All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky

49

We spent some time down at the station while Strangler was with the doctor getting the bullets pulled out, and we all told the story Jane told. It wasn’t that good a story, but it was as good as any other. No one even thought Strangler might have ever robbed a bank. And if they thought there was any stinky fish in our story, they didn’t say so, least not direct-like.

When it was over, the cops drove us back to Strangler’s trailer, which was the only place we had to stay, and we took a nap. Tony on the couch, me and Jane sleeping in chairs. When we woke up, Strangler still wasn’t home, but we were hungry.

We found some bread and canned goods and made sandwiches, and were eating when Strangler came in. He was dressed in a loose shirt and dress pants and regular shoes. They were the clothes he took with him when the police hauled us off.

I felt kind of funny, us eating his food and him standing there in the doorway. Jane, however, seemed quite comfortable.

Jane said, “Can I fix you something?”

“I’m all right,” he said. “That was some lie you told,” he said to Jane.

“It’s her specialty,” I said.

“I just felt the truth lacked something,” she said.

“They believed it good enough,” he said. “They’re just happy to have public enemies off the charts. Those two had let me go and gone on about their business, they’d be alive today. Well, Bad Tiger might be. I think he was planning to shoot Timmy all along.”

“About the money, Strangler,” Jane said.

“I know. I lied to everyone, then lied to myself, but it’s something to have a liar like you call me on lying.”

“Mine doesn’t hurt anyone,” she said. “It helped.”

“This time,” I said.

“All right, this time,” Jane said. “But you got all that money, and that’s the bank’s money.”

“Banks aren’t people,” Strangler said.

“Sure they are,” Jane said. “Who do you think puts money in the bank?”

Strangler went over and sat on the trunk with the money. He said, “Yeah. I know. I know good. I really did intend to send it back. I mean, I do intend to send it back. I kept it to look at for a while. To think about what I might have done had I kept it.”

“You might have spent about ten years in jail,” Jane said. “You still might.”

“You’d say something about it?” Strangler said.

“I don’t know,” Jane said.

“Me either,” I said.

“I wouldn’t tell,” Tony said. “Me, I don’t care. I could use some money.”

I could tell that sort of hit Strangler where he lived.

“Nah, you ain’t that way,” Strangler said to Tony. “You and me, we ain’t like that. I made a mistake, but I got to make it right.”

“Don’t make it so right you go to jail,” I said.

“I’m not wanting to make it that right,” he said. “Tomorrow, I get some boxes, and you kids help me mail it back. That all right?”

“I suggest we drive someplace not so close to mail it,” Jane said. “They might trace it somehow, and if they see it come from around here, and they get to thinking about Bad Tiger and Timmy looking you up, it could all come together, and not in a good way.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Strangler said.

“We can pack boxes with the money,” Jane said, “and we can make a note with words cut from newspapers and glue them on paper. We can put the note inside one of the boxes with the money. It can say something like: Here’s the money back, sorry. No signature, of course”

“That sounds good,” Strangler said.

“We can drive to someplace in Louisiana to mail it,” Jane said.

So that was the plan, and that’s what we did. After that, well, there’s not much left to tell.

We stayed at Strangler’s trailer for a while, because none of us had any real place to go, except Tony. I guess Jane and I were welcome at Mrs. Carson’s, but, truth be told, we’d tasted too much of the world and had adventures, and we weren’t ready to settle down.

Me and Jane took a day and drove over to the Winona area in Junior’s truck. I wanted to give it back, and we’d also get to see Gasper. I hoped Junior would drive us back to the carnival after.

I found the road where Junior lived, and we drove down there. The house was empty. It looked as if no one had ever lived there. There was no note. Junior and Gasper and Nasty were gone. I know it’s not very satisfactory, but that’s how the truth is sometimes, because we never saw or heard from them again. I like to think they went up north for work and found it. Nasty being the exception. I just hoped he had a warm fire to lie in front of.

As for the truck, well, Junior said he didn’t care if he got it back, and now I knew he meant it.

We drove back to the carnival, and for the next few days we taught Jane how to drive. She took to it like a squirrel to hickory nuts. It wasn’t no time at all till she could keep the car on the right side of the road and could steer with one hand and wave to folks with the other. Strangler said she was a natural. Fact is, she was a dang site better than me in two days. I didn’t like hearing that, but it was the truth. Tony decided he wanted to go back to Mrs. Carson. Me and Jane didn’t like the idea on one hand, but we figured it was for the best. He liked having a home, and ought to have one. Besides, growing up with either of us, me and Jane decided, was akin to being raised by wolves.

Jane had a few dollars, and Strangler gave Tony a few, and she and Tony left early one morning.

It all happened so fast the day they left, I didn’t feel I got to tell either one of them a proper goodbye.

Jane said she’d write in care of the carnival, general delivery. The carnival’s next town was Tyler, so she said she’d send it there. She did just that, and the letter said she was coming to see me.

She came and I met her in Tyler, at the carnival. Me and her and Strangler had a visit, and then later that night I walked with her off the carnival lot and we rode in Junior’s truck, which was now her truck, and we ended up at a spot outside of town where the earth rose up high and there were lots of trees and a little drop-off where you could see the dark roll of a few hills and the high bright light of the moon and the stars.

She sat with her hands on the wheel. She said, “Sometimes I lie a little.”

“I know that.”

“I love Tony, and I want him to be happy,” she said. “I even dragged him all over creation with us. But that isn’t what he wants, Jack.”

“I know that too.”

“He’s happy where he is. I’m not.”

Suddenly, my stomach felt a little queasy. “I was planning on getting loose from the carnival, coming to see you and Tony.”

“You love the carnival. I can tell.”

This was true, but I didn’t say anything.

“I think a person ought to go their own way, if that way is tugging at them,” she said. “You know what I mean?”

“I think so. But I don’t know it bodes well for me.”

“Let’s don’t talk about it anymore. Kiss me, Jack.”

I did. Long and hard. It was as sweet a kiss as I ever had. When it was finished, Jane leaned forward and cranked the truck. The moonlight was bright enough I could see tears on her cheeks.

We drove out of there then, back to the carnival, but when we got there, Jane didn’t get out. She said, “I got a long ways to go, so I’m going to get after it.”

“Tonight?”

“Tony will expect me back.”

“All right,” I said.

She leaned over and kissed me on the mouth. Kissed me good. I gave her the same kind of kiss, and feeling a little stunned, I got out of the truck.

“Goodbye,” she said as I held the door.

“Goodbye,” I said. “I love you.”

I hadn’t planned it, but the words had just jumped out of my mouth like a frightened frog.

She smiled at me. “I’ll write.”

“I’ll be in Hawkins in a few days,” I said. “Send it to general delivery there. I’ll leave a follow-up address for when we move on.”

“That’s good,” she said.

Without really thinking about it, I gently closed the door, then watched as the truck moved away, rattling along, picking up speed, heading down the road, into the moonlight.