Chapter 12
The car ride is long and bumpy. The trip is probably short, but when you are in the trunk of a car wearing only your bra and panties...the car being driven by a well-armed girl who has already professed a strong distaste for you...then the ride is going to seem a lot longer.
The car sails along smoothly and I shiver in the trunk. What the hell is she up to? I wonder. She can't just kill me. She would pay a heavy price. Jenn would not stop until she found her and earned retribution ( a fact I know well ) and Gemma would hunt her to the ends of the earth. Well, that's what I like to tell myself. Laurie could take me out into the bayou, shoot me in the head, and feed my to alligators and catfish and neither Jenn nor Gemma would care. Marie B might notice I am gone but only because she wants to beat me up all the time.
The roadway suddenly changes as Laurie makes a sharp right turn...so sharp in fact that my body slides across the car's rough carpet and my head slams into the sidewall. The little car bounces and bumps over potholes and ruts and it occurs to me we are going down a slight grade. We are going toward water. Laurie does intend to shoot me! Or even worse....get out of the car, leave it in drive, and let it roll into the river! I panic and begin clawing and slamming the bottom of my fists against the trunk lid. I don't want to die this way!
The little car lurches and bangs along the rough side road but then the grade levels out and I know we are at water level. I brace myself for impact with the cold water, but the car suddenly comes to a halt and the engine stops. A car door opens and slams closed then keys rattle.
The trunk lid pops open and when my eyes adjust I am looking down the barrel of the small pistol again.
“Get out of the trunk, Bitch.”
The difference in her voice is striking. It is so full of bitterness and hate that I almost curl up in the trunk hoping she'll close the lid. But that doesn't happen. She motions with the pistol for me to get out, “Now bitch,” so I slowly untangle and climb out of the trunk.
My feet slide down the back of the car to the soft, muddy ground. My heels sink in a little and I feel the slimy mud that can only come from close proximity to water begin to squish between my toes. I hope back and forth on my dainty little feet to keep from sinking in too deep. Finally I take a look around. We are at the river's edge. The dark water coursing by us thirty or so yards away. A few reeds and a guard rail are the only things separating us from the dark, muddy watch.
Lightning ripples off in the distance and there is a low roll of thunder. The wind picks up and another flash of lightning illuminates Laurie's cute face, “Okay bitch, it's time to settle this,” she says as she toss the gun aside. I lunge for the pistol while saying, “Laurie...NO!!!” but her fist slams into the side of my head driving me to my knees. I taste blood on my lips as Laurie prepares to kick my, “LAURIE! NO!!” I yell a little louder.
“Not so tough without Gemma, are you, Peeshwank?”
I look at her for a second and wonder where she learned that word, but her kick cuts off any questions. The point of her boot hammers into my ribs. “UGGHHHHH!” I grunt and roll onto my side.
“Not bad like you were in Sturgis, huh?”
Again with Sturgis! What the fuck did I do to make her hate me so bad? What the hell happened in Sturgis?
She draws back for another kick and again I scream, “LAURIE...NO!!!”
“So you really are a pussy when you're alone, aren't you? Marie B was right! Well, you aren't getting away that easy, bitch.”
She grabs my hair and drags me to my feet. I want to fight back but there is a very specific reason I can...and she won't fucking listen! “Laurie, NO!” I sob.
“Oh? You want to beg now?? Fuck you and fuck begging!”
Her fist drives deep into my belly and I drop to my knees and then onto all fours. “Laurie....stop,” I sob.
“Why? You showed me no mercy, slut! Why should I have any for you?”
“OWWWWW!!!” I scream as she stomps on my right hand.
“Get up and fight you fucking pussy!!!”
“Laurie....NO....STOP!!!” I reply sobbing.
“WHY?!?! WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I STOP?!?! You showed me ZERO mercy in Sturgis, so now you beg me to STOP?!?! FUCK YOU!!!”
“Laurie please!”
Another kick to the ribs and I am on my face sobbing over and over, “Stop please stop.....”
Another kick to the side, “Why Joni? Why should I stop?”
Sobbing and gasping for breath, “Because there's a pickup truck parked over there in the reeds with three people in it.....”
That stops Laurie, but only for a second, “Bullshit Joni. You think I'm dumb enough to turn my back on YOU?!?!”
“Laurie, find your pistol....they're getting out....” I sob.
“I'm not that stupid, Joni.”
“Oh shit.”
Laurie has a satisfied look on her face as she delivers another kick, this one to my ass. The tip of her running shoe slamming into my anus. “Agh,” I yelp and fall onto my face while arching my back. A column of fire shooting up my spine. I lie helpless on the ground, a nauseous feeling creeping into my belly.
“I thought you were smarter and more creative than that, Joni! You are a worthless piece of shit. Drowning your worthless ass in that filthy mud stream you call a river will be a pleasure! A truck and people behind us? Please! I'm not that naïve!”
Laurie grabs my hair and starts to drag me toward the river, but then.....
“SLAM!!”
…..the sound of a truck door slamming shut behind her echoes like a gunshot.
Laurie's eyes fly open and she immediately let's go of my hair. She looks at me with an “Oh shit!” look on her face, and she stands stock still as if she is frozen. Her oh shit look turns to one of, “Oh fuck! You weren't joking.”
“What do we have here, eh Piny?” A voice says behind Laurie.
I'm not good at placing accents, but I know this one immediately. Not many people outside Louisiana know the history of the area known as Acadiana. Fewer people outside of here know where the inhabitants of Acadiana originated. The original Acadians (more commonly known as “Cajuns”) migrated to southern Louisiana in the 1800s from the Acadia area of northeastern Canada. The Acadians lived in that area prior to the American Revolution. They somehow managed to settle the wetlands of Louisiana and brought their unique language and culture with them. The man who spoke sounded a little more refined than your average Cajun. He sounded Canadian.
“Well, Sam, looks like couple hoors rolling in the mud. What do you think Lorie?”
This one sounded like a true American redneck. Not a Cajun, but definitely a redneck. Most people outside the United States....and many in the US....think rednecks are confined to the South. This isn't entirely true. Every state has it's rednecks. Every American town, city, burgh, or village as then. The may now sound like crackers or peckerwoods all the time, but they are still rednecks. The guy named “Piny” is certainly a redneck.
“Look like white trash to me, Piny.”
The female sounds like a Southern belle. An uppity, classless, bitchy Southern belle. I instantly hate her. I despise uppity bitches.
Laurie straightens up looking at me with a lost expression on her face. She whispers, “Did you see where the gun went?”
I want to scream! Of course I didn't see where the gun went! I want grab her by the throat and shake her until she admits she should have listened to me. I tried to tell her.
“You two grab them and I'm gonna look through their purses,” the female called Lorie says and begins walking toward the car. Laurie immediately swings around and says, “Like hell!”
The stocky brunette called Lorie looks at her with a quizzical expression on her face. She's in her late 30s...maybe early 40s...but she looks to be in good shape. Her arms and legs are well muscled and her belly looks flat, although it's really hard to tell with her big breasts. She smiles sweetly at Laurie......just before she swings a wicked left hook that Laurie obviously isn't expecting. As soon as it began, Laurie is lying beside me moaning.
“Check that. Just watch the stupid one in her panties. I doubt she will be much trouble.” The woman known as Lorie continues to the car.
“What do you think, Sam? That knocked out one is cute. It's kinda quiet over there behind them bushes,” the one called Piny says with a wolfish grin....his eyes never leaving Laurie's body.
“Yeah, Piny. You know I kinda got a soft spot for lil girls, ya know, eh.” I get my first close look at Sam...the Canadian. He's big. Maybe 6'0” 250 lbs. Kinda soft, but still big. He reminds me of a modern day Fred Flintstone. But his eyes aren't as kind as Fred Flintstone's. He is looking at me like a starving man would look at a turkey leg.
I lower my eyes and look at myself. Thanks to Laurie I am covered in dirt and muck. I'm also wearing only my bra and panties...thanks again to Laurie. Half of Louisiana law enforcement could be looking for us...thanks to Laurie.
“Hey! Look what I found!” The female behind us yells.
“Oh shit! What does a little girl need with that?!?!” Sam asks. Piny sucks in a deep breath and whistles through his teeth.
I turn around and nearly faint when I see the woman called Lorie holding my Baby Glock. But that may be the least of our worries. Just when I think things can't get any worse. They decidedly do.
Headlights turn off the rutted road and into the boat launch parking lot. I make out the brush guard and push bumper of a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department cruiser immediately. Laurie is starting to come around and I slam the palm of my hand into the side of her head, knocking her back to the ground. “YOU BROUGHT US BACK TO JEFFERSON PARRISH?!?!” I yell at her incredulously. “That's where Cooter's body is!!!
I didn't care if the cop heard us or not. We are going to prison for sure now. The deputy has run our tags for sure and now knows who we are. We are doomed.
I really can't say if the cop heard me or not, but Lorie, Sam, and Piny sure did. They are looking back and forth between me and the Baby Glock in astonishment. It's Piny that breaks the silence. “You two killed someone?”
I want to answer with a resounding “no,” but then I get an idea. I turn my shoulders and look at Lorie as she holds my Baby Glock in her bare hands.
“No. She did. I say looking at the Glock and smiling.
Lorie looks at me like a monkey doing a math problem then she realizes what I mean. “Oh shit!” She squeals and tosses the gun into the car like a hot potato. Fortunately for me, the cops saw her toss it. They put their spotlights on her and start yelling.
I jump to my feet and run towards them. “THANK GOD YOU ALL ARE HERE!!! THEY KIDNAPPED ME AND WERE ABOUT TO RAPE ME!!!”
This should be pretty easy to believe considering I am covered in mud and wearing only my bra and panties. The cops stop yelling at Lorie as I approach them, but then the one in the driver's door says, “HOLY SHIT! ANYONE BUT YOU!” Next thing I know her service pistol is pointed at me.
It's fortunate the cops showed up when they did, but unfortunately for me, I know the one pointing the gun at me. At one time she worked for the New Orleans PD with my ex, Joe. As a matter of fact, she dated Joe at one time. Her name is Justine and she plain fucking hates me.
“GET ON THE GROUND BITCH!!!”
The tone of Justine's voice tells me right away there is no reason to argue. I immediately get to my knees the slowly lie down on the muddy parking area. Justine walks around her car with her gun still pointed at me. “Well, well, well. What do we have here? Looks like a little turn done fell out of the toilet. Check this out Amanda! Remember the lil bitch I was telling you about that claimed she was pregnant to get Joe to leave me? This is her!”
I don't bother to tell Amanda that none of that was true. Joe left Justine because she totally fucking nuts. This isn't the time nor the place to argue with a nutcase wearing a badge.
“Ommmppphhh!” I grunt as Justine drops her knee in the middle of my back. “Aghhh,” I cry out twice as she wrenches my arms behind me one at a time and cuffs them together. “You have the right to remain a bitch, you little man-stealing whore,” Justine says then pushes my face into the muck, causing my nose to bust and mashing my lips. I taste blood when I lift my head, and feel it oozing out of my nose.
“Hey! Stop right there!” The other cop, the called Amanda yells, “I said stop!”
Suddenly both she and Justine are attacked by Piny and Sam. Soon they are all four rolling around in the mud and muck. Lorie is standing over them trying to kick the cops in the sides, but she keeps booting the men instead. I lie on my belly watching the spectacle as the first drops of rain begin to fall.
“C'mon, let's get out of here!”
I try to turn, but Laurie is already dragging me to my feet with her hands under my armpits. We stumble and slip our way to our car and get in. Laurie fires up the motor, and the small snub nose pistol gleams in the headlights. Laurie recovers it and we are soon slipping and sliding out of the parking area. I look back one last time and it appears Justine and Amanda have won the fight. Sam and Piny are facedown in handcuffs, but Lorie is beating the shit out of Justine with Amanda trying to drag her off the bitchy cop. As we pull onto the road, Amanda zaps the brunette with her taser.
We bump down the road and turn sharply onto the main road a few minutes later. I know there will be no pursuit. Justine violated my civil rights for the second time in a year. She didn't report me the first time, she won't report me this time. I also know we aren't wanted for Cooter's murder. If we were, Justine would have shot me.
We ride in silence toward the towering buildings of New Orleans in silence. Finally, I look at the side of Laurie's face and I ask, “Why did you help me?” I show my flexibility by drawing my knees to my chest then wriggling until the cuffs are in front of me. It's only a matter of time until I slip the bracelets off my muddy, wet wrists.
After what seems like an eternity, Laurie answers me. “I told you this is between us. I can't let you get hurt before I get a chance to kill you with my bare hands.”
To be continued....
