The Final Shortcut (24 page)

Less than three miles away over a craggy, steep ridge called the Witches’s Kitchen lay downtown Bontonville. Clyde watched patiently as Junior loaded the software for his new toy. Rosa had been in and out several times to see it work.

“Anything to help out the Sheriff is less work for me.” She kept saying. The whole office was interested in the trademark bright red color, and the name InTroniKa.

“Ok here we go.” Junior spoke up and Clyde immediately moved closer. “I just have to say ok….and I accept…yada yada yada….Done! Now you gonna see something.” Rosa appeared at the door and tried not to look interested. “C’mon over, you are going to like this, what we got is an artist’s digital drawing pad.”

“Artists pad? Junior you know Clyde can’t draw a crooked line.” Rosa rolled her eyes around.

“He doesn’t need to draw. Do you remember telling me you liked his handwritten reports better than the typed ones?” Junior was clicking on the mouse while he talked opening up the artist pad program.

“Yeh.”

“Well now he can write into the computer.” He grabbed an electronic pen that was wired into the pad and began to write on the black surface. As he did the words appeared on the screen. “What do you think about that?”

“Amazing, I won’t have to type reports any more?” Clyde took the pen from Junior and wrote his name on the screen.

“Give me a few more minutes and I’ll see if I can import some of your forms into it and all you’ll have to do is fill in the blanks.” Junior started clicking again, looking for the way to set it up.

“That would be great, I really hate using that keyboard.” Clyde looked over at Rosa and she smiled back at him. “How much did you pay for that thing, I’ll be glad to pay you back.”

“No, you won’t. I told you it was a present.” Junior continued to look through the files, never looking up.

“But InTroniKa? That looks like expensive stuff, and this looks brand new. How much was it?”

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t much. You know how the market is.” Junior looked up at him and gave him a sheepish grin.

“Yeh, it’s probably hot enough to burn a whole in my desk.” Clyde scratched his head and made a funny face. “Maybe you ought to keep it, just in case.”

“Oh don’t worry, it looks brand new because it never got used. I got it from an art student that suddenly turned into a single mother and quit school. There are some scratches on the bottom if you look.” Junior enjoyed watching Clyde look under the pad for the marks he had made. He was so predictable.

“You’re right.”

“And I only gave fifty dollars for it.” Junior sat back from the desk now and waited for Clyde’s next question, which he knew was coming.

“Well I guess I don’t need to worry about a warranty either, being used.” Clyde felt that it was probably stolen but he had fractured a law or two before. It was common gossip that half of the flea markets sellers were crooks. But almost everyone had shopped there and ignored the chatter.

“No, no need to register it anywhere. Well, are you gonna try it?” Junior slid back and let Clyde have his seat. After a few minutes instruction he was beginning to get comfortable with it, signing his name time after time. And within the half hour he had it down cold.

“This is great Junior, are you sure I can’t pay you for this?” Clyde beamed like a child at Christmas, his face only a foot from the monitor.

“No, what’s a few dollars among friends. Among family….you’ve been around all my life.” Junior shrugged and looked a bit sheepish.

“I was around before you came along, was there when you were born.” Clyde looked away from his monitor for the first time in nearly an hour. The sight of Junior standing there spurned a rush of memories of Junior’s life to flash through his mind. He was more like a son than a friend.

“Exactly, so stop paying and start playing. I got everything you need set up, if you have any problems, call me.” Junior shook his hand and stepped quickly toward the door.

“What’s your hurry?”

“I want to try out some new designs I saw. I got some ideas about how to use some of that snake skin.”

“Don’t let me keep the artist from creating, see you later.” Clyde waved as Junior trotted away. Then he quickly returned to his computer, anxious to experiment with his new toy.

Junior checked his watch and noted that he had a couple hours until dark, time to cut out a few patterns before retreating to his lair. He was anxious to play his new pc gaming set-up, but he had to think of business first. When he got to his shop, the restaurant was closed, just the way he liked it. That meant he could work in peace for as long as he liked. And with the new material in mind, his creative juices were flowing overtime. For the next three and a half hours he sketched and erased. Measured and re-measured, making many notes but no goods. When he took a break to get a soft drink, he reflected on his drawings. Several good designs and several more good ideas were splayed out before him. But he was tired and decided to wait until tomorrow to cut the leather. He ventured into the restaurant to fix a snack and rest his eyes. The sun had gone down and a clear moonless sky appeared to take his place. Millions of stars filled the night, their glow amplified by the dark of the sky.

Even the smallest star was easily seen with the naked eye, much to the marvel of Keisha 8, and Tonya 6. Tim had turned out every light and convinced his family to lie on their backs outside in the dark. Reluctant at first, the girls quickly lost their fear after their eyes adjusted. A blanket spread out on the old roadbed was the perfect spot to see a panoramic view of the heavens. He saw some headlights in the distance and he thought they were coming his way, but they vanished quickly.

Once Junior turned off the shortcut it was less then half a mile to the mine road, and less than that to his secret entrance. But tonight he needed to go to the cabin first. So just after he turned onto the mine road he turned back off and took a back trail. There was a problem with the wiring on the big entrance and a dark night was the perfect time to open it up. He parked the truck just below the cabin and stayed there just long enough to check it out. It was an old habit of his Dad’s to check the cabin for animals and for signs of tampering. A single light bulb hanging from the ceiling was only on for a few seconds before he turned it out and headed under the floor to his mine.

Through the trees Tim saw a light for an instant and then it was gone, when he stood up he could just see the outline of the small cabin against the horizon.

“I bet that was the Ranger making his rounds, I’ll have to see what that building is tomorrow.” Tim sat back down and snuggled up to his wife. Wanting to capitalize on the romantic scene he roused his children and sent them to bed. He knew that they would sneak and turn on the TV first. Holding each other close in the chilly night air they gazed hypnotically at the stars and kissed passionately.

Not wanting to waste any time Junior hurried through the tunnel to main entrance at the opposite end. When he passed his apartment he stopped long enough to grab a small toolbox and a work light. He was sure he had a pinched wire that kept setting off the alarm and the only place he hadn’t checked was behind the gate. The system had been turned off for nearly a week and he was anxious to get it fixed. The hydraulics barely made a sound as they pushed the huge door open. It was hinged at the top and swung out like a monstrous doggie door. When he plugged in the light he was shocked to see a very startled couple sitting on a blanket just in range of the light. For a second no one moved, and then at the same instant Tim and Karen both hopped up and hurried back toward the RV.

Junior was dumbfounded, never had anyone snuck up on him. No one had ever seen his mine before. When the young lovers hopped up to run, Junior went into a frenzy. He chased after them still holding the toolbox. Tim and Karen ran flat out and reached the RV first. She screamed as she went inside and Tim looked for something to defend himself with. The first thing he found was a bar-b-que fork. And he grabbed it just as Junior bore down on him. Nothing could have prepared him for the type of attack Junior was about to unleash.

The fork dug into Junior’s forearm as he leaped head long at Tim. His full body weight crashed down on his chest and head. Junior slammed the heavy toolbox into Tim’s skull so hard that parts of his brain splattered against the RV door. Karen was standing at the door in shock while Junior quickly moved toward her. Without the slightest hesitation he crashed through the front glass with the toolbox. She tried to stop him as he reached inside for the knob but he grabbed her instead. He stood outside with both hands around her throat while she thrashed about inside. He choked harder and harder until he felt her neck snap. Then he dropped her limp body and pulled his arms back noticing only then that he had several gashes around his elbows. The blood was beginning to run quickly down his arms. The sight of which jarred him from his fury. He opened the door intent on finding a bandage but when he entered the RV he was assaulted with two bloodcurdling screams. The young girls were huddled together under the small kitchen table. Their tandem voices created an unnerving noise. Junior reeled from the sound. The shrill pitch echoed loudly in the small room. He felt confused and enraged. They had to shut up. He had to shut them up. When he stepped over and looked under the table the girls screamed again and Junior could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise. He locked eyes with the older child and he could see the terror in her gaze, for a brief second he was transfixed.

Then a familiar voice boomed in his head.

“Junior, never, ever be mean to children.”

“But Daddy, they saw me, I can’t….” Junior looked straight at Keisha as he spoke, his anger disappeared again.

“Never, ever be mean to children, do your homework, and take care of your mother. Do like I tell you.” His father’s last words echoed through his mind and he dropped his head in submission. “Look at your arms, clean yourself up, clean your mess up and think about what to do.”

“Yes Daddy, you’re right.” He sat on the floor next to the kitchen cabinet. The blood from his arms had already covered his hands. In the drawer next to his head he found some towels and quickly made some bandages. After he had stopped the bleeding, he stood up. And took his time washing his hands and thinking. The more he tried to understand his situation, the more confused he became. He had to take care of things, had to control the situation. But he couldn’t harm the children.

As if on cue he turned and went outside, grabbed Tim’s body and pulled it inside. He looked under the table only to find the girls still groping each other in silence.

“Don’t move!”

Neither girl reacted but he felt sure that they weren’t going anywhere. So he went out and quickly stashed all the gear, throwing most of it on top of the bodies. Once he was satisfied that he had removed all the evidence, he drove the RV into the mine and parked next to the InTroniKa truck. He tried pulling the children apart gently with no success. So he tied them up together, still hugging. The only way to get them out was to carry them. So he hefted them out and stood them up on the porch of his apartment. He had never considered installing locks, until now he had never needed them. Then an idea popped in his head. The InTroniKa truck had a separate cab and a cube van mounted behind. Perfect, a lockable box. He snatched open the doors and was greeted by a putrid stench. In the front seat the driver still sat slumped against the dash. “Damn I forgot about that guy, well he’s no use to me know.” After a week the remains were a ghastly sight. The keys were hanging in the back door and the passage to the front had a sliding door. With a swift movement he scooped up the girls and plopped them in the back of the van.

“You see that dead guy up there?” Junior grinned having found a solution for his dilemma, even if it was just a temporary cure he was maintaining control of the situation. “If you try to get out of here, he’s gonna get you!” He poked at Keisha as he spoke and she hardly reacted, her eyes fixed on the corpse. Junior closed the door to the front and locked it, and then he untied his captives, both acting weak and beaten. He sat them on some boxes and left, locking the door from the outside.

“Never harm children!” Marty’s voice boomed in his ears.

“I didn’t, their right in there…..” Junior wavered at he stood, his father’s message fresh in his mind. “I haven’t hurt….hungry and thirsty? Oh yeh, they might be uncomfortable in there….I will…I will.” Junior talked out loud in response to a voice from the grave, his father still giving guidance. He dashed into his apartment and quickly returned with a bag of snacks, drinks and some air freshener. A battery powered lamp made the van a little more comfortable and as he stood in the door he wondered if he had left out anything. “Are you comfy now? Is there anything else I can get you?” Junior asked his question with a flippant look on his face. Tonya couldn’t bear to look up and Keisha could only stare at him with empty eyes. His brutal actions had totally traumatized the girls and now he was trying to be friendly.

When he locked the door, he felt good that he had done everything his Dad had wanted, now he could relax and figure out what to do next. Maybe he would just go and talk to Daddy face to face.

Chapter 17

Before Junior hung up the phone he knew he should have planned better what to say. But before he realized it, he had made the deal and Tree hung up. Junior had barely slept, he spent the entire night thinking and tending his young captives. He had a frantic desire to make sure the two girls were comfortable, constantly checking on them. Finally after the sun had risen high in the sky he remembered the phone number in his wallet. The big guy that helped him out of a jam once before. He had said he could provide anything, even young girls. It seemed logical that he would want to take these two. He regretted telling him to meet at the crossroads to his private road, but Tree insisted on something very secluded. And after the deal was struck Junior felt better about taking the risk. At least he would be able to wash his hands of the girls in a little less than twenty-four hours. Getting paid hadn’t entered his mind so when Tree offered him a thousand dollars each for them, he easily accepted. His only goal was to cover his tracks and get back to normal.