Dempster Road

Chapter 20

Barney sidestepped his way down the road beside the car, stumbling and groaning from the pain of the weight on his arm. Adelaine was slowing down, allowing him to regain his footing and then speeding up again, laughing all the while.

Belinda wiped the tears from her eyes watching Barney's ordeal, suddenly noticing that the finger on his cuffed hand was pointing, and she struggled to prop herself up with one leg in the air. The finger made a twirling motion, and she twisted awkwardly pushing her free leg onto the armrest where the buttons were.

Barney groaned and swore as Adelaine went a little faster causing him to lose his footing, then he felt the change in pressure on his arm, and began flexing it, trying to get the feeling back.

The car sped up again, and he leaned hard into the window to shift his weight as he felt his feet dragging awkwardly. With a painful effort, Belinda managed to get the window down far enough for him to free his arm and he leaned across his body and slammed Adelaine in the side of the head as hard as he could, while his cuffed hand gripped the roof of the car. She yelped in surprise and leaned away, accelerating rapidly.

Barney's feet dragged on the pavement, and he had to grip the car harder or fall. She began swinging the wheel side to side, and he felt his feet burning and his arm slipping. Belinda was trying to hold him but it was futile; Barney was far too heavy for her and as the car swerved right once again, he lost his grip and crashed painfully, almost to the road, hanging from Belinda's ankle.

Adelaine stopped the car and climbed out, her face a mask of rage. She took the keys and undid the cuff, letting Barney drop to the road and hearing Belinda scream, as she fell back down inside.

He lay still, feeling the pain pierce his body, aware that Adelaine wasn't waiting around. She got back in the car and drove off, disappearing down the road and around the bend. His last thought before passing out was of Doc Ollcott.

****

"You okay back there, Belinda?" Adelaine's voice sounded solicitous and sincere and Belinda almost answered in kind. "Can you hear me?"

"You probably killed Barney, you know that don't you?"

"But he shot me, Belinda. Why would he shoot me? And then he punched me. That hurt, Belinda. Still does."

Belinda sat up and wondered if she could play along with the right words and the right tone, she might get Adelaine to be reasonable. "I'm sure he didn't mean it, it was dark and I guess he was nervous."

"About what? What did I do?"

"Nothing! You didn't do anything, Adelaine. It was an accident. He bandaged you up and had the doctor look at you as well. I'm sure he was really sorry."

"That was nice."

"Yes, it was... listen, could we pull over and maybe I could ride up front with you? It's not very comfortable back here."

She saw Adelaine's eyes find hers in the mirror, and the two women traded long, searching looks. "It's easier to talk if you don't have to keep looking in the mirror."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

Belinda felt her chances improve as the car began slowing and moving to the right. Just then they made a slight turn in the road and Doc Ollcott was ambling toward them, kicking at pebbles on the asphalt and his hands shoved casually in his pockets.

"Who's that?" Adelaine suddenly didn't stop as planned.

"It's the Doc. We can tell him about Barney and maybe--"

"Maybe what, Belinda. You must take me for an idiot." She jammed her foot down on the gas and Belinda screamed as the car hurtled toward the doctor, slamming into him, and throwing his body up over the roof and onto the road behind.

The force of the blow smashed the windshield and spider-webbed the glass so that Adelaine couldn't see clearly. She hit the brakes and Belinda slammed against the mesh with her face, crying out and sliding down onto the floor.

The car skidded onto the shoulder and a piece of metal debris flipped up and tore through the sidewall, causing a loud bang as the left front tire exploded. Adelaine cursed and clambered out of the car to see the damage, and then she ran back up the road to the lifeless form of the doctor and rummaged through his pants for the wagon keys.

****

Fred was reliving his glory days as Deputy Sheriff when the area was less populated and the criminals were mostly moonshiners, poachers, and the occasional out-of-town bank robber or escaped convict. His foot held the gas pedal at a steady speed and the old truck fought its way over potholes, gravel stretches and the suspect floor of Stroud's bridge.

He turned on the old portable radio and called Stella.

"That you, Fred? Where are you?"

"Almost to the Crow River cut-off. Shouldn't be more than ten or fifteen minutes."

"I still haven't heard a word from Barney so be careful down there."

"Did this job when you were in cloth diapers, Stella. Not to worry."

"Times have changed, Fred." She heard him chuckle, and then the radio went dead.

Fred slowed the old truck right down and made the sharp turn north to the Dempster Road then let it out again. The cut-off was hard-packed, tar covered dirt, and the loose pebbles banged away at the undercarriage as he sped around the blind curves without slowing.

Fred was on a mission and he was secretly hoping it would present a chance for some real action; it had been a long time. He hunched forward as the Hwy. 6 intersection came up and with minimum delay, he yanked a hard right and sped up the Dempster Road.

Almost instantly he was all over the brakes wrestling with the ageing steering and shuddering to a noisy halt. Barney's car was nosed toward the shoulder with the front left hanging down, the tire in ragged ribbons, and just beyond in the middle of the road was the body of a man.

He stopped the truck, grabbed his rifle and jumped out, jamming shells into the chamber as he went. Fred felt his heart start pounding as he knelt beside his old friend and saw the damage to his fragile body. He looked around and realized that the car must have been the weapon and that the Doc's wagon was stolen for a getaway.

He levered in a shell and stood cautiously, staring up the road. Where was Barney?