The Daily Novel

CHAPTER XXIV

The way it was supposed to happen, Jerry would suspend his companion in the sling over the bathtub, then administer the fatal gunshot. That way, if there happen to be any discharge, it was easy to wash down the drain. He could also wash away any blood. Then he would completely bathe her, using moisturizing lotion, and shampoo and condition her hair. The bath complete, he would blow dry and style the hair. He also applied whatever make up she was carrying in her purse – eye liner, mascara, blusher, powder — whatever was there.

When Jerry got Sue Ellen in the harness and suspended above the tub, he stopped. He did not want this to be over. He knew he was being ridiculous, that it would be over anyway in the next day or so, the effects of dehydration and starvation taking their final toll. But, when he pictured himself holding the gun to her head and pulling the trigger, he froze. He didn’t even have the pistol in the bathroom with them.

He ran the water and adjusted the temperature, then proceeded with the bath, the final bath, and even thinking of it that way was like a quick blow to the stomach. He rinsed her down, then applied the moisturizing lotion all over her body, except for the portions of her back under the straps and her neck, which was enclosed in the whiplash collar. The collar he took off long enough to cradle her head and wash her neck. Then it went back on.

He took extra time with the shampoo, applying it, working up the lather, rinsing and repeating, just like the bottle said. Then he applied the conditioner, using half a bottle and working it into her hair. He let it stay in even longer than the directions indicated. Then he rinsed thoroughly, using a large-toothed comb to separate the strands of hair and letting the water flow all around them. Finally, he stopped and turned the water off.

He just stood there, in the bathroom, looking at Sue Ellen. He couldn’t move. The normally strident, nagging paranoid voice in his head was gone. That voice was associated with the things he used to do. This was different. It was like dating until you find the right one, then having no more interest in dating. Jerry assumed that it worked that way. This was his first experience, so he really had nothing with which to compare what he was feeling.

Jerry stood for so long that Sue Ellen’s hair was practically dry when he finally picked up the towel and began stroking her locks. He ran the hair dryer, drawing a comb through the hair until it was nearly dry, then switched to a brush. Sue Ellen’s body was already completely dry. Jerry set the dryer and towel aside and went to the bedroom to get the makeup from her purse. As soon as he was away from Sue Ellen, not seeing her, a calmness came over Jerry. He slowed his motions even more and allowed his mind to clear.

He knew that he had to follow through with his plans for dispatching Sue Ellen. It would be sad. It was definitely necessary. He knew he could do it and just had to brace himself and follow through. He also knew that he would still wait until the very last second, in the cloverleaf, before firing the second bullet and ending her life. Those were the facts and he would not vary from them, so he could allow himself to feel the full emotion of the remaining time with Sue Ellen without worrying that he would do something stupid.

By the time it was full dark outside, Jerry had dressed Sue Ellen in her new clothing and  used the wheelchair to move her to the garage and into the front passenger seat. He used a new scarf to stabilize her head, then removed the whiplash collar and put it on the seat of the wheelchair. He filled the gas tank from cans of gas he kept in the garage for times like these. He had not stopped for gas on the way back from Bowling Green and would not stop on the way to the cloverleaf. He never left the house when he had a visitor. So he needed to top off his tank.

At exactly the right time, Jerry activated the garage door opener and drove down the driveway. As the door closed behind him, he pulled onto the road in front of his house and turned on his headlights. The short trip from there to the Interstate took only a couple of minutes; then he was headed east on Interstate 70. He was on time and he was prepared, physically and emotionally. He was confident that he would reach his destination comfortably ahead of his 2:00 cut-off time. He set the cruise control and settled back for the trip. Instead of hovering over the pistol, this time his right hand rested gently on Sue Ellen’s arm.

Jerry drove, musing about the past few days and the impact Sue Ellen had had on him. Thinking about it, he surprised himself when he discovered that he was not going to do what he had been doing ever again. All of that past he consigned to a place called life before Sue Ellen. It was over and done with. He had found the love of his life, then lost her. Now he would remain true to her and her memory for the rest of his life. It felt like a great weight lifted and made him an entirely new man.

In the curious way Jerry’s mind worked, his realization had the effect of erasing for him the existence of the many companions he had experienced over the years — not blotting them out, but erasing them. Before Sue Ellen, he could tell you the name of every single companion, even the first one from his freshman year at college. Now, they were dimming out, and by the time the drive was complete, Jerry could have passed a polygraph if questioned about any of them. Jerry was reborn, washed in the love of his one true lifemate. Sue Ellen. That name he would never forget.

>>>>>     <<<<<

At 1:00, Harlan walked away from the immediate area and relieved himself against a tree. He returned to his hide and poured another short cup of the coffee. His circulation was still okay, and the walking around helped a bit. A breeze had come up, making just enough background noise that Harlan was not confident that he could hear movement in time to get into position. He accepted that this was the last walk around and that he had to sit down in the chair and wait quietly.

“What are you doing?” Gloria asked through the earpiece.

“Peeing on a tree,” Harlan answered. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to decide where I’m going to pee,” Gloria snapped back. “You know, that is the one and only thing that is better about a man — standing up to pee.” It was one of the running discussions that never reached resolution, the relative merits of being a woman versus being a man. It was particularly humorous that, at home and in other people’s bathrooms, Harlan sat down to urinate. “Anyone who has ever been responsible for cleaning his own bathroom learns about the splash and decides, if he has any sense at all, that it is totally unnecessary.”

“What did Craig have to say?” Harlan asked. A beep earlier had indicated an incoming call, and Gloria told Harlan it was Craig before she switched off to take his call.

“He was just worrying and wondering. I told him we would call when there’s something to report.”

“I am about to get settled in. This breeze is making enough background noise that I don’t trust my hearing. You can keep talking to me. I’ll just limit my responses to only those remarks that require immediate correction.”

“Right. Knowing you, that sounds like a running commentary. I’m switching off for a minute while I find a suitable . . . whatever.”

Harlan settled into his chair, and did another check of his equipment. The video camera was on, a piece of electrician’s tape blocking the usually helpful ‘on’ indicator. Harlan cycled the on-off switch periodically since he had not been able to figure out how to override the built-in power preserving feature of turning the unit off after a period of inactivity. He held his hand over the lantern lens and switched it on, then off, in less than a second.  It was working. He poured one more small cup of coffee, judging that his bladder could handle it, capped the thermos, and settled in for the wait.

>>>>>     <<<<<

When Jerry reached the target cloverleaf and checked the clock, he relaxed. He was more than on time and off the road. He pulled far off the exit ramp, as close to the trees as he could. It was at times like this that Jerry thought about getting a darker brown color on his next car, something that would blend completely with the background. When he thought about it on this night, he dismissed it. It wouldn’t be necessary. Not anymore.

Now that Jerry was off the road, his need for haste evaporated. He moved slowly as he began the process of transferring Sue Ellen from the front seat into the canvas sling. Jerry reflected that it was appropriate that the sling was brand new and would never be used again after this trip. He decided he would leave it with the bundle of clothing next to Sue Ellen.

Jerry reached through the open passenger door and released the seat belt. Before untying the head scarf, he slipped the canvas sling over his shoulder and placed the bag of clothing on the dashboard where he would be able to reach it easily after he had Sue Ellen on his arm. He grasped her right leg and lifted it so that her foot was even with the bottom of the sling, then slipped the sling around her ankle and gently guided her leg into the sling while easing her off the car seat. When she was in position, completely supported by Jerry, he did his best to arrange her skirt. Then he retrieved the bag from the dashboard and nudged the car door shut.

Jerry walked into the tree line with Sue Ellen alongside and her head leaning on his shoulder. Jerry’s hand rested easily beneath her breast as they walked. The first stirrings of arousal surprised him, then pleased him. He moved his hand on her breast and felt the effect on himself immediately. The shortness of breath he experienced had nothing to do with the effort of carrying Sue Ellen and everything to do with the pleasure.

He continued into the middle of the cloverleaf and, when he judged the spot to be right, he ducked his head under the sling and lowered Sue Ellen to the ground. He knelt and removed the sling and set it aside. Then he started to arrange her clothing. As he reached to pull her skirt straight beneath her, his hand brushed the inside of her thigh, very near the top, and the effect was like a jolt of electricity. He pulled the back of the skirt down and straightened it beneath her, then let his hand return to the very top of her thigh and from there to the elastic in the leg of her underpants, the new ones he’d dressed her in back at the house. When he worked his hand under the elastic, he knew he had to. Just one more time. Nothing to worry about. Just once more. Then the pistol.

“Harlan, it’s nearly three. Have you heard anything at all? Seen anything?”

“Nothing,” Harlan whispered.

“How much longer are you going to wait?”

“Just a little longer, I guess.”

“Do you think we picked the wrong night or the wrong place?”

“No idea. I am still sure this is right. I don’t get it.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

“Give it until three-thirty, then come on over for me.”

Jerry and Sue Ellen were less than twenty feet from Harlan. The breeze through the branches masked any sounds coming from them as well as it masked the whispered phone conversation of Harlan. Neither Jerry nor Harlan had any inkling that anyone else was there. Jerry lay quietly on top of Sue Ellen after his orgasm. He was light-headed and his breathing was short and rapid, and there was a ringing in his ears. Finally, his breathing slowed and his head cleared. He eased off Sue Ellen and fixed his own clothing. Then he readjusted the leg band on the panties and pulled the skirt down and smoothed it out along her legs. When everything was arranged to his satisfaction, he knee-walked around to Sue Ellen’s head. He fished the small pistol out of his jacket pocket. With a tear starting to overflow his eye and roll down his cheek, he pulled the slider back and chambered a round.

“Wait,” Harlan whispered. “I just heard something.”

“What?” Gloria hissed back. “What is it?”

Jerry placed the gun barrel behind Sue Ellen’s ear, pointing down and back toward the rear base of her skull. He choked out a “Good bye,” closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger.

“What was that? Was that a gunshot?” Gloria screamed into the phone.

Harlan immediately pressed the record button on the camera, switched on the spotlight, and started quickly out of his chair… too quickly. His leg was totally asleep, completely without feeling, and he was toppling to one side before he was even halfway up.

Jerry reacted immediately. He came off his knees and whirled toward the spotlight. At the same time, in a spasm of panic and totally unintentionally, he squeezed the trigger of the pistol. When it discharged, he jumped, then dropped the pistol.

Harlan’s awkward fall had presented his butt as the most prominent object in view, and the bullet pierced his thermal suit and creased right across his butt cheek. He felt the tug and the numbness. Struggling to stand upright and handle the light and the camera, he turned and faced Jerry.

“You shot me!”

Jerry was ready to turn and flee. Harlan’s voice stopped him.

“I . . . I’m sorry. It was an accident. You scared me.”

“Yeah. But you shot me.”

“Look, are you okay? I mean, I have to go. Will you be okay?”

“No. I won’t be okay. Don’t you have a cell phone? Can’t you call me an ambulance?”

“Oh my God,” Gloria was yelling into the phone. “Are you okay? Is that him? I’m switching off to call nine one one.”

“Good,” Harlan said in a normal tone of voice. Then to Jerry, “Who are you?”

“My name is Jerry.” Harlan was shining the light on Jerry and training the camera at the same time.

“Does your friend there need an ambulance?”

“No. I mean, she’s not my friend. I don’t know what you mean?”

“Isn’t that Sue Ellen?”

The question, the mention of her name completely stymied Jerry. He was trying to peer past the spotlight. “Who are you? How do you know Sue Ellen?”

“A lot of people know Sue Ellen,” Harlan said, walking closer with the camera and light. “Some of them will be showing up here pretty soon.”

“I have to go,” Jerry blurted and started to turn.

“There’s no place to go, Jerry. It’s over.”

“I know it’s over. I have to go.”

“Go where, Jerry? We know where you live. We know what you drive, and we know what you’ve been doing.”

“I haven’t been doing anything. How could you know? Who are you?”

“My name is Harlan.”

“You’re the guy in the newspapers, the detective. I have to go.”

“No place to go, Jerry. Best thing is to wait right here and let the people come to us. Where’s the gun, Jerry?”

Jerry looked at his hand, then at the ground next to his feet. “It’s right here. I must have dropped it.” He started to stoop to pick it up.

“Better just leave it there, Jerry. Might be a good idea to step away from it. Some of the people on their way here will be a little nervous.” Jerry hesitated, then stepped away from the gun.

Gloria clicked back on line, breathless and practically yelling. She was pulling out of the lane and onto the road. Wheels spun and gravel kicked up against the floor pan of the car.

“Are you okay? What’s going on? Everybody is on the way — police and ambulance. I don’t hear any sirens yet. I’ll be there any minute now. Are you okay?”

“Jerry, I’m going to talk to Gloria right now. Gloria, I’m okay. I think I got a bullet in the butt. Jerry and I are talking. The pistol is on the ground, and Jerry has moved away from it. If you can, tell whoever gets here not to come in with guns blazing.”

Harlan moved again, closer to Jerry and closer to the pistol on the ground.

“Jerry, does Sue Ellen need an ambulance?” Jerry silently shook his head and glanced down at the body. “She’s dead?”

“Yes,” Jerry said, his voice breaking. “It’s over.” He sat down, almost a collapse, and buried his face in his hands. Harlan moved to the pistol and stood on it. They waited.