The Cowboy's Prize

Chapter 23

We set Sam up in a cheap Motel out of the way. Used his uncle's name on the room so none of us would be identified should the cops come looking for him and gave the clerk cash so there was no official record. We slipped the guy behind the desk another $50 to forgo the usual id check and he was more than happy to give us the plain key to an even plainer room.

We knew we would be memorable, but only if someone came looking for us in the near future. Three guys renting a room for a couple nights shouldn't be so memorable in that part of town, but I suspected an hourly rate was more the norm.

We stayed with Sam while he had a shower and got out of the clothes he was wearing and changed into the new ones we'd brought with us. The only things he'd brought from the apartment were his personal belongings, his cell phone, wallet, one piece of jewellery Alastair had bought Sam before he'd turned into a possessive monster who treated him like a piece of meat, and his laptop.

"What am I supposed to do now?" He asked as he sat on the bed looking forlornly at us in his borrowed clothing.

"I'd lay low for a few days." I advised him while Scott nodded in agreement. "I found evidence he's got at least one Police Officer on his payroll." I advised both Scott and Sam and felt fear flood through the room as both of their expressions turned anxious.

"He'll find me and kill me." Sam said in a soft voice. "And there's nothing anyone will do about it." He said as he rolled himself into a ball on the bed and began shivering.

Scott pulled me toward the door of the room.

"You know he's probably right." Scott said with concern etching stress lines in his forehead. "If he can get away with what I briefly saw on that screen, he could probably get away with murder." Scott shook his head with more than mere worry in his voice. "Perhaps this wasn't the safest place to put him." He added as the room's phone beeped.

I quickly strode over to it and picked it up. "Hello?" I asked as the voice of the desk clerk responded and spoke down the line.

"I just had a phone call from the 6th Precinct." He said, "Someone's looking for you and they're on their way."

Terror filled my mind as I realised just how far Alastair would go to keep his proclivities a secret. The guy said, "$50 was enough for a heads up guys, but I can't lie to the Cops."

"I appreciate it. Thanks." I responded softly and then said, "Let's get the hell out of here."

Scott said, "Wipe everything down we've touched." As he grabbed Sam's towel. I don't know how good the cameras are at the apartment, but we wore gloves there and we don't need our fingerprints being found here if they're on the way."

"Good thinking." I said proudly and I couldn't help but admire his foresight in the events that were unfolding.

"What about my prints?" Sam asked.

"Yours are all over that apartment and so is evidence you were a resident there. Your clothes, belongings, toiletries and stuff. Even if one cop's on his payroll, the others would use their brains and question all that evidence you were living there." I reassured him.

"And if he only rings his guy to chase us down?" Sam asked.

"Then we'll take everything public." I said resolutely.

"And the agreements we signed?" Sam said.

"I can't discuss what happened with me, but I can tell people about you and what I saw in that apartment today." I said. "You can tell them about me and that I was hospitalized by Alastair. Those records are public and he can't make them disappear." I said quietly, all the while hoping it would never come to that.