Payroll by William James Johnson Chapter 12

Turning into the laneway, he saw Sandy sitting with Rona on the side porch. Seeing the car, the dog jumped down and ran to meet him, barking like a puppy, eagerly awaiting his hug.
"Save some of that for me," said Rona.
"Any luck today?" asked Silky.
"None. Except he's stopped digging since I'm here. Guess he does that, like you said, because he was lonely."
"Did you do any digging yourself?"
"Hell yes. Must've dug up thirty or so piles. Nothing...You sure you got the money in the first place?"
"I'm starting to wonder myself. Where the hell could he hide it?"
"I'm glad you decided not to shoot him though."
"Why's that?"
"He really is a treat to be with. This is a truly amazing animal...and gawd he's so handsome."
Sandy closed his eyes as she spoke, basking in her praise.
"See that...?
"See what?"
"His expression. This animal understands everything I say, I swear it. There's a small wise man inside that skin."
Silky took Sandy's face between his hands. "Then show me wise man, where did you bury the money?"
"He better do it soon. You don't have much time before your transfer."
"That's all been changed. Sayer said the cops put all transfers on hold until they get a handle on their investigation."
"Then we'll be able to check all his dirt piles."
"All those we can find. Somehow I think it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. And we might even be looking in the wrong haystack."
"Come on in. I've got supper on."
Entering the small cabin he could smell the delicious aroma of a roast of beef. He had never had such a meal off the base.
"How'd you do it on a small two burner stove?"
"Made myself a small roaster out of those old pots you had stashed under the cupboard."
She uncovered the meat, and Sandy's tongue began salivating.
"Fantastic! What a great smell. Where'd you get the roast?"
"Hitch hiked into Forbes. The old man who has the General Store had a freezer out back. Hope it tastes as good as it looks."
"Jeezus Rona! Why'd you leave the place? I thought we agreed you would stay put until we decide what to do."
"I was getting tired being cooped up, that's all."
"You show your pretty face around town, and you're not gonna have much say about being cooped up."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Tilly told me today the local cops have a warrant for your arrest."
Rona was stunned by his remarks. "My arrest...?"
"That's right...Apparently that kick you laid on your boss just about killed him."
"I don't understand."
"You smashed one of his nuts, and he almost bled to death. Wayne said the poor bastard is in bad shape."
"Christ Silky...I had no idea."
"Now you know why we've gotta keep you out of sight."
"Gawd...I could've been picked up in Forbes and you wouldn't know anything about it."
"We've just gotta be more careful that's all. Let's eat that terrific meal you've prepared, at great risk to life and limb I might add."
"I'm shaking so much, I don't know if I can eat now."
"Well I sure can, and that dog's gonna go wacky if we don't give him a chunk too."
Sliced beef smothered in gravy, with smooth mashed potatoes, and a pot of fresh brewed coffee went down real slick. Rona had proven again she knew how to take care of her man.
As the cabin became dark, Silky got up to light the kerosene lamp.
"Leave it Silky. There's a nice moon tonight. Let's sit on the porch and take it all in."
"I'm with you baby."
"That doesn't even sound like you. You've never called me 'baby' before."
"You're right. It was stupid of me. Guess I was trying to talk like one of my army buddies."
"I'm not interested in your army buddies. I like you the way you are, sweet, innocent, unsophisticated. Remember that first time on the bus."
"How can I forget. That was the night you made a man out of Stanislaus Zylkowski."
"Rona Zylkowski...has a certain ring to it."
They both laughed and Sandy raised his head and let it fall back onto his paws. He was tired after his feast. The three of them were a family now. Silky liked that feeling. He had not known it since his cousin's wedding many years ago. He wished he could just forget about the payroll, and make a commitment to his loving woman, and his faithful mutt.
"We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"More digging?"
"No. We're going to take us a little trip into the US."
Rona sat up as he spoke. "The states?"
"That's what I said. We're going to go to a place south of Portal...Bowbells...North Dakota."
"Okay I give up. What the hell's in Bowbells, North Dakota?"
"Hopefully our way out. There's a small airport there, and I'm going to see if we can charter a flight to LA."
"Holy cow...you mean it?"
"Of course I mean it. We better plan our escape now before the pressure begins, otherwise we'll be stuck up shit creek without a paddle."
Rona kissed him warmly, and grabbed Sandy and gave him a hug too. "I love you so much Silky. You have no idea how exciting all of this is."
"Believe me sweet thing, it sure is exciting for me too."
"That's better...I like 'sweet thing' better than baby."
"We'll have to leave Sandy at home tomorrow, but we'll put a chunk of meat in his dish, and leave him a pail of water. We should be back before dark."
"You do love me don't you Silky?"
"Silly question...Of course I love you...you're my sweet thing, my little woman."
"And that thing with my boss, I hope that's not gonna put you off."
"Look, the creep had it coming to him. If I had been there, I would have busted his head along with his balls. You did real good."
They left the farm before sun up, heading south to the nearest border crossing at Portal, North Dakota. A sleepy immigration officer checked their trunk, and let them through. They were having breakfast at a truck stop when one of the drivers in a booth at the back of the restaurant recognized Rona.
"Hi Rona. How are you baby?"
Silky ignored his remark, not wanting to start something.
"Heard what you did to your boss up north. Got your steel jockstrap on fellow. This one plays for keeps."
"Knock it off Russ," said Rona.
"Or what? You're a famous ball breaker now Rona. What's wrong? Can't take a joke. I remember when you used to give as good as you got."
"You've had your little joke mister, now why don't you beat it?"
"Oh shit...Hey did you guys hear this squirt? He told me to beat it. What's wrong little man, haven't you heard of the expression 'fuck off' ?"
The trucker reached out for Rona, and Silky grabbed his hand in an oriental grip he had been taught in the orphanage, and applied pressure to the nerve between the thumb and forefinger. Soon the overweight bully was on his knees begging him to let go.
"I said beat it."
He got up from the floor and staggered out the door, rubbing his aching hand.
"Jeezus Silky. What the hell did you do?"
"Let's say it hurts as much as a kick in the balls."
When they finished breakfast, Rona was still chuckling about how Silky had put down the trucker. "You keep on amazing me. You know that. You, and that dog. What the hell did I do before you came into my life?"
"Must've been pretty dull."
"You've gotta teach me that one. Gawd...You had Russ begging on his knees."
"When you grow up in an orphanage, you gotta learn how to take care of yourself, and if you're kinda small like me, you better be willing to get the help wherever you can."
By ten in the morning they entered the small town of Bowbells, distinguished by its United Grain Growers elevator, an implement dealer, small restaurant and post office, and a private airfield on the edge of town. There was a single engine plane standing outside a hangar and a man in a leather jacket and old style flying helmet working on some engine parts nearby.
"Good day," said Silky, approaching the man.
"Good day to you too. Somethin' I can do for you?"
"Do you take charters?"
"Charters?"
"Yes. Could we hire you to fly us somewhere?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"Where you want to go mostly."
"LA...How about LA?"
"LA, as in Los Angeles?"
"That's right."
"Gawd...that'd cost a pile."
"You would take us then?"
"Never been to LA. But what the hell I've got the maps for it. We'd have to plan it carefully so's we don't run out of gas...But sure. I can take you to LA. Kinda like to get the experience really. This gonna be a return trip?"
"Nope. This would be a one way flight."
"You're gonna have to pay me for return fuel you know."
"That's okay. You just tell me how much, and I'll have it for you when we get there."
"No way. Gotta have half of it before we leave. The other half when we get there. That's the only way I would do it."
"Tell him about the dog comin' with us," said Rona.
"Oh yes. We'll have a dog with us."
"What kinda dog?"
"A Doberman, why?"
"Doberman! One of those big brutes?"
"No. Sandy is about average size, and very friendly."
"The dog's gonna cost you more."
"That's okay. I've got the money."
"Like, I'm talking about a grand each way. That's two thousand dollars."
Silky grabbed his hand and shook it. "You'll take the three of us to LA for two thousand dollars, half before we leave, and the rest when we get there is that right?"
"You got yourself a deal. Now when do you want to leave?"
"Can't say for sure. Could be a week or two. Soon though."
"Well I'll get everything ready, and when you show up, away we'll go."
"That's no problem for you?..having to wait I mean."
"No problem. What the hell, I just hang around here all the time. Got a small bunk in the hangar. I take farmers up who want to show off their fields to visitors. Do a little barnstorming in the area when small towns have celebrations. Things like that. So its not as though I'll just be waitin' for you to get back. Goin' to LA sounds like the kinda trip I'd like to take myself."
"We've made a deal, and I don't even know your name."
"Ivan. Ivan Thistlegrow...and what's yours?"
"Stan Howard, and this is my fiancee Doris Fleming." Rona extended her hand to the grinning pilot.
"I'm mighty pleased to meet both you folks."
Silky reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill.
"Here you are Ivan, a little deposit to reserve our seats."
Ivan pushed his hand away. "You don't need to do that. What the hell if I can't see for myself you're a couple of good kids, I wouldn't agree to take you."
"That's mighty nice of you Ivan. Hope to see you in a couple of weeks."
"I ain't goin' nowhere. Where'd you say you folks are from?"
"Regina. Been going to school there. Taking summer courses. If things go okay, we won't have any finals to write, and we can leave sooner. But it all depends on the marks."
"Makes sense. Now I see why you couldn't say when we would leave. You have a safe trip back home, you hear."
They shook hands again and drove away from the small airfield back to the only restaurant in Bowbells. "Where the hell did you get those names?" asked Rona.
"Oh you noticed eh Doris?"
"Doris...couldn't you do any better than that?"
"I could've called you baby, but you're not to fussy about that."
"So what do you think?"
"I think for two thousand dollars, we got a helluva good deal."
"You think he can do it?"
"Of course. He's just as excited as we are to make the trip."
"You know, when he refused to take your hundred dollars, I felt better."
"Me too. It was one of the hundred dollars in the payroll."
"What?"
"I only took a few of them for petty cash. If he had taken it, who knows what would've happened. I'm damn sure all the banks both sides of the border have a list of the registration numbers. No. I'm not worried. Ivan Thistlegrow will be just fine."
"Gawd, I hope so."
"He better be. We don't have much choice."
It was early evening before they got back to the farm. Silky walked out into the yard, followed by the dog. "Well I see you've been at it again."
"Don't holler at him," said Rona. "When you're away, I feel like digging too."
"Get your sweet ass into the house woman. I can really dig you right now."
She giggled as his hand gave her a tender smack on her full bottom.
"I like the way you talk."
"To hell with the talk. Tonight I'm gonna be a man of action."
"Gawd I hope so. I feel like I need my ashes hauled."

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