"Goodnight, sweetheart!" Perry called into the empty room before he closed the door.
"Took you long enough."
Perry pulled a package of cigarets out of his pocket and dropped it on the table without a response.
For the next hour, Perry kept close attention to his watch and listened for any sounds of cars or people outside. He was as nervous as anything and was having a heard time trying to hide it. He leaned up against the wall and bounced his knee, trying his hardest to appear nonchalant.
He learned the names of two of the men: Lawrence and Reeves. They pulled large amounts of money out of the bag and began splitting it up into piles. Six piles. Perry counted the men in the room, then counted them again. Five. One person was not there, if there was a pile per man.
"Oh, please don't let him be watching outside and see Della!" Perry prayed silently.
~P+D~P+D~P+D~P+D~P+D~P+D~
Della squinted through the heavy rain as she slipped and slid down the muddy hill to Perry's - I mean to their - car that had been parked out of the way earlier.
"Let's not spoil the view with the car," Perry had suggested.
Della had agreed.
She now slid behind the wheel and started the engine. A loud clap of thunder drowned out the engine. She drove down the road, trying to avoid the mud as much as possible. The last thing she needed was to get stuck. The going was slow but she finally saw a little town. The second building she came to was the sheriff's office.
A squad car was just pulling up when she stopped. The sheriff himself got out, looking tired.
"Sheriff! Sheriff!" Della ran up to him.
"Can I help you, Ma'am?" He smiled.
"My husband and I were staying up at the cabin a few miles up the road and five men forced their way in!"
"What?!" the sheriff looked in the direction she had come.
"They were going to hold us as hostages but I escaped through the window."
"Come on! You drive your car, I'll take the squad car. I'll radio my deputies on the way!"
The sheriff and Della drove back up the road to the cabin. Della was going to wait at the car, but the sheriff nodded her towards the cabin.
"I'll need you to identify your husband for me," he explained.
"Shouldn't we wait for the deputies?"
"They're coming. We'll have a quick look through the window, then come back and wait for them here."
Della followed the sheriff up onto the wooden porch, out of the rain. He peeked up over the sill and looked inside.
"Which one is your husband?"
"He's over by the door," Della saw him glance at his watch.
"Good," she heard a pistol cock.
Something told her to turn around. She saw the sheriff with his gun out, ready.
"My deputies are going around back. They just got here," the sheriff knocked on the door.
Just as the door opened, Della began to think that that did not sound right, but it was too late. The sheriff put his muddy boot on her back and shoved her over the doorway. She skidded across the floor and crashed into the sofa.
"It's a good thing she found me," the sheriff said, "Or you guys would have been found out!"
Perry hurried to help the stunned Della up to her feet.
The sheriff was the sixth man. There was no help, and no deputies. They were in worse trouble than they were before.
Originally this was not part of my plan (to include the sheriff), but then I thought, why not? So I threw that monkey wrench in to the works.
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Another chapter should be coming soon!
