Eden Bound

by Darrell Maloney

  They hadn’t stopped screaming and yelling at one another since they’d made it to Big Spring, and arriving at his cousin’s place unannounced made the situation ten times worse.

  He and his cousin Tony never got along under the best of circumstances, you see, and Johnny showing up with his girlfriend on Tony’s doorstep with a tale of having just killed a cop didn’t sit well.

  Not with Tony, and certainly not with Tony’s wife Krista.

  Krista once had a brother who was a police officer in Dallas. And he was shot and killed on duty a year before the first freeze.

  By a killer who was never caught.

  That whole sorrowful incident was reopened, the scar ripped off a still-healing wound, when Johnny and Tina came knocking.

  What followed was a free-for-all in cousin Tony’s living room.

  Tony was demanding to know why Johnny would bring the hurt of Tina’s mistake into his home, into his rather peaceful existence.

  Krista was demanding her husband either send them away, or capture them at gunpoint and take them to the police station.

  Tina was yelling at Johnny, wanting to know why on earth he’d run to a place where he was neither expected nor wanted.

  And Johnny was confused. Wasn’t the one place a guy in trouble could go and receive safe refuge the home of a relative?

  Krista sent her two children upstairs to their rooms. What they were witnessing wasn’t pretty, and had the potential to get much worse.

  There was so much turmoil going on it was hard to determine who was on whose side.

  And then the funniest thing happened.

  Johnny opened up a very large duffle bag full of bundles of cash. Not the old fashioned greenback, the bills which had been the most sought-after currency in the world for generations.

  No, green money had been declared worthless by the federal government years before.

  This was the new blue money.

  This actually had value.

  As soon as Johnny opened the duffle the yelling came to a screeching halt.

  There was dead silence in the room.

  Well, almost.

  There was dead silence except for Krista’s hoarse and squeaky voice asking, “But where… how…?”

  Then Tina opened a second duffle, this one just a little bit smaller.

  As she started taking things out of the smaller bag Krista had the answer to her question.

  First came four kilo bundles of cartel cocaine.

  Then a bundle of black tar heroin. A bundle of powdered heroin and three bundles of crystal methamphetamine.

  And suddenly Krista wasn’t angry anymore.

  Neither was Tony.

  For although they’d led clean lives by Johnny’s standards, neither were exactly angelic.

  Both understood the potential of a bag full of what looked like a million dollars or more.

  And though neither associated the bag full of dope as having originated with a Mexican cartel, they imagined it must be worth another small fortune.

  Money can corrupt even the best of people.

  And Tony and Krista were far from the best.

  Within a minute, the yelling was replaced by hugs and “Welcome to our home.”

  Johnny was careful to avoid talking about the source of the money and the dope. If his cousin knew the cartel was after him the yelling almost certainly would have commenced again. And his welcome would have evaporated.

  Tina was careful to say she wasn’t staying. That she was taking a single bundle of the cash and was going on the lam, to keep the heat off of Johnny.

  She may as well have been talking to herself, for none of the rest of them cared whether she lived or died, stayed or went.

  As long as she left the two duffles behind.

  While Tony and Krista drooled over the loot and thanked their lucky stars, Tina pulled Johnny aside to say her goodbyes.

  “I’m heading out,” she said. “Don’t ever forget that I love you, Johnny.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  “What I did was wrong. I know that. But I did it for you. I thought it was the only way. That he was going to take you away from me and I’d never see you again.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “I love you, Johnny.”

  “Okay, whatever. I love you too.”

  He said the words with all the passion of a baloney sandwich.

  But at least he said them.

  It was the best she was going to get.

  She turned and walked away.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  She yelled back, “What does it matter, Johnny?”

  “I just thought if it’s not too far maybe I can come and get my truck back.”

  Even in her distress she shook her head at him, for he was still an incredible idiot.

  “Johnny, you don’t want your truck back. It’ll tie you to the cop. I’ll abandon it when I get away, but even if you stumble across it, leave it alone. If you’re in it they’ll find you and probably shoot you. Or send you to prison for life.”

  “Oh. Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right.”

  She didn’t hear his final words.

  She was already outside, once again in the frigid cold, slamming the front door behind her.

  She’d finally been shed of the dead weight that was Johnny Connolly. Something she should have done years before.

  Before he ruined her.

  Before just being with him turned her from hapless good girl to criminal, then to murderer.

  She shouldn’t miss him, but she would.

  For the first time in years she was all alone in the world, without a single clue where to go.

  -42-

  Tina was unfamiliar with Big Spring.

  Though she’d been born in Lubbock, a mere hundred miles away, and had spent most of her life there, she’d only been to Big Spring a couple of times.

  She couldn’t even remember why.

  Other than Johnny’s cousin Tony and his wife Krista, she didn’t know another soul in the town.

  Well, that wasn’t quite true. Not technically.

  For she knew Frank and Josie and Eddie, having met them a few days before.

  And they were still in Big Spring, though she didn’t know it. She assumed they’d passed through and were well on their way south toward San Angelo.

  She drove up and down the main street, knowing she had to leave the city soon. Once someone found Sonmore’s body they’d be looking for Johnny’s black pickup, and Big Spring would be the very first place they’d look.

  Her options would be limited to those highways which had been cleared by state snowplows. The trouble was, she didn’t know which ones were open and which were closed.

  She could drive around and check them out herself, but that would take time.

  And time was one thing she might be running short of. For all she knew the big deputy’s body had already been discovered and they were already hot on her trail.

  Realistically, that wasn’t very likely.

  Sonmore had been following behind her and Johnny for three full days, and not once during that time had someone just happened along behind them.

  Leisure travel was something few people did during the freeze.

  But then again, Sonmore was in touch with the sheriff’s office in Lubbock. How else would he have known about Johnny’s warrants?

  Logically, if he was in contact with his office, he was probably required to call in on a regular basis.

  If he failed to do so, how long would they wait before sending someone after him?

  She hoped that when that happened, and when they found the deputy’s body, the chase was delayed because Sonmore’s vehicle blocked the road to Big Spring.

  Even if that were the case, though, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out how to get past it. They’d likely call in a heavy duty wrecker to shove it into the snow bank on the side of the road.

  She didn’t know how much time she had.

&n
bsp; It might be days.

  Or it might be minutes.

  In any event, she couldn’t waste time driving around town trying to figure out which highways were open and which were still blocked.

  Up ahead a couple of blocks she saw the lit up red and green sign of a 7-Eleven.

  Perfect.

  She needed to fill up the gas tank anyway.

  And while Johnny left her with plenty of bottled water and snack foods, she could probably find something hot to warm her stomach.

  Honestly, she didn’t have much of an appetite, having felt a bit queasy since taking a man’s life a couple of hours before.

  But she was tired of being cold. And the thought of putting something warm into her body brightened her spirits a bit.

  Her plan was to ask the clerk if he knew which highways were open while her gas was pumping.

  Then, assuming he’d be asked by the police if he remembered seeing a black F-150, she’d lie to him. If he said the highways to Waco and Dallas were open, she’d mention to him that she hadn’t seen her family in Waco in so very long and was looking forward to getting there.

  Then she’d head toward Dallas instead.

  The ruse might not be worth her trouble at all; then again it might buy her a little time.

  In any event, her stomach was queasy, her mind was going a hundred miles an hour in twenty different directions and she had a growing headache.

  Under those circumstances it was a wonder she could rationalize at all.

  And any plan, no matter how weak, is better than no plan at all.

  When she got within half a block of the 7-Eleven, though, she took that plan and threw it away.

  And came up with a brand new one.

  For as she drew closer to the convenience store she could plainly see, sitting adjacent to one of the fuel pumps with a green hose leading to its fuel tank, the Humvee she knew belonged to Frank Woodard.

  Really, now, it just had to be his.

  For certainly it was the only one in the whole state of Texas with a plow blade attached to its front.

  -43-

  Josie and Frank had such a great time visiting with Mamie and enjoying their free breakfasts they took a lot longer than they should have.

  It was just that it had been so very long since they had a hot meal with someone other than Josie’s relatives. And their collective resentment and suspicion of Frank raised tensions to the point an enjoyable meal was impossible.

  Besides, this wasn’t the outdated canned goods or dried stock that the people in Plainview ate three times a day every day.

  This was fresh breakfast fare, and well cooked too.

  Seasoned to perfection, pancakes light and fluffy, eggs cooked just the way they liked them.

  When they finally made it back to the vehicle, they each felt a tinge of guilt, though.

  Eddie wore himself out singing his beer song just before they rolled into town, and was sleeping like a baby when they walked into Mamie’s.

  An hour later they assumed he was still out, since he never walked into the restaurant in search of them.

  That wasn’t the case at all.

  They opened the vehicle’s doors to find a sobbing and fearful Eddie, scared half to death and eternally grateful the pair hadn’t abandoned him after all.

  Eddie was like that.

  In most ways he looked and acted just as he was: a fully grown man.

  A bit on the slow side, sure. But he was strapping and muscular and could hold his own in a fair fight.

  It was the inside of the man which often surprised others.

  For it was the inside of the man; the emotional side, which often defied logic.

  Eddie would wrestle a bear if he was told to.

  He wouldn’t win, but then no man would prevail in such a battle. But if told to wrestle the bear he’d do so, and would do as well as most other men.

  On the other hand, he was terrified of butterflies and ladybugs. Wouldn’t go near them at all. And if one appeared out of nowhere, he’d bolt. He’d run fast and far and wouldn’t stop until he was certain they’d never catch him.

  Then he’d sit down and cry, hands trembling and scanning the skies behind him, lest the wretched creature would fly after him and make him bolt again.

  He’d been like that for a dozen years now, and Josie was aware of his flaws as well as anyone.

  Even she was occasionally caught unawares.

  She knew darned well that a scared little boy resided in Eddie’s man-sized body.

  She assumed that if he woke up while they had breakfast, he’d join them. They’d go from a twosome to a threesome. He’d meet Mamie and they’d likely hit it off, for Eddie was a sweet man above all else.

  She should have put a bit more thought into it.

  She should have considered the possibility that Eddie would wake up and realize he was all alone, and might be terrified beyond belief.

  She should have tried to put herself in Eddie’s shoes. As hard as it was, she should have tried to think like he often thought. With no regard to logic or reason.

  Had she done so she might have realized he might find himself with a tough choice to make.

  He would see, directly in front of the Hummer, a brightly lit restaurant. Through the windows he could see customers relaxing and enjoying fine food.

  He might assume that Frank and Josie were in there somewhere, though he couldn’t see them specifically.

  Then he looked over to his left, at the 7-Eleven convenience store, also brightly lit and doing business.

  What if Frank and Josie didn’t go into the restaurant to eat?

  What if they went to the 7-Eleven instead?

  Such a dilemma wasn’t really a dilemma to any adult not named Eddie. They’d merely wait where they were for Frank and Josie to return and would have the answer to their question.

  Or they’d quickly check the convenience store and, not finding their missing friends there, would know for certain they’d gone to get something to eat.

  Or they’d check the restaurant first. The order didn’t really matter.

  To Eddie and his damaged mind, though, this was an impossible situation.

  -44-

  The little boy inside Eddie’s body came out and took control of his mind.

  He was too terrified to go to the 7-Eleven, for fear that while he was there they’d return and drive away without him.

  He was equally terrified to go into the diner, for fear while he was searching for them they’d come out of the convenience store and leave him behind.

  It just never dawned on him that they’d never drive away without making sure he was safe and sound and still occupying the rear seat. They just wouldn’t. But his mind wouldn’t let him accept that, or even consider it.

  In fact, he was at times terribly paranoid, and paranoia was beginning to creep into the equation.

  What if they tired of him?

  What if they no longer wanted to be burdened by him?

  What if they abandoned him there, to fend for himself without them?

  Others would have applied logic.

  That they thought too much of the man to do such a thing. That Josie in particular had looked out for him and protected him for many years. She just didn’t have it in her to cut and run.

  Others would have reasoned that they couldn’t have abandoned him even if they wanted to. That they had only one vehicle between the three of them. And it was sitting directly beneath Eddie’s hindquarters.

  If they’d abandoned him they’d have had to leave him behind on foot in a brutal winter, without weapons or provisions.

  Eddie wasn’t one to apply either logic or reason to this situation or any other.

  Those days were long past him.

  He was simply no longer capable.

  No, with Eddie, first came fear, then unreasonable assumptions. Then paranoia, then terror.

  Josie had seen it before and blamed herself for letting her guard down.

>   For letting Eddie down.

  When she opened the door he quite literally fell into her arms, all-out bawling.

  It helped that she carried with her a Styrofoam to-go box containing a sumptuous breakfast. Three eggs over easy with all the trimmings, and pancakes on the side.

  It made bringing Eddie back from the edge a bit quicker and easier.

  But it didn’t make what Josie did right.

  She held him close for several minutes, wiping away his tears and talking him down.

  She apologized a dozen times. Then a dozen more.

  She told him she loved him. No, not in the same way a wife loves a husband. But as his very bestest friend in the whole wide world.

  And she promised. Oh, did she promise.

  She promised never to leave him sleeping in the car alone again.

  She promised to protect him from all the evils in the world, from now until forever.

  Every evil. And yes, even butterflies and ladybugs.

  By the time Eddie’s last tears fell and he dove head first into his bacon and eggs and hash browns, half an hour had passed.

  That was in addition to the hour they’d been eating Mamie’s food and chatting her up.

  Frank, as great a guy as he was, was as worthless in this situation as a second left shoe.

  This was Josie’s problem to handle. She knew Eddie better than anyone else in the world. And since Eddie’s mother died eight years before she'd accepted the role as Eddie’s caregiver and protector and “sorta mom,” as Eddie succinctly put it.

  She helped him calm down and stop worrying.

  She made him accept that Josie never abandoned him; that she couldn’t if she wanted to.

  Sure, they were prepared to leave him behind in Plainview, but in the care of her brothers with their assurance they wouldn’t abuse him.

  That didn’t work out, and Josie was glad it didn’t. For Eddie, like it or not, was her cross to bear.

  By the time Eddie was back in his normal state they’d used up an awful lot of time.

  Neither was worried much about it.

  Mamie said the highway to San Angelo was clear. They’d finally start making decent time.

  A lost hour and a half wouldn’t hurt them.