Leslie’s
Deception.
By E. Kitson Southward
The tires screeched as
Leslie pushed her little car into a sharp left turn. The street was dark, pierced only by the twin daggers of the
headlights. A skid seemed imminent until
she pressed the accelerator and pulled out of the turn. “Damn, that was close,” she thought, “but I’ve got to get to him before he leaves without me!”
As the road
straightened before her, she floor-boarded the gas pedal and held it there. The
little car groaned as it held to nearly 80. Intent on the road ahead, she
failed to notice the red flashing lights coming up fast behind her until she
heard the siren. She glanced up into the rear-view mirror and said, “Shit,
where did he come from?”
She had no
choice; her little car was no match for that cruiser that now, holding a safe
distance behind, stayed her speed. She
took her foot off the accelerator and the car instantly started to slow
down. At 40 mph she saw a side road
ahead and decided that would be a good place to pull over. She applied the breaks and pulled to a stop
on the gravel apron just beyond the intersection.
The siren finally stopped its wailing but the unmistakable ‘your in trouble now’ red and blue rotating lights continued to flash. She watched in the side-view mirror as a figure stepped from the patrol car and approached with flashlight in hand.
Leslie rolled down the window then sat with both hands on the steering wheel and waited. A deep female voice declared, “Driving a bit fast tonight, weren’t you?” as the bright light of the flashlight caught her in the eyes.
“I guess I was… but I have to get to the airport.”
“What do you mean? There’s no airport out this way.”
“It’s a private airstrip— off Jarvis road.”
“Oh, that one. You must be late for your drug pickup… or more likely, a drop off. Step out of the car.”
Leslie opened the door and
stepped out. The flashlight swept the
full length of her body and the voice asked, “Leslie, is that you? I didn’t recognize you until you stood up.”
The cop held the light at
full arms length and shined it on herself.
Leslie questioned,
“Rachel?” Then exclaimed, “Rachel
Jones… it is you!”
“It’s me all right. Now, what’s your hurry?”
Leslie looked at her watch
and said, “I’ve got to get to the airstrip before Greg leaves.”
“How much time do you
have?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“Why is it so important
that…?”
“I don’t have time to
explain now, but it is imperative I get there— you know me, Rach, I wouldn’t be
telling you this if it weren’t important.”
“OK, kid, I believe you,”
Rachel said as she turned and started back to her car. “You’ll never make it in time driving that
heap. Turn off your lights and then follow me to my car.”
Leslie leaned into her car,
switched off the headlights and pulled the keys, then ran after Rachel to the
patrol car and got in.”
Rachel moved the gearshift
putting the car in low gear, revved the engine, and dumped the clutch. The
large cruiser, with lights still flashing, lurched forward as gravel flew from
beneath the rear wheels.
“Wow! Where did you ever
learn to start like that— Le Mans?”
“You said you were in a
hurry. Now tell me why you need to get there so fast.”
“In a minute, but tell me
first what you are doing as a cop.”
As the speedometer
indicated slightly less than 100 mph Rachel said, “Remember Bobby Bates, from
high school?”
“Oh, yeah, I remember him—
and the last time I saw you was at our graduation. As I recall, you two were quite an item.”
“Well, after graduation he
decided he was going to the police academy.”
“And I suppose you followed
him.”
“Not exactly.” Rachel
sighed, “We both applied and were accepted.”
“So, what happened?”
“He washed out half way
through and I haven’t seen him since.”
“That’s too bad, but I see
you stuck it out.”
“Had too, I didn’t want to
spoil my perfect record of never quitting something I started.
Leslie interrupted, “That’s
Jarvis road just ahead.”
“I know where Jarvis road
is. Now tell me why you have to get
there.”
Leslie put both hands on
the dashboard as Rachel stepped on the brake, down shifted to second gear and
power slid around the corner onto Jarvis road.
She said, “We’re almost there.
I’ll explain then.”
Rachel grinned and said,
“You’d better have a good story, or I’m going to have to give you a speeding
ticket.” Then burst out laughing.
They both saw the
twin-engine jet parked at the end of the runway with its red and green wing tip
strobe lights flashing and the landing lights on.
“There! Over there,” Leslie pointed. “Hurry, it looks like they’re ready to
leave.”
Rachel flipped a switch on
and off giving a short blast of siren as she drove straight down the runway
toward the plane. She hit the brakes
and slid to a halt thirty feet from the nose of the aircraft.
Two figures jumped from the
plane’s exit door brandishing what appeared to Rachel as automatic weapons.
“What the hell is going on
here?” Rachel demanded as she started to reach for her sidearm.
Leslie placed her hand on
top of Rachel’s and the gun. “There’s
no need for that, you just surprised them that’s all.” As Leslie opened the car door, she said,
“You wait here and I’ll handle this. Trust me, it’ll be all right.”
Rachel surveyed her
situation and realizing it would be suicide to do else, sat behind the wheel
and waited as Leslie walked up to the two men.
One of the men stepped forward and demanded, “Leslie, where have you
been and what are you doing bringing the cops here?”
“Relax, Greg, it’s OK. I got stopped for speeding and talked my way
into a ride. Besides, I wouldn’t have
gotten here in time if it weren’t for the lift.”
“What are we supposed to do
with the cop now that he’s seen the weapons?”
“I said Relax, and don’t
shoot anybody. I’ll be right
back.” She turned and walked to the
driver’s door and called, “Rachel, leave your gun in the car and get out
slowly. Everything will be OK.”
Rachel had no choice but to
do as instructed. She got out of the
car and walked with Leslie toward the two figures silhouetted by the landing
lights. Now just feet from them she
heard, “I’ll be damned— Rachel? — I can’t believe it.”
“Who are you?” Rachel
asked.
The figure handed his gun
to the other man and came forward, threw his arms around her, picked her off
the ground and swung her around saying, “It’s me, Rachel— Bobby. Bobby Bates.”
“Bobby?” she repeated.
“Yeah, baby, it’s really
me.”
“Put me down and explain
what’s going on here.”
Bobby stopped turning and
put her down saying, “Man, is it ever good to see you again. I’ve missed you.”
“Well I haven’t missed you
since you ran out on me in the middle of school.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“Nothing’s ever your fault,
Bobby. Now tell me what is going on.”
Just then she heard the
patrol car’s engine rev. She turned and
saw it moving away from the front of the plane. “Where’s he going with my car?”
“Easy, baby, we’re just
getting it off the runway.”
“You still haven’t told me
what’s going on.”
Leslie walked up to them
and said, “I hate to break up this glorious reunion but we’ve got to get out of
here before anyone else shows up.”
The other man returned from
moving the car and Rachel screamed, “Will somebody please tell me what the HELL
is happening here.”
Leslie said, “Rachel, this
is Greg, remember him from our home room?”
“Well that’s just great—
and explains everything.” Then she
sarcastically added, “When does the rest of the class get here?”
”Actually,” Leslie said,
“We can’t afford any more classmates.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What she means is,” Greg
said, “We, the three of us, just made off with some cash and don’t have enough
to share with that many.”
“How much cash?”
“We haven’t had time to
count it, but roughly six mil.”
“From where?” Rachel asked.
Greg smiled and said, “You
don’t want to know or we’ll have to kill you.”
Rachel said, “OK, that’s
cool.” Then looking at each of them in turn, she asked, “and what about me?”
Leslie said, “It’s simple,
Rach, you can break your perfect record, quit something you started and go with
us, or you can stay here.”
“What if I choose to go?”
Bobby said with a broad
grin, “We’ve all agreed that with six mil, we can afford to have you come
along.”
“And if I choose to stay?”
Greg displayed Rachel’s
revolver he took from the front seat of the car and said, “Then my little
classmate, could spoil your whole day.”
As the wheels of the plane
lifted off the runway, Rachel asked, “Where are we going?”
Leslie said, “You’ll see
when we get there.”
“Damn it to hell! Why can’t
anyone just answer a simple question?”