Chapter 11. Alice
ALICE
Alice shielded her eyes from the sun as the three of them crossed over the road. She couldn’t see much through the RV window, but she caught a hint of movement. They drew closer. She didn’t see Jenny’s shape. She thought of Tom alone on the bed.
The mechanic was marching determinedly toward the grille of the RV, talking over his shoulder to Simon about the statistics of how many animals were killed on the roads each year.
They were in front of the RV. Simon moved to the right of the man, blocking him from potentially walking around to the driver’s side, where the biker had left dents with the metal rod.
“Hmm.” The mechanic studied the front of the RV with his hands on his hips. “Your headlight cover is cracked.”
“We have one on order. Going to pick it up at the next dealership,” Alice said in a rush and immediately regretted it. She had no idea where the next dealership was located. She should have kept her mouth shut, but the tension in the air was making her head spin.
The man’s stare now seemed to be focused on the bumper. His eyebrows pulled together, and he lowered himself into a crouch, then rubbed his finger along the chrome.
“A deer, huh?” The mechanic turned to Simon. Behind them, Alice saw the way Simon’s hand came to rest near the gun under his shirt. She flashed through options. She could push the man out of the way or shove Simon, but what if she got shot?
“A buck. Six pointer or something,” Simon said, and Alice stared at his hovering hand. How fast could he pull a gun? Would she even have time to save the man?
“No kidding.” The man looked back at the bumper. He reached out and ran his hand over one of the dents, his thumb dipping into it. Simon’s back stiffened.
Alice moved to his other side, getting ready. For what? She didn’t know.
“Maybe an elk,” the man said at last. “They make quite an impact.”
“It was big,” Alice said, relieved. “Could’ve been.”
The man got to his feet. “Glad it wasn’t a moose. You want to avoid those. They’ll go straight through your windshield. You need to top up the water? We got a hose around back.”
“We’ve got water,” Simon snapped, and he really needed to change his tone because if anything was going to tip this man off, it would be Simon’s surly attitude. This time the man did seem to pick up on the nervousness and he took a longer look at Simon.
“Excuse my brother,” Alice said. “We’re hot and tired. It’s been a day.”
Simon pulled a handful of change out of his pocket and handed it to the man.
“That cover our bill?”
“Should do.” He dropped the money into the front bib of his overalls, but his gaze was shifting back and forth between Alice and Simon.
He knew something wasn’t right, and Alice knew that everything was going to go to hell if she didn’t think of a diversion soon.
She glanced back at the garage, hoping to see another customer pulling up.
The driveway was empty, but there seemed to be rooms above the garage, with open windows and yellow gingham curtains.
“Do you live above the shop?” she said.
The mechanic looked at her with a confused expression.
She pointed toward the building. “I noticed the curtains. Pretty.”
“Yes, ma’am. My wife and I have been here for thirty years.”
Simon squinted at the windows, and Alice hoped he was thinking what she was thinking—that the man’s wife might be upstairs at this very moment. She would certainly hear gunshots or a violent struggle. She might have already seen the RV when it parked.
The skin on the back of the man’s neck was flushed, his face shiny with sweat. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and mopped his forehead. Alice gently touched his arm.
“Sir? You don’t have to be out here in this terrible heat with us. Your wife won’t be happy if you pass out on this pavement.”
The man straightened, looking offended, and Alice thought she’d made a mistake, but then his shoulders slumped. He heaved out a long sigh and gave Alice a sheepish smile.
“She’s always getting after me about my blood pressure.”
Alice tried not to make it obvious that she was also letting out her breath. Her chest ached as though she’d been holding it in since they first walked into the store.
“Well, we don’t want her to worry. We can take it from here.”
He tipped his head at her, then shook Simon’s hand. “Safe travels, my friends.”
Alice watched him walk back to the shop as Simon opened the bottle of Stop Leak and began pouring it into the radiator. The man glanced back, and she gave a cheerful wave.
Keep walking. Please, please.
When the bottle was empty, Simon screwed the cap back on the radiator and latched the front grille. He looked toward the service shop. “That was close. Good job getting rid of him.”
She frowned at him. Did he think she was on their side?
“I didn’t want him to get hurt.”
Simon held her gaze in a cold, blank stare. “I could have done anything I wanted, and there’s no way you could have stopped me.” He slid his sunglasses back on, but they didn’t hide anything. She still felt the coldness in his eyes as he followed her into the RV.
Simon told her not to drive past the garage because it would reveal the damaged side of the RV.
Alice argued that it would be worse if they got stuck doing a U-turn.
The moment the words left her mouth she realized that she shouldn’t be doing anything that might stop them from getting caught.
Unfortunately, Simon had already decided she was right, and that they would be in motion as they went by the shop’s window, so the man probably wouldn’t notice the damage.
Alice was hoping for the opposite. Maybe the old man was already calling the police. She relished the image of police cars racing up behind them, lights flashing, sirens screaming.
Simon used the map to guide them back toward the Trans-Canada Highway. When Alice’s stomach grumbled loudly, Simon glanced at her, then turned to look at Jenny.
“Have you eaten anything?”
“Just the muffin.”
“You have to eat.”
“I know. We haven’t stopped anywhere.”
Alice looked up at the rearview mirror. Jenny’s mouth was turned down as she stared out the window. Alice guessed she hadn’t liked being scolded.
Simon waited for a moment, but when Jenny didn’t face him, he shifted back around and studied the map again. “We’ll circle back to town. Maybe there’s a picnic area.”
They found a park that ran alongside the river—the Columbia River, Simon told Jenny, and Alice had to fight the tears welling up in her eyes.
It should’ve been Tom telling her these things while they were on their vacation.
He would have announced the names of every river and mountain, and he’d have a clever story or a bit of history about each town.
The park had a few picnic tables scattered over the grass field, a playground, and a clear view of the suspension bridge that crossed the wide river. Behind them, on the opposite side of the road from the park, a flat-roofed A&W drive-thru was advertising Mama and Papa Burgers.
Alice brought the RV to a halt near an enormous wooden head of a mustached man wearing a black top hat. Beside him a sign stuck in the ground warned them not to be “woodenheaded” and drive carefully. Simon laughed. Alice did not.
Jenny and Simon sat at the table with his arm draped over her shoulder as they looked over the map together.
While they talked about the route ahead, musing about the Rocky Mountains and how long it might take them to reach Alberta, Alice made tuna sandwiches.
She still had her can opener, but without knives, she had to use a spoon to spread the condiments.
Alice was able to feed Tom a sandwich and help him drink two glasses of water. Then they were allowed to use the bathroom. Alice fretted when it was Tom’s turn. She didn’t like how pasty his skin looked—despite the heat. His shirt was wet with sweat, and he smelled sour.
She helped him back to bed, where he collapsed, seeming to fall asleep in seconds. She felt for his pulse, comforted by the steady beats, but his skin felt so hot. She exchanged the melted juice for the now frozen bag of peas and gently rested it over the top of his shirt.
Alice was glad that he couldn’t see the worry in her face. It was clear that any plan to escape would be hindered by Tom’s injuries. She’d have to find another way to find help.
Alice was washing dishes—angered that Jenny was helping her dry as if things were the same as before, as if they were travel companions—when Simon said, “How much food is left?”
Alice looked over her shoulder. “You mean from lunch?” He’d watched her clean everything up. Was he going to force her to make him something else to eat?
“Like groceries.”
She thought about the nearly empty fridge. “Not much.”
He was flipping through the traveler’s checks with a frown. “This is only a hundred dollars. You said you were traveling for two weeks.”
Alice turned all the way around, Jenny following as though they were two spinning tops.
“Yes, that’s right,” Alice said.
“This RV goes through a lot of gas. Then you’ve got food, campground fees, and whatever you spend at the Olympics. You were probably going to buy souvenirs.”
“We budgeted carefully.”
“You think I’m stupid?” Simon got to his feet, walking toward Alice until she was pressed against the counter. Beside her she heard Jenny gasp.
“No,” Alice said. “Of course not.”
“Where’s the rest of your money?” He reached over her head, yanking open cupboard doors, rummaging roughly through their food.
“Stop!” Tom yelled out from the bed. “Leave my wife alone. There’s cash in my shaving kit, and another traveler’s check in my coat pocket.”
Simon stalked to the bathroom. There were sounds of the cupboard opening, items being moved, and then his laugh.
“Well, you weren’t lying this time, man.
” He came out with the cash in his hand—four ten-dollar bills.
Then he pulled open the small closet and went through Tom’s coat.
He nodded in approval when he found the traveler’s check hidden in the inside pocket.
“Fifty dollars. Nice. But it wasn’t very nice of you to hold out on us.” He lunged toward Tom, gripped his throat, then leaned forward so that his weight pressed down. “You got more?”
Alice covered her mouth with her hands. She wanted to scream and yank Simon away, but she was too scared of what Simon might do to Tom in retaliation.
“You have everything,” Tom choked out.
Simon let go of his throat. “You better not be lying.”
“Simon, can we talk outside?” Jenny’s voice was sharp, high-pitched.
“Later, babe. We’re at a public rest area.”
“Please? I really need to talk to you,” she said.
“Fine.” Simon rolled the traveler’s check up with the cash, shoved them into his front pocket, then jerked his head toward the door.
They were leaving Alice in the RV. She had the exhilarating thought that the couple might forget the keys while they argued. She could lock them out and drive away. Her hopes were soon dashed when Simon gripped her bicep and dragged her away from the sink.
“Get on the floor.”
Not sure what he wanted, she slowly sat down, and hugged her knees to her chest.
“Put your hands behind your back.” She did as he asked, but not fast enough, and he roughly twisted her arms behind her body, then used his belt to strap them to the table leg. Jenny’s face was pale, but she didn’t say a word as Simon tightened the belt.
Jenny then followed him outside with only a quick glance back at Alice. Simon shut the door with a solid click. Footsteps, growing quieter, murmuring voices.
Alice rested the back of her head against the metal table leg. She looked at Tom.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
“Yeah. But he’s going to lose his mind when he finds out he can’t cash those checks.”
She remembered how Tom had sat at the table and signed each check in the upper corner so they couldn’t be stolen. Just like the bank had advised.
“What are we going to do?”
“We can hope someone gets suspicious and reports him. They’ll ask for his ID.” He shifted on the bed, with a groan. “Maybe it will scare him enough that he leaves us alone.”
Alice nodded, trying to stay positive for Tom, but she had a sinking feeling that nothing would stop Simon now. He was in too deep, and they were all going to drown with him.