“I’m just glad you didn’t let him make any trouble.”
“I was measuring him,” Roebuck said coolly. “Under ordinary circumstances I’d have half killed him.” He put the car in gear with a practiced flip of his hand.
“He didn’t seem very afraid of you,” Ellie said.
“They weren’t afraid at Hiroshima, either,” Roebuck answered, “then all of a sudden they were gone.”
Ellie looked straight ahead as they sped down the highway. “Lou, I want you to know it doesn’t matter if you lied to me the first time.”
“I have faith in you now,” Roebuck said. “That’s why I want to tell you the truth about Ingrahm and Gipp, about the murder charge.”
“Then you are wanted for murder?’
“It wasn’t murder,” Roebuck said quickly. “It was an accident.” He swung into the outer lane to pass a station wagon loaded down with children. “You see, Gipp was taken prisoner and then released, and somehow he and Ingrahm became friends after the war. I saw them a couple of times, and I could tell that Gipp never forgave me for what I had to do. Then last week Ingrahm called me on the phone and asked me to meet the two of them at a motel where they were staying. I did, we had a few drinks, talked, and I left. Then, as I was driving out of the parking lot, it happened. Ingrahm came running out the door of the motel lounge right into the path of my car. Don’t ask me why—he was always doing crazy things since he got that plate in his head. I ran over him, and Gipp was the only witness.
“He was mad with hate! He said he’d turn me in, say it was murder, that I’d threatened to run Ingrahm down! And it had happened so fast that there were no skid marks, nothing! I ran—I’m still running.”
“You’re not to blame,” Ellie said, looking at him with compassion. “But you sure made it look worse when you ran.”
Roebuck snorted. “I weighed the odds. It was all I could do. Anyway, I’m not sure Ingrahm is dead.”
Ellie’s voice was puzzled. “I don’t get it.”
“After leaving the scene of the accident I went to where I used to work to collect some money they owed me. My ex-boss was there. He refused to pay me and I didn’t have any choice but to take the money by force. He’s a very influential man who married the right woman. I think he convinced the police to fake a murder charge so I’d get scared and come crawling back. He didn’t know me very well.”
“But, Lou, could he do that…?”
“He could and he would and he did! And if I go back and Ingrahm isn’t dead, they’ll still have me for attempted murder and robbery!”
Ellie said nothing. Roebuck slowed the car, parked on the shoulder of the highway and sat with his head bowed, his eyes clenched shut. “Sometimes I just don’t know what to do,” he said, squeezing the steering wheel with both hands so hard that his body trembled. “Sometimes things go so wrong and nothing fits and I just don’t know what to do!”
Ellie placed a hand on his cheek, and with her other hand she caressed his shoulder until the trembling stopped. “You rest, Lou,” she said softly, urgently. “It doesn’t matter to me what you did. You rest and I’ll drive.”
Roebuck let out a long breath and opened his eyes, staring intently at the dashboard. “I’ll go around,” he said.
He got out of the car, walked around to the passenger’s side and got back in. As Ellie steered the car back onto the pavement and picked up speed he slumped in the seat, letting the gentle motion and vibration relax him. After about five minutes he rested his head on the seat back and went to sleep.
As he slept, he dreamed.
A long, lonely scream. Light, flickering red light over everything, moving across the thin membrane of his closed eyelids, forcing its pulsating redness into his mind. The acrid odor of smoke was fading….Roebuck opened his eyes and sat up violently. The car was stopped. There was a huge, red-tinted face outside the
“I was measuring him,” Roebuck said coolly. “Under ordinary circumstances I’d have half killed him.” He put the car in gear with a practiced flip of his hand.
“He didn’t seem very afraid of you,” Ellie said.
“They weren’t afraid at Hiroshima, either,” Roebuck answered, “then all of a sudden they were gone.”
Ellie looked straight ahead as they sped down the highway. “Lou, I want you to know it doesn’t matter if you lied to me the first time.”
“I have faith in you now,” Roebuck said. “That’s why I want to tell you the truth about Ingrahm and Gipp, about the murder charge.”
“Then you are wanted for murder?’
“It wasn’t murder,” Roebuck said quickly. “It was an accident.” He swung into the outer lane to pass a station wagon loaded down with children. “You see, Gipp was taken prisoner and then released, and somehow he and Ingrahm became friends after the war. I saw them a couple of times, and I could tell that Gipp never forgave me for what I had to do. Then last week Ingrahm called me on the phone and asked me to meet the two of them at a motel where they were staying. I did, we had a few drinks, talked, and I left. Then, as I was driving out of the parking lot, it happened. Ingrahm came running out the door of the motel lounge right into the path of my car. Don’t ask me why—he was always doing crazy things since he got that plate in his head. I ran over him, and Gipp was the only witness.
“He was mad with hate! He said he’d turn me in, say it was murder, that I’d threatened to run Ingrahm down! And it had happened so fast that there were no skid marks, nothing! I ran—I’m still running.”
“You’re not to blame,” Ellie said, looking at him with compassion. “But you sure made it look worse when you ran.”
Roebuck snorted. “I weighed the odds. It was all I could do. Anyway, I’m not sure Ingrahm is dead.”
Ellie’s voice was puzzled. “I don’t get it.”
“After leaving the scene of the accident I went to where I used to work to collect some money they owed me. My ex-boss was there. He refused to pay me and I didn’t have any choice but to take the money by force. He’s a very influential man who married the right woman. I think he convinced the police to fake a murder charge so I’d get scared and come crawling back. He didn’t know me very well.”
“But, Lou, could he do that…?”
“He could and he would and he did! And if I go back and Ingrahm isn’t dead, they’ll still have me for attempted murder and robbery!”
Ellie said nothing. Roebuck slowed the car, parked on the shoulder of the highway and sat with his head bowed, his eyes clenched shut. “Sometimes I just don’t know what to do,” he said, squeezing the steering wheel with both hands so hard that his body trembled. “Sometimes things go so wrong and nothing fits and I just don’t know what to do!”
Ellie placed a hand on his cheek, and with her other hand she caressed his shoulder until the trembling stopped. “You rest, Lou,” she said softly, urgently. “It doesn’t matter to me what you did. You rest and I’ll drive.”
Roebuck let out a long breath and opened his eyes, staring intently at the dashboard. “I’ll go around,” he said.
He got out of the car, walked around to the passenger’s side and got back in. As Ellie steered the car back onto the pavement and picked up speed he slumped in the seat, letting the gentle motion and vibration relax him. After about five minutes he rested his head on the seat back and went to sleep.
As he slept, he dreamed.
A long, lonely scream. Light, flickering red light over everything, moving across the thin membrane of his closed eyelids, forcing its pulsating redness into his mind. The acrid odor of smoke was fading….Roebuck opened his eyes and sat up violently. The car was stopped. There was a huge, red-tinted face outside the
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