He signaled for a left turn but had to stop and wait for a stream of cars going by in the opposite direction. Cars lined up behind the camper, since nobody could pass him. He was pleased to see Gary’s car right on his bumper, also signaling.
A gap in the traffic allowed him to make the turn. He crossed the lane and drove off the road onto the gravel shoulder as far as he could, to a spot partially shielded by rocks. He shut off the engine and locked his door. He pulled out the gun. This story was different than Rebel without a Cause or High Noon, because he wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
Gary stopped right behind him. In his outside mirror, he saw Gary jump out of his car and run up to Alfred’s window. Gary tried to open the door. Failing that, he pounded on the window and yelled through the glass, “Where’s Penny?”
“Come around to the sliding door,” Alfred shouted.
Alfred got out of his seat and went back to the bed where the blanket still covered Penny. He uncovered her head, keeping his gun hidden. She glared at him, unable to speak with her mouth taped. He unlocked the door, unlatched it, and gave it a shove so that it slid open. Then he put the gun to Penny’s head.
Gary looked through the window of the camper past Alfred, confirming that Penny wasn’t sitting in the other seat. If Alfred had done anything to her… As he went around the front of the camper, he noticed the damage to the spare tire and a dent in the metal. Had Alfred caused that? Was Penny hurt?
Through the front window, Gary saw Alfred get up from his seat and go back toward the sliding door. Gary tried to open the front, passenger-side door, thinking that if he could get through it, he might gain an element of surprise. It was locked. He took another step to the sliding door and tried to open it. Also locked. What kind of a game was Alfred playing? Gary couldn’t see through the curtained window on the door. Within seconds he heard a click and the door unlatched. Gary grabbed the handle and slid it all the way open.
By the time the door opened enough for Gary to see in, Alfred was standing over Penny at the end of the bed, just inside the doorway. Gary saw Penny’s face and the gun pointed at it simultaneously. The combination of the two turned him to stone. Her eyes were large, looking at him with a warning she couldn’t voice because her mouth was taped.
Alfred faced Gary, a slight grin on his face. “I don’t want to have to shoot. If you cooperate-”
“Is she hurt?” Gary’s fear showed in his voice.
Penny hummed, “Mmmh mmm.” It sounded like a negative.
“No, she’s fine. The tape is just a precaution.”
“If you hurt Penny, I’ll kill you.”
“Brave words from the guy who doesn’t have the gun. This is what I want you to do. Sit down here with your back to me.” Alfred pointed to the floor of the camper.
Gary saw the cut on Alfred’s forehead. It had been bleeding fairly recently. Something had happened-but what? He sat down at the entrance, reluctantly, with his feet on the ground. He turned his head to watch Penny and Alfred. How could he get the gun away from Alfred without endangering Penny’s life?
“Face front.”
Gary watched the gun swing around until he felt the cold metal against his own head. He faced away from Alfred. He wouldn’t be any good to Penny if he were dead.
“Put your hands behind your back.”
Should he duck and roll and try to get the camper between himself and Alfred? No, because then Alfred would shoot Penny.
“What are you going to do?”
“Put your hands behind your back.”
Alfred’s voice was more strident, more demanding. The gun dug into Gary’s scalp. Alfred wasn’t rational. He couldn’t be reasoned with. Gary could swing his arm and hope to dislodge the gun from Alfred’s hand, but if he missed, Alfred would shoot them both. For the moment, Gary had to do what Alfred wanted. He placed his hands behind his back. He had never been so scared in his life, but he was more scared for Penny than himself.
With one hand, Alfred arranged Gary’s arms so they crossed at the wrists. With his other hand, he kept the gun pointed at Gary’s head. Then Alfred wrapped something around and around Gary’s wrists. It felt and sounded like tape. Gary tried to surreptitiously hold his hands so that there would be some play between them, but Alfred wound the tape tightly enough to nullify this. He was obviously experienced at taping people. He must have practiced on Penny.
“Isn’t that enough?” Gary asked. “I can’t move my hands.”
“That’s the idea. Okay, here’s where you get to be a hero and save the life of your wife.”
Doing what? Gary didn’t say it out loud. He waited, hardly breathing, to hear his fate.
“You and I are going to walk out to the cliff. Then you’re going to be big and brave and jump off. If you do that, Penny will live.”
The unspoken part of that statement was that Penny would live with Alfred. She wouldn’t do that. The fact that Alfred had to tape Penny’s mouth and probably her hands and feet-she hadn’t moved-was in a way a relief to Gary. It meant that she hadn’t been seduced by Alfred. It meant that she still loved him. He had heard of kidnapped persons relating to their kidnappers, but it hadn’t happened in this case.
Should Gary walk to the cliff or should he force Alfred to shoot him here? The noise of the shot probably wouldn’t be loud enough for any cars on the road to hear, and they were shielded from the road by the body of the camper and some rocks. If he shot Gary, would he then shoot Penny?
Gary would rather take his chances with the cliff. When he was mobile, he might be able to do something. Even with his hands taped behind him, he had some options. The least he could do would be to take Alfred over the cliff with him. If he could get in the right position, he could slam his body into that potbelly. They would die together.
Alfred told Gary to stand. Gary stood slowly, turning his head a little to glance at Penny. She had a look of horror in her eyes, but it was more than that. Was she trying to tell him something? He wasn’t sure what. Then she hummed what sounded like a few notes of a song.
“Shut up.” Alfred momentarily aimed the gun at her.
She became quiet. What was the song? Gary wracked his brain. Penny’s voice had been a little hoarse, and he wasn’t sure he’d caught the notes. Alfred prodded Gary with the gun. He closed the door of the camper. Gary started walking slowly toward the cliff. He had to walk carefully on the uneven surface, covered with rock and slippery, green ice plant, because he couldn’t use his arms for balance. If he tripped, he would fall hard.
“Keep moving.”
Gary could feel the barrel of the gun in his back from time to time. Just to let him know that Alfred still held it on him.
“It’s hard to walk with my hands behind my back.”
“My heart cries for you. Just keep moving.”
What was that song? Eight notes. That’s what Penny had hummed. It was like being on the TV show, “Name that Tune.” He should be able to remember it. He hummed it in his head as he had heard it. It was coming back to him. It had been popular in the fifties, when he was in school. They were approaching the cliff. Gary could see the ocean below. Far below. Much too far to survive a fall. Especially since he would undoubtedly land on jagged rocks.
Gary stopped walking and turned to face Alfred. The words of the song had come to him: “Wait little darling, wait for me.” Wait for her. But what could she do? Could she get free? If so, what could she do to help him? She shouldn’t jeopardize her own safety. She should escape if she had the chance. But she would try to help him. He had to make sure she got away. He had to stall.