red moon over west virginia - 36. morning

by jeremy witherington

part 36 of 36

for previous episode, click here

trixie was back in the department store, but this time she had plenty of money. her share, and tony’s share and joey’s share of the billions they had scored after the latest caper, when tony and joey had mysteriously disappeared after they had made their getaway. she hoped they would not think she had double crossed them, if she ever ran into them again. anyway, here she was, in this grand department store, and she decided to buy herself a yacht. after a few wrong turns, she found herself in the yacht department in the center of the store. the yacht department had an ocean in the middle of it where customers could take the yachts for a spin. trixie selected a nice looking blue yacht with green trim and took it out into the deepest part of the ocean. she came to an island. the whole island was surrounded by a golden beach. trixie saw some people she thought she knew on the beach. people like cinderella, little bo beep and her sheep, hillary clinton, and joey’s sister jennifer. jennifer waved to her and trixie moved the yacht a little closer to shore. suddenly the beach was covered with fog… she felt she was going to crash onto the shore… people on the beach started to run… trixie woke up. in the motel in west virginia. she had decided before going to sleep that if it was a nice day, she would not buy another bus ticket, but start to hitchhike back to atlantic city. she pulled the venetian blind back and saw that the sun was shining. she dressed, packed her toothbrush and toothpaste in her little bag and went downstairs. there was a clerk she had not seen before at the desk, and she gave him the room key and checked out. she went outside. there was a bench beside the door and pete pickering was sitting on it. pete stood up when he saw trixie. he had a book in his hand and he held it out to her. you forgot your algebra book, trixie, he said. you have a test on tuesday. the end

red moon over west virginia - 35. the switch

by jeremy witherington

part 35 of 36

for previous episode, click here

as eleanor drove back to the new house, she did not feel at all sleepy. she decided to work on one of her memoirs when she got back. the one about her emotional dependency, and her painful relationship with gordon. her last advisor had suggested that she not make gordon too “cartoonish” a villain, but eleanor had resisted that advice. now, she thought, maybe i will try it. perhaps make an alternate draft of the book in which the portrait of gordon is softened a little bit. or, at least, bring out his hatefulness by attempting a more subtle shading than she had before. it was something to think about. there was almost no traffic on the road, and she quickly arrived back at the new house . she parked in the driveway and sat in the car for a few seconds. at last, she thought, i am finally alone. as she got out of the car she noticed, not for the first time, just how visible the house and car were from the road. somehow it seemed more obvious at night than in the daylight. she unlocked the front door and went inside and flipped the light switch beside the door. the light did not go on. next

red moon over west virginia - 34. old friends

by jeremy witherington

part 34 of 36

for previous episode, click here

later, when the sun had gone down, eleanor drove them back to the city in the u-haul truck and turned it in. eleanor then picked up her own car and drove herself back to the new house. marcia had to go to work the next day. she found herself too tired to work on her memoir, or to think about eleanor and the serial killers and wolves and bears out in the wilderness. she fell into a deep sleep. * marcia walked down an endless mall/highway/subway station. the center strip had a black and silver checkerboard pattern. marcia was walking in one direction. everyone else - a considerable stream of people including a lot of male and female - but mostly female - teenagers in school uniform - was walking in the other direction. most of the stores in the mall/subway looked closed. despite the safety the crowds provided, marcia could not wait to get through the station and out onto the country road with its overhanging trees. finally she did. another two or three miles and she would be home. there was no one else on the country road. most of the houses she passed had no lights on, and when she left the houses behind, the stars and moon went away and darkness descended. marcia heard a car coming behind her, and then a faint glow of headlights, and turned. the car was a gray 1936 rolls royce. little red riding hood was behind the wheel. the big bad wolf and eleanor roosevelt were in the back seat. marcia got in the front seat beside little red riding hood. marcia had known little red riding hood, and also had met the big bad wolf on several occasions and always found him a perfect gentleman. eleanor roosevelt she did not know so well. where are we going, marcia asked little red riding hood, to the vineyards? no, replied little red riding hood, we are going to the beach. that is all right , said marcia, i have always liked the beach. it should be pleasantly deserted this time of year, said the big bad wolf from the back seat. the rolls sped along through the night. next

red moon over west virginia - 33. the woods

by jeremy witherington

part 33 of 36

for previous episode, click here

the house and driveway were surrounded by trees on all three sides away from the road , and there were even denser looking woods on the other side of the road. the trees on both sides came almost up to the road. marcia was not such a city person that she expected sidewalks but she was surprised there was not more of a dirt path right beside the road. most of the time they were walking right in the road. it was now afternoon. they walked along looking for some kind of path into the dense woods. there is supposed to be a path to some kind of pond, said eleanor. how about that? marcia pointed to a slight break in the trees. let’s try it. they entered the trees. there was no clear path but they were able to walk along. marcia looked back. she wanted to be able to see the road. especially as there was no traffic, and they could not hear the road. it’s quiet, said marcia. yes. it is, eleanor agreed. no animals. eleanor laughed. oh, there are plenty of animals. you just can’t see them. if you say so. are there wolves and bears? probably. but they are keeping quiet. animals are like that. they can just stay in one place and not move or make a sound. my cat couldn’t do that, said marcia. maybe for a few minutes, but not after they wake up from a nap. you feed your cat. so it gets bored. that is what boredom is. not having to find food . whatever. marcia peered into the woods. i don’t see any pond, do you? no, i don’t think it’s here. eleanor laughed. i can see you want to get back. marcia smiled but did not argue. she was glad when they got back to the road. wolves and bears? she thought. why don’t we go into this halford or herford? marcia asked, as they started walking back to the house. why? eleanor asked. they might have something to eat there. yes, some horrible plastic wrapped sandwiches in a tedeschi’s. and doctor peppers to wash them down. don’t worry, i will feed you. i’ll get my cookbook out and whip us up something good. that sounds great, marcia agreed. bur she was really none too pleased. not at the thought of what eleanor might cook, but at how long it might take her to cook it. she could not wait to get back to the city. next

red moon over west virginia - 32. the house by the side of the road

by jeremy witherington

part 32 of 36

for previous episode, click here

marcia first saw eleanor’s new house when she was helping her move into it. eleanor had mentioned that the house was “in the middle of nowhere” but this had not really registered on marcia. they had been driving for eighteen minutes - almost fourteen miles - without seeing another house or building when eleanor finally pulled the u-haul vehicle into a driveway. this looks like it is in the middle of nowhere, said marcia, as soon they got out of the vehicle. isn’t that what i said? eleanor asked, with a smile. marcia looked around. she looked up and down the road they had driven up on. iis there anything in the other direction? what? if you keep driving on down the road is there a village or something? or a country store? or a gas station or a police station? yes, about another sixteen miles down there is the town of helford or halford or somethin or something? marcia asked. have you been there? not yet. i might check it out tomorrow. eleanor laughed again. come on, let’s get this stuff inside. that is what we are here for. marcia looked around again as eleanor unlocked the back of the vehicle. she thought the most noticeable thing about the house was how close to the road it was. it was perfectly visible to anybody driving down the road in either direction. if i was going to put a house all the way out here, thought marcia, i would at least have it off the road behind all these trees and halfway hidden from any lunatic or serial killer passing by. but she decided not to voice this thought to eleanor, at least not right away. it took about two hours for the two women to get eleanor’s possessions into the house and placed to eleanor’s satisfaction. eleanor had described the house as a dump but it looked all right to marcia - clean and with no holes in the walls or roof that she could see. the lights and plumbing worked. marcia was also a little surprised by how much junk eleanor had brought with her. she supposed it had sentimental value. eleanor had purchased the house to give herself solitude as she worked on her two memoirs. she was working on one memoir about addiction, and another one about emotional dependency. marcia and eleanor had met in a memoir writing workshop. marcia was writing a memoir about being stalked, by a person whose identity she had never learned. she had changed her own name and identity and moved to a new state to finally (?) escape the stalker. marcia had a job in an office - she told people it was an office although her employers referred to it as a campus - that she could not describe. eleanor was supported by her parents. actually by her father, who lived in europe with his third wife and whom eleanor saw about once a year. when they finished the unpacking they took a couple of starbucks coffee drinks out of the perfectly functioning refrigerator. the drinks had made the trip in a cooler and were quite cold. marcia would have preferred a beer or a real drink but of course knew that eleanor would not have such a thing. let’s take a walk around, eleanor suggested when they finished the coffee drinks. unless you have suddenly decided you have had enough country? oh, no no. marcia had indicated when she offered to help eleanor that she had “all day” and “wasn’t going anywhere”. despite’s eleanor’s offer, it would have been rude to ask her to drive her back to the city right away. next

red moon over west virginia - 31. the shipment

by jeremy witherington

part 31 of 36

for previous episode, click here

dick skinner woke up. he had fallen asleep to the sound of a rerun of wanted - dead or alive that larry was watching. now larry, who had shaken dick awake, was standing over him. larry waved his pager at dick. time to earn our keep, hoss. dick rubbed his eyes and sat up. he had his clothes and shoes on. he followed larry down the stairs and out of the garage. it was dark out. dick did not ask any questions. larry walked into the little patch of woods and dick followed. they quickly came to a little building hidden in the trees. dick had not noticed the building in his walks around the grounds. they entered the little buiding. it seemed to contain one thing - an elevator. larry pressed the single button beside the elevator and the door opened immediately. there were only two buttons - green up and red down - inside the cage. larry pressed the down button. a shipment came in, larry said when the elevator began its descent. dick did not ask, a shipment of what? three things came in, larry continued. i call them clones, though that is not exactly what they are. dick just nodded. the elevator seemed to be falling fast, but was taking a while. they are very expensive. very expensive. they have to be handled with care. you have to remember they are worth a lot more than us. whatever, you mean they are very fragile? no, i mean they can get ornery. downright mean and violent sometimes. i would have thought clones would be kind of cool and smooth, dick said. maybe frozen. but what do i know? larry laughed. you are about to find out. remember, handle with care, no matter how aggravated you get. the elevator finally stopped. the door began to slide open. * you have got to be kidding, trixie said, when tony had finished his description of the incredibly valuable thing dick skinner had told him about. it’s the chance of a lifetime, tony said. yes, the chance of my lifetime to finally quit your foolish schemes. i will say one thing, you made it easy, because all your other schemes rolled into one would not be half as crazy as this. trixie stood up. she looked at joey. i am leaving. are you coming with me? joey thought for a few seconds. no, i think i will stick with tony. i mean. we have come this far together… trixie was surprised, but not totally surprised. you don’t have to make a speech, she told joey. she went over to the door and opened it and left. she never saw tony or joey again. next

red moon over west virginia - 30. the pager

by jeremy witherington

part 30 of 36

for previous episode, click here

larry handed dick skinner a little black plastic object. keep this on your belt on on your wrist. and keep it on or under your pillow when you go to sleep. what is it? it’s a pager. larry explained to dick what a pager was, and that he should have it at hand 24 7. why can’t they just call me on my phone? this is quicker. and surer. it can’t be hacked. whatever. dick did not ask any more questions. there was a clip on the pager and he clipped it on his belt. * later, they were sitting in the little room they shared over the garage that held the truck larry had picked dick up in. and so far, no other vehicles that dick could see. but he continued to not ask any questions. outside, the afternoon was getting on. larry was watching matlock on the tv. matlock and perry mason and rockford files were his favorite shows. can i go for a walk? dick asked. a walk? you know, just walk around, get some fresh air, look at the trees and the birds. there are not a lot of birds out there. all right, i will just look at the trees, and the sky and the clouds. not a lot of clouds either. then i will look at the trees and the sky? can i go for a walk or not? it is not that big a deal. yeah, you can go. just don’t go very far. how far can i go? not very. just don’t go right up to the house. larry meant the house the willetts lived in. dick had still not seen them. i won’t, dick said. go ahead then. larry turned back to the screen he had paused matlock on, and resumed it. * larry was right. dick could not hear any birds, and there were no clouds in the sky. and no buildings that dick could see. just the willett’s house, and the garage. next