Day Sixty-one - Friday
Someone was banging on the door. I slipped on my shorts, grabbed the 9-mil and went to what was my front door, the opposite from the patio door. I turned on the outside light then peeped through the peephole. Shawna was standing there with a sheriff's deputy.
Now what?
I quickly opened the door, and before I could ask what was up, Shawna was in my arms saying, "You have to help us, Steve, please, Charlie's on the way to the hospital, he's in bad shape, help us, Steve."
I motioned for the deputy to come in and I brought Shawna with me as I went to the back to wake up Sue.
Sue and Sandy were already sitting up when I brought Shawna back to the bedroom. She leaped from my arms to Sue's as soon as she saw her and was again begging for help. I began dressing quickly so I could go find out how bad Charlie was. Sue said she would follow with Shawna as soon as she and Sandy were dressed.
The deputy said the best that they could determine was Charlie was turning into the park when a car hit him from the rear and took off. Shawna was thrown off and landed in some bushes, but Charlie rode the bike into a ditch. A resident had seen it happen and had even gotten a partial license plate number, with a description of the pickup truck that hit Charlie. The deputy said Charlie was alive, but badly broken up. I told the deputy that I would drive my truck to the hospital.
At the park entrance there were several sheriff's cars, a fire truck, and a tow truck with Charlie's bike hanging from the hook. I stopped and asked the driver to put the bike in the back of my pickup. The deputy that had brought Shawna to the house waved for the tow truck operator to do it.
Twenty minutes later, I was at the University Community Hospital over on Fletcher and Bruce B. Downs Blvd., trying to convince an emergency room administrator that I was one of Charlie's family members. They finally let me through to see Charlie trussed up on an emergency room gurney with a nurse, or tech, or whoever, taking Charlie's blood pressure. Charlie was awake and instantly held out a hand to me asking, "Shawna? Where's Shawna? Is she, is she okay? Please say she's okay."
"Shawna's okay. She didn't get hurt. She's on her way with Sue and Sandy. She'll be here soon. Relax, let's worry about you, Shawna will be here soon."
"Thank God she's okay. I didn't even know anyone was behind me. We didn't even stop at the clubhouse or the bar, we just went for a ride. Steve, what am I going to do, we don't have health insurance and the insurance on the bike is only for ten grand. This is going to take our house and everything."
"Don't worry about it, Charlie, Shawna's insurance covers you too, and trust me, I'll find the guy that hit you and he will pay. He'll pay good, I promise."
"I hope you're right, Steve, we're just getting on our feet with Shawna making such good money. We just can't lose it all now."
Shawna, Sandy, and Sue came in at that second, along with a nurse and a guy with some papers.
Charlie could see Shawna was dirty and scratched up a little, but was okay. They gingerly hugged, then the guy said he was taking Charlie to x-ray, so we needed to go back to the waiting room. Shawna said she wasn't leaving Charlie. The guy started to give Shawna some trouble but the nurse said to let her go with him, as they had both been though a traumatic situation.
Back in the waiting room, the sheriff's deputy that had brought Shawna to our door was waiting for Shawna so he could get her statement. He said he had no problem waiting for her, as this was a criminal investigation. He said his Captain knew both of us and insisted he treat us as dignitaries.
The deputy described the crash scene and how they had found Shawna keeping Charlie quiet where he lay. The park resident that had seen the crash and had run to the street, saw the pickup stop and the backup lights come on. When the guy had yelled at the pickup driver, the driver took off, but not before the guy got most of the license number and the make and color of the pickup. The deputy said that the state police were probably at the driver's front door arresting him at that moment.
He received a call on his portable then answered and had a short conversation full of codes and police jargon. When he was finished he said, the police had stopped the hit and run driver as he was driving into his driveway, so they had the truck with the damage on the front, along with the guy driving it.
The Captain that had been involved with my past exploits entered into the waiting room, came up to me and shook my hand saying he hoped my friend, Shawna's husband, was going to be alright. The Captain then told the deputy that I had been the one to help out and save the deputy that had been shot a few weeks ago.
"So, this the same guy that was in all those gun battles at that same park?" the deputy asked.
"He's the one, and that little girl that you helped tonight, is the one that was in the gunfight with Steve and capped that burglar not long ago."
"That little thing, she can't be but about five foot or so."
"And mean as a bobcat. Small, but vicious," I added.
The deputy stuck his hand out, "Thanks for helping one us when he was down. That was a brave and crazy thing to do."
The sheriff's Captain and the deputy said they were going for some coffee and would bring back some for everyone.
Sue and Sandy had sat down to stay away from people, as they were upset too. When I went to sit down, the two separated and motioned for me to sit between them. This looked like it could take a while. I looked around and saw that it was just after one in the morning.
An hour or so later, Shawna came out saying that they were going to clean Charlie up and put a cast on his leg and his arm in a sling as he had a broken collar bone. He had a couple dislocated fingers, but they were back where they should be now. Charlie wasn't comfortable, but he said he was going to be all right. We were able to check Charlie out of the hospital a little after three. We had Charlie in a full leg cast and his arm in a sling. He was drugged a little now, and was supposed to stay a little out of it for a day or so.
We loaded Charlie into the back seat of the truck with the wheelchair in the back with his bike. I drove home carefully trying to avoid the usual bumps in the road. When we got to the park, I stopped in front of Charlie's place to take him inside.
I was about to lift him out when Tom and Al magically appeared, saying to let them haul him, and I was to make sure there wasn't anything to trip over. Shawna wanted him on the bed for tonight, saying she would be able to take care of him now that they had him inside.
By the time everyone cleared out of Charlie's and went home it was almost four thirty in the morning. So much for sleep, as it was almost too late to even think of going back to bed.
All three of us lay down on top of the covers and drifted off. I woke every ten minutes or so to check the time.
I got up at six fifteen, started the coffee and jumped into the shower. When I went out to the patio at six thirty, everyone from our group that lived in the park, except for Shawna and Charlie were there. Even Mandy and Drew, as Al had called Drew to tell him about what had happened.
I finally woke the two girls at seven. They thanked me for letting them get a little extra sleep. They jumped into the shower to help themselves wake up.
We all agreed that we would help Shawna with Charlie. Glenda said she would make sure Shawna had all the help she needed today and we could take turns in the evening if it were needed. This evening we would get him in his wheelchair and over to the patio so he could at least visit with people. The collarbone heals fast, like three to four weeks if you don't bump it, but the leg was going to take every bit of six weeks.
When someone suggested that we should have a benefit party for Charlie, there was instant enthusiasm. I thought we might do one with hard core biker friends and one for the folks in the park. I didn't feel too comfortable mixing a bunch of clubbers with the innocent folk that lived around here. I knew if I asked Hap, he would control his folks but there were guys that Charlie knew that could get stupid when they had too much to drink. We would do a 50/50 raffle at each of the parties along with a couple of drawings for stuff we could go out and beg. Jim said he would ask the dealer if he might help with a couple of T-shirts or something.
I said we would take the bike into the shop and begin to tear it down to see what it would take to get it right as Charlie was going to want to get up on it as soon as he could. Sandy and Mandy said that they would tear it down after work tonight and see what it would need. Since it was going to be apart, they thought Charlie might appreciate a rebuild. The girls were assured the shop would stand for any parts they might need.
Perhaps when Shawna was feeling better, she could think of something special for Charlie in the way of paint and customizing.
Phil and Tiny said they knew a lot of businesses that he could get to donate something simple that folks would want.
It was nice to hear how we all pulled together when one of our own needed help. At seven forty-five we all took off for the shop and a busy day ahead.
When we arrived, Abe was using the big forklift to pull pallets of steel sheeting from a truck backed into the yard. The steel company shipped both the regular steel and the stainless steel. Al and Dan would be busy for a while.
Al made a list of local companies that I could get the good locks and drawer rails from, but said the boom-lift the other company was using was one of the best.
Dan said to leave them to start, as they had a plan. If I could pick up the other parts, they would appreciate it.
I called the two vendors that had the locks and drawer rail sets. I bought four sets, but said I would be back for at least ten more sets within a week, so they could order more of what we needed. The drawer rail supplier said he would like to see what we were going to use them for so he could be sure we were using the right ones. I agreed with that and told him to drop by as soon as he could. The folks in Shawna's shop were a little down, but determined to put out quality work whether she was there or not. Hank said he had all of the ancillary equipment for the big trucks staged on pallets so he could install them as soon as a truck was ready. He asked if I would mind if he stripped Charlie's bike when he wasn't busy doing something.
I went to my office to get the digital camera. I took pictures of the bike from every angle so there wouldn't be a lot of discussion of what was needed to repair the bike, then gave Hank permission to take some direction from Sandy and Mandy and have a good time.
Al and Dan were all assholes and elbows cutting pieces of steel for the various panels, shelves, doors, and drawers. It looked like they were cutting out more than one bed at a time. I would leave what they did up to them, as they said they had a plan.
I made it up front in time to greet the vendor for the drawer rails. I took him back to our truck to show him what we were building, but had designed a few drawers into the bed for easier storage. I mentioned that we were building an all stainless steel model to see if it would sell.
He suggested a heavier duty rail and guide as the steel drawers were going to be heavy and could wear a lesser rail out. I asked if he would have the heavy-duty rails in stock and of course he did, but only enough for ten trucks. He would order more from the factory. He asked if I had any literature on the bed and told him that so far we had only sold the truck as a complete unit.
I gave him a CD and one our new brochures saying that I would certainly appreciate his talking up our product. He was fascinated by the guys in the frame area, then watched the guys working the sheet metal. I walked him over to Abe's shop and showed him all of the men in the process of re-building large generators.
He said he would have the drawer rails delivered as soon as he returned to his warehouse and thanked me for the business.
Debbie told me there were two more orders for trucks and had called them to warn them that delivery could be delayed as we were a little behind due to the quantity of orders. It is amazing that we were selling so many big-ticket items. The new big generators could go all the way up to a hundred grand and these trucks were over a hundred thousand, but sales for both were more than brisk. The outside people were doing a great job. Tiny was going to have a fit figuring commission out for all of them and doubling it. I didn't care whether we were paying double the commission for a month. The way the orders were rolling in, the manufacturers was going to give us unheard of discounts for volume. The first thing they were going to do was free freight, but that would just encourage more sales.
Gene called to tell me that my truck was a hit with all the folks. He said we didn't even have to open it up because all the crews were having a good time checking out the neat paint.
I asked him if he thought the truck would pay for itself. His reply shocked me.
"I wish I had thought of it. Your guys are so busy selling odds and ends that they're going to run out of everything quick. Every crew has bought a part from them, something they forgot or broke. I think they're close to being out of sheet metal, and I know they've already sold the Dodge engine, as one of the teams blew their motor in practice. I told the team owner that he wouldn't blow one from you unless he abused it. My crew chief said that he had heard of a couple of teams with bad motors and had suggested they get them rebuilt at your shop. They showed off one of your rebuilds in our number two car, saying that rebuilt engine took an accident and made it back up to a top ten finish.
"Oh yeah, Steve, tell Shawna that I have at least two more guys that want her to build them bikes."
I told Gene about the accident and he asked what he could do for the couple. I said that perhaps some of his merchandise, such as T-shirts or toy cars for the party and drawings, would be good. He said he would have some things for me Monday.
Gary called saying they needed some parts to stay open for business. They also needed sheet metal and more T-shirts and caps. They had sold out of all the junk stuff. He said they could live without a replacement Dodge engine, but would need another GM as they had just delivered another engine and a crew chief was at the truck right then to buy the last one they had.
I took his list of sheet metal and said I would try to get it to him right away. We may have to rethink inventory on the truck as it would to difficult to get re-supply product to him at most tracks. This one was South Carolina, so we could get it to him right away.
I asked Phil if he had more T-shirts and ball caps. He smiled at me and said he figured I would be asking for more. He took me down to the old tool room and showed me stacks of cases of T-shirts and ball caps. Phil said he had an order as large as this right now as he thought we would sell these faster than we could get them.
I hung up and reordered all of the parts he said he had sold, and ordered an entire additional set. I gave the sheet metal order to Tom, Drew, and Dan, asking them to knock it out real quick, as the truck sales at the race were brisk.
They said they would get it done quickly, but suggested they make two sets of what was asked for, as the panels they were asking for were the one most frequently used.
I looked at the completed engines, and made the decision to steal three more, and put the orders back in queue to be made.
We needed a big box truck and a driver. I really didn't want to take another person from our staff, as we were just barely getting an edge on existing orders.
I asked Abe what he thought. He thought a moment then said he wanted to make a call. While he was on the phone in his office he waved at me to come in.
Abe was saying that it was important to get a delivery up to South Carolina today. He motioned and mouthed to me, 'Can I offer him a bonus?'
I nodded and he told the guy that he would pay double mileage plus a hundred-dollar bill up front. Abe smiled and said he would see him in a few minutes. "The guy is a little down on cash, so that's why I offered the hundred. He'll spend that on fuel just to get there. If we can use him, he's a good man and has a big delivery van that he bought to get work from a company that went out of business. I know he's pretty desperate."
The guy showed up within fifteen minutes and was introduced to me as Dago. He said he wasn't Italian. His heritage was Mexican, but his wife was Italian, so everyone thought he was too and that's how he got the nickname.
We loaded everything into the truck. He but a big padlock on the door clamp saying he didn't want to take a chance with the expensive equipment he was hauling. I handed Dago two hundreds, and said for him to make sure he got something to eat and if he wanted to stay overnight before he drove back, the guys would probably let him stay in the sleeper.
Abe told him we would settle up on mileage Monday morning.
It was past noon and my stomach was telling me about it, as I didn't really have any breakfast this morning. I called Sue to ask what she wanted for lunch, and she said a nap, but would see what we had to eat if I wanted to come home.
Twenty minutes later, Sue and I were eating soup and sandwiches out on the patio with all of her girls and Glenda.
Glenda said that Charlie was resting pretty good and that Shawna had finally crashed. Charlie was now on the couch in front of the TV. He was able to get around on some crutches, even though he had the broken collar bone. I asked where he got the crutches from and she said Shawna's health insurance company sent a visiting nurse out and brought the crutches to him.
Hanna said she would help out with them this evening, as well as Debbie, who had called her a dozen times already today. Charlie needed to come over this evening to make everyone feel better, that was for sure.
I went back to the shop thinking that I was glad it was Friday. I looked out at Dan and Al to see how they were doing. They had what now looked like most of a body built. I knew there was a lot of work to do on the doors, drawers, and the table. They were doing well for their first day on the project, especially after having to have them help out with some panels.
I asked Tiny how we were doing this week in comparison to past weeks. He said our sales exceeded previous weeks, but our deliveries were down due to a few large back-orders and the lag in deliveries from the various factories. When I asked if our cash flow position was still good, I thought he was going to fall of his chair laughing. He said we were more than fine as he was paying invoices as they hit and our gross margins were not only taking care of costs but also he had a pretty good chunk in a money market account and a fair amount in a Fidelity fund.
"So what is a good chunk, Tiny?"
"The money market account has four point three mil in it, and the company Fidelity account has a little over a mil. The Fidelity account is a fifty-fifty account. Fifty-percent low risk and fifty-percent high risk, seeing how it does. We have the 401K in a good producing fund that has never had a loss. The managers of the fund are very good, always hedging for the clients."
"Do we really have that much profit?"
"More, our bank account is going to need to be transferred to the money market account soon, as it's getting too large. Steve, the company is doing very well. As good as it's going, you could issue an IPO and become almost a billionaire overnight. Your numbers to date are so far out that the SEC would investigate you. Relax, your company is doing great."
"Keep coming up with new ideas like your truck at the race track. That idea is going to produce some money. We'll need to build another truck for the Busch and Craftsman Truck races. Your biggest problem is people to run the trucks and enough inventory. You made a nice move with the shipment you made for the truck. I wonder if those two guys are going to want to continue with the truck. I'll bet they are a lot busier than they thought they would be."
The selection of people was everything, so I told Tiny, "They are race day guys and probably enjoy being around the guys there. If I need more people I will try for more ex-drivers, crew chiefs, and crewmembers. It doesn't matter whether or not they were successful, as long as they are recognizable folks that the other teams will be comfortable with."
I asked Ruth how she was doing. She said great, now that she had her own assistant. She was caught up on payroll, and was able to keep the accounts payable current with Tiny watching for discounts. She said that I had not hired as many people this week, so her week had not been as hectic.
The place was humming and there was no need to worry or micro-manage.
Al and Dan came to me to ask if they could work this evening and this weekend, as they wanted to finish one or two beds so they would have a feel of what it was going to take. They had a detailed time sheet on each section so they could review where the time went.
Dan said the new drawer rails were really great and showed me how a drawer would easily slide back and forth. The guys showed me their table idea. When they pulled it out, legs folded down automatically using a piston that pushed the leg in place. When you grabbed the handle to slide the table back in, you pushed a button and the legs pulled up into place inside the tabletop. They had elected to use a non-skid type surface for the table top, thinking that it would be not be good to have clamped equipment that moved when you were about to weld it.
Al said that Drew was going to stay late and work Saturday too so he could get out a few more sets of panels.
I told them both that I would make sure food was brought in. Al said that Joan would bring food for them, so they would be fine. They also said that they were going to interview a couple of sheet metal people in the morning, as it was the only time they could come by since they already had a job, but were looking to improve.
Hap called my cell phone saying he had just heard about Charlie. He wanted to know if the cops had caught the guy or did he need to go find him. I didn't know and told him that, but said I thought they either knew who did it, or were close to having him.
He didn't want to wait but said he would watch to see how the sheriff's department did. Hap told me that if I was out this weekend at all, to stop by for some chili as his cook was making up a big batch. He told me to call him if Charlie needed anything. I told him about our plan for a benefit party. He said he would be there with his men. He felt like the St. Pete guys would want to come too, as would Bear and his people.
Thinking about all those club guys at the house could send shivers up your spine.
I checked the shops to see how they were left. Everything was neat and clean. Sandy, Mandy, and Hank had the bike in pieces with a long list of parts. Sandy wanted to know if I thought I could salvage the frame or would it be better to buy a new one. I told them that I would build a new frame and drop it a little so the whole bike was lower. Tomorrow would be a good day while the guys were working on the bed. Sandy told me the entire motor group was working tomorrow to get another engine out each. The extra six engines would come in handy toward filling orders and getting ready for next week's races for our new truck.
I went home to find Jim and Tom pushing Charlie to the patio and Shawna trailing, with a worried look. When I reached the patio Shawna was arguing with Charlie about having a beer.
"How many painkillers have you had today, Charlie," I asked, with the intent of settling Shawna down.
"None man, I'm tough. Every time I moved, Shawna was trying to give me some of the dizzy pills. I kept telling her that I'd rather have a couple of beers this evening instead of those damn pills."
Ruth said she agreed with Charlie. If he didn't mix the pills with beer he would be fine, as long as he didn't drink too much at one time.
Charlie talked to me about his bike. I told him his friends were taking care of it right now, but he would have a chance to supervise how he wanted it. He thanked me for including him on Shawna's health insurance as it was going to be a lifesaver for them. He said the sheriff's department had called and they had picked up the guy who hit him. They think there is something wrong with the guy's story as they think he may have hit them on purpose.
The guy had been into Dell's a while ago and bitched about the price of rebuilding his transmission. He had worn his clutch out and was speed shifting every shift and forcing the gears at lights. We rebuilt the tranny and replaced the clutch, nothing else, but he still bitched that it was too high.
"I wonder if he decided to hit us because of it."
The mood was not as festive as most Friday nights lately, but then one of our own was down plus Sandy, Mandy, Joan, Al, and Dan were gone. Martin and Jim had a few lively pool matches, then Ben and Tiny played partners against Martin and Jim.
Around nine, Charlie said he had enough beer and fun and wanted help to get back to the house. Martin said he would build Charlie a ramp tomorrow so he could get in and out of the house easier. Tiny and Tom volunteered to help Martin, so you knew it would be done quickly.
The missing folks showed up to wish Charlie a good night then came to the patio for a few beers. Al said that they had one complete and another well on the way. They wanted to know if I could get Hank to paint it. Since Hank was there, he said, "Hey, I'll take the overtime any time. Considering we're all getting double, I'll work twelve hours a day, seven days a week."
Sue said that since we were all working, she had some fashions just about done, ready to submit to the manufacturer, so she told her people that they were welcome to work tomorrow as well.
Mandy told us she would see us in the morning and went off with Drew. Sandy said they had talked and she said that Mandy had told her this might be serious. I had switched to scotch and Sue had switched to Rum and Diet Coke with some real lime. Sandy was helping Sue with the rum.
We closed up and went in by ten thirty. I was really tired and didn't know how the other two could keep their eyes open. I showered off the day's sweat then laid down in the middle of the bed waiting for my wife and our friend.
I don't know when they came to bed. I was already asleep.