Today on 8 Minutes to Sunday, Dalton overhears a plot to rob the bank, but who is it, and why?
“What was that about?” Sally asked.
“Well, you might be the Bride in the photo,” I said. “Or, we might be cousins, or something. Just one piece in the puzzle. It can’t be coincidence we both lost our memories at the same time, in the same place.”
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“You’d marry me?” she asked.
I stuttered. “Well, uh, I, it seems like I might have felt that way once, that’s all. I don’t remember. I don’t really know you, now. But, maybe?” I said.
That was stupid.
“Oh,” she said.
“That’s not to say I don’t find you attractive,” I said. “You’re a pretty girl.”
“Um, thanks?” she said.
This was getting awkward fast. Pro tip; when you’re in a hole, stop digging. I sat quiet.
Sometime after the last nurse check of the night I woke. There was someone in the room. I could feel it. I opened my eyes, but lay still. I could see Sally, asleep in the chair. But someone else was behind me.
“If we let him live, he’s going to find me,” a raspy voice said.
“You know we have to,” a man’s voice said.
I looked up at my monitors. There was a slight reflection off the screen. Two men, one large, one smaller and wiry. It was Ty and the stranger from the truck. Why did they want me dead?
“If we touch him, before it’s complete, they’ll kill us, or worse,” Ty said.
“Dalton was trouble before, and he’s trouble now,” the big man said. “Let’s get the girl and get out of here.”
“No, too risky,” Ty said. “When she wakes up, she’ll scream. He can’t know we have her.”
The big man chuckled, like a rusty chain dragging. “You’re worried about what they’ll do if you take out Dalton? Nothing compared to what happens if that money’s not in his hands by Christmas. If she keeps putting it in the bank, we’ll have to rob the place to get it back.”
The money. In the safe deposit box. That’s why they were after her, for sure. But who wanted it?
“We’ll have to wait until the girl is clear, then we’ll snatch her,” Ty said.
Sally sat up.
“Sorry to disturb you, miss,” Ty said.
The two men walked to the door. I turned my head enough to see them leave. White lab coats. The bigger one had the left sleeve tucked in his pocket. The walked into the hall and were gone.
I had to get her out of here. I sat up. My head pounded. A sharp pain ran down my spine. I blacked out.
Sea of faces. Grabbed a lab coat. Had to tell them. Monitors beeping. Syringe. IV. Plunger. Slipping. That felt better. It could wait. Nothing.
By the time I regained consciousness, Sally was gone. I didn’t have to ask where she was. They’d gotten her. I sat up. I was in the process of tearing out the tubes when she walked in.
“Wait. You’re here?” I asked.
“Yes, where else would I be,” she said.
I debated. Tell her, or keep my mouth shut. Might have imagined, or dreamt it all. My head felt better but last night was a blur.
Leeanne came an hour later.
“Three or four more days of taking it easy,” the doctor said. “It’s healing nicely, but you gave us a scare last night.”
So, there had been something.
It felt good to be wearing clothes with a butt in them. The air outside was turning colder. As it so often did, the Oklahoma weather was transitioning rapidly into Winter. We got into Mayor Skinner’s black sedan. We’d kept it after the incident and no one had asked about it. I rode shotgun.
“So, your mystery will have to wait,” Leeanne said.
“We have time,” Sally said. “There’s another bus on Christmas Eve.”
“That’s four days, right?” I said.
My head was too foggy for dates and times.
“Plenty of time to sort this out,” Leeanne said.
When we got home, Ryan and Fred were waiting. They had the sofa bed pulled out, and a buffet of snacks and canned soup lined up. Ryan had a stack of DVDs. There wasn’t a good option for streaming video in River Grove yet. I welcomed the attention.
By the next afternoon, I had cabin fever. I got up and put on shoes. I got my coat and found the keys to the truck. I’d been left alone while Leeanne and Sally took DJ to go work on the house. I put on my uniform for the first time. I strapped on the holster. I drove to the bank.
“I know your policy,” I said. “But what do I need to get around it and get a look in that box?”
“Well, either the owner of the key has to open it for you,” the manager said. “Or a judge has to order it. My hands are tied.”
I went back to the truck. Got in and backed out. The teller from the other day was waving. From the alley behind the bank. She looked scared. I rolled around the block and pulled up in the alley. She got in.
“Sheriff,” she said. “I’m in trouble.”
I checked my mirror. I didn’t need anyone sneaking up on me again. I put the truck in drive and headed out to the grove. We parked. She talked.
“Two men came in yesterday,” she said. “They demanded the same information I gave you. Then, they handed me this.”
She handed me a school photo. The boy was about eight or nine. He looked like her. There was a red circle, in marker, around his head. I’d seen that before.
They were all dead now.
“Your son?” I asked.
“Yes, I didn’t know what it meant. They didn’t say,” she said. “But, I told them what I told you. Then, last night, there was a creepy old white truck in front of my house.”
“The men, one young cowboy,” I said. “And an old scarred man with one arm and a beard?”
“Yes,” she said. “You know them?”
“I think I might,” I said.
“What do I do?” she asked.
“You have anywhere you could go for Christmas?” I asked.
“We were leaving for my mother’s, on Christmas Eve,” she said.
“Go today,” I said.
“Okay, but my job, I don’t have that kind of time off,” she said.
There were benefits to being sheriff. “I’ll take care of that with your manager. But, you get out now. I’m going to send someone with you. Are you married?”
“No,” she said. “Divorced.”
“How were you getting there?” I asked.
“Bus to Oklahoma City and a plane to Orlando,” she said. “But, I can change my flight.”
“Good, do that,” I said.
I drove her back to the bank and went across to the mayor’s office. Ryan was there.
“I need you to do me a favor,” I said.
I explained the situation and asked him to go with the girl and stay with her until the bus left town safely.
“Got it,” he said.
I set a badge on the counter. ‘Sheriff’s Deputy’ it said.
“What is this?” Ryan asked.
“Hopefully you won’t need it. But, in case you do,” I said.
“Wow, I’m a cop? My mom would be so proud,” he said.
“Watch out for Ty and that big guy with one arm,” I said.
“Yeah, Fred told me about that,” he said. “What are you going to do next?”
“Sally Earl and I are going to go have a long talk about some money,” I said.
I went back to the bank.
“Rose has explained everything,” the manager said. “Thank you for helping her. I’ve given her all the time she needs to make sure she’s safe.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Is there anything else I can do?” the manager asked.
“Yeah, tell your guard not to let those two in the bank again,” I said.
“Ty’s got an account here, I can’t,” he said.
I interrupted him.
“Close it,” I said.
The last thing I needed was a hostage situation at the bank. I wished I had more help. I needed deputies. Something we were going to deal with at the next council meeting in January. It might be too late. For now I had Ryan, who was better with a paint sample book than a pistol, but he was smart.
TIME FOR DOLPHINSCHOOL BOOTCAMP AGAIN!
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