Robert Lubrican - For Want of a Memory

And he doted on her. She went shopping at the drop of a hat. After all, one could no longer wear a hat once it had been dropped … now could one?

There were only two burrs under her saddle, as her husband would have put it. He styled himself a Western man, hinting that General George Custer was in his bloodline, though never actually claiming it. Flirting with a relation to the famous man was one thing. Actually admitting to have inherited genes from a complete idiot was another.

The first burr under her saddle was her inability to do anything privately anymore. Her husband took great glee in telling the world where she was going and what she’d be doing. That was because he wanted the world to know that his young and beautiful wife was more than just a young and beautiful woman. In her role as the governor’s wife, she went here and there, doing this and that. Shopping was always included, but only after she took care of business. He also took great pride in the fact that she drove herself everywhere. No wasting of taxpayer dollars could be alluded to, because she always took her own sports car. The paparazzi, always knowing where she’d be, were a constant pain in the butt. And, wherever there was a bevy of cameras, there were curious onlookers too-and they sometimes wanted some time with her as well.

The second was that Randall was pathetically eager for his wife to do something else she’d never done with any other man-have babies. She shuddered at the mere thought of having to live with a distended, disfiguring, ugly belly. It would ruin her career.

On this particular day, Chantal was going to visit a daycare center on Long Island, where other women’s babies could be cuddled and kissed. She liked to stress childcare in the state. Everybody needed it. It was good press. And then, of course, shopping on 5th Avenue.

It had, as usual, been announced in the papers.

The Higginbotham boys knew where Chantal would be, because they’d read the paper, which they stole every day from a number of hotel lobbies. Curly had established a route for this purpose, so that he didn’t become too well known in any one hotel. They knew what time she would be at the childcare center and, roughly, where she’d go shopping later.

They’d decided to take her as she left the childcare center, since there would likely be fewer cops around then. There would be photographers, but they were pansies, so who cared. Besides, they planned to keep their heads down and the cameras from getting the kind of pictures that would be a problem.

The crowd of photographers actually helped their plan, since it gave Curly a reason to be close to where she’d walk. Those photographers were currently lounging around, hoping that something would happen. What did happen not only exceeded their expectations … it exceeded their wildest dreams.

Moe was driving the van. It had been stolen only hours before-chosen because it was plain white. It belonged to a company that was not open on Saturdays and wouldn’t miss it until Monday. Twelve cans of Krylon paint, purchased with money taken under the pretense of acquiring it for a teenage tagger-whom Larry had then told he was an undercover cop and pretended to chase for half a block-had made the upper half blue, just in case-including parts of the windshield where Larry hadn’t applied the taped on newspapers quite correctly. Magnetic signs had been applied to the sides and back, indicating that it belonged to a fictitious delivery company and giving them an excuse for double parking on the street.

Curly had a camera draped around his neck, but had no idea how to use it. It had been taken from a tourist, who they’d lured into an alley to buy a Rolex watch for fifty dollars. The camera allowed him to loiter near the entrance to the center, blending in with the other photographers.

Larry was standing by a lamp post, reading a paper-apparently engrossed in the sports pages-looking simply like he was waiting to see what all the fuss was about.

The plan was simple, since Moe was a firm believer in the KISS system of planning. Not only was it easier to keep things simple, but he was convinced that his brothers were stupid and incapable of following a complicated plan.

Curly was to give Moe, who was currently double parked a hundred feet down the street, the high sign when he saw the woman coming out. When Curly signaled him, he’d drive forward, get out of the van and open the double side doors, position himself within the open side of the van, and begin shooting repeatedly at nothing in particular. All the paparazzi would hit the dirt, while Curly and Larry manhandled the governor’s wife to the street and into the van. Larry had an ether-soaked rag in a plastic bag, to knock her out with, and Curly would grab her legs. Moe would keep shooting, occasionally, to keep heads down and the path to the van clear.

The getaway route had been carefully planned. It didn’t matter if the van was involved in a few bumps, since it would be abandoned within five minutes. Getting the unconscious woman to their hideout was the crowning part of the plan. They’d rented a hearse, complete with a coffin, telling the owner it was for a practical joke. You could rent anything in New York City. It was parked in the garage of another business that wasn’t open on Saturdays, which they’d broken into that morning. They could make the transfer of the woman to the coffin in the garage where no one would see them. The hearse would get them off the island and they could then work their way out of town, where an abandoned warehouse would become their hideout and Chantal’s temporary prison. When the money was electronically deposited into an anonymous off shore account, her husband would be told where he could find her. He’d find her naked and well fucked, of course, but then who wouldn’t expect that?

Kris was already thinking about the book as he negotiated the Saturday morning traffic. He’d dropped off a copy of the half completed manuscript at his publisher’s office, but hadn’t told them he was leaving town to finish it. He’d locked up his apartment in Brookdale and was working his way toward I-95.

His plan was to go north, taking I-287 to I-684. Continuing north from there would get him to Interstate 84, which would take him east into Connecticut. Highway 37 would take him north to Pembroke, on the shores of Lake Nassequa, where the vacation house was located. He’d never been out of the city in this direction, but he had the route written down and wasn’t worried about it. The rental agreement was in the inside pocket of his sports coat and the key to the house was in his right pants pocket. His mail would be forwarded, so he wouldn’t miss any bills.

Moe saw Curly give the sign and threw the van into gear. He lurched forward and then came to a stop. He threw open the driver’s door and put his left leg out, pulling the gun out from under his right thigh.

Chantal put on her most sincere smile and pulled her fur coat tightly around her. It was cold. She had on sunglasses, to moderate the flashes from the cameras, and the six inch stiletto heels she favored because of the way they forced her to walk, in case there was any video being shot. She stepped confidently from the childcare center, being escorted out by the beaming owner, to face the press.

Lola’s phone had been busy since he’d gotten on the road, and Kris was trying to call her for the third time, to let her know he was leaving town. His eyes were on the buttons of the phone when the door of the van he was about to pass was thrown open and half a body appeared. He didn’t even know he’d hit the man until he heard the grinding tear of metal on metal and looked up, astonished, to see the door being pushed forward by the right front fender of his car. He heard a scream and saw, just for a split second, the agonized face of a man between his car and the van. He was completely past the van before he reacted and his foot went to the brake.