But Cynthia was right behind her. She
grabbed Sondra’s right wrist and forced it, and the pistol,
upward.
The gun discharged into the sky.
Greg started to climb over the
guardrail.
Sondra turned sharply and pulled the pistol
down, along with Cynthia’s hands. Now the gun was pointed in Greg
direction.
He put his foot back down and moved along
the outside of the railing, trying to get out of the line of
fire.
E. Z. joined Cynthia, latching onto Sondra’s
arm. They pushed her toward the guardrail, with the same idea—to
slam Sondra’s hand down on the top of the railing repeatedly until
she dropped the gun.
Greg moved away from them and climbed over
the guardrail.
Sondra tried kicking and elbowing Cynthia
and E. Z. to get them off of her. But they were relentless. They
whacked her fingers against the unforgiving cold steel of the
railing over and over. On the seventh time the pistol fired, but
hit nothing. On the tenth, she dropped the gun, and it fell down
into the darkness.
Cynthia and E. Z. stepped away from
Sondra.
Greg rushed to Cynthia and hugged her.
“
Do you have your cell
phone?” he said.
“
Here come Angie and Edsel,”
said E. Z.
“
I’m sure they’ve already
called the police,” said Cynthia.
“
That’s good,” said Sondra.
“Now Greg will go to prison where he belongs.”
“
What?” said
Cynthia.
“
Oh, that’s right,” said
Sondra. “Greg probably hasn’t had a chance to tell you yet. Go
ahead, Greg, tell her how you murdered Boomer.”
“
What are you talking about,
Sondra?” said E. Z.
“
It’s true. Greg followed
her to her motel room and raped her. Then he slit her throat. He
told me all about it.”
“
You’re
the one who murdered
her,” said Greg. “And then you set me up.”
“
Oh, that sounds quite
plausible. I’m sure the police will believe every word of it. That
is, if they can get past the fact that your sweaty DNA is all over
her naked body. But at least you wore a condom.”
“
What’s she talking about,
Greg?” Cynthia’s faith in Greg was strong, but she was confused, to
say the least. She wanted to wipe the smirk off Sondra’s face.
Maybe a hard punch in the teeth would do it. “You’re a
liar.”
Sondra laughed. “That’s why I’ll never go to
jail.” She climbed up on the guardrail and stood on top of it. A
strong gust of wind would have swept her into the air and down into
the Neches River. But she showed no concern. “I’m just too smart
for the police.” She began to walk along the top of the railing as
though it were a tightrope.
“
We know you killed your
mother,” said E. Z.
“
I did not!” Sondra twisted
and her shoes slipped. She fell off the guardrail, and was unable
to catch it on the way down. But she did manage to grab hold of the
structure below.
Greg, Cynthia and E. Z. ran to the
guardrail.
Sondra’s feet were dangling as she held on
with both hands. “Help me, please!”
Without thinking, Greg climbed over the
railing.
“
Greg, no!” said
Cynthia.
“
I
have
to.” He couldn’t just stand
by and let Sondra fall to her death—even if she was a
murderer.
Angie and Edsel got out of the Tahoe and ran
to join Cynthia and E. Z. They all looked on helplessly as Greg
climbed down to Sondra.
He held on with his left hand while
extending his right down to her. “Grab onto my hand.”
Sondra clamped onto Greg’s wrist with one
hand, then the other.
Greg wasn’t sure he could pull her up. But
he’d heard stories of people gaining super-human strength in cases
like this. He prayed it would kick in.
Sondra looked up at him. She seemed scared
at first. Then her face contorted into the most evil grin Greg had
ever seen. “Come with me, Greg. It’ll be such a rush.”
A chill swept over him. It
was as if Sondra’s body had been taken over by Satan himself. He no
longer cared whether she lived or died. But
she
was the one holding
on.
“
You can’t imagine how
fantastic it’s going to feel, Greg. Think of your best orgasm. Now
multiply it by a thousand.”
“
Greg, let her go!” yelled
Cynthia.
“
I’m trying to!”
Sondra began swinging her
legs forward and backward while laughing hysterically. “Let’s have
an accident together, Greg. You
know
you
want
to.”
His arm was burning and going numb at the
same time. The blood oozing from the bullet wound had soaked his
shirt sleeve and was beginning to run down his arm.
Sondra began to lose her grip as the blood
flowed down onto her hands and between her fingers. Finally, she
clung to the knot at the end of the rope—Greg’s hand. As the
inevitable sunk in, she looked up into Greg’s eyes.
Greg could see that Satan was gone now. The
grin had disappeared—replaced by sheer terror. But she didn’t
scream. She just continued to look up at Greg as her body was
sucked down into the abyss.
**********
Cynthia checked the clock on the emergency
waiting room wall. It was nearly 2:00 AM. “How bad do you have to
be hurt for them to see you right away?”
Paramedics rushed in pushing a gurney, and
went directly into the emergency room. The woman was screaming at
the top of her lungs.
“
That
bad, I guess,” said Greg,
pressing a towel against his bloody arm.
Edsel and Angie walked up. “We had a little
talk with the police,” said Angie. “You can wait until tomorrow to
give your statement.” They sat down in the corner next to E. Z.
“
Good. Thanks,” said
Cynthia. On their drive to the hospital, Greg had explained what
happened with Boomer.
“
Tomorrow? It’s
already
tomorrow.
But I guess I should just be glad I’m still around for it. Thanks
guys, for coming to rescue me.”
“
You’re welcome,” said E.
Z.
“
What I don’t understand,”
said Greg “is how you and Cynthia popped up all of the sudden and
surprised Sondra. How did you do that?”
“
Yeah, that was a good
plan.” Cynthia smiled and gave E. Z. a high five. “You tell him. It
was your idea.”
“
Okay. Here’s what we did:
While Edsel was talking to Sondra from the car, Cynthia and I
slipped out the door on the other side. Then we got down real low
and sneaked up to the side of your car.”
“
Then Angie just drove
around you and went down the bridge,” said Greg.
“
Right,” said
Cynthia.
“
It scared me to death,”
said Angie. “But
somebody
had to do
something
.” She
paused and reached over to take E. Z.’s hand. “But, I still don’t
understand why
you
went to Edsel’s hospital
room this afternoon.”
“
You really don’t know who I
am?” said E. Z.
Angie was puzzled. “Should I?”
“
I moved here to Orange so I
could meet you.”
“
Why did you want to
meet
me?
”
“
I grew up in a little town
west of Fort Worth. But when I turned sixteen I started searching
for you. Because that’s when they told me.”
Angie felt a lump in her throat.
“
I’m your
daughter.”
Angie started crying.
Edsel put his arm around her as he spoke to
E. Z. with a gentle firmness. “I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Angie
doesn’t have any children.”
E. Z. placed her hand on Angie’s shoulder.
“You never told him?”
“
Don’t,” said Edsel. “You’re
making her cry.”
“
It’s okay,” said Angie.
“It’s true.” When the nurse that afternoon had assumed that the
young lady who visited Edsel’s room was Angie’s daughter because
she looked just like her, Angie had brushed it aside. How could it
have been? She knew she had a daughter somewhere out there in the
world, but what were the chances that she’d ever come to Orange,
Texas?
“
What?” said
Edsel.
Greg and Cynthia watched in amazement.
“
And I think,” said E. Z.,
looking at Edsel, “that
you’re
my father.”
“
What? That’s
crazy.”
“
She’s right,” said
Angie.
“
That’s impossible,” said
Edsel.
“
No, it’s not,” said Angie.
“Remember that one time when I was a senior in high
school.”
“
Yeah, but—“
“—
well, I got
pregnant.”
“
No, you didn’t. I was
there—remember. Until your dad broke us up right after your
graduation and sent you off to—.”
“—
to have the
baby.”
“
Why didn’t you tell me? How
could you keep this from me?”
This was what Angie had dreaded. Now there
would be no wedding. Edsel would never forgive her for keeping the
secret all these years. “I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“
So, it wasn’t that you
didn’t want me,” said E. Z.
“
No, not at all. My dad
thought he was doing the right thing. I was only 18. I wanted to
keep you so badly. And I wanted to tell Edsel about
you.”
“
You
should
have,” said
Edsel.
“
I know.”
“
So…I’m really her
father?”
Angie could see it in his
eyes. He
wanted
it to be true. “Yes.”
He stood up. “I want to hug my daughter.”
Tears began to drip down his face.
E.Z. got up and hugged him gently. “I don’t
want to hurt your ribs.”
“
It’s okay. Right now I’m
feeling no pain.”
Angie stood and joined the hug. “Have you
had a good life? What are your parents like?”
“
They’re wonderful. I was so
lucky. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”
“
Well,” said Edsel, “I guess
now we’ll
have
to get married.”
“
Huh?” said
Angie.
“
You know—now that we have
a
kid
.”
They all smiled and hugged tighter.
“
Okay,” said Edsel, “not
quite
that
tight.”
“
Will you be my maid of
honor?”
E. Z. smiled. “I’d love to.”
Angie kissed her on the cheek.
Greg looked at his wife. “Wow. That’s
amazing. Did you have any idea?”
“
No,” said Cynthia. “Of
course, all I could think about this whole time was
you
.”
Greg kissed her on the lips. “Thank you,
Sweetie.” He glanced over at the happy threesome again. “It’s like
she’s a baby, and they’re just seeing her for the very first
time.”
“
Yeah,” said Cynthia.
“Wouldn’t that feel great?”
“
What?”
“
To have a baby.”
“
Well, sure. You know I—.”
He studied her face. “Are you saying—“
“—
yes. I think I’m
pregnant.”
“
Oh, Honey.” He hugged her.
Over her shoulder he saw Angie, Edsel, and E. Z. still embracing.
He was so happy for them. But at the same time he was thankful that
he would meet
his
baby while it was still…a baby.
**********
Greg and Cynthia attended Edsel and Angie’s
wedding. It was small, but beautiful. Herman Mayberly apologized to
Edsel, Angie, and E. Z. for what he had put them through.
Slowly but surely, Greg made peace with his
dad. Ralph had missed Greg and Cynthia’s wedding, but he and Norma
drove to Coreyville for the birth of their grandson. Edsel, Angie
and E. Z. came too. Greg had wanted to name his firstborn ‘Edsel,’
but he and Cynthia had compromised with ‘Edward.’
Little Edward would be raised in the new
tradition of the Tenorly family. Along with love, hope, and faith,
his parents would teach him the value of a positive attitude. They
would tell him to always fight for what is right. Never give up and
never give in. Be your own man and do your own thing to the best of
your ability. In the words of Uncle Edsel: FLY THE RAIN.
THE END
###
Thanks for reading my book.
I hope you enjoyed it. And please connect with me on my
website:
RobertBurtonRobinson.com