“Hey… how did you get stuck with van disposal?”
“There’s no hurry to get it back to Jerry. We covered the license plate when needed, so I will drive it to the valley for the night. You haven’t met Jerry yet. Would you like to ride over with me tomorrow morning? I will not be taking it to him until ten.”
“That sounds good to me,” Dan replied as John slowed alongside his house to a stop. “I’ll go with you when you meet Cala too. I enjoyed meeting Dimah. I thought the meeting went very well too. She liked you. I could tell. When do you plan to spring the suggestion Cala stay with you in the Valley to keep her safe?”
“When I meet her and see if she likes me. Muerto is going with me that day as a reference. I think it would be good to have a Geezer along too. People trust old guys.”
“Thanks, Kabong. I’ll enjoy going with you and Muerto. We’ll have you married in no time. Believe me, John, there’s nothing like having a life’s partner. It’s sometimes a rough road, but worth every mile traveled. Goodnight.”
“See you tomorrow morning, Dan.” John drove off after Dan closed the passenger side door.
Dan looked around at his neighborhood and the sky above, thinking about going for a late night walk rather than face the inside of his empty house. He took a deep breath. C’mon old man, you need some sleep. It ain’t getting any easier after you walk around the block.
He walked to his door, appreciating the clear view of sky and stars. It’s nice not having fog once in a while. Dan unlocked the door and walked inside the dark entryway, closing the door behind him, but didn’t get a chance to lock it. The knife blade went in his left side but glanced off his ribcage. Dan grunted in pain but spun into his attacker, driving him against the wall. He clutched his attacker’s throat with both hands. A smile formed in spite of the pain as the knife sliced into his side again. Dan hip tossed the hooded figure to the floor, digging his fingers into the man’s throat with every ounce of fading strength he had left. The attacker panicked without air, letting the knife drop and grabbing Dan’s hands weakly. Too late for that, kid.
With grainy blackness filling his senses, Dan choked the life out of his attacker. He didn’t let go until beginning to lose consciousness. By then Dan held only a limp, dead form. Falling away from the body, Dan rolled to his back, grinning into the descending darkness. Hey, baby… long time, no see.
*
Nick woke, feeling the sudden cold wetness. He rolled toward Rachel, pulling away the covers. Uh oh. “Rach, your water broke.”
“Huh… oh shit!” Rachel started to jump out of bed, but Nick stopped her.
“Calm down, Hon. I’ll get you cleaned real fast, and then we’ll load you in the car. You call Payaso while I get wet towels and wipes.”
“Yes! It’s finally happening,” Rachel replied happily while reaching for the phone. “Hurry up, Muerto. When the contractions start I want to be at the hospital away from your ‘Pressure Point’ birth technique.”
“Damn big mouth, Payaso.” Nick helped Rachel strip out of her nighty while she told Gus what had happened. He wiped her off thoroughly before helping her over to the dresser where Rachel had what she wanted to wear to the hospital already set out.
“Gus will be over in a couple minutes to stay with Jean.” Rachel let Nick help her put on the elastic waist adult diaper and a clean flannel nighty. “I’ll take my cotton robe. I’m fine. Get dressed, Muerto. You already have the hospital bag in the trunk. Unless you left one of your dead bodies in it, we’ll be able to leave the moment Gus arrives.”
“The dead body comment is not appreciated by El Muerto.”
“Boo hoo.”
*
John knocked on Dan’s door. When no one answered, he pounded on the door with a big grin. “Answer the door old man. I am here early. The heir to the great Muerto has arrived. We will go to the hospital together.”
John looked around. He didn’t want the police called because of his noisy attempt to awaken his friend. He tried ringing the doorbell a few times. “I thought you old guys leaped out of bed at dawn,” John muttered. He tried the door knob. It turned.