Ken Douglas - Nightwitch

“ It was you,” she said.

He didn’t answer her.

“ On the beach last week? You saved me from those men?”

“ We gotta go. I got a car.”

“ Not till you tell me.”

“ Sarah, you’re naked.”

“ So, you’ve seen me naked before, haven’t you?”

“ Sarah, any minute another redneck is gonna come out that door and get an eyeful.”

“ Tell me, dammit.”

“ It was me.”

“ We can go now,” she said and he led her across the parking lot to a blue station wagon.

“ 1965 Chevy Impala station wagon,” he said as he opened the passenger door for her. “Three hundred and twenty-seven cubic inches, Powerglide automatic transmission,” he continued, after he got in. “This baby is virtually trouble free and will probably run forever.” He put the key in the ignition and started the car.

“ How’d you get the keys?”

“ I went into the bar and asked to see the manager.”

“ And.”

“ And I told him what a wonderful bar he had.” Coffee eased the car out of the parking lot and back toward Highway 1.

“ And he just happened to loan you his car?”

“ Not exactly.”

“ Well?”

“ I picked his pocket.”

“ Of course.”

“ Now, if he just stays behind the bar till closing, we’ll be back in Palma before he notices the car’s gone.”

“ No gas,” she said.

“ What?”

“ No gas. You stole a car without any gas in it.”

“ Damn.” He stepped on the brakes. “And I almost passed the station.” He turned into the Shell station and pulled up to the pump. The gas island was lit by flood lights and the kid that came out to the car got an eyeful, before Sarah covered her breasts.

“ Lady’s got no clothes on,” the kid said, standing outside the driver’s window and looking past Coffee. He was about sixteen and hadn’t seen many naked ladies in his young life.

“ Fill her up,” Coffee said.

“ This is Jack’s car,” the kid said.

“ He loaned it to me.”

“ Really?” the kid said. Coffee noted the skepticism in the kid’s voice.

“ Loaned me the lady too.” Coffee winked at the kid.

“ Really?” the kid’s tone changed.

“ Poker bet,” Coffee said.

“ That Jack,” the kid said, shaking his head and going to the pump, “he’s always doing something wild. Wait till the guys hear about this.”

Coffee got out of the car and walked up to the kid. “Here,” he said, handing the kid a hundred dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

“ Thanks, mister,” the kid said as he put the nozzle into the tank.

“ But don’t tell the gang till tomorrow, okay?” He winked again. “Wouldn’t want her husband to find out and spoil my night. Know what I mean?”

“ Sure thing, mister. Not a word out of me.”

Coffee got back in the car, greeted by an angry glare from Sarah. He turned away from her. The kid slapped the roof and Coffee pulled out of the station, with his eyes on the road.

“ Cute,” she said, biting back her anger. “Wouldn’t want her husband to find out and spoil the fun. Won her in a poker game.”

“ He was just a kid.”

“ I’m a human being, Coffee. Not some piece of meat.”

“ You’re naked, Sarah. I had to think of something.”

“ That’s the best you could do?”

“ It’s not my fault you’re naked.”

“ You said you were going to get me something to wear.”

“ Sorry.”

“ I’ll bet,” she said, then she shut up and stared at the road. At least he was driving like a sane man, holding to the speed limit. She watched him as he drove. It started to rain and he turned on the wipers. She liked the sound they made, steady, hypnotic. She was no longer self conscious about her nakedness in front of him. Somehow it seemed natural. He was special. He was crazy, but he was special.

“ Why don’t you get some sleep,” he said.

“ I think I’ll stay awake,” she said, closing her eyes. She was exhausted and for a short while she drifted around in that magical place between sleep and not sleep, then she couldn’t fight it anymore.

She woke with cool, cold air drifting across her breasts. He’d rolled his window down. The rain had stopped. She yawned and looked over at him.

“ Where are we?”

“ We’re almost back.”

“ What was this all about, John? The maniac ride out of town. My house. The whole thing?”

“ Tried to fool it into thinking I’ve left. I’m hoping she’ll find the car and hunt around down there, while I try and get back what I stole. Then maybe I can make a deal.”

“ Okay, John Coffee, I’m just along for the ride.” Just when she was starting to like him, too. He’d saved her from being raped and probably murdered last week and again tonight, twice in the same month, plenty enough for any girl, she thought, and he was plenty enough man for any girl, but he was a walking, driving fruitcake.

Since he’d come into her life, she’d lost her husband, her house, her car, her clothes and everything she owned. Except the money Gram had left. Fortunately it was in the bank, but she was sure that if she hung around John Coffee long enough, he’d figure a way to lose that, too.

She half expected him to turn onto her street when they got back into town, to see if the house was saved. But he didn’t. He drove on by without even a glance down the block. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. For a second she thought about jumping out of the car, but she had no clothes. It was one thing to be seen and made fun of by the kid in the gas station and the two rednecks at the bar, she would never see those people again. But she lived in Palma and she wasn’t about to go walking around town, in the middle of the night, stark naked.

“ End of the line,” he said, parking the car by the Little League field on the edge of town.

“ What are we doing here?” She asked.

“ I can’t stay at the motel anymore. Too public. I need someplace private.”

“ So.”

“ You know the clearing up by the cliffs?”

“ Yeah.”

“ I’ve got a camp up there.”

“ That’s smart,” she said with a sarcastic lilt to her voice.

“ What do you mean?”

“ Every teenager in town knows about that clearing. It’s makeout city on Friday and Saturday nights.”

“ Then I have to move it.”

“ You’ll be okay. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“ Why, tomorrow’s Friday?”

“ I didn’t mean anyone would be up there tomorrow. Nobody’s going up there in November. Too cold. I just meant that the place isn’t very secret. Everybody in town knows that clearing is up there, but I doubt you’ll have any visitors.”

“ I already had a kid up there, but I chased him off.”

“ Really? In the middle of the week, in November? They must really be in love.”

“ Only one and not that kind of kid. This one was much younger, of the rock throwing variety. Good aim, too. I got a bruise in the middle of my back to prove it,” he said. She thought he probably had a lot of bruises on his body.

“ That thing you’re running away from. If it’s still around, aren’t you afraid it’ll find you out in the woods?” She thought he was crazy, but she wanted to understand the logic behind his strange actions.

“ She can’t read minds, but when she’s human she can ask questions like anyone else. That’s probably how she found you. A harmless old black woman asking questions about the pretty girl who drives a Volvo. ‘I’m an old friend, where does she live?’ Who wouldn’t tell her?”

“ But I drive a VW.”

“ You know what I mean. It was the Volvo we were trying to run her down with.”