Chapter 14
The sun started to peek above the horizon for the start of another hot and steamy Georgia summer day. It was Sunday morning.
Ernie crawled out of the tent. He stood up and stretched and yawned. He looked tired, as he didn't sleep a wink knowing the old outcome of today.
Ernie walked over to the Coleman stove and grabbed the coffee pot. He removed the top and dumped out the used coffee grounds to the ground.
He walked to the river with the coffee pot in hand.
Ernie reached the bank of the river and dipped the coffee pot into the flowing water. He rinsed out the pot then refilled it with some more water.
He walked back to the tent and proceeded to make their morning cup of coffee on the Coleman stove.
Back in Room 12 of the Emerson Motor Court, Jesse took a shower while Beth was still asleep in the bed.
Jesse walked out of the bathroom, naked with a towel in hand. He started drying off while he glanced at Beth in the bed. He was in love with her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her in the worst way. She was way too sexy to let her slip through his fingers.
Beth's eyes opened and saw Jesse naked drying off with the towel. She smiled at that sight.
Jesse saw Beth move in the bed. "Good morning. How are you feeling?" he said while he tossed the towel into the bathroom.
Beth sat up in the bed.
Jesse walked over and sat down next to her.
"It still hurts, but a little more tolerable than yesterday. Those pain pills helped."
"We better get you home so you can get some more rest," Jesse said while he got off the bed.
Beth moved off the bed in little pain.
Jesse walked Beth to the bathroom.
She immediately reached under her dress and pulled down her white panties. She looked worried when she saw they still had some fresh blood in them.
"The doctor said you might bleed for a few days," Jesse said when he saw her bloody panties.
Beth sat down on the toilet and peed. She cringed as it hurt.
Jesse walked out of the bathroom and started getting dressed.
A few seconds later, Beth slowly walked out of the bathroom.
She walked over and sat back down on the bed in a little pain.
A little while later, Jesse walked Beth to the passenger side of the Bel-Air.
He placed her inside, then rushed around and got behind the wheel.
Before he started up the car, he gave her one more pain pill to make the ride home tolerable.
Back at the time machine in the woods, Louie crawled out of the tent. He stood up, stretched, and yawned. He sniffed the air, and the smell of coffee brewing was a sweet smell first thing in the morning.
Louie rubbed his back as it was suddenly stiff. "I can't wait to get back to my own bed," he said while he continued to rub his stiff back.
Louie walked over to the tarp and removed it off the front of the time machine. He opened it up and reached inside. He removed two cans of Vienna sausages.
He walked back over to Ernie and handed him a can. "This will have to do for breakfast since I can imagine Woolworths' closed on Sundays," Louie said while he sat down and opened up his can.
Ernie's stomach growled while he sat down with his can. He opened it up and really wanted French toast, but he was starving so Vienna sausages would suffice.
Ernie and Louie ate their Vienna sausage breakfast while the coffee brewed on the stove.
Back in Emerson, Jesse and Beth left the motel room and headed down Peach Avenue.
Jesse drove out of the town and headed down the two-lane country road that led back to Waterford.
Beth started to fall asleep due to the effects of the pain pill she took before they left the motel.
Back at the time machine in the woods, Ernie and Louie drank their first cup of coffee.
Ernie started to get nervous while he thought about Erica.
Louie noticed. "We better get going before the whole town heads off to church," he said then tossed the small residual amount of coffee into the dirt.
Ernie gulped down the rest of his coffee then turned off the Coleman stove.
They headed to the motorcycle.
Five minutes later, Louie drove his motorcycle down Waterford Lane. The town was quiet and void of anybody.
Louie pulled his motorcycle into the Sinclair gas station. It was closed.
Louie stopped by the phone booth.
Ernie got out and rushed inside the booth and immediately scanned through the white pages of the phone book.
He rushed out of the booth and got back inside the sidecar.
Louie drove away and pulled back onto Waterford Blvd.
After three left turns and two right turns, Louie drove the motorcycle slows down York Street.
Louie pulled his cycle over to the curb. He let the engine idle while they looked across the street and saw Jesse and Erica's home. It was painted white with black shutters.
"I vaguely remember the place," Ernie said while he stared at his old home. He looked apprehensive with proceeding with his mission.
Louie noticed. "It must be done. It's going to be painful. But it must be done."
Ernie looked at the house and nodded in agreement.
He got out of the sidecar and walked across the street.
Louie drove off down York Street.
About ten miles from Waterford, Jesse raced his Bel-Air down the two-lane country road.
Beth was still sound asleep with her head resting on Jesse's shoulder and his arm around her.
On the radio, the song "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley played.
Jesse listened to the song and went into deep thought about his marriage to Erica.
He glanced down at the top of Beth's head.
His speedometer needle was at 70 mph.
Back in Waterford, Ernie stood by the front door of Jesse and Erica's home. He hesitated.
He paced a little on the front stoop.
He went to knock. He pulled his hand back a little afraid.
He decided he had to go through with this and took a deep breath. He knocked on the door. He thought about running away.
But the door opened, and he remained while he suddenly got the courage to continue.
Erica stood inside her living room and wore a robe. She looked surprised to find Ernie on her front stoop. "Timmy. What are you doing here?"
Ernie looked at Erica. It was hard for him. "Ah, I need to talk to you about your husband, Jesse."
Erica looked concerned. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, but there's some news about him I have to tell you. It's going to be difficult, but I really need to tell you."
"I was going to get ready for church. Can you come back later this afternoon?" Erica replied.
"No ma-am. It's a matter of life and death," he said and looked serious.
Erica looked hesitant while she looked at Ernie. But something about him made her feel at ease and that he was telling the truth. She opened the screen door. "Please come inside, Timmy."
Ernie stepped inside, and Erica closed the front door.
Erica walked Ernie over to the couch.
"I'm going to finish getting dressed. You can wait here," she told him.
Ernie sat down on the couch and watched while Erica walked out of the living room and headed down the hallway.
Young Ernie walked into the living room and wore Cowboy and Indian pajamas. He looked at Ernie.
Ernie looked at young Ernie and didn't remember those pajamas.
"Hi, I'm Ernie," young Ernie said with a warm smile while he walked over to the couch.
Ernie was at a loss of words while he stared at himself as a young boy.
"I'm Timmy," Ernie replied with a warm smile.
Young Ernie sat down on the couch next to Ernie.
Ernie looked at young Ernie and was at a loss of words.
They just sat on the couch and stared at each other.
Back on the two-lane country road, Jesse's Bel-Air raced past the "Welcome to Waterford. Population 2,459" sign and headed into town.
He slowed down the second he drove into the outskirts of town.
Back at Jesse and Erica's home, Ernie and young Ernie just stared at each other on the couch.
Erica entered the living room and wore a light blue dress.
"It might be best if he doesn't hear this. It won't be pleasant for his young ears," he told Erica.
Erica looked at Ernie.
"Please. It's really not something he should hear," Ernie said and looked dead serious.
Erica walked over to young Ernie. "Let's go wait in your bedroom, sweetie," she said then took his hand and walked him out of the living room and down the hallway.
Ernie looked a little nervous while he heard Erica walk back to the living room.
"Now, what's with this life and death matter you must tell be to cause me to be late for church?"
Ernie looked at Erica's curious eyes. He swallowed hard, as he didn't know where to begin. "Well, it started on Thursday night when I was down at a clearing by the river," he blurted out.
"Do you mean the place where we would park as kids?" Erica replied and looked curious with where Ernie's story would be beheaded.
Ernie nodded in agreement.
"So how is this a matter of life and death?"
Ernie looked at Beth's eyes and almost felt like running to the door. But he knew it was a matter of her life and death.
"I saw Jesse there that night," he told her.
"You saw him at the clearing that night?" she replied and wasn't sure she heard him correctly.
Ernie nodded in agreement.
"What was he doing down there?"
Ernie proceeded to tell her.
At Beth's parents home, Jesse parked his Bel-Air in her driveway and turned off the engine.
He got out and rushed around to the passenger side and opened the door.
He assisted Beth out of the car. She was a little groggy from the pain pills.
Jesse walked her to her front door.
Inside her home, Jesse walked Beth down the hallway and they headed to her bedroom.
Jesse helped Beth get undressed out of her sundress and dressed into her nightgown.
He helped her to bed, where she started to drift off to sleep.
Jesse walked out of her bedroom.
On the other side of town, Louie parked his motorcycle along the curb in front of Matt's home on Dorothy Avenue.
He turned off his motorcycle and saw Matt's Waterford Police car parked in the driveway. He sat there for a few seconds while he rehearsed in his mind what he would say to Matt.
"I hope he doesn't beat my ass," Louie said while removed his goggles, and leather helmet. He got off his motorcycle.
Louie walked through the yard and headed to Matt's front door. He knocked on the door.
A few seconds passed, and the front door opened. Matt appeared in his black dress pants and white dress shirt that wasn't tucked in.
"What the hell do you want?" Matt said and wasn't happy that this stranger knocked on his door on a Sunday morning.
Louie was a little intimidated by Matt's response.
"Sir. I have some news that might be of interest."
"Why are you bothering me? I'm getting ready for church."
"It concerns your son Jesse."
"Jesse?"
"Yes, sir. He, ah, he's been having an affair with Beth. He got her pregnant and took her to Emerson for an abortion yesterday. And I believe he wants to kill his wife Erica," Louie said and waited for Matt to blow up at him.
Matt glared at Louie. "Why the fuck are you standing here on a Sunday morning lying to me? I should haul your wetback ass off to my jail," Matt said then he stepped outside and glared in Louie's eyes.
Louie stepped back into the grass a little scared. "I'm telling you the truth, sir. I swear," he said and anticipated a punch in the face.
Wilma appeared at the front door in her light green church dress. "What's going on out here?"
"This wetback is telling me this lie that Jesse took Beth to Emerson so she can have an abortion," he told her then clenched his right fist.
Wilma thought about Matt's comment for a few seconds. "Erica did tell me Jesse went to Emerson yesterday for some important business and he wouldn't be at church this morning," Wilma told Matt and didn't think anything of the news.
"When were you going to tell me that?" Matt said while he looked back at Wilma.
"Sorry, it slipped my mind," Wilma replied, as Matt never intimidated her.
Matt looked at Louie. "We're going to Beth's house. If you're lying, I'm going to lock you up," he said then he grabbed Louie's arm and escorted him to his police car in the driveway.
Wilma looked concerned for Beth while she watched Matt place Louie in the back of his police car.
Matt got behind the wheel of his car, started it up, and then backed it down the driveway.
She watched while Matt's police car sped away down the street.
Back at Jesse and Erica's living room, she sat on the couch with Ernie and stared at him in disbelief.
"He was with Beth at the clearing? They're having an affair? And she's pregnant?" Erica said while she stood up while that news hit her hard. She paced around a little.
"I know this is hard news, but you had to know," he said while she paced around a little circle by the couch.
"He took her to Emerson yesterday to get an abortion," he added.
Erica didn't hear that part since she was too focused on him having an affair.
"There's something else. I believe he was the one that robbed the bank on Friday," Ernie added while Erica paced.
She stopped and looked at Ernie. "There's no way Jesse would rob a bank," she said.
"He did. I saw the robber," he replied.
"The paper said the robber wore a black ski mask. Did you see the robber take the mask off?"
"No. But I saw that the robber wore snake skinned cowboy boots while he attacked me," Ernie replied.
Erica sat back down on the couch. "Why would he rob a bank? His dad is the sheriff, and besides, he makes a decent living at the Chevy dealership working as a salesman," she said while she paced some more.
"Money to pay for the abortion up in Emerson," Ernie said.
"Did you say abortion?" Erica asked, not sure she heard him correctly.
"I'm afraid so. I saw him up there. I even took some pictures as proof. They're going to be sent to grandfather," Ernie said.
"Why did you say, grandfather?" Erica asked as that seemed odd.
"I mean young Ernie's grandfather. The sheriff."
"An abortion? He cheated on me? He robbed a bank?"
Ernie nodded in agreement.
Erica looked skeptical. "Why are you here lying to me?" she said in a raised voice and started to look mad with Ernie.
"No, I'm telling the truth. I swear. He probably hid his outfit here at your house. Plus he stole my camera when I caught him in the woods after the robbery. I snapped a picture," Ernie said and silently prayed she would believe him.
"Not inside this house. I would know about that," she said and sounded positive.
Ernie thought about a possible hiding place. Then he remembered how when he was a teenager, he found Jesse's Playboy magazine stash in their garage. "How about the garage?"
Erica thought for a second.
"No. Jesse might have a temper, but he would never do those things."
"Let's at least check out the garage. If nothing's there, I'll leave, and you'll never see me again," Ernie said and gave her his best poker face.
"If we don't find anything, I'm going to call my father-in-law. He can come over and arrest you," she said then she got up off the couch.
"Okay," Ernie said while he got up off the couch.
Erica walked toward the kitchen.
Ernie followed her and silently prayed that they would find the evidence.
Back in the northern end of Waterford Blvd, Jesse drove his Bel-Air in the southbound lane of the road.
Jesse turned his car to the left and headed down Fern Street.
Down at the other end of Waterford Blvd, Matt drove his police car in the northbound lane of the road. He didn't notice Jesse's Bel-Air while it headed down Fern Street.
Louie sat in the backseat and silently prayed that Beth was at her home. He didn't feel like spending the night in the Waterford jail until Matt learned the truth.