Bicycle Shop Murder by Robert Burton Robinson (fiction novels to read .TXT) đ
- Author: Robert Burton Robinson
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He continued in the direction they had been travelingânorth on FM-154. He stopped at every gas station and convenience store to ask if anyone had seen a red 1965 Pontiac Bonneville convertible.
The middle-aged men were the most helpful. They recognized the old makes and models. And they had observed Gregâs car with particular envyâespecially the one who had apparently not seen the roughed-up passenger side. If Greg and Cynthia had stopped for the night, John X would locate them before morning.
But he was so busy tracking and scheming, he didnât notice the black Camry that had been following him. The man in the Camry knew how to follow without being seen. He had been watching as John X stopped numerous times to ask about the big convertible. He had seen him try to run the Bonneville into the tractor-trailer. And he had watched him steal the Silverado from the parking garage at Bufordâs office.
John X was on a mission.
So was the man in the black Camry.
At 5:10 PM, Channel 7 News gave their report about the two fugitives from Coreyville. Greg and Cynthia had been sleeping for nearly two hours. When the reporter said Gregâs name, he woke up. Cynthia was still asleep on her bed.
âCynthia? Weâre on the news.â
Cynthiaâs eyes opened wide, and immediately sat up to watch the report.
The authorities believe that the fugitives are somewhere between Coreyville and Dallas, and that they are traveling in a red 1965 Pontiac Bonneville. If you see them, please call the police. Do not approach them. They are considered armed and dangerous.
âArmed and Dangerous? Youâve got to be kidding me,â said Cynthia.
âThis is the first time Iâve ever wished I had a silver minivan instead the Bonneville.â
âYou wanna steal one?â
Greg looked over at Cynthia to make sure she was kidding. âWhy not? Whatâs carjacking, compared to murder?â
âWell, at least theyâre not offering a reward.â
âYet.â
Greg sat up on the side of his bed. âBut what are we going to eat, if we canât go out in the car?â
âGuess weâll have to walk. They had some groceries at the office.â
âWonder if they have any clothesâmaybe some shorts and T-shirts.â
âYeah, Iâd sure like to change into something clean. And we need to try to look different than the pictures theyâre showing on TV. Youâre probably okay. Just brush out the hairspray and youâll be good.â
âThen my hair will fall down in my face. I hate that.â
âNoâthatâs good.â
Greg frowned. He had always taken pride in keeping every hair in placeâwhat little hair he had left. But he knew she was right.
âIâll put my hair in pigtails, take off my makeup, and wear your baseball cap.â
âYeahâthat was good enough to fool the cop. He believed it when I told him you were my niece. But Iâm not too sure I like that.â
âWell, with your hair down, you donât have to be my uncle. You can be my boyfriend.â
Thatâs more like it, Greg thought. Maybe heâd like to really be her boyfriend.
*
Kantrell Jamison was tired of sitting in jail. Kyle Serpentine, his pro bono lawyer, had promised he would get off. But now the trial had been suspended until the police could investigate the murder of a juror. Why couldnât they just go ahead with an alternate juror? All he could think about was how he would spend his money. He had stashed the envelope containing the $30,000 in a place nobody would ever look: in a metal file box, buried under the house.
The Jamisonâs 1946 home sat on concrete blocks that suspended the floor two-and-a-half feet above the ground. He and his sister, Jolee, had often played games under the house when they were children. It felt great on a breezy summer day. Kind of a poor manâs playhouseâwith a low ceiling and a dirt floor.
And their mother could easily call them for dinner from any room in the house, since you could hear everything under there. If they didnât come right away, a couple of stomps on the floor always did the trick. But you learned to stay out from under the bathroom.
Kantrell didnât know much about the law. But he had seen the movie, Double Jeopardy. So, he knew the police wouldnât be able to touch him after he was found âNot Guiltyââeven if they caught him with all that cash.
A deputy escorted a very big black man to Kantrellâs cell. He looked like an NFL player, at 6âČ5âł, 295 pounds. âYouâve got company, Kantrell,â said the deputy, as he unlocked the door. âThis is Ben Jones.â
âThey call me Big Ben.â
As the deputy closed the cell door, and locked it, Kantrell said, âNo use in locking it, deputyâI think Big Ben could rip it off the hinges if he wanted to.â Kantrellâs smart mouth was always getting him into trouble.
*
According to the sign on the door, the office would be closing at 6:00 PMâin fifteen minutes. A younger woman named Jennifer was now sitting at the desk. Greg and Cynthia said hello, and began to pick out groceries. Bread, milk, peanut butter, two kinds of cereal, mustard, hot dogs, chips, a variety of soft drinks, plastic utensils, ice, a Styrofoam ice chest, two Dallas Cowboys T-shirts and two pairs of one-size-fits-all stretchy shorts.
Cynthia whispered to Greg, âHow are we going to carry all of this stuff?â
He shrugged. âWeâll manage somehow.â
Jennifer bagged their purchases, while Cynthia made small talk. They paid in cash, and walked outâloaded down like pack mules for the long trek back to Cabin 17.
As soon as the door had closed behind them, Jennifer flipped open her cell phone, and entered the number she had written on the pad. Her thumb hovered over the âSendâ button. She wondered whether those two were really the fugitives she had seen on the news. They looked a lot like them. But what if she was wrong? That would be embarrassing. And the police werenât offering a reward. So, why take a chance? They seemed like nice people. She closed her phone.
Greg and Cynthia walked down the dusty road with their groceries hanging from their bodies in plastic bags. Thankfully, the trees shielded them from the blazing sun. But the humidity was so high they might as well have been walking through a steam room.
âYou think the killerâs still alive?â
Cynthia looked around for eavesdroppers, and then said softly, âMaybe weâd better talk about something else while weâre outside.â
She was right. They needed to look and sound like they were on a fishing vacation. Greg couldnât remember the last time heâd been fishing. Maybe when he was a young teenager.
âI really like Johnny Deppâespecially in those Pirates of the Caribbean movies,â said Cynthia.
âYeah, he was good in those. I think he was funnier in the first one, though. But why does he have to wear so much eye makeup?â
They talked about movies and TV shows until they got back to their cabin. And nobody seemed to pay much attention to them as they walked by.
Greg started laughing. âWhy did we buy hotdogs? We donât have any way to cook them.â
âYeah, that was dumb.â
âOf course, theyâre actually pre-cooked. So, if you donât mind eating them cold
â
âHow about peanut butter and jelly for dinner tonight?â
âSounds delicious. May I be your chef for the evening, Mademoiselle?â
âWhy, yes, that would be delightful.â
âVery well. And may I also act as your maitre dâ? I have a very special table for you.â
âOh, really? Iâm intrigued.â
Greg pulled one of the chairs out from under the little rickety table, and offered it to Cynthia. âMademoiselle?â
Greg filled the ice chest with ice, drinks and the hotdogs. Then he used the plastic utensils to make their sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Ruffles, and warm diet Coke. They were both so hungry from skipping lunch and taking a long walk that it tasted as good as filet mignon.
*
John X had been chasing Greg and Cynthia all day. And his old friends, caffeine and adrenalin, were beginning to fail him. Even a 25-year-old has to rest sometime. But he continued to push himself. He knew he was getting closer. By the time he found them, they would be sleeping. Then maybe he would take a brief nap himself. But he knew better. Finding them would re-energize him immediately. Just the thought of it made him feel stronger.
They would be so sorry they had caused his truck to wreck. They would wish theyâd died in a car crash, as he had intended. That would have been an easier way to go. But now he would torture them. He wouldnât get the extra $10,000 for making it an accident. But he didnât care. This would be more fun.
He stopped at another convenience store. The old man behind the counter remembered seeing the Bonneville. John X jumped into the Mustang, and drove away. He could hardly wait to see the look on their faces when he whipped out his .44 Magnum.
The man in the black Camry gave John X plenty of lead time. It was more difficult at night, but there was less traffic now. And John X should have noticed that he was being trailed. But he was just too cocky. The man lit another cigarette and pulled onto the road.
It was 8:20 PM. Kantrell Jamison and Big Ben Jones had stayed on their beds, napping and ignoring each other for three hours.
Kantrell jumped down from the top bunk and walked over to the wooden table and beat-up chairs. He picked up the deck of cards on the table, and turned to Big Ben. âHow about a game of poker?â
The bunk bed creaked, as Big Ben began to rouse himself. He rolled toward Kantrell, bleary eyed. âThe only game I know is Spades.â
âThatâll do.â
Big Ben lumbered over to the table, and sat down. Kantrell nearly started laughing. His cellmateâs oversized body made the table and chairs look like childrenâs furniture. Kantrell shuffled the deck. Then they began to take turns drawing their hands.
âWhat are you in for?â said Kantrell.
âHot checks. It was stupid. I got laid off. First thing you know, I was broke. But the guys were coming over to watch a big game. The Mavericks were on a roll. I had to buy beer and chips.â
âThey threw you in jail for one hot check?â
âNo. Four. I was gonna cover that first one, and never do it again. But I never got around to it, and then I needed groceries for the family. Then I needed gas and more beer. I told you it was stupid. And Iâm never doing it again. Gotta serve thirty days. Then theyâll let me pay out what I owe.â
âWell, how are you going to pay it back if you donât have a job?â
âMy uncle has a landscaping business. And he said heâd hire me. I really donât want to work for him. But now Iâve got to. At least until I can get something better.â
They continued to pick cards.
âAnd youâre the one whoâs on trial for murdering Sam the Bicycle Man. Right?â
âYep.â Kantrell didnât bother to look
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