I was feeling more and more exhausted. I’d gone on maybe another hour. Any road south would do me now. I found one and, with the sun to my right and getting lower, began my descent toward the coast.
The rapid breathing returned, and I had to pull in at the roadside and get the paper bag onto my face. The radio boomed, and Goatee gave the back tray another couple of kicks as I puckered my lips and kissed air.
Chapter 55
I spit out some more blood and covered my mouth and nose once more with the McDonald’s bag, but it was getting wet from me dripping into it every five minutes, and wouldn’t be good for much longer.
After about fifteen minutes, the hyperventilation had eased and I threw the bag back onto the passenger seat. The road ahead swam in and out of focus. All I knew was that as long as I kept heading south, toward the sea, I could sort myself out and get to the DOP.
As darkness began to fall, I found myself on an avenue of large houses set well back from the road, at the end of which was a sign that told me Villefranche was to the left, and Nice to the right.
The volume of traffic increased, and I had to concentrate even harder as the headlights came on and the wipers failed to shift the smear of insects on my windshield. In just a few more miles I was approaching the picnic area. I stopped by the bottle banks, and levered myself slowly out of the car, letting my arms take my weight. The parking lot was empty, but I left the music on to cover any noise Goatee might make. Opening the rear passenger door, I bent down to retrieve a full can of Coke Light from a six-pack in the footwell, and shoved it under the right-hand corner of the nearest bottle bank. My chest felt like a knife thrower had used it for target practice as I pushed myself back up.
Back behind the wheel, I felt under the dash for the brake and backup lights cutoff, pressing down on the brake so the rear of the wagon was now a blaze of red. It was in the same position as on the other two cars so that everyone knew where to find it, just like the keys. My fingers found the switch, and the gentle glow from the taillights returned in the rearview mirror.
I circled the parking lot and headed downhill, eyes peeled for the DOP driveway. If I missed it, I’d have to go into Hubba-Hubba’s old holding-up point, then make my way back uphill, and I didn’t want to do that if I could avoid it. Every movement was agony.
I kept the vehicle lights on high beam and let the car just coast on its brakes, leaning on the wheel to relieve the pain. I turned off the radio to help me concentrate. There was no sound from the trunk.
At last I saw it. I moved into the oncoming lane, killed the lights, put the Focus into first and managed to make the sharp right turn onto the track. My chest burst into flames again, and I coughed blood onto the dash.
The rusty chain was padlocked to a wooden post at either end. I put my foot down. I hit it dead center and the Focus lunged forward, but then stopped, throwing me against the steering wheel. The engine stalled.
My chest was agony. I coughed up another mouthful of blood and mucus and reached for the soggy McDonald’s bag. When my breathing had slowed, I lowered the window, listening for vehicles. There was nothing; I moved the gearshift into reverse, checked there was no white light behind me, backed into the road, and tried again, this time with more revs.
The post ripped out and I braced myself and braked, not wanting the Focus to go all the way down the hill just yet. I turned off the engine, put the hand brake on, and pressed the trunk-release catch before stumbling outside. Shoving the wet McDonald’s bag down my sweatshirt and using the car to support myself, I waded through a river of broken boxes, empty cans, and burst garbage bags.
The light came on as I lifted the tailgate. Goatee was still out of it, just a limp bundle. I got hold of his feet and swung them out, bent down, and half-lifted, half-dragged him out onto the ground. It was just as well there was no resistance from him: I wouldn’t have been able to fight back.
I made my way back to the driver’s seat, released the hand brake, and gave the Focus as much of a push as my grating ribs would allow. It rolled slowly forward, gathered a bit of momentum, and continued down the slope until it hit a barrier of old washing machines. It hadn’t gone far, but was out of view of the road, and that was what mattered.
I turned and limped back to Goatee, got my hands under his armpits, and dragged him onto the canvas tarpaulin to the right of the driveway.
A car came downhill from the picnic area, bathing the roadside and bushes in light. I waited for the sound of its engine to die, then pulled him over onto his side to make sure he didn’t choke on his tongue. He curled up like a baby. I sat over him; I tried lying down, but it was just too painful.
Coughing out more blood, I checked traser. It was just past seven o’clock: it could be hours before we got a pickup. Goatee’s condition was a worry. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. Come to think of it, I wasn’t too sure about myself.
I lifted the corner of the tarpaulin and covered him, trying to maintain his core temperature. I tried to get some of it over me as well, but it hurt too much to pull it any farther. I started to hyperventilate again with the effort and the McDonald’s bag finally fell apart as I tried to breathe into it again. There was nothing I could do but use my cupped hands. I rested my elbows on my knees for a moment, but that was too painful.
More vehicle lights bathed the skyline intermittently for the next hour or so, then I heard a diesel engine coming down the hill. I listened and hoped it would stop at the driveway, but no such luck. It passed and the lights disappeared. I checked traser again. Only ten minutes had passed since the last time I’d looked.
Goatee retched, and I heard a splash on the tarpaulin. He wheezed and fought for breath, then coughed again, and I felt warm liquid on the hand that I was using to support myself.
Two or three more vehicles passed in each direction as I just sat there, cross-legged, trying to keep my trunk upright, wishing my life away because I desperately needed Thackery to turn up and get us out of here. Goatee moaned gently below me; now and again his body twitched and his legs pedaled on the tarpaulin, but at least his breathing was more regular than mine.
Suddenly, soft bleeping noises filled the air. I wondered if I were hallucinating. It took me several seconds to realize they were coming from Goatee’s cell phone. He started to straighten out his legs, mumbling to himself in Arabic. I lay down next to him, feeling in the dark, finding his hand as it tried to find his pocket. I pulled it away weakly.
“Fuck you,” he grunted. There were only a few inches between our faces now and I could smell his rancid breath. Mine was probably no better.
I dug into his pants pocket with my left hand and pulled out the cell phone. It had stopped ringing, and Goatee was whining in Arabic, I thought more in anger at not being able to take the call than from the pain.
“What are you saying?”
I could hear slurping as he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before muttering, “My wife.”
I opened up the phone and a dull blue display glowed in the dark. “Tough shit.” With the blood-and tar-covered thumb of my right hand I tapped in the digits 001, then the rest of the Massachusetts number.
It would be afternoon in Marblehead, and she should be home. She had to be — it was her day to look after the bed-and-breakfast.
It rang three or four times, then I heard her voice. “Hello?”