Page 21 of Calling His Bluff
“You took twenty years from me,” Ernie said and moved closer. “Finally, you are going to pay for what you did.”
“All I did is recognize your eyes,” Josephine said. “You did the rest. You wouldn’t have had to spend all those years in prison if you hadn’t had child pornography on your computer.”
“That’s a lie!” Nels cried. “The cops put that on there to frame him.”
Ernie didn’t act as if he’d heard his son as he leaned toward her and whispered, “They would have never searched my house, taken my computer, found it if you hadn’t ratted me out at school.”
“You were guilty of a lot more than being a Peeping Tom, Ernie. That wasn’t my fault. You’re just looking for someone to blame because you can’t face that you’re a pervert.” She heard Jack swear under his breath.
As Jack went for Nels’ gun, Josephine reached for the weapon in Ernie’s hand, grabbing it and shoving him as hard as she could. She’d been stalling for time, thinking that maybe, just maybe Hank would get worried and call the cops. No such luck, she realized as she heard the gunshot.
She lost purchase of the gun she and Ernie had been grappling over as she started to turn toward Jack, terrifiedof what she would see. Ernie swung the gun, the butt end clipped her temple, knocking her to the floor. She saw stars but fought the blackness that was trying to pull her under as he jerked her to her feet.
The first thing she saw was the blood, but Jack was on his feet holding his shoulder. Nels had the gun trained on him.
“Get moving!” Ernie ordered. “We’re going for a ride.”
The first rule of being abducted is to never let them take you to another location. But in this case, Josephine thought they had a better chance once they were out in the alley. Even if they insisted she get into a car, they would need her to drive. It was the only way they could hold a gun on her and Jack at the same time.
Unfortunately, Ernie had a different plan.
They were led out the front door instead of the alley to a van parked at the curb. Ernie opened the side door and shoved her in, sending Nels in after her. She landed hard. Behind her, she heard Ernie say something and turned in time to see him swing the barrel of the gun. She heard the crack of the impact as Jack was struck. As his knees buckled, Ernie caught him and shoved him into the back of the van.
“Jack!” She hadn’t realized that she’d screamed his name and reached for him, but Nels held her back. She watched in horror as Ernie felt for a pulse.
After a few moments, he shook his head. “We won’t be having any more trouble out of him.”
Jack was gone?No!She struggled to free herself from Nel’s hold, to go to Jack. She didn’t see the blow coming nor could she have stopped it. Ernie’s fist slammed into the side of her head.
The last thing she saw was Jack lying dead at her feet. She had time for only one last thought before the darkness closed in.She’d gotten him killed.
* * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 12
Jack felt no pain, only joy. Not that he’d forgotten the blow to his head. He knew that had been real. But somehow, he must have survived it since here he was, dressed in a tux,standing before a pastor with Josephine beside him. He’d never been this happy before.
Josephine smiled at him. Hadn’t he known she would be gorgeous in one of those gowns from her bridal shop? She was more beautiful, though, than even he’d imagined. He’d been afraid when he’d dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. He’d known there was a good chance she’d say no.
The proposal was a little fuzzy, but here she was so he knew she’d said yes. Now all they had to do was to get this pastor to hurry up and marry them. But when he looked at the pastor again, he realized the man wasn’t the same one who’d been there moments ago. Strange.
Not that it mattered. Within minutes he and Josephine would be husband and wife—just as he’d dreamed.
He realized the pastor was saying something about if there was anyone who had reason to object to this wedding, they should speak now. That seemed silly since it was just Jack and Josephine here.
But from behind him, the Armstrong twins appeared out of nowhere. They both started to object, speaking at the same time, when Josephine waved her arm, they disappeared. Jack started to turn back to the pastor when he saw that Josephine had pulled out her lucky silver dollar.
“Heads or tails?” she asked.
Jack was still trying to understand why the pastor was a different one than before. “What are we flipping for?”
“If I should take a chance on you, Jack Rawlins, or if I should walk away. Heads, I stay. Tails, I leave and you’ll never see me again.” She tossed the coin into the air.
He started to say something, but his mouth was so dry that no words would come out. The coin caught the light an instant before she snatched it from the air and slapped it down on her palm.
-#-
At first, Josephine couldn’t catch her breath after blacking out. The blow had stunned her, knocked her senseless and tipped her into a dark place. But when she’d opened her eyes and seen Jack lying at her feet dead, she’d dropped down next to him, cradling his head as she began to cry and couldn’t stop.
