The Dummy Line (17 page)

The more Ethan “Moon Pie” Daniels thought about his girlfriend being on the Net, the more pissed he became. He couldn’t trust Sheree, but he couldn’t live without her either. Whatever she did, whomever she did, he always took her back.

He drove carefully through Aliceville and all the way down Alabama Highway 17. Constant whimpers and sobs were coming from the back, but Moon Pie paid no attention. Moon Pie was as cold as ice when needed, and he never experienced remorse. This combination made him capable of anything.

Moon Pie thought about a new drug he’d just heard about called Ketaset. It was used to tranquilize bears. This fascinated him. Supposedly, it could fully paralyze an adult bear while allowing it to see and hear everything going on around it. Biologists used it to “haze” bears that had become bold around people. Historically, brazen bears had been destroyed, but this new drug and hazing technique were working wonderfully. Biologists basically beat up the drugged bear, terrifying it of humans. Moon Pie wanted some of that drug. He smiled, imagining what he would do to his girlfriend’s computer lovers while they were helplessly paralyzed, watching.
I wish I had some right now. I’d try it on that whiny chick in the back. I’m gettin’ me some Ketaset as soon as I’m done with this little project.

Moon Pie had a good idea of what was going to happen to his little gem in the back. He hoped he could have some fun, too. But Reese was calling the shots, and Moon Pie would do or not do whatever he said. He couldn’t believe Johnny Lee had been killed—that really threatened some of his plans. He and Johnny were about to start running drugs on the Tombigbee River, up from Mobile, Alabama, into northern Mississippi and Alabama, and on into Tennessee. Their elaborate scheme had taken months to devise. Johnny Lee had the balls to make the deliveries. Moon Pie had the customers. Johnny Lee’s death was going to change everything, but he also knew that Reese would step into Johnny Lee’s shoes, and he’d want to try to keep the project alive. Moon Pie stood to make a lot of money, and he couldn’t do it alone. He was highly motivated to stay in Reese’s good graces.

Moon Pie drove straight to Johnny Lee’s trailer. He backed up to the front door, then got out to have a look around before unloading his cargo. He walked to the edge of the yard and peed on a set of old tires that had been there for years. Moon Pie lit a cigarette and decided to take a look at the woman. She was curled into a tight ball, and he could see the fear in her eyes. He ran his hands up her bare legs, commenting that they needed shaving.
That don’t really bother me none.
She tried to scream. He took a deep drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke in her face. Their eyes locked. He waited until she looked away before moving. Stepping back, he shut the doors and went to see if the trailer key was where it was supposed to be.

Moon Pie let himself in. When he turned on the lights, two roaches ran for cover. There were empty pizza boxes and beer cans everywhere. The ashtrays were full. There was barely room to walk around because of the trash. The kitchen was even worse. It appeared to have been months since the dishes had been washed. Down the hallway, he found a small bedroom with enough room to lay the woman on the floor. He left the light on and went to get her. On the way out, he counted a dozen empty Crown Royal bottles and chuckled. “Johnny always had good taste.”

“Whew!” he said aloud when he stepped outside. “That place is rank.”

Moon Pie carried the woman inside. She was shaking uncontrollably as he set her down on the floor. He considered off cutting her shirt but decided to wait. He squatted down and looked her in the eyes again. He smiled at her and made a kissing motion as he rose to leave. He turned out the lights.

“I’ll be back with a few of my friends. We’re gonna have us a little party,” he said softly, laughed, and shut the door.

The room was pitch-black. Her hands and ankles were bound, her mouth taped shut. The more she cried, the harder it was to breathe. She knew she was going to be gang-raped. She lost it. Urine trickled onto the dirty brown carpet as she wept.

“How y’all doin’?” Jake softly asked Katy and Elizabeth.

They weren’t making as much progress as Jake had hoped. Katy was getting heavier with each step, and the going was slow through the hardwood bottoms. Even so, Elizabeth was having difficulty keeping up.

Jake was impressed with her mental fortitude.
She saw her boyfriend severely beaten, successfully eluded a violent attacker for miles, and at the moment she was about to be raped, her attacker was shot in the head. Certainly a tough night for anyone, much less an eighteen-year-old girl.

Katy was glad to have Elizabeth along. Although she noticed that Elizabeth was wearing her dad’s shirt, she didn’t say anything. Elizabeth’s presence was comforting to her. She had never seen her dad scared before, but Katy was pretty sure that he was, and that frightened her.

Jake’s right arm was getting numb. He stopped, stood Katy on a dry oak stump, and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Elizabeth caught up, and Katy scooted over on the stump to make room for her to sit down. Jake pulled out his map and unfolded it. He shined his flashlight on the girls to make a quick assessment. Katy squinted. She had a bad scratch on her forehead that she hadn’t said anything about. Elizabeth had a swollen eye and a bad bruise on her cheekbone. Jake noticed that she was shaking and cold. He didn’t have any more clothes to offer her. His plan was to make their way to the Little Buck Field where they could get warm and rest in a shooting house. He touched Katy’s scratch and brushed off some dried blood.

“Dad, I wanna go home.”

Elizabeth simply nodded her head. Jake understood.

“I do, too, girlfriend. Let’s rest here for a few minutes; then we’ll go straight for a place to hide out.”

When there was no response, Jake immediately clicked on the light and said, “Hey, girls…look at me. I’m going to get us outta here, I promise.”

They both nodded. Jake rubbed Katy on the top of her head and smiled assuredly at Elizabeth. He then studied his map. Checking his compass, he confirmed their location.
We’re traveling southeast, so we must be here,
he thought, pointing confidently to a spot on the map.

“Are you cold, Elizabeth?”

“I’m OK,” she replied.

“You can have my gloves,” Katy offered.

“Thank you…no, you keep ‘em.” She smiled at Katy.

“Let’s get moving. Come on. We’ll warm up as we walk,” Jake said, squatting for Katy to climb onto his back.

Tiny was beginning to think clearly and was feeling better about the situation. Reese hadn’t seen what had happened. He believed that Johnny Lee’s killer had also killed Sweat.
To get out from under this, I’ll tell Reese how the guy took me and Sweat by surprise and that they fought hand to hand and that I chased the girl and before I could get back, the guy shot Sweat. I’ll come up with something to say about the boy and the Jeep and tie it all together.

Tiny looked hard at Sweat’s body and saw all that was bad about his own life and his future. He was at a crossroads. This was his chance to change course. He started back toward his four-wheeler, proud that he had stopped the rape and murder of the girl but hating that he’d had to kill Sweat.

After climbing onto the four-wheeler, he sat a moment, thinking.
I’ll load up, then just drive away from all of this mess and start over. Reese won’t even know where to look for me. I got thirty-eight hundred dollars cash money in an old mayonnaise jar—my startin’-over money. I’m done.
Tiny clicked the lights on, started the engine, and headed back to his truck and a new beginning.

As the four-wheeler’s headlights reflected off his truck, Tiny eased back on the throttle. He shifted into low, lined up the tires on the ramp, and goosed the throttle. The engine revved and the machine slowly crawled up the ramp into the back of his truck. Switching off the ignition, he stood up and looked around. Something was different.
Oh, shit, the Jeep’s been moved!
Tiny’s heart stopped. It wasn’t blocking the road anymore. If Johnny Lee’s killer had escaped, Reese would be furious.

“Shit!” he said aloud.

He quickly slid the ramps into the back of the truck and shut the tailgate.
Just drive right out of this screwed-up situation.
After climbing into the truck, he slammed the door and reached for his keys. They weren’t in the ignition.
Shit!

He got out and raked all the trash from the floorboards. Still no keys. He checked under the seat, feeling with his hands. He reached up on the dash, grabbed his flashlight, and clicked it on.

He found a knife he hadn’t seen in over a year, a screwdriver with interchangeable bits that he had been certain Sweat had stolen from him, but no keys. He looked in the side pockets on the door and in the drink holders, but he knew they weren’t there. There were only two places they could be…in the ignition or on the floorboard.
Dammit!

Although a professional criminal, Tiny didn’t know how to hotwire anything. He was stuck, and this was supposed to be his getaway—his freedom ride. He wanted to scream. He also wanted to cry. He walked over to the Jeep and opened the door. He reached for the ignition. It was empty. Tiny’s heart sank.

Tiny figured that Sweat’s keys must have fallen out of his pants when he and Tiny fought. He stuck the flashlight in his pocket as he walked to the truck. He dropped the tailgate, pulled out the aluminum ramps, and set them in place. After backing down the four-wheeler, he headed to look for a needle in a haystack.

Anxious and frustrated, Reese stood silently on top of a stump, listening for anything that could be Johnny Lee’s killer. Reese had never been caught poaching and was rarely even seen. He could tell when someone was approaching by the way the sounds of the woods changed. He took great pride in his predatory skills. He knew he had the advantage. But he could not hear anything. No running, limbs cracking, no voices.

Reese shifted his weight and reached for a cigarette. His lighter fired up on the first try. After a long drag, he blew smoke up into the night sky. He thought about Sweat and Tiny.
I can’t wait to hear this story. Sweat’s an idiot, and Tiny ain’t too far behind or ahead—as the case may be.

A barred owl hooted in the bottom off to Reese’s right.
Owls are awesome hunters.
Tonight, more than ever, Reese wished he could glide silently through the trees and see in the dark. He finished his cigarette and mashed it out on the pine tree in front of him.
I’ve gotta cut his tracks
, Reese thought, grabbing his rifle. He then slipped off silently through the thickest woods in the county.