Edward's Dilemma (20 page)

When it was decided that Ben would go back under the mobile home to look for the keys, the next hurdle to overcome was the actual act of escape.  Surprisingly, they hadn’t focused on this very much.  Somehow, they had forgotten that there were chains still attached to their legs.  When Megan suggested that they break the wood where the chains were fastened to the worktable, Ben reminded her about the noise, and the probability that it would alert the kidnappers.  For several minutes, they considered their dilemma.

The two friends were stymied, but they were convinced they had to act quickly.  The kidnappers, they knew, were fully aware of their reasons for spying on them.  Both Ben and Megan had revealed everything they knew about Jason, and his involvement in the murder of Joey Jones.  They further understood that the kidnappers would feel threatened by them having this knowledge, to the point where they would make every effort – to include murdering Ben and Megan – to escape prosecution by the law.

AS THEY
considered this morbid possibility, they were distracted by an animated discussion taking place a short distance away on the porch of the house.  Ben pressed his face up against the wall of the shed, and tried to peer out through a gap in the boards.  Megan managed to find a board with a conveniently located wood-knot – minus the knot, of course.  Although neither of them was able to see much, it didn’t really matter; by now, they were both able to identify who was speaking simply by the sound of each voice.  From what they could hear, it was their fate that was the topic of discussion:

“Listen,” Jason said, “I want this done f***’n right.  If we shoot them while they’re still in the shed, we’re
gonna have blood evidence all over the place.  I don’t want there to be anything that ties those two to me...or anyone else, for that matter.  Are ya catch’n my drift?”

“So what are you
propos’n, Jason?” the filthy rapist asked.

“I want you guys to load them into the car – tomorrow night, preferably, since it will be Sunday – and take them over to the quarry and pop ‘
em with a .22 caliber.  That way, there won’t be much noise.  And no f***’n mess.”

“Yeah, that’s good.  That’s a good idea.  But we’ll still be stuck with the bodies, Jason.  What do
ya want us to do with bodies?” the filthy rapist enquired.  By the tone of his voice, he seemed to be overly eager to exact retribution on Ben and Megan.

“Shit, I
dunno.  Take them out into the damn woods somewhere and dump ‘em.  I’m sure the coyotes would enjoy that?  What do you think, Oscar?  You haven’t said much yet?  What’s your take on this?”

Oscar –
who had, in fact, been strangely quiet – responded to Jason’s question: “Look, I wish there was a better way.  But right now, I don’t know what else we can do.  I, certainly, don’t want to go to jail.  But I wish we didn’t have to kill them.”

Jaso
n’s voice was suddenly venomous. “Don’t be gett’n f***’n soft on me, Bonebraker!  You’re in this mess, too.  If I go down, we’re all going down!  Do ya hear me?!”

There was a bri
ef pause before Oscar responded.  “I hear ya, Jason.  I’m just a little worried that we’re gonna step in it, big time, one of these days...”

“Listen, Oscar, we’ve already stepped in it.  Joey f***’n Jones is dead, and he
ain’t com’n back!  And like I was say’n, if I go down, we’re all going down!  End of story!  Tomorrow night, get rid of them!”  With this final pronouncement, the argument abruptly ended.  Minutes later, the kidnappers went back inside the mobile home.

DISCOURAGED AND
demoralized, Ben and Megan quietly slumped down onto the floor of the shed.  Since they were both young adults, they hadn’t thought much about their mortality.  Now, for the first time, they were faced with the very real prospect of dying.  And it was unsettling, to say the least.  They immersed themselves in sullen thought.

Eventually, Megan interrupted the silence and astutely zeroed-in on Oscar’s apparent reluctance to kill them.  She recalled the specifics of the argument they had just heard, and also re-examined the conversation she’d had with him on the night of the attempted rape.  “Call it a woman’s intuition,” she explained to Ben, “but I think we might be able to convince him to betray his two friends.  I could be wrong, but what difference would it make?”  Ben agreed with her assessment, but they decided that they should still make an effort to escape.

Stuart Co. Jail, Tank 3North B

30 September, 7:05 PM

WHILE THE Med-Nurse rapped on the cell door with her knuckles, Edward steeled himself for yet another confrontation.  It had been almost twenty-four hours, and he was still recuperating from the scuffle the previous night.  He wasn’t looking forward to another bruising scuffle with the COs, and he certainly didn’t relish the thought of another sleepless night due to the lingering pepper spray.  Still, he was determined to earn a little respect.  The door opened, and he gritted his teeth...

The scene that unfolded on this particular night was remarkably similar to what had transpired the previous night.  The difference, however, was that Edward had exchanged his attitude of passive resistance for one of outright defiance; tonight, unlike before, he actively fought back against the officers.  As a result, when they rushed into his cell behind their
plexi-glass shield, he dodged their initial onslaught by taking a step backwards at precisely the right moment.  He then lashed out with his right fist.

Although the end result was the same as before, Edward did manage to inflict a serious injury on one of the officers.  He exulted in this “victory,” and was reasonably satisfied that the “Authorities” would now treat him with dignity.  What he didn’t realize, was that he had just committed a grievous mistake by attacking the officer.  It was a fateful mistake that would ha
ve far reaching consequences.

County/City Building, Stuart Co.

30 September, 7:13 PM

EVER SINCE Robert had listened to the message from Fred, he anxiously awaited his return from Denver.  In the meantime, he had gone to several afternoon meetings where the discussion topics had been mostly routine stuff about budgets and personnel.  Robert had been mildly distracted during the meetings, and couldn’t understand why Fred was taking so long to make the hour-long trip.  Finally, at around 6 PM, a secretary delivered a message tha
t Fred had experienced some car trouble, and was running late.  He was expected to arrive shortly after 7PM.

Robert was back in his office, eating a cheeseburger and fries, when there was a knock at the door.  He yelled, “Come in!” and was relieved to see Fred’s smiling face.  The two men greeted each other, after which time Robert made a snarky remark about Fred’s old car.  They shared a good laugh together, and then immediately got down to business.

As Robert talked, Fred searched through his bag for the VHS video tapes that he had spoken about in his earlier message.  “So, Fred, I’m REALLY look’n forward to seeing these tapes you talked about.  You said you were fairly convinced that this would drive a big nail in Jason Lewis’ coffin.  Do you still feel that way?”

“Yep, you
betcha,” Fred replied.  Just then he found the tapes, and triumphantly held them up in the air for Robert to see.  “Here they are, baby!  You will not believe what is on these tapes.  It wasn’t easy to spot, because of the rain and all, but Dwight Wayne did a superb job cleaning them up. You’ll see...”  For a moment, Fred paused as he looked around the room for a TV and VCR.

“No, Fred, I don’t have a TV or a VCR in my office,” Robert interjected.  “Unlike you, I don’t watch p
orno flicks while I’m at work – or any other time for the matter.”  Again, the men shared a laugh.  Robert continued:  “We’re gonna have to watch them down in the video-conference room.  There’s a big screen down there, and I think there’s even one of those laser-pointer thingys we can use.  Did you want my extra cheeseburger and some fries, or have you already eaten?”

“I’m good,” Fred responded.  “Let’s go take a look at the tapes.”  With this pronoun
cement, the detectives gathered up a few of their things, and headed for the door.

WHEN THEY arrived at the video-conference room a few minutes later, it wasn’t long before Fred was ready to start the VCR.  With the remote-control in one hand, and the laser pointer in the other, he quickly explained to Robert that he was going to start by playing the video footage from the Savings and Loan security camera.  “Of the two tapes,” he cautioned Robert, “this is the one that has the least to offer.”  After a brief pause, he continued:  “Even so, make sure you keep an eye on the time and date stamp; it’s on the bottom right of the screen.”  Robert acknowledged the caveats with a frown, while simultaneously drumming two fingers on the tabletop.  Fred ignored his impatience, and pressed the “Play” button of the remote-control.

Robert was surprised when the video footage came up on the screen.  He had expected to see the dark and rainy scene from August 4
th
, the night of the murder.  Instead, what he was seeing was video footage from a splendidly sunny and dry day – two days prior to the murder!  He was about to ask Fred what was going on, when his eyes were drawn to the parking lot in the distance.  It was the Lucky’s parking lot, and an old car had just driven into the field of view of the security camera, going from left to right.  Fred pressed the “Pause” button on the remote-control, and turned on the laser pointer.

“What do you see?” Fred asked, as he pointed at the car with the laser.

Robert stood up from his chair and approached the screen.  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  Though the footage was still a little blurry, the car he was seeing before him was clearly...Robert was stunned. 
It can’t be,
he thought. 
Why, on God’s green earth, would Jason Lewis drive his old beater car through the Lucky’s parking lot two days prior to the murder?  And more importantly, why would he be there at a time when the Bar is closed?
  With a pen, Robert noted the time and date stamp – 11:21 AM, August 2
nd
– on a piece of scrap paper, scrounged from a nearby trashcan.

Energized, Robert was more than ready to launch-off into a full blown discussion with Fred. But Fred advised him to keep watching.  “There’s a lot more to see, my friend.  This here...”  He paused as he pointed at the screen with the laser.  “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”  With that, Fred again hit the “Play” button on the remote-control.

This time, when the video footage appeared on the screen, the scene was more familiar to Robert.  In fact, he had seen the footage before, but had been unable to make sense of it because it was dark and rainy.  Somehow, Dwight Wayne had managed to enhance the images just enough for them to be useful.  Robert remained standing a few feet away from the screen as the video played.

Fred
issued a few quick instructions.  “Ok, Robert.  Don’t worry about the specific details in the video, because the details are obviously blurry.  Right now, just take note of the time/date stamp when various cars are coming and going in the Lucky’s parking lot.  When I show you the second video tape, the one from Turnbuckle Lanes, this will make a lot more sense.  Alright, here we go...”

With his right hand, Fred manipulated the buttons on the remote-control; sometimes pressing the “Fast Forward” button, sometimes the “Rewind” button.  Whenever he wanted Robert to take note of something in particular, he hit the “Pause” button.  He then waited as Robert walked over to the table, and jotted down the date and time on his scrap of paper.  By the time the video was finished playing, Robert had made the following notations:

“Aug.
2
nd
, 11:21 AM, Jason’s car seen at Lucky’s.  Circled behind, reappeared, and left at 11:23.”

“Aug. 4
th
, 7:04 PM, Unknown car entered lot.  (Jason?)   Circled behind, reappeared, and left at 7:07.”

“9:32 PM, Unknown car entered lot.  (Jason?)  Two men get out.”

“10:11PM, Unknown car entered lot.  (Lucky Boys?)  Three men get out.”

“10:46PM, Unknown car left lot in a big hurry. (Jason?)  Only one man in car.”

“10:55 PM, Police arrive on scene.”

Robert sat down and examined his notes.  He was a bundle of nerves, and could hardly contain himself as his mind processed everything that he had already seen.  With his pen, he repeatedly tapped the tabletop.  Fred smiled at Robert’s enthusiasm, and reminded him once more that the next video tape would clear up most of his questions.

A minute or two later, Fred exchanged tapes in the VCR and hit the “Play” button.  This time, the security tape footage came from the Turnbuckle Lanes bowling alley.  The quality of the video was clearly superior to the first video, and Fred made a comment to this effect.  Even better, however, it was shot from an angle which
showed the back side of Lucky’s – including the rear entrance and parking lot.  Robert stood up, and again approached the screen.

Fred descri
bed what they were about to see.  “Ok, once again, make sure you watch the date/time stamp.  That way we can compare it with the date/time stamp from the previous video.  This video, like the other one, starts out on August 2
nd
.  You’re gonna like this, Robert.”

Noting the date/time stamp, Robert watched with increasing interest and fascination as an old car suddenly appeared in the parking lot behind
Lucky’s.  He knew it was Jason’s car because it was the right make and model, and also because of the broken side-view mirror.  To be sure, however, he wrote down the license plate number on his scrap of paper.  The time was 11:22 AM.  Robert continued to watch...

The car was moving slowly – as if the driver was looking for something – and then it stopped.  A few seconds later, a man with a baseball cap got out of the car and quickly approached the rear entrance to the Bar.  He appeared to weigh less than 200 pounds, and was sporting a mustache.  He also looked nervous.  When he arrived at the door he looked around, and then casually reached up with his right hand and unscrewed the light bulb located directly over the door.  Then, just as quickly as he had arrived, he retreated back to his car.  A few seconds later, at 11:23 AM, he drove away.

Robert was flabbergasted, and Fred was grinning from ear to ear.  After a brief pause, Fred again pressed the “Play” button on the remote control.  This time, the video footage that appeared on the screen was from August 4
th
, the night of the murder.  Robert picked up his pen and placed it behind his left ear.

The date/time stamp now showed it was 7:05 PM.  The quality of the footage was significantly degraded due to rain and darkness, and Robert strained to see the activity taking place behind
Lucky’s.  As expected, the light above the rear entrance to the Bar was unlit, but there was ambient light coming from nearby businesses.  Robert watched as Jason’s familiar car pulled into the parking lot and then, a few seconds later, someone got out and approached the rear entrance.  Though very difficult to see, it looked like this individual placed an object of some sort on a ledge next to the door.  He then returned to his vehicle and left the parking lot at 7:07 PM.

ROBERT AND Fred continued to analyze and discuss the video footage.  They paid particular attention to what transpired between 9:32 PM, when Jason and the murder victim presumably arrived, and 10:55 PM, when the police arrived.  Fred was eager to point out that someone had exited the rear entrance to
Lucky’s in a big hurry at 10:45 PM.  This individual had disappeared from view, in the Turnbuckle Lanes video, but could be seen leaving in the Savings and Loan video at 10:46 PM.  They assumed it was Jason, but they couldn’t be sure.

Over and over again, the two detectives played and replayed the Turnbuckle Lanes video.  It wasn’t until the sixth or seventh go-around, that Ro
bert noticed something peculiar had occurred at 10:07 PM, before the Lucky Boys had even arrived.  Though extremely difficult to spot – which is why it had been missed, both by Dwight Wayne and Fred – someone had briefly opened the rear door a few inches and retrieved whatever it was that had been previously placed on the ledge.  Only the person’s forearm had been visible, and only for an instant.  The detectives were shocked at this discovery, and discussed the ramifications deep into the night.  At 2:18 Am, both men were exhausted and decided to call it quits.

Jason’s Property, Stuart Co.

1 October, 3:05 AM

FOR THE last two hours, Ben and Megan had been chipping away at the wooden worktable with an old screwdriver.  Their objective was to weaken the worktable, thereby enabling them to remove the chains which were attached to one of its sturdy legs.  The screwdriver they were using had been found lying under a pile of dirty rags, earlier the previous evening.  Although the friends had wanted to begin their task immediately upon finding it, they decided to wait until they were certain that the kidnappers were asleep.

Now, after much hard work,
they were finally close to securing their freedom.  With very little fanfare, Ben wrapped a few of the dirty rags around the point where the chains were attached to the worktable to muffle the sound, and then gave the table a good donkey-kick.  There was a cracking noise, but it was reasonably soft and contained within the confines of the shed.  Megan, the Lookout, watched the mobile home through the empty knot in the wall, and confirmed that there was indeed no activity from the kidnappers.  With her approval, Ben again gave the worktable another swift kick.  This time, to their collective satisfaction and relief, the support brace attached to the leg of the worktable broke free, and the heavy chains fell to the floor of the shed.  They were ecstatic.  And free!

Ben and Megan got up from the floor, and approached the door to the shed.  In their arms, they each carried the chain that was still attached to their respective right leg.  Before leaving, they reviewed their plan.  It called for Ben to go back under the mobile home to grab his keys, while Megan waited for him in the surrounding woods.  Once Ben had secured his keys he would meet up with her, whereupon they would both make their way to the location where Ben had parked his truck.  If everything went according to plan, they surmised that they would be on their way to the Serenity Lane Apartments within the next fifteen minutes.  Once they had arrived at Ben’s apartment, and were safe behind a locked door, they intended to call the police.

CAUTIOUSLY, THE friends crept out from the shed.  For a moment they savored their freedom, noting that the night was cold and clear.  The mobile home was completely dark inside, and there wasn’t a sound to be heard anywhere.  They kissed, and then headed-off in separate directions.  Megan quietly sneaked into the woods, and kneeled down behind several bushes.  Fifty feet away from her, Ben crawled on all fours towards the opening to the underside of the mobile home.  She watched, with increasing anxiety, as he got nearer and nearer to the opening.