“Goodbye, tiny Vegas. We hardly knew ya.” Will said. “Vegas wants you to drive carefully.”
“I’m a great driver. I’ve only had two tickets.”
Will looked up from his map. “How long have you had your license?”
“Six months.”
“Hmm.”
“What?” she asked.
“Let me get this straight, so you’re telling me you average one ticket every three months? You, young lady, are a danger to the state of New Mexico.”
“It’s a good thing we’re leaving the state then, isn’t it? And one of those tickets was bullshit, by the way.”
“I’m sure it was.” Will said with a smile. “I’m sure it was.”
New Mexico came and went. The desert gave way to snow-capped mountains.
“You look tired,” Will said.
“You worried about me? Aren’t you sweet?”
“No. I’m worried you’re gonna pull into traffic and kill us both. You need a break.”
“We’re camping at the Sterling Memorial Park. We went over this. We can camp there for free.”
“Well, it’s too far. At least let me drive for a while. I have my learners permit.”
Jennifer sighed loudly.
“C’mon.”
She glanced into the rear mirror and then at the gas gauge. “We need gas anyway. We’ll swap at the next stop.”
“Great. I’ll be careful, okay? I drive all the time.”
“Better than you drive a motorcycle, I hope.” She glanced at his bandaged shoulder.
“I told you, that cat came out of nowhere. A lesser rider would have killed the cat and themselves. I’m practically a stunt driver at this point.”
Jennifer only shook her head.
Ten minutes later, they pulled the VW into the town of Roadway, Colorado. Jennifer paid for gas and Will pumped.
“I got your jerky,” she said, tossing the beef stick in his direction.
Will snatched it out of the air. “Thanks. So, what now? Onwards to Sterling and this campsite?”
“According to the lady behind the counter, there is a free place here in town. It’s out by Lake Henry. I think we should stay there and then drive to your gramma’s nursing home first thing in the morning.”
“How far away are we?”
“About two hours. We’ll leave early and catch Gram’s after breakfast. Then we can be in Chaplin Hills by noon and have all day there. Sound good?”
Will shrugged. “Yeah, sure. That should work fine.”
“Good.”
“You just don’t want me to drive, do you?”
“Pretty much.”
The two of them drove to the campsite and set up their tent by the light of the VW’s headlamps. There was only one other set of campers, a middle-aged couple two campsites over.
After a quick scan the surrounding area, they collected enough wood to make a decent fire.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Jennifer said. Overhead, the stars filled the cloudless sky and the occasional breeze, which blew through the trees, was cool.
“Yeah, it is,” Will agreed. “Thanks for doing this.”
The two of them sat on a blanket, their modest fire between them and Henry Lake. Jenn began to reach for Will’s hand. “I’m so glad—”
“Hey, strangers.”
Jennifer let out a tiny yelp before cutting it off. Both of them jumped up off the blanket, William instinctively positioning himself between Jennifer and the owner of the voice.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you guys. My name is Clint. Me and my girl are camping just over there. I thought I would introduce myself to the new neighbors, that’s all.”
Jennifer let loose a nervous giggle. “You did scare the crap out of me.”
“Yeah, I noticed. That was stupid of me, I’m really sorry.”
Jennifer waved it off. “My name is Jenn. This is Will.”
“Hello Jenn and Will. Would you like to join us?”
Will cleared his throat. “I think we’re gonna pass. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us tomorrow.”
“We’ve got food and weed.”
“I could eat,” Jenn said.
Will shrugged. “Me too.”
Clint smiled and slapped his hands together. Somewhere in the darkness surrounding them, a coyote howled hungrily. “Excellent.” He hollered over his shoulder in the direction of his campsite. “Hey, Lulu! We’ve got some company! Break out the good stuff!”
The three of them made the short walk to Clint’s campsite. A pretty blonde greeted them from a small and rundown camper.
Clint spoke up, “This is my sweetheart, Lulu. Lulu, this is Jenn and Will.”
Lulu smiled warmly and extended her hand to both of them. “Hello, kids. Wow, you two are young. Are you out here on your own?” She looked around and scanned their little side of Lake Henry.
Jenn shook Lulu’s hand. “It’s just the two of us. We came out here to visit Will’s Grandma. She’s in a nursing home in Sterling.”
Lulu glanced at Clint. “Oh, that’s nice. I’m sure she will be thrilled.”
“Yeah,” Will said. “She will.”
“Well, mama,” Clint said in Lulu’s direction, “these kids are hungry. We got anything left?”
“I’m sure I can find something. Please, sit down and get comfortable. Clint, grab them something to drink … and no beers for God’s sake.”
“All right, woman. All right. I’m not a complete moron.” He looked to the kids and rolled his eyes. They both smiled back politely. He reached into a cooler next to the grill and grabbed three cans. He tossed Will a Pepsi, handed one to Jennifer, and cracked open a Coors Light for himself.
“So, you guys live around here?” Jenn asked.
Clint took a generous gulp from his beer and wiped his chin. He cocked a thumb over his shoulder. “’Bout thirteen miles that away. County road six. I see you two have come some ways. New Mexico plates, eh?”
Will opened his Pepsi and glanced in Jenn’s directions. “Yeah. Albuquerque. We drove all day.”
Jenn nodded her head. “Yup. And we’ll be driving all day tomorrow too, but … what are you gonna do, right?”
Clint and Lulu didn’t say a word.
Will raised his Pepsi in the air. “And a guy only has so many Grandma’s, am I right? Here’s to all the Grandma’s.”
Jenn raised her Pepsi and touched it to Will’s.
“Hell yeah. I’ll drink to that.” Clint said, raising his beer.
“You’ll drink to anything.” Lulu added.
“You’re not wrong, woman. But who doesn’t love Grandma?”
Lulu shrugged. “My grandma was a total bitch, but what the hell,” she said, raising her own beer.
“To Grandma,” Will said.
“Grandma,” Jenn said with a smile.
Clint slapped Will on the back. “To Grandma’s and Grandpa’s everywhere. Bottoms up!”
The four of them tossed back their drinks.
Lulu dragged out two more lawn chairs while Clint restocked the fire.
“Have a seat,” Lulu said. “You missed the catfish, but we’ve got some baked beans and some potato chips if you’re hungry.”
Jenn waved her off. “Oh, thanks, but we don’t want to—”
“No problem at all,” Lulu said, getting up, “I’ll fix a couple plates.”
“Thank you,” Will said.
The fire was raging and Clint took his seat next to Will. He swallowed the rest of his beer and belched before smashing the can with his bare hands. He dropped it into a cardboard box next to his feet where it clanged inharmoniously off a crushed collection of other dented siblings. Will wondered if those were all from tonight.
“Beautiful night, eh?” Clint muttered to no one in particular.
Both Will and Jenn nodded their heads.
Lulu returned with two paper plates loaded with baked beans and stacks of potato chips. “Here ya go, kids.”
>
They took their plates and dug in. Lulu grabbed Clint another beer without him asking. “Thanks, darling.” She kissed him on the forehead. “Would you be a doll and bring the radio over here so we can listen to some tunes.
“Sure thing,” Lulu said. She sat the portable radio in the dirt at their feet and flipped it on. It was a classic rock station with Deep Purple suggesting that no one should fear the reaper.
The night was clear and quiet; the only sound (besides the radio) was the squabbling of crickets. The four of them sat in silence as true darkness descended. Deep Purple became Queen, which, eventually turned into Gun’s and Roses, followed by Whitesnake.
Finally, a Special News Report interrupted the music.
The body of the young man that was discovered in Fort Morgan last week has been identified as Marty Ford, from Boulder, Colorado. Details of the death, which has been described as suspicious, are not being released at this time. According to Police Chief Stringer, they are not ready to admit there are any links to the body found in a Denver suburb last month. They are not releasing the deceased’s name until the victim’s family has been formally notified.
The news report continued while the four campers sat quietly.
Finally, Clint muttered, “The world is going to shit.”
Lulu glanced at her lover and then at their guests. Will smiled nervously but, in the shadow of darkness, he doubted Lulu noticed.
Clint continued, “They’re related. They can spin it all they want, but those dead bodies are connected. All those damn bodies are connected … mark my words.”
Will tried to ask a question but his voice was only a squeak. He coughed extra loud to save some face, then tried his question again. “What other bodies? There are more than two or something?”
Clint looked at the boy and the two made eye contact over the light of the fire. Just when Will decided he wouldn’t get any further clarification, Clint spoke, nodding his head. “Oh yeah … there are always more bodies.”
Will tried to remain calm but he conceded his staring match with Clint. He glanced to Jennifer instead and they locked eyes. She was afraid; he could tell.
Finally, Lulu broke the silence. “Clint’s right. That’s two confirmed kills in the last month and a half. They’ll find more. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Uh, honey. Maybe we should change the subject. I think we’re scaring our guests.”
Jennifer laughed nervously. “Naw, we’re fine. How far away is Fort Morgan, anyway?”
“Not far enough,” Lulu said. “Not nearly far enough. You know what I think? I think that we’re talking about a pair of killers here; like that movie with Woody Harrelson and the funny looking girl from that Christmas Vacation movie.”
“Or like Bonny and Clyde,” Clint offered, excitement in his voice.
The campground fell silent, minus the breeze blowing through the trees. Finally, Jennifer broke the silence and surprised everyone, including herself, “This is Charley Starkweather territory, isn’t it? Didn’t he bring his girlfriend along for the ride?” She reached over and grabbed Will’s hand, making a show of it, in fact. “I’m pretty sure he did.”
The foursome stared at each other through the gloom. Finally, Will stood up and stretched. “Okay, I think it’s time we get to bed, Jenn. We have a long day ahead of us.” He thought he could see Clint’s head nodding in the dark.
“Yeah, your girlfriend is right,” Clint said, snorting beer through his nostrils.
“Actually, we’re just friends, but yeah, she usually is right. Let’s go Jenn. Thanks, for the chow.” Will climbed to his feet and reached a hand out for Jenn. She took it and stood up in the ankle-length grass.
“Thanks for the …” Jenn mumbled.
“Yeah, sure. See ya later,” Clint said.
Will and Jenn walked briskly back to their camp, careful not to trip over anything in the dark.
“What the hell was that?” Jenn asked as they got back to camp.
Will shook his head. “Who knows? Probably just trying to scare us.”
“Well, it worked.”
Will wanted to do something or say something to make her feel safe, but he didn’t know what or how. He pulled out his phone. No service, but the clock read 1:45 AM. “We gotta get some sleep. Let’s just go—” He wanted to say lay down, but he suddenly noticed how suggestive that sounded.
Jenn watched him look towards the tent and then back to her. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s sleep. I already grabbed your bag. It’s in the tent.”
“Thanks,” Will said, but he made no move towards the tent.
“C’mon. I don’t want to go by myself.” She glanced nervously towards Clint and Lulu’s camp, although the darkness had made it impossible to see anything but the flickering glow of the dying campfire.
Will followed her line of sight and nodded as her fear dawned on him. “Yeah, sorry. Let’s go.”
“Thank you,” Jenn said. She reached for his hand and led him to the tent. They crawled into the tiny, Wal-Mart Special, and set about rolling out their sleeping bags.
Still fully clothed and wrapped up tightly in their bags like burritos, the two lay motionless in the dark.
Outside, came a whooshing sound; like the sound of course fabric rubbing together.
“What’s that?” Jenn asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“It’s nothing,” Will said, however, his quaking voice suggested otherwise.
The whooshing sound returned, mixed with the undeniable sound of footsteps stomping through the grass. Then nothing. Silence.
“There’s someone out there,” Jenn whispered. Will slowly rolled over and looked into Jennifer’s face. The fear in her eyes was heart breaking.
“I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.”
Jennifer didn’t respond. She rolled over, trying desperately to get closer to Will. He reached for her and suddenly a scream pierced the night. Jenn flinched and buried her face in the pillow. Will shot up from the floor, and looked around the tent in a scared surprise. Bright red lights flashed all around him. The scream continued its nonstop banshee-cry. He realized that it wasn’t a scream after all. It was a siren.
Jenn realized the same thing at the same time and pulled the pillow from her face. She stared at Will, confusion crippling her expression. They both crawled out of their sleeping bags and Will attempted to unzip the tent’s opening.
“Where you going?” Jenn asked.
“I gotta see what the hell is going on out there.”
“Please don’t.”
Will ignored her and unzipped the tent. He crawled out and crash-landed into the night, leaving Jenn behind.
“It’s your car,” he shouted.
“What?”
“Your car! It’s your car alarm! The siren is coming from your car!”
“Oh shit,” Jenn muttered, eyes wide. She looked down where she had been laying and saw her car keys. She picked them up and pressed the panic button on the key fob. Immediately, the alarm and flashing lights stopped. “Jesus, I’m sorry, Will. I feel so freaking stupid.” She placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. She felt like crying and was just about to start blubbering when she heard Will laughing. “What’s so funny?” she asked, annoyed.
“Come here,” he said, still laughing.
She crawled out of the tent’s opening and tossed her keys in a pouch on the side of the tent, once again cursing herself for being so stupid. “It was me,” she said, sheepishly.
“I know. Don’t worry about it, but check this out.”
Jenn stood next to Will, gently brushing his shoulder. He pointed towards the camp where they had eaten their baked beans and potato chips only an hour ago. The lot was empty.
“Where the hell did they go?” Jenn asked.
“They tore the hell outta here,” Will chuckled. “They were loading their shit like their hair was on fire and they looked like they were afraid of something.”
“What were the
y afraid of?”
“I don’t know. That’s what we heard before your alarm went off, I guess—them packing up their stuff. I bet they nearly shit their pants when that alarm started screaming.”
“That’s weird.” Jenn said. “You want to know something stupid?”
“What?”
“I thought that … I thought maybe they were the killers from the radio.”
Will looked at her and smiled. She felt stupid but his smile set her at ease. “You know what I think is kind of funny?”
Jenn shook her head slowly.
“I think that maybe they thought we were the killers.”
Jen snorted and Will covered his mouth. Then they both burst into laughter.
They woke just before sunrise but it was already getting hot. They folded up the sleeping bags and then Will showed Jennifer how to properly roll up a tent. They worked wordlessly and were on the road in less than an hour.
“What a crazy night,” Will said.
Jenn chuckled.
“Let’s get some fast food for the road. My treat.” William suggested.
“Sounds good to me, but good luck finding some fast food out here. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Shit. You’re probably right. Well, I say we stop at the first place we see that might sell something edible. I’m freaking starving.”
“You’re on,” Jenn said.
They settled on some gas station pizza and two cans of green tea. Will spotted Jenn yawning and offered to take over driving once again.
“Not gonna happen, mister.”
“All right, but if you fall asleep, let me know.”
“Yeah, good tip.”
“Thanks. I’m smart.”
The miles ticked off slowly as Jenn pushed the Colorado speed limit to its breaking point.
“Holy shit! Sterling is only twelve miles away.” Will pointed at a passing sign that read: STERLING COLO: 12 MILES.
“Yup, this long and strange trip is almost over.”
“Yeah. Let’s get to that nursing home and get this over with.”
Jennifer pulled into Sterling and, in moments, her late model VW Beetle was rolling down Maine Street. “So, what’s this place called?” Jenn asked.
‘Um,” Will rifled through his maps and notes before finally finding the piece he had scribbled the address on. “Here it is … The Sterling Memorial Nursing Home. It’s on Seventeenth and Sheridan.”
The Complete Bleaker Trilogy Box-set Page 16
