Chapter 17
Troy and Angela were having second cups of coffee when Lorena Diaz came over to tell them about the latest rumor. The bone in her shoulder had been set, and she was leaning on a crewman's arm for support she didn't need.
"We've just heard that Jay has accepted a job with old man Burns. Helene thinks that Jay's going to take over the whole business. I didn't think that Jay was the executive type, did you?"
Troy shrugged. The news meant little to him. He didn't mention that the job had been offered to him first. He had fully believed that Burns wanted to hire him only to be avenged, but maybe the old man had been sincere. In any case, he was not concerned.
The crewman steered Lorena off toward a grove of trees that was still standing, and Angela chuckled as her imagination played with the possibilties in store for the crewman.
Not until later that morning did Troy begin to see the machinations of Burn's mind, and then the hiring of Jay made sense-a very perverted kind of sense. Burns had called a meeting of the reporters, and he promised to tell them all of the details of the tour party's recent experience.
Troy and Angela lingered on the fringe of the crowd to listen. After a few sentences of introduction, Burns got down to detail, and Troy's grin froze as the fat little man began to paint a picture that was far from the truth. Troy found himself named as the villain in the piece, and he was being blamed for every wrong move that had been made.
Troy learned with some surprise that he had been the one to make the decision to run the moment the fire appeared to be a danger. Burns branded him with cowardice in turning back up the mountain, and in the fat man's version it turned out that Burns was the one who had saved the group by running through the fire. It was so absurd that Troy found it ridiculous, until he saw Jay nodding in full agreement with Burns. The reason for the job offer became apparent. Jay had traded the truth for employment, and the hell of it was that Helene was backing him up.
Burn's offer must have been very tempting indeed. There must have been applied persuasion to others in the group, because the false story was receiving no opposition. Troy's forest-ranger friend was looking at him in an odd way. Angela gasped when she realized what was going on, and she started to run forward to right the wrong being done, when Troy stopped her.
"It wouldn't do any good, honey. He's got the others behind him with a very damned few exceptions. Owney, Lorena, and Janey weren't bought. See how mad they are? Willa's conscience is bothering her. She must be having second thoughts about now giving Burns her support. I wonder what he offered her."
"It's criminal, darling. Instead of being the hero, you've turned out to be a real bastard. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"What the hell can I do? He's got them sewed up. Look at the fat little son of a bitch grin. I didn't tell you that he tried to kill me with a rattlesnake, did I? What a touchy ego!"
Burns went into detail and Troy's face reddened with the man's accusations. Hell, if this got out Troy's name was ruined for life. He racked his brain for an idea but nothing came.
Burns pointed dramatically to Bart Coldridge, who was still confined to an army cot. Troy could tell that Burns had saved this for a capper. Coldridge had been with him in the original rebellion, and Burns had had no need to cinch Bart's testimony.
"That poor man over there has been mutilated for life by Woodford's incompetence. Gentlemen, I intend to sue for one million dollars, and I'm sure the others here will file like suits!"
There was a stunned hush at the mention of the million-dollar figure. Bart Coldridge took the pause in the fat man's harrangue to raise himself to a sitting position on the cot. Troy had an idea of how much pain the move had cost him. He was ready to hear Bart's affirmation. The pain-filled, raspy voice was thin in the open air.
"You're a son-of-o-bitchin' liar, Burns! You're the one whose responsible for all this. You're the bastard you've been talking about! What the hell's the matter with the rest of you? What'd this fat fart buy you off with? You, Jay, you and Helene owe your lives to Troy, and you're gonna let this mealy-mouthed piece of shit ruin Troy? You're all a bunch of bastards!"
Bart fell back onto the cot and began to cough. Troy and Angela walked over to see what they could do for him. He grinned at Troy, and his voice was a bare whisper.
"There, damn you! I guess I fixed your wagon. Hell, I couldn't let him get away with that. Don't look at me so damned funny. I'm not off my nut. He thought he had me in his back pocket, and I fooled him. I hate your guts, but you did treat me fair. I heard that you didn't turn me in for the rape thing. I don't want to owe any favors."
"Thanks anyway, Coldridge. What you said has them thinking, but I imagine that he's got enough weight on his side to push it through. At least, I'm going to have the satisfaction of smashing his nose flat."
He headed towards the crowd of people gathered around Burns, and Helene stopped him.
"Please, Troy, for my sake don't do it. It's the only thing I'll ever ask you. You're in the right so far. Don't spoil it now." Her eyes were pleading, and he couldn't refuse. He nodded and stopped. She patted his arm in relief.
Another voice clamored to be heard, and Marilyn Burns waddled across the clearing to her husband's side. Burns had a wary grin for her appearance, and he introduced her to the reporters.
"Gentlemen, this is my wife."
Maybe he was going to say more, but he never had the chance. Marilyn drew back her fat arm as far as it would go and then slammed him in the face with a large rock that she gripped in her chubby fingers. Burns dropped to the ground senseless. Marilyn turned to the stunned crowd.
"There, by God! I've been wanting to do that for years. I've had all I can stand of his lies and pure damned meanness. Now then-you, Jay Berry. You don't have any job with him. I own all the stock, and I vote you out! Go pick crap with the chickens! How does that wife of yours stand to have you around, or does she? I want the rest of you to know that that bastard there on the ground doesn't have a damned dime, so anything he promised you for lying for him is just so much hot air. He had a hard-on for Troy, and this was his way of getting even."
"What about his story of what happened up there?"
"Not a goddamned word of truth unless you switch names. Troy Woodford got us out of there alive, and anyone who says different faces me and my rock. Bart's the only one around here with any guts, and I'm ashamed that I've ever been associated with the rest of you. You three girls there...." She pointed to where Owney, Janey, and Lorena were standing. "Tell these bloodsuckers what happened up there. You'll get the truth out of them. My husband wouldn't even talk to a whore, much less offer them a proposition. They're damned good girls. Will someone drag this thing here over to the doctor? I suppose that I'm responsible for him until I get a divorce."
Troy was immediately encircled by the people from the outside, who wanted to hear his version. He answered questions truthfully and patiently, and Angela was proud that he understated every one of his accomplishments.
The ranger and a reporter cornered Jay and plied him with suspicious questions until he became all mixed up. It was Helene who finally sickened of the whole mess and prodded him into telling the truth. Angela felt sorry for her. Jay had lost too much respect to be considered good man material, and Angela made a mental bet that Helene would soon drop him.
The day was busy with trying to straighten out the muddle, and Troy tired of answering the same questions over and over again. He wanted to get away from having to see faces that turned down for shame each time he passed. He wanted to tell everyone that he didn't bear grudges, but that would be stretching the truth. He did feel bitter, and he did hurt inside for the attempted wrong.
He remembered taking a shorter share of the food than the rest in order to make what was there go around. He remembered his concern when one of them was hurt. He clung to Angela's hand and thanked God for someone who had stood by him.
He personally thanked the three girls, Owney, Janey, and Lorena, for their help, and they returned his thanks with added interest for bringing them out alive. He was kissed three times in front of Angela, and it embarrassed him. Angela probably knew that he had slept with two of them, and that made the kisses seem all the more foolish. The ranger came up to apologize for what he had been thinking, and Troy was sick of the whole rotten mess. The exciting adventure on Virgin's Breast Mountain had turned into a nightmare in the aftermath.
Jay came over to apologize for what he called a mistake in judgment, and Troy almost hit him. He avoided the rest of his former passengers, and he was glad when the helicopters started taking them down off the mountain. He and Angela were among the last to leave, and there was no fond nostalgia in the final look that he gave to Casper's Crossing.
The owner of the tour bus met him at the airport, and Troy was treated with respect. He had expected reprimand, and instead he was praised for the way he had handled things. He found out later that the man had been scared to death of expected lawsuits. Troy turned down the man's offer of a raise in pay and position to become manager of the line.
He and Angela read the newspaper account of the fire-trapped tour and were surprised to see no mention of Burns or his version of the ill-fated tour. He took Angela to her hotel to pick up her suitcases, and he became angry when the hotel insisted that she pay in full for the days she had been trapped on the mountain. He was even madder when they brought her suitcases from a storage room in the basement.
He took her to his small apartment, and they took turns bathing and changing clothes. He had one more stop to make before he called it a day, and she went along with him without knowing where they were going. He took her up the steps of the Federal Building and spent some time at the lobby register in finding the office that he wanted. He herded her into an office, and a secretary yielded to his demand to see the Federal attorney in the inner office.
Evidently the man had read his daily paper, because Troy and Angela were ushered in with no wait. Troy stood in front of the desk and refused a seat to speak his piece.
"You've got a Federal warrant out for Bart Coldridge, and I have something to tell you about the man. For what it's worth, he's not a draft-dodging coward. I understand that his family's rejected him over this, and I want to make sure that he gets every legal right that's due him. Do I have to hire an attorney to do this?"
The man behind the desk grinned. "You're a little late, aren't you? A Mrs. Marilyn Burns beat you here and said much the same thing. His case is not unusual. I've been familiarizing myself with it ever since Mrs. Burns left. His only serious mistake was in running to evade the warrant. It won't be known until he appears in court whether he had grounds for refusing the draft. We're not ogres, Mr. Woodford. I would imagine that if someone were to convince him that serving his country would be an honor, the whole thing just might be dropped before he goes into court. Mrs. Burns has already furnished bail and I have his tentative address if you'd care to drop in on him."
Troy took the address, thanked the man for his patience and time, and held the door for Angela on their way out.
Marilyn let them in and was glad to see them.
"You're the only ones who have come to see how he's doing. I think he'll want to talk to you, Troy. He keeps saying that you're the only one who's given him a fair break, and I don't know what he means. He's in there."
Angela stayed with Marilyn while Troy walked into the bedroom. Bart grinned at him and motioned him to a chair.
"Come to tell me that I've been a spoiled bastard and it's time I changed my ways?"
Troy grinned back. "Something like that. You know I don't particularly like you, don't you?" Bart grinned again and nodded. "In fact, I think I'm wasting my time, but I had to make a try. Why don't you grow up and enlist?"
"I'd by lying if I told you that I detest violence of any kind. I'd also be lying if I told you that I had religious convictions against war. The truth is that I'm afraid to go. I'm not afraid of the shooting or anything like that. I'm scared to death of losing my identity in the ranks. I hate organization, and I hate being told what to do.
Hell, I wouldn't last a week before I got into trouble for disobeying orders or something like that."
"You're nuts! It'd probably be the best thing in the world for you. Anyway, I talked to a man, and he said that charges might be dropped if you enlisted. It seems like a damned good idea to me."
"I'm feeling much better, thank you, and now you can get the hell out of here. Seriously-thanks for coming, Troy."
Angela peeked her pretty head in the door and wished Bart well before they left. Marilyn detained them at the door.
"He's such a dear boy. I do hope that everything will turn out all right for him. We have great plans. Am I doing wrong?"
Troy could see that she was desperate in trying to cling to this little bit of happiness. He didn't have the heart to try to warn her about getting too attached to Bart. Hell, maybe the thing would turn out all right anyhow.
Troy wished her all the luck in the world, and he meant it. Angela snuggled close and hugged his arm as they went down the steps.
"That was a very nice thing to do, darling. I think I could really begin to love you. You're making points with me, so just keep it up."
"Speaking of making points with you...."