by Sandy Night
Colt winced, remembering the first time he’d come through here and how he’d been horror-struck by the remains, thinking he was doomed for sure. And then a living thing terrorized him. It blew cool breaths on the back of his neck and arms. It hummed Dixie and whistled like a bird. It poked and prodded him in the buttocks as if it had a stick, making Colt move on when all he wanted to do was crawl back. And when he floundered at the dead-end, it came up behind him and melted into his back and pushed, crushing him. And then he broke through and landed in the cave.
He got on his knees and pointed the light behind him, nothing but dark soil. The top of the tunnel arched high. He stretched his back and then skittered over to the bones. He determined it to be an adult by the length of the tibia and width of the ribs, probably male. As he arranged the bones to the side so they could pass through without disturbing them any further, a metal object caught his eye. It stuck up out of the curve. He pulled it out and palmed a star-shaped badge.
*****
Alaska glanced behind her, at the distant glow and of him still at the skeleton. What the hell was he up to?
She turned back around and continued crawling in the pitch dark. Her heavy breathing echoed off the spherical walls. Then her head bumped something. She raised her hand, expecting a low overhang, but her fingers touched soft mushiness, like a mushroom. That damn ghost again. Well hell, no way would she take his shit no more. So she pinched it.
“Ouch!”
She let go. “Whip?”
“Alaska, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Did they throw you in here too? Was that you screaming? There’s something in here. We have to get out of here, its going to kill us. How we get the fuck out of here? Who, whooo…”
She found his shoulder in the darkness and shook. “Whip, shut up, I might know how to get us out of here.”
“Huh, might?”
“Well, let me put it to you this way. You tell me everything I want to know, right here and now, or I’m leaving your ass in here.”
“Nooooo, you get me out, and then I’ll talk.”
“You listen here you freaking—”
“Whoa you two,” Colt said, intervening with the flashlight. The area around them dimly lit up. Dirt streaked Whip’s tear swollen, weasel face.
Colt placed his hand on her hip. “We need to go, and now.”
“I want to ask him some questions first.”
“You can ask on the way out. And if he refuses to answer, I’m sure there will be consequences. Whip, do you understand that this is one pissed off woman here?”
“Yeah, let’s go, man.”
Alaska leaned her weight to the side, grabbed Whip’s shirtsleeve and pulled. “Get yourself in front of me.” He pressed past her. The pale illumination around them disappeared.
“Why murder to fake your death?” Alaska asked as they bustled through the tunnel on their hands and knees. She would have preferred to spit bullets at his hindquarters. “Why didn’t you just stage an accident for insurance money? It was all for life insurance, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hate Blade that much, set him up for revenge, kill two birds with one stone?”
“Hey, it was all my Aunt Esther’s plan. She made me do it. She figured the insurance company won’t check to see if I was really dead if someone had been convicted of killing me.”
“Why Blade, what bug did she have up her butt about him? Why not some junkie meth head who was destroying his life anyway?”
“He was the perfect candidate. We’d been fighting since grade school. It’s on record. And if it had been someone else, they might have really beaten me to death. I knew Blade wouldn’t so I agreed to use him.”
“See, Blade’s a nice guy. He never hurt you. He didn’t deserve what you did to him.”
“But he hated me real bad, and you too.”
“We didn’t hate you, you were a pest. Look at what happened to my face in that field.”
“Hey man, I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was just trying to kiss your ass like you said.”
Whip stopped abruptly and Alaska barreled into him. “Dammit Whip.”
“Now hold on back there.” Colt ordered. “I don’t want you two plowing through here breaking bones.”
“Oh puhlease, it was already a mess.”
“Do you know who this might be, Whip?” Colt asked as he shone the light behind him to guide them.
“Uh…uh…nope.”
Alaska thought it amusing the way Colt arranged the scattered bones. The arms and legs laid out straight and the skull faced the ribs instead of twisting backwards like a freak show. It was as if Colt knew him and put him to rest. Surely he planned to send out investigators. Maybe he didn’t want them to see the disarray he caused first, then her.
Colt and Whip hauled buggy down the straightway that used to be cold. She followed as best she could. Her loose shoes slowed her down, twice she had to stop and retrieve one. And she had to keep her bad knee at an awkward angle. What happened to make it so stifling? Maybe, all that heavy breathing in front of her caused it.
“Hey Whip,” she called out. “Who all was involved?”
“It was just us—me, Tom, my Aunt, and that scumbag deputy. Oh, and the coroner.”
“How the hell did you get him involved?”
“Deputy shot one of his dogs and then threatened to kill them all if he didn’t sign my death certificate. That was also my Aunt’s idea. See, we had Deputy Haggard by the balls because he killed my brother.”
“He kills Floyd and y’all go into cahoots with him?”
“Yeah, blackmail, we had a video recorder and we taped him shooting him, sound and all.”
Colt stopped and turned around. “Where’s that tape now?”
Whip slumped over into a sitting position. “It’s on a DVD somewhere in my Auntie’s house.”
Alaska also got off her knees and sat. “Why did Haggard shoot Floyd? And how did you happen to be there with a video recorder?”
Whip hesitated then sniffled. “That…that was my brother man.” His words broke. “He…he wasn’t supposed to get shot. It was bad. Are we gonna die here.” His voice squeaked. “I don’t want to die, get me outta here, man.”
“C’mon,” Colt said, “let’s go.”
Chapter 19
Colt barreled out of the tunnel, spun around, and blocked the exit, pointing the dim beacon of light inside. No way was he going to lose the suspect.
Alaska hollered, “Grab him Colt! Grab him.”
“Let go of my shirt,” Whip whined, “you’re slowing me down.”
“I’m not letting you go until you’re behind bars!”
Cunningham had apparently twisted around for he emerged feet first, kicking like a spoiled child. A foot rammed Colt’s side and he almost doubled over. But instead, he dropped the flashlight, caught Whip’s ankles, pulled him out and plopped him on the ground.
“Oh fuck,” spluttered the young man the size of a juvenile.
Colt flipped him over onto his stomach. And then he pressed his knee into his lower back, placing his hand between his shoulder blades, pushing him down.
Alaska picked up the flashlight. “What are you doing?”
“Yeah man, what the fuck you doing?” The suspect squirmed.
“Hold still or I’ll use more force.”
“Police abuse, let me up dammit, or I’ll sue you!”
“You can sue whomever you want to,” Colt said. “But you’ll be doing it from a cell.”
“Alaska, hold him while I get your shoelaces out of my pocket. We’re going to tie his wrists.”
She knelt beside him. “You still have them? I could have used them on my shoes instead of flip-flopping around.”
“I was saving them for a moment like this.”
Putting her hand next to his, she shone the light in Whip’s face. “If you move, I swear I’ll pound you unconscious and carry your ass out of here.”
He stopped moving.
Colt eased off him, stretched his back while he stayed on his knees, and fished out the tied together shoelaces that had been used on Alaska’s ankles. “Put the light over here,” he said as he grabbed Whip’s hands.
“Owww, watch out for my finger, man. I got an injury.”
“I heard about that.” Colt chuckled as he wrapped the long lace around his wrists. He searched for the bite mark but couldn’t locate it among the sodden fingers. After tying a tight knot he yanked him to his feet and snatched the flashlight out of Alaska’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Leading the way toward the mouth of the cave, he kept a viselike grip on his prisoner’s foreman, pulling him whenever necessary.
He stepped out of the darkened earth and into dusk. A deep breath expanded his chest and he slowly released it as he looked out at the hills topped with a pinkish-lavender glow. Back here again for the third time. But this time he was most surely moving onward. Nothing was going to stop him.
From his peripheral vision he noticed Cunningham’s head switching back and forth, probably trying to figure out where they were at.
Alaska darted in front of them. “Where are we Whip?”
He jutted his chin up. “I’m not saying another word until my lawyer’s present.”
*****
Esther Ketch damn near killed herself on her ATV. She slipped in and out of consciousness at the crash site while her son and Doug searched for Alaska.
When Esther’s mind stabilized enough to remain awake, dusk hung on its last peg. Bugs skittered underneath her clothing and crawled on her back and stomach. She squirmed and tried to reach for them but every single move she made enraged her body with excruciating pain.
Finally, they came back and told her Alaska was probably hiding somewhere until it got dark, and they were going to take her back to the house so the coyotes wouldn’t get her.
As they carried her to Doug’s SUV, she suffered unbearably from their clumsiness. They put the hatch up and laid her in the back. Tom suggested that they call medical transport to pick her up while they go back out. But Doug said they couldn’t chance the possibility of them calling it in because of her condition. Esther agreed. She could wait to go to the hospital until the bitch was found and dealt with.
After they arrived at the house, she told Tom to check her legs before they pulled her out of the SUV. Quite a bit of blood was on both of them and it turned out that one had a deep cut below the knee. But they weren’t broke. So she insisted she walk, it was either that or a stretcher. She hobbled to the porch and up the steps with her son by her side, holding her up by her good arm.
Doug strutted ahead of them. He’d gone straight to the kitchen and turned on the light.
Tom flipped the entrance switch, turning on the lamp in the living room. He led her toward the sofa but she didn’t sit. “Doug,” she yelled. “Bring me some water.”
“Your shoulder blade looks broke.” Tom let her go, took a step back, and looked down at her.
Esther ran the tip of her index finger along the protruding bone and located the bump. “I think my ribs broke too,” she whimpered. “Go get me some aspirin.” Tom took off down the hallway.
She swayed but didn’t topple.
Premonitions hardly ever bestowed upon her but she recognized the inner sensation of permanent departure. It came upon her like it did the last time she saw her husband alive. But it wasn’t her son. It would be her home. She glanced about her precious living room.
Tom appeared with an opened bottle, palm up, and ready to pour the tablets. “How many do you want?”
“Three,” she whispered. And like the flick of a coin yelled, “God-damn Doug, where’s my water?”
“Here.” Holding the glass, he charged toward her with his arm outstretched.
She took the aspirin, popped them in her mouth, and grasped the water with her steady hand.
Doug took a bite out of a sandwich he had.
“You’re eating?” Tom blurted. “We got to go.”
“I’m bringing it with me,” Doug mumbled through a mouthful. He swallowed, bobbing his Adams apple. “We could be out there half the night before we grab her. And then we’ll have to dispose of her.”
“Well, I’m getting one too.” Tom skirted Esther and brushed past him. “You better not have taken the last of the smoked ham.”
Doug followed him. “What else was there?”
Esther gulped the last of the water and set the glass down on the end table. She figured she better use the bathroom before lying down. She made it to the hallway and flipped the switch on for the overhead light. She shuffled onward, running her hand from her good arm along the wall to keep her balance.
She pulled her bloody scrub pants off, and then managed to stretch enough to reach for the roll of gauze on the top shelf in the cabinet. She sat and began to wrap the cut beneath her knee. There were black and purple splotches all along her legs and arms, and new patches of red scrapes and scratches next to the ones she received after being knocked off the ridge and falling through that damn tree. She hurt like hell exploded. Another blow would kill her.
Groaning, she struggled to get off the toilet.
Dizziness overcame her after she entered her bedroom and she dropped to the carpet. She lay flat on her back with one arm stretched out and the other curled by her side. Every breath she took reverberated splinter sharp pain into her sides. She drew in air lightly, just enough to keep herself alive.
A soft breeze blew in from the opened window and flapped the sheer curtains. A minor chill swept over Esther. She began to mull over her exit plan. But then the lamp on the dresser came on and Tom stood next to her. “What are you doing down there?”
“I didn’t make it to the bed.”
He bent over. “Let me help up.”
“No don’t.” Esther barely raised her hand and beckoned him toward her. He knelt by her. She said, “I’m not moving till it’s time to leave for Montana, where the skies are so blue.”
“Huh, what are you talking about?”
“My suitcase is packed, it’s in the closet. Look on the dresser; I put one of those DVDs of Doug shooting Floyd up there. They’ll find that and maybe won’t pursue us right away. Give us time to get up to Montana. We’ll stop at a hospital on the way.”
“But we won’t have to leave; everyone’s been taken care of, except Alaska. And we’ll get her.”
“And if you don’t? We’ll have to leave right away, tonight. Just come back, get me and my suitcase and we’ll go.”
“Why Montana, we don’t know anybody there?”
“Exactly.”
Tom stood up. “I better go ahead and grab a few things.”
“Wait, I’m chilly. Cover me.”
He yanked the quilt off the bed.
“No not that. It’s too heavy and I’ll get blood on it. Get an old sheet out of the hall closet.”
After Tom tossed the quilt back on the bed, he took off out of the bedroom.
The only thing for her to do now was to wait and relax as best she could. Her son would take care of her, get her to a hospital. They’ll give her some high dosage pain killers and then she could sleep for a month under the blue skies of Montana.
Tom came back and swooshed an old white sheet up to her neck, laying it over her. “I’ll find her,” he said before leaving.
Esther dozed for she didn’t know how long before waking to the intense light coming from the lamp on the dresser. Her eyes watered and she squinted as she peered up at the bare bulb underneath the shade. She called out for Tom to turn the damn thing off, but the house echoed stillness.
She turned her head to the side to avoid the unbearable bright glow but the movement jarred a crick of pain in her neck so she moved it back. Closing her eyes didn’t work, the brilliance seeped through her lids, so she pulled the sheet up over her head.
*****
A crescent moon glistened, stars twinkled, and a trillion
insects clamored. The batteries in the flashlight were dead. Alaska stepped onto a paved road. Even though she trusted Colt to hold onto Whip, she kept a tight grip on his other arm. Whip had proven to be a sly pecker; he would surely melt in the darkness if he got away from them.
Strolling down the middle of the street they headed east.
“What I wouldn’t give for an iced tea and some Tylenol right about now,” Alaska said.
“You have a headache too?” Colt asked. “My head is throbbing.”
“My whole body hurts, especially one of my knees. I think I busted it.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and a wildlife officer with a cage will come along. He’ll have a first aid kit.”
“Or a friendly RV stopping would be nice. Someone could possibly recognize me from the café.”
“There,” Colt said, “up ahead to your right.” Whip stopped and Alaska’s hand almost slipped off his arm.
Two sets of headlights flickered through the trees. The vehicles drove on a side road, heading toward the one they were one. Alaska pulled on Whip’s arm but he didn’t budge. “C’mon Colt, let’s drag his ass, we have to hurry. They could turn the other way and we’ll miss flagging them down.”
“I don’t know,” Colt said. “I got a bad feeling about this.”
“Well you should,” Whip blurted. “That’s probably my fucking aunt and Haggard. She lives down that road.”
“Well crap.” Alaska stopped pulling on Whip’s arm and took a step back. “Maybe he’s lying Colt, and there’s a ranger station down there.”
“They’ll kill us,” Whip added. “Man, we’re supposed to be dead in that stupid hole. They’ll fucking shoot us for sure if they see us walking around.”
“Let’s take cover.” Colt directed them off to the left side of the pavement and into the dark overgrowth of weeds and tall grass.
Alaska sat on the ground while Whip and Colt managed to lie on their stomachs. She guessed they were taking no chances. She didn’t think she’d be seen as she parted leaves to peer out.”