On the Lam

by SUE FINEMAN

  “Mrs. Gregory is downstairs in the cafeteria,” said the nurse, “and I’ll thank you to keep your voice down.”

  Dear God, the nurse called me Mrs. Gregory. Trembling with fear and worried about Bo’s safety, Callie ducked into the nearest empty room. She watched through a crack in the door as Tommy Ray ran toward the elevators, swearing to himself. As soon as she thought it was safe, she rushed down to Bo’s room and helped him put his shoes on.

  A nurse stood in the doorway, hands on her hips. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Bo explained, “The cop that was just in here beat his wife half to death in Tampa a few weeks ago. If someone hadn’t chased him off, he would have killed her.”

  The nurse turned to Callie. “You’re his wife?”

  Callie nodded.

  “But he’s a sheriff.”

  “I don’t care if he’s the Sheriff of San Antonio,” Bo snapped back. “He’s not getting his hands on Callie again. Are my discharge papers ready?”

  “I’ll call Security.”

  “Fine. Call Security.”

  As soon as she left, another nurse stepped inside the room and closed the door. “My ex-husband used to beat on me. He’s a cop, too.” She handed Bo his prescription and discharge orders, then she gave him directions to get out of the building without using the elevators. “This place is like a maze. If he doesn’t know his way around, he’ll never find you.”

  The nurse used a key to lock the bathroom door. “If he comes in here, I’ll tell him you’re in the bathroom.”

  “Thank you so much.” Callie took Bo’s right arm and they ducked out of the room and into the stairwell that led to the Emergency Room.

  Bo walked down two flights and stopped. “I need to rest a minute.”

  “Okay.” Callie wanted to rush right out of the building, but Bo couldn’t move that quickly with stitches in his leg. She sank to the step below him. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t come with you. If I hadn’t had that argument with Miz Bickley—”

  “Who?”

  “The preacher’s wife. She thinks the world of Tommy Ray, and she hates me. The doctor called me Mrs. Gregory and she said I should be ashamed of myself, then she gave me a lecture about not being grateful to Tommy Ray for marrying me and giving my bastard son a name. I lit into her, and I just know she’s the one who told Tommy Ray where we were.”

  Someone opened the door to the stairwell below them, but the two people were talking to each other and didn’t look up. They walked down a flight and then opened a door and disappeared. Callie let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

  Bo stood. “Let’s go.”

  Minutes later, they walked into the Emergency Room and then out the door. A pregnant woman came in a taxi, and Callie snagged it before it could leave.

  “Where to?” the cabbie asked.

  “The hotel across the street,” said Bo, “but drive around a little first.”

  The taxi driver jerked his head around. “Say what?”

  “We want to make sure we don’t run into her husband.”

  The guy grinned, flashing gleaming white teeth in his dark face. “Yes, sir. You know, there is a back door in that hotel.”

  “Good to know,” said Bo. “For now, just drive around.”

  Callie squeezed Bo’s hand. “I could call the hotel and have one of the bellhops pack our things and bring them downstairs to the lobby.”

  Bo shook his head. “What did you do with the things from the safe?”

  “They’re in the tote bag, including—”

  “Forget the bellhop. Call Greg.” Bo slid down in the seat and leaned his head back. “What did you do with my pain pills?”

  “They were in that bag in the hospital.”

  “Damn! We’ll have to find a drug store and get that new prescription filled.”

  The cabbie asked, “You still want me to drive around?”

  “Yes,” Callie and Bo said at the same time.

  “You two running from the law or something, because I don’t want no trouble.”

  “We’re only running from one cop,” said Bo. “Her husband.”

  “He won’t be my husband much longer,” Callie muttered.

  The cabbie shut his mouth and drove around the block again, while Callie called Greg and told him what was going on.

  “I’m on my way,” said Greg.

  Callie snapped the phone closed and grabbed Bo’s right arm. “There’s Tommy Ray.” She pointed to the left. “Over there by the hospital.”

  “Where? I don’t see his truck.”

  “He’s in his patrol car.”

  They stopped for a traffic light and Callie watched Tommy Ray drive across the street and park right in front of the hotel. “He’s going inside. Shoot!” If he got inside their room and found that money, she’d never see it again.

  “Bo, did you leave the maps—”

  “I forgot to take them out of the pocket of the shirt I wore out on the trail.”

  He wouldn’t find the maps, but he would steal her money just like he’d stolen Daddy’s life insurance money. She couldn’t let him do that. That was her money, not his.

  Callie chewed on her bottom lip and stared at Tommy Ray’s cruiser. If she could get close enough, she could draw him out of the hotel so she could go upstairs and get their things. “I’ll meet you in back of the hotel in ten minutes,” she told Bo.

  Before he could stop her, before the light changed to green, she slipped out of the cab and walked toward the hotel.

  Bo rolled the window down and yelled, “What in the hell are you doing?” but all she could think about was getting Tommy Ray away from the hotel. He wasn’t stealing another penny from her. No, sir.

  Callie crept up to Tommy Ray’s patrol car and flipped on the flashing lights. That should get his attention. Then she hurried to the side door of the hotel, and as soon as she saw Tommy Ray run out to his car, she took an elevator up to the fourth floor, where she quickly packed her suitcase and Bo’s. Her hands shook and she dropped the tote bag, spilling the contents on the floor.

  She’d just finished cleaning up the mess when she heard angry voices outside the room. Oh, God. He’s here. Shoving the suitcases under the bed, Callie rolled under and pulled the tote bag under with her.

  The door lock clicked and a second later, Tommy Ray’s boots stomped through the room. Another male voice said, “As you can see, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory are gone.”

  A stream of swearing came from Tommy Ray. As mad as he was at that moment, she knew he wouldn’t care if he had witnesses. He’d kill her anyway.

  Barely breathing, her heart pounding so hard she was sure Tommy Ray could hear it, Callie stayed under the bed. Her sore shoulder was jammed in so tightly it hurt like the dickens, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it now.

  Did he know she and Bo had made love in this room? She spotted a condom wrapper on the floor in front of the nightstand, but she couldn’t get it now or he’d see her.

  He reached down and picked up the wrapper and she held her breath. It wasn’t more than a foot from her nose. Swearing poured out of him again. Mercy me! He was angry enough to set the room on fire.

  “Are you finished in here, sheriff?”

  “Yeah, I’m finished in here. But not with my wife and her lover.”

  The door clicked closed, and Callie blew out a breath. He was gone.

  She prayed he wouldn’t come back.

  <>

  “What in the hell is she doing?” Bo couldn’t believe she was walking into more danger.

  “That’s one ballsy broad,” muttered the cabbie. He glanced at his watch. “Ten minutes.”

  He drove around the block, which seemed to take forever, and when they passed the hotel again, Tommy Ray’s police cruiser was gone. The cabbie pointed at the hospital. “Is that him?”

  “That’s his car, but I don’t see him.”

  “He’s probably inside, looking for you.” Look
ing at his watch, the cabbie said, “Six more minutes.”

  “Circle the hotel.”

  They drove around the hotel, through the parking lots, around by the dumpsters in the back of the hotel restaurant, and back to the street. Tommy Ray’s cruiser was still parked in front of the hospital, but now he was outside, arguing with a man in a uniform. The sheriff slid behind the wheel of his car and pulled out right in front of the cab. Bo ducked down in the seat. Greg might like this kind of excitement, but not Bo. Especially now, when the pain meds were wearing off.

  “Is he still in front of us?”

  “Yeah, and he’s looking around so much, he’s gonna get himself in an accident.”

  “Can you get back to the hotel?”

  “In a minute or two. He’s got his right turn signal on, and we’re going left…. There he goes. You can sit up now.”

  Two minutes later, the cabbie drove around the hotel again. Callie stood behind the building with the suitcases by her feet. “There she is.”

  “I see her.” The cabbie pulled up beside her, jumped out, and opened the trunk.

  Seconds later, they were on their way to the airport, and Bo was on the phone talking to Greg. “Where are you?”

  “About thirty minutes out.”

  “Don’t come here. Follow the signs to the airport. It’s off 281 on the north side of the city. We’ll meet you in front of the American Airlines terminal.”

  “Got it.”

  At the airport, Callie handed the cabbie the fare plus a huge tip. In Bo’s mind, he’d earned it.

  Greg pulled up a minute later. They climbed into Greg’s rental car while he tossed their bags in the trunk. Bo leaned his head back and sighed. He felt drained, but relieved to be with Greg. His macho brother could be a pain in the ass at times, but he knew how to handle himself with bad guys.

  As Greg pulled away from the curb, Callie said, “Dear God, there’s Tommy Ray.”

  Greg craned his neck around. “Where?”

  “Behind us,” said Callie. “He left the lights flashing on his patrol car and ran inside the terminal. I don’t think he saw us.”

  “Let’s hit the road, brother,” said Bo, and Greg pulled out into traffic.

  Bo put the visor down and flipped open the mirror on the back. He watched in the mirror until he lost sight of the flashing lights behind them. Tommy Ray was still inside the terminal. “If he searches all the airlines for us, he could be there for hours.”

  “We’re going back to the ranch,” said Greg. “Neen is on her way. She found an airstrip outside Caledonia, and she should be in by the time we get back. With any luck, we can get you two out of Texas before Tommy Ray knows you left.”

  Bo closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His arm throbbed, and he hadn’t had time to get his prescription for pain pills filled. “Greg, can you find a drug store?”

  “Can’t you wait until we get back to Caledonia?”

  “No.” Hell, no.

  Greg found an exit and pulled into the nearest strip mall that had a drug store. Bo handed a pharmacist the prescription while Callie bought him a bottle of juice, a box of cookies, and a small pillow to put under his arm in the car.

  It took a few minutes to get the prescription filled. Bo paced and watched the door, sure Tommy Ray would find them sooner or later. Later would definitely be better. It would take the cop from hell hours to search the airport, so they should be okay for now.

  Maybe.

  Back in the car, Bo swallowed two pills, ate some cookies, and drank half the juice. He offered Callie some cookies and she declined.

  Greg munched on cookies while he drove. “Don’t tell Neen I ate any of these.”

  “You have to be kidding,” said Bo. “She’ll smell the chocolate on your breath.”

  “Blame it on me,” said Callie.

  Greg grinned. “That might work.”

  “Come on, Greg,” said Bo. “Neen’s not going to believe Callie held you down and force fed you cookies.”

  “Smartass. I thought the doctor fixed that problem when he fixed your arm.”

  “Do you two always fuss at each other?” Callie asked.

  “He picks on me,” said Greg.

  “Yeah, right. You’re eating my cookies.”

  Greg handed the box back to Bo. Bo shook the box. “You ate them all.”

  “I was hungry.”

  “I should have bought two boxes,” said Callie. “I’m hungry, but not for cookies.”

  Greg glanced back at Callie. “Skeeter made a pot of chili last night.”

  Bo groaned. “No way. That stuff is lethal.”

  “There’s a pizza place in the town right before Caledonia. I used to go there when I was in high school. Far as I know it’s still there.”

  “Greg is no longer hungry,” said Bo. “He ate all my cookies.”

  “Hey, I can eat,” said Greg. “Besides, the pepperoni will cover the smell of chocolate.”

  Bo stared at his brother. “Neen doesn’t mind if you eat pizza, but she won’t let you eat cookies?”

  Greg shrugged. “She’s pregnant. Pizza doesn’t sound good to her, but cookies do, and she’s afraid she’ll gain too much weight. She won’t allow junk food in the house until after the baby comes, and knowing her—”

  “She won’t allow it after the baby comes, because she’ll be nursing,” said Callie. “If you’re not careful what you eat when you’re nursing, the baby cries with gas pains.”

  Bo pictured Callie nursing a baby, his baby.

  Did he really want kids?

  Callie loved her son with everything in her, but he wasn’t conceived in love like Greg and Neen’s baby. Born out of an act of violence, Brady lived his first seven years in a family of violence. She did her best to make it up to him, but anything would set Tommy Ray off and his fist or boot would catch her. If Brady cried, Tommy Ray took his belt to him, so Brady learned to stay in his room, quiet as a little mouse, away from Tommy Ray’s wrath. A little boy shouldn’t have to grow up that way.

  “Okay, the town is right up here, Callie. Which way?”

  “Are you sure we have time to stop?”

  “Tommy Ray will be busy at the airport for a few hours.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she said mostly to herself.

  She guided Greg to the pizza restaurant. It was three, too early for dinner, but she’d left her lunch at the hospital, and she doubted Bo had time to eat anything.

  Inside the pizza restaurant, Greg glanced at Bo. “I can’t believe you left my hat behind.”

  The two men started bickering again, and Callie sat back and listened. In spite of their fussing, these two men obviously loved each other. “If those things you found on the ranch are worth anything, I’ll buy you both new hats.”

  Greg chewed on a toothpick while they waited for their pizza. “They’re worth something, Callie. That wagon wheel looks old, and I’ll bet it’s worth something, too.”

  “Enough to pay the back taxes and start a horse ranch?”

  “Now that depends on how many we find. I hired the two men Tommy Ray had locked up to help me dig them out. Skeeter calls them Dumb and Dumber, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of brains to use a shovel.”

  “Dwayne and Leroy Richardson.” Bo chuckled. “We were in the house when they pried the safe out of the wall.”

  Callie smiled. “I ‘spect they’ll be glad to get the work. You tell them I said if they steal anything I’ll send Randy after them.”

  “Barney Fife. He’s out of work, too.”

  “Not for long,” said Greg. “As soon as we get Tommy Ray out of the picture, Stan Houser said Randy would be reinstated as Deputy.”

  “Mr. Houser serves on the county council,” said Callie. “He hates Tommy Ray.”

  Greg put the shredded toothpick on the table. “Callie, everyone I’ve talked with hates Tommy Ray.”

  Nobody hated Tommy Ray Caldwell more than his wife.

  <>

  An hour late
r, Greg pulled into the driveway at the ranch. Neen sat at the kitchen table eating a sandwich and drinking a glass of milk. Bo kissed her cheek and sank into the chair beside her. “Greg ate all my cookies. Where’s Skeeter?”

  “He’s out in the barn with Randy. What cookies?”

  Greg narrowed his eyes and glared at Bo.

  Callie handed Bo a pillow for his arm. “Tommy Ray isn’t back yet, is he?”

  Neen shrugged. “I haven’t seen him. Bo, are you up for a flight tonight?”

  “Sure, why not? I’ll sleep on the plane.”

  They talked until the sun set and the sky darkened. And then Skeeter burst through the door. “Patrol cars on the way.”

  Bo stood and threw down the pillow. “Aw, shit!”

  Chapter Ten

  Greg turned to Callie. “Is there another way out of the basement?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Is it locked?”

  “Oh, no, sir, we don’t ever keep it locked. It’s a storm cellar and we don’t often have time to—”

  “Bo, get Callie to the basement. Now.”

  Callie handed Bo a flashlight, but he didn’t want to turn it on if it could be seen outside. From the shouting match out there, the sheriff had not only figured out where they’d gone, he’d brought at least one deputy with him. “We shouldn’t have come here.”

  “We would have missed all the fun, brother,” said Greg. “Skeeter and Randy have a little something cooked up.”

  Neen stood in the basement door. “I’ll see you two at the airport.”

  Callie looked up the basement stairs. “You’re not coming with us?”

  Greg shook his head. “Stay away from those old cars out there. Skeeter has some special fireworks planned.”

  Bo followed Callie through the basement and up the outside stairs, where Callie pushed one door slightly open and peeked out. They were on the back of the house, where Tommy Ray couldn’t see them, but they had to move out of the way before Skeeter blew up those old cars.

  He put his hand on Callie’s shoulder and leaned down to whisper, “Go around to the left, and stay close to the house.”

  She walked around the corner of the house, and Bo followed. The big white bandage on his arm caught the moonlight like a white flag. Nobody could miss it.