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I SAID, “COFFEE. DO you drink coffee? I find it makes for a good way to have a conversation. Over coffee. That’s what normal people do. We’d better get coffee. You got a car?”
Fearful, Chris said, “No! We mustn’t!”
“Get coffee? I know it’s late at night, but I’m awake. You’re awake. And I saved your ass. So, you’re going to explain to me what the hell is going on. Let’s get coffee or water or whatever you want.”
Matlind said, “No, I mean about the car.”
I asked, “You don’t have a car?”
“Yes. Well, I do, but they have it.”
I asked, “They have it?”
He nodded.
He said, “The mechanic has it. It broke down eight days ago.”
“Is that diner in town open all night?”
“I’m not sure, but I can’t go there. They’re in on it, too.”
“What? The thing about your wife?”
He nodded.
“Do you know if it’s twenty-four hours?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s find out. I’m tired. I had a long day, and you have a story to tell. Don’t worry. No one will mess with you as long as I’m here.”
I left Chris for five minutes and returned to my room. I grabbed my shirt. It was dry enough. I slipped it on and then my damp socks and shoes. I laced them up and walked out of the room. I shut my door but didn’t bother to lock it. What would be the point? There was nothing in it. No valuables. No belongings. Nothing. And the room had nothing worth stealing.
I reentered Matlind’s room and asked, “Ready to go?”
He stood up from the bed, released his nose, and pulled out the tissues. The bleeding continued, but it wasn’t as bad as before.
I asked, “Is your nose broken?”
“Yes. It isn’t too bad, though. I can’t go to the hospital. They don’t even have one here — just a clinic. If the local doctor sees me, he’ll insist that I get driven to the nearest hospital, and that’s probably in Oxford. I can’t take the chance of being sent away. I have to find my wife.”
“Okay. Okay. Let’s deal with one problem at a time. First, we have to fix your nose.”
He nodded.
I asked, “Do you have any medical tape?”
He shook his head.
I asked, “Do you have any duct tape?”
He replied, “In my suitcase. Over there. With my tackle box. I like to fish.”
I stood up and walked over to the suitcase he had pointed to. I searched through it and found a small tackle box and a travel-sized fishing rod. I grabbed the tackle box, popped open the lid, and peered in. I saw hooks, fishing lures, and a small roll of duct tape. I grabbed it and walked over to Matlind.
I said, “Move your hands away from your face.”
He followed my instructions. I took a good look. It wasn’t the worst nose break ever, but he was lying about the pain. It must’ve hurt like a train wreck like he had been run over by a steamroller.
I lied and said, “It’s broken, but not too bad. I’m going to have to set it. We can use the duct tape to act as a kind of field dressing. It will work just as good as any medical dressing you’d get in the emergency room.”
He asked, “How do you know that?”
I said, “I’ve been in the military my whole life. I’ve seen a lot of broken noses and much worse. Now hold still.”
He nodded and then said, “Do it.”
He breathed in deeply and held his breath, giving me a signal to go for it.
I put the roll of tape down on the bed behind him and reached out with both hands. I grabbed, pulled, and snapped his nose. It cracked, and then the nose was back into place.
Matlind squirmed and tried to escape from me. For a moment, I think he had forgotten that I was trying to help him, but then he stood still. He was taking short breaths for the pain, but he said, “Now the duct tape. I’m ready.”
Quickly, I peeled a strand of tape off the roll and strapped it to his face. Horizontally. Nice and tight.
I stepped back and got a good look.
I said, “That’ll work fine. Doesn’t look great, but then again any dressing on your face won’t help you win a beauty contest.”
He nodded and said, “Thank you.”
“Now, let’s get to the diner and talk about your wife.”
He agreed. He stood up and checked himself in the bathroom mirror then grabbed a new T-shirt and a fresh button-down shirt. He took off his old shirts and exchanged them for the new set.
Probably couldn’t stand looking at the blood stains.
We left the motel and walked downtown and back to the diner.
It was eight minutes past two o’clock in the morning.