Searching for Sheila Ch. 05

"I see. Actually that was your wife's idea -- or should I say? - your ex-wife. I had a somewhat different method in mind to deal with you, Mr. Lanscott. So what changed your mind?"

"That brings me to your second mistake -- kidnapping a woman named Angel Dearsing."

Pharaoh's lips stretched tightly across his teeth, but then quickly relaxed into his loose, insincere smile. He glanced over his shoulder at Hogg saying, "Apparently I haven't been informed of current events. And I don't think I like that."

Hogg looked away.

Tobe brought his finger tips together and said casually, "Anybody can make a mistake. We can set everything to rights this afternoon."

"What d'ya talking about?"

" A quick exchange -- Ms. Dearsing for Mrs. Lanscott."

Tiny flames erupted in Pharaoh's eyes. He motioned for the desk clerk who bounded across the lobby as if the hotel were on fire.

" Yes, Mr. Maggard."

" Raymond, call upstairs for Miss Oakley. Have her join us. Now."

When the clerk went away, Tobe commented, "Oakley. I haven't thought of Sheila as Miss Oakley for sometime. I guess I still think of her as Mrs. Lanscott."

" She hasn't been Mrs. Lanscott since she came to me. You sound like a man who can't quite get over his wife leaving you for a better man and a better life."

"You're not a better man and this is hardly a better life for her or for Ms. Dearsing. And believe me, I'm over it. Sheila's a fool for throwing away her life with me, and you're a fool for thinking you control what goes on in this pigsty of a town. The two of you can be fools together for all I care. But I'm not going to allow you to destroy Ms. Dearsing's life if I can help it. I'm getting her out."

" How noble of you, " Pharaoh said with no attempt at sincerity.

Hogg came around Pharaoh's throne.

"Hold it, you son of a bitch. That cunt belongs to me. You're going nowhere with her."

Pharaoh almost came out of his seat. "Shut up, you miserable bastard. I told you to let that cunt go, and now I find out you brought her back and caused me a lot of trouble. Get over there and sit down and shut up. This is strictly between Lanscott and me."

The clerk came back and bent over Pharaoh with a confidential posture. He whispered to Pharaoh, but Tobe heard it all.

" Miss Oakley and Mr. Hicks left before noon to go shopping. I can't raise Mr. Hicks on his cell."

"Thank you, Raymond. That'll do."

When Raymond had assumed his position behind the front desk, Pharaoh said in a voice flattened with suppressed anger," All right, so you have Miss Oakley. I assume she's safe and I assume you won't hurt her."

" Don't worry. She's safe. I hate her guts, but you're right, I wouldn't hurt her. And Hicks is taking a little siesta, although he'll have a bit of a headache when he wakes up. I know you're concerned about the hired help."

"You've been a busy boy, Lanscott. And an enterprising one. Too bad you're not working for me. I could use somebody who knows how to use his brains once in a while."

" Oh, I wouldn't blame Mr. Hoagly too much. Like you say, he's loyal to you after his fashion. And anyone can tell he's madly in love with his wife."

"All right, Lanscott. You got my attention. What's your next move, as if I didn't know. "

" We move together. I can have Sheila here in an hour and I assume you can have Ms. Dearsing here in the same amount of time."

" You know, I could hold you here and turn this town upside down and find her and you'd have nothing to show for all your trouble."

" You could. But I've got some people waiting up for me and I'm thinking that maybe they don't have Sheila's welfare on their minds the way you and I do. Besides you just want me to go away. And I will, after we exchange the ladies in question."

" I see. So you're not working here alone."

" Don't be overly flattered by this, but I'd be a fool to take you on alone."

" I hope you're not working with my brother. Because if I thought you were, I'd take care of you right now."

" He knows nothing about this. I don't want any interference from anybody. Especially from a certain cop named Lundsford. Like you said. This is just between us. Which brings me to one condition. I want Hoagley here out of the picture entirely, starting now. Get rid of him."

"Wait in the car," Pharaoh ordered without looking at Hoag.

"Don't I have a right to say something here?"

"You got nothing. You're lucky you're still working for me. You're lucky you're still breathing after what you've pulled. Now get outta my sight."

Both Pharaoh and Tobe watched as Hogg ambled across the street. He planted his rear on the hood of the car, folded his arms and stared back into the lobby's plate glass.

" Hoagly's all right," Pharaoh said. "He just needs a little discipline once in a while. But I'll give you some advice, Lanscott. Once you have this Dearsing woman if I were you I'd get right outta town and keep looking over your shoulder the whole way."

" Advice well taken. But I'm really doing you a favor, Maggard, by taking Angel out of town. Maybe you don't know, but Detective Lundsford has taken a particular interest in her. I'm sure you'd rather deal with me than him."

" Maybe you don't think so, Lanscott, but I do know what goes on in this town. I've got Lundsford under my thumb as well as the rest of those clowns who call themselves cops. But I'll be glad when you're gone with this broad. I don't mind telling you, you rocked my boat a little and I'm the kind of guy who likes things nice and peaceful. Now let's get this thing settled."

IV.

Tobe tooled around Piedmont for almost an hour. By then he was satisfied that he hadn't been followed. He pulled into a gas station and punched Arnold's number.

"I don't like the set up," Arnold commented after Tobe's rundown.

"You don't have to like it. You don't even have to be there."

"Oh, I'll be there all right. Wouldn't miss it. I don't really want to know, and you don't have to tell me, but where you got your old lady stashed?"

" Out there at the factory."

" You mean at the meeting place tonight? Maybe that was the smart thing to do, planting her right under Pharaoh's nose. Maybe you're not as dumb as you look. But maybe you'd better get your ass out there now find another place for now. Pharaoh'll probably be out there early to get the drop on you. He might be headed out there right now."

" I'll take your advice."

" The one you gotta watch out for is that son of a bitch named Hogg."

" I got him out of the picture."

" Don't be too sure. Look. Get your hands on this Angel broad and get the hell out. There's still time for this whole thing to change into a major fuck-up."

" Yeah. That's just what I wanted to hear."

" Well, who knows what's gonna happen between the Maggard boys tonight?"

" How's Hicks?"

" You worried 'bout him? He's fine. Still sleepin'. I just checked.. He'll be back at the hotel by the time this thing goes down."

" I presume you're taking care of yourself, Arnold."

" Sure. I already got paid."

" That's not what I meant."

" I know what you meant. Now get this stupid plan of yours behind us."

V.

They were sitting in the Honda, a ways back from the factory fence, off the road and behind some trees. Tobe frequently glanced at his watch as its hands crawled to nine. A sliver of the sun was slowly melting behind the factory. He had bought Sheila a cheap dress at a discount store to replace the one he had ripped just hours ago. He hadn't considered her new set of tits which tightened the dress considerably across her generous chest. She sat next to him rubbing the redness around her wrists from the ropes which had hung her from the ceiling.

" So what the hell is going on now? You kidnap me, tie me up, use me for a blow job, and now we're sitting here watching the goddamned sun go down. What do you want? Another blow job?"

" Right now I just want you to be quiet so I don't have to tape your mouth shut. Enjoy the evening. It'll be the last one you'll ever have to spend with me."

He heard cars coming up the road. Tobe resisted a temptation to reach for the gun under his arm. Several dark colored SUV's passed them. Angel sat in the back of the second one looking straight ahead.

"So this is what's going on -- you're exchanging me for her. Of all the goddamned stupid -- Angel'll never go away with you. You've done all this for nothing. Why, for crissakes? Are you in love with her?"

"Look, I came up here to get you out of this scene. I had a foolish hope that you would want to come back to me, get out of this life. I was wrong -- about you. But not about Angel. She wants to walk and I'm going to get her that chance."

"You noble, stupid son of a bitch. Did you forget she's married? Do you think Hogg is just going to let you leave town with her?"

"Hogg won't be around. Your lover-boy will see to that. He wants you back real bad. Well, he can have you. Now get out."

Tobe let Sheila run ahead of him. He unbuttoned his jacket and kept his gun hand free. He watched Sheila run into Pharaoh's arms as he got out. He gently pushed her away and nodded to the second vehicle, then kept his eyes on Tobe's approach. Angel stepped out, glanced at Pharaoh and Sheila, and then at Tobe. Her tense features immediately softened as Tobe reached her side.

" All right," Pharaoh said. " You got the little lady. Now get out of my town."

" With pleasure," Tobe said, turning to Sheila. " Good-bye, Shelia. I thought when this moment came I'd have more to say, but I guess I don't. Just good-bye."

Sheila, ignoring Tobe, turned her glare to Angel.

" Good luck, Angel. You're getting a good man. He wasn't good for me, but maybe he will for you."

Tobe took Angel's arm and started back down the road .

Angel tried to slow him. " Oh, Tobe. I prayed that . . . "

"Not now, Angel I got a feeling all hell is ab out to break loose here."

They were practically running toward the car when the unmistakable crack of a gun shot split the semi- darkness behind them. Tobe involuntarily ducked , fell to the ground pulling Angel with him. He took her by the shoulders and pulled her off the road into a shallow gully. A second shot kicked dirt in his face. Then the dull gray sundown was suddenly fractured into a thousand sharp pieces of gun fire coming from the far side of the factory. Huge spotlights flashed on, casting a white light harder and more brilliant than sunlight. He heard a high pitched scream.. Sheila?! A large blunt shadow broke away from the fence and staggered toward them.

"Oh, my god! It's him!" Angel called out.

Tobe fired at the shadow knowing his shot was way wide of the threatening figure of Hogg. Another shot came at them which hit a tree down the road, making a sound like a dull slap to the face. Tobe squeezed the trigger again and the shadow backed away almost to the fence. For a split second Hogg was exposed in one of the harsh spotlights and Tobe took the shot. Angel cried something unintelligible as they watched Hoag being flung against the chain link fence, the bullet catching him high in the chest. He dropped the gun, his legs went slack. He slowly slid down the fence, leaving a thick crimson ribbon behind him.

Tobe crawled away into the darkness, pulling Angel with him. The gun fire from the factory became more sporadic and Tobe could now make out a faint siren between shots, then another and another. He pulled Angel closer.

"Lundsford," he whispered to her. "Lundsford to the rescue."

VI.

It seemed as though hours had gone by since the cops had arrived. The strong smell of cordite was in the thick night air and Tobe could hear the groans of the wounded some yards away around the factory. Two cops held him back from investigating. "You don't want to see that, man," one of them told him. But he did. He was sure the scream he had heard came from Sheila. A female cop had taken Angel to a nearby ambulance and he could see her several yards away, her shoulders shaking. But then Lundsford appeared in front of him, stepping out of the spotlight glare and not making eye contact.

"You want to tell me what the hell you thought you were trying to pull-off here tonight?"

"They were holding Angel against her will. When I knew it was hopeless getting Sheila out of here, I abducted her to work an exchange. It almost worked."

"Yeah, until the other Maggard showed up with the gang. Don't tell me you didn't figure that was going to happen. I oughtta thank you. In one night this shitty town was practically cleaned up. The Maggard boys just canceled each other out."

"They're both dead?"

"Yeah. But that ain't all."

Lundsford finally brought his eyes to Tobe's face.

"Your wife went down with'em. I'm sorry. It looks like she threw herself in front of Pharaoh when the shooting started."

"My god!" Tobe choked. "She must have really loved the son of a bitch after all."

"I'm sure you did everything you could to get her out. You going to be all right?"

" I dunno. I got her out here and got her killed, didn't I?'

" Don't be a damn fool. She knew what she was doing. You were trying to help. She got herself killed. That's the only way to look at it."

"I think I want to get the hell out of here. And take Angel with me."

"That'll be up to her. But right now you're going nowhere."

A uniformed cop walked by guiding a thin man in a pin-stripped suit, hands cuffed behind him.

"Wait a minute, Lundsford. That man's with me."

"What do ya mean?"

" I hired him as my body-guard. He's part of this set-up."

"You're shitting me. He's one of Doke Maggard's gang."

"No. He was a plant. He infiltrated Doke's bunch to get him here to confront his brother. It was part of the plan."

Lundsford placed his hands on his hips, looked away, then down at the ground, then up at the cop. He was obviously arguing with himself.

"What's your name, officer?"

"Nichols, Chief."

"Well, Mr. Nichols. Take the cuffs off this man. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. You're in no way responsible. I'll take the heat. I'm sticking my neck out, way out. I'll take it from here."

When the cop was gone, Lundsford turned to Arnold. "I don't know who you are or where you came from, and I don't wanna know. As far as I'm concerned you were never here. But if I ever see you back in this town, your ass belongs to me. This is a favor to Lanscott here. Now get outta my sight and outta my town."

Arnold started to back into the darkness, but as he disappeared he said in Lanscott's direction, "I owe you one, man."

"Call it even. And thanks."

When Arnold's footsteps had faded, Lundsford turned to Tobe. "You're all out of favors with me now, Lanscott. You're not leaving town 'til I get a full statement out of you. And you'll be subpoenaed

for the inquest. So don't be leaving the state.'

"I'll be around when you need me, Lunsford."

The detective nodded and walked into the spotlight glare, replaced by Angel with someone's jacket around her still shaking shoulders. Tobe took her into his arms and stroked her hair.

"I'm sorry, Angel. I thought we could get out of here before any of this could happen."

"Is it over, Tobe? Is it over now?"

" I wish I knew. I just found out Sheila was killed out there. I feel all empty inside. I want to cry or scream or something and I can't."

"Oh, Tobe. I'm so sorry. You want to be alone."

"No, Angel. Don't leave me. I think I need you now more than ever. Look, I'm probably not making much sense right now. But you've got to listen. I came here to get my wife home. That's not

going to happen now. It probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. I know she had stopped loving me and I haven't really loved her for a long time. I don't have a hell of a lot -- a truck, a small house and a business I'm trying to get off the ground. I'm not offering you lasting love or marriage -- maybe those things will come along someday. I don't know. But I can promise you that whatever I have I'll share with you for as long as you want. When this is all sorted out and I can get out of here, will you come away with me?"

Angel stepped out of his arms and said," I'll have to think about it, Tobe. But I'll always remember

and be grateful that you asked."

He watched her go to Lundsford and take his arm. The detective kissed her and their heads stayed together. Tobe turned and walked back down the road to where he had left the car.

"Well . . ." he said into the night,"that's that."

Only when he had reached the car did he hear the light hurried footsteps behind him. He turned and Angel came into his arms. She looked up into his eyes.

"Tobe," she said, softly,"I've thought about it long enough."

Tobe thought so, too.

The End

My time off from "Sheila" was, I hope, not entirely wasted. Along with this concluding chapter I'm posting the opening chapter of a story under "Mature" entitled "Encounters With Mrs. Cochran." It's intended for now to be a three-parter, and the other two chapters have been written and will be presented within days of each other.