by Dennis Yates
“Is there something else you want to tell me?” Will asked. “You act like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Robert shook away the scattered thoughts and drew himself together. It hadn’t been easy to stay focused. The past seemed to be manipulating him like the old Mexican had with the dancing marionettes. All he could do was keep moving forward, despite the feeling that he’d completely lost control. Peggy and Connor were still counting on him.
“I’ve been thinking about something I saw a long time ago. I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“You want to tell me about it now?”
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense yet.”
“Oh.”
“But thanks for your help with Mr. Frosty.”
“Don’t mention it. You made it easy for me after softening him up and all.”
“How far is Wrath Butte from here? It’s been ages since I’ve been back.”
“We’re looking at a three-hour drive. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve started rounding up some gear.”
Robert rubbed his forehead. He still wasn’t absolutely sure if he was still dreaming or not. “I think we should get going as soon as we can… So how is Mr. Frosty now?”
“He escaped.”
“Escaped?”
“After he told me where they were at I sat him next to a space heater to thaw out. You almost turned him into an Eskimo Pie, Bobby. I did my research on line and then took a hot shower. When I went back to the garage he was gone...It looked like he’d burned off the rope, a cigarette lighter maybe...”
“Didn’t you go looking for him?”
“Of course I did, but I found no sign of him. It’s like the guy walked out of here and went poof.”
“He’s probably made a call to Wrath Butte by now.”
“I’m sure you’re right. And all the more reason we should be hitting the road.”
“I’ve got to do some things first. I need to go visit my mother’s house and also drop Nugget off at the shop.”
Will glanced up from polishing his gun. He looked worried. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to be going to your mom’s right now, or the shop. There are cops all over town looking for you.”
“That’s why I’m going to need your help.”
“So what’s so important at your mom’s place?”
“There’s this family heirloom up in the attic that I haven’t seen for years. I need to find it and I don’t know why. It sounds crazy but you have to trust me on this. It’s something important.”
CHAPTER 37
Earlier they saw two semi trucks pass below them and they’d tried to wave them down. Peggy knew she and the others were still too far away, that they’d just blended in with the darkness of the hills. It was hopeless without flashlights or something to signal with, but seeing the shadows of the big trucks had lifted their spirits.
Later she was glad they hadn’t drawn attention to themselves, for she began to hear what she thought was an engine sound following them from the hills above. Whoever it was hadn’t turned on their headlights.
Everyone was getting tired and thirsty. The children had stopped interacting and seemed to be marching forward in their sleep. Peggy found her mind drifting inward and had to keep reeling it back. She wondered how much longer it would be before sunrise and what they would do then.
“I see a house!” Jan shouted.
Peggy raised her head and looked. At the bottom of the hill was one of those country houses you saw in the magazines with a generous wrap-around porch and a white washed fence. Behind the house there was a red barn and a small tractor. She noticed a light on upstairs and wondered if the occupants had already heard them coming.
“Let’s try to hurry everyone.”
They picked up their pace going down the grassy hillside and soon encountered a dirt road leading to the back of the house. Finding it impossible to contain their relief, they began to laugh excitedly. A dog sat up on the porch and started to bark.
I just hope they’re not hostile, Peggy thought. Out here in the country you could never be sure how folks would react…
Years ago Peggy and a college friend had their car break down on the highway and they’d gone to ask a local if they could use a phone. A woman had answered the door with a pistol and might have shot them both if Peggy hadn’t acted quickly and calmed her down. Eventually the woman allowed them to make their call but hadn’t let down her guard in the least. It was only when they left the house and smelled a foul chemical odor coming from the run down garage that Peggy knew someone was probably cooking meth.
This house looked nothing like that one and the closer they got the more secure Peggy felt. The owners obviously cared for the place. There was a lush garden surrounded by tall sunflower plants and a pond with a miniature windmill.
She saw the porch light come on and the front door ease open. A heavy man stepped out with his wife next to him. He was holding a rifle. He was wearing only a white T-shirt and baggy jeans, and she was still in her bathrobe and curlers. The man told the black lab to stop barking and it sat down in front of them and kept guard. Peggy and the others were close enough now that the farmer could see they posed no threat.
“What are you doing out here at this hour?” His voice was deep, but not entirely unfriendly.
“We need help,” Jan said, forcing back tears. She lifted Krista up next to her chest. “We’ve been walking almost all night. We escaped from some men who had kidnapped us.”
“Kidnapped?” The farmer glanced at his wife in disbelief. He took a few more steps forward on the porch and squinted at them.
Peggy moved under the porch light. “You must have seen something on the news by now… About Portland families vanishing in the middle of the night.” She was sure a friend or co-worker would have gone to the police, even if Robert had been unable to.
The couple on the porch looked as if they didn’t believe their own eyes.
“Jesus, it’s them alright,” the farmer’s wife said to her husband. “They said there were two women and two young children. Let’s not make them wait out here any longer, Wilbur. I’m going in to make them something to eat.”
Wilbur lowered the rifle and his wife went inside. He turned back around and grinned at Peggy and the others. Several of the man’s front teeth were missing, and some were down to brown nubs.
“Okay folks, come on inside and we’ll take care of you. You’re safe here.”
Wilbur held open the screen door as they stepped up on the porch. The black lab sniffed them curiously as they walked by.
“What’s your dog’s name?” asked Connor.
“That’s Randy. He’s our chief inspector around here. He never lets anyone come inside he can’t smell first.”
“Thank god we found you,” Jan said, unable to hold back her tears anymore.
Jan, Krista and Connor went inside. Peggy was the last one to the door. She couldn’t stop thinking that there was something odd going on. It almost seems like they were expecting us…
“I’ll need to use your phone,” Peggy said.
Wilbur glanced nervously at her and laughed. “You’re not going to believe this lady but our phone’s been dead for two days now. Lightning storm took it out and the phone company says they won’t be coming out to fix it until maybe this afternoon.”
“Then it would be best if we left straight for town. Those men who kidnapped us could be on their way.”
Wilbur stroked his rifle with a fat hand and grinned. His lack of teeth sent a slight shiver of disgust up Peggy’s spine.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let them get you. But I think it would be best if you and the children had something to eat. Come sunrise I’ll take you directly to the sheriff’s office in town.”
Peggy found it difficult to argue. The teasing smell of frying bacon was already drifting toward them from the kitchen and made her stomach grumble with hunger.
Okay, maybe I’m being overly paranoid.
It’s just that horrible looking mouth…
“You don’t need to feed us, you know. We don’t want to be a burden.”
Wilbur reached out and gently squeezed Peggy’s hand. She smelled mint mouthwash on his breath, and knew in his case he probably needed it often.
“Please. It’s no trouble at all. If you knew my wife you’d know she’d drop everything to feed an empty stomach.”
Peggy smiled. “Well thank you then.”
****
Betty kept the pancakes and bacon coming until they begged her to stop cooking any more. The food had made them aware of how tired and sleepy they were. Connor and Krista were already asleep on the sofa. Peggy and Jan sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee while Wilbur quietly finished yesterday’s newspaper.
Peggy thought it was weird they hadn’t asked them many questions about their ordeal. Maybe they thought it was impolite.
“Thanks for the meal, Betty, it was delicious,” Jan said.
“Think nothing of it,” Betty said with a wave of her hand, “I’m glad we could help you and your young ones. I’d hate to think of what might have happened if you hadn’t chosen to stop by here instead of another house.”
Wilbur lowered his paper and glared. “Come on, Bet. You make it sound as if all our neighbors are bad people.”
Betty’s eyes lowered to her cup of coffee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. But they never seem to be around. Not really neighbors in my book. All I’m saying is that you girls would still be knocking on doors if we hadn’t been home.”
Peggy excused herself and went to the bathroom. On her way back through the hall she noticed an old rotary-style phone sitting on a shelf next to a pile of crumbling phonebooks. She picked up the receiver and listened for a dial tone. The line was dead.
He’s telling the truth. Happy now?
When she returned to the kitchen she asked Wilbur if he was ready to drive them into town. The sun had risen over an hour ago and it looked like they were in store for another hot day.
“I’m all ready to go if you are,” Wilbur said, rising from the table. “I guess the others can rest until we get back.”
Peggy shook her head. “No, we’re all leaving together.”
“Well I’m afraid that’s not possible. The sedan is in the shop right now, trying to bankrupt me. That just leaves the water truck, and it only has enough room for one person up front with me.”
Peggy glanced at Jan and then back to Wilbur. “I don’t think it’s a good idea that we get separated right now. Those men could come here looking for us.”
“Nobody’s going to come now,” Wilbur said. “Not in broad daylight.”
“Are you kidding me?” Peggy felt herself losing patience with the farmer. How could someone be so naïve to think that bad people had to wait until after dark to do anything?
Wilbur lowered his eyes and moved his head softly from side to side. “I’m sorry lady. I don’t know what else I can do.”
Jan reached out and grasped Peggy’s arm. Her voice was thin and wavering. “We don’t have much choice Peg. Unless we all walk to town together. But you know that wouldn’t be any safer. I’ll go with Wilbur and you stay here with the kids.”
I’m not staying here, Peggy thought. I know how cops think, and what it will take to get them fired up and headed out to that old farmhouse. I was married to one after all…
“No Jan. I think it would be better if you stayed here. We’ll go with Wilbur.”
“Who's we?” Wilbur asked, irritated.
Peggy shot the farmer a look that caused his jowls to turn a bluish shade. His piggish eyes danced nervously within deep pinholes of flesh.
“Connor is going with us. And that’s how it’s going to be.”
****
She woke up Connor with a kiss. He lay on the couch, snuggled beside Krista under a handmade quilt. They looked so adorable with their heads lying next to each other that she wished she could sit down and simply watch them sleep.
“Mom?” Connor asked. He blinked his eyes and frowned. Peggy knelt down and took his hands and helped him slide off the couch. His legs were unsteady at first, but she held him upright with his arms looped around her neck.
“What are we doing, mom? I was asleep.”
“It’s time to go honey. We’re going to town to find some help.”
Krista stirred as if she were about to wake. Jan adjusted the quilt and stroked the top of the girl’s head. It took less than thirty seconds to send her back to sleep.
The three of them tiptoed to the front door. Betty emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. Her smile looked strained.
“We’ll get through this,” Peggy whispered to Jan. “I promise I’ll be back here with cops as soon as I can. Then we’ll help them find our husbands.”
Jan’s face was streaked with tears. “Thanks for everything. You saved our lives back there.”
The two women hugged tightly before Peggy took Connor by the hand and led him out to the porch. Wilbur was waiting in the truck. The engine was belching black exhaust. He was digging an ear with his finger and examining what it found there.
Peggy could see that the farmer had told the truth once again. Mounted behind the cab of the pickup was an enormous water storage tank equipped with hoses. It would have been impossible to take any more than two adult passengers, but Connor wasn’t so big yet that he couldn’t still sit on her lap.
As soon as Peggy and Connor hopped inside Wilbur got the truck moving. She pulled Connor up on her lap and he leaned against the open window. Betty and Jan stood on the front porch waving and they waved back. A brown dust billowed up from below the truck and forced them to roll up the windows.
The morning was already hot. Wilbur flicked on the air conditioning but Peggy only felt warm air coming through the vents. She figured they could last until they reached the highway.
“So what’s the name of the closest town?”
Wilbur chuckled. “Didn’t I tell you already? Wrath Butte. About thirteen miles or so from here. Ever hear of it?”
“Sure I have. Isn’t there a big resort there?”
“You’ve got it. And for some reason I can never remember what they call it. Maybe because it’s so fancy I’d never go there myself. I hear the new mayor is trying to get the town’s name changed. He’s worried it might turn off all the folks who drive up from Portland to play golf.”
“Stuff like that drives me nuts,” Peggy said, pleased that they were opening up to each other. “Can’t people ever leave things alone?”
Wilbur nodded. “Even the poor rock takes its share of abuse. The teenagers muck it up with spray paint, and just last year a company stuck a cell phone tower on top of it so that the rock now looks like it’s giving the town the finger. And they call that progress.
Peggy shook her head. “There’s just nothing sacred anymore is there?”
“Oh that’s not all of it. Don’t even get me started about the new casino.”
“Well you’re sure lucky to be way out here. Must be nice to be surrounded by all this beautiful scenery. I bet you wish you had something more convenient to drive right now.”
“Oh I don’t mind. This truck has served me well. Rarely gives me any trouble. It’s helped my popularity too. I’ve lost count of how many folks I’ve helped put out brush fires over the years.”
“I’m sure you have.” Peggy glanced down at the floor and realized her feet had been resting on some envelopes. “Oh my god,” she said, reaching down and scooping them up with one hand while balancing Connor on her knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even see your mail down there.”
Wilbur stuck out his hand and his eyes narrowed.
“Give them to me.”
There was dirt on them from the soles of her shoes, and she tried to dust them off. “Just a second… At least give me a chance to clean off the mess I’ve made.”
“Put them in my goddamn hand. Do it now!”
Wilbur’
s tone was scaring her. Connor instinctively scrunched himself close to the passenger door.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see your mail down there when we got in.” She finished brushing the envelopes and began to hand them over, until she scanned the address of the one on top.
It was a phone bill. A cell phone bill.
Wilbur snatched the envelopes from her hand and the truck swerved. He was breathing rapidly, filling the cab with the sour smell of his rotted teeth.
“Wait a minute!” Peggy shouted. “You never said anything about having a cell phone.”
Wilbur glared at her. “Maybe that’s none of your goddamn business.”
Peggy turned to face him while her hand snaked around Connor and felt for the door handle.
“You could have called the police the minute we showed up. Why didn’t you, Wilbur? Why did you lie to me?”
Wilbur shoved the envelopes behind the seat and scowled at her. “You’ve got some nerve, Peggy. Or is Peggy even your real name?”
“What are you talking about?”
Wilbur wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He was sweating like a pig. That combined with his stinking teeth was starting to choke her.
“My neighbor Walker Marsh called me before you showed up at my place. He told me an interesting story. Said he’d felt sorry for you because you’d run away from some men in Portland who were looking for you. Thought he trusted you too, gave you a place to stay while things cooled off. Then yesterday he discovers his bank account has been cleaned out and while he’s gone you try and steal his truck so you can skip town.”
Peggy stared at Wilbur’s hooded eyes in disbelief. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, she was overcome by a wave of furious anger. She turned sideways so that her body shielded her son.
“That’s bullshit. Jan and I never met until last night. Do you really believe we’re the kind of people who’d do something like that? And bring our children into it?”
“I’ve heard of worse on the news,” Wilbur said. “Every day you hear about some folks doing something bad. But to tell you the truth, we never saw anything on the television about you and the children missing. At the time Bet and thought it would be best to play along until Marsh arrived. We didn’t want you to get suspicious.”
