Chapter 4
Josh Erickson tossed the empty Coke bottle in the back of his cab as he rumbled down the road. Just ahead was his pal, Ernie's, tattered shack. A cloud of dust lifted around his truck as he ground to a halt near the slanted building that housed his friend. "Ern, hey Ern, you home?" A thunder of barks responded to his hail. Walking around the shack, Josh smiled at the kennel full of hounds that leaped against the chain link fence. "Hey boys, how ya doin', hey guys!" He patted the fence as he passed. Just ahead, was another set of kennels. Exiting the closest kennel was a stooped old man. "Josh, I wasn't expecting you this soon!" Josh clapped his friend on the back. "Ah, was a slow day. Thought I'd drop in and check on my bruin. How's his paw?" Ernie grabbed a bag of feed as he trudged toward a further kennel. "Well, the abscess is still there, but looks like it's beginning to heal. I'd leave him here for another week." Dropping the feed on the ground near the kennel, Ernie fished around for his keys. "You never told me how he'd wounded himself in the first place." Josh rubbed the back of his neck while Ernie located his key and opened the kennel. "Uh, there was a loose wire on his cage at the station, I think he scratched himself on it."
"Oh, maybe I should take a look….." Josh smiled, holding up his hand. "No, no it's all right, I took care of it." Josh stood back while Ernie entered the kennel and strode slowly towards the large bear at the other end. No matter how many times he watched the old man do it, he could never get used to the idea of sharing space with such dangerous creatures. The bears, for their part, regarded Ernie as a member of their family. For as long as Josh had known Ernie, the bears had never laid a paw on him. "Now then, now then. How are we today old man?" Asked Ernie as he patted the 300-pound black bear on its broad head. The bear just turned its head like a dog so that Ernie could scratch its ears. "That's a good fellow!" After a few minutes, Ernie deposited the animal's food in its trough, and backed slowly from the cage. Once the door was locked again, he turned to Josh. "So, you want to see your animal I suppose?" Josh smiled. "Naw, not today. I trust you Ern." Ernie nodded, then glanced up at Josh. "You eat yet? I got a coupla steaks I could fry up."
"Sounds great, but I'm meeting someone this afternoon. How bout some other time?" The two walked together to the front of Ernie's shack, where they parted company. "See you tomorrow?" Josh tipped his hand. "See you tomorrow old man."
As Josh walked back to his car, Ernie turned to watch him, a look of concentration on his face. When the car disappeared over the crest of the hill, Ernie went inside.
The man drummed his fingers on the wood tabletop. In the background, a few people chatted amiably among themselves. The waitress remained on the peripheral, wary of the man's sharp tone and nervous manner. Five minutes later, Josh Erickson entered the restaurant. The waitress approached them both once Josh was seated. The station owner ordered a bowl of chili and a coffee, the nervous man ordered nothing and impatiently waved the waitress away. When they were alone, the man spoke. "Well, what's going down? Did you get it?" Josh sipped his water. "Not yet."
"Not yet!" Customers turned, and the man lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "Damn it Erickson! You swore to me you'd have it by this weekend!" Josh folded his hands. "There's been a….. snag, in those plans. I didn't want to risk another mistake like what happened before."
"Look, I had no idea Jacobs was an agent! I was assured by my people that he was trustworthy!" Josh clenched his fist. "I don't care about your 'people'. All I know is that I have a dead FBI agent on my hands, and a suspicious cop and nosy vacationer poking into my business." The man rubbed his hands on his pants. "I'm not sure what you expect me to do about that…."
"Nothing, I plan to deal with it myself. What I want you to do is return to your boss and tell him I'll have his stuff by tomorrow." The man glanced around the restaurant nervously while the waitress brought Josh his meal. When she vanished once more, the man leaned in closely. "I need some assurances that you'll follow through on your end." Josh grinned as he shook Tabasco sauce into his chili. "Listen, when this is over, there'll be two or three more bodies in the lake, and six million to split up between us. Now why don't you think on that while I finish my lunch?"
Adrian methodically stripped the bed and folded the sheets and pillowcases while Sharona spoke to Angie Peterson, the owner of a neat row of cabins Officer Dodge had mentioned. Despite Dodge's assurances, Angie turned out to be a bit of a tightwad, and wasn't willing to discount the cabins one bit. However, the price wasn't too bad, so Sharona willingly wrote out a check for two nights. "Here you go." She said as she passed over the paper. "Thanks sweetie, could I see your i d?" Adrian ignored their interaction as he began dusting the short dresser and end table in his room. Faintly, he could hear Benjy outside as he played with Mrs. Peterson's black lab, Pepsi. In spite of his own aversion to touching animals, he smiled at the laughter he heard in the boy's voice. That last few days had been tense for Benjy, and it was good to hear him relaxing again. Adrian disposed of his filthy wipe and retrieved another to finish cleaning as Sharona entered his room. "Not bad huh?" She admired as she looked around the room. Adrian shrugged. "The mattress is a little hard, and the floor has a slight slope to it, you notice it more by the window." Sharona gave him a look. "Adrian…. no, I'm not gonna say anything. Listen, I'm taking Benjy into town for some lunch. You hungry, or would you rather stay here and dust?"
At the restaurant, Adrian methodically began polishing the silverware while the waitress took their orders and retreated to the kitchen. Adrian's eyes casually followed her retreat, than narrowed as they fell on a pair of men at another table. "Sharona, do you see who's at the other table? No, don't turn!" Sharona raised her hand in exasperation. "Adrian, how am I supposed to see them if I don't turn!"
"Just turn your eyes, carefully." Sharona folded her arms, then intentionally bumped a fork onto the floor with her elbow. As she bent to retrieve it, she looked back at the men. "Hey, it's that station owner." She said as she straightened. "His name is Josh Erickson. I wonder who that man is with him?" Sharona shrugged. "Probably just a friend." Monk huffed in disbelief. "I wouldn't think a guy like Josh has a lot of friends. I wonder why the other guy isn't eating?"
"He probably isn't hungry."
"Then why come to a restaurant? No, there's something else going on other than a casual lunch." Sharona glared at her boss. "No. No way Adrian!"
"Look, I'd love to, but it might look a little strange." Sharona growled. "You owe me, So big!" Adrian nodded distractedly. "Add it to my tab. Look, could you hurry?" Breathing out heavily, Sharona stood and walked towards the other table. Just beyond the table was a short hallway that led to the ladies room. Sharona passed the two men, then hugged the wall just around the corner, easing her ear as close to the men as she could without being seen.
Josh sipped at his coffee, only a small amount of chili remained in his bowl. He was thinking about ordering pie. "Look, Erickson, this may not seem important to you, but I have a very limited amount of time to collect what you owe my employer. If I don't have it back to him by noon tomorrow, we'll be the bodies floating in the lake." Josh mopped up the last of his chili with his bread. "Hey, cool down. I told you, I have it covered. Dodge is driving up to visit his sister tonight. Once he's gone, I'll go in, retrieve the stuff, and get back to you." The other man rubbed his arms. "You sure it's still where you left it?" Josh smiled. "Small town remember? They didn't find anything when they searched the car, I'd know." The other man leaned in closely, grabbing Josh's wrist as his hand closed around his mug. "You had better be right about that, for both our sakes."
Sharona slid away from the corner, her eyes rising to meet Adrian's across the room. Waiting a few moments more, she straightened her blouse and strode out from behind the wall, forcing herself to walk slowly back to the table, and never noticing the double gaze that watched her retreat.
Josh Erickson tossed the empty Coke bottle in the back of his cab as he rumbled down the road. Just ahead was his pal, Ernie's, tattered shack. A cloud of dust lifted around his truck as he ground to a halt near the slanted building that housed his friend. "Ern, hey Ern, you home?" A thunder of barks responded to his hail. Walking around the shack, Josh smiled at the kennel full of hounds that leaped against the chain link fence. "Hey boys, how ya doin', hey guys!" He patted the fence as he passed. Just ahead, was another set of kennels. Exiting the closest kennel was a stooped old man. "Josh, I wasn't expecting you this soon!" Josh clapped his friend on the back. "Ah, was a slow day. Thought I'd drop in and check on my bruin. How's his paw?" Ernie grabbed a bag of feed as he trudged toward a further kennel. "Well, the abscess is still there, but looks like it's beginning to heal. I'd leave him here for another week." Dropping the feed on the ground near the kennel, Ernie fished around for his keys. "You never told me how he'd wounded himself in the first place." Josh rubbed the back of his neck while Ernie located his key and opened the kennel. "Uh, there was a loose wire on his cage at the station, I think he scratched himself on it."
"Oh, maybe I should take a look….." Josh smiled, holding up his hand. "No, no it's all right, I took care of it." Josh stood back while Ernie entered the kennel and strode slowly towards the large bear at the other end. No matter how many times he watched the old man do it, he could never get used to the idea of sharing space with such dangerous creatures. The bears, for their part, regarded Ernie as a member of their family. For as long as Josh had known Ernie, the bears had never laid a paw on him. "Now then, now then. How are we today old man?" Asked Ernie as he patted the 300-pound black bear on its broad head. The bear just turned its head like a dog so that Ernie could scratch its ears. "That's a good fellow!" After a few minutes, Ernie deposited the animal's food in its trough, and backed slowly from the cage. Once the door was locked again, he turned to Josh. "So, you want to see your animal I suppose?" Josh smiled. "Naw, not today. I trust you Ern." Ernie nodded, then glanced up at Josh. "You eat yet? I got a coupla steaks I could fry up."
"Sounds great, but I'm meeting someone this afternoon. How bout some other time?" The two walked together to the front of Ernie's shack, where they parted company. "See you tomorrow?" Josh tipped his hand. "See you tomorrow old man."
As Josh walked back to his car, Ernie turned to watch him, a look of concentration on his face. When the car disappeared over the crest of the hill, Ernie went inside.
The man drummed his fingers on the wood tabletop. In the background, a few people chatted amiably among themselves. The waitress remained on the peripheral, wary of the man's sharp tone and nervous manner. Five minutes later, Josh Erickson entered the restaurant. The waitress approached them both once Josh was seated. The station owner ordered a bowl of chili and a coffee, the nervous man ordered nothing and impatiently waved the waitress away. When they were alone, the man spoke. "Well, what's going down? Did you get it?" Josh sipped his water. "Not yet."
"Not yet!" Customers turned, and the man lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "Damn it Erickson! You swore to me you'd have it by this weekend!" Josh folded his hands. "There's been a….. snag, in those plans. I didn't want to risk another mistake like what happened before."
"Look, I had no idea Jacobs was an agent! I was assured by my people that he was trustworthy!" Josh clenched his fist. "I don't care about your 'people'. All I know is that I have a dead FBI agent on my hands, and a suspicious cop and nosy vacationer poking into my business." The man rubbed his hands on his pants. "I'm not sure what you expect me to do about that…."
"Nothing, I plan to deal with it myself. What I want you to do is return to your boss and tell him I'll have his stuff by tomorrow." The man glanced around the restaurant nervously while the waitress brought Josh his meal. When she vanished once more, the man leaned in closely. "I need some assurances that you'll follow through on your end." Josh grinned as he shook Tabasco sauce into his chili. "Listen, when this is over, there'll be two or three more bodies in the lake, and six million to split up between us. Now why don't you think on that while I finish my lunch?"
Adrian methodically stripped the bed and folded the sheets and pillowcases while Sharona spoke to Angie Peterson, the owner of a neat row of cabins Officer Dodge had mentioned. Despite Dodge's assurances, Angie turned out to be a bit of a tightwad, and wasn't willing to discount the cabins one bit. However, the price wasn't too bad, so Sharona willingly wrote out a check for two nights. "Here you go." She said as she passed over the paper. "Thanks sweetie, could I see your i d?" Adrian ignored their interaction as he began dusting the short dresser and end table in his room. Faintly, he could hear Benjy outside as he played with Mrs. Peterson's black lab, Pepsi. In spite of his own aversion to touching animals, he smiled at the laughter he heard in the boy's voice. That last few days had been tense for Benjy, and it was good to hear him relaxing again. Adrian disposed of his filthy wipe and retrieved another to finish cleaning as Sharona entered his room. "Not bad huh?" She admired as she looked around the room. Adrian shrugged. "The mattress is a little hard, and the floor has a slight slope to it, you notice it more by the window." Sharona gave him a look. "Adrian…. no, I'm not gonna say anything. Listen, I'm taking Benjy into town for some lunch. You hungry, or would you rather stay here and dust?"
At the restaurant, Adrian methodically began polishing the silverware while the waitress took their orders and retreated to the kitchen. Adrian's eyes casually followed her retreat, than narrowed as they fell on a pair of men at another table. "Sharona, do you see who's at the other table? No, don't turn!" Sharona raised her hand in exasperation. "Adrian, how am I supposed to see them if I don't turn!"
"Just turn your eyes, carefully." Sharona folded her arms, then intentionally bumped a fork onto the floor with her elbow. As she bent to retrieve it, she looked back at the men. "Hey, it's that station owner." She said as she straightened. "His name is Josh Erickson. I wonder who that man is with him?" Sharona shrugged. "Probably just a friend." Monk huffed in disbelief. "I wouldn't think a guy like Josh has a lot of friends. I wonder why the other guy isn't eating?"
"He probably isn't hungry."
"Then why come to a restaurant? No, there's something else going on other than a casual lunch." Sharona glared at her boss. "No. No way Adrian!"
"Look, I'd love to, but it might look a little strange." Sharona growled. "You owe me, So big!" Adrian nodded distractedly. "Add it to my tab. Look, could you hurry?" Breathing out heavily, Sharona stood and walked towards the other table. Just beyond the table was a short hallway that led to the ladies room. Sharona passed the two men, then hugged the wall just around the corner, easing her ear as close to the men as she could without being seen.
Josh sipped at his coffee, only a small amount of chili remained in his bowl. He was thinking about ordering pie. "Look, Erickson, this may not seem important to you, but I have a very limited amount of time to collect what you owe my employer. If I don't have it back to him by noon tomorrow, we'll be the bodies floating in the lake." Josh mopped up the last of his chili with his bread. "Hey, cool down. I told you, I have it covered. Dodge is driving up to visit his sister tonight. Once he's gone, I'll go in, retrieve the stuff, and get back to you." The other man rubbed his arms. "You sure it's still where you left it?" Josh smiled. "Small town remember? They didn't find anything when they searched the car, I'd know." The other man leaned in closely, grabbing Josh's wrist as his hand closed around his mug. "You had better be right about that, for both our sakes."
Sharona slid away from the corner, her eyes rising to meet Adrian's across the room. Waiting a few moments more, she straightened her blouse and strode out from behind the wall, forcing herself to walk slowly back to the table, and never noticing the double gaze that watched her retreat.