Final Act

by Dianne Yetman

  Kate looked into his pain filled eyes and felt compassion for the man and the burden he would carry the rest of his life.

  “Relax and sleep on it Roger and it will come. If it doesn’t, there are lots of wonderful sayings to pick and choose from. You’ll find something suitable whether it’s yours or someone else’s. ”

  The wind, blowing out of the northwest, was getting stronger. They huddled closer together.

  “I’ve got to get back to the office”, Shirley said. “I need to finish the report on the robbery job.” She gave both a hug and headed for her car.

  “Time for a drink before we go back”, Roger asked.

  “Sure. Is the Irish bar okay with you?”

  “Perfect.”

  Kate ordered the house draught, Roger had a whiskey sour.

  “The past three days have been a blur, Kate. It’s like being the drunk on The Lost Weekend. Words, shouts, guns, sweat, and fear, they’ve been my constant companions. I can feel the weight of Hazel’s body. I see those ballet flats of yours in my sleep. I didn’t know you took ballet?”

  “I certainly did, from age 3 to 17. I loved it but didn’t have the talent to go professional. I wear them around the condo. When Alexis called me, I didn’t give a thought to what was on my feet; I just grabbed my coat and ran to the car.”

  “I owe you an apology, you’ve got a good gut. I’ll pay closer attention to your instincts in the future. That’s a promise. When did you spot us?”

  “We were going against the traffic and passed you about two blocks from the hostel. I turned around and jockeyed into the traffic but you were 15 car lengths ahead of us. That was too far so I radioed for patrol cars. They put one on the first and second intersections. We knew then that we couldn’t miss a turn off. Once you had made the turn, I put the police light on and shut it down once we were a block behind you. When you passed the Lieutenant Governor’s mansion, I knew you were heading for the park. I pulled back a bit farther because traffic was thinning out fast and I didn’t want to spook whoever was in the back seat.”

  “You must have stayed close enough to see where I parked?”

  “No, that was the scary part. We drove up and down the waterfront looking for your car but couldn’t find it. I circled back and drove towards the container ships thinking you might have had to pull in there and walk into the park. No luck. It was on my way back into the park when I looked at the canteen that it hit me. I lost ten minutes and those tenminutes cost a life.”

  Roger zoned out and Kate sat quietly waiting for him to return.

  “It wasn’t your fault Kate. There’s no need to shoulder unnecessary guilt, we all have enough of the legitimate stuff to spread around. How did you figure out the direction we took?”

  “We knew you had to have climbed the hill. It was the only direction to take without being seen. Once we reached the top and came to the crossroads, our hearts sank. We stood motionless for what seemed to be hours before we heard the crunch of feet on gravel and we had our direction.”

  “We didn’t hear you; at least I didn’t; I wonder if Hazel did? She seemed to tire early in our trek and I convinced Eleanor to let her take a break. Maybe Hazel thought you were closer than you actually were. Who knows?”

  “I doubt if she heard us Roger. Once we had our direction, we got off the gravel path. It was the only way to muffle our approach. When we started our descent, we could see the shelter and the three of you walking towards it. We came crashing down then but we were too late. The roar of the gun filled our ears. I saw you roll out from under Hazel and take off running. Eleanor was ready to fire when Shirley brought her to the ground. I ran after you and would have caught you sooner if it hadn’t been for the ballet flats.”

  “Like hell you would have. I wasn’t called wind speed by my track and field mates for nothing.”

  His attempt at humour was as weak as his smile.

  “Did Hazel say anything to you Roger to give you a hint of what she had planned to do?”

  She watched his face closely.

  “I can’t believe I had forgotten. It was a few seconds before Eleanor took aim and fired. I remember the intensity in her voice. She said something like, ‘I’m tired, and it’s time to go. There are people waiting for me.’”

  “I thought she would have. She chose it freely Roger and she wanted you to know it.”

  They ordered another round, and raised their glasses in a toast to Hazel.

  “I won’t be going back to the station with you, Roger.”

  “Hooking off are you? Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

  “No, it’s not that. I won’t be back at the station for quite some time.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I need some time to sort things.”

  “Sort things? Are you sick or something? Is it your parents, or your brothers? What’s going on?”

  “No, I’m not ill and my family is fine. But there are problems. Problems I need to address. Problems I’m not ready to tell you about yet. I signed off on the papers this morning.”

  “Six months?” He sighed. “If it has to be, it has to be. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Thanks, if there is, I’ll let you know.”

  “Come back to us, Kate.”

  “I’m making no promises. There’s law school, maybe a different path to follow, I don’t know. So, off you with now before I cry or something.”

  She watched him walk away and tears ran down her face. She gave him enough time to drive away before leaving the bar. She drove out of the parking lot, turned left and headed out of the city.

  The authorities at the prison knew her well. No problem in being allowed to visit Eleanor. She looked thinner since Kate had last seen her. She sat on the edge of the bed staring into space - comatose. According to the prison guard who escorted her to the cell, she hadn’t spoken a word since she sent to prison to await her trial.

  Kate stared at the woman who killed so many people. The look on her Eleanor’s face reminded her of Anthony Perkins’ face at the end of the film, Psycho. One difference though. Kate knew Eleanor wouldn’t hesitate to swat the fly.

  11