Cliffhanger Theater!

“Well, that was pointless.” Bob’s voice relayed a healthy dose of frustration and exhaustion. He plopped down on the steel floor of the car. Phil slid the door the rest of the way. Phil rubbed his eyes as he leaned against the door.

“That town was barely there. We have to be getting to some town we’ll know.”

“Hey, why am I doing the looking? You’re an east river guy. This should be your territory.”

“You’re a worldly guy for one, and for two you didn’t ask.” Bob shook his head while Phil chuckled to himself. “Seriously, your guess is as good as mine. I haven’t wandered around the state very much. You’re the one who used to love a good, long, pointless road trip.”

“Yeah, like I remember those.”

“Well, if we find ourselves in Mitchell or Sioux Falls, I’ll be set. Anywhere else, you might as well be the one on lookout.”

“Do you have any idea where we might be?”

“Honestly, I don’t. I don’t know how many train tracks are still in use going northward. Heck, we might be in Minnesota for all we know.”

“Nah, I’ve seen way too many South Dakota plates on the small town cars so far for us to have crossed the border. My guess is that we’ll have to hop off in North Dakota, probably Fargo.”

“Do you think we’re still wanted for questioning like that story I saw on KELO?”

“I’m sure by now they’ve found Stevens’s body.”  Bob’s smile faded as he looked out the window.  Phil looked down, then away towards the back of the car.  After a minute or so, Phil looked back over towards Bob.

“I still can’t believe she shot him, just like that without thinking about it.”

“I’m trying not to think about it” Bob said as he stood up.  “It was…not something I’ll be happy to relay to the police about.”

“I’d never seen someone get shot like that before.  I j-”

“Phil, I don’t want to talk about it, alright?  Just…just keep watch for a while.”  Bob walked away from the door and towards the toppled crates near the roof hatch.  He sat down on one and removed his sunglasses.  As Phil took his spot near the door, he saw Bob bury his head in his hands.  It didn’t look to Phil like Bob was crying, and Bob wasn’t.  It wasn’t for a lack of his body trying not to, but Bob kept his sadness at an arm’s length.  The battle in Bob’s mind was won, but he could feel the emotional war inside him slipping away.

***

Will Hetfield flipped open his phone as his car took a hard right turn towards the airport.  “Hetfield here” he said, with one eye on the road and one on his rear view mirror to make sure Clayton was still behind him.

“Detective, this is Officer Baker at the rail yard.  I was told you’d be here to ask the railroad security some questions.”

“What?  Who said that?”

“Uh…It was the Captain sir.  He said an officer black should have gotten a hold of you?”

Damn, those missed calls this morning were important Will thought to himself.  “I’ll be there shortly, I just got a hot new lead I need to check.  No time.  I’ll call back when I have a second.”  Will closed the phone as he took another hard towards the airport parking lot.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a plane taking off.  “I hope you aren’t Vegas bound” he muttered.