Absolution River (9 page)

XIX

Arch woke up in his motel room with a hangover. Charlene, his regular, was walking out the door, “Bye sugar.” The door closed, and only the slices of light coming through the blinds interrupted the darkness in the room. On the nightstand were some lines of coke he had passed out too early to enjoy, and he decided that now would be just as good a time as any to finish it off. With a couple of snorts he squeezed his burning nose and leaned over the side of the bed. Just in his boxer shorts, he could see his huge belly hanging over his legs. A sensation arose in his throat and he ran over to the trash next to the dresser and hurled out a multitude of toxic ingredients; booze, cocaine, some opium, perhaps some pills, who knows. After an uncontrollable coughing fit, he blindly looked with his hand for the pack of smokes he could have sworn he threw on the ground somewhere last night. Finally with success, he found them and lit one. The stench of the vomit and the state of the room was the physical representation of his life. Don’t care, he thought, don’t give a damn, need a drink. There were two fingers left in the bourbon bottle on the table next to the window and he took a swig. A blinding noise filled the room, once he realized his head wasn’t actually going to explode, the sound turned into the phone ringing on the nightstand. He picked up the receiver.

“How was she?”

“Congressman Coolidge, how the fuck did you know and why the fuck would you care?”

“Got eyes everywhere, you know that.”

Arch nodded his head.

“You resolve that little problem yet? That’s the last tenant that I need gone before I can get my guy to get the contract with the state finalized. I need it done yesterday.”

“My guy is on it. Probably scoping them as we speak. He’s a bit of a weird one, likes to play with them a bit before he finishes the job.”

“I don’t give a shit if your guy gets his rocks of with this shit, there is a lot of money riding on this deal and I need to know that it’s done.”

“I’m in contact with him, tonight then.”

“Okay, tonight. I’ll be expecting a phone call. You’re not the only one who knows a guy.”

Arch hung up the receiver. He put his head down, and once he realized he wasn’t going to pass out, he finally decided it was time for a shower. Walking over to the bathroom he turned the water on and got in, letting the scalding hot water wash his hangover away. He got out of the shower, put his usual white collared shirt and dirty dungarees on, tied up his work boots, and walked over to the nightstand. Four lines, perfect, just enough to get me back on my feet. Within ten seconds the coke was all gone and he washed it all down with the remainder of the bourbon. He pulled a small Walther PPK out of the drawer, tucked it behind his pants, and put his un-tucked shirt over it. The old truck started with a grumble and in a half hour he was at the work site. Fred came up to the driver side of the truck just outside the office.

“What section you working today?” asked Arch.

“Section 35.”

“Which section has our last,” a pause, “client.”

“Client, sir?”

“Our hold out, the fucking old man, you dunce!”

“Oh, uh, yeah, section 36, we’ll be on ‘em within a day or two.”

Arch peeled off and parked the truck, slammed the door, and walked into the officer over to the radio. Turning the dial to the frequency he knew Sol was on, he asked “Where you at, over.”

An immediate response, “On the ridge overlooking section 36, got ‘em in the cabin.”

“Tonight.”

“Roger, out.”

…

Marie awoke with a headache, probably due to the lack of fluids. She scrambled out of bed and found a full jug of water next to the kitchen.

“Come out here!” Eli said through the screen door.

Marie walked through the door and saw the two sitting there smoking their cigars.

“You guys look like quite the pair.”

The men both grinned and took puffs of their cigars, making smoke rings. Marie sat down in the open rocking chair and laid her head back on the cushioned back.

“Ain’t got no car, miss. Ain’t no radio neither.”

“How far back to the nearest town?”

“Oh, bout 15 miles or so.”

“Huh, yeah, that’s a bit of a walk.”

“I’ll walk back for you in the morning,” Jackson said.

“I’m sorry, what’s your name again?” said Marie.

“Jackson, Jackson McAulle,” he said as he got up and shook her hand. She was taken aback by his rugged handsomeness, and there was something mysterious about him. “Just call me Jack.” A smile.

“Nice to meet you,” she said with the first smile she could have mustered in days.

“Likewise.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“I insist, I could use the walk.”

“I’ll just go with you then.”

“No, you stay here and rest, you need it.”

“Oh, you’re saying I’m looking a bit rough, aye?”

Jackson looked embarrassed and his cheeks were a bit red. It had been a while since he was even in the presence of a woman, let alone one as beautiful as her.

“Just joking, I’d really appreciate it, don’t know how to thank you.”

He laughed off the moment, and then they all laughed. Jack sat back down and they all sat there in silence for a bit, enjoying the quiet of the coming night.

“Gonna rest my eyes for a bit if y’all don’t mind. Don’t let me sleep all night.”

“You got it Eli,” said Marie while she was resting her eyes.

Eli walked into the cabin and sat in his chair. There was a feeling he had in the pit of his stomach that he could not rationalize away. He was glad to have met these two. It had been years since he had talked to anyone and connected.

“Jack, can you come in here a minute?” Eli said through the screen door.

“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” said Marie. Jack smiled at her and got out of the chair and walked through the screen door. The sun was beginning to fade over the ridge and the night sounds were beginning to come out. The twilight gave the room a different feel than he had remembered previously and he could feel the weight of Eli’s disposition as he sat in his big old chair in front of the burning fire.

“You’re a good man, you know, Jack.”

“I know.”

“No, I don’t think you do, son. There are things in this world that we can’t control. I knew it and your daddy knew it. We dealt with it wrong. You can do it right. There is still time for you. These last few days have been the greatest that I can remember. You are like a son to me, or what I would have wanted a son to be. Thank you for the time you gave me, I will remember it always.”

“Don’t know what to say, Eli.”

“Don’t need to say nothin’, just wanted to tell you.”

“Okay, see you in a few okay?”

“You got it,” Eli said with a small grin, and he looked into the fire with a knowing of the things to come. When you lived in the wild you were wild. You sensed the wild and felt things that could not be seen. There was a feeling in Eli, and he knew it. A feeling when you see the sun come down over the trees, or when you shoot a buck and see the light leaving its eyes. When the fire begins to fade and the coals burn out, a time when things come to a finish.

Jack walked out. “What’d he want?” said Marie.

“Nothing.” Jack replied while looking at the ground with a small shake of his head. There was a smile there, a smile that he could not stop. Recognition of a friendship he never thought he’d ever have again. Contentment filled his spirit. “Let’s go for a walk.”

He held his hand out to help her out of the chair, but nothing more than that, at least for now. Jack felt something for her, a warm feeling in his stomach that he could not describe, as it wasn’t his custom to fall for anyone. But as the night was falling, so was his heart. A falling with no idea of where it would land, and that was okay. No more worries, just a walk with a pretty girl, now that’s all right, he thought. They both smiled and walked onto the trail that followed the river as the daylight was holding on for dear life.

“He’s not your dad, I gathered that much.”

Jack shook his head. “Nope, keep guessing.”

She smiled. “Hmmm, let’s see. Maybe he is a witch doctor and you are learning the dark arts in order to-” And she couldn’t even finish the sentence before she burst into laughing. Her hand pushed against his shoulder playfully and they both laughed, louder than the river that flowed next to them. She was just glad to be safe, she felt safe with Jack. Each wiping the tears from their eyes, “Uh, no, actually, if you can believe it, he saved me several days ago. A storm came in and my ankle was in pretty bad shape, just been resting and didn’t think to leave for some reason. Just like it here, you know?”

“It is nice, I must say.”

“Where are you from? You don’t seem like the, well, country type.”

“Hey! What do you mean, I walked eleven miles to get here with no food and water, thank you very much!”

“Ah, and nearly died doing it.”

“Made it didn’t I?”

Jack nodded, “You sure did,” and smiled at her.

“From Denver, love that Starbucks, can’t live without it.”

“You’ve managed so far.”

“Yeah, suppose I did.”

“You grow up in Colorado?”

“France, actually, just outside of Paris.”

“Why’d you move to the states?”

“My dad died in the Algerian War when I was little. He used to own a bakery shop and he and my mother ran it. My mother didn’t really say much about the times back then, think she was still just so sad about it. The bakery went under. My dad needed the money, so he enlisted.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Marie, I really am,” said Jack as he looked at her with a genuine regard.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “It’s been a long time and I don’t really remember him very well. Sometimes I have dreams about him, you know? Can’t even say for sure if they are dreams or memories. I remember that we lived in the country and my mother would always cook these feasts of bread and olive oil, homemade pastas. It was so delicious, at least in the dream it was.”

Jack nodded and smiled. They both walked for over an hour following the river. The sun had completely disappeared and night had fallen.

“We better get back, you have a long walk tomorrow, mister.”

Jack smiled and they turned around. The going was much more difficult and they had forgotten to bring a flashlight. Fortunately the moon was nearly full and the light from it was bright. They walked up to the porch and each looked at each other for a moment.

“Thank you for that, Jack.”

“Didn’t think you had the energy for it, but I’m glad you did.” Jack said with a smile. He opened the screen door and walked into the cabin behind Marie. A loud scream filled the cabin as Marie hit the floor in shock. She began to sob, “Oh God, oh God.”

Jack had a look of shock and surprise on his face. He had seen these images before numerous times, even caused them when asked. But to see it with Eli broke something within him. On the ground in front of Eli was a pool of blood. Every ounce of Eli must have been drained and drying on the cabin floor. His head was lying flat on his shoulder and from ear to ear was a wide, gaping cut. His eyes bulged from the struggle to find life where there was none to be found. Jack stepped over the blood that glinted in the moonlight like motor oil. He lifted his hand to Eli’s eyes and closed them.

“What–what happened?”

“I think these guys were more serious than any of us had thought. Poor Eli paid the price, dammit!” yelled Jack with the frustration of a loss that he could not begin to comprehend.

Anger stirred within him and he wanted to hurt somebody, something, anything. The old wounds began to inflame and pour into his soul, a remembrance of his own savagery. An inheritance from his old man dying to be released. He calmed for a moment and remembered the words of Eli, “
You can do it right
.” His confusion and battle between his old self and the new raged on. He flung the screen door open and walked to the shed. Grabbing a shovel, he began to dig a hole behind the small building. Grinding, scraping, and heaving every ounce of strength into the hard Montana ground. The pain seared into his mind and heart leaving an emptiness he knew only in the darkest holes in Vietnam. Who could have done this? I’m going to find you and destroy you. Every horrible thing he had to do in his life was not going to compare with the things he was going to do to whoever did this. He wanted to bring a reckoning to the person who took him away, his hope for salvation, a chance for redemption. The quickening of his spirit was only beginning. Ideas of life and love, of continuing in this world despite the past were only beginning to be a possibility. Digging harder and harder, deeper into the earth and deeper into his sorrow, his anguish. In the darkness Jack was sweating profusely and nearly four foot deep now. Dirt in his face and callouses forming on his hands. The pain wouldn’t register. The only thing in his mind was rage and how he was going to deal it out. No man would escape. He finished and jumped out of the grave. Leaning on the shovel handle to rest and breathing hard, he looked into the blackness that he created. His breathing slowed, and so did his anger, subsiding not because of him but because of his revelation. A revelation given to him by Eli, and perhaps the wolf he thought was going to kill him. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop believing that you can project yourself above the problems of the past, that you can do it right no matter what. Keep moving. His father knew it, Eli knew it, and they both failed. Jack resolved within himself that he could move beyond this moment and transcend the sadness.

“I’m so sorry Jack,” sobbed Marie.

“We need to leave now. Start walking back to town. Alert the authorities.”

Marie nodded with her head down.

“Wait here, I’m going to get him.”

“Do you need my help?”

“No, you’ve seen enough.”

Jack walked into the cabin. He found a blanket on the small bed and placed it over Eli. Placing his hand on the top of Eli’s head, “Goodnight old man.” Jack put his arms underneath the small old man, picked him up, and carried him outside. He was light, and the sensation of his fragility made Jack that much more careful. The body lay parallel with the grave and both Marie and Jack grabbed his hands and feet. They placed him into the grave and each stood above Eli, staring down into the darkness. Jack turned and grabbed the shovel and began to cover Eli. In a fraction of the time the grave was covered and the job was done. Jack could not stop staring at the ground where Eli lay, and sat there contemplating what had just happened. Marie returned with a cross made of sticks tied together with her hair tie and pushed it into the head of the grave. They booth stood for a moment, unsure of what to say. Marie turned, “I’m going to get some supplies for the long walk, you gonna be okay?”