| |
––––––––
MY ARMS AND SHOULDERS were already fatigued to the point of pain. I was feeling more self-loathing. Why had I stripped without a fight instead of making Morton knock me unconscious? But there was no time for a pity party. I had act. I had to free myself now before the fatigue became worse and rendered me helpless.
I felt there had been enough slack to allow me to slip my hands out of the rope before Morton had hoisted me up. But now the rope around my wrists was in a bind, and too tight for me to slip my hands out. I first had to remove that bind before I'd be able to do anything else. I grabbed hold of the rope suspended from the ceiling. I hoped I'd be able to climb the rope until I could grasp the beam or whatever Morton had suspended it from above me. With my wrists tied, I was only able to get the thumbs and a couple of fingers of each hand around the rope. I gripped the rope as hard as I could and tried to lift myself up.
Progress was scant at best. It seemed I was moving up only a millimeter at a time. But, the bind on the rope around my wrists was starting to lessen a bit. As the bind relaxed, I was able to move up the rope a bit further with each new grip. I kept going. After what seemed like an eternity, my fingertips touched rough wood. I reckoned the ceiling must be the open type with exposed beams. I wanted to try and grab hold of the beam. If I could only pull myself up, and get on top of the beam, I was sure I'd be able to slip my hands out of the rope. But, I couldn't work out how to let go of the rope to do it without falling back down.
As I clung to the rope the fatigue and pain in my arms and shoulders got worse and worse. I knew I couldn't hang here much longer. Then I lost my grip and fell.
The next minute I was on the floor moaning. My knees hurt like hell. I must have landed on them. I was laying on my right side on the floor. As the pain subsided, I realized my hands were free. Falling a meter or more must have been enough force to snatch my hands out of the rope. Things hadn't gone as planned, but I had sorted it. I was free. I reached up and pulled the blindfold off.
The interior of the hut was dusty and a mess. Someone must have abandoned it before Morton moved in. I pushed myself up off the floor with care. My knees still hurt. When I was on my feet, I looked down and saw I'd scraped both when I fell. Both were bleeding a bit. But, I found I could walk and walking seemed to help a bit. The interior of the hut was one open room. There was a small bed in one corner with sheets and a blanket on it. There was an ancient cook stove in what served as the kitchen area. There were cardboard boxes stacked along one wall. I saw something familiar on the floor next to the bed. I went for a closer look. It was the backpack that Morton had taken from me in my hotel room. I picked it up. It was empty now. Where was the money? Was it with him in the ute?
After opening several of the boxes, I accepted the money wasn't in any of them. Some held books, some clothing, and some other personal belongings. The boxes I surmised had been here when Morton arrived, not stuff he had brought with him. I looked about for a weapon. There were no knives in the kitchen, and none of the handguns from the backpack Morton had taken off me. There was an ancient wardrobe against one wall. I looked in all the drawers which were empty except the bottom one. It contained an old claw hammer with a wooden handle. That it seemed was as close to a weapon as I'd get.
At the back of the hut, there was another door. I walked to it and found it locked. I turned the lock and opened the door. In back I saw a worn dirt footpath. It led into thick stands of trees and underbrush like that I'd seen on the side of the road when I'd driven Morton here. The footpath disappeared after entering the trees. I walked down the cement steps and followed the footpath. It made twists and turns through the bush whenever it encountered large trees. I followed it for about twenty or thirty meters. Something off the right side of the footpath caught my eye. I walked toward it and found a spot of freshly turned dirt. Did Morton bury the money here? The diggings bore further investigation. But, not now. It would have to wait. I followed the footpath back to the hut.
Back inside, I went to one of the boxes I'd opened and searched before. I'd found some fishing equipment in it. I was already organizing a plan, and there was something in the box that I wanted. I pulled out two spools of monofilament line. One spool was bright orange line. The other was a light blue line. It was near transparent. I started back towards the door with the fishing line, intent on visiting the footpath again. But, I stopped. I heard a vehicle. The engine was getting louder which told me it was approaching. Was Morton returning already? Had I gone unconscious after the fall? It seemed Morton hadn't been gone for more than a quarter hour. I didn't have the time to put my plan into action. I'd have to change the plan.
I hurried over to a kitchen bench, dropped the fishing line on it, and picked up the hammer I'd found. I hurried back to the front door. I put my back to the wall to the side of it, the side where the door would conceal me from view when Morton opened it. I glanced at the back door. Good, I had left it open.
Morton would see I was no longer hanging where he left me the instant he opened the front door. Then he would see the open back door and assume I'd done a runner. With luck, he would hurry through the front door towards the back, and I'd have my chance with the hammer. My stomach was in knots when I heard the ute stop out front and the engine switch off. I held my breath. I heard footsteps on the wooden porch. I watched the doorknob turning. It seemed Morton hadn't locked it when he left earlier. The door started to open. It swung open then, but not far enough to touch me where I stood behind it. Morton didn't seem to be in a rush at all. He must see I was no longer suspended from the ceiling beam and the open back door. But for a long while, there was no movement at all. Then I saw it.
The gun came into view from behind the open door. I could see the hand gripping it, but nothing more. I decided to wait until Morton's wrist appeared and then I would bash it with the hammer. With luck it would break the wrist and Morton would drop the gun. With luck, I'd be able to snatch it up from the floor before the shock wore off. I raised the hammer over my head, ready to bring it down with all the force I could muster. I waited ready to pounce. The wrist appeared, and I started my downward swing. But, then I noticed something odd. The wrist. It wasn't a man's wrist. It had registered only a fraction of a second before I'd struck. Then a woman came into view from behind the door. It was Jackie.
"Jackie it's me!" I said. Jackie whirled toward me with the gun pointed at my chest. Only afterward did I realize how close I'd come to her shooting me. She was as frightened as I was when I shouted. Then she recognized me.
"T. J. what the hell?" Jackie said. "Why are you naked?"
I reached out and grabbed her in a hug, stifling a sob. "My god, I'm so happy to see you."
We embraced for several moments. I struggled to regain my composure, and Jackie struggled as much to recover from the fright I'd given her. After several minutes we let go of each other.
"Morton made me strip before tying me up," I said. "He reckoned it less likely I'd do a runner while nude. My clothes are in the ute he's driving. For fuck's sake, Jackie. How did you find me?"
"He didn't think you would run away while naked? He must have never seen one of those slasher movies. Anyway, I remembered something I wanted to tell you after we split up to go to our rooms," Jackie said. "I was on my way to your room when I saw you come out your door with a man behind you. I didn't have a good look at him, but I feared it was Morton, so I stayed hidden behind a corner. I watched you both walking away. I could tell by your body language something was wrong. Once you reached the parking lot at the side of the hotel, I moved that way. Then I got a good look at the man's face when he got in the Toyota on the passenger side. I recognized Morton, and I saw the gun."
"Did you follow us?" I said.
"Yes. I ran back to your room and found the Jeep keys. I then ran to where we had left it. I took off the direction I'd seen you drive away in. When I got to the edge of town, I could tell from the dust clouds that you had continued straight on the road and I followed. I stayed well back so I wouldn't tip Morton off that I was following. I didn't have to see the truck, I had only to follow the dust cloud."
"You saw us turn off on the road to this hut?" I said.
"No, I didn't," Jackie said. I missed the turn and drove right on past the road to this place. Once I realized there was no longer a dust cloud to follow, I realized you must have turned off. But, by then I'd passed several roads and didn't know which you had taken. I tried several, but they didn't seem to lead to anything. By process of elimination, I found the road leading here. It was the shortest road and led to a structure, so I hoped I'd found where Morton had taken you."
"You're awesome," I said. "Thanks so much."
"Where is Morton now?" Jackie said.
"He went back to town to abduct you and bring you here," I said. "I was so frightened for you."
"How did you free yourself?" Jackie said.
"I'll tell you all about it later," I said. "By now Morton has discovered you're not at the hotel and that the Jeep is gone. He'll know that because he had been watching us or someone he knows was. He'll hurry back here."
"So, let's get the hell out of here and call the police," Jackie said.
"No, I have something else in mind for Morton," I said. "Let me have your gun. Then go get the Jeep and hide it in the trees somewhere. Make sure it is out of sight."
Jackie seemed to think about it for a moment, but then she handed me the pistol butt first. "What are you going to do?" Jackie said.
"I'm going to lay a trap for Morton out back," I said. "After you hide the Jeep, come back to the hut. Hide somewhere and keep watch so you can alert me if you see him returning. Once I have things organized, I'll come get you and explain the plan."
"Okay," Jackie said. She jogged toward the Jeep.
I closed the front door and hurried back to the kitchen bench. I retrieved the fishing line and then went out the back leaving the door standing open. My hands were full, so I tossed the hammer into the brush. I jogged down the footpath until I'd made three of the turns and came to a straightaway. I stopped there and put the gun on the ground. I tied the bright orange fishing line to the trunk of a tree on one side of the path. Then I spooled off more line while backing across the footpath to the other side. There I ran the line around another tree trunk and pulled it taut. I tied off the line in a secure knot the way my dad had taught me years before. I had a taut length of monofilament line stretched across the footpath. It was about 25 centimeters above the ground. It was the perfect height to trip someone up running full on up the footpath. The orange line was very visible in the sunlight. Perfect.
I moved about a meter and a half up the footpath from the orange monofilament line. I tied the light blue fishing line to another tree. This time the line was at about one meter, seventy-five above ground level. I spooled out the line as I backed across the footpath. I looped the line around another tree at the same height. I pulled it taut and tied it off with secure knots. Now I had a second taut line suspended at what I reckoned was about chin high for a person of Morton's height. Unlike the orange line, the light blue line was near invisible. Well done.
I ran back along the pathway to the hut, taking care to skip over the orange fishing line. It was then that I noticed the spade leaning against the back of the hut. Indeed, Morton had been doing some digging. I found Jackie at a front corner of the hut. From there she could see Morton's vehicle approaching when he returned.
"It's all sorted," I said. "Now, here is the plan."
I explained the plan fast but gave her all the details. "Don't forget, Jackie. The first line is bright orange and just beyond the third turn of the footpath. Be sure to skip over it and then duck right away, so you aren't caught by the second line. And then keep running straight away until I shout all clear."
"I don't like the part about getting naked," Jackie said. "Why do I have to take my clothes off too?"
"Because when you take off from the back door as Morton comes through the front, I want him to see a flash of a bare bum," I said. "That will motivate him to give chase. He'll think you're me."
"But our bodies are nothing alike, and your hair is blond," Jackie said.
"It won't matter," I said. "Morton will be so surprised I'm loose that only the flash of a naked female bum he will be expecting to see will register, and he will chase after you."
"Assuming he doesn't shoot me in the back instead," Jackie said.
"He won't," I said. "I explained that. He wants me alive for a reason, and he won't shoot. He will want to catch me. Besides, I doubt he will even have the gun out when he opens the front door. He won't have a clue I managed to free myself, and he won't expect you to be here."
"Okay, okay," Jackie said. She started pulling the surfer tee off over her head. Next came the jeans and then the bra. She slipped her undies off, and we were both starkers. I didn't feel so alone anymore. "This is like being at a freaking nudist colony," Jackie said.
"Stop grumbling," I said. "Besides, nudists don't call them colonies any longer. I'm going to my hide position beside the footpath. You keep watching here until you see Morton driving up. Then go stand in the back doorway with your arse facing the front until he opens the door. Then scream and run like hell."
"Got it," Jackie said, not looking at me. It seemed she had gone shy. I took off for the footpath.
It seemed like no more than five minutes had passed when I heard the ute approaching. The engine noise rose and fell as it negotiated the rough track leading to the hut. Later, in hindsight, it would seem fortunate that Morton returned when he did. Sitting beside the trail, I was starting to feel guilty. I was putting Jackie at great risk for one reason. I wanted to get the money back. I was about to run back to the hut and make a run for the Jeep with Jackie when I heard Morton approaching in the ute. It was spilt milk now. The plan was in motion.
I heard the engine of the ute switch off. Then moments later I heard Jackie scream and Morton cursing. Next minute I saw Jackie's naked bum whiz past me on the footpath. Then I saw Morton. He vaulted the low orange fishing line. He looked as if he was starting to laugh when the near invisible second fishing line caught him. It caught him beneath the chin. What happened next was a textbook illustration of Newton's first law of motion. "An object in motion stays in motion. It continues with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."
When Morton hit the fishing line, both his feet shot straight out in front of him. Both legs went parallel to the ground. He then fell hard to the ground on his back. I even heard the whoosh of air rush from his lungs when he hit. He dropped the gun he was holding when he hit the ground, and it landed on the footpath about a meter away from him. The moment his feet went out from under him, I sprang from hiding. I took up a two-handed shooting position on the footpath in front of him. I started to walk to him to pick up the fallen pistol, but as I took the first step, Morton raised up on his elbows. He looked disoriented and was struggling for breath. But, his eyes darted towards the pistol on the ground.
"Don't," I said. "I'll shoot you if you try it." We locked eyes for a moment. Then Morton lunged for the weapon. I shot him, twice. Once in the chest and once in the head. He fell back, his open eyes staring at the sky. Time seemed to stop for a moment. The sound of the shots rang in my ears. Then I realized Jackie was standing beside me.
"You killed him," Jackie said.
"I did," I said. "Morton intended to kill us, both of us. And I reckoned he planned to do worse to us than that before he did. Besides, he didn't leave me any choice. He tried to pick up his weapon."
"Now what?" Jackie said.
"First, I'm going to put my clothes back on," I said. "Then I have some digging to do."
"We're going to bury him?" Jackie said.
"No, I'm digging something up he buried," I said. "Then we will call the police. Let's get dressed and I'll explain everything."
"At least he died happy I guess," Jackie said.
I turned to look at her. She had an impish grin on her lips. "Why do you say that?" I said.
"Well, he did get one more look at you in all your naked glory as he died," Jackie said. "Even as a woman, a straight chick at that, I have to admit you're pretty hot with your clothes off."
We both laughed. Likely not appropriate under the circumstances. But I attributed it a bit of gallows humor motivated by the extreme stress we'd been under. We walked back to the hut, retrieved our clothes, and got dressed. While we did that, I told Jackie about the money. I told her how there was a quarter-million more of it than the police knew about and why. Then I told her about the fresh spaded dirt I'd seen off the side of the footpath.
