wanted to tell his dead partner. Caro would tell them. They’d get Morris even though he couldn’t.

  As the darkness enveloped him, Mac fought to keep an image of Carolyn’s face in his mind’s eye. I love you, Caro. I never told you, but I love–

  Then Mac saw and felt nothing.

  The light in his life and the loving warmth he had known for such a short time were gone.

  Without waiting another second, Carolyn grabbed her coat that had padded the window frame she’d climbed through and headed away from the cabin. She pulled on the coat and buttoned it as she ran through the snow-covered grass, not stopping until she reached the edge of the woods. She granted herself one glance back at the cabin, but nothing seemed to be changed. Maybe she hadn’t made as much noise as she’d thought.

  Staying at the edge of the trees until she reached the road, she turned toward the way they had come from town. That meant she had to cross the entrance driveway to the cabins. But if she’d gone the other way around the cabin, Harry would have heard her pass by. Now, if he saw her moving against the white blanket of snow covering everything, he would come flying out of the cabin.

  She could hear the creaking of the branches as the snow piled heavily on them. Large snow clumps dropped out of the trees and she had no way to dodge them. Why did it have to be so cold tonight? Bitter dampness had already penetrated her coat.

  She shook her head to free it of the snow already wetting her hair and pulled her hands up into her coat arms, grasping the ends of her sleeves with her fingers in an attempt to keep her unprotected hands warmer. At least she couldn’t feel the burn on her hand from the hot potato when it was this cold.

  Carolyn stopped behind a tree by the dri
veway to the old motel. No sound came from the cabin. No car could be heard on the road. Go, Carolyn. Stooping over, she took long but careful strides across the driveway. Already soaked through, her shoes were little protection on the snowy road.

  She broke into a run at the far side of the driveway and almost immediately collided painfully with a fence along the woods at the roadside. Hidden from view by a snow covering, the top rail hit her just above waist height and knocked the wind from her. It was so dark she wondered what else was out there that she couldn’t see.

  Deliberately watching more carefully where she stepped once she could breathe again, Carolyn was forced to cross the drainage ditch beside the road and go up onto the roadbed itself for safety’s sake. The ditch had steep sides by the woods, and she slid and fell on one hip. She panicked at taking so much time. She wasn’t moving very far away, but she was getting very wet and cold.

  She scrambled to her feet on the road and broke into a run. That should warm her up. She stayed near the edge of the road where the loose gravel collected. Even though she had better traction against slipping there, her arms flew out at odd angles in her effort to keep from falling. Inhaling quick breaths as she ran, she felt the cold air sear her lungs.

  She ran until the stitch in her side was too sharp to ignore. She slowed to a walk but made herself keep on going. Her hands were too cold to hold on to the sleeves. She pressed a fist into the pain in her side. It didn’t stop. She tried stretching her torso away from the tightening muscle as she walked, but it only made her aware of the pain in her ribs where she’d hit the fence. She slowed her walk more and leaned over. Only then did she feel some relief from the pain in her side.

  Listening carefully, she heard only sounds of her own footsteps. As she got accustomed to the dark, the sky seemed to glow, although no stars or moon could be seen through the snow and clouds. When she looked up, the snow blew into her face and eyes, so she kept her face tipped down. Her hair was wet and snow-covered by now. At least she didn’t feel her headache any more.