Deadly Compromises by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 10
Bobby just looked at her, shaking his head questioningly.
“It’s getting time for drastic action.”
Kelly: I told you, no killing.”
Bobby stood in silence for a minute, looking into her adamant eyes. “Then tell me how to make him move.”
Kelly: “I don't know. I’ve said everything I can think of already.”
Bobby: “Let’s try this. If it doesn’t work, I’ll give up, get out of here, you’ll be in trouble and somebody else will come kill him. I’m going to rough him up a little and fire a shot. I won’t hit him.”
Kelly: “Be careful, very careful.”
Bobby: “Promise. In the meantime, let’s give him another ten minutes to get rational. Just before we go back to the library, let’s have another loud argument about it.” Bobby grabbed her hand, squeezed it, turned away and noticed the clock
said 7:30. He just stared out the window at a backyard full of trees. It was more like a forest than a desert; maybe desert oasis was a better word. He saw at least ten small birds in the minimal light, some flying, some perched, some hopping about.
“Kelly, are you a bird watcher?”
Kelly: “Since I was a little girl.”
Bobby: “What’s so fascinating about birds? Why have they kept your interest so long?”
They both knew any answer would not do justice to the subject. She knew much too much and he knew little. Neither spoke for a while.
The clock read 7:40. Bobby and Kelly screamed, “I’ll kill him!” “No, you won’t!” and things in that vein for a minute.
They smiled at each other and went back to the library, hopefully for the last time tonight.
Alan was very alert and greeted them with “I’ve got a number of problems with the deal.”
Kelly winced, looked away from him and walked slowly to the chair she had formerly occupied, put her hands on the back and stood there.
Bobby walked over to Alan and slapped him in the face with the back of his hand twice. “We’re through fucking around.
Time is up, asshole. Deal or not?”
Alan: “Don’t think you’re scaring me. If you were going to kill me, you’d have done it already.”
Bobby took out his gun again, waved it at Alan, fired a shot into the ceiling, put the gun under Alan’s chin and screamed, “You are the dumbest ass I ever met and I’ll enjoy killing you.” He crouched down, moved the gun about an inch away from Alan’s chin and fired another shot, causing powder burns on Alan’s face. This shot, too, hit the ceiling.
Alan, seemingly unflustered, said, “I know you won’t do it.
Also, some of Kelly’s books may be collector’s items. I’m entitled to some compensation for their value.”
Bobby put the gun down on the desk as Alan started to try to break free from the ropes, jerking the chair around. Bobby went to him to try to keep him still. What they both didn’t notice, with their backs to her, was that Kelly calmly walked over, picked up the gun, continued to walk, put the gun to the back of Alan’s head and pulled the trigger once. Blood and gore shot out of the exit wound on Alan’s face.
Kelly, calmly: “I just can’t stand it when he gets that fucking stupid.” She stood motionless with the gun still pointed in the same direction.
Bobby took the gun from her and put it in his pocket.
Bobby: “Shit, Kelly; are you okay? How do you feel?”
Kelly: “I don’t feel anything. What am I supposed to feel?”
Bobby: “I don't know. The first one was hard for me.”
Kelly: “We gave him every chance.”
Bobby: “Now I have a good reason not to have a gun around the house.”
Kelly laughed. “That blood was his biggest blast in decades. I did him a favor. Now he can go try to negotiate with God.”
Bobby started to laugh too. He said; “That’s a damn good geyser you got going. Maybe I should say geezer geyser.” A spurt exited and came close to hitting Bobby. He stepped back, laughed again and said; “Shit. Too good.”
Kelly, too, retreated and said; “Damn. I don’t want to get any of that on me.”
“For a few reasons, I’d imagine, at least one very practical.”
Kelly laughed again and said; “The other one was the thought that came to mind.”
Bobby said; “What a choice of words, you horny little devil. Now, he has gotten his final deal. I hope he’s, at last, satisfied.” Bobby winced and added; “Pardon me. I must be in the same state of mind.”
She smiled, viciously and said; “Oooh, I’d love to put out his fucking booga eyes.”
He laughed again, loudly this time and said, “Shit, I hope I never get you mad at me.”
Kelly continued her lascivious stare and said; “You want to do it right here. That would be as perverse as I can imagine.”
They held each other, laughing increasingly loudly until it reached maximum levels. They kissed passionately.
Bobby broke away and said; “We’ve got very little time.
We’ve got to get your story straight. I’ve got to get out of here and you have to deal with the cops. The spouse is always the first suspect, though they won’t say that.”
“So I’ll have to make the report and field their questions.
Where was I when it happened?”
“The best answer would be some place you regularly go.”
“I don’t regularly go anywhere. Before I married Alan, I lived here with some old hippy friends. I still see them, but pretty infrequently.”
“Do they all live together?”
“Used to, not any more. They all have their own places, but sometimes move around a bit.”
“Elsewhere?”
“No, sometimes two decide they want to live together a while and do. But, they all have their own places here in Castillo.”
Bobby said; “I think it’s better to say that you were just driving around. The cops will investigate your alibi and sometimes friends fuck it up. The cops will have you under suspicion for only a short time. In a matter of days the local cops will call in state people. When someone who knows what they’re doing gets here, they’ll see this looks exactly like a mob hit. They have their ways of finding out when people owe the bad boys. Then they’ll forget about you and a report will
be filed in some central location where they ‘monitor’ stuff that looks mob related. So I think the easiest thing is just to say you were driving around from 7 to 8:30PM and stopped for an unseen walk by the river part of the time and just keep repeating the story. Involving another person could lead to a complication. There could be some twist from what I say, but you’re smart enough to wing it.”
“One of my old friends has lived through a few police investigations. It was drug related stuff, in France. He was loyal and never did anything stupid. He hates cops and really likes to screw them around.”
“You’d have to fill him in very quickly. He may not be home. He may not want cops visiting if he’s holding anything.
And, Kelly, people sometimes change. If the cops can get him for anything, he might trade you. What were your friends’
reactions when you married Alan? Perhaps, sell out? By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you that Kelly Simburg is one of the silliest names I’ve ever heard. What was your maiden name?”
“Kelly Patrick.”
“That’s a little silly, too. You need a new last name.”
“What’s yours?”
“Kowalski.”
“Get out of here! Kelly Kowalski sounds worse than Kelly Simburg.”
“I’ll change it before you marry me.”
“We’ll figure that one out later. In the meantime, I see your points and I’ll go the alibi route alone. If they carry it too far, I’ll stop talking to them and get a lawyer.”
“Good. Cry a lot. You’ll also later get a visit from the insurance company cops. Just stay with the story. They shouldn’t hang around too long. Maybe they’ll just copy the official police reports.”
“No problem. By that time I’ll have it down to an art form.” She laughed. “By the way, how do you know all this stuff?”
Bobby caressed her hips, smiled and said; “I saw it in some old B movie.”
She chuckled thinking that those old movies weren’t good for only entertainment.
He said; “Seriously, I’m going to have to get out of here.
We probably shouldn’t risk seeing or calling each other for at
least a month. I’ll stay around Amarillo or go back to Jersey City. There are two more important things. First, would any of your neighbors notice strange cars coming and going to this house?”
“I don’t think so. Some are nosy. But at this time of night, all they’ll see are headlights. It’s not unusual for Alan to have business associates over at night.”
“Good. We’ll meet up again in a month. But where?”
She said; “How about at the river. You can park at the end of Romero Road. It’s public access. Walk straight down to the river; go right about 500 feet hugging the river. There’s a fairly private spot after you pass through some tall grass.”
“No people will be there?”
“Not often in this weather. And most people don’t ever go to this spot if they do go there anyway. They could muss their hair.”
“Sounds good. How about November fifteenth at 9AM.?”
“I’ll be there. Before you go, are you sure he’s dead? I don’t want you to leave me in a zombie movie.”
Bobby touched the body at the neck and wrist. “I’m sure.
If he jumps up, stab him. There’s no law against killing the already dead.”
She made a wry smile while she considered that thought.
“I’m gonna miss you, Bobby. I love you ....” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately on the mouth.
He held her around the waist. “I can’t wait to be with you. If we do this right, we’ll have the rest of our lives to enjoy ourselves. C’mon, I’ve got to get moving. You’ve got to call 911.”
He walked away, turning around just once to take one last look at her. He said; “You are the bravest, prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He then continued to walk on out.
He drove down White Horse Lane. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered at the windshield. One of the neighbors just happened to be coming out of their driveway. Bobby passed in front of them and they followed him down the road. Bobby made a left turn, away from town and hoped they’d do the opposite. They did. He drove a few blocks, made a U turn and went back to the motel. He just double checked to see that he hadn’t left anything in the room. When he didn’t see anything, he went back to the car and lit a joint. This was the first time he could
relax in days. As he headed to Amarillo, the smoke calmed him and he dreamed of a happy future for the first time in ten years.
He soon tired of listening to the engine and wanted something more melodious to fill his head. He wished he still had the “Radio Ethiopia” CD, but at least it was still in the family. He had to hear Patti Smith. She has a song for every mood. He located the “Easter” CD and started with the title track.
He amused himself when he thought that Easter was indeed coming for Kelly and him, but there was no more hope for Alan.
From what Kelly had told him it sounded as if Alan had already been dead for some time, just never made it official. He laughed as he glanced at the stars in the night sky and thought;
“How very, very sad.”