Walking Straight (The Walking Together Series Book 1)

by T. E. Killian

  As she walked away, she couldn’t help overhearing Hal when he said to Matt, “You can put your eyes back in your head now Boy.” Then she heard Hal laughing loudly as she almost ran into the kitchen with her face bright red.

  Later, Betty Sue was clearing the dishes off their table when Hal’s cell phone rang. She waited to see what it might be. After he hung up, he frowned and said, “Well, they got in with the search warrant and the place was completely empty, cleaned out. Not even anything in the trash can. It looks like he either left town completely or he simply moved to another location.”

  He slammed his fist down on the table. “I thought for sure we might’ve had that varmint this time.”

  Betty Sue could tell that Matt was mad. For that matter, she was disappointed too. She had so hoped that they would finally be finished with this nightmare.

  Betty Sue started to leave the table but Hal looked up at her and said, “Sit for a second Betty Sue, please.”

  When she did, he said, “Well, it looks like your ex gave us the slip this time. The apartment is clean and there’s no sigh of him.” She already knew all that but she still caught her breath anyway. He quickly added, “But don’t give up. We’ll catch that snake one way or another. You wait and see.”

  He looked her in the eye. “I’m sure I don’t really need to say this but I have to. You be very careful wherever you are. I don’t think it’ll be good for you to be alone anywhere until we get this guy.”

  “But the motel . . .”

  Trish had just walked up and said, “Now don’t you worry about the motel Dear. I’ve got several people who can fill in for you until this mess is cleared up. I agree with Hal. You don’t need to be there by yourself now.”

  Betty Sue looked from Trish to Hal and back, then nodded her head. She left without even looking at Matt. She had to get away so she could let the tears go that had been threatening all morning. She was standing in the back of the kitchen by the door crying when she looked up to see Matt coming into the kitchen.

  He didn’t hesitate but quickly moved up to her, pulled her into his arms, and held her tight. She tried not to dwell on how good it felt to have his arms around her finally. He tried to comfort her but it was obvious to her that he was new at this sort of thing.

  Soon, she wiped her eyes again and looked up at Matt. “Thank you Matt.” Then she smiled and added, “It feels good to be in a man’s arms and not have to be afraid that you’re going to hurt me.”

  She could see Matt’s anger built up quickly again. She could also see that he was trying to force it down so he could continue to comfort her.

  Trish came in and looked into Betty Sue’s eyes. “Are you all right now Dear?”

  Betty Sue nodded then said, “Yes, I think I’ll be okay now . . . thanks to Matt.”

  Trish gave Matt a warm smile and left them alone again.

  “I think I’ll be okay now Matt. And I need to get back out there and help Trish.”

  Matt let her go and slowly followed her back into the dining room. She watched as he went over to the table he’d been at before and saw Hal standing there by himself. Once he made his way over there, Matt stopped in front of Hal.

  Betty Sue continued to watch as the two men talked for a moment and then headed for the door together. But Matt stopped halfway there and came back to stand in front of her.

  He looked down into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay now. I could stick around if you’re worried about that guy coming in here.”

  She tried to give him a bright smile and was sure she didn’t quite make it. “Oh no, Matt, Trish and I will be just fine.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Trish has Smith and I have my gun too.”

  He chuckled at that. “In that case, I’ll see you later.”

  She stood there watching him hobble out on his walking cast. It sure was good to see him up and around without those crutches.

  Suddenly, Betty Sue had a strange feeling come over her. She felt like a part of her was going out that door. Where did that come from?

  The rest of the day went by quickly and soon Betty Sue and Trish were going into Trish’s home. Betty Sue went to her room right away to get ready for her last evening of training with Mike at the motel. She looked forward to learning more about running the motel but she had to be honest. She didn’t really look forward to dealing with Mike’s changeable moods all evening.

  She left the motel later that night convinced that she was doing the right thing in agreeing to manage the motel for Trish. She actually thought she would have fun doing it too.

  * * *

  When Matt was leaving the diner that afternoon, Hal had pulled him aside and told him that he’d better be on the lookout for the guy who’d killed Jerry. Hal seemed to think the guy was going to come after Matt thinking that he may have whatever it was the guy was looking for.

  That evening, he had desperately wanted to spend some time with Betty Sue but he knew she was at the motel and Mike was training her to take over. He grunted. She wouldn’t be at the motel tomorrow night, so maybe he’d be able to spend some time with her somehow then.

  With that plan in mind, he went to bed knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep very well if at all. With everything that was going on right then, his mind was just a whirl of things going around and around in it.

  He must have finally fallen into a deep sleep after all because when he heard sounds coming from the front of the apartment, it took him quite a while to come fully awake.

  When he did, he grabbed his 9mm from the bedside table, slid quietly out of bed, and began to step carefully to the doorway.

  Once he was in the short hallway, he peeked around the opening into the living room. He saw a dark form moving around in there. The guy was pulling the cushions off all of the chairs in the room.

  Matt flipped the light on and yelled, “Stop right there. I’ve got a gun on you.”

  The guy had a gun and he began firing at Matt who fired several shots back at him. They both dropped to the floor and Matt kept watching for movement. Then he continued to wait and listen for what seemed like a long time. Nothing! Matt could hear barely hear anything over his own heavy breathing.

  Cautiously, he raised his head and saw the guy lying between the couch and the coffee table. He inched his way nearer to the still form on the floor. Just as he reached the guy, the door which had been standing partially open slammed against the wall and two police officers came through with their guns pointing at him.

  One of them yelled, “Drop the gun.”

  Matt did immediately and just stood there as one came over and slapped handcuffs on his wrists. The other one bent over the form on the floor. He looked back up and said, “Call it in. He’s still breathing.”

  Once they called for medical help, they made Matt sit in a chair in the kitchen area out of the way. From much experience, he knew better than to talk or especially move. So he just sat there for the next few minutes.

  Two EMTs came through the door then, quickly loaded the guy up, and took off with him. They had just gone out when Hal stepped through the door wearing jeans and a heavy coat over a sweatshirt.

  Hal gave Matt a hard look then turned to the two officers. One of them leaned over and seemed to be looking at something on the floor where the guy had been lying.

  Hal stepped over and looked too. He turned to Matt and said, “Well, Matt, it looks like he found what he was looking for. Is there anything you want to tell me about it?”

  He motioned toward a bag that was still lying on the floor and it was filled with a white powdery substance.

  Matt held his hands out with the palms facing Hal. “I don’t know anything about it Hal. Jerry must have put it in one of the chairs when he was here Saturday night. I never thought about looking before.”

  Hal stepped over to Matt and looked straight into his eyes for so long that Matt wanted to squirm but knew it wouldn’t be good if he did.

  Finally, Hal looked back at the
officers who were still standing over the bag. “Bag it and label it.”

  Matt and Hal both watched as the officers did as Hal had instructed. Then one turned to Hal and said, “It has a piece of masking tape on it with ‘1/4 k’ written on it.”

  Hal whistled. “If that’s what I’m pretty sure it is, that’s about fifty thousand in street value. No wonder the guy wanted it so bad.”

  Hal pulled something out of his pocket, leaned over Matt, and unlocked the handcuffs. “I believe you Son.” He frowned. “But of course you’re not totally in the clear until the county attorney passes on it.”

  Matt wasn’t worried. He knew that Hal had been chief of police here for so long that if he said it was self-defense, the county attorney wouldn’t even hesitate to accept that.

  Hal pulled a chair up to face Matt. “Now tell me exactly what happened here tonight.”

  When Matt finished telling him, Hal stood and stepped over to the doorway into the small hallway where Matt had been standing when the shooting began. He pulled a little bag out of one pocket and a knife out of another and began working on a spot on the living room wall. When he dropped something into the bag, he stepped over to the other side of the doorway and dug another one out of that side.

  When he dropped that bullet into the bag, he turned back to Matt. “You said he fired three shots?”

  Matt said, “Yeah, that’s about all I can tell you. Those were the loudest sounds I’ve ever heard.”

  Hal stood in the doorway facing Matt. He pointed to his left and said, “One was there.” He pointed to the other side of the doorway. “That one was number two. Number three must have gone down the hallway and probably mighty close to you Son.”

  With that, Hal went to the back of the hallway leaving a stunned Matt sitting there wondering how close the bullet had actually come to hitting him.

  A minute later, Hal came back and held up the bag again. This time there were three bullets in it.

  Matt’s attention was diverted to one of the officers who was placing Matt’s gun in a larger bag.

  “Hal, don’t you think I still need my gun to protect myself from Betty Sue’s ex?”

  Hal frowned and ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know what you mean Matt. But we gotta take yours in since you shot that guy with it.”

  Matt could see that Hal was thinking and waited to see what he might say next.

  Hal looked around apparently looking for the other two officers. They were both outside now. Hal reached into his shirt, pulled out a small .38, and placed it on the table next to Matt. “Don’t let anyone see you with this unless you have to use it and then you’d better be sure when you do.”

  With that, Hal headed for the door. When he reached it, he pointed at the busted lock and said, “You need to get that maintenance man on this door first thing in the morning.”

  Then Hal was gone leaving Matt sitting there with some mighty powerful memories and images flying around in his head. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep anymore that night.

  Chapter Twelve

  Betty Sue was scared to death. She was in a car with Matt and someone was shooting at them from another car. She was so terrified that she cried out and from far away she could hear Trish calling to her. Where was Trish? She didn’t want her to get hurt too.

  That was when she woke up and found that she was sitting straight up in bed. Then through the fog, she realized that Trish was leaning over her and making soothing sounds while rubbing her back.

  “It’s okay Betty Sue, it was just a nightmare. Wake up Sweetie and try to calm down.”

  When Betty Sue just stared at Trish, the loving woman said, “Are you all right now Betty Sue. It was just a bad dream. You’re okay now.”

  Betty Sue blinked her eyes several times in an attempt to clear her mind. Finally, she focused on Trish and said, “Someone was shooting at us.” Almost as an afterthought, she added, “Matt and me.”

  Trish pulled Betty Sue into her arms and repeated, “It’s okay now Dear. It was just a bad dream, that’s all.”

  Betty Sue slid out of bed, grabbed her robe, and followed Trish out to the kitchen where the older woman poured a glass of water and handed it to her.

  As Betty Sue drank the water, she could feel her system relaxing and she quickly pulled out a chair and almost fell into it.

  Trish sat across the table from her. “You know, I don’t want to scare you but when Richard died, I knew long before Hal and Henry came to my door to tell me.”

  She could tell that Trish was thinking back. “It was the middle of the night just like this. His flight left Kansas City at nine that night and I was back home and in bed asleep when it crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania. I woke up and had the strangest feeling. Somehow I knew that he was gone.”

  Betty Sue shook her head. “I don’t think that was what happened to me tonight. I guess it’s just all this talk about Dave wanting to hurt him and then there’s someone else who’s already killed Matt’s friend. I just know he’s in danger.”

  Trish looked at the clock and Betty Sue followed her eyes and said, “Two o’clock. I guess it’s too early to call Matt.”

  Trish stepped over to the counter, pulled her cordless phone off the wall, and handed it to Betty Sue. “No it isn’t Dearie. You go ahead and call. If you wake him up, that’s just too bad. He’s got all day to catch up on his sleep. But you need to know that he’s okay right now, not five or six hours from now.”

  Betty Sue dialed Matt’s phone and waited for it to start ringing. He answered after the first ring. He must have been awake.

  “Matt, it’s Betty Sue. Are you all right?”

  “What? How did you know? Who told you?”

  Now she really was scared. “No one told me anything. I just had a bad dream and I got to worrying about you. Are you okay Matt?”

  She could hear him blow out a deep breath. “Well, I had a little trouble here tonight, but I’m okay. I didn’t get hurt at all.”

  “But Matt. What happened?”

  “Look Betty Sue, why don’t I come into the diner first thing in the morning and I’ll explain everything to both you and Trish then. Okay?”

  “No Matt. I want to know now.”

  He laughed humorlessly. “Okay, I’ll just tell you that the guy we think killed Jerry came in here tonight and I shot him. But he didn’t hurt me in any way.”

  “Oh!” She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer of thanksgiving. She almost slid out of her chair in relief.

  “Now, will you go back to sleep? I promise I’ll come into the diner later and explain it all to you. Okay?”

  “Okay. Good night Matt.”

  She turned to Trish. “He shot the guy who killed his friend Jerry.”

  When Trish opened her mouth, Betty Sue went on. “But Matt didn’t get hurt. He said he’ll come into the diner this morning to explain it all to us.”

  They both went back to bed but Betty Sue didn’t do more than doze fitfully for the next two hours when they got up at their normal four-thirty.

  Once she and Trish were finished with their prep and about to open the diner, Trish turned to Betty Sue and said, “Why don’t we sit a spell and have a cup of coffee before we open up?”

  Once they were sitting with coffee cups in front of them, Trish reached out and covered one of Betty Sue’s hands with her own.

  “You know Dear. You might not want to hear this but I’m going to say it anyway. I only told you part of the story last night about Richard and me.”

  When Betty Sue looked up with a puzzled look on her face, Trish laughed softly and said, “Yeah, there’s more all right. You see, when Richard and I met, I knew almost immediately that he was the one for me. It’s like the romances call it. We truly were soul mates. He felt the same way.”

  She looked up at the ceiling before continuing. “It was like we were wired to each other. We always knew exactly what the other one needed and we did it without asking.”

  Betty
Sue was trying to follow all that Trish was saying but was beginning to fall behind until the older woman smiled and said, “I can see that you and Matt are the same way, can’t you?”

  That really knocked Betty Sue for a loop. Could Trish be right? She didn’t have time to ponder that thought since it was now time for them to open up.

  All through the breakfast rush, Betty Sue kept looking toward the door every chance she got but no Matt. Finally, she went up to Trish and said, “Do you think he’s not coming? What if he really was hurt and just didn’t want me to worry?”

  Trish chuckled. “Betty Sue. Didn’t you know when he was in danger?” When Betty Sue nodded Trish continued, “Well do you feel like he’s in danger right now?”

  Trish stood there with her hands on her hips until Betty Sue finally grinned at her and said, “I guess you’re right.”

  But when the door opened and Matt finally walked through it, Betty Sue was at his side before he could even close the door behind him.

  * * *

  On his way over to the diner at about nine, Matt’s cell phone rang and he knew it was Hal even before he looked.

  “Hey Matt, I just wanted you to know that I got the ballistics report back on those bullets and they’re from the same gun that killed Vargas.”

  Matt wasn’t surprised. “Thanks Hal. That makes me look a lot better doesn’t it?”

  Hal snorted. “I never doubted you Son. Oh and I’m not sure if you got a good look at the guy last night but he is the one you picked out of the mug shots.”

  “Thanks Hal. I really appreciate you having faith in me, especially as much trouble as I’ve given you over the years.”

  Hal laughed. “That’s all water under the bridge now Son. You might also want to know that the doctors say he’ll live to stand trial.”

  There was a pause then, “Oh and by the way, the results of your DNA test just came back and you’re not a papa.”

  Matt shouted out for joy and Hal said, “Easy Son that’s my eardrum you’re trying to bust.”

  When Matt didn’t say anything else, Hal said, “You be careful now Son. There’s still one more guy out there that seems to want to hurt you.”