Chapter 23

Chapter XXIII

“Hey!” Jeanne marveled.  “Is the whole trip like this?”

Ruby was looking around with concern.   “We in dudu!  This is not trail one.  Do you recognize anyplace?”

“What’s wrong?  Can we get back?”

“Long as we stay on the treadmill we’re fine; we have to ride it to the end and we’ll be back.”

“Then what’s wrong?” Jeanne thought Ruby was trying to scare her.

“Trail one is a simple path in Heg Park.”

“This isn’t our simple little city park; this is up the old highway by Outlook.”

There was a bang and thundery roaring. 

They screamed.  Then watched the car fly from forty feet above them land on its front bumper and slowly settlle to four wheels.  They went toward the car.

The driver was moving slowly.  The impact had left no glass in the windows.  The driver’s side of the car was so bashed in there was no way the door would open. 

“Inspector Spacer?  Oh, my God!  We’re on the treads.  We can’t get help until…Walk!”  Ruby ended with a desperate plea to Jeanne.

“Oh,” Jeanne obeyed startled by the disappearing Ruby.

“Ms. Vick…” Spacer’s thinking was not yet clear enough to come out with the full word, Vickers.  He tried opening the door.

“That door is not going to open, Sir,” Jeanne said. “It must have hit first.”

Spacer gathered his memory, “That SOB drove right at me.  Pushed us off the ro … Kurtis.” He suddenly realized he had a partner with him.

Kurtis moaned, focusing his eyes. 

They realized at the same time they were being held by air bags.

“Maybe your cell phone will work again.” Ruby remembered he had called Kurtis, when he found Dieter’s body.

Jeanne suddenly noticed Spacer had blood all over his jacket.

“He needs the bleeding stopped.”

“You can’t.” Ruby started, but Jeanne was dismounting.

“Sure I can; my Ex was a paramedic,” Jeanne called, not noticing Ruby was disappearing.

Jeanne ran to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. 

“I need a knife or something to pop the air bags, to get you out.”

“Pocket,” Kurtis voice was weak and groggy.

Jeanne reached hurriedly into his pants pocket. While she was feeling for the knife, Kurtis grunted a laugh. “Wish I could feel that.”  It was a thought but he spoke it aloud in his shocked state.

Jeanne laughed. “I wish you could too.  I think your leg is broken and the shock is numbing.” 

“Did – did I say that.  I’m sorry,” Kurtis said.  “I didn’t mean disrespect.”

Jeanne put a firm hand on his shoulder and punctuated his apology with the bang of the popping air bag.  She noticed a rifle across his leg.

There’s the culprit.  That rifle must have cracked your leg.

Jeanne took his hands and said, “squeeze.”  He did and she said, “Good.” Then opened the back door and got to Spacer.  She held him firm and reached to the drivers side to pop his air bag so she could take care of his wound.

“I should have expected a trap,” Spacer muttered.

“You had to watch the road I should have been looking for trouble,” Kurtis’ voice was gaining strength.

Jeanne ripped a piece off Spacer’s torn shirt and folded it to put pressure on the wound above his heart.

“Can you put pressure on this?” she asked.

He tried.

“More.”

Kurtis sucked air so hard it was almost a scream, turning to help his partner, while trying not to jar the injured leg.  He pushed his hand hard on Spacer’s using the steering wheel for leverage.

“Careful, of that leg,” Jeanne said to Kurtis.   “Yeah, that ought to hold him ‘til help comes.  You okay?  I can use that rifle for a splint…”

“No,” Kurtis said. “Could you put that in my lap incase the guy in that van decides to finish the job?”

“Cellphone,” Spacer managed to say, his free hand patting his jacket.

Jeanne got it out and dialed 911, and handed him the phone.

“Officers down in car wreck.  Black van marks the spot on Terrace Blvd.  Approach van as armed and dangerous.  Got that?” Spacer’s voice was weak but controlled.

Jeanne placed the rifle carefully on Kurtis’s lap, then heard her name called from off in the distance.

“Where’s Ruby?” She was frightened for the first time since they stopped, “Where’s the treadmill?”

“It’s there.  Go to where you got off of it and start walking,” Spacer’s speaking was labored but clear.  “Don’t lose Pete’s Rumble.”

Pete had spent the last ten minutes pacing.  Al was trying to calm him down. 

“Something happened.  They shouldn’t take over a half hour on that trail.”

“We would hear something, wouldn’t we?” Al said.

“No they’re not here.  They are in Heg Park – I hope.”

Al stepped back looking in the direction the women had disappeared.  He shook his head. None of it made sense to him, and he had to figure a way to correct it.

Jeanne and Ruby faded back into the computer room the way they had left it.  Pete was there to take Ruby into his arms immediately.

“He thought something happened,” Al told Jeanne.

“Did!” Jeanne said.  “Two police inspectors crashed their car right in front of us.”

Pete released his hold on Ruby and turned toward Jeanne, asking, “In Heg Park?”

“No we were – I think he said Terrace Boulevard,” Jeanne said.

“We have to call and see if help got to them,” Ruby headed for the phone.  She tried not to look too tired, but she had had to walk constantly to maintain her substance and fight the fear that Jeanne would lose both of them.

“You know who it was?” Al asked.

“I don’t, but one said, ‘Don’t lose Pete’s Rumble,’” Jeanne said.  “He told me how to get Ruby back, practically step by step.”

“That would be Spacer.  Spacer and Kurtis.  How bad was it?” Pete asked.

“Would have been deadly without air bags.  The driver had a bad hole above the heart, and I think the other had a broken leg.”

Ruby returned.  “She’s good.  Her first aid might have saved Spacer.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Jeanne protested.

“You got off the treadmill,” Pete said.

“Spacer and Kurtis are grateful.  Can we have a real drink now?” Ruby said.

Christina took a break, from her research into Lake Ferris, to make a stop at the hospital before starting her shift as policewoman.  Spacer and Kurtis were both awake and in the same room.  She put a box of candy between them and said, “Share!  I couldn’t make myself to bring flowers.”

“Thank you for that.” Spacer laughed.

Kurtis agreed.

“Did you find something on the gun?” Spacer asked.

“You wouldn’t like to get back to work first?”

“We’ll be out of here tomorrow,” Kurtis said.

“And you’re going in with your leg in a cast?  What happened?” Christina asked.

“A stolen black van, built like a tanker, took aim on us from a side street and rammed,” Spacer said.  “I thought he was going to climb right in the drivers seat with me,”

“If we hadn’t started flying, his side of the car would have been in my lap,” Kurtis said.

“We were set up.  False report,” Spacer said.

“Jesus, Why?” Christina asked.

“I think it was a too-late warning for us to stop asking about the pot field,” Spacer said.

“Yeah, report says there was nothing in the van but a marijuana leaf.” Kurtis finished.

“You’re kidding.”  Christina laughed.  “Hokey!”

“The gun?” Spacer said.

“Lake Ferris bought it two years ago and put it in a drawer didn’t notice it missing until three days before the murder.” Christina filled in, “Never looked at it after he – she bought it.”

“Typical,” Spacer said.

“Did Stoker tell her to buy it and why two years ago?” Kurtis asked.

Spacer nodded; a broken leg didn’t mess with his partner’s brain.

“I have to get back to work,” Christina said.   “Glad you’re in such good shape – I mean, considering.  Oh, they said to tell you Ruby Vickers called to see if you got help.  How did she know?”

Kurtis and Spacer laughed.  Kurtis came up with the answer: “She’s got a psychic treadmill.”

Christina didn’t know why she was laughing when she left.

Having nibbled on hors d’oeuvres and eaten dinner, Pete, Ruby, Al and Jeanne were in the living room with an after dinner drink.

“I don’t understand what has happened with the treadmills at all,” Al said. “Nothing I could program could make them act like that.  It’s like ‘Beam me up, Scotty,’ technology,” he referred to the old Star Trek series.  “We can’t do that yet.”

“What about the six-six-six command?” Pete asked.

“I’m not sure, now, that it’s a bad thing,” Ruby said.  “We were there to help Kurtis and Spacer and nothing has tried to hurt us.  We have no fear of getting back as long as we stay within the rules.”

“Are you really into the six-six-six thing?” Al laughed.

“Are you really a sorcerer?” Pete rebutted.                  1452