Crimson Highway by David Wickenhauser (i can read with my eyes shut txt) 📕

he threatened to harm Jimmy. That was my uncle holding the gun to my head. He’s the one who got shot. You know the rest.”

Hugh listened to her story with a growing sense of dread as he realized that he, obviously, was the monster of Jenny’s nightmares.

That was so long ago, and the details of his and James’ fight with the hijackers had faded into distant memory. But, now that she had recounted for him from the perspective of her uncle what had happened that evening at the truck stop, he did remember the last man standing.

Hugh recalled how he and James had run at him together, and how they had put him down … especially the part about himself delivering the final, killing blow.

He agonized over the consequences of that action, the effect that it had had on Jenny as a little girl, and the long-term effect that has led to consequences even today.

Of course, at the time Hugh and James both felt that they had dealt with their attackers fairly. The five attackers did, after all, gang up on the one lone truck driver. It was only after Hugh had jumped into the fight that the odds turned against them, resulting in things not turning out the way they had planned. Essentially, they had gotten what they deserved.

 In hindsight, he questioned now the necessity of the final blow. All he could think in his own defense was that he had been trained in combat to make sure the enemy was down for good.

He decided at this time not to tell Jenny the part of the story that she didn’t know, namely that the truck driver she was talking to right now was the monster of her dreams.

“Why the dirty, disheveled look when I first picked you up?” he asked.

“That was my uncle’s idea. He figured I’d have to really look the part of a vagrant hitchhiker in order to keep anybody from being suspicious about me being part of a hijacking plot,” she answered.

“So, I really did spend a lot of time on the road, sleeping in my clothes, getting good and dirty.”

“You did indeed do that,” Hugh commented.

“Yeah, but I was always in touch by phone, and they kept a close eye on me.”

“And the phone calls?”

“Again, their idea. The first one was simply to let them know that I was picked up, that I didn’t know where you were stopping next, and that I didn’t know yet what your load was,” she said.

“One of my ‘assignments’ was to find out what the truck driver was hauling, so they wouldn’t make the mistake again of trying to hijack a load that wouldn’t be worth anything to them,” she added.

“The second call was their instructions for me to get you to stop to help with their flat tire by the side of the road.”

“What about that whole episode with the state trooper?” Hugh asked.

“My uncle’s idea. He’d had it all planned out by the time he met me at the travel plaza that evening outside the women’s restroom. I argued with him, and told him I wasn’t going to do it. That’s when he hit me, and threatened me with harming Jimmy. They were almost able to pull that one off.”

“Yeah, except for the part where your uncle put a gun to your head. What was that all about?”

She told Hugh that even though she knew that her uncle’s obsessive hatred of truck drivers had gotten worse over the years, she was surprised herself when he pulled that stunt.

“I don’t know. I guess he really truly is going nuts over this,” she surmised.

“I’m curious about something else,” Hugh said. “How many times have you done this?”

“You are my first,” she answered. “I guess I’m not very good at it, huh.”

“What about now? Where do you stand with all this?”

“Hugh, I’m honestly confused. Torn. You know what I mean?”

Hugh shook his head no.

“It’s just that I’ve had a lifetime of hating the person who murdered my dad,” she said. “But, meeting you has shown me that at least some truck drivers can be decent guys who wouldn’t do something like that.”

Hugh didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t the guy Jenny was thinking he was. Or, actually, ironically, he was exactly the guy who she had been thinking of all these years. He was torn, himself. What he did know was that he was going to have to deal with it sooner, rather than later.

“Jenny, you have to decide. I’m not sure where to go with this myself. But, I can’t just drop you off here if your uncle really is nuts, and will harm you if he gets his hands on you again.”

“On the other hand,” he went on, “I can’t keep you with me if every time my back is turned you are plotting with your uncle and his friends to hijack my truck. You see what I’m getting at?”

“OK, Hugh. I’ll make you a promise. If I can stay with you awhile longer, I promise I won’t have any more contact with my uncle. You saw me turn off that cell phone.”

“Alright. That will have to do for now,” Hugh responded. “In the meantime, how about if we call the cops and just lay it all out for them. Maybe they …”

Jenny immediately stiffened at this suggestion, panic beginning to come over her. “No! Please! Not that! You don’t know what my uncle might do to my brother if he finds out I’ve snitched on him.”

Hugh backed off. “OK. We’ll just play this one on our own for now. See what happens. Maybe they’ll give up.”

Jenny looked skeptical, but she nodded her agreement.

Darkness was now coming upon them, and Hugh’s stomach told him it was dinner time. He drew the