THE ROMAN LEE SERIES
"CRIMSON ROWS"
Five
6:30AM
The unmistakable jarring of something heavy hitting
the front of the late model Chevrolet Impala caused the windshield to crack in
multiple directions. The same way you
would see ice underneath your feet crack if the stress of the weight were too
much. Forty-eight year old Burt Stiles
had been laid off for seven month after working at the same electrical company
for more than a decade. His unexpected
financial situation had been compounded with problems at the unemployment
office. They had mishandled his claim
documents delaying payment causing most of his bills to go further past
due. He pleaded with the water
department to avoid shutting off his water which had bought him a little more
time.
His wife of twenty-five years had surprised him with
an unexpected pregnancy just a month before. They had been empty nesters only briefly as
their youngest had gone away to college.
This morning was to be a new beginning for him and a
path to financial recovery. He had
beaten out several candidates for a position with a new company in a
neighboring city. On his way to the
employer he chose to take the rural route instead of the highway. A small farming community separated Kirkwood
from his destination. The fog was dense
resulting in poor visibility. White
waves rolled low to the barren ground climbing over tops of the mounds of
unfertile dirt. Soil samples taken by
the EPA had revealed high levels of DDT resulting in the entire small community
economy to go belly up. A few of the
residents had remained scattered among the dilapidated barns and outbuildings.
Burt Stiles had only taken his eyes off the road
momentarily to find another XM station.
The current one had nothing but politicians yelling over one another
about the pharmaceutical companies.
Included in the debate was Michigan’s senator John Royals.
Whatever he hit it was heavy. Slamming on the brakes caused the vehicle to
slide uncontrollably on the moist concrete rendering the anti-lock brake system
useless. Skidding sideways he went into
a deep drainage ditch. After the vehicle had come to rest, icy cold water
started to pour into the interior. Smoke
also crept thru as the dashboard had been cracked in two. He needed to get out quickly.
Where was his cell phone? It had been on the seat next to him when he
had reached for the radio. What in the
hell did he hit? Where did it come from?
His wrists hurt something awful from bracing against the steering wheel as his
car slammed the bottom of the ditch. He
managed the steep climb to the road despite the pain.
Regaining his bearings he looked up and down both
sides of the road for the cause of the impact.
The slight indiscriminate sound of gravel being disturbed on the
shoulder near the pavement drew his attention.
Under the scarce light from the moon he could make out a shape pulling
itself along the ground about twenty yards away. Mortally wounded its progress eventually
slowed down then stopping altogether.
Burt approached carefully. His
unexpected vacation had found himself occupying his time late at night with
science fiction movies and a litany of horror titles.
A truly shocking discovery as he was within range close
enough to make out details. Thin greyish
looking skin stretched over a lifeless skeleton. At first glance it almost looked alien. But a closer look revealed that it was human
after all. Burt began to tremble as his
heart sank. He had struck and killed
someone with his automobile. Thoughts
raced through his mind as his body shook faster. His family without him while he served how
long of a prison sentence? His wife and
newborn living in a shelter because they couldn’t afford the bills. Staring down he noticed a small patch of
uneven hair full of dust and blood sitting atop the sunken profile. The male appeared to be in his twenties. He was only wearing a pair of Nike running
shorts that had been torn from the accident.
What was he doing out here in the middle of road? Kirkwood was a few miles back. Maybe he was a drug addict.
While Burt stared down pondering his future and
possible imprisonment he failed to notice a set of headlights about a quarter
mile away. It had been there ever since
he went off into the ditch. Slowly it
backed away extinguishing its beams before turning around to head in the
opposite direction. The owner inside
let go of the slide on his 9mm Beretta stopping just short of chambering a
deadly round. The glow of a cell phone
light stayed on for a about a minute or so and then it was gone.
Traveling the same direction he had been headed
earlier a truck stopped to offer assistance.
The smell of diesel exhaust was a welcomed interruption from his
thoughts. A window powered down.
“You ok?”
The voice was deep and direct.
“Yeah, I’m alright I guess.”
The trucks high beams flashed toward the side of the
road.
“And him?”
“Not so fortunate I’m afraid.”
“I called for a tow when I saw your car down there in
the ditch. I’ll text 911 the location
also for the body.”
A sheriff’s deputy arrived minutes before the
ambulance. The spotlight from his squad
car illuminated the gravel shoulder on the road displaying Burt’s mortal sin. The deputy was in his late thirties slightly
overweight with a recent tan indicating he had just returned from vacationing
in a warm climate.
“You the one that called it in?”
He was shining his flashlight at Burt. The sudden brightness causing his pupils to
try and adjust so he could see. Why in
the hell did they always shine the light in the eyes?
“No, the truck over there…… did.”
The stranger who had placed the necessary calls for
assistance was gone.
“Have you consumed any alcohol in the last few hours
Mr. Stiles?”
He had a couple of beers last night before going to
bed while watching the London Knights take on Detroit. But that would have been digested and
metabolized by now.
“No sir I have not.”
“Ok, I need you to have seat in the back of the car
while I get a blanket for our friend over there.”
He opened the back door. The back seat was cramped with little leg
room. A small consolation was that the
deputy left the car running with the heater on.
The trunk lid opened and shut causing the vehicle to move slightly. Burt watched as the deputy walked over to
where the body rested placing a blanket over it. He returned to the car and flipped on the
interior dome lighting.
Watching the deputy log on to his mounted laptop he
began the interview right there. He
asked him about the speed at which he was traveling and the direction. The purpose for being out so early in the
morning. He noted the weather conditions
including the thick fog that was beginning to dissipate now as hints of
daylight nudged its way into the dawn hours.
Noting the road conditions, he filled out the vehicle information. Burt was surprised at the amount of
information that populated in the fields on the deputy’s screen. His personal information along with relatives
addresses. Lastly came the narrative.
“Mr. Stiles, so you were driving to the new job this
morning. What happened?”
“I was headed to my new job. I reached to change the station on my XM
radio and something smacked into my windshield.
Naturally I pressed firmly down on the brakes.”
“Causing you to lose control of your vehicle.”
“I didn’t know what I hit. It could have been a deer or something.”
“So, your stating you didn’t see him before you struck
him with your car.”
“Correct, I did not see him.”
The red flashing lights from the EMT’s were
approaching less the siren.
“Do you need medical attention Mr. Stiles?”
“My wrists are sore is all.”
The deputy finished his report. He printed a copy for himself. Taking a pen from his shirt pocket he wrote
the incident number down on a business card and handed it back through a small
slot in the reinforced glass partition.
“Our office will be contacting you regarding the
accident. You will be free to go after
they remove the body and the tow truck collects your car from the ditch.”
The deputy powered down his window as one of the EMT’s
approached the drivers side.
“Your counties Medical Examiner is on vacation from
what we were just told. We are taking
the body to Dr. Nyguen’s office in Kirkwood.”
“That’s fine I’ll amend my report later. Any ideas about his condition before he got
hit?”
“Never seen anything like it. One of his arms has puncture wounds like he
has been shooting up for quite a while.
But his skin is such an odd color.”
The tow truck finally arrived to pull his vehicle from
the deep drainage ditch. He rode with
the driver back to Kirkwood in silence and grateful he wasn’t in custody.
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