Masters Of Noir Vol I Part 8

Julia turned and tried to fold the roadmap, so she could put it away. It wouldn't fold right. Each time she moved, the round flesh of her hips bunched under the tight shorts. She gave up trying to fold the map and jammed it at the rack, her hands trembling.

"What the h.e.l.l's going on here?" Harper said, walking toward Julia.

The yellow-haired lad pulled himself erect, then went very loose all over, like a released sack of potatoes, and lurched in an affected stagger toward Julia. He came up close to her, ignoring Harper. He looked Julia up and down beadily, his mouth hanging open. The rest of the young men in the glinting hot-rod vaulted out and formed a pack behind the yellow-haired driver.

"Baby," he said in a stage whisper. "I can't stand it. Do something before I shoot myself."

The roadmap fell out of the rack. Julia Harper's face and throat had become violently red. She tried to walk away. The yellow-haired youth blocked her path.

Harper shouted, "G.o.d d.a.m.n! Get away! What you doing there?" His voice lowered. "What is this?"

The yellow-haired one turned abruptly, ran over to the others, spoke quickly, and they all formed a straight line across the front of the gas station. They stared at Harper.

"Dress right," the yellow-haired one snapped. "Dress!"

The line straightened.

Julia hurried to the car, got in and closed her door.

"What the h.e.l.l's going-?" Harper broke off his question.

He stared at them. They returned his stare. They stood very straight, lips tight, watching him.

The attendant came over to Harper. "Bring you your change," he said, then went around the line of boys and inside the office.

Harper stood furiously in front of the line, his mouth faintly moving, but saying nothing. The attendant returned and handed Harper some change, then went quickly over to the gas pumps.

"All right, men," the yellow-haired one said, jumping lightly out in front of the other four. "Atten-shun! Pre-e-e-e-e-sent- Pre-e-e-e-e-sent-arms!"

The yellow-haired leader turned and they all held their arms out toward Harper. Each face was emphatically sober and deeply sincere.

Harper wheeled and stalked stiffly toward the car, jamming the change into his pocket. He turned suddenly toward the stocky attendant.

"What's going on around here?" Harper said, making his lips tight, scowling. "Who are they? What the h.e.l.l's the idea?"

The attendant glanced at him swiftly, then headed for the office, making it clear that he didn't want to get mixed up in what was brewing.

"You check everything I told you?" Harper called.

The attendant did not reply.

"Hey, you! Did you check everything?"

Linda called, "Hungy ... hungy," from the rear seat.

The young men still stood at attention with their arms held rigidly out.

"Please, Dell," Julia said. "Come on-let's go."

Harper said, "I'd like to- "

Angrily, he climbed beneath the wheel of the car, started the engine, and they drove off. As they swung into the highway, a loudly shouted chorus of laughter roared into the early afternoon.

"My G.o.d!" Harper said.

Julia Harper stared straight ahead through the winds.h.i.+eld, her face strained and slightly pink. Her legs were close together and she held her hands clasped tightly around the white-beaded purse in her lap.

Harper started to speak but there was something in his throat. He tried to clear it away. He gripped the steering wheel very hard, his shoulders rigid.

"That attendant ignored the whole G.o.d d.a.m.ned thing," he said. "He acted like he was scared of those hoodlums."

Julia said nothing.

"Hungy," Linda said, jumping up and down on the rear seat. "Hungy ... hungy!"

Harper turned sharply to his wife. "I should've-what'd you do? What did you do?" What did you do?"

"How do you mean, Dell?"

"Listen to me. You must've must've done done something. something. You heard them. My G.o.d, I never saw-I felt like really letting them have it. That's the G.o.d's truth. I didn't know what to do, I tell you." You heard them. My G.o.d, I never saw-I felt like really letting them have it. That's the G.o.d's truth. I didn't know what to do, I tell you."

Julia drew a deep breath and let it out. "It was nothing, really. They're just kids, Dell. They weren't really mean and they wouldn't really start anything."

"You're right, there. No guts. No guts in the pack of 'em. Kids."

They drove for a time.

"It was like you could feel it," Harper said.

Julia had her eyes closed. She opened them. "What?"

"I don't know. Like-something. Like there's no law, no-nothing. Gutless kids-doing a thing like that. What could I do? Tell me that?" He looked at his wife again. "I wish you'd tell me what it was you did, G.o.d d.a.m.n it."

"I didn't do anything. Dell. I just stood there. That's all. I was just standing there, looking at a map. That's all."

They drove for a time.

"I didn't do a thing. Just stood there."

"Yeah. You think I should report them?"

"What could you report?"

"You're right. They're gone now." He sighed, moved his shoulders around. "They got my goat, I'll tell you that, though. I should've grabbed that one, that ringleader." He clenched and unclenched his fist on the steering wheel. "Bra.s.sy little b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

Julia said nothing. She turned on one hip, tugged at her shorts, rested her chin in the cup of her hand, looking out the window. She closed her eyes again.

The sound of a horn blaring came along swiftly behind them, wailing, growing louder with a frightening speed.

"It's them again," Julia said.

"What?" Harper said. "Who?"

She did not answer. The roar of an engine and the scream of a horn was upon them. It swept past, yellow-bright, screaming laughter, shouting, horn blatting. The yellow hot-rod careened in front of them, then leapt away and was soon out of sight.

n.o.body said anything.

Finally, they reached the stone-vaulted entrance to the park in the glen. There was no sign whatever of the yellow car.

"Hungy," Linda said, and began to cry.

"This is a good spot," Harper said. "I just don't want to be down there in the main park with all those d.a.m.ned people."

They were on a dirt road that wound high above the park. They had come through pine woods, and were opposite the top of a waterfall. It was a pleasant, completely isolated site, and Harper drew the car in beneath the shade of a young elm and some pines, beside a stone fireplace.

"We should've brought hamburgers," Julia said, climbing from the car. She stood there a moment and tugged at her shorts with both hands, then opened the rear door and let Linda out. Linda ran toward the stone fireplace and began slapping it with both hands.

"Not so hungry, anyway," Harper said. Then he said quickly, "I will will be, probably. How about waiting awhile, huh? O. K.?" be, probably. How about waiting awhile, huh? O. K.?"

"I'm starved, Dell-really. Let's eat. If we don't, we'll have trouble on our hands."

He looked at her suddenly.

"I mean, Linda's full of the d.i.c.kens this afternoon."

Harper brought two blankets from the car, spread them on pine-needled ground. Julia brought the picnic basket and the gallon thermos jug of lemonade.

"You'd better get that stack of newspapers in the trunk," she said. "All right?"

"Sure."

Harper began to whistle. He returned to the car, flung open the trunk, picked up an armful of pillows, and the small stack of old newspapers. He closed the trunk and returned to the blankets. The sound of the waterfall rose through the afternoon. Sunlight streaked in slim shafts between the branches of trees. Wind sighed softly in the pines.

"It's nice out here," Harper said. "A few hours away from things-everything. Quiet. I just feel like eating and laying around. Glad we didn't go over to the Martins, aren't you?"

"I thought you weren't hungry."

"Am now."

Julia set out the picnic dinner. Sandwiches. A bowl of potato salad. A cake. A thermos of coffee, and the gallon of lemonade. There were pickles and peanut b.u.t.ter, radishes, celery, apples, oranges, olives-the works. The Harpers always ate heavily when they went on a picnic.

Linda ran, fell and sprawled across the blanket, two chubby hands reaching toward the stack of sandwiches on the waxed paper.

After she was picked up, they sat down on the blanket and began eating.

"What'd you think of old Holdsby's sermon?" Harper asked, around a mouthful of chicken. Julia held a pickle and Linda bit off a small piece, made a face, and spit it out. Julia tossed the small bit that Linda had rejected in among the trees, toward a thick growth of low bushes.

"Oughta use the trash can," Harper said. "What'd you think of-?"

"I didn't listen," Julia said. She looked at him, chewing. She swallowed. "He bored me silly today. I don't know. Sometimes-"

"Yeah, I know."

"What'd you think?"

"I dunno," Harper said, belching lightly.

The distant sound of a car's engine that was being raced filtered up through the woods, the afternoon, above the sound of the waterfall, and seemed to drop like some kind of explosion among them. Neither spoke. Linda was busy with a piece of chocolate cake, her fingers in thick icing.

The sound became louder.

The sound lessened.

Harper seemed to relax.

The sound of the engine increased and abruptly the yellow and chrome car was beside their own, parked, with the shouting young men leaping over the sides, moving toward them.

Harper came halfway to his feet, a chicken sandwich in one hand, chewing, trying to swallow, choking.

The yellow-haired youth walked toward them.

"What you know?" he said. "A picnic. Isn't that nice?"

They all sang in a loud chorus, "We think it's wonderful." wonderful."

The yellow-haired leader stared at Julia. She was kneeling on the blanket, looking up at him. Harper came all the way to his feet, still chewing, still trying to swallow.

"We want some too," the four young men behind the yellow-haired one sang. "We want a lit-tul bit of ev-ry-thing. We're hungy!" hungy!"

"Hungy," Linda echoed.

"What?" Harper said, managing to swallow.

"Hungy," they sang. "We hungy, daddio."

Julia did not move, kneeling there on the blanket.

The yellow-haired one came around beside Julia and knelt on one knee and flung his arms wide. His sunburn was very bright. "Will you feed us, you sweet little darling? I wouldn't ask your old man, 'cause I know he's mean." He lowered his voice. "But I'd ask you, baby." He stood up and looked across the blanket at the others. "Wouldn't you ask her?" he called.

"We'd ask that baby anything," they chorused. "We think she's the nuts."

Harper stood there. He moved toward them, then stopped. "What?" he said. "Get out of here. What are you doing? You hear me?"

"Please," Julia said to the yellow-haired one. "Go away-leave us alone. Can't you see-?"

"She says can't we see?" the yellow-haired one said. His face had changed. He leered down at her. They all ran over beside her. "She's cra-a-a-azy!" one yelled.

Harper grabbed at a chunky fellow wearing dark blue shorts and an open white s.h.i.+rt. The chunky fellow didn't even look at Harper-he just shoved. Harper reeled violently backwards and fell flat.