Chapter 9
"Let's go get some dinner," he said as he began to back out of his parking spot.
Roger pulled out of the parking spot and started toward the exit. As he neared the exit the pickup truck that he had seen the day before pulled in front of him, blocking his exit. Howard and Homer Beame jumped out of the truck and ran to Roger's truck and yanked open Janice's door. Howard grabbed Janice by the hair and began to pull her out of the truck. Homer opened Roger's door and stood back a step.
"Come on Jerk," he bellowed, "You just bought yourself some trouble."
Roger got out of the truck and began to sidestep along the truck trying to get to Janice who was fighting for all she was worth. Homer saw what he was doing and pulled a hunting knife from under his jacket and began to advance toward him.
"I'm going to slice and dice you Jerk."
Roger braced himself for the lunge that he knew was coming and when Homer lunged at him with the knife he sidestepped and kicked Homer hard on the side of his knee. Homer's knee buckled and he began to stagger and fall. His foot stepped on a patch of ice and his foot slipped out from under him and his leg went under him in an unnatural way and he came down hard on his leg. Roger could hear Homer's femur break even over the noise that Janice was making.
Homer starting screaming in pain and thrashing around on the asphalt parking lot. Howard heard his brother and let go of Janice's hair and ran around the back of Roger's truck. He stood for several seconds looking at his brother's twisted leg. He rushed at Roger with his head down and Roger stepped to the side and let the man's momentum propel him onto the sidewalk.
There was a short burst from a police siren as the Scranton police car pulled to a stop in front of the Beame brother's truck. Two policemen, a sergeant and a patrolman, got out of the car and warily approached the men. Homer was still screaming and thrashing on the ground.
"What's going on here?" the patrolman asked.
"These two men pulled in front of me and tried to make this woman go with them. I haven't done anything to them,"
The patrolman nodded, "I know. We were parked over in the alley. We saw them attack you. What's their beef with you?"
"Not with me. They think that this woman wronged their buddy because she divorced him."
Howard got off of the ground and started toward Roger, "You bastard. You broke my brother's leg. I'll kill you asshole."
The patrolman stepped in front of Howard and ordered him to turn around and put his hands in back of him. Howard started to comply and then turned and took a swing at the patrolman. The young man was ready for trouble and turned his head and Howard's hand barely contacted the policeman's head. Howard's arm continued down and he made an attempt to grab the pistol that the patrolman had holstered. The patrolman clamped his hand over Howard's keeping him from drawing the gum from the holster. The sergeant rushed over to help subdue Howard. Suddenly Howard's finger found the trigger and he clamped down on it. A shot rang out. The patrolman's leg went out from under him and Roger saw that a bullet had gone through the flesh of the man's calf. Roger jumped in to assist the Sergeant and they finally succeeded in subduing and cuffing Howard.
As soon as Howard was secured the sergeant gave the call that no policeman wants to hear, "Officer down. Shots fired."
He gave the location of the shooting and within minutes nine police cars were blocking the street with their lights flashing. Homer was secured and an ambulance was called for him. The sergeant told two of his officers to check out Howard's truck. The two officers went to opposite sides of the truck and opened the doors and began searching the vehicle. Within minutes one of the officers called out to the sergeant. The sergeant looked over at the pair.
"Crystal Meth," called out the officer holding up a bag.
"Marijuana," called out the other officer holding up another bag.
Two ambulances showed up, almost together, and the paramedics began making Howard as comfortable as they could before they transported him to the hospital. The paramedics in the other ambulance began working on the officer that had been shot. Soon both men were on their way to the hospital.
One of the officers that had been checking out Howard's truck walked back with a wicked looking gun in his hand, "Found this Uzi strapped up under the dash. Maybe we should have the car towed in so the crime scene boys can look it over."
The sergeant nodded and called for a police tow truck. Roger went over to Janice. Surprisingly she was grinning and didn't seem upset by the fracas. She had been leaning on the truck watching as the police were investigating.
"It looks like Howard and Homer are going to get adjoining cells for the next twenty years," she said with a smile.
Roger put his arm around her and pulled her close, "are you OK?"
She smiled at him, "I feel great. Now those two assholes are going to find out what it's like to be raped. If there was any way to do it, I'd pay someone to make them their girlfriend."
The sergeant walked over to Roger and Janice, "Well it looks like the attempted assault on you two is going to be a minor charge now. We don't take kindly to someone shooting our officers. We're checking where they live. As much Crystal Meth as they had on them, they had to be manufacturers. If they weren't making it at their residence they had to have a lab somewhere else."
"Are we going to have to stick around? I was going to leave Scranton tomorrow and Janice was going back to San Diego tomorrow."
"No, just come down to the station and give me a deposition. We have to show some reason why we stopped and checked on these guys. We don't want them screaming harassment. As I told you, I doubt if we'll even try the assault thing now. We have enough on these two. They'll be very old men before they get out of prison if they ever do get out."
The sergeants radio crackled, "It looks like we have another charge. We just found a Meth lab in their shop. There were enough chemicals in there to blow up the neighborhood. Now, if you'll get into my car we'll take your statement and then we'll bring you back."
The sergeant allowed Roger to pull his truck back into a parking spot and they got in the police cruiser. Their statement was taken and checked and then they were brought back to Roger's truck. Janice seemed to have a great weight taken off of her shoulders and with the worry erased from her face she looked prettier than ever.
Roger looked at his watch, "It's almost nine o'clock. Where would you like to eat?"
She sighed, "I don't think that I could eat after all the excitement today. Can we go back to the Hotel?"
Roger nodded and started the truck. Janice was quiet as they drove
back to the hotel. On the way up to their room she took his arm and
held it close. The elevator stopped and they walked down the hall to
their rooms. Roger took her key from her and opened her door for her.
She reached up and kissed him softly and went into her room, closing
the door behind her.