by Clark Graham
Without warning, the car sped up, took a corner too fast, and nearly slid off the road. Regaining control, he took off down a side street.
“Right, you’re going to outrun a supercar.” Barry shook his head and then downshifted. He was soon catching up to the white car again.
The white car pulled back onto the main road and then raced out of town, with Barry in hot pursuit. Turning on a county road, the car had to slow down. It drove to the end of the road, and kept going cross-country, blazing its own trail through the forest. Barry stopped the car.
“What are you doing?”
“I have no ground clearance. I can’t go through there.”
“We have to catch him.” As she said it, he heard a crash coming from the forest.
“He didn’t make if very far.” Getting out of the car, they both followed the tire tracks. After a few minutes, they found it. The car was piled up on a large rock. The driver was nowhere to be seen.
She started searching around for the battery. When she didn’t see it in the car’s interior, she grabbed a large rock to smash the trunk with.
“Wait,” Barry walked over and pushed a button on the dash and the trunk popped open.
She smiled, dropped the rock and looked in the trunk. “It’s not here.” Her shoulders sagged.
“Maybe he has it with him.”
“Too heavy. He couldn’t carry it far.”
“How did you spot him, anyway?”
“I was down in the lobby, drinking coffee while I waited for you to get up. I saw him drive by.”
“I’ve certainly had enough excitement for one morning. I’m going shopping to get a change of clothes, and then back to the motel for a shower. I think breakfast might be in order after that.”
“All you think about is food.”
“It’s a habit of mine. Shall we?”
Chapter 12
“Where are you? I was so worried when I arrived and you weren’t here.” Barry could hear the concern in Eva’s voice.
“I’m taking a road trip.”
“Pass the jam, please, Honey Buns.” Princess said loudly. Like she was trying to get overheard.
“Who was that?”
“Um,” Barry hesitated. “I’m at a diner.”
“Was that the girl I saw you with the other day on the back deck?”
“It’s not what you think.” He didn’t know why he said that. Eva would have been happier if it was.
“Well, my, oh, my. Have a good time. Sorry for disturbing you two.”
The line went dead before he could respond.
Putting the phone back in his pocket, he said, “The cook thinks we’re having an affair.”
“Oh, really? Hmmm. I wonder where she got that from?” She ate another bite of her English muffin.
“Maybe it was you asking for the jam when it was within easy reach, Honey Buns.”
“Maybe.”
He had bought both of them a change of clothes, and some pajamas for himself. He was feeling good after his shower. She, on the other hand, had been complaining about the delays.
“What do we do now that the day is half over?” she asked.
“We go to the airport and leave the car at a park and ride. At least there my car will be somewhat secure, behind a fence. Then we rent a van in the terminal.”
“It’s only a car. It has four tires and an engine like all the other cars around. Only it’s really short. Like half a car, not a whole one. What’s the big deal?”
“It’s a Ferrari. A supercar.”
She shrugged.
“You just don’t understand. Let’s go.”
“I do understand. You love your car, like you love your urn.”
“It’s a vase.”
“Whatever.”
As they drove to the airport, he kept looking around at all the cars. They had four tires and an engine, like she said. What’s so special about this one, except for the price? His father would be turning over in his grave if he knew that his son was thinking like that. He drove around and found the park and ride with the highest fence, then drove in. The shuttle took the two of them to the airport.
“We should have flown,” he said, breaking the silence. She was still pouting about the delay and not talking at all.
“I’m not made of money like you are. What do you do for a living, anyway?”
“Nothing, really. My dad left me more money that I’ve been able to spend. I live on that.”
“Lucky.”
He walked up to the rent a car counter. “I need a van, a white one.”
“I don’t have any,” the clerk replied.
“But, I thought you had all sorts of cars?”
“I only have one van and it’s always rented out for some reason. It isn’t due back for five days. I have a nice SUV that you can pretend is a van if you use your imagination.”
Barry didn’t know what to say. The guy was being disrespectful, he thought. Everyone seemed to know him in Longview, but this town was different. “I need a SUV then, a white one.”
“I don’t have any white ones. Not a lot of people want to rent that color. I do have a nice light grey one. If you use your imagination, you can pretend it’s white.”
“I don’t have an imagination,” Barry bellowed.
“Light grey will work just fine, won’t it, Honey? He gets like this after a long flight. Twelve hours on a plane from Paris. Honey, give me your charge card and go sit down over there. I’ll finish up here.” She smiled at him. It didn’t help, he still stormed off.
He sat across the lobby waiting for her to finish. When she did, she handed him the car keys. “What’s wrong with you? You have no people skills whatsoever. Were you raised in a barn?”
“No, not a barn. All private schools. The best education money can buy. I dropped out of college when my father passed away.”
“You didn’t tell me your name was Barry. I don’t know if I like hanging out with someone with that name.”
“So Donald is better?” He grabbed his card back. “And what’s your name, Broomhilda?”
“Let’s stick with Princess, okay?”
Chapter 13
They drove by Albert’s house and noticed the front door was open. At her urging, he stopped. She went up and knocked on the door. There was no answer.
“I’m going in.”
“You can’t go in. It’s not your house.”
“It isn’t breaking or entering if the front door is open,” she said as she stepped in. A few minutes later, she came back out. “Albert Sweeney isn’t home.”
“What now?”
“I don’t know. The house is completely empty, not a chair or even a toothbrush.”
“Are you sure you have the right address?”
She checked her phone again. “Yes. I’m going to talk to the neighbors.” Getting up she walked to the nearest door. After talking with two or three people on the block, she came back. “He doesn’t live here, but uses the address. They have people all the time asking about him.”
“Dead end, then. Let’s go home.”
“No, not yet. I want to go to the mall. Everyone eventually ends up at the mall.”
“I don’t think so. I never go to the mall.”
She ignored his comment. “We can eat at the food court.”
“The what?”
“You really do need to get out more.”
The mall was a huge multi-story affair with large skylights over the tables at the food court. Barry looked around at the many options. “Well, Princess, is there anywhere to eat where the food doesn’t come wrapped in paper?”
“Perhaps you want fine china with Grey Poupon mustard?”
“Grey Poupon? Heavens, no, I don’t like the stuff. A real plate would be wonderful, though, maybe even non-plastic silverware. Why do people even come to these places?”
“Because it’s cheap and fast. Pick a place, grab some food, and I’ll meet you here in the middle.”
Ba
rry walked around for five minutes before deciding on the taco place. Eva was excellent at Mexican food, something his father never let her cook. But Barry did, and he loved it. Grabbing his bag, he sat down next to Princess. She had a couple of slices of pizza.
She smiled. “That looks adventurous.”
“Not really, my cook makes something similar to this, except completely different.” He picked at the meat with his fork. “It’s ground beef.”
“Of course it is. What did you expect?”
“Eva always uses shredded beef that has been marinating overnight in the fridge.”
“Just eat it. It won’t kill you, I promise.”
He took a bite of the taco. Waiting until his mouth was empty, he said, “This isn’t bad.”
“Wow, I’ll unsnob you yet.”
“Unsnob me? That isn’t even a word. What does that mean, anyway?”
She didn’t answer as her attention was turned to someone walking across the food court. “Donald.”
Barry watched Donald’s shock at seeing her in Spokane. “Anna?”
“Anna, so that’s your name.”
“Hush,” she snapped as she stood up.
Donald walked up to her. “What are you and your rich boyfriend doing here?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Why would he come all the way from snob hill with you if he weren’t?”
“Good question.” Barry replied. “I’ve been asking myself that the whole time.”
“I want my battery.” She was staring Donald down.
“I don’t have your battery. Albert stole it, so I went and broke into his house, but it’s only a front. He’s never actually lived there. I called him. He’s going to meet me in a back alley to discuss the situation.”
“Why are you even involved? It’s my battery,” she demanded.
“I have to destroy it. It will cause a cataclysmic catastrophe to all men and boys across the world. Imagine, no internal combustion engines. It would be the end of the muscle car, hot rods, sports cars, and even supercars. You might as well neuter the entire male population all in one fell swoop.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“No, I can’t let you go through with it. That’s why I stole it out of that snob’s house at the country club. I had to go back to get the paperwork the next day so that no one could start over and build another one. I even broke into Albert’s house, but it was empty.”
“It’s my battery. You shouldn’t have touched it.”
“I will be hailed a hero if I can complete my mission.”
Her voice became deep and angry. “You will leave my battery alone or I will tell the police what you’ve done. You won’t be a hero in prison, just Bubba’s chew bone. Where and when is this meeting?”
This is interesting. Barry thought. She didn’t mention her adventures with breaking the same laws he did.
“You wouldn’t turn me in, really, would you?”
“In a second. Tell me about this meeting.”
Donald looked crestfallen. He let out a huge sigh as he spilled the beans to her.
“That’s better.” She said. “Oh, and sorry about your car.”
“My car? My car’s fine. What are you talking about?”
“I thought you wrecked it in the woods?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Never mind then.” Her brow furrowed in puzzlement as she sat back down.
“You going to be back in time for Chem lab?” he asked.
“I’ll be there.”
“Bye, I would say good luck with your battery, but I hope you fail.” It was a parting shot. Donald didn’t wait for an answer. He just walked away.
“That man.” She folded her arms. “How dare he try to destroy my battery? Oh, I told you everyone goes to the mall, by the way. I was right.”
He snorted. “That wasn’t Albert. That was Donald. We were waiting here for Albert. Also, Now I’m wondering who it was we chased into the woods yesterday.”
She looked up as it dawned her, “Oh, no.”
Chapter 14
In the morning, Barry walked down and bought a newspaper out of the machine. His jaw dropped when he read the headlines. Running upstairs, he knocked on Anna’s door.
She was in her pajamas and blurry eyed when she opened up. “What?” she demanded.
“See, I told you he would notice the car.” He shoved the paper towards her.
“Local burglar smashes his car into a tree?”
“Not the headline, the part about how he thought a new, fast, red police car was chasing him.”
She grabbed the paper from him and started to read. “They are looking for your car, as in the police.”
“It’s good that it’s still at the airport. What time is this rendezvous with Albert?”
“Seven tonight. I’m finally going to get my battery back.”
“Good, then can we go home? I’m tired of eating food out of paper sacks when I’m paying a cook everyday who isn’t cooking.”
“Yes, of course. We’ll set out right away after that.”
“Good. Speaking of food, let’s get something to eat. Somewhere that has real plates and silverware.”
“You really have to get over your need for fine cuisine. The rest of the world isn’t like that.”
He shook his head. “Get dressed. I’ll pick the restaurant.”
The restaurant had fine china and tablecloths. Barry was all smiles as the host led them to the table. After sitting down he said, “This is more like it.”
She looked around. “A little overkill, don’t you think? All this for a couple of flap jacks and a scramble.”
“Oh, I don’t think they have those things here.”
“What?” She grabbed a menu and began reading. “What is this stuff? Savory French toast with spinach? A pie with hash brown, cheese and egg? Egg Benedict? This isn’t food.”
“It is food, good food. Try the croissant with egg and blue cheese.”
“No, thanks. The stuffed French toast doesn’t look too awful. I’ll try that.”
“This is better than McDonald’s.”
“I grew up eating at McDonald’s. It’s what I’m used to.”
“Why would you settle for that when there is so much better out there?”
Her face turned red. “Listen, buddy, Barry, whatever your name is. There are a lot of us out there, the majority of us, who weren’t born with a silver spoon sticking out our mouths. Those of us who have to work hard, scrimped and saved for a college education, fast food represents a cheap meal that we don’t have to cook.”
“Okay, okay. I didn’t mean to upset you. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the date.”
She looked at him sideways. “Date?”
“Yes, with the stop at McDonald’s and the trip out here and all, we’ve been dating quite a bit.”
“McDonald’s isn’t a date.”
“I thought you said…”
She cut him off. “We haven’t been dating.”
“What do you call two people going to dinner together then? Three meals a day, by the way.”
She sat there in silence for a long moment. “Let’s not get distracted. We’re here to get the battery.”
“Okay, we’ll focus on the battery.”
After breakfast, she insisted on going to the local library to use the internet. She had a homework assignment to finish up. He busied himself in the periodicals section. He wondered why he hadn’t gone back to school after his father’s death. Maybe it was the inheritance, maybe the depression. He didn’t know. He had married too soon after the passing. It had been a mistake.
He liked this girl. He hadn’t thought about any women in a long time.
His thoughts were interrupted when she walked over to him. “Done. Where should we go now? We have seven hours to kill.”
“How about a lunch date?”
“Everything’s a date with you. How can you even think about lunch after that huge breakfast
you ate.”
He sighed. “It was the normal amount.”
“You must be feeding a tape worm, then.”
“I am not.” He was indignant.
“How about if we go shopping at that mall we were in earlier? I can go shopping, and you can feed that face of yours.”
He thought about it for a couple of seconds and then reluctantly agreed, even though he hated the idea of another meal wrapped in paper.
Chapter 15
Night had fallen by the time they were to meet with Albert. The place was a back alley behind a shopping mall. All sorts of red flags were raised in Barry’s mind, but Anna didn’t seem bothered by it. Albert wasn’t there when they parked the car, so they waited. Soon there were approaching headlights coming towards the driver’s side of the rent a car. Barry started to get out. Anna had already opened her door when, a gun was pointed out of the window of the approaching car.
“Get down,” Barry yelled as he jumped over the hood. He grabbed Anna around her mid section and they both went sprawling across the ground.
Shots rang out, striking the SUV and the wall behind them.
“What are you doing?” Anna shouted.
“Saving you.”
“I don’t need saving.” She stood up and pulled out a pistol. She emptied her whole magazine. The bullets thudded against the car. Glass broke and holes appeared in the hood.
Tires screech as it retreated. It spun around and took off the way it came.
“Come on,” Anna said, getting into the rental. “I hit the radiator. All we need to do is follow the trail of fluid on the pavement.”
“You have a gun?”
“Come on!” she screamed.
Barry rushed into the car and took off after the other vehicle.
“You have a gun?” he repeated.
“Yes, I have a bra holster, just for occasions like this.”
“How many occasions like this have there been?”
“This is the first.”
“I thought you said you weren’t packing?”
“No, I said the shotgun didn’t work.”
By this time, Barry raced down city streets. The car they were pursuing slowed down. Steam billowed up from the hood. The car pulled over and a man stepped out, pointing a gun at them. Barry ducked down below the dash as he slammed on the brakes. Anna pointed her gun at the man when she jumped out. Neither one of them got a shot off, because police cars came at them from every direction.
