The rain came down in drops the size of golf balls on the roof of the old SUV. Mary Newman pretended not to glance at her husband, Randy, as he jerked every now and then to keep the car on the road.
"Do you want me to drive for a while?" She asked patiently, placing the map down in her lap and staring intently at her husband.
"No, dear. I've got it." He replied, snapping his eyes to her every few seconds after noticing that she had yet to look away. "What? I am perfectly capable of getting us from point A to point B safely."
"Okay." Mary held up both hands in mock surrender. "You just seem a little tired, and our next stop isn't for thirty or so miles. I just thought you could use a little break." She leaned over and squeezed his shoulder firmly.
"I appreciate the concern, but I'm just fine. It's been a long day, but-" He trailed off as the flashing red, white, and blue police lights reached across the inside roof of the car.
Randy cursed and slammed his hand on the steering wheel as he slowly eased the car over on the shoulder of the road. "How fast was I going? Did you notice? I wasn't speeding!"
Mary shushed him lightly and straightened her sun dress a bit before smoothing her hair. She noticed the approaching officer and leaned across Randy to roll the window down.
"Evening folks." The deputies deep voice called over the pounding rain. "I just wanted to inform you that your right tail light is out."
The couple shared a look before smiling simultaneously at the man who seemed to be fighting to keep the flooding water out of his mouth. "Well thank you!" Randy called back. "That was mighty kind of you. I just don't know how we'll get that fixed in this weather."
The officer nodded before glancing back at his car. "Are you far from home?"
"Yes sir. Very far!" Mary smiled.
"Well, theres a pretty good motel a few miles ahead. Why don't you follow me there and I'll see if I can get someone the replace that for you. Maybe have someone meet you in the morning."
"That would be wonderful!" Randy exclaimed as the officer nodded and dashed back to his car.
********
"You know, we really can't thank you enough officer-"
"Dan." He cut Mary off. "My names Dan."
"Well okay then. Dan." She smiled. "Thank you so much for your kindness."
He rubbed the back of his neck lightly. "It was nothing. Pretty lucky that this hotel had a garage outback you could use, huh? How long has your husband been a mechanic?"
Mary smiled and glanced over at her husband. " Not too long." She shrugged, smirking slightly.
"Well that certainly is fortunate. Where are you two headed?" He asked as he ran his fingers through his short brown hair, mangling the wet locks.
"Oh, you know. Here and there. No where particularly." She replied, sliding up onto the near by counter top, smoothing her dress out across her thighs.
"That must be nice. What do you two do for a living?"
Mary smiled, glancing at Dan through her thick, dark eyelashes. "You sure do ask quite a few questions, don't you?"
He laughed lightly before suddenly gasping and staring at her with wide eyes. She smiled back at him as he coughed, a small drop of red liquid trickling down his chin, and his lips turned up at the ends one last time before he collapsed to the cement floor, landing with a sickening crack.
"Honestly Randy! All we were doing was having a nice, civilized conversation, you know, the ones that adults have?" Mary snapped, sliding off the counter and stepping gingerly over the body.
Randy grimaced, yanking the knife out of the deputies gut, and wiping it on a rag before tossing it to the side.
"Tell me you wore gloves?" She asked exasperatingly as she approached the car and climbed into the passenger side.
"Of course I did. I see you weren't that careful." Randy called to her as he wiped the counter down and heaved the body into the trunk. "Don't worry. I took care of it."
"You took care of a lot didn't you?" She rolled eyes as the car sped out of the garage.
*****
An hour an a half later, the old SUV flew down the deserted back road. "Did you ever actually fix the tail light?" Mary asked as she tapped her fingers on the dash board.
Before Randy could answer, the familiar sound of a police siren rang out. "I guess that answers my question."
"He'll be so pleased." Randy smiled at Mary as he watched the officer approach the car in the rear view mirror. "He asked for one and now, we can bring him three."
YOU ARE READING
creepshow (wattys2018)
HorrorHe's watching me. That's all he ever does. He stands on the other side of the glass and stares at me. He brings his friends and they join him in the pointing. They tap their fingers against the glass at me, the noise filling my ears, causing my worl...
