Free The Vulture by Frederick Ramsay Page B

out a student with ‘connections,’ did you?”
    â€œYou’re joking, right?”
    â€œI am. Now it appears we both need to disappear. Any suggestions where we might go?”
    â€œWhat happened to the house?”
    â€œJudging by the sound, I think the A-frame will be mostly pick-up sticks and twisted plumbing. In a minute I will skulk back and see.”
    â€œIf you think I’m staying back here in the woods alone, you are nuts. You go, I go.”
    â€œThey said they would wait by the road for you. I better go alone. Two people are far easier to spot than one.”
    â€œNevertheless, I go. Hey, remember me? I’m your intrepid shooting partner from our fun-filled summer vacation on the island.”
    â€œWe are unarmed and your buttons are in the wrong holes.”
    â€œIt’s the latest from Elle —slovenly is the new chic . You have a revolver in the Jeep. I saw it.”
    â€œNot much against a rifle with a scope.”
    â€œYou’re a crack shot. I saw you hit a tin can at twenty yards.”
    â€œThat was with me standing and using a finely calibrated pistol. The piece in the Jeep is a snub-nosed Police Special .38. You need to be within ten feet to do any damage with that.”
    â€œStill, you’d be armed.”
    â€œRuth, right at the moment, the last thing I want to do is get in a fire fight with a pair of heavily armed goons. Even in the unlikely event I win it, we lose. If they don’t go back to their boss, he or she will get suspicious that old Ike ain’t dead after all.
    â€œThat’s bad.”
    â€œVery. I need to talk to Charlie. This puts a new wrinkle on an already very creased plot, I think.” Ike stood and retrieved the pistol from the Jeep and handed her the phone. “You call.”
    â€œWhat do I say?”
    â€œYou’ll think of something, you’re a university president.”
    â€œVery funny.”
    Ruth tapped in the number Charlie had given them earlier and waited. Charlie answered with a simple “Hello?” Ruth cleared her throat and asked if she was speaking to Mr. Garland.
    Pause.
    â€œTell Ike I just heard about your house. My crew cleared the area and the car is on its way to Norfolk. Ruth, we need to get you into protective custody. Billy and two other deputies should be there in a half hour. Wait for them.”
    â€œThere are two men at the end of the driveway looking for me.”
    â€œRoger that. Wait for a call.”
    Ruth sat back and opened the hamper with their picnic. She handed Ike a sandwich and poured each of them a cup of wine.
    â€œHe said wait for the call. Eat up. Your deputies will deal with the bad guys at the end of the lane.”
    â€œI’m going to check anyway.”
    â€œWhat’s the matter with you, Ike? You missed one date with death this week already. Why do you want you to risk another? Okay, if I take my clothes off again, will you stay?”
    â€œYou’re bad.”

Chapter Twelve
    Billy Sutherlin grabbed Charlie Picket and the new kid and hopped into the Department’s only available cruiser, the Ford Vic with two hundred thousand miles on the odometer and slated for trade-in as soon as there was some wiggle room in the budget. They headed east toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ike’s A-frame was situated on a six-acre plot down the mountainside and off a road that briefly paralleled the parkway. The radio crackled. Sam forwarded a 9-1-1 call that reported an explosion, possibly at the A-frame. Billy lit up the cruiser and stomped on the accelerator. The old-school siren howled as they climbed up into the mountains. A second message from Sam told them to be on the lookout for two perps possibly hanging out near the house driveway and also that Ruth was okay and staying out of sight. She would come out when they signaled an all clear.
    Charlie Picket said, “Did that voice on the 9-1-1 call sound familiar to