When he looked up, Sara Jane was standing next to the chair where Van had been sitting. Van was on the floor and Sara Jane was holding the “Mickey Mantle” bat he had stolen from the prick back in Omaha. It had been in the umbrella stand and like the pistol, Zander had forgotten about it.
Zander just looked over at Sara Jane. It was taking a while for him to process everything. Sara Jane went over to the drawer next to the sink and got a knife and cut Zander’s wrists free. She didn’t even let him stand up but just sat on his lap and put her arms around him and cried.
Zander hugged her back. He didn’t know what else to do. This was as close to death as he had ever come. It was probably going to change him somehow. He didn’t know how but he expected something would change.
*****
The side of Van’s head was bloody. Maybe he was dying. He still had some motor activity in his hands and arms and slowly reached for the gun in his belt. If he were dying it wouldn’t be alone today. He had to make the shots count so he raised his arm and let his elbow rest on the seat of the chair where he had been sitting. Jayne wouldn’t be doing anything that deplorable again. With any luck he could get them both, he thought had enough left in him to squeeze off two.
Fats had been stirring and found Van’s hiking stick lying abandoned on the floor next to him. With a lot maneuvering he was able to get himself up on his feet even with the ties around his arms and legs. He thought that it was good he was so skinny because a fat man couldn’t have made a move like that. It was then he saw Van’s arm rest on the chair.
He screamed as loud as he could under the circumstances, “GUN!”
Zander heard Fats and more instinct than sense kicked his ass. He rolled off the chair with Sara Jane still in his lap. The gun fired and Zander heard the bullet buzz right by their heads and hit the cupboard next to the sink. Splinters of wood landed on the counter and in the sink. Zander was thinking that Rooster would be paying dearly for the damage he just caused when he heard the thumping of Fats feet hitting the floor as he hopped two steps over to where Van laid.
Van was moving the gun slowly trying to fix it on Fats as he hopped over. He had to move slowly because blackness was creeping in. Blood was filling his brain. He would have time for one more shot. But he was mistaken.
Fats paused over Van for a moment as he tried to move the gun. Fats smiled and shook his head “no”. Then he raised the stick’s pointed end and ran it directly into Van’s eye and kept pushing until he felt it reach the back of his head. For good measure, Fats gave the stick a few good turns just like he was reaming out a hole he had just drilled in some board. Life was good. Well, not for this guy.
The stick supported itself coming out of Van’s eye. Fats had killed him with his own weapon. There was some good irony in that.
Sara Jane and Zander were getting up to see what had happened while they were on the floor.
“Trick shot, Fats?” Zander asked simply.
“My old pool cue would have been better but it looks like the stick did the trick. Him or me, the way I saw it,” Fats said.
“Him or us,” Zander agreed.
“Could one of you please cut these damn things off me? I can hardly feel my arms or legs.”
Sara Jane grabbed the same knife she used on Zander and had Fats free in an instant. Fats grabbed her and hugged her hard. It surprised everyone in the room including Fats.
When he let her go he said, “Sorry, Sara Jane. I needed to know I was still alive. I had to feel something.”
Sara Jane smiled. “I’m just happy that I’m still here for your confirmation.”
Then she hugged Fats back and they all smiled and collapsed at the table. Van would be staying on the floor with the stick in his eye but he wasn’t complaining.
*****
Fats wanted to grab some beers from the fridge but Zander talked him out of it.
“We need to decide what we’re going to do now. What we don’t need is any alcohol clouding our judgment or getting in the way of what needs to be done.”
Sara Jane agreed and poured them all coffee.
They were silent for some time. Zander could see Fats was thinking about something.
“What’s on your mind, Fats?”
“The big cosmic universe has made a huge statement here.”
Sara Jane and Zander just looked at him.
“Well don’t you see? This guy was an abomination against nature. So nature killed him,” Fats said in awe.
“I’m not following you,” Zander said as nicely as possible.
“It was the wood man, first the bat and then the stick. Nature’s way of balancing the scales.”
“What about the gun?” Zander asked.
Fats thought for a moment, “Yeah that was the universe telling everyone that you screwed up. You didn’t do what you promised. You got to follow through on what you say you’re going to do.”
Sara Jane looked over at Zander and smiled.
“Nemesis was the word you used I believe, wasn’t it?”
Zander couldn’t argue. He did believe in nemesis and Rooster had got what he had coming. So Fats had a point even if it was way out there.
“Hey I saw him drive out of that palace of his with a Jeep but I didn’t see it parked outside,” Fats said pointing at Van.
“Probably parked across the road. He always was pretty careful,” Jayne said as she got up.
She moved over to the body and started checking his pockets for his keys. She pulled them out of the left front pocket.
“I’ll walk over and get it. We’re going to have to get rid of the body,” she said and went out the door.
Fats looked at Zander as he said, “Shouldn’t we be calling the cops?”
“Not a good idea. This thing is going to affect way too many people.”
“You mean your old girlfriend?”
“Not just her, Fats. How about Lilly? And then there are all those young girls, this thing is a huge mess.”
“Dude, I see what you mean. But what are we going to do with the body?”
“I think I’ll let Sara Jane explain. I think I know what she has planned,” Zander said and the door opened.
“It’s going to be crowded in the Jeep boys,” Sara Jane said, “There’s two other bodies already in there.”
“Who are they?” Zander wondered.
“Looks like his butler and maybe the chef.”
“This guy just kills people for fun?”
“Pretty much. He was always psychotic but lately he was just a stark raving paranoid lunatic,” Sara Jane said without much emotion.
“Now what are we going to do?” Fats asked with some frustration in his voice.
“There’s this mine shaft on some property Van owned south on Blue River. We’ll dump all three bodies down the air shaft,” she said looking at Zander for conformation.
“It looks like that’s what he had planned for us,” Zander agreed.
“So is this place remote enough so people won’t stumble onto it?” Fats asked.
“It’s the only property he ever put in his name or whatever name he was using at the time. It’s posted as private property and besides no one has ever found any of the other bodies,” Sara Jane replied.
“Other bodies! How many are down there?” Fats blurted out.
“I don’t really know. Dozens I think.”
Fats whistled and looked at Zander.
“What the hell did you get me into?”
“Hey, don’t blame me, I tried to keep you out of it but you weren’t having any of that. Maybe it’s that cosmic universe trying to tell you something.” Zander smiled.
Fats just shook his head in agreement.
“We’re going to have to do something soon. We don’t want to get caught with these bodies in daylight,” Zander said.
“The Jeep is in my name, in fact everything is in my name except the land above Blue River so I don’t want any blood or anything to trace back to me in the vehicle,”
Sara Jane said suddenly becoming Jayne again.
“What about the other two bodies?” Zander asked.
“Both in body bags and I looked for another but there wasn’t anything else in the Jeep,” she said, “I don’t think he cared because it was going to be dark.”
Fats jumped up. “Got any duct tape?”
“Yeah there’s a brand new roll under the sink,” Zander said, “What do you need that for?”
“Mummy. We wrap him up like a big old Egyptian king,” Fats said as he was punching the tape out of the cellophane.
Zander and Jayne watched as Fats taped up the body. He paused just a bit when he got to the head and he had to remove the stick from the eye socket. In fifteen minutes there was a silver mummy lying on the floor of the cabin. Then Fats taped the stick and the bat to Roosters silver chest.
“We can’t keep the murder weapons around. They have to go with the body. Sorry about the bat, Zander,” Fats apologized.
“It will be part of the cosmic universe,” Zander said sarcastically.
If Fats noticed the sarcasm he never showed it.
The three wasted no time. Zander and Fats loaded the body in the back with the other two. It was tight but all three finally fit with a little jockeying. Jayne got behind the wheel and they were off.
“Buckle up, boys,” Jayne said, “It’s going to be a rough ride once we leave the road.
A half-hour later they were bouncing up a rutted mountain road. Zander couldn’t believe even a Jeep could navigate up to the top under these conditions. The headlights were flickering off boulders and trees but Jayne seemed to know what she was doing so Zander concentrated on keeping his butt on the seat. A few times he thought they would get stuck when the Jeep started to spin out but Jayne handled it like a pro. Zander wondered if she had made some of these trips up here with Rooster. That thought was almost too much to bear so he put it out of his mind as best he could.
Finally they arrived. Zander could see two large rocks near where they stopped. Jayne pulled a flashlight from under the seat and went over to the rocks. Zander and Fats went to the back of the Jeep and took out the bodies.
They could see Jayne moving some dead tree limbs.
“Okay, I found the air shaft,” she called over.
Zander and Fats took Roosters body first. They wanted it out of their sight. When they got to Jayne, they put the body down for a moment. Zander peered over at the hole. It was about four or five feet wide. Zander thought it was lucky no one was very fat or they would have to stuff the body down with a long pole.
All three bodies went down easily. Fats had been trying to listen for a sound when they hit bottom. He didn’t hear anything.
“That’s a long way down. Where does it come out?”
“It’s an old copper mine. It was abandoned long ago. No entrances left, at least that what Van said.”
“Let’s hope he was right.”
Zander had taken the two bags of sex toys from the Cameo and thrown them in the back with the bodies before they left his cabin.
“Fats, go get the sex toys and throw them down here,” Zander said and pointed to the airshaft.
“Aw man, I was planning some interesting exploration with those things,” Fats replied resisting.
Zander just looked at Fats and finally he went back to the jeep to retrieve the bags. After he had thrown them into the shaft he said, “Let’s get out of here, this place gives me the creeps.” Fats went directly back to the Jeep.
Zander grabbed Jayne around the waist.
“Are you alright?”
“I haven’t been this good in many years, Zander,” she said and gave him a hug.
They stood there in the darkness for a time until Fats started bumping the horn.
“I think Fats has had enough for one night, “ Zander said as they walked back to the Jeep.
They drove back to Zander’s cabin in silence. Each of them was contemplating the enormity of what had just happened to them. There would be some sleepless night and some bad dreams Zander thought. He wondered if Jayne would experience any of it or had she become hardened by her life’s experience.
The night sky was just starting to turn some shades of purple as they reached the cabin. Zander had no idea what time it was. When he got inside, he saw it was almost 6:30. Jayne had to use the bathroom so Fats peed outside.
Zander made more coffee and the three sat at the table once more. It was decided that Jayne and Fats would go back to Cripple Creek in the Jeep and return it to the carriage shed. They would drive Fats’ pickup back to the cabin so Jayne could get her car. Zander would clean up the cabin and make sure there was no trace of Rooster or his blood. He decided what he was going to do about the bullet hole in the cupboard. The hole could be filled with some spackling and the cupboards would be repainted with the white paint he had used on them when he moved in. He thought he still had some of the paint left someplace.
As Jayne and Fats left, Zander was already cleaning off the blood on the floor. He would have the cupboard repaired and painted by the time they returned. This was probably going to turn out all right.
*****
Fats talked all the way to Cripple Creek. He told Jayne how he and Zander had met and didn’t stop until they reached Van’s house. The gate to the driveway was standing open. Jayne thought that was unusual. One of Van’s rules was that the gate remained closed at all times. When they drove up the driveway they noticed the front door was standing open.
“Someone left in a hurry,” Fats observed.
“Probably some of his girls. Maybe they saw something that scared them,” Jayne said meaning the murders.
Jayne drove up to the carriage house and they both got out. Jayne opened the stall that housed the Jeep. Then she went over and punched in the code where Fats’ pickup still stood. Fats drove out and drove to the front door while Jayne pulled the Jeep into the stall and closed both doors.
“How are we going to get the Cameo back here?” Fats wondered.
“We’re not. You let me worry about that,” Jayne said and they both went inside the home.
“I can’t believe the size of this place,” Fats said as he looked around the great room.
“Obscene if you ask me. I never liked this place. “
“You lived here?”
“A long time ago before I became just a number in his life,” she said with little emotion, “Why don’t you go into the kitchen and find us something to eat. All of a sudden my stomach is rumbling. I’ve got a few things to do before we head back.”
Fats went into the kitchen. It was massive and he went over to the walk-in cooler because there was no refrigerator. This was an industrial kitchen. He found some cooked chicken. He made some sandwiches with lettuce and mayo and spread it out on the table in the corner.
Meanwhile, Jayne had gone upstairs and put some things into one bag and opened the walk-in safe in the closet. She found the title to the Cameo and put it in a bag along with stacks of money. Then she closed the safe and went down to join Fats.
*****
Zander was putting the last of the paint on the cupboards when he heard Fats’ pickup outside. It was 10:30. He looked at his work and decided it was pretty darn good. No one would ever suspect there had been a bullet hole and shattered wood around it.
Fats burst in the room. “You won’t believe it.”
Zander was alarmed, “What now?”
“Sara Jane gave me the Cameo.”
He was holding the title and registration.
Zander looked at her. “Is that wise?”
“I own everything. Everything is in my name so I can do whatever I want with it. Besides, I sold it to him. Twenty-five thousand.” She held up a stack of cash.
Fats seemed puzzled. He was about to deny that he paid anything when Zander said:
“Another way to launder some money.”
“Going to have to do a lot of that over the next few weeks. I’ve decided the business is going
to be legitimate. It’s going to take some time to clean up all the mess but it can be done.”
“If anyone could pull it off it would be you,” Zander pandered.
Fats figured it was about time for him to leave.
“I’m going home and get some sleep. See you later this afternoon, Zander. Sara Jane, it has been a day I will never forget for many reasons. Thank you for the adventure,” he said and he was gone.
Zander knew he would drive the Cameo right over and get the paperwork signed over into his name. The pickup would stay in the driveway until he got good and ready to do something with it.
Jayne was in her business mode. Zander could see she was ready to get started on the change. No matter, he had to be to work in a few minutes anyway.
Jayne came over and put her arms around him. She gave him a long warm kiss. Zander returned it with anticipation. Finally she stepped back.
“I’m going back to Colorado Springs. I’ve got a lot to do and I might as well get this thing going as quickly as possible.”
“I understand.”
“It means we won’t see each other for quite a while, I’m afraid.”
“I figured that.”
“I’ll call the Branchwater when I get some time and let you know what is going on.”
“I’ll be expecting your call,” Zander said and kissed her once more.
When they separated Zander held her in place.
“There is something I didn’t tell you but you need to know it now. Lilly is still alive.”
“I suspected it from the start. You knew too much information about what was going on to just have learned it in one night with Lilly.”
“You aren’t angry?”
“You needed to be sure about me before you were going to share much of anything. I knew that. I would have done the very same thing in your place. So no I’m not angry at Lilly not being dead. She was as close to someone I could call a friend as anyone I knew over the past twenty years. You’d better let her know it is safe for her to resurface.”
“I’m very happy to hear you say it and since you aren’t angry with me I have one other thing to say.”
“What’s that?” Sara Jane asked smiling.
Always a Kicker Page 23
