GREEN traces the changes that can occur in one's life as the result of a split second in time, a seemingly simple act which catapults a fifty year old teacher into a strange and bizarre sequence of events; placing her into relationships she would never have had, and meeting people with whom she has little in common. But then fifteen million dollars would do that.

Green on the River Road

By Maureen Hammond

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Maureen Hammond
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-1088-5

Chapter One

They were fighting already, as Refugio had said that they would, except that this time it was not a fight over women. This time it was a fight over stopping to smoke some weed.

"Come on man! Just pull over I need a little tip. Come on!"

"No just wait till I get off this damn road".

The heavy SUV blows up a track of dirt as it makes a sharp right turn just after crossing the Colorado River on the Veterans' Bridge.

"Okay, now you're off the road, this looks more like a path than a road. Come on that Yesca's calling me.

"Okay Fucker, just wait esse."

Finally the car pulls off the dark and desolate road onto a wide sandy shoulder area. The moonless night is pitch black and blanketed with stars which competed for attention with the far off neon lights of the AVI Casino. Once the driver turned his lights off, the darkness around the car looms like an underground cave. The desert night gives up its ripe sounds, the Cicada's buzzing, the night-swifts soft call, and the brushing quacks of ducklings rustling their nesting place in the river just below.

"Where is it?"

"Dumb ass, its in the blue bag right on top and make it quick".

Rudy jumps out of the passenger side and unties a tight rope holding what looks like camping gear on the top of the luggage rack. He sees the small blue bag stuck under two larger bags. It takes all of his strength to move the larger army green locker bag with the words Patricia Gym in large white letters off the pile and he inadvertently crashes it to the ground. It falls well behind him.

"Jesus! What's it? Cement?" Rudy yells out loud as he removes the second yellow bag and tosses it down onto the ground, landing it just behind his left foot. Rudy excitedly reaches the blue bag, unzips it and fondles the small plastic bags inside. He extracts one, unzips it, and pulls a small pipe from his shirt pocket and tamps down a goodly amount of marijuana into the opening. He cigarette lighters it and deeply inhales, holding his breath and fluttering his eyelids.

The driver, Flaco, yells impatiently, "What the Fuck!, Come on we can't stay here all night." Then he jacks the car in reverse to scare Rudy.

"Fucker," yells Rudy, as he inhales yet another drag, opens the passenger side door and jumps into the car. As Rudy exhales, Flaco moves the car toward the road.

"Hey, I didn't tie down." Flaco slams on the brakes and calls Rudy a "dumb fuck."

"Hey relax have a toke, come on, take it," as he hands the pipe to Flaco. Flaco inhales deeply and then exit's the car.

"We gotta go, keep on time man, Oh shit! I'll tie down."

Flaco goes to the side of the SUV, settles the blue bag, zips it, gets the yellow bag, and throws it on top of the blue bag. He ties the rope, securing the corners, double checks the slip knots and gets back into the car. Rudy is zoning out and smiling into the sweet desert air. Flaco keeps an angry silence as he moves the car off the sandy dirt road and on to the two lane paved road, heading south toward Yuma, their final destination. The army green canvas bag is left where it fell in the dark desert night with fifteen million dollars in neat packets of hundreds placed under two T-shirts from the Patricia Gym.

Chapter Two

She was no longer as tired as usual, the movie had energized her. It was a silly romantic comedy with actors she deemed "cute", Jude Law and a plot easy to follow, escapist in nature, a "chick flick". She had been one of six people in the stadium seat theater auditorium. Hannah was a regular at the AVI, not as a gambler but as a moviegoer. She had been captivated from the moment the AVI announced the building of a stadium eight movie complex. She smiled at the gamblers totally consumed by their machines as she passed them on her way to the parking lot. She bore them no ill will, unless she recognized some of her students' parents. She went through the automatic doors with thoughts of the movie still in her head. She breathed deeply when the clear desert air hit her nostrils. A relief from the oxygen piped and smoke filled air of the casino. For a moment she forgot where she had parked her truck. "Let's see," she mumbled to herself while moving her lips. "Okay, lets see, down to the big sign, right, fourteen cars down, yep there it is." ( A couple passed her and looked at her quizzically at which time she began singing, to cover the fact that she was talking to herself ... again) She unlocked the door to her small size gun metal grey truck and sighed heavily as she turned on the ignition, and quickly relocked the door. She was always amazed when her five year old truck started immediately, as she often considered it an act of personal courage to drive it as far and as fast (sometimes) as she often did.

She had just crossed the bridge and made the sharp right turn on to the two lane road heading home to Needles when her bladder started acting up. "Damn," she said out loud, and then, "Christ," as the pressure to relieve herself became more immediate. She knew she should have gone to the restroom, but she thought she could make it, after all, teachers' bladders should be nominated for "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." She opened the window, no help, and when she could not hold the bladder pressure any longer, she pulled her car off the road into a wide sandy area. She angled the car against some brush and the road, so as not to be seen by passing motorists, unzipped her pants, and made sure that no cars were coming as she relieved herself, saying out loud, "God this is the darkest road in all creation."

She saw the car lights approach on the road, she ducked a little and as the lights passed they struck a green canvas bag, just in front of her truck. She hurriedly pulled up her pants, not liking the sensation of not wiping, but it was better then wetting herself. She went to the bag. Thinking that some poor soul had forgotten their clothing. She unzipped it, and saw what looked like some clothing. She was about to zip the bag up and leave it where it set when one of those split second mysteries that change the course of ones life moved her hand to rustle the shirts (maybe it was attributable to checking the book bags of future criminals at her school). She felt beneath the shirts and knew by touch that she was feeling money. She did not know how much it was and her mind did not consider any other thoughts as she pushed and pulled the bag with all of her strength toward the rear of her truck. She dropped the tailgate and acting now out of pure instinct and drive she used her legs and back to shove the huge bundle onto the truck bed, slamming the tailgate shut and rushing to drive away from the scene. She was an impulsive person and it had served her well in her fifty years of life. Turning onto the main road, her mind became preoccupied with what was IN THE BAG.. It could be just paper, no, the feel was money ... my God what if it was money, some gambling tourist, probably drunk had left their winnings by the side of the road. Well I'll find out when I get home. Hannah had left only a wet spot and one footprint in the sandy turnout. Behind the bank of brush, eyes had been watching her.

Chapter Three

Flaco and Rudy pulled into the gas station at Spirit Mountain Casino.

"I'll go in ... you fill it up." Rudy nodded as Flaco ambled his way through the front door of the gas station to pay the Indian man at the counter. When he came out he began watching...