Chapter Five
Mary Alice and I were in a stupor in body, but I think the Peeper was having doubts about what he should or shouldn't do too. I was thinking he didn't really have a game plan. Maybe he really hadn't been planning to do anything when he came here to my apartment. I just couldn't understand why he had a gun.
Then, looking at the gun, I thought it looked familiar. It was my gun! I was possibly going to be shot with my own gun! Worse, Mary Alice could be shot by my gun! If I wasn't killed by the Peeper, then my sister Valerie would kill me for certain.
I was stuck in a lose-lose situation here.
All kinds of horrific thoughts were crashing their way in and out of my brain and I knew I had to do what a woman has to do.
"So, tell me your name mister." I started rambling.
"His name is George Porshee.
The Peeper and I, er, George and I stared at her. "How do you know his name?" I asked.
I saw his driver's license and it read George E Porshee." Mary Alice said.
George blew out an exasperated sigh, "Like it's pronounced George Por-shay, Porshee. It's French, ya know, like flambee, spelled EE, but you say long A, Por-shay! Damn Yankees! Flambee your ass!"
George was looking really sweaty, like he was ready to pass out.
Right then, Mary Alice winked at me. I couldn't believe it, this guy had a gun and my little niece was having a good time or what?
She calmly said, "You know, Monsewer Porshay, we should go up to the roof so you can get a helicopter in here and make your getaway. That way you don't have to shoot me or my Aunt Stephanie. We can be your hostages until you get on the helicopter, right?"
Once again, George and I both stared at this cute little girl with a freaking huge imagination.
"Damn right, we could do that, couldn't we Aunt Stephanie?" George mimicked Mary Alice. "Why not?" he added, "I'm never gonna make it outta hear without some help now that my hand is all cut to Hell."
"Those words don't sound like French to me, Monsewer Porshay." Mary Alice said in her thinking pose.
"George, I don't think we're gonna be able to get up on the roof." I said quickly to distract him away from Mary Alice.
"Sure we can Aunt Stephanie!" she chirped. I was ready to not quite kill her, but maybe just muzzle her up tight, real tight. I had forgotten how precocious and unpredictable a child could be.
For the third time, we both glared at her. She sat demurely with her hands folded in her lap. She might have been in an interview for the local princess contest for the State Fair. How did she do that?
Waving the gun at us, George said, "Ok, let's go up to the roof. C'mon, get up, move!"
Mary Alice slowly stood and we both moved to the door.
He told me to open the door. I opened it.
"Well, go out," he said.
"Which way?" I replied.
George looked at Mary Alice, "Well," he echoed me, "which way, princess?"
She did an eye roll and crossed her arms, "Duh, we take the stairs up. It goes all the way to the roof. Did you forget, Aunt Stephanie? We went up there to watch the fireworks last summer."
Were kids too honest or what? Geesh!
The roof was actually a pleasant place to be tonight with a nice breeze blowing across the tops of the buildings nearby. Since our building had three stories, it was higher than many of the neighboring roofs. We could see for miles. Too bad we hadn't come up here just for the pleasure of it.
Where was Joe when I needed him? Or Ranger? Lula? Okay, forget thinking Lula could help us.
Think, think, I told myself.
"Ok, call someone to get a helicopter", George commanded, "Hurry up! My hand is killing me!"
I wasn't sure George was going to be conscious for very long, he was looking more pale every minute. If I could just hold out…
I dialed Ranger.
"Babe."
"Yes sir, we need a helicopter here, ASAP!" I tried to make my voice sound different, like I was talking to a stranger so George would think I had called the police.
George grabbed my cell phone out of my hand and started talking into it.
Just then, I looked around for Mary Alice. Where was she, I didn't see her for a minute, then, there she was standing on the ledge. She was right on the top of the edge of our three-story building looking like she was getting ready to jump!
I must have screamed because George dropped the phone, swore a stream of language even Lula wouldn't use and picked up the phone again.
"Mary Alice, get down from there!" I yelled again. Forget George, Valerie would kill me for this! This was all my fault. I stepped carefully toward her, trying not to spook her.
"What are you doing honey?" I tried to keep the terror out of my voice, but it quavered.
She looked so calm, "Aunt Stephanie, you have your wings right? C'mon, we can fly away together. You can save us, right?" She looked at me so full of hope.
I felt like a complete failure. This was why I did not want children, I couldn't stand to disappoint them and she was going to hate me big time after tonight.
That was, if George didn't shoot us or if Mary Alice didn't jump!
Then, I saw it, a strobing red light, hovering above the rooftops and coming toward us fast. It was the helicopter!
The red flashes of light and sound of the whirring blades drowned out our sound and senses. We stood transfixed, watching the helicopter.
What to do, I asked myself, what to do?
Funny, I thought, this was a very red day. It was Life or Death and that was pending the outcome of the color red!