Chapter 8
Inside the Georgia State Patrol barracks in Valdosta, it was just another day of serving and protecting the people.
A fax machine next to the coffee table printed out a "Wanted" fax on Joey from the Orange County Sheriff's office.
A female trooper walked by, grabbed the fax off the machine and tacked it to the bulletin board, above the coffee table.
She poured a cup of coffee, sipped it, and walked away to head back to her desk full of paperwork.
Ten minutes later, Bob Walker walked up to the table with his empty Georgia Tech coffee cup in hand.
He poured a cup. He glanced at the board, while he sipped his coffee then walked away.
Two minutes later, Bob rushed back to the board.
He snatched Joey's fax off the board and read it.
He rushed off to his desk.
Back at Wally's apartment, Joey and Kathy sat at the dining room table. They drank a coke while they talked.
Joey's iPhone is on the table and was plugged into Wally's charger.
"I'm glad you found Wally's charger. I would be lost without my iPhone."
"You guys can't live without your electronic devices," Kathy said with a chuckle.
"Anyway, as I was saying. According to Wally, they left the bank, and he dropped Liz off at a McDonalds off Buena Vista road. She said she was going to wait for her brother. Wally waited and saw Liz leave with her brother in an old 1960s Pontiac GTO," Kathy's told Joey as her eyes well up. "His trial for bank robbery is next week. He told them about Liz and her brother, but the police didn't believe him," Kathy said as she wiped away a tear.
Joey took what Kathy told him and thought about it for a second. Then it dawned on him what happened to him, and he looked stunned. "I thought Sandy wanted to be my girlfriend. I didn't know she was using me to rob a bank for her." Joey added to the story.
"You robbed a bank?" she looked shocked with Joey's comment.
"Sandy used that same trick on me. I thought she was so sexy. I didn't care about the red rose tattoo she had on her left hand. I actually thought it was sexy," he said. Joey repeatedly hit his forehead with the palm of his right hand. "How could I have been so stupid," Joey said while he continued to slap his forehead.
Kathy reached over and pulled Joey's hand away from his head. "Quit beating yourself. That won't undo what has already happened," she told him while she held his hand.
Joey liked the feeling of his hand in hers.
Kathy thought for a second, as what Joey just said seemed familiar. Then it dawned on her, and she released his hand.
Joey looked disappointed.
"Wally also claimed Liz had a tattoo of a red rose on her left hand. Plus a mole above her upper lip," Kathy told Joey the news, but it didn't sink in.
"I got scared and ran away. I don't know what to do," Joey said. Then he thought for a second. "Wait, Sandy also had a mole on her upper lip," he added.
Kathy thought about what Joey said for a second. Then it dawned on her. "Joey, Liz, and Sandy are the same girl! But why would she target you two?" Kathy asked while she searched for answers in her mind.
Kathy got curious. She had a hunch.
She got up and walked into the living room and removed Wally's college picture off the wall.
She brought it back to the dining room table.
She showed Joey the picture. "Who are these other guys?" she asked Joey.
That's Sidney Watson, Ricky Adamson, Lenny Roth, and Sammy Goddard," Joey answered as he pointed them all out to her.
Kathy looked at the photo again and got curious. She looked over at the bare spot on Wally's computer desk.
"Damn, the police took Wally's computer claiming the robbery note was typed from a Word file on it. I would like to check something on the Internet," she said.
"How did she get inside here?"
"Wally told me he had her over for dinner the night before the robbery. He was hoping to get lucky, but after they ate, she claimed she was sick and left."
"Figures," Joey replied. Then he remembered and got up and held up his iPhone. "I can access the Internet," he said.
Kathy smiled while Joey brought up the Internet on his iPhone.
"Do a search on the rest of your college friends and where they live," she instructed.
Joey performed a search on Sammy Goddard of Phoenix. Nothing came up.
He performed a search on Lenny Roth of Denver. Nothing came up. They both look disappointed.
He performed a search on Ricky Adamson of Little Rock. Nothing came up, and they both looked like they're hitting a dead end.
Joey performed the last search on Sidney Watson of Chicago. Bingo!
Kathy and Joey stared in disbelief at his iPhone.
"I don't believe it," Kathy said while she took another look at his iPhone to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks.
On Joey's iPhone, he stared at a Chicago news bank robbery article, with security camera picture of Sidney Watson in his car in a bank drive-thru with, "BANK ROBBER APPREHENDED" headlines.
Joey looked stunned as he stared at his iPhone. He turned it off to conserve his battery.
Kathy got up and paced around the dining room while she thought. "This is definitely some type of plan this girl, and that guy in the GTO cooked up. And I don't believe he's her brother. But how and why did they pick you and the other guys?"
Joey looked at the photo of his college buddies.
"Sidney lives in Chicago. Wally lives in Columbus. I live in Orlando. Ricky lives in Little Rock. Lenny lives in Denver, and Sammy lives in Phoenix," said Joey. He used his finger and mapped out on the dining room table as if it was a map of the United States. His eyes widened as it dawned on him.
"Wait, Ricky's in Little Rock. He must be next as they're heading west. Then Denver and Phoenix," Joey concluded for a second. "Then after Phoenix, they'll probably going to head down to Mexico," Joey guessed.
He looked at his iPhone. "I can't call Ricky as it will show up on my cell phone records.
Kathy thought for a second. Her eyes lit up.
"There's a payphone outside the laundry room by the pool area. I'll be back," she said.
Kathy rushed away and down the hallway.
She ran into Wally's bedroom and over to his dresser where there was a jar of coins.
She removed a bunch of quarters from the jar.
She ran out of the bedroom and back to Joey, who waited by the living room door.
Kathy and Joey left Wally's apartment, and they didn't see the noisy neighbors that peeked out their living room window.
They walked through the apartment complex and reached the laundry room.
They went to the payphone where Kathy deposit some coins.
Joey punched in Ricky's phone number.
"You've reached the humble abode of Ricky Adamson. I'm off doing intelligent things, so please leave a message at the beep," said Ricky's recorded voice from Joey's iPhone.
"Ricky, this is Joey. I know this will sound strange, but don't give a girl a ride anywhere. It's a matter of life and death. I'll explain the second after I get to Little Rock," Joey left on Ricky's answering machine.
Kathy looked curious, while Joey hung up the phone.
"What are you going to do?" she asked Joey.
"I don't know yet."
While they walked back to Wally's apartment building, Joey was in deep thought as he tried to think of a plan. He had one.
"Go there and catch this girl in the act and call the cops," he said and knew this was the only answer.
"Shouldn't you give Ricky a little more of a warning?" she said.
"If I did, he might get scared and might stay away from that girl. I'll tell him when I get there so I can watch their every move," Joey replied.
"The cops may not believe you," Kathy replied, as she's been suspicious of the law most of her life.
"They'll believe a video. Does Wally have a video camera?" Joey asked with hopeful eyes.
"Probably. He owned just about every type of electronic device out there."
Joey and Kathy walked back to Wally's apartment.
They went inside and didn't notice the nosey neighbors that still snooped out their curtains.
"I'll search for a camera," Kathy said while she walked down the hallway.
Joey walked over and sat back down at the dining room table and waited.
A few minutes passed, and Kathy walked out of the bedroom room with a small camera bag in hand.
Kathy walked down the hallway and entered the living room and back to the dining room.
She handed Joey the camera bag.
Joey unzipped the camera bag and peeked inside.
"Fantastic," he said with a smile.
"Do you know how you'll get to Little Rock?" she asked.
Joey thought for a second. "Guess I'll have to hitchhike. But that could take a long time, and I might miss the opportunity," Joey mentioned. He looked at Kathy with an idea. "Or you can take me there," he replied with the hope she'll accept.
Kathy thought his offer over for a few seconds.
"Sorry. That's a bad idea," she replied, which disappointed Joey.
Kathy looked at Joey's sad puppy dog eyes. She had an idea. "My pickup truck needs two tires, a starter, and water pump. I won't have it ready overnight," she said then thought for a second. "But I do have a Sportster you can use, but it's in dire need of a tune-up."
"Sportster? What's that?" Joey asked.
Kathy chuckled as she thought it was cute that he didn't know what a Sportster was. "It's a motorcycle. I ride my Harley ninety-five percent of the time," she said.
"I've never been on a motorcycle. I don't know if I could drive one," Joey replied with the lack of confidence he could handle one as it intimidated him.
"Doesn't surprise me, so, I'll teach you at my place," she said.
Joey looked apprehensive.
Back at her Orlando office, Angie reviewed paperwork at her desk when her phone rang. She picked up the receiver.
"Detective Williams," said into the phone.
"I'm Georgia State Patrol Trooper Bob Walker. I saw your fugitive Joey Austin in a truck stop off I-75 In Valdosta, Georgia this morning."
"Did you arrest him?" Angie asked as she sat straight up, thinking Joey was finally caught.
"No. But he was on his way to Columbus to find work," Bob replied.
"Why didn't you arrest him?" Angie questioned a little mad.
"I didn't know he was wanted in Florida at the time. He used the name Ian Moody and hitched a ride with a trucker named Howard Brantley," Bob told her.
Angie wrote notes on her note pad.
"Did you talk with him?" said Angie.
"Briefly. He looked more like a mild-mannered geek than a bank robber," Bob replied.
"Do you know exactly where in Columbus the trucker might have dropped him off?" Angie asked.
"Sorry. I don't have a clue. I'll go talk with that trucker, Howard, then I'll have a chat with the Columbus PD and let them know Austin's in their town," Bob promised.
"Call as soon as you find something out," Angie requested. "I will," replied Bob.
Angie hung up and got up from her desk.
She walked away and walked straight to Lane's office.
She knocked on Lane's door. "Come in," Lane said from his office.
Angie entered Lane's office and sat down in front of his desk.
"What is it?" he asked while he reviewed some budget reports.
"I got a call from a Georgia State Trooper, who claims he saw Austin this morning and that he was heading to Columbus, Georgia," Angie told him.
Lane looked up from his paperwork interested in her news.
"Hopefully the Columbus PD will arrest him," he said.
Angie looked like something bothered her, and Lane noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm getting this gut feeling that maybe, just maybe, Austin didn't rob that bank," she said.
"Why do you say that?" Lane asked curiously as he always respected Angie's feelings.
"Well, everybody at work said he's too much of a nice guy to be robbing a bank. Even the Georgia State Trooper said Austin looked too much like a geek than a bank robber. And he went to an ATM machine after robbing a bank to withdraw his own cash. Why would he do that if he had twenty thousand in cash from a bank robbery? Plus he has over forty thousand dollars in his bank account, and it's from direct deposits from his employer," she said.
"Well, our job is to arrest him and let the courts determine if he's guilty. Everything so far points to him as the bank robber," Lane reminded her.
"I know sir. But I have this gut feeling," she insisted.
"I understand. But find Austin and let the courts decide if he's guilty," Lane ordered. "Plus, I'm going to make a call and get some national media attention on Mister Austin," Lane added.
"Yes sir," Angie said, then got up.
As Angie walked out of his office, she was going with her gut feeling about Joey. And she was determined to find out exactly what happened that day.
Back at Wally's apartment, Kathy and Joey, with Wally's camera bag in hand and without his hat and sunglasses, exited Wally's apartment.
The nosey woman and her husband exited their apartment and saw Kathy and Joey. They needed to satisfy their snoop fix.
"Kathy," the woman called out as Kathy and Joey walked away.
Kathy rolled her eyes at the sound of that annoying woman's voice, as he met her before when she visited Wally.
The nosey woman and her husband rushed over.
"We're shocked to hear about Wally. He didn't seem like the type to do something like that," the nosey woman told Kathy as she pretended to be concerned when all she wanted was to put her nose into Kathy's business.
Joey looked away and avoided eye contact.
"Who is this young man?" asked the nosey man as he tried to get a better look at Joey.
"Ah..." Kathy stammered while she tried to come up with a fake name.
"My name is Ian Mooney," Joey blurted out.
The nosey man and woman looked suspicious of Joey and Kathy noticed, and she got concerned.
"We have to run," Kathy said while she grabbed Joey arm and rushed him away.
The nosey man and woman watched Kathy and Joey rush off with suspicious eyes.
Kathy and Joey rushed to the parking lot.
"That couple are huge snoops in the whole complex. They're always spying on everybody. I can't stand them," Kathy told Joey.
Joey touched his head and got concerned. "I left my hat and glasses in Wally's apartment. I need to go back and get them," Joey told her.
"We can't go back there. Besides, you look cuter without them," she said then she winked at him.
Joey smiled and loved her compliment.
They walked over to her red Harley Davidson Wide Glide motorcycle that had saddlebags. She grabbed an extra helmet from the back seat and threw it to Joey.
He missed it, and the helmet bounced on the pavement.
Joey chased after it and picked it up.
He placed the helmet on his head, and he didn't in the stretch of imagination look like a biker.
Kathy placed her helmet on her head and got on her Harley.
Joey clumsily got on behind her.
She started up her Harley, clicked it into first gear and gave it some gas. As soon as her Harley started rolling, Joey fell off the back and landed on his butt.
Kathy stopped. She turned around and saw Joey on his butt on the parking lot.
"You need to put your arms around me and squeeze me like you want me. Or I can install a sissy bar," she said with a chuckle.
Joey blushed beet red as he got up.
He ran over to Kathy. He got on the back of her Harley and placed his arms around her waist. Kathy tightened his grip. Joey rested his head on Kathy's back with a smile as he loved the feeling of her sexy body between his arms.
Kathy sped off. He stayed on. A little scared, but he stayed on.
That nosey neighbor of Wally's watched from the apartment complex while Kathy rode her Harley through the complex parking lot.
Twenty minutes later, Kathy weaved in and around the traffic on another Columbus street. Joey hugged her body waist tight, and he reminded himself that he had never held a woman like this before. Oh, he sure dreamt about a sexy woman with a hot body. And Kathy had the type of shape he longed to hug. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her body around his arms as Kathy drove. He started to enjoy this feeling a little too much – he got an erection.
As soon as Joey realized he had a hard-on, and it was pressed against Kathy's backside, he scooted away and tried to think about designing video games.
Kathy realized what happened, and it didn't bother her.
In a Tennessee field by a two-lane country road close to the Arkansas border, Rose and Jesse relaxed on a blanket.
His GTO was gone.
Empty beer cans are scattered on the ground near them a reminder that Jesse could care less. Jesse smoked a joint, while he read a book about the famous western outlaw Jesse James with his head in Rose's lap. She ran her fingers through his hair with adoring eyes.
"Can we get married on a Mexican beach at sunset? That would be so romantic and beautiful," she asked Jesse as that's been her dream since she was a young girl.
"Sure. I don't know why we can't," Jesse answered while he smoked his joint then offered it to Rose. She refused.
"If it's a boy, I want to name him Anthony after you. If it's a girl, I want to name her Christina," Rose informed him.
"I want Jessie for a girl and Jesse junior for a boy," Jesse said with a tone that he wasn't going to back down.
Rose rolled her eyes as she knew why he wanted that name, and she was sick and tired of it. "You and this stupid Jesse James obsession. Your name is Tony Winston Rodman. Not Tony Jesse Rodman. You were not Jesse James in a previous life," she scolded him.
Jesse stood up, flicked his joint into the field and looked down at Rose.
"I told you about that strong those déjà vu feelings when I visited the Jesse James farmhouse in Missouri," Jesse said with an air of anger in his voice.
"Here we go again," Rose said while she rolled her eyes.
"He robbed banks. I rob banks. I was born on September fifth in Missouri, just like Jesse James. And I have a brother named Frankie. Just like Jesse James," Jesse said with a serious dead look.
Rose looked sick and tired of hearing that for the one-hundredth time. "Excuse me. You went to jail for robbing a bank. And I'm now robbing them for you and taking all the risk. You know I have a record," she snapped back. Besides, Frankie doesn't believe he's Frank James," she replied.
While they argued, Frankie drove Jesse's GTO down the road.
"My plan has worked perfect three times now, and they haven't connected us with these dorks. You meet each one of these geeks in a different manner meaning our method is different for each one. It's foolproof," Jesse reassured her.
Frankie parked the GTO off the road in the field. He got out with a six-pack of Budweiser's in hand.
"I don't care! After our next two jobs, we're calling it quits," Rose said then stood up with a hand on her tummy as her anger flared up. "We can't raise a family if their father has us on the run for the rest of our lives. You're going to get an honest paying job. You're good at fixing cars. Stick to that," Rose yelled.
Rose stormed off to the GTO and passed by Frankie, as he walked to Jesse.
Frankie looked back at Rose, curious when he walked up to Jesse. "What's her problem?" Frankie asked.
Frankie handed Jesse a Bud.
"Damn woman thing," Jesse, while he opened his beer. He took a gulp and looked concerned with Rose's attitude. "She's becoming a huge pain in my ass," Jesse said then took a gulp of beer, as he became suspicious of Rose.
Rose opened the passenger door and sat in the GTO.
She opened up the glove box and looked inside.
There where two cavalry single action revolvers with seven-inch barrels, just like the kind of pistol used by Jesse James inside the glove box.
Underneath the revolvers were printed copies of the address book from Sidney's computer and a rolled-up bag of weed.
Rose removed the address book from under the revolvers.
She looked through the papers and saw Lenny Roth's address circled.
She reached inside the glove box and removed a folded photograph.
She unfolded it, and it's the picture of Joey and his friends at UIC. She looked at the photo and saw "X'" on Sidney, Wally, Joey's faces.
Rose looked concerned while she rubbed her tummy as she started to believe this was a terrible idea. But convincing Jesse was complicated.