I couldn’t see anyone. I went around the sumac and started down the hill. I was about halfway down when Hal came out of the barn and got back in his car. He started up and headed back up the dusty track to the road. In the twilight, in a low bodied sedan, the going was tough.
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What would happen when he found the truck? I didn’t want to find out. I climbed up the hill as fast as I could and made my way down the other side. Hal passed me on the dirt road and skidded to a halt at my truck. Damn. It was too late. He looked around. I lowered into the brush and waited.
The sheriff’s headlights came over the hill a minute later. The cruiser was better equipped for the rugged dirt path and he charged down the hill toward the road. Stopping when his lights picked out Hal, beside my truck.
I could hear their voices clearly from my hiding place.
“What the hell is he doing out here?” the sheriff asked.
“I don’t know, he must have seen me back in Hobart,” Hal said.
“You’re an idiot, Hal. Does anyone ever tell you that?” The sheriff said. “If I had time, I’d impound his truck and leave him stuck out here!”
“Do you think he heard us at the barn? That would be bad,” Hal said.
“I don’t know, you idiot, why don’t you tell him all about it!” the sheriff growled. “Hey! Dalton! I know you can hear me. If you’re thinking about shooting us, I wouldn’t. You do that, and they’ll make your girlfriend suffer for it. You hear me?”
“Why would we do that? We’re not even sure it’s her,” Hal said.
There was a silence.
“He doesn’t know that, huh?” Hal said.
“You’re an idiot,” the sheriff said.
He got in his car and turned out onto the road, headed away from Hobart. Hal turned in a circle, looking into the darkness. Then he got in his car and headed back towards Hobart.
What the hell was going on? All thoughts of emptying the truck were banished. I had to find out what was in that barn. I headed toward the truck. I needed a flashlight, and if they came back, I liked my odds better with the truck on that dirt track, than on foot.
What had Hal meant, we’re not sure if it’s her? Her who? What had they said that they didn’t want me to hear? Hal had said it would be bad if I heard. Bad for who? Was it about Leeanne, or me, or both? Was there some connection between us I couldn’t remember? If so, she hadn’t let on.
I climbed into the truck and backed out of the ditch. It climbed the hill without trouble. I paused at the top, letting my headlights play over the area. It looked like any stock shed I’d ever seen. Beside the barn, which wasn’t big, there was a round stock tank for water, and an ancient windmill.
The truck rumbled on the way down the hill. I guessed this old truck had been down a lot of tracks like this. I pulled into the wood fenced corral in front of the barn. It didn’t look like there had been any animals here in a long time.
I fished under the tarp and found the flashlight. I turned it on. The door of the barn hung from one hinge. I pulled it open. Inside, the barn didn’t look much better. I could see patches of the night sky through the roof. In the center of the barn, sat a shrouded mass. It was covered with a canvas tarp.
Tractor. That was my guess. There was nothing else there. I turned to leave. Something made me look. I pulled back the cover and there was a green Volkswagen. Huh. I was wrong. But, something about the car didn’t seem right. It was too clean.
Everything else in this place seemed like it had been here for years, undisturbed. This thing looked like it had been on the road a week ago, freshly polished. I pulled the tarp off. It was one of the newer bugs, maybe five or six years old. It had Oklahoma plates.
The door was open. The dome light came on. It couldn’t have been here long. I half expected to find a body inside, but it was empty. I rummaged through the glove box and checked under the seats.
Without the keys, I couldn’t access the trunk. I’d found about as much as I could find.
The camera on my phone was decent. I took a picture of the license plate and covered the car back up.
I pulled out onto the road, watching my mirror. I didn’t see any headlights on the way back into River Grove. There was no sign of the sheriff or Hal in town. I didn’t care. I was tired.
I drove the truck straight to the hardware store and parked in the back. I used the key Fred had given me to let myself in the front door and locked it back. The big old store was creepy at night. Especially since I hadn’t properly explored it yet. The rows of shelves could hide almost anything.
I went up the stairs and closed and locked the apartment door behind me. That felt better. I walked over to the windows and looked down at the street, expecting to find I’d been followed. There was no one there.
Since I’d already had dinner and it was now past ten PM I was headed for a shower, then straight to bed. I pulled a cold beer from the fridge and popped the top. Nothing better to settle your nerves.
The warm water finished off my case of the heebie jeebies. I wrapped myself in a thick towel and walked down through the hall to the bedroom. There was one good thing about being Fred and Ben’s guest, they had nice towels.
I walked into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe. I dropped my towel.
“Nice ass,” Leeanne said.
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