Ice: Redemption
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6. The main road just outside of EastMill
Cassandra and Lester had remained mostly silent since the gun had been revealed. There was a bit of tense moment when the State Trooper’s car came up from behind them very quickly, but then it passed without a hint of blue light. Once it disappeared ahead of them, Cass looked at the wood load they were hauling and asked Lester,
“You’re not overloaded, are you?”
“Um, no I don’t think so.”
His delivery tone with that statement didn’t fill Cass with confidence. Neither did the light snow that seemed to be increasing.
“Ok, Lester, take me through your day, from this point on; what your normal routine would be. Every single detail.”
Lester just stared ahead for a second like he was thinking real hard. And then said, “You mean, on days I don’t pick up a half-naked woman with a gun in the middle of the woods?”
Like it bares repeating: “Yes, Lester, like normal day when you DON’T pick up a half-naked woman with a gun, what is your normal routine from this point.”
“Well, I got on the Interstate just below EastMill, and then proceed to Newton. There’s a mill there, I think it’s the only one that still takes raw popul.” Lester spoke real slow, like he was thinking about each and every word. Like when taking a test in school orally, or like be pulled over by a state trooper or sheriff. Basically he was acting like a scared little rabbit, afraid to say the wrong word.
“Ok, Lester, obviously, I need some real clothes and to use a real telephone..”
Lester pointed to his flip phone on the dash.
“...Is that phone in your name?”
Lester shook his head, “It’s my girlfriend’s…… My credit isn’t….”
Cass stopped him with: “No...Lester… I need a landline...a payphone, if we can find one. I need to make one call and then get a burner….. Is this Newton a pretty big town? Is there like thrift stores? A cheap motel, a big box discount store nearby?”
“Yeah, yeah,yeah and yeah.” Lester answered all four questions by repeating the same answer, then added: “I might be able to help more if you tell me what’s going on.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Cass chose her next words very carefully, “Here’s what I need you to do: You go into a thrift store and get some clothes, just something decent. I’ll tell you the sizes. Then stop by payphone, again, if we can find one. I’ll make one quick call, if that call goes ok, then take me to the big discount store and then drop me near a cheap motel, preferably near a couple of them so you don’t know where I am, do you understand all that.”
“I think so, but….”
“No… no buts, this is the easiest way to get you out of this and protect your family, do it for them if no other reason. If we do it right, no one will come talk to you about me. Do you understand that?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and I’m going to need all the cash you have on you.”
It was kind of tough finding a parking space in front of the “Sav-a-Soul, Sav-a-Buck” Thrift Store, but something told Cass that Lester had been driving truck for some time. This was the big moment of trust, she allowed him to go into the store as soon it opened up. He could easily be telling to call the police right now, but she had hoped she had gotten through to him even with the limited information, she provided him. She was in deep shit, the real messy kind, the real corrupt kind. If that message got through to him, he didn’t need to know the details to know he wanted to be free of her soon.
She watched with anxiety through the huge plate glass window of the building that was probably something else in the past: A corner grocery, or a hardware store. Like thousands of stores across the US that forced into extinction by that economically large scale disaster known as the “big box” effect. Thousands of dozens of family businesses replaced by thrift stores and pawn shops. The new face of American storefronts.
Lester had brought his purchases to the slightly overweight woman at the counter, and she started to add them up, examining each and everyone of them. All women's clothes, she was starting to give him the judgeful look said Why, aren’t you at it early, you little pervert?
Lester was of course, running his mouth. The woman was nodding. Yeah, suuuurrrreeee, crossdressing truck driver freak.
“Shut up, Lester, whatever you are saying, you are only going to make it worse.” Cass told herself really, in whispers.
Then Lester turns and points right at the truck, and the woman turns her judgy glaze and looks directly at Cass. She started to duck, but thought better of it. And waved instead, the Thrift store cashier waved back. “Stupid….” Cass continued to watch from the truck, as the woman bagged up Lester’s purchases and hand them to him. Cass sighed with relief as he began to exit the store.
Then a Newton police car pulled in sideways in front of the truck with the blue lights flashing. Cass instinctively tossed the glock under the seat and looked out her window to her left and saw the truck was parked in not one but three handicap spaces.
How did she not notice this before? Or even worse, How did Lester not see this when he drove up? Could this situation reach a higher level of stupidity?
It could.
Lester was strolling down the walkway from the thrift store as the lone police officer got of his car. He was a young cop, who looked uncomfortable in his uniform.
Great, a rookie. Cass thought as her anxiety swelled up inside, she tried to deflate it with a normal type thought, Not a bad looking guy, if you like guys.
It really wasn’t working as she watched Lester approach the officer, they appeared to be having normal conversation. The officer pointed at the row of quite obvious almost neon blue handicap signs. Cass thought of rolling the window down a bit, so she could hear the conversation. She could feel her anxiety spiking, her heart was racing, but she tried to remain, to keep her head clear. No matter happened she would leave the gun under the seat. Pulling it out now would turn this situation from bad to extremely bad or worse. She watched as the officer pointed at her in the cab, Lester shifted the bag of thrift store clothes from one arm to the other. Then he started talking, and then the officer laughed.
What to hell.
Then Lester showed the officer what was inside the bag. The officer nodded, patted Lester behind his right shoulder and took out his ticket book. He wrote on it briefly, ripped off the ticket and gave it to Lester. The officer said something else, and they both laughed. Again with a pat on Lester’s back. The officer glided over to his cruiser, opened the door, waved at Cass (She waved back with dumbfounded look on her face), got in his cruiser. Lester was climbing into the driver’s side. Cass was giving him a look but didn’t say anything until the cop car lights off and the car sped away. She really couldn’t wait to say: “Um, Lester, what just happened?”
“I got you some clothes, I don’t really get the matching thing, but I hope they fit.’
She snatched the bag away, “I mean, with HIM!”
“Oh, Denny? I went to school with him, well, before I quit school to drive truck.”
“What about me? What did he...? Did you get a ticket?”
Lester chuckled as the truck roared to life. “Oh, I told him, I came through EastMill early last night and I picked you up at the Rusty Nail…. I told him your clothes got a little messed up.”
Cass didn’t know whether she should be disgusted, insulted or give Lester a hug.
“Oh, …..the ticket?”
He handed it to her. “His phone number.”
She snatched it away and crumbled it with one hand.
“Where to? ‘Woman with a gun’”
“Just drive.”
Cassandra and Lester had remained mostly silent since the gun had been revealed. There was a bit of tense moment when the State Trooper’s car came up from behind them very quickly, but then it passed without a hint of blue light. Once it disappeared ahead of them, Cass looked at the wood load they were hauling and asked Lester,
“You’re not overloaded, are you?”
“Um, no I don’t think so.”
His delivery tone with that statement didn’t fill Cass with confidence. Neither did the light snow that seemed to be increasing.
“Ok, Lester, take me through your day, from this point on; what your normal routine would be. Every single detail.”
Lester just stared ahead for a second like he was thinking real hard. And then said, “You mean, on days I don’t pick up a half-naked woman with a gun in the middle of the woods?”
Like it bares repeating: “Yes, Lester, like normal day when you DON’T pick up a half-naked woman with a gun, what is your normal routine from this point.”
“Well, I got on the Interstate just below EastMill, and then proceed to Newton. There’s a mill there, I think it’s the only one that still takes raw popul.” Lester spoke real slow, like he was thinking about each and every word. Like when taking a test in school orally, or like be pulled over by a state trooper or sheriff. Basically he was acting like a scared little rabbit, afraid to say the wrong word.
“Ok, Lester, obviously, I need some real clothes and to use a real telephone..”
Lester pointed to his flip phone on the dash.
“...Is that phone in your name?”
Lester shook his head, “It’s my girlfriend’s…… My credit isn’t….”
Cass stopped him with: “No...Lester… I need a landline...a payphone, if we can find one. I need to make one call and then get a burner….. Is this Newton a pretty big town? Is there like thrift stores? A cheap motel, a big box discount store nearby?”
“Yeah, yeah,yeah and yeah.” Lester answered all four questions by repeating the same answer, then added: “I might be able to help more if you tell me what’s going on.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Cass chose her next words very carefully, “Here’s what I need you to do: You go into a thrift store and get some clothes, just something decent. I’ll tell you the sizes. Then stop by payphone, again, if we can find one. I’ll make one quick call, if that call goes ok, then take me to the big discount store and then drop me near a cheap motel, preferably near a couple of them so you don’t know where I am, do you understand all that.”
“I think so, but….”
“No… no buts, this is the easiest way to get you out of this and protect your family, do it for them if no other reason. If we do it right, no one will come talk to you about me. Do you understand that?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and I’m going to need all the cash you have on you.”
It was kind of tough finding a parking space in front of the “Sav-a-Soul, Sav-a-Buck” Thrift Store, but something told Cass that Lester had been driving truck for some time. This was the big moment of trust, she allowed him to go into the store as soon it opened up. He could easily be telling to call the police right now, but she had hoped she had gotten through to him even with the limited information, she provided him. She was in deep shit, the real messy kind, the real corrupt kind. If that message got through to him, he didn’t need to know the details to know he wanted to be free of her soon.
She watched with anxiety through the huge plate glass window of the building that was probably something else in the past: A corner grocery, or a hardware store. Like thousands of stores across the US that forced into extinction by that economically large scale disaster known as the “big box” effect. Thousands of dozens of family businesses replaced by thrift stores and pawn shops. The new face of American storefronts.
Lester had brought his purchases to the slightly overweight woman at the counter, and she started to add them up, examining each and everyone of them. All women's clothes, she was starting to give him the judgeful look said Why, aren’t you at it early, you little pervert?
Lester was of course, running his mouth. The woman was nodding. Yeah, suuuurrrreeee, crossdressing truck driver freak.
“Shut up, Lester, whatever you are saying, you are only going to make it worse.” Cass told herself really, in whispers.
Then Lester turns and points right at the truck, and the woman turns her judgy glaze and looks directly at Cass. She started to duck, but thought better of it. And waved instead, the Thrift store cashier waved back. “Stupid….” Cass continued to watch from the truck, as the woman bagged up Lester’s purchases and hand them to him. Cass sighed with relief as he began to exit the store.
Then a Newton police car pulled in sideways in front of the truck with the blue lights flashing. Cass instinctively tossed the glock under the seat and looked out her window to her left and saw the truck was parked in not one but three handicap spaces.
How did she not notice this before? Or even worse, How did Lester not see this when he drove up? Could this situation reach a higher level of stupidity?
It could.
Lester was strolling down the walkway from the thrift store as the lone police officer got of his car. He was a young cop, who looked uncomfortable in his uniform.
Great, a rookie. Cass thought as her anxiety swelled up inside, she tried to deflate it with a normal type thought, Not a bad looking guy, if you like guys.
It really wasn’t working as she watched Lester approach the officer, they appeared to be having normal conversation. The officer pointed at the row of quite obvious almost neon blue handicap signs. Cass thought of rolling the window down a bit, so she could hear the conversation. She could feel her anxiety spiking, her heart was racing, but she tried to remain, to keep her head clear. No matter happened she would leave the gun under the seat. Pulling it out now would turn this situation from bad to extremely bad or worse. She watched as the officer pointed at her in the cab, Lester shifted the bag of thrift store clothes from one arm to the other. Then he started talking, and then the officer laughed.
What to hell.
Then Lester showed the officer what was inside the bag. The officer nodded, patted Lester behind his right shoulder and took out his ticket book. He wrote on it briefly, ripped off the ticket and gave it to Lester. The officer said something else, and they both laughed. Again with a pat on Lester’s back. The officer glided over to his cruiser, opened the door, waved at Cass (She waved back with dumbfounded look on her face), got in his cruiser. Lester was climbing into the driver’s side. Cass was giving him a look but didn’t say anything until the cop car lights off and the car sped away. She really couldn’t wait to say: “Um, Lester, what just happened?”
“I got you some clothes, I don’t really get the matching thing, but I hope they fit.’
She snatched the bag away, “I mean, with HIM!”
“Oh, Denny? I went to school with him, well, before I quit school to drive truck.”
“What about me? What did he...? Did you get a ticket?”
Lester chuckled as the truck roared to life. “Oh, I told him, I came through EastMill early last night and I picked you up at the Rusty Nail…. I told him your clothes got a little messed up.”
Cass didn’t know whether she should be disgusted, insulted or give Lester a hug.
“Oh, …..the ticket?”
He handed it to her. “His phone number.”
She snatched it away and crumbled it with one hand.
“Where to? ‘Woman with a gun’”
“Just drive.”
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© 2019 ldk
This is a complete work of fiction. Names, characters, Store Clerks, Police Officers, businesses, Thrift Stores, parking lots, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's distorted imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Sometimes a story is just a story.