The Man Who Knew Belle Starr by Richard Bausch
"The Man Who Knew Belle Starr" by Richard Bausch is a psychological narrative that explores themes of desperation, violence, and the search for redemption. The story follows McRae, a 23-year-old man recently released from prison, who embarks on a journey across Texas in a beat-up Dodge Charger. Hoping for a fresh start, he inadvertently picks up a hitchhiker claiming to be Belle Starr, a name reminiscent of the notorious female gunslinger from the Old West. As they travel together, McRae quickly realizes that Belle is not just a quirky companion; she is a dangerous individual with a violent past.
The plot thickens when their seemingly mundane stop at a remote diner turns deadly, revealing Belle's psychopathic tendencies as she murders the diner owner without remorse. McRae's efforts to connect with her and portray himself as a potential ally only heighten the tension, as he becomes increasingly aware of the peril he faces. Through conversations that reveal their troubled pasts, both characters grapple with their histories of trauma and neglect. As McRae's plight intensifies, he finds himself caught in a desperate struggle for survival, ultimately leading to a harrowing confrontation. The narrative delves into the complexities of human experience, inviting readers to reflect on the shadows of the past that shape individuals' present realities.
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The Man Who Knew Belle Starr by Richard Bausch
First published: 1985
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: 1985
Locale: New Mexico
Principal Characters:
McRae , the protagonist, recently released from military prisonBelle Starr , a young woman who has murdered several people
The Story
McRae, a twenty-three-year-old loner, is driving a beat-up Dodge Charger across Texas with a vague notion of starting over his failed life, hoping that in the West people will not require as much from a person, because there is so much room. He is soon proven wrong—much will be required of him, primarily from a hitchhiker he picks up on the way, a young woman holding a paper bag containing a small pistol. The woman calls herself Belle Starr after the female gunslinger from the Old West. McRae is bemused by the strange woman. She is not a talker, but the gesture she uses to show him who the original Belle Starr was is revelatory: "She put her index finger to the side of his head and said, 'Bang.'"
As the car rolls through Texas, the woman falls asleep, and McRae recalls his recent past. He has just been released from Leavenworth prison after serving a four-year sentence for striking an Air Force officer while drinking beer on duty. He remembers giving his name to the officer as "trouble" just before hitting him in the face. While in the Air Force, he had briefly visited his dying father, with whom he was not on good terms; all the father could say to his son from the gurney he was lying on was, "Getting into trouble, stealing and running around."
McRae is complacent about his own character and thinks he just might turn out all right after all. He is happy to be out of Leavenworth and the Air Force, and on his way west—and he had picked up a girl. The girl, however, is greater trouble than McRae can guess. The two stop for a hamburger at an isolated diner somewhere in the desert of New Mexico, and they speak briefly to the owner and cook, who has had no customers all week because the place is so far from the interstate highway. He tells his story: Retired from the army, he and his wife bought the diner, few people came, and his wife took off for Seattle, leaving him to sell the place. He decides to treat the two to hamburgers, but the woman is offended, pulls out her gun, tells him to open up the cash register, and then shoots him dead. McRae is stunned by what he sees, and what he does not want to know—that she is a psychopath, and that he is her next victim.
They return to the car unseen and McRae, driving with the pistol pointed at him, begins to talk to her in a desperate way, claiming that he wishes to join her gang, run with her from the police, and supply her with the information that she might need—after all, he is a former convict, wise in the ways of the criminal. Belle Starr is unimpressed. She tells him that she has already killed five and a half people: "A kid who was hitchhiking, like me; a guy at a gas station; a dog that must've got lost—I count him as half—another guy at a gas station; a guy who took me to a motel and made an obscene gesture to me; and the guy at the diner. That makes five and a half."
Now McRae knows how much trouble he is in. He drives on through the night, talking about his past, the pain and neglect he has had, his difficult father, and the bad food at Leavenworth. He thinks he might convince her that he is her friend and accomplice, not another victim. McRae becomes a desperate Scheherezade; he knows that once his tale is done, he is too. Then she starts to talk, revealing her own bitter past, full of sexual abuse, yet she tells it in a detached way, even using the third person for her story. Their words suspend the inevitable, but eventually Belle Starr orders him at gunpoint to pull over and get out of the car. He runs for the desert, hoping to hide from her, but she fires at him, then reloads and, holding a flashlight, walks slowly toward him. He has injured his ankle in the rush from the road, and lies waiting for her to find him, his real essence somehow evaporated, leaving only "something crippled and breathing in the dark, lying flat in a winding gully of weeds and sand."