Chapter 13
A couple of hours had passed, and Louie drove his motorcycle back down Jefferson Lane.
They saw Jesse's Bel-Air still parked along the curb by the doctor's house.
He parked his motorcycle along the curb five houses down from Dr. Sampson's residence. He turned off the engine, and along with Ernie, they waited for Jesse and Beth to come out of the house.
Ten minutes passed, and nobody from the nearby houses was concerned with Louie and Ernie sitting on his motorcycle.
Then they saw the screen door of Dr. Sampson's house open.
"I think they're coming out," Louie told Ernie.
Ernie got his camera ready and saw Jesse step out onto the front porch.
He looked through the camera and saw Beth slowly step out to the porch. She was bent over and appeared in pain.
Ernie moved his camera away from his face and looked concerned while he saw Jesse slowly escort her down the steps of the front porch.
He looked back in the camera and snapped a picture of Jesse walking a painful Beth down the walkway to his car.
Jesse opened the passenger door.
Louie and Ernie watched while Beth painfully sat in the passenger seat of the Bel-Air.
"She's not looking so good," Ernie said and looked concerned for Beth.
"I hope that doctor isn't a quack," Louie replied and had his doubts.
Ernie's eyes widened when he remembered something. "That's why she couldn't have children in the future. That abortion screwed up her insides," he said and felt sorry of her.
"Figures he's a fucking quack," Louie said and looked pissed while he looked at the doctor's sign by the sidewalk.
Louie and Ernie watched while Jesse closed the passenger door, ran around to the driver's side and got inside.
The Bel-Air drove away.
Louie kicked started up his motorcycle.
He pulled out onto Jefferson Lane and followed the Bel-Air.
A little while later, and Jesse drove his Bel-Air back down Peachtree Street.
Louie and Ernie on the motorcycle followed Jesse's Bel-Air.
"Is he heading back to Waterford?" Louie called out.
"He told mom back at Woolworths that he was spending the night in Emerson," Ernie replied.
Then they saw Jesse make a right turn into the parking lot of the Emerson Motor Court.
"That answers that," Louie said when he saw Jesse drive his Bel-Air to the office of the motor court.
"Figures," Ernie said while he watched the Bel-Air.
"She's probably too sore for that," Louie replied.
Louie pulled his motorcycle off to the curb. He let the engine idle while he and Ernie watched Jesse get out of his car and rush into the office.
An old man sat behind the counter of the motor court office.
The old man watched while Jesse rushed up to the counter.
"I need a room for the night," he told the old man and looked anxious.
The old man peeked around Jesse and looked at the office windows. Outside he saw Beth sitting in the Bel-Air with her head resting on the top of the front seat. "Is she okay?"
Jesse looked over his shoulder and saw Beth inside the Bel-Air. He pondered for a few seconds for a good story. "Yeah, we're tired. We drove from Memphis. We're heading back to Columbus. We just had our honeymoon," he lied.
"Honeymoon, you say?" the old man said.
"Yep, honeymoon," Jesse replied and gave the old man his best poker face.
"Okay," the old man replied, then moved the guest register in front of Jesse and handed him a pen.
Jesse filled out the register as Mister and Misses Jesse Conner without thinking.
"That'll be ten dollars," the old man told Jesse.
Jesse reached around and removed his wallet. He removed a ten-dollar bill and handed it to the old man.
The old man turned around and gave Jesse the key to Room 12.
Jesse turned around and rushed to the door.
Jesse rushed out of the office and hopped back inside his Bel-Air.
He drove off and parked by Room 12 down to the left of the office.
Louie and Ernie still watched from the motorcycle while Jesse got out of his car and rushed over to the passenger side.
Ernie got his camera ready.
Louie and Ernie watched while Jesse carefully assisted Beth out of the car.
Ernie snapped a picture while Jesse carefully walked Beth to the room door.
Jesse and Beth went inside the motel room.
"Nothing we can do by waiting here," Louie said while he glanced over at Ernie and his camera. "Let's see if we can get those pictures developed," he added then pulled his motorcycle onto Peachtree Street.
Louie drove his motorcycle little way down the street.
When traffic was clear, Louie made a sudden U-turn on Peachtree Street and headed back into town.
"I'm glad a cop wasn't around," Ernie said while Louie drove down Peach Street.
"Me too."
A little while later, Ernie and Louie walked through Woolworths.
Ernie glanced over at the food counter and thought about Erica while they walked to the camera counter.
They stood and waited at the counter for some service.
A salesman walked up to them from behind the counter. "May I help you?"
Ernie opened his camera and removed the film canister. He set it on the counter. "We need this developed right away, please," he said.
The salesman picked up the film canister. "Film takes a week to develop."
"A week? You don't have one hour developing?" Ernie asked with hopeful eyes.
The salesman looked at Ernie like he nuts. "No, a week."
Ernie looked at Louie who motioned they don't have a choice.
"Okay. A week it is," Ernie said disappointed but knew he didn't have a choice.
The salesman reached under the counter and grabbed an envelope and a pen. He slid them across the counter to Ernie. "Fill out the envelope," the salesman said.
Ernie looked at the envelope. He got an idea then took the pen and started to fill out the information. He then dropped the film canister inside the envelope then sealed it. He handed it back to the salesman.
The salesman read the envelope then looked at Ernie. "You want the developed pictures to go to Sheriff Matt Conner in Waterford?" he asked to be sure.
"Yes, sir. Please mail them to Sheriff Matt Conner in Waterford."
"Okay. Please pay in advance. That will be one dollar and twenty cents," the salesman said.
Louie removed some cash from his pocket and paid the salesman.
Ernie and Louie walked away from the camera counter.
"There are some things about the fifties that I don't like, like developing film," Ernie said while they walked to the front door.
Louie and Ernie walked out of Woolworths and headed to the motorcycle parked along the street.
They got on the motorcycle, and Louie drove away down the street.
A little while later, Louie drove his motorcycle back down Peachtree Street.
He parked along the street near the Emerson Motor Court. He turned off the engine, and they waited while they eyed Jesse's Bel-Air by a motel room.
A few minutes passed, and Ernie got a smirk when an idea slipped into his head. "Wouldn't it be funny if we could get Erica to call his motel room?"
Louie thought about Ernie's comment for a few seconds then chuckled. "That would be or, what if we call your grandfather and tell him that the bank robber is in the motel room? Shacked up with a pregnant woman," he added with a smirk.
Ernie thought about Louie's suggestion, and he grew a smirk. "I like that. Let's do it."
Louie kicked started his motorcycle.
He pulled out and drove down the street.
When traffic was clear, Louie made another U-turn and headed back down Peachtree Street.
Louie pulled his motorcycle into the Sinclair gas station where a glass phone booth was located near the sidewalk.
Louie parked his motorcycle by the phone booth and let the engine idle.
Ernie jumped out of the sidecar and ran over to the booth. He went inside while Louie waited on the motorcycle.
Ernie grabbed the dangling phone book and started flipping through the pages. He stopped when he found Matt's phone number in the Waterford section of the book.
Ernie dropped a dime into the payphone.
He punched in Matt's number. He waited.
A ringing was heard from the phone.
Ernie started to get a little nervous.
"Sheriff Conner," Matt answered the call.
Ernie froze over the sound of his grandfather's voice.
"Sheriff Conner. Can I help you?" he said a little louder and sounded irritated.
Ernie got too nervous and hung up the phone.
He stepped out of the phone booth and looked a little ashamed.
"He wasn't at home?" Louie asked.
Ernie felt like a coward while he walked back to the sidecar. "He was at home. I just chicken out," Ernie said while he got inside the sidecar.
Louie got off his motorcycle. He reached inside his pants and removed a dime. "I'll do it," he said then walked over to the phone booth.
Ernie thought about the situation while Louie entered the phone booth. "On second thought. That might not work. Grandfather might think it's a prank phone call. We need to find the outfit he wore. That might help."
Louie thought about Ernie's comment for a few seconds. "You might be right," he said while he turned around and walked back to the motorcycle.
Ernie pondered while Louie got back on his motorcycle. "We'll have to catch him in the act of trying to kill mom. I'll stop him while you get my grandfather."
Louie thought about Ernie's suggestion. "That's risky. Can you fight him off?"
"I don't have a choice. I'll have to give it my best shot," Ernie said and looked a little nervous while Louie kicked started the motorcycle.
Louie drove out of the Sinclair gas station lot and onto Peachtree Street.
He headed back in the direction of the Emerson Motor Court, and they had a discussion on how they can screw with Jesse.
"Are you sure about this?" Louie asked Ernie.
"Yeah. It might slow him down tomorrow morning," Ernie replied and looked confident.
Louie reached in his pants pocket and removed a pocketknife. "Don't get caught," he said while he handed him the knife.
Ernie took the knife. "That's not my plan," he said while he shoved the knife into his pants pocket.
Ernie got out of the sidecar.
Louie watched while Ernie ran to the motor court. "He's finally growing a pair," he said and felt proud of Ernie's determination. "But he does look like a nerd with that leather cap on his head," he added with a chuckle while he watched Ernie.
Ernie snuck over to the rear of Jesse's Bel-Air.
He ducked down by the trunk.
He peeked around the driver's side of the car. It was quiet inside Room 12.
He scooted down the passenger side of the Bel-Air. He stopped by the front of the car. He peeked around the car and saw it was still quiet.
He headed to Jesse's motel room window.
He got to the window and saw a gap in the curtains. He peeked and saw Beth on the queen size bed.
"It still hurts!" Beth cried out in pain from the bed.
Ernie saw Jesse pacing back and forth in the room, and he looked worried.
"You'll feel better after a good night's sleep," Jesse said while he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge.
Beth was in tears.
Jesse looked lost with handling this situation.
Outside the motel room, Ernie scooted back to the Bel-Air and headed to the rear of the car.
He moved around to the rear driver's side.
Ernie removed the pocketknife while he scooted over to the driver's side rear tire. He opened up the knife then sliced the air valve. Air hissed out of the slit
Back in the motel room, Jesse still sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Beth.
"Please get me some more pain pills from the doctor so I can sleep," she pleaded.
"Okay," Jesse said while he got up off the bed.
He walked to the door and went outside the room.
Outside, Ernie heard the door to Room 12 open.
"Crap," he said then he scooted over to the rear of the Bel-Air. He peeked down and looked underneath the car and saw Jesse's cowboy boots while he walked to the driver's door. Ernie heard the hissing sound of the air from the tire.
Ernie quietly scooted over to the passenger side of the Bel-Air.
Across the street, Louie saw Ernie crouched down by the passenger side while Jesse walked over by the driver's side. "Shit," he said and kicked started up his motorcycle.
Jesse walked to the driver's door. He placed a hand on the door handle, but a hissing sound coming from the rear caught his attention.
He looked around then realized it was coming from the rear of the car.
He walked to the rear tire and saw it was started to go flat, and the hissing sound was louder. "Damn it!" Jesse yelled then he kicked his tire.
He walked over and opened up the trunk.
He removed the spare tire and slammed it down on the ground.
He removed the jack and slammed it on the ground.
He suddenly looked suspicious and looked over his shoulder. He saw nothing that looked suspicious, so he grabbed his jack and started to set it up on the rear bumper.
While Jesse jacked up the rear of the Bel-Air, something caught his attention. It was Ernie while he bolted away from the car and raced toward the street.
Jesse ran after Ernie. "Who the hell are you?" he yelled while he ran after Ernie.
Ernie ran out into the street without looking.
A male driver of a 1955 white Cadillac slammed on its brakes when Ernie ran out in front of his car.
Ernie stopped, and the Cadillac stopped inches from his body.
"Idiot!" the driver yelled out his window.
Ernie ran across the other lane.
The Cadillac drove away and blocked Jesse from running into the street.
Ernie ran over and hopped in the sidecar.
"I did it. I sliced his air valve," Ernie called out and was proud he was able to pull this off without getting a beating from Jesse.
Louie pulled out onto the street and drove away down Peachtree Street.
Jesse stood by the curb. "Who the hell was that?" he asked while he watched the motorcycle race down the street. He looked back at the motel and remembered Beth.
He walked back to his car.
A little while later, Louie raced his motorcycle with Ernie in the sidecar down Peachtree Street and was soon out of the town limits.
They passed by a "Thank You For Visiting Emerson" road sign on the right.
Back at the Emerson Motor Court, Jesse finished changing his tire. He slammed the old tire into the trunk. He picked up the car jack and slammed it into the trunk. He slammed the trunk closed then rushed over to the driver's door.
Jesse got inside his car, started it up, and backed up.
He raced his car through the motor court parking lot and headed to Peachtree Street.
Louie raced his motorcycle down the two-lane road. They passed by a "Waterford – 10 Miles" sign on the right side of the road.
In Emerson, Jesse parked his car by the curb at Dr. Sampson's home.
He got out and ran to the front porch.
He ran to the screened door and opened it. He started pounding on the front door.
The front door opened and Dr. Sampson appeared with a glass of whiskey in hand. "What are you doing here?" he asked Jesse and looked bothered he was at his home.
"She needs more pain pills. The pain won't go away," Jesse said.
"I'm sorry, I gave you all she needs," Dr. Sampson said then he started to close his front door.
Jesse shoved his cowboy boot into the doorway and prevented the door from closing shut. Jesse body slammed the front door and stormed inside the doctor's home.
Dr. Sampson fell down on his butt and spilled his whiskey on his shirt.
Jesse reached down and grabbed Dr. Sampson by his shirt. He pulled Dr. Sampson to his feet. "You didn't hear me, old man, she needs some more pain pills. Now I can't go to a drug store and tell them why I need pain pills, can I?" Jesse yelled at the doctor.
"Okay, okay," Dr. Sampson said while he caved in. He motioned for Jesse to follow him down the hallway.
In Waterford, Louie drove his motorcycle down Waterford Blvd.
At the First National Savings and Loan, Matt was checking out the area along the side of the bank for any possible clues of the robber.
He heard a motorcycle. He looked and saw Louie and Ernie on the Indian while it drove down the street and headed out of town. "Jacob must be out for a ride with his son," Matt said then he returned to scouring around the grass.
In Emerson, Jesse raced his Bel-Air back to the Emerson Motor Court.
He rushed back into Room 12 and immediately gave Beth two of the pain pills he got from Dr. Sampson.
The sun started to drop below the horizon.
Louie drove his motorcycle down the dirt road.
He turned off the dirt road and drove through the woods toward his covered time machine.
He stopped by the tent and turned off the engine.
"I'm exhausted, and my butt cheeks are sore," Louie said while he got off the motorcycle.
"Me too," Ernie said while he got out of the sidecar. "I want to head over to mom's house first thing in the morning," he added while he walked over to a tree and started to pee.
Louie went inside the tent.
Back in Room 12 of the Emerson Motor Court, Beth was asleep, as those pain pills took effect.
Jesse was sound asleep on the other side of the bed.
It was dark back in the woods, but the full Moon provided some light.
Ernie stood in the clearing along the edge of the Waterford River. He was in deep thought while he thought about Erica and stared at the river.
Ernie heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Louie walking over to him.
"What ya doing?"
"Thinking about tomorrow. It could be the last day of my mom's life. Again," Ernie said while he started at the river and looked at the moonlight's reflection on the flowing water.
"Well, we'll just have to prevent that from happening," Louie said while he patted Ernie on his shoulder to show his support.
Ernie nodded that he agreed but down inside, he started having doubts he could pull this off.
"Let's get some sleep," Louie said then walked away back to the tent.
Ernie walked away and followed Louie over to the tent.
An hour had passed.
Inside Room 12 of the Emerson Motor Court, Beth was still asleep.
Jesse lay awake in the bed and stared at the ceiling. All he could think about was his plan to get out of this horrible marriage with Erica.
Back in Waterford, Erica lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. All she could think about was her horrible marriage to Jesse. She deeply regretted getting drunk that night at the party and falling prey to Jesse's charm in the wood.
Back in the tent, Ernie and Louie were sound asleep. But Ernie tossed and turned while he had a dream.
In Ernie's dream, he walked to Erica's front door.
He opened the door and stepped inside her living room.
"Stop!" Erica screamed out from the bedroom area.
Ernie ran through the living room.
Ernie ran down the hallway.
Ernie ran into Erica's bedroom.
He stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway the second he saw Jesse with a pistol to Erica's head.
"Stop!" Ernie yelled out.
"Who are you?" Jesse yelled at Ernie in anger.
"I'm your son, Ernie."
"So you're Ernie? All grown up," Jesse said while he looked at him.
"Don't kill mom," Ernie yelled and had his fists clenched ready for a fight while he saw Erica's scared to death look in her eyes.
Jesse looked at Ernie's clenched fists. He laughed out loud. "How cute. A pansy boy thinks he going to stop me," Jesse said between laughs. Then he looked pissed while he moved his pistol away from Erica's head. He aimed his pistol at Ernie.
"You're an asshole, dad," Ernie said, feeling brave.
The bullet hit Ernie in his chest.
Ernie looked down and saw blood oozing out of his chest. He dropped to the floor.
Back in reality in the tent, Ernie bolted up in a panic. He quickly looked down at his chest and didn't see a bloody hole. He was relieved that it was a dream while he lay back down.
Ernie stared at the top of the tent. He thought about his dream and started to chicken out with tomorrow.