“Actually,” she said, “I’m the only one who stands to lose anything.”
“That doesn’t sound good. What are you putting up against Jep’s Buick?”
“It’s nothing, really. Besides, we’re gonna win!”
“Are you nuts? I barely manage to keep all the parts attached to that rolling rust heap of yours. How in hell do you expect to beat a brand new Buick?”
“We just need a little edge.”
“Ah. I get it. We just need to borrow a Bugatti or maybe a Benz. That kind of ‘little’ edge?”
She exhaled in exasperation. “Okay, so we’ll need a big edge.”
“And where,” he asked, “will this big edge come from?”
She gave him the same smile that had gotten him into trouble so many times in the past. Though several years his junior, from the time she learned to talk, she had always taken the lead in everything they did. Or, at least, every shady thing they did. And that covered a lot of ground.
“Katie?”
“Do you remember the article you showed me in that science journal of yours? By some German guy.”
“Dr. Froelich? The physicist?”
“Yeah, him! Remember how excited you were about it?”
Her smile was infectious, but Doc knew better than to let her sucker him in again. He had a story for every scar her smiles had led to in the past. He dipped his brows. “Dr. Froelich is working on liquid rocket fuel.”
“That’s it!”
“This may sound insane, and I really hesitate to even mention it, but you don’t own a rocket. You barely own a race car.” He paused. “Correction: you don’t own a race car. You own a collection of race car parts. I certainly hope you aren’t thinking what I think you’re thinking. Are you?”
Her unabashedly devilish smile spread even wider.
~*~
Greeley, Texas, wasn’t a big town, but it was growing. It would never rival Lubbock, or even Amarillo further north, but it offered a few amenities for which those towns were known. Chief among these was Chadwick College, a tiny liberal arts school closely affiliated with the Baptist church. Though their parents had been instrumental in founding it, family jobs had never been part of the arrangement. Yet, that’s where the professional pursuits of brother and sister met. Or rather, collided. While Doc educated Chadwick students during the day, Kate entertained them at night.
Sundays were held in high regard in Greeley, even by the folks who operated the town’s two speakeasies. It didn’t pay to anger the people in the pulpits, and not just because they had the ear of county politicians and lawmen. A couple of them were in the business of meeting the needs of Greeley’s thirsty residents. Doc never let such hypocrisy bother him. Life was never perfect, but it tended to be more comfortable when nobody rocked the boat. He liked it when things were predictable.
Kate didn’t.
It had been nearly a week since Doc had seen his sister, though they shared the modest home left to them by their parents. “I heard something strange the other day,” he said when the two sat down for a pre-church breakfast. He poured coffee into her cup.
Kate’s chin rested on her hands, her eyes droopy from a late Saturday night shift.
“You know Jimbo Taylor, right?”
“Sure,” she said. “He hauls hooch for Russell Jones.”
“That would be the Reverend Russell Jones.”
“Everybody’s gotta live,” she said. “What wisdom did Jimbo have to share?”
“Seems he’s been talkin’ to your pal, Jep Dickerson.”
Her head came up quickly, the droopy eyes now wide open. “He ain’t my pal!”
“According to him, Jep’s been tellin’ folks all over town the two of you will soon be gettin’ romantic. Only, that’s not exactly the way he phrased it.”
“That pig! What’d he say?”
“Just that there’s a little more to that wager of yours. Care to elaborate?”
Kate stared down into her coffee and remained uncharacteristically quiet.
“Katie?”
“What?”
“Did you agree to sleep with Jep if you lost the race?” He expected her to lash out at him for even hinting at something so outrageous. But she didn’t.
“Aw, Katie,” he said, shaking his head, “if I know about it, everyone does. What are folks gonna say?”
“I can’t control what people say!” A familiar look of fierce determination clouded her pretty face. “They’ll say whatever they want to say anyhow. What we have to do is win. That’ll shut ‘em up and make a liar outta Jep.”
“The damage is already done. Even if you win, folks’ll say you swapped your virtue for a breezer.”
“Not just any breezer,” she said, with a complete disdain for logic. “This convertible is a Master Six! Do you know what they sell for? Almost two grand!”
Doc stared at her in disbelief.
“What?” she asked, defiantly.
“I won’t be a party to this,” he said. “Forget it.”
~*~
The lab had finally grown quiet, and Doc was looking forward to continuing his work on a project he’d started weeks earlier. He had his notebook out and was arranging some test equipment when Jep Dickerson entered the room, closing the door quietly behind him. “Hey Doc,” he said. “You wanted to see me?”
“Thanks for dropping by,” Doc replied.
Jep wandered closer, his hands idly touching one piece of equipment after another. Doc suppressed the urge to tell him to keep his mitts to himself.
“Is this about the race?” Jep asked.
“Actually, it is,” Doc said. “I’m afraid there isn’t going to be any race. At least, not between you and my sister.”
Jep leaned back against a work table and crossed his arms, a smug look on his face. It was as close to the man as Doc had ever come, and he suddenly believed all the negative things Kate had said about him.
“We have a deal,” Jep said. “But I don’t recall you bein’ a part of it.”
“Katie and I race as a team.”
“Yeah, but she’s the driver. She’s the one folks pay to see.” He shrugged. “She can always get another grease monkey. Hell, I’ll hire one for her.”
“You aren’t listening. I said she wasn’t going to race you.”
“And I said it’s none of your damned business!”
Doc shoved his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. “We’re done here. I’ve said what I had to say.”
Jep didn’t move. He simply maintained the simpering smile which triggered Doc’s dislike. He felt himself growing more tense and wondered if he’d soon need to defend himself against the taller man.
“You probably think I don’t know what you do for old man Jones,” Jep said.
Doc took a quick, involuntary breath.
Jep plunged on. “You’re responsible for makin’ his ‘shine drinkable.”
“That’s baloney!”
“You’re the one who adds colors and flavors so the speaks can sell it like it was the real thing -- genuine stuff, just like it says on the bottles, only those bottles have been refilled so many times, the labels are wearin’ off.”
“Even if that were true, it has nothing to do with you,” Doc said, trying not to sound overly defensive. He’d paid off the mortgage with profits from his process. As long as prohibition remained the law of the land, he’d have a steady income to bolster his meager associate professor’s salary.
“I’m just a citizen,” Jep said, “but my old man’s a Judge. As an officer of the court, it’s his duty to uphold the law. He’d take a dim view of your little sideline.”
“You’d blackmail me?”
“I’m just sayin’ you need to let Kate live her own life. If she wants to play with the boys on the track, she might just have to play with ‘em in the sack, too.”
“Get outta my lab,” Doc said.
Jep eased away from the work bench and sauntered to the door. “You got about a month to get ready. I’
ll see ya at the fairgrounds.”
~*~
“Hey, Doc!” Kate said as she entered the shop behind the house. Their father built it to store farm the equipment he bought and sold once he’d lost his position with the college. Now it sheltered Kate’s race car and some machine tools the elder Mabry once used to repair damaged machinery.
Doc wiped his hands on a rag and looked at his sister in dismay. “I’m havin’ a devil of a time with this new carburetor.”
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem is, Henry Ford didn’t intend for his cars to run on nitromethane.”
“Nitro what?”
“Nitromethane,” Doc said. “Rocket fuel. We can’t just swap it out for gasoline. The engine would probably blow us to Kingdom Come.”
“But you said it’d work!”
“I said it might work, provided I came up with a way to switch to the nitro at the last minute. Assuming we’re still even in the race at that point.”
“Why not just use the nitro stuff from the start?”
“’Cause we don’t have enough. And even if we did, I’m not sure how long the engine will last once we start burning it.”
She looked bewildered.
“Here’s the thing,” he said, “unlike gas, nitromethane carries its own oxygen --built in -- so when it burns it doesn’t need as much outside air. That means we can burn lots more of it in the same amount of time -- eight times as much!”
“And that’s good?”
“Yes! ‘Cause even though it generates less energy than gas, we can burn so much more of it with the same amount of air that we can double the power it puts out.”
“So, what’s the beef?”
“We’ve gotta force it into the cylinders, which means we need a different kind of carburetor.” He let his voice trail off when he saw Kate’s eyes begin to glaze over. “Sorry,” he said. “Sometimes I get lost in the details.”
She reached out and patted his arm. “I trust ya. I know you’ll make it work.”
In fact, she looked so trusting, he didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d probably never get it to work, and even if he did, there would likely be one drawback that overwhelmed all the others. Assuming he solved the mechanical problems, and that was a huge assumption, there’d be time to mention the rest later.
~*~
Race day came all too quickly. Kate stood around and watched all the other events, unable to keep still while waiting for her match-up with Jep and his magnificent Buick. Along with its cream colored top and bright red body, the vehicle sported black and nickel trim. It positively screamed luxury and power.
The sleek roadster had been polished to perfection. The top was up to protect the occupants who stood beside it like conquering heroes.
By contrast, Kate’s car had been stripped down to little more than bare bones to save weight. It might out-corner the huge Buick, owing to some clever tinkering Doc had done over the years, but there was no way it could compete on the straightaways. The Buick boasted an immense, 6-cylinder, 75-horsepower engine. Kate’s little 4-banger was good for maybe half as much.
She worked hard at ignoring the crowd, but wasn’t very successful. The looks she got from the spectators would have sent a lesser girl into hiding, but Kate wasn’t about to shy away on account of anyone. It made Doc proud, and more than a little angry.
“Focus on the race,” he advised.
“Think the nitro’s gonna work?”
He shrugged. “I hope so. My last test worked, but I couldn’t run it very long. We can’t afford to waste any of the Go Juice.”
She gave him a hug. “Even if it just sputters and dies, I know you gave it your best shot. There’s not another girl on Earth who has a brother as swell as mine.”
He wondered if she’d feel the same way when Jep wrapped himself around her in bed and... Perhaps he could do something about that after the race. He still had their Dad's old shotgun. It hadn’t been fired in years, but he felt sure it would work just fine.
The announcer intruded with his loud speaker. A Buick dealer in El Paso, Jep’s uncle, had put up a $100 prize, but the publicity he’d get from having one of his cars humiliate the celebrated female racer was worth much more.
“This is a ten lap challenge event,” the announcer intoned, his voice freezing the milling crowd. He introduced the competitors to smattering applause, and in Kate’s case, laughter. Everyone knew the outcome beforehand. All they had to do was look at the two vehicles sitting side by side at the starting line.
“All right you two, crank your engines,” the starter said. He raised a blank pistol and prepared to get the race under way.
“Buckle up,” Doc said as he settled in next to Kate.
She reached for the ends of a leather belt he’d bolted to the frame. Neither would fly out of the car in a tight turn. Unfortunately, they’d both remain in it if it exploded.
“There’s something I didn’t mention about the nitro,” he said, raising his voice to compensate for the roaring engines and the noisy crowd.
“Can’t hear ya,” she shouted back.
He blew air from puffed cheeks and muttered, “Never mind.”
The starter fired his pistol.
~*~
The car leaped forward, pressing Kate back against the seat. A familiar feeling overwhelmed her, narrowing her world to the view in front and the sounds around her. The big Buick pulled steadily away. Jep turned his head to flash his stupid, toothy grin.
Moron, she thought, wishing she could give the old Ford more gas. She touched Doc’s arm to get his attention. “Can’t we give her a little rocket juice?”
He appeared alarmed. “Now?”
She nodded vigorously.
“It’s too early. We’ve only got enough for about half a lap.”
Kate groaned. At this rate, Jep would be finished and sitting up in the stands long before they got close enough to the end to use their secret weapon.
“Focus!” Doc yelled. “It ain’t over yet.”
“Yes it is,” she muttered as they headed into the first turn.
They were still close enough to the Buick to hear a shift in the pitch of its engine. Suddenly they weren’t giving up any ground. Kate gripped the wheel, her jaws clenched tight. The Buick kicked up a steady spray of dirt from a track left raw by a dozen earlier races. Kate kept her lips sealed.
As Doc hoped, the little Ford cornered better. Jep rested his forearm on the sill and drove one-handed. His mechanic relaxed, too, knowing any advantage Kate gained in the corners would disappear as soon as they left the long curve at the far end of the track.
The first lap ended with the Buick several car lengths ahead. Kate knew she’d already gotten more out of the Ford than she’d ever gotten before, but it wasn’t nearly enough. She felt tears welling in her eyes, but refused to let Doc see them. She’d finish the damned race and let Jep claim his prize, but after that she’d move away. There were plenty of other places where a woman with good looks and steady nerves could make a life for herself. She would miss Doc though. Desperately.
“What’s he up to?” Doc shouted.
Kate stared ahead. Jep had slowed down. “He just wants to razz me,” she said.
The moment she pulled even with him, Jep blew her a kiss and pulled away again. If only she could throw a rope around his neck. How she’d love to tighten a tie like that!
His goal was simply to kick up more dirt. Doc had removed the windshield to reduce vehicle weight. Goggles kept debris from their eyes, but nothing protected their faces. Kate ached to ram Jep’s Buick into a wall. If only she could catch up to him.
He finally tired of taunting her, and by the time he finished his seventh lap, she was just wrapping up her sixth.
“Let’s burn the good stuff now,” she said. “Maybe it’ll blow up and kill me.”
Doc just shook his head.
Suddenly, the Buick pulled to the side of the track and stopped!
“Go, go,
go!” Doc yelled, turning in his seat to keep an eye on Jep.
Kate was already pushing the little Ford as hard as she could. She wanted to ignore the jackass, but curiosity got the best of her. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s letting the mechanic drive,” Doc said. Jep strolled around the car to switch places with his hired hand. Kate made up most of the lap by the time the Buick got back up to speed. She hoped she wouldn’t grind her molars flat before it was all over. Teeth would come in handy when she got the chance to bite him.
The mechanic wasn’t as unwilling as Jep had been to leave them behind. He gunned the big 6-cylinder and raced ahead proving Jep had just been toying with them. As the Buick drew farther away, Kate glanced across the track and saw Jep light a cigarette. What would he produce next, she wondered, a glass of champagne?
“Just drive,” Doc yelled.
She kept at it, despite her empty boast that she didn’t care what people thought. The reality of her situation had grown starkly clear: she was about to become Jep Dickerson’s sex slave. As an alternative, suicide began to look very attractive.
~*~
Doc was already fuming when Jep attempted one final insult. Having switched places again with his mechanic, Jep piddled along, waiting for Kate to catch up. He obviously wanted to make the last lap look like a race.
And for the first time that day, Doc smiled.
“I failed to mention a little something about the nitro,” he said.
“Anything important?”
“Maybe. The thing is, nitro doesn’t burn as fast as gasoline, so when the valve opens to release the exhaust into the tail pipe, the last of the nitro will still be burning.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Only if you’re close to the tail pipe.”
She looked at him in sudden alarm. “We’re right on top of it!”
“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “It has to be close and aimed in your direction.”
Kate had run the little Ford at full throttle since the race started, but over the course of the last lap, the engine began to misfire. They both pretended not to notice, but neither did it convincingly.
As they flew into the last turn, Jep adjusted his speed. It would be just like him to let her almost catch up before he poured on the coals and streaked across the finish line.
“You ready?” Doc asked, tightening his seat belt.