Top of The Edge - Ralphs Demise

As they were making their way back to the sofa in the next room, Billy, with as much empathy as he could muster, said, "You know we can't keep him around. He's too volatile and carelessly endangers the whole operation. We can't just send him on his way either. He's vindictive and knows too much."

"I knew he had a bad temper before we got married, but I had no idea of the extent. I... I thought I could help him change." Louise's eyes were filling with tears, and one trickled down her cheek as her lower lip began to quiver.

She helped Billy slowly ease onto the sofa and supported him as he positioned himself, back down and face up. She fluffed his pillow and said, "I know you're not able at this point ... and it's... just that... I've never..."

Billy Cook had little to no patience at all for sentimentality. He loudly cleared his throat and waved his hand to interrupt Louise's sudden gush of emotional dialog. "You did great back there with the baseball bat. You knew what needed to be done. You took control and you did it." Then he paused briefly as he turned his head to look Louise in the eye before continuing. "When you were putting the gag back in his mouth, did you check to see if he was still breathing, or did you check his pulse?" Louise was suddenly jolted by the revelation that she may have already killed Ralph. The emotions she experienced as a result, however, were not at all what she would have anticipated. Instead of grief, and remorse, she felt elated and impenitent. Sensing her sudden stupefaction, Billy smiled and raised his eyebrows as he continued. "I'm pretty sure that last blow you delivered cracked his skull. You're going to be just fine."

Abruptly and with a sense of urgency, Billy changed the focus of their conversation. "We need to get out of here, and fast. As much as it feels good to lie down and rest, we just don't have time. The sun will be up soon, and I expect the search for us will intensify significantly. Do you have a map of the area?"

"Yes of course." Louise went over to a large duffel bag leaned against the opposite wall and retrieved from it two folded road maps. One was of the local Charleston and surrounding areas and the other was of the Southeastern United States. As she unfolded the local map, she explained the duffel bag as well as the many handwritten notes in the map's margins. "We were first notified and asked to assist you upon your arrival a little over two months ago. Since that time, I have been gathering things together that I thought you might need. The notes in the margins of this map will hopefully provide you with some information about the terrain features and their changes due to the weather conditions, alternative routes and short cuts, as well as time estimates between significant points of interest and landmarks." Louise's notes were so pristine, they looked as though they had been printed on the map from its origin. "Very Impressive" Billy thought to himself. "What is our current location on this map?" Louise pointed to the red dot with a circle around it she had put there. "We are right here." She said, indicating a point that was in the middle of a triangle formed by Inland, River, and Edendale Roads. Billy slowly sat up as he began surveying the map. Louise attempted to help but he waived her away.

"It would appear... that our options are somewhat limited. We have to choose one of only two ways out of here."

"Yes, that is correct." Louise confirmed. "Our only options are Inland and River roads."

"Then we need to move fast. They are probably already in the process of setting up roadblocks. How fast can you...?"

"Fast enough." Louise answered confidently.

"Grab the essentials you think we'll need. I'll do what I can to help you throw the body into the trunk."

"We're taking Ralph's body with us? Why?"

"Two reasons, first of all, they're looking for three people. If they find a body here, they'll know to change their search. The second reason, and more important, right now, they are presumably searching for a Nazi spy and two American collaborators, which in and of itself will cause them to do a thorough and intensive search, but eventually... over time, other cases will take priority and we'll be forgotten about. But if you add murder to the equation... apprehending us will stay top priority for a very long time."

"Understood." Louise said as she grabbed the duffel bag from which she had retrieved the maps. It was too heavy to lift, so she dragged it across the floor, down the back steps, and out to the car. Using an old piece of plywood that was among the pile of debris behind the barn, she made a make-shift ramp from the ground to the car's open trunk. Then she rolled the duffel bag up and into the trunk of the car.

Billy had managed to make his way to the back door where he was now watching Louise. He was using the baseball bat Louise had used to bash Ralph's head in as a sort of walking stick to steady himself. Once the duffel bag was in the trunk, he asked, "Is there enough room left in there for the body?" Louise nodded as she answered, "Yes, there is plenty of room."

Back inside the house, Billy instructed Louise on the most effective way to drag Ralph out to the car. "Grab him by his ankles and drag him out feet first. I'll help you get him into the trunk."

Compared to the duffel bag, Ralph was a good 50 pounds lighter. So, dragging his body out to the car was relatively quick and easy. However, getting it into the trunk proved to be a bit more challenging than she had anticipated. With Billy's help, limited as it was, the task was completed in relatively short order.

"Before we leave, we need take a few minutes to get rid of these drag marks and the blood on the floor where Ralph was lying. You clean up in the house and I'll take care of things out here." Louise responded with a single nod and quickly bound up the back steps and into the house.

Charleston County Sheriff

"Hello, this is Sheriff Poulnot"

"Sheriff, this is Wanda."

Joseph M. Poulnot had been the Charleston County Sheriff for nearly 20 years, and he had a long-standing rule that if anything substantive happened in his County that he was to be notified as soon as possible regardless of the time, day, or night. "What's happened, Wanda?" As Wanda Jones, the Charleston County Police dispatch, relayed the information about the evening's events, Sheriff Poulnot, fully aware of the Coastal Watch Initiative, knew this situation could precipitate some profoundly negative consequences. He interrupted Wanda's report of the event and abruptly asked, "Where are we in this situation as of this moment Wanda?"

"I dispatched officers Mueller and Williams in patrol car 37T to Kiawah Island by way of Inland Road and officers Talent and Clinton in patrol car 53Y to Seabrook Island by way of River Road."

"Have you heard anything back from either of them?"

"No sir."

"I'll see you in a few, I'm coming in."

Sheriff Poulnot arrived at the station in less than ten minutes and requested an update as soon as he walked through the door.

"What's the latest Wanda?"

"Car 37T called in with a SITREP (situational report) only seconds before you walked through the door. They had the suspects in view... at a distance but lost them when they turned off Inland Road headed North up an irrigation ditch."

"They drove up an irrigation ditch? That was certainly taking a chance - There's no way that was in their plans." Sheriff Poulnot stepped over to a wall map of Charleston County, and after studying it for only a few seconds, he began rattling off instructions. "Wanda, call and wake Chief Barnes and have him rendezvous with car 37T at Hwy 700 and Inland Road. Who is the captain on duty right now?"

"That would be Captain Addison sir."

"Get him on the radio and tell him to rendezvous with me and car 57Y at River Road and Hwy 700. Their only way out of there is through one of those two intersections. We'll block both, then start an extensive grid search of the area when the next shift comes on duty."

Crossing over the Ashley River bridge and traveling south on Savannah Hwy toward Highway 700, Smith and Tuttle were headed back out to John's and Wadmalaw Islands. They were fairly certain that the fugitives were no longer on either Kiawah or Seabrook islands, but there was still a good chance they could apprehend them.