The Traveling Corpse (31 page)

As she finished her sentence prayer she
realized that she could breathe normally; he hadn't covered her
nostrils, but her mouth was taped shut.
I can't call for help,
but thank-you, Lord, I can still talk to You, and I can breathe.
Thank You for keeping Karl from smothering me. Don't let me give
up. Art will find me. I'll keep saying that verse from James. I
will persevere. I will persevere. Amen.

She sensed when he stepped away from her.
Then she jerked involuntarily when she felt liquid thrown on her
hair, face, and blouse.
Liquor. I'll reek of it. If anyone ever
finds me—no, make that—when they find me, they'll think I'm
drunk.
She heard a click.
That must have been the light
switch. But it doesn't make any difference to me. He's got the tape
on so well; it doesn't let in any light.

He's locking the door now. He's gone now.
Didn't say good-bye. At least, he won't hurt me anymore. He's not
all bad; he didn't kill me. I'm safe, but I'm scared. How long will
I have to be locked in here before somebody finds me?

She began to feel disorientated. She couldn't
remember what day it was. She shook her head to clear it.
They
play Bingo on Tuesday nights. They'll have to open this closet to
get the supplies sometime Tuesday afternoon. What day is today? I
can't remember.
He hit me so hard. I guess he knocked my
brain loose. Come on, Annie, think. What did you do today? Did I
play Bridge? I don't think so. Wait! I went to Barb's house. Yes, I
went there to play Bridge, but for some reason we didn't play. We
always play Bridge on Monday afternoons; so today must be Monday.
Then, this is Monday night. I'll probably have to stay tied up like
this overnight. I can do that. Then maybe another six hours and
I'll be rescued. Persevere. I may be old, but I can persevere.
Thank-you, Lord, for helping me think this out. Now, please let me
just go to sleep. That will pass the time the fastest and
easiest.

Exhausted, Annie made herself relax. She
began saying the names of meds over and over; it was her way of
trying to go to sleep. Instead of counting sheep, she named meds.
A is for Aspirin. B is for Benedryl. C is for Calamine. D is for
Diuretics. E is for Ephedrine. F is for Folic Acid….
Finally,
her headed nodded and fell forward in blessed sleep until a leg
cramp snapped her awake to suffer through a muscle spasm.

 

* * *

 

Art dropped off two other men shufflers
before stopping at Brad's. The house was dark. “Looks like Barb
must be over at my house. She promised to keep an eye on Annie
while

I was gone. Do you want to get out here or
ride home with me?”

A few minutes later, Brad was glad he decided
to go on with Art. As they approached Art's street, they saw lights
blazing from an ambulance turning out of the street, and they saw a
Sheriff's car parked in his driveway.

“Something's happened to Annie,” Art shouted
and quickly drove over the inverted “C” curb and onto his front
yard. The two men opened their doors and slammed them shut behind
them in unison, as they hurried toward Sgt. Menendez. “Annie?” Art
pointed to the receding ambulance,

Menendez answered, “That was Kitty, Karl's
wife, not your Annie.”

Barb flung herself into Brad's strong arms
and wailed, “We don't know where Annie is. She's disappeared, and
my golf cart has been stolen. Karl's probably taken it and
Annie.”

Two deputies stepped out of a newly arrived
squad car. Before going to them, Menendez turned to Barb and
suggested, “You fill them in. I've got to start the search for
Annie.” She left Art with his mouth open.

With confidence, Maria Menendez headed the
rescue operation until a detective could come and take over the
investigation. She directed one of the officers to position his car
so his headlights would shine between the two houses. As she
suspected, the dry grass was flattened in two tracks the width of a
golf cart's tires. She interrupted Barb's telling Art and Brad what
had happened to ask, “Any ideas on where Karl—or whoever—would go
with Annie?”

“His house,” suggested Art, “but that's so
obvious.”

“Maybe Jiggs's house?” Brad offered. “He
might have a key to it since he was keeping it up for the realty
company.”

“I need addresses,” the sergeant said.

Art started running towards his patio door,
calling back, “Come on in here. I'll get the BradLee address book.”
Menendez motioned to a deputy to follow Art inside.

Neighbors, hearing the commotion in this
usually quiet neighborhood, poured outside—some wearing bathrobes.
Menendez speaking through a bull horn, ordered them back. “We've
got a crime scene here folks. I need you to stay away. If you want
to help us find a missing person, you don't want to destroy any
evidence.”

There was a buzz of shocked, but subdued
voices, questioning?
Missing? Who? In quiet BradLee?

The pretty sergeant continued, “Stop! Do not
come on the property. It would be helpful if you'd stay across the
street until we have time to check out this area.”

“I can help,” Brad offered. The curious
neighbors respected Brad, and they willingly congregated across the
street where he promised to tell them what few details he knew. He
checked with the sergeant, “Okay to tell them about Annie's
disappearance and Kitty's going off in the ambulance?”

She nodded a yes, saying, “They'll cooperate
better if you give them some information. Don't say anything more
than you have too. And thanks.”

The competent sergeant used Art's house phone
to call for more back-up help. She smiled when her partner, Joe
Juarez showed up. “Glad you're here to take over because I need to
get to the hospital to talk with Karl's wife.” She filled Joe in on
the operation so far, then took a moment to reassure Art, “We'll
find your Annie. If Karl took your wife, I don't think he'll kill
her; probably just needs someone to blame for his dire situation.
Art, I know you want to do some active looking for Annie, but we
need you to stay at the house.” She turned to Barb, “Will you come
to the hospital with me to see Kitty? She's probably aching all
over and scared silly about now. Having a woman she knows and
trusts could be a big help for me when I interview her.”

“If you think so, I'll gladly go with you.
Just let me tell Brad.”

 

* * *

 

Kitty was in the Emergency Room lying on a
cot in a curtained-off cubicle when Barb and Maria arrived. They
were told, “She's waiting to go to surgery to have her arm set, but
you can talk to her.”

When Kitty saw Barb and the officer, she was
so relieved that words tumbled out of her, “I'm so sorry. Is Annie
all right? He took her, didn't he?

“We think he took my golf cart—used it to
take Annie someplace. Any idea where'd he go in a golf cart?” Barb
asked.

“It's all my fault,” Kitty wailed. “I should
never have gone to Annie's house. I didn't dream Karl would find
me. I'll never forgive myself if he hurt her. It's okay if he hurts
me; I'm his wife, but he shouldn't hurt another woman… .”

Barb bent over the battered woman to comfort
her, “There, there, Kitty. Everything will be all right. You've
been hurt; we've got to get you well.” She straightened up and
waved toward the officer, “This is Sgt. Maria Menendez from the
Sheriff's Department. She's been working with us on the mystery,
and she's wonderful! Will you answer some of her questions?”

“I don't know if I know anything, but I'll
try,” Kitty answered.

Barb stepped away, and Maria took her place.
“May I call you Kitty?”

Kitty nodded.

“Can you tell me what happened earlier
tonight?” There was a long pause. The officer gently urged,
“Anything you can tell me may be helpful. You want to help Annie,
don't you?”

Kitty cast her eyes down and finally said,
“I'm so ashamed.”

“Ashamed of what?”

“Mostly myself, but I'm ashamed of Karl. He
started drinking again. He's been sober for almost ten years. I
told him I'd move to Florida like he wanted to if he'd join AA.
He's nicer to me when he's sober.”

“Why are you ashamed of yourself?”

“If I had obeyed my husband, I wouldn't have
made him mad, and then he wouldn't have hurt me and Annie.”

Barb and Maria exchanged sorry glances over
Kitty's head. They were filled with amazement and distress at
Kitty's words, but the deputy didn't let it show in her voice when
she asked, “Why was your husband upset with you?”

Kitty swallowed, “Annie told me once that
wives don't have to do everything their husbands order—that women
have the right to think for themselves.”

“And, what did you think?”

“I decided that I didn't want to move out of
BradLee like Karl said I had to. I'd packed up all our clothes like
he said. Karl told me we were going to go to a safe place. I didn't
know why we needed to go to a safe place; I felt safe in our
home.”

Kitty paused. Maria encouraged her to go on,
“And?”

“It was real early this morning. It wasn't
light yet. Karl told me we were leaving and to get in the van; so I
did. He didn't tell me where we were going, but I could see that we
were headed towards the interstate. When I told him I was hungry,
he stopped at a Hardee's and got biscuits and coffee at the
drive-through.”

Barb said, “They do make good homemade
biscuits. Where did you go after you ate?”

“We ate in the parking lot. When we finished,
I told him I was going to use the restroom. I picked up our trash
and took it with me. I wasn't gone long, but all the time I was
away I kept thinking about Annie and what she told me—about my not
having to do everything Karl said. I kept thinking and thinking
about it. When I got back, he started up the engine and turned the
car back towards BradLee. He had a look on his face that told me to
leave him alone. So I didn't ask any questions. I did what he
said.”

Barb thought to herself:
Thank goodness,
Brad never treats me like that. Of course, I'd never let him treat
me like that—not in this day and age.
Then she asked, “Where
did you go?

“When we got near BradLee, he turned and got
on the by-pass. I thought that was strange because we never go that
way to get to our house. That's the long way around. I just kept my
mouth shut and let him drive. I was surprised when he turned right
onto a dirt road. You know, we've got lots of them right on the
edge of town. He drove real slow— lots of tree roots that made it
bumpy. We passed some trashy houses, then drove across what looked
like old pasture land. He stopped by a dilapidated little barn—all
weathered. There were lots of big old trees with moss hanging down.
He parked the van under an open shed at one end of the building so
it was—” Kitty suddenly stopped talking.

The sergeant, anxious to learn where she
could find Karl, asked, “Were you close to BradLee?”

Kitty grimaced in pain and shrieked,
“Eee-oh-oh-ugh!”
and squeezed her folded arms across her
abdomen.

Barb fled from the curtained cubicle,
calling, “Nurse! Nurse!”

The medical team went into action, and Maria
and Barb found two uncomfortable straight chairs nearby. Maria
drummed her fingers on her thigh. After a while, Barb spoke,
“Maria, do you think Kitty's having a heart attack?”

“I don't think it's her heart. She was
grabbing her stomach. Seems more like a gall bladder attack or
kidney stones to me.”

“Do you think we brought it on asking her all
those questions?”

“Stress can do a lot of damage, but I got the
impression that she wanted to tell somebody her sad story—that it
was a relief for her.”

“You mean, like, maybe confession is good for
the soul?”

“Something like that.”

Barb replied, “Kitty never had many friends.
I don't think she has a close girl friend that she could confide
in. Karl didn't seem to want her to get too involved in any of the
clubs in BradLee where she'd make friends. Annie got to know her at
Hobby Club. That's about the only club Kitty joined. Oh, yes, she
does play golf in the Women's League. She also does a lot of
gardening—keeps her yard beautiful. It is a showplace. But you
garden by yourself.” Barb yawned. “What do we do now? It's bedtime
for me, but how can I go to bed until Annie's found?”

The officer stood. “It'll be a long time
before I can go to bed. The first hours after an abduction are the
most crucial.” She picked up her hat. “Looks like it'll be awhile
before Kitty can talk again, plus she has to have her arm set.
Guess we might as well leave; I'll come back later.” Maria spoke to
the nurse at the desk before she and Barb pushed open the swinging
doors and left the inner sanctum of the ER.

They were walking across the parking lot
towards the squad car when they heard a voice behind them calling,
“Officer! Officer! Wait, please wait.”

The two women turned and saw an aide dressed
in hospital blues hurrying toward them. The tubby young man was
puffing with exertion when he managed to gasp, “You need… to
come… back inside. The patient says … she won't go to
surgery … ‘til she tells you something.”

“This may be our break,” Maria beamed.

Barb followed her into the ER where an LPN
said, “The pain subsided quickly. She has a history of gall stones;
that may be the diagnosis. When she saw you leaving, she put up one
fit until we promised to bring you back. Had to tie her down to
keep her from chasing after you!”