‘Charlie boy!’ he called in an unusually enthusiastic manner.
Yep, definitely different.
‘You didn’t come around for a drive the other night.’
‘Oh, sorry, Wendell. I forgot. Went clean out of my head when I got my new car.’
Wendell nodded knowingly. ‘You got that cream-colored Essex roadster, right?’
Without waiting for Charlie to reply, the older lad seized Charlie by the shoulders and spun him around. ‘Nice little ride, the Essex. But I’ve got me a real car.’
It was parked across the street: a huge, brand new, shiny black Packard. It truly was an impressive vehicle, and made Charlie a little weak at the knees in a way that not even his own roadster had accomplished.
‘Want to take a ride with me?’
‘Are you kidding? Yes!’
Charlie could barely keep still in the passenger seat, so enraptured was he with the power and beauty of the Packard. They thrummed their way through the streets, turning heads as they went, until they hit the quieter roads that reached their pale fingers out into the lush, green countryside.
A little way out of town, Wendell cruised to a halt.
‘Would you like to drive?’
Charlie, who’d already had the experience of driving his father's large, late model, four-door Ford Sedan a few times, agreed in moments, scrambling across to the driver’s seat and expertly adjusting it to give himself the best driving position. After a few minutes of driving, Wendell suggested that they take a road which was seldom travelled, and open her up. Charlie was amazed and thrilled with the power, speed and handling of the car. He had never driven so fast!
It was over too soon, but before it became too dark for Charlie to do his chores he had to drive back to the drug store. He and Wendell chatted briefly over a chocolate malt, before agreeing to meet again at the same place the following Sunday. As Charlie drove his beloved Essex roadster home, he couldn’t help feeling disloyal, as if he’d cheated on her with a fancier model.
The week passed unremarkably and incredibly slowly, with the prospect of driving the Packard again dangling temptingly before Charlie. He arrived at the drugstore as soon as he could after church and supper, only to find that Wendell was already there. He had with him an older man, who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. They were standing on the sidewalk in front of the drugstore next to not one, but two identical Black Packards which were parked along the curb.
Charlie forced himself not to stare at the cars, but to concentrate instead on greeting the older man.
‘This is my boss, Mr Hepworth,’ said Wendell. Hepworth took Charlie’s hand and nodded curtly. ‘Mr Hepworth has a job that you might be interested in doing.’
Over malts in the drug store, Charlie explained that he was too busy to take on another job, trying not to notice that Mr Hepworth was staring at him the whole time. ‘I have chores all around the farm, and scriptures with Father Patton, and that’s besides the extra studies I’ve just taken on.’
Hepworth spoke for the first time, his speech as pinched as his sallow face. ‘I’m only interested in hiring you for a few hours on a week-day morning to drive the second Packard.’
‘Oh. Well, that might be okay, I guess.’
‘I will pay you $100 for those few short hours. The date is Friday next.’ Hepworth shrugged, as if it didn’t matter either way to him. He obviously had other people lined up for the job. ‘You’ll have to decide quickly.’
With that, he drained his malt and left the drugstore, before Charlie could even tell him that he’d consider it carefully.
‘He’s very … um …’ Charlie couldn’t think how to describe the man to Wendell – certainly not without offending him.
‘Clever,’ finished Wendell. ‘He’s brilliant. That’s why he’s planning the job.’
His eyes narrowed as he spoke, as if he, too, were weighing Charlie up.
‘So … what is the job?’
Wendell glanced around before leaning in close to Charlie. ‘It’s a bank robbery.’
‘What?’
‘The boss and the gang are planning a robbery in the city, and he wants the two of us – you and me, Charlie boy – to drive the two Packards as get-away cars.’
‘I … I don’t want to be part of a bank robbery.’
‘You won’t!’ said Wendell smoothly. ‘Nobody’s going to get hurt, and nobody will get caught, and anyway, the drivers aren’t part of the actual robbery. You won’t be exposed to any danger, or any criminal liability. It’s just a drive, Charlie. A super-fast, super-exciting car ride.’
‘I don’t …’ He couldn’t think straight. ‘I can’t …’
‘Hey, Charlie.’ Wendell moved in even closer so that Charlie was staring into his dilated pupils. ‘I recommended you to the boss. I told him what an excellent driver you are. You’re not going to let me down and make me look stupid, are you?’