Three Sides of the Tracks Page 13

  Gossett’s face went slack when the ramifications of Phillips’ last sentence sank in. He slumped onto a chair.

  The sheriff spoke up. “Why don’t you go out to the young fellow’s house and ask him what he knows, Mr. Phillips? Since you know the family. And probably aren’t on the boy’s shit list,” he added, looking at Gossett and trying to keep a straight face.

  “Yeah,” Chief Gossett said eagerly, perking up and looking at the D.A.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Phillips said. “But you and you stay here,” he said, pointing to Gossett and the sheriff. He looked at the FBI and GBI agents.

  “You too. You might scare him. Hell, you scare me.”

  17

  Hide Out

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Caroline said.

  “Uh huh, what’d I tell you? You can just sit there a while.”

  “Asshole.”

  Slink turned and swung all in one motion.

  Caroline tried to dodge the blow but Slink stopped just short of her face. He lowered himself back into the seat, and a smirk crossed his face. “You’re either crazy or stupid. Which is it?”

  “Tell your friend to let me out,” Caroline said, meeting Slink’s glare with one of her own.

  Slink shook his head. He slapped Brandy’s leg. “Cover that light with your hand while the door’s open.”

  Brandy looked stupified.

  “The overhead light, you dumb bitch.”

  Brandy’s eyes followed the pointing finger. “Oh, okay.”

  “Duhhhh,” Smurf said.

  “Let’er out, Whitey.”

  Slink opened his door and got out at the same time.

  “You going to watch me?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Sweet Cheeks. Just making sure you don’t get a sudden urge to go hiking. . . . But I don’t think you’re the kind to run off and leave your pal. Too much conscience.”

  Caroline shrugged and looked for some bushes, but there were none. The canopy of the huge pines blocked direct sunlight from the forest floor. She walked a few yards away and put a tree between her and Slink. Too late, she realized she was without paper of any kind.

  “Would you mind . . . Do you think there’s any paper towels or anything in the car?” she asked timidly.

  Slink chuckled and walked toward Caroline’s tree.

  “I wondered how long it’d be before that occurred to you and what you’d do about it.”

  Paper landed a few feet away. Caroline reached and picked it up. Several sheets of paper towels were folded into a rough square.

  “Disposable handkerchief,” Slink said. “Better make it last.”

  Caroline walked around the tree and handed the remainder of paper towels back.

  “Keep ‘em. I spect you’ll be needing them again. Funny how you take things for granted till you don’t have ‘em, huh?”

  Caroline stopped. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you and your little gang are in? And you stand here nonchalantly talking about minor inconveniences.”

  Slink shrugged. “What were you doing in that church? You, and your friend too for that matter, don’t look or act like country girls?” He snatched one of Caroline’s hands and looked at it then rubbed her palm with his thumb. “Sure don’t do any work. I’d bet you’re one pampered bitch.” He released her hand with a look of contempt.

  Caroline’s face blazed with anger. “You . . . you have the arrogance to judge me. You’re not only stupid. You’re deluded, deranged, or just completely out of your mind.”

  This time Slink’s hand didn’t stop, and the slap spun Caroline around before she slammed against a tree and flopped to the ground. She knelt on her hands and knees and breathed until the pain began to subside and her head cleared.

  Slink drew his ivory-handled pistol from his waistband and tapped her head with the barrel. “Get your smart aleck mouth back in the car before you find out just how deranged I am.”

  Caroline struggled to her feet and wobbled to the car.

  Whitey pulled up the seat to let her in. He started to remark on the welt, but the look on Slink’s face told him that might not be such a good idea.

  18

  Stakeout

  As soon as the police officer who drove his car home left with the other officer, Jessie grabbed another pistol from a desk drawer. He checked the cylinder to make sure there were bullets then opened the small refrigerator and took out a six-pack of beer. He opened a can, turned it up and gulped the contents, and dropped the can in the wastebasket. He opened another and plopped down in his leather chair, bloodshot eyes alive with anger. A few minutes later, he dialed Sure Fire Bonding.

  “Deadhead, you and Iggy get your butts down here. Call Kenneth and have him come in and take your place. If he gives you any crap, tell him I’ll make it worth his while. Hell, he’s too young to retire anyway. He must have been stealing from me to retire that young.”

  “Now boss, you know—”

  “Just git down here. And hurry up. If you’re not here in an hour, your asses are fired.”

  “Come on—”

  Jessie slammed the phone down, stood up, and began pacing. The more he paced, the madder he became. Finally, he went behind his bar, opened a cabinet and stripped the felt sack off a bottle of Crown Royal. Inside was a plastic bag. Of cocaine, special cocaine. A batch that was one-quarter crystal speed. The adrenaline from Caroline’s abduction was wearing off. He needed the boost.

  The office door creaked open and Marie’s face appeared. She looked around before committing herself fully to coming all the way inside.

  “Come on in,” Jessie said. “You get on my damn nerves creeping around like that. If you’re coming in, then damn it, come in. Don’t peep around like some—”

  “Oh be quiet, Jessie. I wanted to see whether you might be sleeping on your couch before I came in.”

  “Yeah, right. You mean you wanted to see just how drunk I was or whether I was passed out.”

  “Just tell me about Caroline, will you, and skip the berating for one day?”

  “Hell, she might be dead, raped, lying in a ditch with bugs crawling over her for all I know,” Jessie bellowed.

  “You are a bastard. A bastard. Do you hear me?” Marie screamed.

  Jessie flew around the bar and covered the distance to Marie in two steps. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know nothin’, Marie. That’s what I can tell you about Caroline,” he yelled, then shoved Marie against the closed door and strode to his bar. He snatched the bottle of Crown Royal and took a deep swallow.

  “You want a drink?”

  Marie sank to the floor without replying. She stared at the carpet with blank eyes.

  Jessie shook his head as if disgusted but poured some whiskey into a glass and walked over. One hand on the bottle and one on the glass, he sank to the floor beside Marie.

  “Here, drink a little. You need it. I know you been up all night.”

  Marie’s lifeless eyes turned to Jessie. “Now why couldn’t you have shown a little compassion, just a touch of sensitivity when I first asked?”

  “Gosh dang it almighty. I can’t do a damn thing right with you, huh? I try—”

  Marie covered one of his hands with hers. “Shhhh.”

  Jessie stopped yelling in midsentence, glared at Marie, then thrust the glass toward her.

  She took the glass and sipped. Her face flushed as the unfamiliar taste burned her mouth, then relaxed as the warmth spread through her stomach and body.

  “Have you found out anything?” she asked softly.

  Jessie’s head rolled against the wooden door as he shook his head. “No, nothing. Except that kid I told her over and over to stay away from is involved.”

  Marie gasped. “Not Danny Taylor?”

  “Yes, your and Caroline’s precious Danny Taylor. In it up to his gills.”

  “I doubt—”

  “Don’t start. I’m telling you I kn
ow that much for a fact.”

  A banging on the front door stopped Marie’s response. Jessie pushed himself up.

  “That’s my men. We have business, so . . .”

  “Okay, I’ll leave. But, Jessie, please don’t do anything you’ll regret or make things worse—”

  Jessie pushed her toward the stairs. “Leave me alone and let me handle it, Marie. Go back upstairs. Call your doctor. Maybe he can come out and give you something for your nerves.”

  “My nerves are just fine. He can’t fix what—”

  “Upstairs,” Jessie screamed.

  Jessie jerked the door open. “Stop that damn banging. Geez, you think I’m deaf?”

  “Okay, boss, sorry,” Iggy said as he walked in.

  Jessie pushed him back outside and handed him a piece of paper with an address and a simple drawing of how to get there. “Caroline’s been kidnapped. There’s a guy involved who I want you to watch. Stake out his house. See who comes and goes. Follow him if he leaves. But don’t let him see you. There’s a store across the street from his house that has a back parking lot. Use that for cover and do not let him spot you. You got that?”

  The cigarette dangling from Deadhead’s lips fell to the porch. “Caroline’s been kidnapped?”

  “Yeah, these fools stuck up a church and took her and another girl hostage.”

  “How come this one ain’t in jail, or dead?”

  “Some bullshit alibi. Police buy it; I don’t. I know the little punk, and, believe me, he’ll get his due soon enough. But I have to find Caroline first. Y’all get over there now. That’s why I called you.”

  19

  Passing Time

  Slink noticed the first hint of light in the dark sky. “Everybody get out and find something to cover the car.”

  Whitey moaned and rubbed his eyes. “Now? Why don’t we wait till we can see?”

  “Get your butt outta the car. You too,” he said looking at Caroline. “Bring her with you.”

  Caroline’s eyes showed her distaste, but she shook Brandy. “Wake up, Brandy, come on.”

  Brandy opened her eyes and looked confused until she realized where they were. She sighed deeply and clasped Caroline’s hand.

  Even turned sideways, Smurf struggled to squeeze through the gap behind the front seat.

  “Shoot, I don’t see nothin’ but pine straw,” Whitey said.

  “Pile it on then. I don’t want no airplanes to spot us.”

  “Underneath all these trees? I don’t think—”

  “Don’t think, Whitey, just do it.”

  “Okay, okay, Slink. Just sayin’, that’s all.”

  “Sweet Cheeks, come over here. You too Smurf.”

  Brandy gripped Caroline’s hand and followed.

  “Get on Smurf’s shoulders, grab that branch and pull it down.”

  Caroline started to protest but the welt was still fresh enough to keep her quiet. She walked over to Smurf. “How—”

  “Kneel down, Smurf.”

  Smurf dropped to his knees, and Caroline straddled his neck. When he stood up, she could barely reach the inch-thick branch.

  Caroline grabbed the rough bark and pulled the branch down. “What now?”

  “Back up till it breaks, Smurf.”

  Caroline tightened her grip and held the limb as firmly as her muscles allowed, but suddenly the limb began slipping, then it was loose. The bark ripped through Caroline’s hand, tearing the skin off her fingers and palm.

  “Owwww,” she screeched and jerked her hands away. The branch snapped back.

  “What the hell are you doin’?” Slink yelled.

  “I can’t hold onto it. It slipped through my hands.” Caroline screamed but tapered her tone at the last words.

  Slink shook his head. “Good gosh a mighty. I bet you’d hold onto it if it was a wad of money.”

  He opened the trunk and took out a big Buck knife. “Git on Smurf’s shoulder’s Whitey and pull that damn branch back. Come here, Sweet Cheeks. I’m going to hold you up and you hack at that branch. Think you can do that?”

  Caroline looked at her torn hands and bit her lip, holding back tears to keep from showing any weakness. She shrugged her shoulders and reached for the knife. She’d never even seen a knife that big, much less held one.

  Whitey pulled the branch back.

  “Don’t get any bright ideas, Sweetness,” Slink said eyeing the knife. He knelt down. “Get on.”

  Caroline sat on Slink’s shoulders and was surprised when he stood up with much less effort than Smurf. His shoulders were just as wide and she could feel their strength. A whiff of masculine odor chased away the pine scent for an instant and she squeezed her eyelids shut as if that would stop the spontaneous thought.

  “I can’t quite reach it,” she said.

  “Stand up,” Slink said and put his palms under her feet to lift her.

  “Get over here and steady your buddy,” he yelled at Brandy.

  Brandy looked baffled.

  “Hold her legs so she doesn’t sway, dumb ass. Hurry up; we don’t have all day.”

  Slink lifted Caroline with seeming ease. She hacked at the branch until it gave a loud crack and snapped off.

  They cut four branches off that way then Slink lowered Caroline to the ground. “Weren’t tempted to hack at me with that thing, were you?” he said with a hint of amusement.

  “Maybe once or twice,” Caroline said without expression.

  Slink chuckled and took the knife.

  20

  Information

  A shaft of sunlight hit Danny’s face and his eyes popped open. As soon as he moved, the pain erupted, starting at the top of his head and running the length of his body. “Whooooowee.” Then Caroline’s face appeared.

  He jumped up, but the beating had taken its toll. Dizziness made him lie back down. Little by little, he loosened his knotted muscles then slowly raised up. Every step to the bathroom was torturous. The sight of his face in the mirror made him cringe. If the skin wasn’t scraped or cut, it was bruised, or so it seemed.

  He opened the medicine cabinet and shook a few aspirins from the bottle, chewed them up and swallowed. He drank some water from the tap, then turned the shower on as hot as he could stand it.

  The hot water peppered against his skin. Steam filled the room and seeped into his still taut muscles. Water on the floor turned pink with tendrils of red. A knock interrupted him.

  “Yeah.”

  “Somebody’s here to see you, Danny.”

  “Well, tell them to come back. I don’t feel like seeing anybody, Mom.”

  “It’s Bernard. He says it’s important.”

  “Shoot. Okay, I’ll be right out. Thanks.”

  The steam and aspirin eased the worst of the pain but didn’t help his anger from the events of yesterday, which seemed like it lasted a week. Caroline’s smile dispelled the anger. He toweled off and slipped on clean clothes.

  Belinda patted his hand when he leaned over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for calling Da . . . Martin. I’d probably be dead if he hadn’t come.”

  “You can call him Dad if you like, Danny. It’s perfectly all right.”

  “Okay, Mom. I don’t quite know what to call him right now. Kinda confusing. And with all this other . . . whew.”

  “Bernard went back home. Wanted you to come over. Put that down. I told you not to do that,” Belinda exclaimed when he put the orange juice carton to his mouth.

  Danny kept drinking then smiled and quickly set it on the table and rushed out the door as Belinda started toward him. “Goin’ to Bernard’s,” he yelled.

  “Dang it, I told you not to go off with that slimy snake in the grass,” Bernard bellowed as Danny walked toward the back porch. Bernard pushed himself out of the rocking chair and motioned for Danny to sit. “Here, you need this more than me, looks like.”

  Danny plopped down on the wooden porch. “Okay, Bernard, you’ve had your fun. I figured you’d be rubbing it in.�
�

  “Rub it in, hell. Boy, I ain’t said nothin’ yet. Anyways, it’s my fault as much as yours. I should’a been more firm and not let him take you off. You don’t know him like I do. Well, I guess you do now, huh?” Bernard said and paused just as Danny began to answer.

  “Dang, you look rough. I bet you’re sore as a hound dog after a coon fight.”

  Danny’s mood lightened. “Yeah. You nailed it. Coon dog sore. That’s it exactly.”

  “Now don’t go gittin’ touchy. Just havin’ a little fun with you.”

  “I know, Bernard; so am I.”

  “Well, okay then. You want a chug of whiskey? Best thing, if you ask me, and I think you’re gonna need it.”

  Danny’s head cocked, wondering whether Bernard was talking about more than pain. “If you think so.”

  “Shore thang.”

  “You got something to mix in it?”

  “Co-Cola.”

  “Yeah, give me some then ‘cause I’m hurting pretty bad for real.”

  Bernard pushed himself up and went inside. He came back with a can of Coca-Cola and a couple of glasses half full of whiskey.

  “Just chug the whiskey then chase it down with the Coke. I know you ain’t no whiskey drinker so might as well get it over with. Besides, I got something to tell you.”

  Danny’s eyes widened.

  “Drink it.”

  “Geez, how much?” Danny said eyeing the half-full water glass.

  “Maybe that is a little much. Don’t want you drunk. Pour a little into my glass. ‘Bout half of that, then chug the rest.”

  Danny did as told and gasped as the whiskey went down.

  “Damn,” Bernard said as Danny snatched the Coke. “Times shore changed. We used to’ve drank that little bit of whiskey and not even blinked.”

  Danny wiped tears from his eyes. “Whew.”

  “You’ll forget about the pain in a minute. I seen all the ruckus at yore place last night and figured it had something to do with the church since you left here with that sorry piece of crap. I’d heard ‘bout the church on the radio and worried it would go bad for you, but not as bad as all that.”