NOOZOON - New Life

This is where I -- artist, novelist and curmudgeon, William James Johnson -- hang out. Drop in to find out how much mischief an old guy like me can get into.

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Location: London, Ontario, Canada

I walk five miles every day in the beautiful park across the road. I have regular friends who in our discussions are trying to solve the world's problems. So far we haven't found any answers. But the journey keeps going on.

Thursday, September 09, 2004

Payroll by William James Johnson Chapter 10

The aroma of bacon frying wakened Silky. Glancing towards the spattering sounds, he saw the naked legs of his woman, standing in his shirt in front of the Coleman stove.
"Hey...What's goin' on?"
"Gettin' breakfast for my man."
"Smells great."
"The dog wanted to go out, so I got up and opened the door for him. I didn't want to disturb you. How do you like your eggs?"
"Over easy...Hey this is really great. Honest Rona...I like it."
She gestured around his simple cabin. "Not exactly the Ritz."
"You can change your mind if you want. I'd understand."
"I'm not complaining. We all gotta start somewhere."
"The cabin has worked for me. It got me away from the Army."
"You just don't seem like the Army type to me."
"I've got my reasons...Talk with any of my buddies and you don't find too many who came into the outfit because they were in love with the military."
She put the food on the army issue plate and brought it to the table. "Better eat it before it gets cold."
"How about yourself?"
"Just coffee for me. Never could get any food down first thing in the morning."
Sitting in his shorts, he began eating. "Humm...Good. Really good."
Rona smiled at his approval. Touching him gently on the arm, she moved closer.
"You gonna tell me what you did with the money?"
Silky almost choked, a small piece of bacon shooting out of his mouth.
"The what?"
"The payroll...the money you took in the robbery."
His head began to spin. If this ordinary woman could finger him for the heist, how soon would the authorities be pounding on his door?
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Just because I'm a waitress, doesn't mean I haven't anything up top. Put two and two together. You live alone, pretending to be doing something you're probably not doing, to act as a cover. You've got a dog...a Doberman called Sandy. Jeezus, you take me for a retard or something?"
Her simple analysis made Silky feel weak all over. He didn't know if he should continue to play dumb, or come clean.
"So I've got a dog...so what."
"Called Sandy..."
"And?..."
"Those cops been asking questions all over town, and they are trying to locate a Doberman called Sandy who was used in the robbery...Now come on Silky. What are the odds there's another Doberman called Sandy within a hundred miles of Riel?"
That damn dog would be his downfall yet. All those months of planning, waiting for the right moment. Why the hell didn't he yell at him to eat the meatball? None of this screw up would have happened if only he had kept cool.
"And if I said, I still don't know what you're talking about, would you believe that?"
"About as much as I believe cows can fly."
He walked to the back window and saw Sandy digging another mound.
"Look at that bastard, another one I'll have to check."
Rona came beside him and looked out the window. "You mean the dog's done all that digging?"
"All of it. It was funny at first. I didn't mind because it gave him something to do while I was at work. But now, it's different."
"In what way?"
"He dug up the money and buried it somewhere else."
As soon as he said it, he felt relieved. He was going to tell her about it anyway. He just had to share his great coup with someone who would appreciate it.
"Oh Silky...You did do it." With those remarks, she kissed him hard on the mouth and squeezed him closely.
"Isn't that why you came here in the first place?"
"No...never. I came because I needed someone to protect me. But when I saw the dog and you called him Sandy, I just couldn't get this other thing outa my mind...No Silky. Even if you didn't do the robbery, I still want to be your woman."
"And now that you know it was me...what about now?"
"Even more. I want to be with a guy who's smart enough to beat the system. I really want to be with you."
"Well take a look out there. That crazy animal has thrown a monkey wrench into the whole plan. I haven't got a clue where he could've buried the bag. It could be out there in one of those piles of dirt, or somewhere back in the bush."
"We'll find it. We'll work together until we've dug up all his mounds."
"And if we still don't find it, what then?"
"We'll find it...I know we'll find it."
"We don't have a helluva lot of time."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm supposed to be transferred to OCS in two weeks."
"Then we better stop wasting time..We've got a lot of digging to do."
"And what about Sandy?"
"What do you mean?"
"Should I get rid of him? Take him out in the bush and shoot him?"
"I think that would be a mistake. He might still dig up the money and bring it to us. No...I wouldn't get rid of him."
"Then I think we've gotta come up with an alibi if the Mounties show up."
"Tell them the dog just wandered into your yard and you gave him some water and food, and he just decided to stay."
"But what about me calling him Sandy? What about that?"
"You could tell them you heard that the crook had a dog called Sandy, and it was the first name that came to mind. You never really believed this could be the same dog, or you would've told the police."
"Hey ...you're pretty good at this."
"Well we both better be pretty good at it, or we're gonna be in the deep stuff."
"You said we...You mean you're willing to take a chance with me, even knowing I was the one."
"Silky...You're my man...Remember that song? 'Stand by your man'. That's the kinda gal I am."
"And you're not going to run to the cops and tell them what you know."
"Jeezus, what do I have to do to prove to you, I'm serious about this?"
He began to feel sheepish about doubting her sincerity. Skepticism had been a key element in his life. She was a woman who was willing to share with him, no matter what happened.
"I still would like to come up with an alibi if and when the cops show up."
For several minutes Rona stood quietly starring out the window. Sandy had disappeared into the bush. Silky grew impatient with her silence.
"Say something for Chrissake."
"I'm thinking..."
"So?...What will I tell them?"
"That you did it."
"What...?"
"Confess. Tell them you did it."
"You crazy?"
"Let me explain. You tell them you did it to prove to the Army that their method of picking up the payroll was insecure..."
"Hey...That's not bad."
"Wait...I'm not finished. You tell them you were going to report it to your boss, but you thought he might think you were only trying to get more attention for yourself since you were being considered for officer training, and besides you were only a Corporal, and who listens to Corporals, particularly if they are criticizing the system. You write it out in official form, the same as you would if you were reporting something special to your CO..."
"In three copies...They like it in three copies."
"Right. And you give it to the Mounties when they come."
"But...wouldn't that look fishy. They'll wonder why I didn't give it to them sooner."
"You tell them you wanted to give it to them with the money, only you didn't know where the dog buried it, so you've been working all your spare time, trying to find it before turning in your report."
He grabbed her in his arms and hugged her, and kissed her.
"Great...That's great. You really are good at this."
"Well like I said, being a waitress doesn't mean I haven't got a brain."
"That's just the alibi I needed. Thank you Rona. Thanks a lot."
"And if we come up with the loot before they show up, we head for the border."
"I've got a gut feeling this is gonna be a great partnership."
"Shake on it partner."
"Better than that, why don't we go back to bed while the dog is out, and cement our agreement the old fashioned way, body to body."
Rona replied with a sexy chuckle, "Now you're talkin' my language.".

view other novels by William James Johnson at www.wordclix.com

1 Comments:

Blogger mememine69 said...

Of the three of them, I'm starting to think that the dog is the one with the brains. What next?

4:08 p.m.  

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