Home Forever

by Cee Bowerman

  An officer was taking pictures of the different areas of the yard. The spots of blood on the driveway, the area that Rowdy where han laid before the ambulance took him away, the other area of the house where Buzz had been before the second ambulance loaded him to go also.

  Sam heard the roar of motorcycle engines getting closer to the house. He could hear that some were coming up the alley, others were in front of the house. He had to get up and talk to them. Tell them all that he knew so they could help look for Carlie.

  Sam put his hands over his face and rubbed up and down. He had to clear his head. The blood on the driveway was a small spot, not enough for Carlie to have been gravely injured. The other blood was from Tuff’s muzzle where he had taken out a piece of the man before he was shocked by the stun gun. All Sam could see when he closed his eyes was her body laying there, unconscious, not moving. His mind flashed from her laughing in the kitchen to laying on the driveway motionless.

  The engines cut off one by one. The gate opened into the backyard from the alley and men and women filed through. He saw his brother Jace, holding Kari’s hand as they rushed across the yard to him. He stood to greet his brother and Kari, his other brothers from the club and other clubs from around the panhandle who had been called.

  Another group of men came from the side of the house. They all met together in front of the steps and Sam felt Zeke stand up beside him. Zeke put his hand on Sam’s shoulder and let it drop as Jace stepped up and put his arms around him. Kari pushed in and joined Jace and squeezed her arm around Sam before she walked up the steps past him and went to Kari and Joe.

  Jace backed up and asked Sam simply, “When we find them, do we save him for the police?”

  “No. Get my girl but keep yourself out of harm or trouble.” Sam said simply.

  He saw every one of his brothers nod their head in understanding. He felt the strength coming from them so he put his hand up and told them the details that they knew so far. As he spoke, some of them pulled out cell phones to call friends in the small towns surrounding Rojo. They were putting word out through the brotherhood that it was time to wake up, band together and find one of their own.

  ~*~

  Kari took Lisa’s hand, grabbed Tuff’s collar and led the two of them into the house. She pushed Lisa toward a chair at the island and took Tuff into the guest room and rubbed his head and kissed him on the nose before she shut him in the room.

  When Kari got back into the kitchen she saw that a few of the other women from the club were inside leaning against the counter. One was filling the coffee carafe with water while another was measuring out grounds to get a pot started.

  Kari turned Lisa’s chair around to face her and put her hand on Lisa’s chin. She tilted Lisa’s head up and got close to her face, catching her yes before Lisa tried to look away.

  “Look at me Lisa,” she said harshly, “we have to help Carlie.” Lisa’s eyes flashed to Kari’s.

  “It’s only us here in this room, darlin’. Only the women for now. None of us know what this man is like, his ways, anything about him. You know those things. A woman is with a man for any amount of time and she knows his habits, what he is gonna do before even he knows what he is gonna do. You know these things about this man whether you realize it or not.” Kari pinched Lisa’s chin harder. “You’re gonna snap out of your shit right now and fucking help your Carlie. Right. The. Fuck. Now.”

  Lisa pulled her chin out of Lisa’s hand but kept her eyes on hers.

  “What would I know that can help?” Lisa whispered.

  “Men are creatures of habit, sweetie. What does he drink? How does he take his coffee? What food can he not live without? Does he pee a lot or can he hold it for a long time? What time of the morning does he have to take a shit? Women know these things whether they realize it or not.” Kari narrowed her eyes. “Tell me about him. Not the shit parts but the human parts that regular people can wrap their head around.”

  “He has to have coffee. It has to be hot coffee. Like fresh hot. He can’t stand it when it cools so he will throw it out and get fresh. He smokes. Menthols. Like a chimney. He has to be chewing gum or seeds or something even when he is smoking.” Lisa started. “You mean stuff like this? How will this help?”

  “Is he the prepared type? Like does he buy a carton or one pack at a time?” one of the ladies asked.

  “Only one at a time. He’s diabetic. He doesn’t do his shots like he is supposed to so he pees all the time. All the time. And he sweats a lot. He has to always be drinking something so then he always has to pee.” Lisa stopped to think. “He’ll take his shot and then he will have to eat because he will start to get the shakes. Like every couple of hours. And he won’t eat fast food, says people spit in it. He will only eat a place with a cook and a kitchen where he can get fresh coffee.”

  One of the ladies, Lorena, had found a piece of paper and a pencil and was taking notes. She looked up and told Lisa, “Keep going, sweetheart. This is good information.”

  “He says he has a bacon clock. He eats his breakfast at 7:00 am rain or shine.” Lisa’s eyes went to the clock on the oven, it was 6:15. “It didn’t matter what he was doing. Even if he was in the middle of…. of hurting me…. he would stop and have breakfast. Then he drinks two cups of coffee and spends like 30 minutes taking a shit and playing on his phone. When he is done then he needs a soda. A big one. Only Pepsi. He will have a shit fit if he walks into somewhere that doesn’t have Pepsi in a fountain. Pisses him off so bad he will go from place to place and then stay in a snit about it for hours. When he gets something in his head he can’t stop til he gets it out. He never gives up, even about the Pepsi. It would eat at him.”

  Lorena ripped the paper off the pad and handed it to Kari. “Go tell them. I’ll keep her talking.”

  Kari patted Lisa on the leg and walked to the back door. She went outside and stood on the step between Sam and Zeke. Joe was giving the men gathered at the steps a physical description.

  Kari waited on Joe to finish and then put her hand up. She motioned for one of the policemen, this one in a button up shirt and jeans to come over to their group. She stood on the top step and addressed the crowd of bikers in front of her.

  “I have been in there talking to Lisa. She knew this man and knew him well. She told us details about his habits and some of these are gonna trip him up. I know this might not seem helpful at first, but keep this information in your head.” Kari read off the list of things that Lisa had given them. “Lisa said that no matter what he was doing he would stop and eat his breakfast, drink some coffee and take a long shit. No matter what he was doing this was his thing. He won’t eat somewhere with fast food. He wants someone serving him. It’s coming up on 7 now, he has been gone for less than an hour. He is still in our town somewhere or at least on the edges of it. Diners, truck stops, maybe even hotels that serve food. He may not be driving the car we think he is, so you’ll have to go in and look or pop every fucking door and trunk in each parking lot. This is our town. We know all the places. This is how we will find him but we all have to move right now. I will start a group text. You hit a spot you put it on there. You wanna say something, give a hint or an idea, do it there so we all know. The girls and I are going to start calling places. I will update as I get things.”

  The officer raised his hand and said, “If you find him call it in. Don’t approach him alone. Don’t do anything but call us.” As he spoke the men were already walking away, obviously not paying attention to that part. Even the police officer understood that was not going to happen.

  Within seconds the motorcycles started up, the roar deafening. Sam, Jace and Zeke moved out together and stayed together as the group all started in in different directions at the end of the block.

  ~*~

  “Wake up baby.” Sam nuzzled my neck before he kissed my ear. “Come on sleepyhead you gotta wake up.”

  “Don’t wanna. My head hurts. What’s that humming noise?” I mumbled to him.

/>   “Come on baby. Open your eyes.” Sam whispered in my ear. “Don’t go to sleep, sweetheart.”

  “I’m cold, Sam. Make me warm.” My head hurt so bad every time I shivered a pain shot down my neck. “Sam. Sam?” I turned my head as the bed shook me around and then it stopped. The noise stopped.

  “I’m here baby. You gonna wake up and talk to me?” Sam asked me.

  ~*~

  Kari and four other women were pacing around the island in the kitchen, sometimes walking into the living room or the hall while they each talked on a cell phone. A phone book was open on the island, turned to the yellow pages listing Restaurants.

  Each woman with phone in hand would look down at the page, make a selection, dial a number, mark a line on the paper and walk off to talk on the phone. When she was finished speaking she would walk back to the page and pick another number.

  “Hey, my name is Brenda. I know you’re busy but I need help. My girl needs help. I’m gonna describe a man to you. He kidnapped her and we are trying to find him, find her. He may be there already but if not it will be soon. He’s gonna creep you out a bit. Soft hands, pudgy middle, pale skin. Sweaty maybe, he’s gonna be thirsty and want black coffee but water on the side. Might ask if you have Pepsi. Will be pissed if you don’t, probably. When he’s done he’s gonna need a bathroom and he may be in there a while.…..”

  “Shirley, it’s Joanne, Robert’s sister. No girl, shit’s happening. Fucker took one of my girls. She’s probably in his trunk. No I’m not shitting ya. He may be in there or walking in soon. Yeah. Creeper. He’s gonna be kinda greasy and sweaty. His pants or shirt may be ripped. Dog got him. Mushy, lazy type, fat around the middle. Real pale. He’ll smell like smoke. About six foot…..”

  “My name is Kari. I know you’re busy with the breakfast rush but I need help, one woman to another.” Kari paused. “Okay, there may be a man in there or he may be there soon. He is not too tall, maybe six foot. Pale. Soft around the middle. Light hair, probably kind of greasy, his hands will have clean nails. Soft hands. Fat fingers. Look around and see if he’s there now. Maybe in the smoking section if you’ve got one. His clothes may have a tear or something where a dog got hold of him. He’s gonna give you a vibe, you’re just gonna know he is bad. You know what I mean....”

  ~*~

  “Sam, I feel sick. I need a drink of water.”

  “I’ll get you one in a minute, baby. Will you wake up and look at me? I need you to do something. I need you to make noise and move around.” Sam whispered to me.

  “My head hurts too bad to move. My hands hurt too.” I was being a baby complaining to him so much.

  “Carles, listen to me.” Sam’s voice was fading in and out. “I need to you to wake up and move around.”

  *********************

  “You think he is in there? Now?” Kari was almost yelling. “Are you sure, honey?” She listened to the woman on the other end of the phone. Kari snatched Carlie’s phone off the island and sat down in the chair. She held her cell phone with her chin at her shoulder while she started frantically texting on Carlie’s phone. “Yeah. Are you close to the windows? Can you look out? Do you see like a dark car, an old four door, one with Kansas plates?”

  Kari slapped her hand on the island. She motioned to the women to go get one of the cops. Lisa jumped from her chair and stood by Kari.

  “That’s gotta be him. Is he still eating? If he goes to leave you got any big fuckers working there that can hold him til someone comes?” Kari was texting again. The officer walked in with Brenda dragging him by the hand. When he got over to her she stabbed her finger on the page of the book and whispered, “He’s there right now! She said he fits the description and he has a rag tied around his arm. Like a bandage.”

  ~*~

  A text message came through on three phones. The first rider pulled over and was followed by the other two. They pulled out their phones, read the message, put their phones back and all three shot back into the street going back the way they came, Sam in the lead.

  Grits. He’s there. Car in the lot. She’s sure. There now. Hurry safe brothers.

  Sam could hear somewhere sirens behind him but didn’t slow. He was six blocks from Grits but it had never even crossed his mind. Maybe Kari was wrong. Maybe they were going the wrong way.

  He wouldn’t be right in the middle of town. He would be out at one of the truck stops, wouldn’t he? Sam shook his head. Trust this he thought. It feels right.

  ~*~

  “Carlie, do you hear that? Listen.” Sam told her.

  “What? My head hurts too bad.” Carlie whispered.

  “Listen for the bikes, sweetheart. They are coming for you. Hear ‘em?” Sam whispered. “Listen.”

  “I hear them, Sam. Is it your brother? Is he coming over?” Carlie asked him.

  “Yeah, sweetheart, I’m coming to get you. You hear me?” Sam asked.

  “There’s more than one. Your brothers are here too, Sam. And the police are coming. I hear them.”

  Carlie whispered. “I’m so sleepy I can’t talk to them, Sam. I’m sorry.”

  “Stay awake just a little bit longer, baby. Just for a minute.” Sam asked her gently.

  ~*~

  “Is he still at the table?” Kari asked again. “You’re at the front? Do you see anything? Keep talking.” Kari waited. She left the phone at her ear but titled the mouthpiece to the ceiling while whispered to the women around her. “She hears bikes, sees lights coming. She sees the bikes. One of them is going to the car. Two are coming inside. It’s Zeke and Jace. I can hear them yelling, someone is screaming. Zeke has him.

  Kari looked over and saw Lisa, hands over her mouth, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. Kari walked over and sat next to her while she listened to the waitress give her a detailed account of what was happening and listened to the thuds of her brothers fists hitting Lisa’s monster.

  23.

  Sam and his brothers pulled into the lot in front of Grits. Sam instantly saw the car he was looking for. His bike shot towards the car, he didn’t notice his brothers stopping by the door to the restaurant. Sam stopped his bike, threw down the kickstand jumped off. “Carlie! Carlie!” he yelled.

  Inside the restaurant, Zeke and Jace rushed through the door and a waitress holding a phone to her ear pointed at a man in a booth who was sipping his coffee. As the brothers rushed at him his eyes opened wide and he dropped his coffee mug, he started to turn to get out of the booth but he wasn’t quick enough. Zeke grabbed him by his throat, the man screamed as Zeke yanked him out of the booth.

  He lifted him up and slammed him to the ground, dropping his knees to the man’s chest. Jace was behind his brother and when the man hit the ground Jace felt his pockets, found the keys and stuck his hand down to get them. He pulled them out of the pocket, jumped up and ran outside, not paying any mind to his brother holding the man by the throat with one hand and steadily punching his face with the other.

  Jace pushed the door open so hard it hit the wall behind it and the glass spider-webbed. He ran past the policemen who were going into the restaurant and went straight to his brother, holding the keys in his hand. Jace pushed Sam to the side and slid the key in the lock as two of the officers rushed up to the car.

  The trunk lid popped open and Sam and Jace saw Carlie laying on her side, her hands zip tied behind her back, her legs zip tied at the ankles and knees. There was blood on the side of her head and drying on her face. Blood was seeping around the zip ties on her wrists. Kari opened her eyes as Sam reached for her.

  “Oh God, baby. Oh shit. Talk to me.” Sam whispered. He could hear the officer beside him barking orders into his radio. He put his hand on Sam’s arm and told him, “Don’t move her, she could be injured.”

  “Gotta get Zeke to stop before he kills him.” Jace rushed off.

  “Sam. I’m so cold. You said your brothers were here.” Carlie mumbled. “Where are they? You said they were here.”

  “Oh baby. Can yo
u move your head? I want to pick you up, but I don’t want to hurt you.” Sam had his hand on her arm as she moved it in front of her. She wiggled, she was trying to move her arms.

  “Sam, help me. I’m cold.” Carlie shivered.

  “She’s in shock.” One of the officers said. He reached into the trunk and put a finger to her neck.

  Another officer leaned into the trunk from the side. He used a tool he had pulled from his pocket to cut the ties on her wrists and then moved to the other side of Sam to cut the ones at her legs and ankles.

  Kari moved an arm in front of her and moved to brace herself to push up. She had no feeling in her hand so she wasn’t able to maneuver it under her.

  “I’m gonna pick her up.” Sam reached in and put his arm under Carlie’s shoulders to sit her up and get he arm to fall down to her side from behind her. She was more awake and aware now but confused as to why her hands weren’t working. Once he got her facing up he put an arm behind her knees and lifted her out of the trunk.

  The ambulance screeched to a halt between the door and the car that Sam was pulling Carlie from. As Sam got her out of the trunk and turned he saw Jace with his arms around Zeke, holding his arms at his sides. Zeke was fighting Jace’s hold to get away. His shirt was covered in blood, some splattered on his face. Jace held on and moved Zeke farther down the sidewalk towards the back of the building. The police officer draped thermal cover over Carlie and turned to speak to the other officer.

  Sam clutched Carlie to his chest as he watched his brothers battle at the edge of the building. He heard the officers talking to each other and one walking up saying that the man inside needed the ambulance more than the woman in the car.