Journey Into Darkness – Chapter 2
A light drizzle was settling in as they found their way to Highway 90. It had taken him nearly three hours of careful driving on the rough, hilly trail to make it out of the National Park, stopping at intervals to make sure they were not being followed. The young girl had not spoken a word since they had seen the back of the SUV carrying the man, Diamond. That suited Trumper just fine. He was not in the mood for idle chatter, especially with a teenage girl. Occasionally he glanced across at her. She was scanning the area like a prospector. He felt for her, being so anxious and on the run at such a young age. But his main concern was what he was going to do with her.
“East or west?” They were stopped at the intersection with the Highway.
“East is east and west is west and the wrong one I have chose.” He looked at her and shook his head.
“You’re about sixty years behind the times.”
“My grandmother always sang that song to me, and Robbie, when we were little. For some reason it just came back to me.”
“I see. Well, which is it to be?”
“You’re the one driving.”
“Where is home for you, Cassie?”
“Wherever you’re taking off your boots tonight.”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, Cassie.”
“Oh, I see.” She was in thought for a moment. Then she turned her head and looked at him. “Are you going to stay and watch him kill me?”
“What do you expect me to do? Adopt you?”
“It would be nice if you would play the Good Samaritan a bit longer and put me up for a few days until the coast is clear.”
“Are you a religious person, Cassie?”
“I could be, if it would help.”
“Help what?”
“Persuade you to save me from that bastard.”
He thought about her request. What he had anticipated was to drop her off with friends or relatives and get back to the fish that were in a lazy mood. He now realized that he had been naively optimistic in thinking that way. The man, Diamond, had come back to make sure that his boys had finished the girl off. When he saw her in Trumper’s truck he had turned around and chased after them like a madman. He was going to find the girl and put an end to her.
“Why don’t you try east.”
“So, where is, or should I say where was, home for you? Butte or Bozeman?”
“You know your local geography, Trumper.”
“I grew up in this area.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t Livingston.”
“It was Billings.”
“Thank God for that. Is that where we’re headed?”
“I’m staying at my grandmother’s.”
“How nice.”
“She was a Buttons and Bows gal as well. Big Dinah Shore fan.”
“Sounds great. Grab a couple of bales of hay and we can have a hoedown.”
“We’ll have to sing loud, then. The old girl’s been dead for nearly a year now.”
“I hope it’s nothing catching.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Cassie.”
“Right, I’d forgotten about that. So, who lives in the place?”
“No one, really. My brother and I use it when we come out here to fish and hunt. We used to do that when she was alive. Old habits die hard.”
“I’d prefer it if you’d keep away from words like die.”
He said nothing.
“So, I can stay there?”
“Until I figure out what to do with you.”
“I have nowhere else to go, Trumper. Diamond knows my family well enough to make sure my life-line remains very short if I try making contact with any of them.”
“Maybe you should tell me something about this man, Diamond?”
“He’s going to kill me, what else do you need to know?”
“I need to know why.”
“Because I can shop him, that’s why. He’s going to do to me what he did to Robbie. Feed me to the bears.”
“Your father was dealing drugs for him, is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“How long was he doing that, Cassie?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t discuss his business with us.”
“But you and Robbie ran drops for him, isn’t that right?”
“No, that’s not right. You assumed we did, but we never touched the stuff.”
“Then why did Diamond chase you and your brother out here? It’s a fair drive from Bozeman, and even further from Butte.”
“Either you’re still playing the cop, or you were a really lousy one. Is that why they showed you the door, Trumper? Were you a lousy cop?”
“No, Cassie, I was a very good one.”
“Then you’re trying to trip me up.”
“Tell me once more.”
“We saw Diamond shoot our parents. We were witnesses. He wants us dead. End of story.”
“You saw Diamond pull the trigger?”
“He was there. He gave the orders.”
“You actually heard him tell the others to kill your parents?”
“I didn’t have to. It was obvious he was calling the shots.”
“His lawyer would argue his position as that of an innocent bystander, not a murderer, Cassie.”
“And that’s what’s so crapped up about the law, Trumper. He’s not going to stand trial for anything. He’s going to get away with murder, and that means it’s curtains for Bonnie and Clyde. Except Clyde’s already dead, so it’s only Bonnie left now, isn’t it? And that’s why you have to kill him for me. You have to do it, Trumper, or I’m dead girl walking.”
They drove about a mile in silence. She looked him up and down.
“Why aren’t you a cop anymore, Trumper? If you were as good as you say? You’re still relatively young.”
He smiled at her inference that he was not quite ready for retirement. Close, in her eyes, but not quite there yet.
“Do you know who Frank Serpico was, Cassie?”
“Yeah, he was an honest cop. I saw the film. Robert De Niro, I really like him.”
“Serpico was played by Al Pacino.”
“Oh yeah. I always get those two mixed up. So, you were another Serpico, Trumper?”
“Something like that.”
“Were the other cops trying to kill you?”
“No, not in so many words.”
“How many words do you need? They shoot you, or they don’t give you back-up. In the end it amounts to the same thing.”
“Death for Bonnie and Clyde?”
“Exactly. So, you got out while the getting was good?”
“I retired because my wife wanted a husband for herself and a father for our teenage daughter.”
“How come they weren’t out here with you, Trumper? A few days out in the wilds of Montana, reeling in the rainbow trout. Sounds like a good opportunity for family bonding to me.”
“My wife and daughter are in New Zealand.”
“Why aren’t you with them? Being retired, and all. How come you’re not with them? They have good fishing down there, don’t they?”
“My wife is doing some research down there. She’s an anthropologist.”
“And your daughter is down there with her?”
“That’s right.”
“How come? It’s not summer holidays.”
“They’re living down there for a while.”
“Oh, I see. You didn’t retire quite soon enough for the Little Lady’s liking?”
“I’m guessing you’re not a grade C student, Cassie?”
“It’s not rocket science, Trumper.”
“How old are you, Cassie?”
“Old enough, Trumper. Why, are you thinking of taking the contract on Diamond?”
“I’m thinking that not too many teenage kids these days are as sharp as you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“See, that’s what I mean. You’re sharp.”
“Very funny. I was a bit embarrassed, that’s all. I don’t get too many compliments. I didn’t know what to say.”
“You did just fine, Cassie. You’re a good kid.”
“Thanks.”
She actually looked embarrassed this time.
“Where’s home for you, Trumper?”
“You were eating trout and beans last night in my kitchen.”
“Where’s your brick and mortar?”
“Oakland.”
“That’s a long way from here.”
“That’s why I come up here to fish.”
“So, why are we going to Billings?”
“Because you’re not going to Oakland.”
“I have a good friend down there.”
“No dice, Cassie. We’ll stay in Billings for a day or two and then we’ll find somewhere for you to settle.”
“He’ll find me and kill me, Trumper.”
“I’m not going to let that happen, I promise you.”
“Then take me to Oakland with you. Your wife’s not there, she’ll never know. You don’t have a live-in girlfriend already, do you?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend, full stop. And I plan on keeping it that way.”
“I’m really neat, Trumper. I’ll keep the place clean for you.”
“Like you kept that car back in the mountains?”
“That was Robbie’s car. I’m not like that. Honest.”
“This is a pointless conversation, Cassie. We’re going to Billings, then I’m going to find a safe place for you to stay. And that will be the end of it.”
She looked disturbed, but not distraught. He didn’t know it yet, but she was a survivor. She had her own idea of how this was going to pan out.
“It’s Cassidy Monroe, for your information, when you see the announcement in the obituaries. Just keep an eye on the Montana papers. It shouldn’t take him long to track me down.”