The Neverending Novel - Chapter XI

Ginger Bryce was a halfbreed. She was half Chemehuevi Indian and half white. She never seemed to belong to either world. To the Native Americans she was a white, but to the redneck hippie crowd at Golden Shores she was an injun. Just like Corky she just didn't fit in. She left the Rez at a very young age carrying a baby. She did not know who fathered it. Could have been one of a dozen drunken misfits. Without any money and no where to go she ended up at Lavelle's Church. Lavelle never turned anyone away, he offered her a free place to stay until she delivered her baby. He also, at her request, made arrangements for Ginger to give her baby up to an adoption agency. All he asked was that she turn herself over to the Lord.

At first everything went smoothly. Ginger worked for Lavelle, mailing out invitations to his congregation, answering the phone and handling his mail. Lavelle was so trusting that he soon allowed her to pay the churches bills and deposit Sundays tithing. After awhile Lavelle noticed that his Sunday sermons' blessed donations were not making it to the bank. He also discovered in spite of being pregnant, Ginger was still using illegal drugs. Being a man of the Lord, Lavelle kept his promise to Ginger and allowed her to stay even though he knew she was stealing from the church and doing drugs. When he caught her going through his personal belongings Lavelle reluctantly told Ginger she was free to stay at the church until she delivered her child, but she would immediately have to leave after the baby was adopted. It was the longest four months of Lavelle's ministry, but the day came when Ginger gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. When the nurses asked her what name she had picked for the baby she coldly replied "I never picked a name....I don't care, I'm just giving it away anyway!" Surprisingly the baby was a healthy six pound girl with blue eyes and blondish curly hair.

Ginger missed doing drugs with her hippie friends. A few days after leaving the hospital Ginger headed to Don's trailer in Golden Shores and wasted no time to spike down some nasty street meth that was going around the commune. Only this time she didn't work for the Lord, she was about to meet him. Ginger OD'ed that night. Don borrowed Rocky's beat up 1987 F-150 and drove her to the Hospital---yes the same one where she gave birth to baby Jane only one week before, but it was too late, she was DOA. Don of course told the hospital that he picked her up hitchhiking. Although the hospital staff and Needles Police were suspicious of Don's story, they never investigated. Ginger's death meant nothing to Don other than he wasn't going to get a piece of ass from her. That's the way you get on meth-who gives a flying fuck? What Don ended up with was Gingers backpack full of junk, food stamps and one weird letter addressed to Lavelle. In it appeared to be a map of hidden gold at an old run down Needles Hotel. Within a week Corky, as usual, stole the backpack from Don, when Don was passed out on some cheap Rojo's, that Corky gave him. It was one big vicious circle, and it was just about to get bigger. Everyone in the makeshift commune thought that they were above the law and that the police had no clue of their existence. One night high on meth Corky told his family about a secret plan to find Lavelle's gold.

By kvj