One nice thing about having loyal and devoted women is they don’t question when given strange orders. Audrey and Mel were not privvy to as much of the plan, but I did call them and told them to stand by tonight ready to drive and confirmed with Melanie that she remembered the rest stop. With that out of the way, I went down to the bedroom where Karen and Holly were still in shock. I approached slowly, not sure how they would react to me given I’d just murdered someone in front of them, but was pleasantly surprised when they both rushed into my arms.
“He was a rabid dog that needed putting down. I hope you understand.” I said, firmly.
“I know, David.” Karen responded. “But what are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to make this whole thing disappear.” I told her.
I kissed the tops of both their heads and let them go. I turned off the outside lights and went out the back of the house to Karen’s storage shed and retrieved a shovel. I took the shovel out to the car and put it in the bed before heading back around to get Miguel’s body. The problem with El Camino’s is most of them do not have back seats. There is a small space behind the front seats and while Miguel was a small man, about 5′ 8″ and 150 lbs, he was still too big to fit back there. El Camino’s do not have trunks either, instead the back half of the vehicle is like a pickup truck, meaning that Miguel was going to have to ride up front with me, which is why I wanted to do this at night.
I put Miguel in the passenger seat and uncovered his body enough to make it look like he was just sleeping. After buckling him in, I slipped around to the other side and fired up the car and calmly pulled away. Given it was late on a weeknight, I was pretty sure no one would pay any attention provided I drove like everything was normal.
I made sure to steer well clear of gang territory on my way out of town, as I was pretty sure someone, either friendly or in a rival gang, would recognize his car. I took backroads around the outside of the city until I could get on the interstate leading to the rest stop. It was going to be a long drive, but his car wasn’t overtly detailed or flashy so I was pretty sure it wouldn’t draw the attention of nosy police looking to make a profile stop.
I pulled into the rest stop about an hour and a half later and stopped alongside Mel who was driving my car. I didn’t get out, but instead motioned her to follow me and we were immediately back on the road. We drove for another couple hours down dirt backroads until we were well into the isolated desert before we stopped.
Mel was understandably distraught when she saw me pull the body from the car, but I didn’t have time to explain things to her. I had to get the body in the dirt and lose the car before dawn. I took the shovel and walked out to a small dip in the ground that was hidden by a natural ridge in the ground. Even though we were in the middle of nowhere on some podunk road, I didn’t want this body found any time soon and the small ridge would hide the shallow grave from any wouldbe passerby. I was grateful toward my work ethic when it came to fitness as I needed to move a lot of dirt in a short period of time. I didn’t need a typical six foot grave, but I did need to get a few feet into the ground so the local scavengers wouldn’t dig him up before he had a chance to decompose.
With the hole dug, I unwrapped the body and dropped it in. Putting the dirt back was much easier, but I was smoked nonetheless by the time I was finished. I took the blanket and shovel back over to my car and put them in the trunk and retrieved my gas can to put into Miguel’s car. As I dug, I did my best to explain to Mel why I did what I did. I told her that there were only two ways this was going to end with guys like Miguel. Either he would harm Karen and/or her daughter and maybe do some jail time or he’d kill them and get away with it. She seemed to understand and I think her biggest concern was how it affected me. I told her I was fine with it, better than fine, actually, like I had accomplished something that made the world a slightly better place. I knew what I did was wrong, according to society, but so much of our lives was wrong in that regard. I was called upon to solve a problem and solve it, I did.
Sticking to backroads, we drove for another couple hours until I found a nice rock outcropping. I had to do some offroad driving, but that wasn’t much different from the backroads we’d been on anyway and at this point, I didn’t care if I damaged the El Camino. Pulling in beind some rocks, I shut off the car and grabbed the gas can and a rag. Using the rag, I poured some gas onto it and began wiping down all the surfaces I’d touched, inside and out. The authorities would eventually find the car, but all I was concerned with was making sure my prints couldn’t be lifted from it. I thought about setting fire to it, but I didn’t want to risk the smoke attracting any attention. With the task complete, I walked my weary ass back to my car and put the can back in the trunk and wrapped the rag up in the blanket to keep the smell down. All that was left now was for Mel to drive me back to Karen’s. I’d had about eight hours total sleep in the last seventy-two and I was done in. As much as I wanted to talk with Mel, I needed sleep more. I let the seat back and was out minutes later.
*****
It was nearly nine in the morning when Mel pulled up in front of Karen’s house. I was pretty sure Karen and Holly were safe now that Miguel had been taken care of, but I wanted Mel and Audrey to stay at the motel for at least another day until I was sure the coast was clear. She understood and we shared a kiss before I climbed out of the car and walked back to the house. I had told Mel not to worry about the stuff in the trunk as I’d take care of that later. Karen and Holly met me at the door when I entered the home. The both clung to me dearly, uncertain of what the future held, but relieved that I had returned.
“I’m sorry I had to do that. Are you two okay?” I asked, leading them to the sofa where I could sit down.
“Yes, David. Are YOU okay?” Karen asked, taking a seat opposite of me from Holly, holding my hand in hers.
“I’m fine. I did what needed doing. I just don’t want either of you to be afraid of me, is all.” I explained.
“Couldn’t you have just shot him, though?” Holly asked, taking my other hand.
“No. If the noise didn’t alert the neighborhood, the police might have been able to match the bullet to your mother’s pistol. It needed to be clean and silent.” I said, leaning back into the sofa, yawning.
“You’re beat. Why don’t you go sleep in my bed.” Karen offered, helping me up from the sofa.
I stopped to turn and look at the girls, “I really am sorry. I wish there was another way, but I couldn’t protect both of you and I wasn’t going to wait for the police to become involved after one of you got hurt or worse…” I said, somberly.
The each raised up on their toes, pulling me down to kiss me on either cheek.