Walking Straight (The Walking Together Series Book 1)

by T. E. Killian

  Betty Sue said, “We can’t hook up our seatbelts.”

  Dave only laughed. “Don’t worry about them.”

  Dave got in the driver’s seat and hit the garage remote. But as the garage door opened, they all saw several police cars in the street and one was even crossways at the end of the driveway, blocking it.

  Dave cursed and shut the garage door again. He got out of the car and opened the back door. “Get out. We’ve got to go back inside so I can talk to those yokels.”

  They struggled to get out of the car again and discovered that it was a little easier to slide out than it had been to climb in.

  Once they accomplished that, Dave scooped up both Trish’s and Betty Sue’s bags off the floor and carried them into the kitchen with him.

  Once inside, Dave hooked them both back up to the table legs the way they’d been before. He reached into Trish’s bag and pulled out her cell phone. He laughed when he saw her gun.

  “Lady, what’s a little thing like you doing with a gun like that? That’s a cannon.”

  Trish didn’t comment but he laughed some more making Betty Sue wonder if he might just keep on laughing without being able to stop.

  When he finally stopped, he slid Trish’s cellphone across the table to her and said, “I’ll bet you’ve got that hick police chief’s number programed in there.”

  When she nodded, he said, “Dial it and give me the phone.”

  She did as he told her and he took the phone back from her. “What’s his name?”

  “Hal Wallace.”

  After a moment, he said, “Wallace. I want you to listen carefully to what I’m going to tell you. And if you don’t do it, then you’re going to have one dead restaurant manager. You got that?”

  They couldn’t hear what Hal said but Betty Sue knew he would try to stall Dave in whatever he wanted the police to do. She noticed that Trish was praying again so she joined her.

  “No!” Dave was almost screaming now. “You listen to me. I’ve got the upper hand here and you’re just going to have to do what I tell you to or else you’re not going to like the results. You hear?”

  “Okay. That’s better. Now listen. I want you to get a small plane fueled up and ready to go out at your little airport. Got it?”

  “No, don’t give me that. I know that somebody around here must have something that we can use. Okay, that’s better. As soon at that plane’s ready then you’re going to let us out of here in that Escalade so we can go get on the plane.”

  “No. I don’t need a pilot. I can fly anything this hick town has sitting around.”

  “No. That won’t do. I’ll give you two hours, that’s all.”

  He disconnected the phone and tossed it down on the table but out of the reach of both of the women.

  Betty Sue looked at Trish and realized her friend was trying to get a message to her with her eyes and facial expression but Dave saw it.

  “You, what’s your name?”

  “Trish.”

  “Okay Trish. I think I need to go over the rules for you.” He turned to Betty Sue. “You too BS.”

  Oh, she’d always hated it when he called her that, especially the way he did. He always made it sound like a slur.

  “I don’t want either one of you to even look at the other one. You understand? Look at me or somewhere else but do not look at each other. I don’t want any messages being passed back and forth. You hear?”

  Trish nodded and Betty Sue said, “Why are you doing this Dave? You don’t really want me anymore, do you?”

  He grinned at her and she was afraid he’d start laughing again and not stop. He did keep grinning at her for so long that she didn’t think he was going to answer her.

  Finally, he said, “If you can’t understand it, I shouldn’t even tell you.” He glared at her for some time again before continuing, “It’s plain and simple. You’re mine and no one ever takes away anything that belongs to me. You’ll never be able to get away from me now . . . not ever. If you try, I’ll always find you just like I have now three different times.”

  He didn’t say anything else for a few minutes and Betty Sue was thinking that she and Trish were better off that way.

  Then he looked back over at Betty Sue. “Well, I don’t think I have to worry about that big hillbilly you been hanging around with anymore.”

  Betty Sue held her breath in anticipation of what he might say next. Hoping it wasn’t what she was afraid it would be.

  He let that statement hang in the air for some time before he laughed that laugh again. “Yeah, I got him real good before I came over here this afternoon. So, I don’t think it’ll do you any good to be hoping that he’ll be coming to your rescue anytime soon. I don’t think that’s going to happen. If I didn’t kill him, he’ll probably be laid up in the hospital long enough for me to get you back to Dallas where you belong.”

  Betty Sue felt the air rush out of her lungs. He couldn’t have meant what it sounded like he did. Did he shoot Matt? Even though she knew she was playing right into his hand with the little game he always played with her, she had to know.

  “Did you shoot Matt?”

  He just grinned at her for a long moment before nodding and saying, “I sure did. And I certainly enjoyed it too.”

  This time it felt like someone had hit her in the face. She felt tears forming in her eyes but fought them desperately. She knew that any sign of weakness to Dave was like an open invitation for him to start hitting her.

  Just as she was about to sink into a depressing funk she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Trish was shaking her head. She knew immediately what Trish meant. If Matt were dead, wouldn’t she know it? That made her feel so much better even though she knew that she and Trish were still in a bad situation without much hope of rescue.

  * * *

  Matt was surprised at how easy it was for him to get out of that hospital with his dad at his side. After all, as much time as his dad spent at the hospital as pastor of the largest church in town, everyone there knew him well and were happy to do whatever he asked.

  All of that caused Matt to begin to look at his dad just a little bit differently than he ever had before.

  They were soon out of the hospital but his dad hadn’t been able to talk them out of taking Matt out to the car in a wheelchair.

  Matt was also surprised at the way he was able to get around. But before they would let him get into the car with his dad, they’d checked his wound one more time to make sure it wasn’t bleeding or broken open.

  As his dad drove the five miles over to Trish’s house, Matt began thinking. He had to help Betty Sue one way or another. But when he thought about it, he realized that he was far from being at his best right then. Not only did he have a cast on his left leg, but he also had a hole in his left shoulder with that arm in a sling.

  All his life, Matt had been intimidating to most people he met because of his size. And he wasn’t really ashamed of the fact but he’d also enjoyed it considerably. But from the way Betty Sue had talked, her ex wasn’t a whole lot smaller than him and if he had actually kidnapped Betty Sue and Trish then the guy was probably totally out of control now.

  And Matt knew from being around druggies that someone out of control could be even stronger than usual. He sure hoped that wasn’t the case with Betty Sue’s ex.

  So how did you go about getting hostages away from someone like that anyway? He sure hoped Hal had some ideas. He knew that he was going to have to count on Hal and the other police. That was a laugh since he’d been at odds with the police most of his life, especially Hal.

  Just as they approached the gate into the community where Trish and his parents lived, they noticed immediately that a police car was sitting there and an officer was motioning for them to stop.

  Matt’s dad stopped the car and rolled down his window. The officer looked in and saw him then waved them on in, and as they passed said, “The chief is expecting you sir.”

  Now Matt was wo
rried. He was almost certain now that Betty Sue’s ex had her and Trish and must be holed up in Trish’s house with them.

  His dad drove to their house first to let Matt’s mom off then they were on their way to Trish’s house a few blocks away.

  When they turned onto Trish’s street, they couldn’t get close to Trish’s house because the whole street was full of police cars. He didn’t think Strawberry had that many cops on duty at any given time. Then he noticed that there were county and even state units there as well.

  His dad parked the car as near as they could get and they got out and began walking up to Trish’s house. But of course, they were stopped immediately by a very stern looking state trooper.

  “You can’t go any farther. This whole street is sealed off.”

  Matt was about to yell at the guy that his . . . Well what was she to him? Whatever she was to him, Betty Sue was up there with a madman and he wasn’t going to stand back here and watch from a distance.

  But Matt’s dad placed a hand on Matt’s arm and led him back a few feet away from the trooper.

  “Calm down Matt. There’s always a better way to do things. Just wait a minute. Okay?”

  Matt watched as his dad pulled out his cellphone and dialed it. He heard his dad say Hal’s name but the conversation was very short.

  Matt’s dad disconnected. “Wait a minute.”

  Sure enough, in just a few minutes, one of Hal’s sergeants made his way through the police cars to where the trooper was standing. He spoke to the man briefly then motioned for Matt and his dad to follow him.

  Great! Matt’s respect for his dad just climbed a few more notches. He sure did know how to get things done and in a hurry too.

  Soon, they were standing behind Hal who was talking to the sheriff and a state trooper sergeant. They were all facing Trish’s house. Matt fully intended to keep on going right up there to demand that Hal tell him what he was going to do to rescue Betty Sue and Trish. But Matt’s dad placed his arm in front of Matt to stop him.

  “No Matt. Let them talk it over without us interrupting them. They know what they’re doing and they need to make plans. We’ll only be in the way. I’m sure Hal will talk to us as soon as they finish.

  Matt had to admit that what his dad said was probably right. But he just couldn’t stand around and do nothing. He had to do something to save Betty Sue. But as he thought about it, the pain in his shoulder and the cast on his leg reminded him of exactly how little he might be able to do on his own.

  After a few minutes, the other two men walked off in opposite directions and Matt stepped up to Hal with his dad right beside him.

  Hal looked at Matt’s dad then at Matt. “Well, you might as well know exactly what we’re up against.”

  He blew out a loud sigh and ran his hand through his hair roughly. “Well, about half an hour ago, the garage door went up then back down again real quick. Then a few minutes later my cellphone rang and it was Hamilton on Trish’s phone. He demanded that we get a plane ready for him to fly them out of here.”

  Matt wanted to hit something so bad that he had to walk away from the other two men for a moment so he could blow off some steam without making either one of them mad at him. He knew he didn’t need to lose his temper right then.

  When he walked back to them, he heard his dad ask, “Are you going to do what he demanded?”

  Hal shook his head with a frown. “I have to at least make it look like I am. Right now I just need to buy us some time until we can get some kind of plan in place.”

  He looked up at Trish’s house where it seemed like a single light was burning and it looked like it was at the back of the house, probably the kitchen.

  “The county SWAT team is assembling and should be here in about twenty minutes, which might still give us a little time to try something if we get the opportunity.”

  Matt saw red. “No way Hal! You’re not going to go storming into that house with Betty Sue in there. She might get killed.”

  Hal held up both hands in front of Matt and said, “Now hold on a minute here Matt. I never said anything about storming that house did I? You know that I’m going to do everything I possibly can to get those two women out of there safe and sound without any kind of violence. So just settle down for a minute, will you?”

  Matt felt his dad’s hand on his shoulder and for the first time in years, it felt good. It calmed him down and caused him to start thinking rationally again. He turned and smiled at his dad and they shared an almost intimate look for a few seconds.

  Then they both turned their attention back to Hal who was talking again.

  “We’re hoping that when they leave here we might be able to get the guy far enough away from the women so we can take him out, maybe at the airport if nothing else.” He shook his head. “Right now that’s about our only hope. Hopefully something better will turn up later.”

  * * *

  Betty Sue must have dozed a bit because her head dropping to her chest startled her. She quickly looked around the room but both Trish and Dave were still in their same positions and neither one was looking at her.

  Dave noticed her movement and laughed then looked at his watch. “Don’t worry BS, you’ll be able to sleep later. They’ve only got another half hour to get things ready for us to leave this hick town.

  The sandwich she’d made for herself before still sat in front of her, mostly untouched. She didn’t feel much like eating and it didn’t look like Trish did either from the looks of her plate.

  Dave, on the other hand, had eaten two big sandwiches and a pile of potato chips. He was getting antsy which made Betty Sue more nervous than she’d been before. Whenever Dave got antsy, she usually suffered. That and when he was drinking were usually the times when he wound up beating her.

  She closed her eyes again and prayed that he wouldn’t hurt either one of them but especially Trish. That wonderful woman didn’t deserve what was happening to her. All she’d ever done was to befriend a homeless woman and this was what she was getting for her kindness.

  Somehow, she had to get Trish away from Dave.

  “Dave?”

  When he glared at her, she said, “Why don’t you let Trish go. She never did anything to you and besides I’m all you need. Those people out there will do the same thing if you only have me rather than both of us.”

  She had hope for a fleeting moment. It looked like he might be considering it but then he shook his head.

  “No. You may be wrong. Most of those people out there don’t know you.” He pointed toward Trish with his gun. “But her? Everybody in town knows her and they’ll do almost anything for her too.”

  He drained a can of Pepsi and threw it at the trashcan but missed. He laughed as if that was funny. “No. She stays. She just might be all the added insurance I need with those yokels out there.”

  She decided to see if he’d let her up to go to the bathroom. “Dave, I need to go to the bathroom.”

  He looked at her like he didn’t believe her at first. Then, he laughed and said, “Yeah, I could use a little exercise too.”

  He unhooked the cuff that was attached to the table and led her with it back to the guest bathroom. When they were standing in front of the bathroom, she noticed that he seemed to be thinking.

  Finally, he laughed and opened the bathroom door and shoved her inside. She heard him laughing again as he said, “Better be quick and don’t try anything or I’ll just shoot the old woman.”

  With that thought racing around in her head, Betty Sue hurried as fast as she could and was out in the hallway with him again quickly.

  He laughed that laugh again. “Well, it seems like you still remember some things about me. But it looks like I’m still going to have to teach you a few lessons so you don’t ever run away from me again.”

  She was walking away from him and didn’t see the blow coming. He hit her on the back just below her neck and knocked her to the floor. Then he stood there kicking her several times before
he backed off and continued that frightening laugh.

  “Now get up and don’t give me any more trouble or I will shoot the woman.”

  Betty Sue used a hall table to pull herself back to her feet and walked unsteadily into the kitchen. Once there, she could see that Trish was concerned for her and she tried to give her a reassuring smile while Dave was occupied with hooking her back to the table.

  From the look of horror that she could still see on Trish’s face, Betty Sue was sure she hadn’t been too successful at reassuring her friend.

  Just as Betty Sue got settled back at the table, Trish’s cellphone rang. When Dave answered it, he got so mad that his face turned red.

  “No, you listen to me. We are going to leave this hick town tonight one way or another. You had better get me that plane and you’d better do it quick.”

  He slammed the phone down on the table so hard that Betty Sue was afraid he might have broken it. He turned to Trish and said, “In a few minutes, I’m going to call him back and you talk to him and you’d better convince him to do things my way or else.”

  His glare left no question as to what the ‘or else’ might be.

  About ten minutes later, Dave picked up the phone, punched redial, and handed it to Trish. “Now, you’d better convince him to do things my way or you won’t like what happens next.”

  Trish took the phone. “Hal, whatever you do, you need to do what he’s asking.” She listened. “Yes, I think he will.”

  After another moment, she handed the phone back to Dave. “He wants to talk to you now.”

  Dave grabbed the phone. “Yeah.”

  He listened for a moment then said, “That’s more like it. We’ll be ready to move in five minutes. And Wallace, you’d better not try anything or I’ll kill the old woman.”

  He disconnected the phone but this time stuck it in his shirt pocket. “Okay, ladies, we’re getting ready to move.”

  He went through the process of handcuffing the two women together, the same way he had before. Then before he finished, he stopped and said, “No! Wait just a minute. I can’t be the one driving. If I do, they’ll probably have a sniper out there ready to take me out.”