by Ken McClure
'We couldn't presume, Doctor.'
‘I’ll be glad of the company.'
Deciding that the argument was over, Feldman got up and said that he would tell Minnie. Avedissian thanked him and, as Feldman went out, got up to have a look at something that had caught his attention when he had first come in. He was examining it when Feldman returned. 'I haven't seen one of these for years,' he said, holding up an old laryngoscope.
'Are you a collector or a doctor?' asked Feldman.
'A doctor.'
'I see,' said the old man. Then we must talk. I don't often have the chance to meet my fellows.'
'What shall we talk about?'
'Why you have been lying ever since you set foot inside my house,’ said Feldman matter-of-factly,
'I don't understand,’ said Avedissian.
'I think you do,’ said Feldman. 'I may be old but I'm not stupid. You have an English accent. Your "wife" has a different one and your "son" is as nervous as a stray dog. You say you are on your way to visit relatives but you are miles from the freeway, and if your relatives were local you would have said so. You abandon your car and presumably all your luggage, unless, of course, you never had any in the first place which is the more likely. You are not visiting relatives, "Doctor", or was that a lie too? You are running from something or somebody.'
Avedissian's shoulders dropped in resignation as he lost the will to argue. 'I am a doctor,’ he said. That part was true.’
'And the rest?'
'You're right. We are on the run.'
'Perhaps you would care to talk about it?'
'I can't.'
'It's that serious?'
'I wouldn't know where to begin. What are you going to do?'
Feldman shook his head and said, 'I haven't made up my mind. The three of you make an unlikely gang. Where did you hope to get to?'
'Chicago,’ said Avedissian.
To leave the country?'
Avedissian nodded.
'We'll talk after dinner,’ said Feldman. 'I need time to consider.’
Avedissian went in to check on Kathleen, and felt her forehead as she slept; she was warm but there was no sign of fever. All the indications were that the anti-serum had been given in time and that it was going to prevent the worst effects of the venom. In Avedissian's mind, Feldman had now become the bigger problem. If the old man should decide to call the police he would have to stop him or else it would be the end for all three of them. The vision of a life together would evaporate almost as quickly as it had arisen, a momentary mirage in a desert of loneliness.
But having to stop Feldman physically was the last thing he wanted to have to do. Apart from anything else, it would be best if Kathleen could stay here until it was certain that the anti-serum had been effective. If she were to get any worse during the night she might still have to go to hospital. Avedissian decided that, for the moment, their future lay in Feldman's hands.
Enforced idleness gave him time to think about the opposition. Both NORAID and Innes would have used the gas station on the freeway as their starting point after the story in the paper. It seemed reasonable to assume that they would have gone north at first until the trail had gone cold, and then retraced their steps, guessing at possible turn-offs. It was conceivable that one or the other had already traced their movements to the Lehman place. From there it would be back to guess-work. But the longer they stayed put in one place the more guesses the opposition would have. Every minute that ticked by could be bringing the enemy nearer.
Avedissian was about to close the bedroom door when he felt Harry tug at his trouser leg. The boy had spent the last hour being entertained in the kitchen by Minnie but had come through to check on things at intervals of never more than ten minutes. Avedissian picked him up and took him back into the room to look at Kathleen sleeping. The boy struggled slightly to be let down and Avedissian placed him back on the floor. He watched as Harry moved up slowly to the bed and touched Kathleen's hand gently. He turned to discover Avedissian's reaction and Avedissian smiled at him. 'You and me both,’ he said quietly.
'How is she?' asked Feldman at his back.
'Sleeping peacefully,’ said Avedissian.
Innes reflected on the day as he drove on through the gathering darkness. It had been well worthwhile having a talk to the cashier at the gas station. A bit of flattery and a ten-dollar bill and the jerk had remembered that the Englishman had seemed distracted on the night in question. It was not until the story had broken afterwards, said the man, that he had realised that it had been a police car coming into the station that had worried him.
To Innes this had been a gem of information, a golden nugget. If the Englishman had suffered a fright at the gas station the chances were that he would have left the freeway at the first available opportunity. He, Innes, would do the same. The jerk had also volunteered the information that 'a couple of other guys' had been asking about the Englishman that morning. They had wanted to know which direction he had gone off in. 'What did you tell them?' Innes had asked. 'North,’ the man had replied.
Guessing at an average speed and knowing the time that the Englishman had left the gas station he had made an estimate of where he and the O'Neill woman would have been at around breakfast-time, assuming they had in fact left the freeway at the first turn-off. He had found the correct diner at the third attempt.
The waitress had been a bonus: not only had she known what direction the English folks had gone off in, she had known exactly where they had been going.
The Lehman woman had been a bit of a disappointment, however, with her story of St Louis, Missouri. There was just no way that the Englishman was going to head south through Kansas again in that car of his. The question was, which way would he be heading? A rough calculation of the mileage since the gas station on the freeway said that he must have been running low on fuel when he left the Lehman place. A local gas station perhaps?
The Englishman had been remembered at the second gas station he had asked at. He had bought a route map and was heading north. If he had bought a route map he must have been planning to travel long distances on country roads.
Innes slowed as he saw an obstruction ahead in the road. A break-down truck and a police patrol vehicle were blocking the way ahead. A patrolman stepped out in the road and waved him down. Innes opened the window and waited for the explanation.
'Won't keep you long,' said the policeman. 'We're just pulling a vehicle out of the field. Goddam joy-riders!'
Innes smiled and nodded. It was his policy to say as little as possible in an accent that would immediately mark him out as being different. Anonymity was to be courted at all times. It was the reason he had been so successful over the years. No one ever remembered him.
He watched idly as the winch on the recovery truck hauled the car out of the field, then the smile faded from his face and his hands gripped the wheel tightly. This car had not been abandoned by joy-riders. He knew this car. He knew it very well. Perhaps its occupants were nearby… The patrolman waved him on.
Minnie put Harry to bed and then served dinner for Avedissian and Feldman. At any other time Avedissian would have enjoyed the meal, for the food was good and the company congenial, but the circumstances of his current predicament destroyed his appetite and weighed heavily on his mind. 'Have you decided?' he asked Feldman.
Feldman played briefly with his fork before saying, 'I'm not going to call the police. Whoever you three are, you seem to care about each other an awful lot so I just can't believe you've done anything too bad. When your wife is ready to travel I'll run you over to Ames and you can make your own arrangements from there.'
Thanks,' said Avedissian. It came from the heart. His appetite returned and he ate what was in front of him with new relish. He did not even feel nervous when the phone rang.
Minnie came into the room and said, 'It's Marty, Doc.' Feldman left to take the call. Minnie cleared away Avedissian's plate and asked, 'How was it?'
; 'Best meal I've eaten in a long time,' replied Avedissian.
Minnie flushed with pleasure and said, 'Pity your wife wasn't well enough to enjoy it too.'
Feldman came back into the room. He waited until Minnie had gone out with the dishes before saying urgently, 'That was Marty, the man who brought you here. He said that the police have pulled a car out of a field a few miles down the road. They thought some kids had dumped it there after stealing it, but when they checked out the plates they found it had been taken from Kansas City by an English couple who are wanted for murder. They think that they must be in the area. Marty remembered that you were English. He rang to point that out. It is your car isn't it?'
Avedissian confirmed it.
'You killed someone?' asked Feldman as if unwilling to believe it himself.
'Only to stop him killing us,' replied Avedissian.
'Surely, if it was self-defence, you should give yourselves up and tell the police everything?' said Feldman.
Avedissian shook his head and said, 'Believe me. It isn't that simple. A whole lot of people want us dead. In some ways the police are the least of our worries.'
Feldman shrugged and said, 'The "least of your worries" could be here real soon.'
'We'll have to get out of here,' said Avedissian.
'If you must go, leave your wife and the boy.'
'They are in danger too,' said Avedissian. 'We'll all have to go-'
'How?'
Avedissian looked embarrassed. He said, 'I'm afraid I am going to have to ask for your car.'
Feldman shrugged in resignation and did not force Avedissian to elaborate on what he meant. He said, The keys are on the table by the door, I put gas in it this morning.'
'I'm sorry. I really am,' said Avedissian.
'I'll have Minnie get the boy ready,' said Feldman.
Avedissian woke Kathleen gently and found to his relief that she was not too sleepy from the medication. 'We'll have to go,' he whispered. 'Can you stand?'
Feldman and Minnie looked at the pathetic trio at the door and stood back to let them pass. 'I hope you know what you are doing,' said Feldman.
'I can assure you we don't have an alternative,' said Avedissian. 'Thanks for everything.'
As they walked down the path Feldman called after them, 'If it's any comfort, Minnie and I are going to bed now. We'll find the car gone… in the morning.'
Avedissian helped Kathleen into the back of Feldman's car and put Harry in beside her to cuddle up tight. He did not look back as they drove off.
Kathleen was lucid but felt tired. The snake bite and the subsequent anti-serum therapy had taken their toll in physical terms and the thought of yet another night of travelling on the run had brought her spirits to a low ebb. She had her arm round Harry but her head rested against the window and she gazed idly out at the night as they headed for the far edge of town.
Avedissian slowed as they came to a crossroads, and she idly took in the name of the bar on the corner, 'The Nitelite'. There was a man coming out of it. He was wearing a raincoat and looked, at once, strangely incongruous yet familiar. How ridiculous, she thought and then, as the man looked directly back at her, she screamed.
Avedissian was startled out of his wits and temporarily lost control of the wheel. 'What is it?' he demanded as he corrected the car.
'Innes!.. It's Innes!' said Kathleen, verging on hysteria.
'Where? What are you talking about?'
'Coming out of the bar! It was him! I saw him!'
Avedissian found Kathleen's fear infectious. 'Did he see you?' he snapped.
'He looked right at me!' replied Kathleen.
Avedissian put his foot down and turned the headlights to full beam. 'Of all the rotten luck,' he muttered, swinging the wheel over to the right to recover a rear wheel drift. The road was narrow and winding and the car was wide and softly sprung. On corners it behaved like a three-legged cow in a sand pit. He cursed again as its rear end slid away from him and Kathleen and the boy were flung across the car once more. 'Can you see anything behind us?' he gasped.
Kathleen had to strain to turn her head, for the effort involved in just combating the erratic motion of the car and holding on to Harry had used up what little energy she had. The fact that she was desperately afraid had done nothing to help matters and now she felt exhausted and distinctly woozy. She looked out of the back window at the blackness. 'No, nothing,’ she said. But, as she said it, she caught a momentary glimpse of a headlight beam somewhere behind them. She corrected herself and Avedissian pushed himself and the car even closer to their limit.
A wall loomed up at them out of the night and Avedissian hit the brakes and flung the wheel over in a last-ditch attempt to negotiate the bend. The front of the car refused to hold the line and they slid over the road and into the stonework. The impact crushed the near-side wing and deformed the wheel arch so that it was touching the tyre as he tried to drive on. A strong smell of burning rubber filled the car and Avedissian took his foot off the pedal. There was a bang as the tyre burst and the wheel started to run on its rim.
At the very last moment, as he was preparing to stop, he saw a farm track leading off to the left and swung the car off on to it. He limped up the track with all the lights off. The track terminated after thirty metres or so, outside a large barn. There seemed to be no other building near it. They were sitting in silence when they heard Innes's car roar past on the road.
'What do we do now?' asked Kathleen in a voice that suggested that she was barely in control of herself.
'Let's have a look at this place,’ replied Avedissian. He still had the gun he had taken from Reagan so that put him on equal terms with Innes if it came down to that. It was Kathleen and the boy who were the problem. If he could find somewhere for them to be safe, he would take his chances with the Tally Man.
There were two giant doors at the front of the barn and a smaller one at the side. Avedissian tried the small one and found it unlocked. He looked inside but could not see anything in the dark. 'Come inside,’ he said to Kathleen. He closed the door behind them and felt on the wall for a light switch. The barn turned out to be a garage for heavy farm machinery. Two combine harvesters sat side by side like sleeping giants.
Take Harry and get up into the cab of this one!' said Avedissian. He helped Kathleen mount the ladder and then pushed Harry up after her. 'Now keep well down!' he said. 'Whatever happens, keep down!' He returned to the small door and locked it from the inside. To get in, Innes would have to use the main doors, and that was exactly what he wanted. He memorised the position of the other harvester and then switched out the light to make his way to it in the blackness. He spoke to Kathleen as he felt his way up the ladder to the cab, trying to reassure her that things were going to be all right, but he got the feeling that he was fighting a losing battle. Kathleen sounded ill. She couldn't take much more.
Avedissian held the gun in readiness as he sat in the cab. When Innes opened the big doors in front of the harvesters he would be ready for him. He would be able to get a clear shot at him when he came through.
High above them the moon came out from behind some clouds. A pale shaft of moonlight came through a skylight on the barn roof and lit up the inside of the cabs with an eerie light. Avedissian looked at the instruments and pushed the gear-stick forward to give his knees more room.
'Are you all right?' he asked Kathleen.
'We're all right,’ replied Kathleen but she sounded on the verge of exhaustion.
‘Is Harry a problem?'
'We're holding each other,’ said Kathleen.
'Hold on tight.'
Avedissian ran the palm of his hand over the large starter button that protruded from the panel in front of him. It was pleasingly round and smooth to the touch, then, somewhere in the distance, he could hear the sound of a car. He checked the gun again and said to Kathleen, 'It won't be long. Remember, keep down.'
Avedissian heard the car slow and knew that Innes had found the t
urn-off. He heard the car reverse a little and then heard the sound of its wheels on the gravel. The Tally Man had arrived.
'I think I'm going to faint…" said Kathleen weakly in the darkness.
'You mustn't!' hissed Avedissian. 'For God's sake, hold on!'
Avedissian heard Innes try the side door. It rattled loudly. Then he heard the sound of the main doors being unbarred and his pulse rate rose. One of the huge doors swung open and Avedissian watched its edge like a hawk. His eyes were accustomed to the darkness and it was lighter outside. The moment Innes emerged from the shelter of the door he would fire and keep firing.
Innes had pinned the door fully open against the outside wall. Avedissian kept his gun trained on the corner of the entrance that he must come round. He was concentrating so hard that he had all but stopped breathing when, to his left, he heard the sound of a sigh and then a thud and knew that Kathleen had passed out.
Innes had heard the sound too. His voice broke the silence. 'Let's stop playing games,’ he said in a gentle but menacing Irish brogue. 'Just give me the tapes and we can all be on our way.'
It was a bargain that Avedissian would have been glad to make, even if the tapes had not been as useless as they now were, but one did not make bargains with people like Innes and live. He remained silent, still holding the gun trained on the edge of the doorway.
Suddenly he became aware of another noise to his left and, for a moment, he hoped it might be Kathleen coming round. But then, to his horror, he realised that it was Harry trying to climb down from the cab! Unable to hear or speak and left all alone with the unconscious Kathleen in the darkness the boy had been terrified and had left the cab to find someone.
Instinctively and uselessly, Avedissian shouted out a warning. A moment later he heard Harry lose his grip on the ladder and tumble to the ground and then had to watch in absolute agony as the child crawled away from the harvester towards the front door… and Innes. Innes grabbed him as he rounded the corner and it was all over. Avedissian put his hand to his head in anguish.
