Fly the Rain (16 page)

“
So, if I tried to walk out
of here right now, you’d shoot me? We’ll I don’t believe it. You
don’t have the nerve to pull that trigger.”

Car brakes squeaked in front of the
house.

“
That would be the police,”
said Val. “And, for the record, I never intended to shoot you.” She
put the barrel in her mouth.

“
No!” Sondra ran to stop
her. But it was too late. “Why, Val?” She studied her mother’s
lifeless body. Her eyes began to well up. Unexpected emotions
washed over her. She would not give in to them. In her mind, she
wasn’t crying as long as the tears stayed in her eyes. But then
they began to roll down her face. Finally, they gushed. “Why, Mom?
I loved you. I hated you…but I still loved.”

Then Sondra remembered the police. They
would be knocking at any moment—then breaking down the door. What
would she do? She couldn’t get away in her car. She went to the
window and peeped through the curtains.

There were no police cars. The squeaking
brakes must have been some neighborhood car at the stop sign. Had
Val really even called the police?

Sondra was not going to stick around to find
out. She ran out the door, jumped into her car and drove away.

Chapter
20

“
Oh, no,” said Cynthia.
“Look at all the police cars.”

E. Z. pulled over to the side of the
road.

Cynthia scanned the area. “I don’t see
Greg’s car.”

“
Good.”

“
But where is
he?”

An ambulance drove past them and pulled into
Valerie Crench’s driveway.

“
Wonder why they don’t have
their lights flashing?”

Cynthia looked at her. “Because whoever they
came for is already dead.”

They watched as the body was carried out of
the house and loaded into the ambulance.

“
Maybe it’s Sondra’s
mother,” said E. Z. “Because I don’t see Sondra’s car.”

“
Greg must be following her.
I just wish we had some idea where they went.”

“
The hospital?”

Cynthia perked up, then became frantic. “I
hope we’re not too late.”

E. Z. turned around in a neighbor’s driveway
and headed for the hospital.

**********

Greg was tempted to run the light. This was
an emergency. He needed to get to Sondra’s house before she got
away. Although, he was only guessing she had gone there to pack up
and get out of town. She probably figured that right about now Greg
was being handcuffed and thrown into a police car.

The traffic signal finally turned green.
Just as his foot touched the accelerator, a car blew through the
light, barely missing his front bumper. He hit the brakes.

Wasn’t that Sondra’s car? He wasn’t sure,
but he turned right and followed it anyway. If it was Sondra, had
she recognized his car? Did she even know what kind of car he
drove? At the motel he had parked it well away from Boomer’s
room.

Greg was determined to catch her. His
fingerprints and DNA were all over that motel room. All over
Boomer. Normally he had confidence in the legal process. But now
that his freedom was on the line, could he really trust that the
police would believe his story? If he wasn’t guilty then why did he
flee the scene of the crime?

**********

Cynthia flipped on the light. “Are y’all
okay?”

Angie jerked awake. “What?”

Edsel’s eyes sprung open and he sat up in
bed. He winced at the sharp pain in his chest and held his
breath.

“
I’m sorry,” said Cynthia.
“But we were afraid Edsel might be in danger.”

Angie and Edsel both stared at E. Z.

“
No, it’s not her,” said
Cynthia. “
Sondra’s
the one who tried to
kill you.”

“
That makes a lot more
sense,” said Edsel.

Angie looked at E. Z. “But why were you here
this afternoon?”

“
Well, I…”

Cynthia’s cell phone began to ring. It
wasn’t Greg’s ringtone. She flipped it open. “Hello?”

“
Cynthia, my phone died. I’m
calling from a pay phone. I don’t have much time, so I’ve got to
talk fast.”

“
Greg,—”

“—
I’m following Sondra.
She’s trying to get away.”

“
Where are you, Honey? I’ll
call the police.”

No answer.

“
Greg?”

The line went dead.

“
Greg’s following Sondra.
She’s on the run. But I don’t know where they are. We got cut
off.”

“
Houston,” said E. Z. “I’ll
bet she’s headed back to Houston. It’s the only place she’s every
lived besides Orange.”

“
We’ve got to follow them,”
said Cynthia.

“
She probably took Highway
87,” said E. Z. “That’s the quickest way out of town from her
mother’s house. But once she gets to Port Arthur it’ll be trickier.
There are three major roads from there to Beaumont. Or she might
take 73 and bypass Beaumont altogether.”

“
We’d better hurry,” said
Cynthia.

“
Whoa, wait a minute,” said
Edsel, gritting his teeth against the pain. “You’re not going
without
me
.
That boy’s like a son to me.” He managed to stand up.

Angie jumped up and ran to him. “What are
you doing? You can’t go anywhere. Get back in that bed.”

“
Where are my clothes?” He
walked gingerly toward the closet.

“
Edsel, don’t be
ridiculous,” said Angie, grabbing his arm.

“
I’m going,” insisted
Edsel.

Angie looked at the other two women. Cynthia
shrugged.

“
We’ll
all
go,” said Angie. “We can
take my car.”

Edsel turned to her and was about to
speak.

She shook her finger at him.
“Don’t you even
think
about it.
I’m
driving.”

**********

“
Good boy,” said Sondra,
easing the pressure of the muzzle against Greg’s back. “Where are
your car keys?”

“
I left them in the
ignition.”

“
Well, that was foolish.
Somebody could have stolen your car while you were out her playing
around on the phone.”

He said nothing.

“
Now listen carefully. You
will walk to the car, open the door, get in and move over to the
passenger seat. And you will keep your mouth shut.
Understood?”

“
Yes.”

Once Greg was in the passenger seat, Sondra
got in and started up the engine. She held the pistol in her left
hand as she steered with her right.

What was she going to do with him? Take him
to some dark road and shoot him? Surely she didn’t honestly believe
she could get away with that. She’d end up on death row. Didn’t she
realize that? Didn’t that scare her? He studied her face. What was
he thinking? She hadn’t hesitated to murder a member of her own
band. Why would she think twice about killing him?

She drove out of Bridge City toward the
Rainbow Bridge. The 680-foot wide bridge was built in 1936, and is
still the tallest bridge in Texas, at a height of 177 feet.

As she drove onto the bridge, Greg had a
terrible thought. What if she planned to—.

“—
you know what I’ve always
wanted to see, Greg?”

Was it a trick? She had instructed him not
to speak. If he answered the question would she blow his face
off?

She went on. “I’ve always wanted to watch
somebody dive off the top of this bridge. Ever since I was a kid
I’ve pictured it.”

This is not good, thought Greg. He wished he
had tried to make a run for it at the convenience store. There
would be no place to run and hide now that they were on the
bridge.

“
Yeah, I’ve always thought
that would be so cool—the screaming…the arms flailing…the hopeless
plunge to a certain death. And fortunately, there’s not much
traffic on this bridge at 1:00 AM.”

He knew she was right. His only hope was for
a state trooper to happen by. It was a narrow, two-lane bridge.
Parking was obviously not allowed. She could tell the officer that
they had engine problems. But he’d probably want her to coast down
the bridge. And once he stopped to talk to her, Greg would hint
that he was being held against his will. But then Sondra would
shoot the trooper at point blank range.

Sondra parked at the top of the bridge. “Get
out.”

She walked him to the guardrail, motioning
with the gun. “Over you go.”

Greg saw a car approaching the bridge from
the Port Arthur side.

Sondra saw it too. “Come
over here and be looking at this tire.” She pointed to the front
passenger side. “I’ll tell them we have a flat. If you say
anything
, or try to
give them a sign,” she said poking him in the ribs with the pistol,
“you’re a dead man.”

**********

Angie’s silver Tahoe zipped through Bridge
City.

“
You’re gonna get a ticket,
Angie,” said Edsel.

“
No, I’m not.”

“
You’re going twenty miles
over the speed limit.”

“
Well, I may get a ticket.
But they’ll have to catch me first. I’m not stopping until I find
Greg.”

Edsel smiled. If he’d been driving he would
have done the same thing.

Cynthia and E. Z. glanced at each other.
Cynthia was worried sick about Greg, and it showed. E. Z. reached
over and patted her hand.

Once they cleared Bridge City, they could
see the lighted arch up ahead, two-miles away. Angie floored the
accelerator. Soon they were traveling at 100 mph.

**********

“
Thanks, but there’s really
nothing you can do. The rim is bent.” said Sondra. “We’ve got a tow
truck on the way.”

The pickup drove off.

“
Nice job, Greg.” said
Sondra. “He didn’t suspect a thing.” She took a breath. “Okay,
now—where were we? Oh, yeah. You were about to jump off the
bridge.”

“
Here comes another car,”
said Greg.

This one was coming from the Bridge City
side.

Sondra was surprised at how fast the
headlights were approaching. “They’re going way too fast.”

“
Probably drunk,” said
Greg.

But as the vehicle got closer it slowed down
and pulled in behind Greg’s car. A man shouted from the front
passenger’s window, “Don’t do anything crazy, Sondra.”

Sondra recognized him. It was Edsel Torkman.
“I’ve got a gun.” Sondra walked Greg backwards until they were up
against the guardrail. She wrapped one arm around Greg and held the
pistol to his head. “And if you don’t leave right now, I’m gonna
blow his brains out.”

“
I know you’re the one who
dropped the car on my chest,” said Edsel. “But I’m okay. So, don’t
make matters worse by hurting my nephew.”

“
You’ve got five seconds to
get out of here!”

Angie backed up the Tahoe and slowly drove
around the Bonneville.

Greg could see that Angie was driving, but
he couldn’t tell if Cynthia was in the car. The back windows were
tinted dark.

As they headed down the bridge, Edsel
shouted, “Fly the rain, Greg. Fly the rain!”

Sondra looked at Greg. “Fly
the rain? What does
that
mean?”

Before he could respond, she
went on. “In a few seconds you’re gonna
wish
you could fly.” She
laughed. “Okay. I’m tired of playing around. Climb over the
rail!”

Greg stepped up to the guardrail and then
looked back at her. “You don’t really want to do this, Sondra.”

When he heard the loud boom, he thought
Sondra had shot him. Then he thought she had missed—until his right
arm began to sting. “Okay!” He climbed over to the back side of the
railing and held on. What did Uncle Ed mean when he yelled ‘fly the
rain?’ Do they have a plan to rescue me? Was it some kind of
clue?

Sondra stepped in closer. His body would
disappear into the darkness long before it hit the water. But she
wanted to see all there was to see. There would be no instant
replay. If she blinked, she’d miss half of it. She wondered if
she’d be able to hear the splash. His chances of survival were less
than 1%. “Okay,” she said. “Do it!”

Chapter
21

Greg knew that if he didn’t
jump soon Sondra would shoot him again. Which one was he more
likely to survive—a bullet in the back or a seventeen-story fall?
Maybe the pistol would misfire. Maybe she’s out of bullets.
Lord, I really need a miracle—and I need it
fast.

“
Okay, fine,” said Sondra.
“It will be more fun this way. I’ll shoot you in the other arm…then
each leg. I’ll just keep pumping bullets into your body until I run
out. Then I’ll give you a push.” She jammed the muzzle into his
left triceps.

At any moment Sondra’s bullet would come,
with bone-shattering certainty. Then on to his legs. No! Greg was
not going to just stand there while she turned him into a bloody
Raggedy Ann, and then tossed him into the river. But she had a gun.
He had nothing. And he was on the outside of the guardrail. No more
time to think about it. Must act now!

“
Sondra?”

She turned around and saw E. Z. standing
near the back of the Bonneville. “What are you doing here? This is
none of your business. And how did you get up here?” She heard
something and spun around.