A CALIFORNIA ROSE
Chapter Twenty-Five
They hurried back the way Rose had come.
There was a wide swath of nearly open space between the fire and the rest of
the town, space that was occupied by sports fields. Rose hoped that, between
the open fields and the flooded streets where the water mains had broken in
town, the fire would be stopped.
When they reached the fields, they stopped
for a moment, out of breath. The fire was advancing more slowly now, having
reached a neighborhood full of well-watered yards.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked her, his voice
hoarse from the smoke.
“Yeah. Just give me a minute.” Her voice was
equally hoarse. She held her injured side, which ached from the exertion.
They rested for a moment longer, then started
walking again. The fire retreated in the distance as they reached the crumbled
buildings of the newer section of the city.
Few people were around now; most had fled
from the advancing flames and the destruction. The few who were still in the
area were heading toward the other side of town, away from the worst of the damage.
As they passed the remains of the shopping
center where they had eaten dinner, Rose was surprised to see someone walking
slowly in their direction. Most of the lights had gone out, so it took Rose a
moment to recognize Cal.
She froze as he approached her.
“Rose, your mother and I were looking for
you--” Cal stopped as he saw Jack standing beside Rose. “I see you let him
out.”
Rose opened her mouth to speak, then thought
better of it. They tried to walk around Cal, but he stopped them.
“I still intend to press charges for the
theft of that ring,” he told them, stepping in front of them.
“Cal, just...stop it, would you?” Rose told
him, glaring at him. “You framed him, and we all know it.”
“I did no such thing. But I do have to wonder
how he escaped from that solid building. Maybe you helped him?”
“Cal, leave her alone,” Jack told him, moving
in front of Rose protectively.
“It’s a crime to aid a criminal in escape,”
he told them, ignoring Jack. “If I wanted, I could also have you arrested,
Rose.”
Jack started to speak, but Rose beat him to
it. “Try it, Cal. Just try it. I can guarantee that if you do, the courts will
also have a lot of information about you--information I’m sure you would rather
they didn’t have.”
“Such as?”
“I read the contents of several documents you
told me to shred when I was working for you. I’ve no doubt you have more
incriminating papers in your possession. Like I said earlier, I am a whistle
blower.”
“Those documents no longer exist, or did you
forget what a shredder does?”
“Even if you are never indicted, the
publicity could ruin your career,” she replied. “Furthermore, I have a few
other stories about your...behavior...that I think the courts--and the
press--might find interesting.”
“None of your accusations will stand up in
court.”
“Don’t be so sure, Cal. I’ve learned a few
things about manipulativeness from watching you.”
“You’ll never win, Rose.”
“It doesn’t matter if I do or not, just so
long as you don’t.”
“And when it’s done, when you’ve smeared your
credibility and your reputation, I’ll still come out on top. I always win,
Rose, one way or another.”
Jack interrupted the argument. “It isn’t
going to come to that. Rose didn’t help me escape.”
Both Cal and Rose turned to stare at him.
“What do you mean, she didn’t help you escape?”
“The earthquake knocked down part of the wall
of my jail cell. I got out that way. If you try to accuse her of helping me, I
will testify that I escaped on my own, and that she believed that the police
had freed me.”
Rose had been staring at him, mouth agape.
Now she spoke up. “I will testify that I saw you slip the ring into his pocket,
but that I was too shocked to speak up at first.” Suddenly disgusted with the
whole thing, she tugged on Jack’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
He looked warningly at Cal, who’s face was
dark with rage, before following Rose.
They had only gone about twenty feet when
some instinct caused Jack to look back--just as Cal pulled a gun from his
pocket.
“Rose! Get out of the way! He’s got a gun!” Jack
shouted, pushing Rose ahead of him, as Cal fired.
The bullet ricocheted off a light pole,
narrowly missing Rose. She screamed, grabbing Jack’s hand, as they darted out
of the way.
Cal fired again, shattering a car’s
windshield. Rose and Jack kept running, headed for the shelter provided by the
two buildings leaning against each other. A third shot echoed through the
streets.
Rose didn’t have time to wonder where the
shot had gone, because Jack stumbled on the broken pavement and fell forward,
nearly pulling her with him. He was on his feet again in an instant, pulling
her toward the shelter of the two buildings.
Several more gunshots echoed behind them as
they reached the shadows. Rose heard Cal shout after them.
“I hope you enjoy your time together!”
They ducked into the shadows, leaning against
the wall, waiting. One streetlight still burned in the space, but it was the
best shelter they could find.
After about a minute, Jack whispered to Rose,
“Is he still out there?”
Rose crept over to the sidewalk, looking out
cautiously. There was no sign of Cal.
“I think he left.”
“Good.” His voice was barely audible.
Rose turned to look at him. He was leaning
heavily against the wall, one hand pressed to his back.
“Jack, are you all right?”
In answer, he pulled his hand away from his
back. Even in the dim light, Rose could see the bloodstain spreading over his
shirt.
Gasping in horror, she came closer. She could
see the hole in the back of his shirt, where the bullet had hit him.
“Jack! My God. You’ve been shot...”
“I know,” he whispered, trying to straighten
up. The walls groaned ominously, threatening to come crashing down. He stepped
away from the wall, trying to walk, but his legs buckled under him.
Rose caught him before he could fall. She
held him up for a minute before carefully lowering him to the ground.
The wound was bleeding badly. Rose took a
handful of her skirt and pressed it against the hole in his back, trying to
stanch the flow of blood.
“Rose...you’ve got to get out of here. Those
walls could collapse any second.”
“Can you walk?”
He shook his head doubtfully. “Don’t worry
about me. Get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you, Jack. Not now.”
“You have to.”
“No!” She half-lifted him. “Lean on me, Jack.
Once we’re out of here, I’ll go for help.”
Leaning heavily on her, Jack managed to
stumble a few steps, Rose half-dragging him.
An ominous rumble sounded from the earth, as
another aftershock shook the town. Rose tried to walk faster, as the walls
above them creaked, the beams splitting under the strain.
They were nearly to the sidewalk when the
walls collapsed.