Never Get Tired
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
I stood in the doorway of the bedroom and watched him sleep. I remembered his words, “There’s a reason you’re here,” which made me wonder why. It had nothing to do with anything that happened at the hotel. Something more serious was going on than an overzealous guard.
I touched my hand to my forehead, then left him and walked back downstairs to see what I could learn about the case. I thought about trying to get inside again but decided against it. A new idea occurred to me.
A reporter would probably have information on the missing men. Maybe he could help me locate them. The problem was finding one. My only chance was to call his office for the number of a journalist who knew him personally.
It was time for a change, so I changed clothes and called for the housekeeper. “Yes?” she answered in her sing-song voice. “Send up two coffees,” I told her, “one for myself and one for my friend.”
“How will I know where it’s for?”
“Just leave it by the front door,” I said, “and I’ll find it there.” She was already smiling at me.
“What about this dress? Can I not wear it again?”
“If you like. But we can’t afford to replace it.”
She nodded, satisfied as if she’d gotten an answer that pleased her. I wondered whether she might have wanted an answer to the question that had bothered her. Why did I want her to wash it so badly? If it wasn’t clear, why couldn’t I just tell her to wash it myself?
And why should she have been afraid of a woman who was in no danger of being fired over an innocent mistake? It all seemed strange to me. I still didn’t understand how I could be in danger from her.
“And would you please ask my friend if he wants cream or sugar?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll see you later,” I told her and turned to go out of the bedroom before the housekeeper got up.
When I got outside, I found Richard coming toward me. He stopped when he saw me, but his smile was unmistakable. “Have you finished the report?” he asked.
“No, I’m going back upstairs to work on it some more. Would you like to join me?”
His dark eyes held mine for a moment before he responded. “If you like, I wouldn’t mind a chance to get to know our housekeeper better.”
“That would be nice,” I said. Then I paused. I suddenly realized the truth. The only reason I had told her to wash the dress was that I was planning to steal it. The idea surprised me. I was certain that if I stole clothes from people in the house, they’d find out.
I couldn’t explain why I wasn’t worried about their finding out. They didn’t know I was doing it, so what did I care? It had to be something more than that. I hadn’t been thinking clearly. The dress was still dirty, and I didn’t want anyone else to wear it.
That was all there was to it. I hadn’t thought of stealing a person’s clothing in years. I didn’t even know if the rules were still enforced. I probably shouldn’t have been concerned about a woman being fired. What did I care? I was a wanted thief.
She had no right to get upset when I stole her clothes. I stopped myself as soon as I started to feel sorry for her. It wasn’t her fault that I was in this situation. “I’ll go get you another coffee,” I said.
I went inside and found a pair of scissors. Richard looked up from his desk when I returned to him, but he didn’t say anything. I sat down beside him and bent over to look at my papers. I heard his chair scraping along the floor, then a clank that I guessed was his cup on its saucer hitting the desk.
“Why are we doing this?” he asked quietly as if he knew exactly what I was writing about. “What happened to our plans?”
I put my hand on top of his papers, then slowly pulled them out of reach. I placed them back onto his desk and leaned forward until my face was almost touching his. He stared straight into my eyes as if to make sure I saw the sincerity in his voice. “What do you mean?”
“The only reason I’m helping you is that I need someone else to help me.” His voice was low, barely audible above the ticking clock. I nodded to show him that I understood. “When this job ends, we can leave here together. We’ll travel around and visit all those places that we’ve always wanted to see.”
“I want that,” I said. “But it’s going to take more than money for us to survive out there. What happened to your family? Your mother, your brothers?”
“They’re all dead.”
“What happened?”
He looked down at his papers. “My father had an accident. I didn’t know him very well, so I don’t think I’d have been close to any of my brothers. But now they’re gone, too.”
I reached across his desk and took his hand. “We’ll be all right, Richard.” I could feel my eyes filling with tears, but I let them come. It would have been strange for anyone to see me crying, and I couldn’t care less about how it might look to a stranger. I let them run down my face. I felt like I was trying to wash away everything I’d ever known before.
He gave me his hand back. I tried not to notice the slight tremor in it when he spoke. “What’s going on with you?” he asked. “You never cry.”
I stared at the desk, trying to stop my tears. I thought about all the things that could possibly be wrong with me: Could it have been that I was mad at the world for putting me in this position? Was that what I really wanted—to leave behind my old life?
My old friends? It wasn’t the same. If I left here, would I really miss my life or would I just miss Richard? I pulled myself together as I looked back up at Richard. He smiled. His eyes held mine until I had no doubt that he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Come with me,” he said.
***
As I waited for the dress to dry, I went downstairs again and sat with Richard. The coffee pot was empty, so I found one more cup on a shelf above the sink. We talked while we drank it. After I had finished my second cup, I saw Richard looking over at the clock on the mantel.
There were no more clanks coming from his chair, but there was still a hint of nervousness in his voice as he spoke. “It’s nearly noon.”
“Yes, but I can’t stay away much longer.” I leaned across the table, resting my hand on top of his. “If you need to talk, just come out and say it.” I tried to smile, but the corners of my mouth felt stiff, so I pulled my hand away.
Richard gave me his hand back and rubbed the knuckles against the sleeve of his shirt. “You know, this is all very new to me. All the attention you’ve shown me since last night. I didn’t expect it.”
“I didn’t expect it either, to tell you the truth,” I replied. “But I like it.”
He took my hands and brought them back to his lips. “I think I do, too,” he whispered, then bent down and kissed me. For the first time since my kiss with Zane, I could feel the heat of his body through his clothing. He looked up at me as he moved his lips closer to mine.
Then he pulled back a little and placed the tip of my index finger on the side of his mouth. I smiled to show him that I liked it as well. He nodded and touched the end of my nose with his forefinger. When he pressed it against my cheekbone, I could hear the ticking of the clock again.
I pushed his hand aside and looked back down at my papers. Richard stood up, but I motioned for him to sit back down beside me. I felt a bit awkward talking to him with all those people in the house, so I tried not to make any eye contact.
Richard reached across the table to touch my hand. We stayed that way until I heard a loud voice call out from downstairs. “Mr. Franklin? Are you still there?”
“We’re here,” I called back. “Come on up.” Richard closed his eyes, then opened them again to stare straight into my face. He leaned in close to whisper. “Is that what you really want?”
“What do you mean?”
“The job—is that all it is, or are you just trying to be kind to me?”
“That’s not—”
“Don’t lie to me, Samantha.” His eyes bored into mine as he said my name. “If it’s just about the money, then say so. Don’t let me waste my time thinking that you feel something more than pity for me.”
I almost said yes. It would have been the easiest thing to do. I was tired of hiding and lying to myself, to Richard. I put my hand to my mouth. What could I possibly tell him? That he didn’t deserve sympathy because of the sins of his father?
If it came to that, I wasn’t sure how much I cared anymore if people thought I felt anything for him. I suddenly found myself leaning across the table, pulling Richard against my body as I spoke. “I don’t feel sorry for you,” I whispered.
“I can’t help it that you’re alone, and I’m the only one who knows the truth. You don’t know what you are. And even if you did, what would you do about it? Tell me.”
Richard stiffened at the sound of my voice, but I didn’t care. I had never felt this strong before. I pulled my lips away from his ear as I looked down into his eyes. He slowly nodded and smiled at me, then leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips.
I wondered how many other women would have done as I just had, but I couldn’t see any others sitting at their tables, watching us through the window.
“You’re very beautiful,” Richard said. His hands reached across the table and stroked my arm.
“Thank you, Richard,” I replied. I felt a little awkward as I glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening in on our conversation. “But I wouldn’t call you beautiful. You’re too hard and mean-looking to be handsome.”
“I think you’re just too pretty,” he answered with an impish grin. He stopped caressing me to wipe the smudge off of my nose.
I pulled the napkin from the table and used it to clean the smudge from his cheek. I turned back toward the table, and Richard took my hand. He squeezed my fingers gently as he raised my hand to his lips. I looked at him and then up at the clock above the mantel. The minute hand pointed to eight-fifteen.
I stood up abruptly and walked across the room. I glanced out the window again. No sign of Zane. “We’d better go upstairs,” I whispered.
Richard followed me back across the room as the housekeeper called out again from downstairs. “Mr. Franklin? Are you coming down to dinner?”
“Coming right now!” I heard Richard reply. I pushed open the door to the hallway as I looked back at the table, trying not to stare. I wanted to take the last half of the cake with me, but I couldn’t get the plate and silverware away from the others without making a scene. I dropped the napkin on top of the remaining cake and pushed through the door into the hallway.
I held onto Richard’s arm as we walked quickly down the stairs. The housekeeper watched us closely as she wiped her hands on a towel. I looked down the hall to the back door. Would it still be open when we got there?
Zane was supposed to wait for me outside, not come in and interrupt everyone as he did. I glanced back down the hall. The housekeeper had stopped washing her hands and was staring at me. She lifted the towel to point to my face. “Is this what you want?” she asked me.
“What do you mean?” I asked, then realized that she must have noticed Richard. “Yes, I—”
“Don’t lie, woman! Don’t even try it!” Richard shouted. “If you’re going to take my money, don’t waste my time pretending you feel something more than pity for me.”
“We’ve wasted enough of our time already,” I shot back. “We should leave. Now.”
“Where are you going to go?” he demanded. He grabbed hold of my arm. “You can’t run away with me!”
“Yes, we could,” I said. I started pulling myself free of his grip.
Richard stepped closer to me, pressing his body against mine. “Then why won’t you?” he asked. He pulled the napkin out of my hand as raised it to my face again. “Why is it that I’m the only one who knows the truth about you?”
I stared down at his face. “Because I haven’t told anyone,” I whispered.
He stood up straight and looked down into my eyes. “No, you’ve lied. To yourself first. That’s what you do. You lie to protect the people you love. I can see that now. And you’re no better than I am.”
I moved my head away from him as he let go of me. “No, Richard,” I said as I ran past him. “I don’t feel pity for you. Not anymore.” I glanced over my shoulder at him and then ran toward the back door.
The back porch was wide open. I opened the gate and headed straight for Zane.
***
“Where have you been?” Richard shouted as soon as I stepped onto the porch. The wind whipped at my hair as I stood there staring at Zane. Richard came up behind me.
“Is this really what you want to do?” I asked him. “You’re going to kill yourself, just like Zane did.” I looked at Zane and then back to Richard. “You didn’t have to follow us. Don’t do something foolish, Richard. You might die before you get the chance to change.”
“Why do you care? Just because he was a friend of yours?” Richard scoffed.
“I thought I loved him,” I said. “But I’m not so sure now. I don’t know why I couldn’t tell you the truth about me and him. Maybe it’s because I never wanted to hurt you. I’d rather live with the pain of your rejection than see you suffer for the rest of your life.”
Richard moved forward quickly, grabbed me by the arm, and turned me around. I held onto the gate for support as I backed away from him.
“I don’t understand you!” Richard yelled.
Zane watched us from the doorway. He came down the steps and stood next to me. “Let her go,” he ordered. “We should leave now. There are others waiting to take our place.”
I nodded as Richard loosened his grip on me. I stepped out of his grasp, but I didn’t turn away from Richard. We stared at each other for several seconds.
“Do you need help?” Zane asked, taking another step toward me. “That looks painful.”
“I’m fine,” I replied.
Richard held up his hand. “Wait. Let me get some rope,” he said. “Then we can tie him up.”
Zane took another step closer, then stopped. “You’re going to kill me, too?” he asked Richard.
“Yes,” Richard said.
“How would that be different from what you did to Zane?” I asked. “What happened to friendship? Why don’t you ever think of your own feelings?” I felt my voice quivering as I spoke to him. “Don’t you see how selfish you are? You use people. It’s all about money. Didn’t you care how you killed Zane?”
“Zane had a family,” Richard said.
“You’ve got a family too,” I shot back. “And I bet they’ll miss you very much when you’re gone.”
Richard turned toward Zane with fury in his eyes. “I wouldn’t have missed this!” he shouted. “If it wasn’t for you—”
“Forget it!” Zane yelled. “You can rot in hell for all I care! Just let me go! Don’t touch me or I’ll call the law!”
Richard stepped forward again. His right fist started swinging toward Zane. A loud crack echoed off the mountains surrounding the house.
I stared at Zane’s body as Richard dropped it to the ground. I could hear other gunshots. The wind blew hard around us as I stood there staring down at Zane’s dead body. “Was I wrong about you?” I asked.
Richard came up behind me and pushed me down against the porch. He reached down for his gun and fired it into the sky.
***
After Richard was finished with his shooting, I ran out of the back door and headed for Zane. I knelt next to him and looked for a bullet hole in his head.
“Zane!” I cried. “Where is he?”
I rolled him over to check his feet. When I saw the blood coming from one of his shoes, I looked up at Richard. “Don’t tell me Zane isn’t here anymore. Where did he go?”
Richard pulled the knife from his belt and held it out to me. “Let’s get him to the barn.” He grabbed me by the arm and began dragging me toward the back of the house. “You’re going to have to help me carry him.”
“I can’t lift him,” I protested. “I’m not that strong.” I tried to get away from Richard, but he just dragged me across the dirt yard.
“We’ll get him to the barn, and then you can call someone to bring us some rope to bind his hands,” Richard said as we continued walking.
The sound of another gunshot made me jump. Richard turned and watched as two men fell to the ground with bullets in their heads. I heard another shot followed by a scream. I looked up and saw the third gunman lying on the ground.
“It looks like we’ll have to take our chances now,” Richard said. He turned to face me and grabbed my shoulders. “What are you doing here?”
I tried to answer him, but all that came out was a moan. His grip on me tightened. “Who’s your friend?” I asked Richard.
“This is Zane,” he replied. “He used to be my partner. He’s an outlaw too. Now we’re just going to tie him up and take him to the barn.”
“Zane?” I whispered. “What are you doing with Zane?”
“Why would I do something like that? I didn’t kill him!” Richard cried. He put his arms around me, pulled me close to his chest, and kissed my cheek. “I love you,” he whispered. “And I’ll never hurt you again. Just trust me.”
I felt my tears fall down my cheeks as Richard carried me through the back door. A cold chill washed over me when I stepped inside. The house seemed lifeless without Zane in it. I knew I should be happy to see Richard alive, but the sight of the dead bodies made me wonder what happened. Was it all a mistake, or was it Richard who killed them?
“Where’s Zane?” I asked, trying to hold my voice steady.
Richard ignored me and walked into the kitchen. I followed behind him, still holding the knife in my hand. I glanced around the kitchen. The cabinets were filled with jars containing different types of food. I picked up one jar and looked at the label.
“We better get this stuff organized,” Richard said as he walked back out into the hall.
“No, let’s take it out to the barn first,” I said. “It’ll go bad before we can sort all this.” I headed for the door as Richard grabbed me by the shoulder. I could feel the knife against my side, but I couldn’t stop myself from pulling away. He pulled me closer to him and put his arm around me. “Let me explain about Zane,” he whispered. “I can’t let him go unpunished.”
“But why did you shoot him?” I asked. “He’s an outlaw too. How could you have done something like that?”
I wanted to believe Richard, but my head was still swimming with confusion. What was going on? I felt myself drifting off to sleep again. I didn’t want to pass out in front of Richard, so I shook my head and forced myself to look at him. I needed to figure out what was going on between us.
“Tell me more about Zane,” I said. “Why are you helping him?”
Richard ran his fingers down my face. “Zane was a good friend of mine until the day he betrayed me.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Richard’s eyes held sorrow as they searched for the words to say. He turned away from me and began walking toward the back door. “Zane was always trying to get rid of me and become our own boss.” He looked over his shoulder at me.
“He tried to make me kill a man, and when I refused, he shot the man himself.” He paused to turn around. “Zane was never loyal to anyone except himself. That’s why I don’t think it was a mistake killing him.”
My hands were trembling as I raised the knife to cut Zane’s bonds. He was still alive, so why was Richard taking me to the barn to tie up his hands? When I saw him pick up a blanket from the floor, I remembered what happened in the other room. My throat constricted at the thought of Zane being dead.
“Stop!” I cried, throwing the blanket aside. I backed away from Richard.
“What?” Richard said.
“Don’t touch me!” I shouted.
Richard stared at me with wide eyes. His mouth fell open, and he quickly pulled back. I stepped toward him. “Just wait outside,” I ordered. “I’ll call someone to take you to the barn.”
The coldness of the dirt floor woke me. I must have fallen asleep on the floor. It wasn’t long before I realized that something was different. I couldn’t move my arm. My head was spinning, but I forced myself to sit up.
The room seemed to be growing brighter by the second. The smell of fresh earth filled the air, and the faint light was coming from the windows. I glanced at my right arm. It was tied behind me, and I could feel it pulling on the tendons.
“Shit! Someone is going to find us here.” I looked down at the dead bodies. “We have to get out of here now.”
“What are you talking about? Why would anyone want to hurt us?” Richard asked as he knelt beside me.
“Because we were supposed to be dead,” I replied. “Where’s Zane?”
Richard stood up and turned toward the door. “Zane is dead,” he said as he reached for the doorknob. “He died in a shootout with some lawmen.”
I grabbed his hand before he could open it. “Then who brought me here?”
Richard shook his head. “Someone else came here to kill you.”
“Who?” I asked as I tugged at my wrists. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Richard said. “But whoever it is will tell you why once they’ve killed me. Now let me open this damned door. It’s getting too hot in here.”
I let go of the rope and watched Richard pull the door open. We stood at the top of the steps as we looked down into the large barn. “We better get out of here before someone comes looking for us,” Richard said as he stepped back inside.
“Let’s take a horse,” I suggested.
“That won’t work,” Richard replied as he began to walk away from the barn. He stopped at the end of the driveway, pulled the brim of his hat low over his eyes, and stared out at the fields. “The only way you’re going to get a horse is by paying for one.”
I followed him as he walked slowly through the pasture toward the woods. The horses were all grazing peacefully and didn’t seem bothered at our arrival. When we came close to the edge of the trees, Richard paused. “If someone comes after us in these woods, we can lose them.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
Richard kept walking. “Just keep going until we reach the next ranch house. That should be long enough to catch a horse.” He pointed to an old tree that was growing right through the wall of the barn.
“The horses usually stay near this tree, so you can tie your hands behind your back. Then we’ll hide you in the bushes until dark. And once it gets late, I’ll make a run for it. But if anyone finds us before then…” He lowered his head. “We’ll have to kill them. It’s the only way out.”
“What are you talking about?” I cried. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“You heard me,” Richard said. “It’s the only way.”
“But I’m not going with you,” I shouted, cutting off his response. “I just want to leave this place now.”
Richard reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar. “Maybe I do know what I’m doing,” he said, as he took a puff. “Maybe I’m doing the right thing. There are two ways out of here, and the only one that will guarantee our safety is by killing everyone.”
“No! You’re wrong!” I yelled. “I won’t let you do it. I don’t know why Zane died, but I promise you that if anyone has harmed him, I’ll make sure they pay for it.”
Richard tossed the butt of the cigar aside and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s hope that no one does,” he said softly. “Because if anyone knows what happened to Zane, they might come after me. They might try to kill us both. The only way we’re going to escape this situation is by killing anyone who tries to stop us. We can’t let someone else get caught in our web.”
I tried to pull away from him but couldn’t.
“It’s just like that detective told us, isn’t it? He said the only way to kill the spider was by killing its web.”
The End