Sassafras, Part 84

Rick

As soon as I hung up from Joan I called Boyd. I didn’t give a fuck about the fat lady anymore. This was over. If anything happened to Joan or Billy I didn’t know what I would do.

“Boyd.”

“Joan called Stapleton. You’ve got to help me get her out of there right now.”

“Hold up now. What happened?”

“Joan called Stapleton. Bill found something on Jenny’s computer, something I missed. Something she wrote the night she died. She was going to meet Stapleton, just like Jenny did. had to tell her, Boyd. I couldn’t let her go. Christ. This is a fucking nightmare. Where are you?”

“I just started reading the material you sent me.”

“Fuck reading, Boyd. I need you here right now. Joan needs you here.”

“Calm down, calm down.”

“Fuck calm down! Get your ass down here!”

“Rick, you know it’ll take me at least three hours to get there. You need to calm down and think. Where are you now?”

Think. Think. Calm down and think. I took a deep breath. “I’m on the highway coming back from my PO’s, about 15 miles outside of Sassafras but the way the roads are it might take a half hour to get there. I don’t even know where Joan is. I told her to find somewhere to hide until I can get there and pick her and Bill up, but she was so pissed off at me she wouldn’t tell me where they were going.”

“Okay, that’s good, that’s good. So they’re somewhere safe right now?”

“I don’t know! I told you, she wouldn’t tell me where they were going to go. I don’t know if they’re safe or not. I just know she said she wouldn’t meet Stapleton. At least I know that. Oh, shit!”

“What happened?”

“Oh, there must be an accident or something. Traffic just screeched to a complete fucking halt. Not now, not now. Fucking Night Mare.”

“It’s going to be okay, Rick. You said she was smart as a whip. She’ll find someplace safe to hole up. You’ll just have to wait a little longer to come charging to her rescue. When you get to town pick them up and take them to the Super 8 Motel in Stoneypoint. I’ll call and get another room for them. I’m almost at my car now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay, okay.” I took another deep breath and tried to make my hands ease the death grip they had on the steering wheel. “I’ll meet you there.”

It took almost 20 minutes just to get past the SUV that had driven up onto a guardrail, and then another 20 minutes to get into town. I don't remember how many times I tried calling her phone and just ended up with her voicemail. Then halfway home the phone rang. Halleluiah, I thought, but God was I wrong. It wasn’t Joan, it was Sneider.

“Where the hell is that bitch!”

At least that meant they didn’t have her. Not yet at least. That was good news, but I wasn’t ready to relax yet. I had to act cool, like I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. “Ooh, feel the love. What the hell are you talking about, Sneider?”

“You were supposed to keep Jenny’s sister out of sight. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in? If she’s with you you’d better bring her down to the station right now.”

Jesus, I was having a hard time acting like the arrogant, self-centered prick he thought I was. It was easy acting like that before. Hell, I wasn’t even really acting. That was the man I used to be. It was just hard now, when I couldn’t stop worrying about Joan, to act like I didn’t give a damn what happened to her. “Hey, man, I’ve been at my parole office all morning. I don’t have any idea where she is. She was sitting at the kitchen table the last time I saw her.”

“Well, she’s not there now. All hell broke lose today. You’ve got to find her and bring her to the station.”

“Or what? You don’t own me. What’s she got on you, anyway?” Maybe I could get him to incriminate himself.

“What are you talking about? She doesn’t have anything on me.”

“Yeah, right. If she doesn’t, why are your panties in such a bind?”

“Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself. If I go down I’m taking you down, too.”

“Taking me down? For what? Jaywalking?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Rick. I’ve got enough evidence against you to put you back in prison for another 10 years.”

“You know I never did anything without you behind me twisting my arm.”

“Yeah, but that’s not what the evidence says. Especially not the tapes of you laughing while you talk about laundering money and selling drugs.”

“What tapes?! You know I never sold drugs a day in my life! You can’t do this to me, you little prick!” It wasn’t hard acting pissed now. If I wasn’t working with Boyd I’d be royally screwed.

“I can and I will. Don’t think I won’t. You find that bitch. If we don’t find her before she runs her mouth to the wrong person you’re going to cushion my fall.”

“Now, listen here, you little bastard,” I began but he hung up before I could finish. It was almost 2, and it was still snowing pretty hard. I hoped Joan and Bill were someplace safe, someplace warm. I didn’t know where they were, so I decided to drive by their house.