Читать книгу Reluctant Gemini - Lawrence BSL Warren - Страница 4

“Mr. Rodriguez...Mr. Rodriguez, wake up. I’m Detective Levy, New York City Police Department, Homicide Division.” Rudy opened his eyes to see a tall, thin white man holding a gold badge for him to examine. “Mr. Rodriguez we’re here to investigate a reported homicide. We’ve received an anonymous call claiming that a murder has occurred in this hotel suite. We have a search warrant and the hotel management has provided us with the pass key.” The Detective picked up Rudy’s trousers and tossed them onto the bed. “Get up and put these on, we have some questions to ask you.” Rudy nodded his head in compliance and did as he was told.

“What time is it?” Rudy asked a uniformed policeman standing at the foot of the bed. “It’s almost 9:00 A.M.” he responded. Rudy had had only about an hour and a half of sleep before the unwelcome interruption.

“Let’s take a walk to the other bedroom,” Detective Levy instructed. As the pair walked through the living room and into the front bedroom, Rudy counted the number of police officers in the suite. Four uniformed policemen and five plain clothed detectives. “Can you explain the blood all over this bed?” Detective Levy asked Rudy. “Yes,” Rudy declared, “I had an accident.” “What kind of accident?” asked Levy. “Sword practice, I cut my shoulder,” Rudy pointed to the large bandage on his left shoulder. “You were practicing with a sword in bed?” Levy snickered. “No, I was standing next to the bed when I slashed my shoulder and I used the bed sheets to stop the bleeding. I spent the rest of the night at New York General Hospital’s emergency room getting stitches and didn’t get back to the hotel until an hour and a half ago,” Rudy recounted. “Show me the sword,” Levy snapped back at Rudy.

“I can’t...it seems to have gone missing while I was at the hospital.” Rudy knew his answer would not be believed, but at least it would buy him some time to be able to think things through. “I am extremely tired and went right to bed after returning from the hospital...I have not tried to locate the sword since returning back here to the room.”

A second plain clothes detective stepped forward and produced a gold badge for Rudy to acknowledge. “I’m Detective Miller,” he said, “Are you Roberto Rodriguez?”

“Yes,” Rudy answered, “ah...no actually I’m Rudolph Roberto Rodriguez, my twin brother is Roberto Rudolph Rodriguez.”

Detective Miller quipped, “People with twins and their names” and made a quick note to his pad. He scrolled back through the little pad’s pages and said, “The hotel register shows that Robert Rodriguez has been checked into this suite for three days. When was the last time you saw your brother?” “A few days ago,” Rudy answered apprehensively. Detective Miller continued his questioning, “That would make it on Wednesday or Thursday then, is that correct?” Rudy was silent for a moment then answered, “No, I haven’t seen him since I’ve been in New York. We were together in Montreal last week. We are purchasing some properties there. That was the last time I spoke to him.”

“Do you know where your brother is right now?” asked Miller.

“No...not for certain,” Rudy answered, “He’s been doing the annual audit of the books of our inheritance for the last week. I assume you can find him there.”

Detective Levy interjected a question, “Is this your bedroom or your brother’s bedroom?” Rudy understood the implication of the question immediately...he’s using both bedrooms. “This is my bedroom. After returning from the hospital this morning, I needed a clean bed, so I used Roberto’s room, where you found me. I was going to have the maid make up both rooms after I awoke this afternoon.”

Miller fired off the next question, “What line of work are you and your brother in?” “I am Rudolph Rodriguez, a matador, and my brother is a businessman.” Again Miller made notes in the little pad.

“You’re a matador, like in bullfighting? That’s what this stuff with the sword is all about?” Levy asked as he waived his pointed finger at the blood stained bed sheets.

“Yes,” Rudy said, nodding his head. “That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

Levy walked directly up to Rudy’s face and said, “How do we know it’s your blood and not your brother’s blood?”

“You can ask him,” Rudy said defiantly. “If you’ll take the time to check, you’ll find that Roberto is alive and active, irrespective of some snoops anonymous report to you to the contrary. I can prove I was at the hospital last night getting stitches. You’ll have to ask my brother how he spent his evening.”

Rudy went to the night table and picked up the telephone and said, “I’m calling my attorney. If you have any further questions, you’ll have to wait until I have legal counsel is present.” He dialed the number and waited for the connection.

Detective Levy instructed the forensic team to take pictures of the blood stained bed and to continue their routine evidence gathering.

Miller elected to go through the partially unpacked suitcase on the valet stand.

“Good morning, Vargas, Sanchez, and Garcia. How may I direct your call?”

“Good morning Heather, this is Rudolph Rodriguez, I’d like to speak to Juan please.”

“One moment please, Mr. Rodriguez while I page Mr. Vargas for you.” The line went to soft Spanish Flamenco guitar music.

After a moment Heather came on the line and said, Mr. Rodriguez, I reached Mr. Vargas on his cell phone and he said to tell you that he’s in the lobby of your hotel and is on his way to your suite.”

“He’s here?” Rudy questioned in amazement.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Heather said. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Rodriguez?”

“No, thank you Heather,” Rudy said hanging up the telephone with a questioning look on his face.

A commotion in the living room informed the group that Mr. Vargas had arrived.

“I’m Mr. Rodriguez’s attorney and no school boy in a blue uniform is going to keep me from consulting with my client.” The short, fat bald man barged past the uniformed policeman stationed at the door and into the bedroom. “Rudy, don’t say another word,” he commanded.

Juan Vargas was a bully of a man, used to having things go his way. The sixty-five year old senior partner of the law firm was the executor of Doctor Hector Rodriguez’s estate. He had personally handled the investments of the trust fund for the last thirty-one years. His success dealing in the world financial markets was only out done by his relentless greed. The trust fund had been established in 1985 with seventy-five million dollars and today had a cash value of over four billion dollars. Juan Vargas considered it his work and his money. Rudy and Roberto would inherit over two billion dollars each in two days.

Vargas moved his heavy weight to the center of the bedroom and proclaimed he was in charge of any further questioning. All the officer’s questions would be directed to him and he would then state the question to Rudy. All of Rudy’s answers would be directed to him and then he would state them to the officers.

“I need a private room to confer with my client before we can continue,” Vargas told Levy.

Levy waived his hand in the direction of the rear bedroom and said, “Tell the uniformed officer stationed there I said for him to wait in the hall while you confer.”

Vargas and Rudy made their way into the second bedroom and dismissed the officer.

“Tell me everything you told them,” Vargas barked.

“I told them that I had an accident with the sword and cut my shoulder,” Rudy said in a hushed tone. “The truth is, two thugs tried to kill me with a knife last night. I awoke and found them in my bedroom just as they were about to stab me. I fought with them and broke one’s neck and crushed the other guy’s throat. I was sure they were both dead. I left them laying in there on the floor next to the bed. They cut my shoulder pretty bad and I needed stitches, so I went to the hospital. I used the sword accident story at the hospital with the doctors. I didn’t want them to call the police. When I returned, the two bodies were gone. When the police showed up and started their questioning, the sword story was the first explanation to come to mind. Do you think I should tell the police what really happened?” Rudy took a needed breath

“No...no, stay with your original story.” Vargas said as he thought the situation through.

“Yes...okay, but they’ve asked me to show them the sword and I don’t have one here. I told them that is went missing. They’re searching the suite now, looking for it.” Rudy said without pride.

Vargas opened his cell phone and pushed a button. “Carlos, I need a Matador’s sword delivered to the Ritz Hotel pronto, a very, very sharp sword. We need for it to be found during the police search of Rudolph Rodriguez’s suite. See to it.” He snapped the cell phone closed and placed it in his jacket pocket. “Have you and Roberto had time to discuss his audit of our books for this year?”

“No...I just arrived in New York yesterday,” Rudy said. “I haven’t seen Roberto since last week in Montreal.”

Vargas grunted, as if displeased. “You know that I still have your power of attorney to handle the trust fund until you sign the audit statement on your birthday, this Monday. I must again insist that you and your brother keep the trust in tact, and that I continue to manage your father’s estate. I have made all of us very wealthy men and we can continue to make even more if we keep the money in my control. As I have said many times, we can simply increase your annual allowance from the nine hundred thousand dollars you presently are getting to...say, ten million dollars a year. Surely that’s more than you’d be able to squander away every year.”

Rudy was silent for a moment and then said, “Juan, I believe this is not the time to be having a conversation about the trust fund. I’m in trouble here and I need your help to get the police out of my life. I’m to meet Roberto this afternoon to review his report of the audits. I’ll discuss it with him at that time, and we’ll have an answer for you then. But...for now, let’s get Levy and Miller off my ass.”

Vargas motioned for Rudy to stand closer to him and said, “No matter what I say to the police after we go back in there, do not act surprised or disagree with me. Do you understand?” Rudy nodded his head yes.

Vargas grabbed Rudy’s arm and started pulling him as he walked toward the bedroom door. He whispered hoarsely, “We must do everything we can to keep this matter in the family.” Rudy removed Juan’s hand from his arm and was impressed with the older man’s grip.

Rudy said, “What we need to do is find the two guys who tried to kill me last night. If we knew what happened to them it would be a big help. I’m sure they didn’t just get up and walk out of here. If nothing else, they had to have had a lot of help from someone.”

Juan grunted his disapproval again and said, “We shouldn’t be concerned about that scum, we have bigger things to take care of.” He started for the door again and said, “Remember, I do the talking and you do the agreeing, correct?”

“Correct,” Rudy replied. The pair returned to the front bedroom with Detectives Levy and Miller.

Detective Miller was thumbing through Rudy’s passport and said, “This shows you arrived in the country last Monday, June eleventh. You said earlier that you haven’t seen your brother for over a week and that you had just arrived in the city yesterday, June the fifteenth.

“Yes” Rudy began.

“Hold on there,” Vargas interrupted as he shoved past Rudy and grabbed the passport out of Miller’s hand. “You have no right to this information. This is private information between my client and the State Department, and is not public information.” he protested.

Miller tried to grab Rudy’s passport back out of Vargas’s fat hand but he held a firm grip on it. “This may be a murder investigation. That makes it our right to have this and anything else we find here,” Miller yelled back at Vargas.

Vargas paused for a moment and stepped back from the group and slid Rudy’s passport into his jacket pocket and said, “Mr. Rodriguez will receive a very large amount of money on Monday along with his twin brother Roberto, and, Rudolph is a man of the blood sport and very skilled with a sword. It’s not a secret that Rudy and Roberto share no admiration for one another, and I have first hand knowledge from Roberto that he fears what his brother is capable of.”

Rudy listened to Vargas in astonishment. He could not believe what he was hearing him say, but tried not to look or act surprised as he had promised. Vargas had all but confessed that Rudy had killed his twin brother. He didn’t know what to do to protect himself from the evidence Vargas was fabricating in front of the police. What good could come from this inaccurate assertions? Rudy waited, with resentment, for Vargas to clear up the misconception he had provided to the police.

Vargas paused for a moment to see if he had everyone’s attention and said, “Men kill for much less to gain and get away with it all the time.” Rudy, Miller and Levy were dumbfounded. All eyes were on Vargas, silently waiting for him to magically produce from nowhere the indisputable proof to hand to the police that would send Rudy to prison for the rest of his life.

Detective Levy was the first to brake Vargas’s spell by asking him, “Are you telling us that your client, Rudolph Rodriguez is guilty of the murder of Robert Rodriguez?”

Vargas watched each man in the room, one by one, and then replied, “I am simply stating the facts as we all know them to be. All that’s missing is the body and the weapon. DNA testing of the blood soaked bed sheets will only prove that one of the identical twins lost a lot of blood here last night. Roberto Rodriguez has been with me for the last two days at my office, doing an annual review and audit of my corporation’s management and investments of his late father’s trust fund. His final conclusion is that I have made so much money for the group, that I should continue to be in full control and manager the trust fund without interference indefinitely. Now, if I can get Rudy to do the same and we agree that I should be in full control of the fund after his birthday, on Monday, I’m sure we can get on with clearing up this investigation.”

Rudy now understood the motive behind Varga’s vicious attack on him. His mind wandered as to who the caller was that brought the police to his hotel suite. Why had Vargas been in the lobby of his hotel at that particular time? The coincidence was too much for Rudy to ignore. Vargas was lying about Roberto agreeing to keep the trust fund under Vargas’s control. Vargas was lying about Roberto fearing what Rudy might do. Rudy suddenly wished that Vargas hadn’t arranged to have a sword delivered to his hotel suite. It would surely become the assumed missing murder weapon. If Rudy was taken into custody and kept locked in a jail cell, Roberto would never be able to appear to clear him.

Rudy knew he needed to remain calm. He knew he needed to seem to be caught up by Vargas’s deceit. He knew he needed to face the charging bull and take control. Rudy now had a prime suspect behind last night’s intrusion. He could not permit Vargas to have any suspicion that anything had changed between them.

Rudy forced a smile at Vargas and said, “Well, Uncle Juan, if Roberto thinks you should be in control of the trust, then that’s fine with me. I am prepared to establish a new fund with a portion of our inheritance fund. I’m sure we can have the necessary documents ready by this time next week and then you can start building another successful investment venture.”

Vargas watched Rudy with one eye shut, as if studying him under a microscope. “Starting another fund is not what I had in mind,” Vargas said through his teeth.

The group was interrupted by a uniformed police officer escorting a short, round woman carrying a sword cradled in a towel. Rudy recognized the woman from early this morning with the vacuum.

“This was found in the maid’s closet on this floor,” the officer reported to Levy.

“This yours” Levy asked Rudy.

“No, it was brought here by one of Vargas’s men. I told him I needed a sword and he called someone to bring it here.”

“When was the sword delivered to you?” Levy asked.

Vargas came to attention and sounded out “Yesterday afternoon, so he could practice that night.” Rudy stood silent. “The boy can no longer travel around the world with his own equipment. You know, this terrorist crap. You can no longer fly with a finger nail clipper or a shaving razor, let alone a sword. I must take care of all these details for him,” Vargas said glaring at Rudy.

Rudy looked at the tarnished blade and said, “All of my swords are hand made to my specifications and feel. They have solid silver handles with my initials and surgical steel blades that are balanced to perfection. They are honed to be razor sharp and designed for a quick and merciful kill. The bulls dies a gallant and painless death. I am a hero to the spectators and the bull is a hero to the spectators. I win because I have better equipment than the toros. I do not venture into situations that are beyond my abilities.”

Levy looked at Rudy for a moment with a puzzled look on his face, but said nothing. He then told the officer to take the towel and sword from the woman and to process it for evidence.

Miller smiled a sneer at Vargas and said, “Well, now we have the possible murder weapon. It’s looking more and more like we have just cause to suspect that a murder may have taken place here.”

“Yes...yes, you are correct,” Vargas said. “I am beginning to see your reasoning.”

Rudy walked to the side of the blood stained bed and motioned to detective Levy to join him. “Detective, I received a deep wound to my left shoulder last night, standing just about where I am standing now. I used the bed sheet to stop the bleeding.” Rudy pulled the top strip of white tape from his bandaged shoulder. “These three staples and ten stitches were administered by Doctor Pamela Bean at New York General Hospital last night. No one was murdered here. I can assure you that no harm has come to my brother, Roberto.”

Rudy waited for Vargas to make another incriminating remark but instead Vargas turned on his heels and was heading for the door when he said, “Rudy, remember my office today at 3:00 P.M. to conclude our business.”

Rudy nodded his head to confirm the appointment as Vargas hurried away.

Miller watched the heavy man leave the room and then asked Rudy, “Is he a relative?”

“No, not really. I have called him Uncle all my life. He was one of only a few that I could call family after my parents drowned.”

Miller’s right eyebrow raised as he said, “Yeah, with that kind of family around you sure don’t’ need any enemies.”

Rudy took a long look at Miller and then said, “Yes, you’re right, I’m beginning to see a side of Uncle Juan that I’ve never seen before. He’s ready to sacrifice me for any reason available as long as it permits him to continue to control the family fortune. Or...is he implicated in some way with the whole pretense?”

Miller wondered what Rudy was implying but he said nothing. He patiently waited for any other pieces of information to come to light from Rudy’s thinking out loud.

Rudy closed his eyes for a moment and said, “I’m very tired and need sleep. My head’s swimming with all the accusations and lies. I can’t figure out some of the pieces to this puzzle. If you have what you came for, then perhaps you will permit me to go back to bed.”

Levy and Miller both silently nodded their heads in agreement. Levy said, “Mr. Rodriguez, we warn you not leave the city, we may need to talk to you again. Do you understand?”

Rudy nodded his head in the affirmative and said, “I’m sure when you talk to Roberto it will clear up everything.” The two detectives did not respond.

Levy ordered the other officers to wrap up their duties and leave. Rudy followed them to the door and locked it after they had gone. Rudy was grateful that the ordeal was coming to a close. Perhaps he should have called the police after the intruders tried to kill him. Perhaps he should have told the truth to the police detectives this morning. The life long deception was wearing on Rudy’s nerves. He wanted to have a clean break from his past. At the present, life seems so complicated. In less than 39 hours he would become one of the world’s richest men. He would then concentrate on his hunt to find the answers to what had happened to his parents’ yacht. He thought of Pamela. She should be warned about the police coming to question her. Rudy found the telephone book and searched for her name. Bean P. I., MD, that’s it. He dialed her number with anticipation, happy he would be hearing her voice again.

“Doctor Bean’s residence,” the woman on the phone answered. It was not Pamela’s voice.

“I’d like to speak to Pamela,” Rudy said.

“I’m sorry sir, she’s not available at the moment,” the woman said.

This is Rudy Rodriguez, and it’s very important that I speak with her,” he said.

“Is this a medical emergency?” she asked.

“No...no, it’s personal.” Rudy replied. “But, it is important that I talk to her before she goes to the hospital this evening.”

“I’ll be sure she gets your message, Mr. Rodriguez. Is there a number where she can return your call?’ The woman asked.

“Yes, please tell her to call The Ritz Hotel and ask for my suite,” Rudy answered.

“Yes sir,” the woman said and hung up on the phone. Rudy was disappointed that he did not get to hear Pamela’s voice. Perhaps he should go to her house and wait for her, he thought. No that would not do. He thought about how he would feel if Pamela camped out on his doorstep until he returned from some errand. He turned from the telephone table and aimlessly meandered to the rear bedroom. He closed the bedroom door behind him and removed his trousers as he made his way to the large inviting bed. Nude, he crawled between the cool sheets and laid flat on his stomach. Again, his thoughts were about Pamela and moments later he was fast asleep.

The pounding on the door seemed to go on non-stop. “Mr. Rodriguez...Mr. Rodriguez, open up,” came the call from the hotel corridor. Rudy opened his eyes and looked around the room. It looked vaguely familiar. Where am I? he thought. What’s all the uproar about? The pounding from the front door continued. He looked at the clock on the night stand, 10:30 A.M. Someone was calling his name at the door and interrupting his sleep. Rudy dragged himself out of bed and pulled on his trousers as he staggered to the front door. He surely must be damned and would spend the rest of eternity wandering through purgatory without enough sleep. “Okay...okay, I’m coming. I hope this isn’t complimentary room service,” he shouted to the person pounding on the door. He unbolted the lock and swung the door wide open. Two strapping men in dark suits stood before him. A deep voice asked “Are you Mr. Rodriguez?”

“Yes I am,” Rudy replied.

“Mr. Rodriguez, you’re wanted at police headquarters to answer some questions,” the bigger of the two men said in the same deep, no nonsense voice.

“But I just answered all their questions,” Rudy protested.

“So I’ve been told, but the chief wants to ask you some more questions down at headquarters. Get your shoes and shirt on and we’ll escort you to the station.”

Without waiting for Rudy’s invitation the two large men pushed passed Rudy and into the hotel suite. “We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way, it’s up to you,” the big man said without humor. Rudy nodded his head to confirm he understood.

“I’ll be ready in a minute,” he said and turned and walked into the bedroom. The two men followed. Rudy slid into a pair of loafers and a fresh white silk shirt. He stopped at the dresser and collected his wallet, money clip and hotel room card key and slipped them into his trouser pocket. Rudy checked his reflection in the mirror and ran his fingers through his straight dark hair. The three of them walked to the open door. One of the men pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his jacket pocket and dangled them for Rudy to see. “I’m supposed to cuff you for the ride, but I’m going to let you walk down to the car without the cuffs on. You make any funny moves and I swear I’ll drop you in your tracks. Do you understand?” To make his point, he held his jacket open for Rudy to see his shoulder holster and automatic pistol.

Rudy nodded his head and said, “Yes, I understand.” He was going to complain to someone about the way he was being threatened. Maybe he would get a chance to tell his guy’s boss about the police brutality he was being subjected to. Instinctively he knew this was not the time to say anything, it would only make things worse for himself. The threesome quietly made their way down in the elevator and through the parking garage to the sleek, black Lincoln.

The large man opened the rear door and again dangled the handcuffs in Rudy’s face. “Okay sport, your hands behind your back,” he said to Rudy with a smirk. For a moment Rudy paused wanting to express his anguish about being handcuffed for the ride. In that moment the second man grabbed Rudy by both elbows from behind and forced him face down against the car. The handcuffs tightened around Rudy’s wrists and he was shoved face down into the backseat of the car. The doors slammed shut and the car squealed away from the parking lot. The men sat in silence in the front seat while Rudy laid in the back seat as the car swerved from side to side speeding around city traffic. After a few minutes the car slowed down and the ride mellowed out. The mid-morning sun, shining through the car windows, warmed the side of Rudy’s face. He thought of his home in Spain and how the warming sun always made him happy. The sun’s warmth, combined with the gentle swaying motion of the Towncar was more than Rudy could fend off. He closed his eyes and fantasized about his greatest bull fights. He was the best and the bravest of all matadors. He was as skilled at winning all of his matches with the bulls as he was in his affairs with beautiful women. Within a moment he was fast asleep.

Rudy woke to a throbbing ache in his left shoulder. Blood had soaked through the bandages and his shirt. His hands were still cuffed behind him and his hands were numb. The car was not moving. Rudy raised his head and looked out the rear window. Green trees and blue sky were all he could see. He tried to roll over on his left side but the staples holding the wound together dug deeper into his tender shoulder. He moaned with pain as he tried again. He lifted his head back and put all of his weight onto his left elbow and swung his feet to the floor and pulled himself upright. The two front doors of the Lincoln were wide open and he was alone. The car was parked in a thickly wooded area. Had the car run out of gas in Central Park? The clock in the middle of the Lincoln’s dash read 3:10 P.M. Could that be correct? Had more than four hours passed from the time they had left the hotel? Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Rudy searched the thick brush looking for the two men. He spotted them in a small clearing about 50 yards away from the car. They were smoking cigarettes and the larger of the two men was talking on a cell phone. As Rudy watched them the smaller of the two nudged the one on the cell phone and pointed toward the car. They could see him sitting up in the back seat of the Lincoln. Instantly, both men started a fast walk toward the car.

Rudy felt the calm come over him. It was the same calm that happened each time he entered the bull ring and watched the bull start to charge at him. There was no mistaking now, he was in a life or death situation. For the second time in twelve hours he would be required to fight for his life.

The two men came to the rear door and yanked it open. Without saying anything they pulled Rudy out of the back seat by his cuffed hands. The smaller of the two men pulled Rudy around to the trunk of the Lincoln. The larger man pushed the Lincoln’s keyless entry fob he had retrieved from his jacket pocket and the trunk popped open. He took a shovel from the compartment. “Okay Sport, it’s time to get down to business,” he said to Rudy. “Walk over to that clearing,” The smaller man pushed Rudy toward the spot they had just come from. The larger man jabbed Rudy in the back with the shovel blade. Rudy winced with pain but said nothing.

Three more times during the walk to the clearing the shovel blade was poked into Rudy’s back but he remained silent. He was not going to give them the pleasure of hearing him cry out. Once at the clearing the larger man said, “Okay, that’s far enough Sport.” He retrieved the fob from his jacket pocket again to use the small handcuff key attached to it. He unlocked the handcuff from Rudy’s left wrist. “Move a single hair and you’re a dead man, understand?” Rudy slowly nodded his head yes. The larger man then attached the open handcuff to the middle of the shovel. Rudy’s right hand was now securely attached to the shovel. The larger man then walked about the clearing, dragging his right foot, marking out a larger square on the ground.

“You’re going to dig a deep hole right here where I marked it. Do you understand?” Again Rudy slowly nodded his head yes. He understood all too well...he was going to dig his own grave.

The large men moved outside of the marked square and took up a place along side of the trees on the far edge of the clearing. The larger of the two men drew his automatic firearm from his holster and waived it at Rudy in a digging motion. “Okay Sport, start digging,” he said. Rudy probed the ground with the shovel. The dirt was dry and hard. The square was the size of a large dining room table. He began to formulate a plan. He would pile up the dirt between himself and them. He was hoping that at some point the pile of dirt would be big enough to hide him from their view. Maybe he would be able to sneak away and be gone before they noticed he was not in the hole. Rudy decided to start digging in the corner nearest to where the two men were watching him from. The first few shovels full of dirt were slow and unsure for Rudy to manage. Each shovel full of dirt made a dust cloud that filled the air each time Rudy threw it onto the growing pile.

The two men smoked cigarettes and tried to stay clear of the dust clouds Rudy was creating. Rudy watched them with caution. The dry dirt was rocky and hard to dig in. He had the idea to start collecting some of the hand size rocks. He would select the ones he wanted and then push them into the corner of the hole with his foot as he threw a shovel full of dirt onto the pile. The faster he threw the dirt out of the hole the bigger and heavier the dust cloud became. After thirty minutes or so of digging, the hole was about three feet deep as marked out by the large man. The pile of dirt was over four feet high. His labors had him sweaty, dirty and tired. Rudy was now able to be out of sight from moment to moment. The men could no longer see Rudy from behind the dirt pile from where they stood. He needed to gradually slow the pace he was throwing the dirt. Only the continuously flying dirt from the hole was their assurance that he was still there. Now he needed to slow the pace of digging and throwing. If he could get the intervals between the dirt coming out of the hole to be longer and longer, he would be able to start running and be gone before they missed him. He needed to stretch out the second between each shovel full of dirt landing on the pile. Counting the seconds, it took fifteen, for each shovel full to be dug and tossed onto the pile. He would need more time than that to make his getaway. He began to add a second or two between each scoop.

After a few minutes he was up to twenty-five seconds and they hadn’t seemed to notice anything unusual. Almost half a minute. That would be just about right, he thought. The time was now. He could not afford to wait any longer. He had to get away before it was too late. They could decide at any moment that the hole was deep enough. He threw an extra large shovel full of loose, dry dirt up in the air make a larger than usual dust cloud. At the same moment he started to count. Quickly scooping up the pile of rocks he had collected with the shovel, Rudy crouched down as low as he could and jumped out of the far side of the hole. He continued to count as he ran through the thick brush. Seven...eight...nine...ten. If he was lucky he would be able to vanish into the forest within another ten seconds. He knew they would be coming after him and this time they wouldn’t wait for a hole to be dug, they would shoot him on sight. His only weapon now was the handful of rocks and the shovel. Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen. He never looked back, he just kept running.

The brush was thick and sharp brambles tore at his legs and arms as he ran through the cover. He was pleased the brambles and thicket were so dense. It would help slow down his inevitable pursers. They would not be so eager to chase him through it as fast as they could run. Twenty-three...twenty-four...twenty-five. He came to a tree with a forked trunk and thought this was the time to rid himself of the handcuffed shovel. While he still needed a weapon, it would be easier to swing if unrestricted. He placed the wooden shovel handle between the forked trunk and pulled back on it as hard as he could. The seasoned oak handle snapped in two making a loud cracking noise as it did. His release meant that his escape was no longer a secret. If they hadn’t realized that he was gone before, they surly would know it now. He still had the handcuff attached to his right wrist but he could fight okay with it there. He picked up the two shovel pieces and ran. His time had run out. He had to find a hiding place to ambush the two attackers. Exhausted from the physical labor of digging, his adrenaline was in overdrive knowing that he was running for his life. Deeper into the forest he ran looking for the right opportunity. He came to a small stream and following it downstream seemed like the logical way to go. He splashed into the knee deep water try to move quickly yet quietly. The water was cool and soothing on his scratched legs. He couldn’t resist splashing the cool water onto his face and over his head. It gave him the boost he needed. He felt more sure of himself now and confident that he would be able to out do the two thugs.

After wading a small distance he noticed a path that ran along the right bank of the stream. The pursuers would surely use the foot path instead of wading through the water. If he could find the correct spot along the bank, he could surprise them. He saw a small rocky ravine with a large fallen tree suspended above that blocks the path. Thinking this will be the best opportunity, he decided to lay in wait on the tree branch assuming that as they make their way along the path they will have to duck down under the branch to pass. He will then use the shovel blade as a club on the back of their heads.

Quickly forming a plan, he turned around and started back up stream to the spot where he entered it. He climbed out of the water to back track to a place where he remembered seeing tall grass. He had avoided walking through the grass before because he knew it would be any easy trail to follow. He wanted to lead them into his ambush. He hurried through the grass toward the stream bank and the rocky ravine. When he to got to the fallen tree he squatted down and crawled under it and continued running through the tall grass along the stream’s edge. He looked over his shoulder from time to time until he could no longer see the rocky ravine. Turning to the right he circled back to the fallen tree and positioned himself on the tree branch.

Rudy tried to slow is his breathing so that the approaching men would not hear his panting as they passed below him. He hoped that only one of them would be following his well laid-out trail. It would be much easier to take one out at a time.

Patiently, Rudy kept his perch while he visualized using the shovel on the back of the men. His only regret was that his revenge would be one quick numbing blow. He wanted to reciprocate with the punishing jabs they had inflicted on him.

His wait was short, and soon he could hear the heavy footsteps of one of them coming down the path. Just as Rudy had speculated, the larger of the two men was bent over as he made his way under the fallen three. Rudy swung the shovel blade down hard and hit him in the back of the head. With a groan, the man fell to the bottom of the rocky ravine. Rudy froze holding the shovel blade, ready to swing again if the man moved. After a moment Rudy was convinced that he had knocked the guy unconscious. He threw down the blade and pulled the pistol out of the man’s limp hand. Rudy quickly took cover behind the tree stump and surveyed the area for the man’s accomplice. There was no sign of him. Obviously the two men had split up to hunt for him.

Rudy returned his attention to the man lying beside him. He went through his pockets until he found the car keys, handcuff keys and a cell phone. Rudy used the little handcuff key and removed the cuffs from his right wrist. Having unlocked the other cuff, he placed it on the big man’s ankle, rolled him over to the side of the tree, swung the man’s left arm around the tree trunk and fastened the remaining cuff to the man’s left wrist. Rudy hoped that he had the only set of keys to the handcuffs.

He did not want to encounter the other man out in the open between here and the car but trying to find a new route back could take hours and be more dangerous than crossing through the tall grass again. At least now he had a gun and that would be to his advantage if he did meet up with the other guy. Wasting no more time, he stood up and started running in the direction of the car. In a few minutes he reached the pit he had been forced to dig. He stopped to survey the clearing where the car was parked. Everything was quiet and there was no one in sight. He needed to use caution here and not be lured into a trap due to his eagerness to get back to New York City.

At that moment Rudy could hear shouting in the distance. He knew that the man he had knocked out was now conscious and the other man had found him cuffed to the tree. He pulled the car keys from his pocket and hurried to the car. Rudy turned the key in the ignition, shifted into drive and pushed the accelerator to the floor. A cloud of dust and rocks sprayed out from the rear wheels as Rudy spun the big car around and headed down the dirt road. He didn’t know where the road would lead and he didn’t much care, as long as he was leaving the mountain. Grateful to be free and alive, his thoughts returned to Pamela. He was anxious to see her again.