North of the Rock

by Ian Jones

  At this point Cane was asked what the big new secret was. ‘Ah,’ Cane replied.

  Homeland Security.

  The department had grown hugely over the past decade, and it had been decided to give them a new home of their own; somewhere with space to grow and develop. 9/11 had changed the world, and the threat was greater than ever. They went out across the country looking for locations, talking to justice departments as part of the due diligence. Judge Raymer found out about it and spoke to Barlow, who realised immediately what it would do for the town. So, they did what they do best; they got ready with the money. Anything could be bought, anything. Even better, it turned out that James Waldron was a name they knew, he had been originally a supporter of One Race. Everything started to fit together. Barlow made Waldron a good offer. A nice, big house in the town where he would be working, and of course a large financial consideration to suit. Waldron went away and painted a pretty picture for the department, here was a big state, with willing and supportive partners. There was a huge amount of space, they would have everything they wanted; headquarters, training, infrastructure and also, detention. And right on the border with Mexico.

  It was agreed. There was a party at the Country Club. I met Waldron for the first time, and I congratulated everyone on what appeared to me to be a major coup for the town.

  And Barlow was now a very happy man. Nobody could get in his way now. He had been paranoid about external intrusion for years, and hated the FBI and even the police, believing them to be weak and always working with the minorities. Having Homeland Security in the town would mean they could never be touched.

  The only problem was announcing it, the normal channels for any operation like this had been effectively short-circuited. Judge Raymer came up with freeing Anthony Collis, fill the press with this story and the new Homeland Security project could be nestled in the centre pages.

  I am very sorry for the helicopter incident, I have been at breaking point for some time, alone and deep into something which was terrible and becoming worse every day. Then suddenly I had felt wanted again and had been keen to sustain it. I had known a long time that money was not the reason to be alive.

  But I knew it was the end for me when I was told about Rita’s murder. Up to that point all the hunting and the other things the Regulators were doing were remote, I was told very little and never asked. Hunter had proudly told me and Abel all about it, and Barlow had been pleased. I had liked Rita, and the real horror of everything that was going on and how weak I had become was truly hammered home the moment John Smith had reached out and taken my own gun from me.

  I could not live this life a second more.

  ********************

  Patrick got the recording put into writing and returned to the Hyatt so Cane could sign it, then released copies to everyone concerned.

  Carpenter sat the whole team down around the table and tried his best to make sure the day’s business was done calmly.

  ‘You all have done excellent work. None of this has been easy, and we are not even a fifth of the way through digging the ground at Brown’s oilfield yet. Last night Carter was moved into the county hospital ICU, and the prognosis is he won’t be coming out. We won’t be able to speak to him again, but I believe, and I think in fact as we all do that we should have enough now. We will be bringing the remaining Regulators, or whoever the hell they are in for formal interviewing today and we believe that there will be no holes left by tonight.’

  He looked around at everyone.

  ‘All I ask is that you keep doing your jobs like you have been, and don’t change anything in the way you guys are dealing with this. We’re at the end stage. And we can all feel it.’

  ‘Let’s all make sure nothing goes wrong.’

  The interviews started, later than they had on the previous days. Waldron’s was first. His attorney had already read Cane’s statement and had spent a long time going through it with his client.

  The attorney solemnly read out a statement. Waldron admitted to everything, including to having extreme views, but denied he was racist. Barlow had invited him to the hunt, but it was the first time, he had never killed anyone and had not intended to do so. He had believed he was doing the best for his job with Homeland Security and for that he needed to keep Barlow close. When he had been invited he didn’t fully understand what it was they were going to be doing, Barlow had basically said it would be a fun weekend, good food and drink and entertainment. There would be some hunting, bring along a good gun. Hints had been dropped about hunting at night and it was obvious the judge had been before, but at no point did anyone say specifically what they would be hunting. When the men had been pulled from the van he had realised, but he would never have shot anyone.

  Patrick prodded and probed, surely there had to be more? After all, they were down there at eleven at night in the middle of nowhere?

  Waldron swallowed helplessly.

  After dinner there had been a small party, he believed the woman he had been with had been paid but he had a good time. Afterward Barlow had told him the fun would really start. And yes, he had made a comment which at the time had sounded like a joke. He had said nobody cared about a couple fewer beaners.

  Waldron wept constantly throughout the proceedings.

  Strike one. Confession taken. End of interview.

  While Waldron was being interviewed, the agents at Travis made a breakthrough. Ray Tilling had followed Gibbs’ and Cane’s leads, without any prompting. The agents were at the prison for the round of interviews before the formal ones would begin and he had just walked in and told them he was going to come clean. Tilling was one of the newer Regulators, and was ashamed (now, anyway) to admit he had been on a couple of hunts. He liked it because they were paid extra. From what he had been told Judge Raymer had been on several of these, but he had never seen Waldron before. Hunter ran the Regulators but Tilling believed that he wasn’t regularly there at a hunt. Barlow was the big dog (his own words) he called all the shots. Abel did the organising, and Cane, well, nobody really knew what Cane did, but it was said he was never at a hunt. Gibbs didn’t know exactly how many people had been murdered at Brown’s, he thought probably about ten, but it could be more, he was seen as the new guy, and told very little. They had been instructed to bury the bodies, and used the backhoe. He had been told that the hunts were normally one man as the target, sometimes two. As far as he knew there had never been three before that night. His statement was signed and placed as evidence.

  Next up Raymer. Again, Cane’s statement had been disclosed and the attorney and his client had locked themselves away for several hours.

  Raymer admitted to making mistakes in his choice of relationships, but then rallied, claiming that he had been blinded by Barlow, who was rich and manipulative and he and Abel were to blame for everything. He had no idea what the hunt was and had absolutely never taken part in anything like it before, he had been asked if he wanted to go shooting out of the blue over dinner. It had sounded like it would be a lot of fun. Raymer wore a sincere and concerned expression, one which he had no doubt used many times in the past.

  But not this time.

  ‘Manipulative,’ Canning said quietly. ‘Sure have heard that word a lot in here.’

  Without ceremony Patrick produced the forensic reports, and the judge’s fingerprints on the handle of a shovel locked inside the storeroom at Brown’s. The attorney was visibly startled, Raymer squirmed, Canning turned up the pressure and referred to Cane’s disclosure that the judge was a frequent visitor. Raymer denied this, talking breathlessly, it was a conspiracy, they were trying to destroy him, it was all lies. He did not know Cane, but Barlow had told him repeatedly the man couldn’t be trusted, he believed he had been set up, but why, he didn’t know. But there was no room for manoeuvre, not now. Patiently, Patrick referred back to the fingerprint again, there it was, in black and white, what then was the explanation? More squirming, and more anger. He suddenly vaguely remembered
doing some garden work at Barlow’s house, but he had no idea why the shovel should be at Brown’s. Then a knock on the door, and an agent walked in handing a sheet of paper to Patrick, who read it, and then looked up and smiled. Tilling’s statement. He handed it over to the attorney, who also read it, and paled even further.

  Immediately he requested a break, while he had the chance to speak to his client. Patrick went upstairs and walked into the monitor room. Everyone there already knew the news about Tilling’s statement.

  ‘What do you think?’ he asked John, who smiled back at him.

  ‘I think you’ve got him.’

  It took some time, but eventually the interview resumed. Raymer was defeated, a wreck. Along with all the other evidence Cane’s, Gibb’s and Tilling’s’ statements left him nowhere to go. The attorney said that they were prepared to admit that Judge Raymer had been present at the hunts, but had never actively taken part.

  ‘Too little, too late,’ Patrick told them.

  The attorney nodded, and then said Judge Raymer would disclose completely his involvement if mitigating factors could be considered.

  Strike two. There were no mitigating factors. Confession taken. End of interview.

  And finally, Barlow.

  The man sitting at the table was scarcely recognisable as the same man John had first met just a few days ago. He looked even thinner, but was now haggard, his clothes all creased. His attorney stated that his client was unwell, which Barlow promptly blew by shouting angrily that he should not be kept at a prison and ranting that he deserved respect.

  They sat still watching him, waiting and then patiently, Patrick and Canning went through every statement, taking their time, concentrating on Cane’s, Carter’s, Tillings’ and Gibbs’ words, detailing Raymer’s confession and itemising every damning shred of evidence, unrelenting in their pursuit and finally, eventually, Barlow gave up.

  He slumped back in his chair, fidgeting, pulling on his long nose.

  ‘You are guilty, you may as well start telling the truth,’ Patrick told him.

  Barlow reacted angrily, it was all lies, he had done nothing wrong.

  He had done everything wrong, Canning told him. He brought back segregation, which had been outlawed over fifty years previously. He had tried to build a ghetto, and when that hadn’t worked had opted for his own form of racial cleansing.

  Patrick looked directly into Barlow’s eyes.

  ‘What did you think? Nobody would notice? You’ve spent years and years setting this up, building white America. You started that bullshit One Race, what was that about?’

  Barlow looked back defiantly.

  ‘You won’t ever understand, you’re blinkered, like all the politicians and the journalists who attacked us, when we were doing good. Making lives better, are you telling me you don’t want the best for your kids?’

  ‘Yeah, I want everything for my kids. I’m no different from any parent. But I don’t believe spreading racist crap is going to achieve anything. All you did was get a bunch of idiots fired up, for a couple of years maybe, before it was all forgotten.’

  ‘It isn’t forgotten. Blame the goddamn banks if you want to, it’s their fault we had so many people left with nothing when that industry crashed and burned. We were the voice for them, and there are still believers today, more than you know.’

  ‘You’re living ten years in the past Mr Barlow. And you’ve just got worse and worse, from shooting dead anybody you can spot crossing the border to organising a hunt so others twisted just like you can enjoy themselves. Anthony Collis survived the sudden attack in Howarth by the way. And he is talking, so we know your connection to the murders in Europe all those years ago. We know exactly what you have done, everything. And I can make you a solemn promise, you are not walking away. This will end today. We have everything we need, you know we do and so does your attorney. All we are doing right now is delaying the inevitable. But we’re ok with that, the result is going to be the same.’

  His attorney started to whisper in Barlow’s ear, but it was clear he wasn’t listening. The anger was written all over him. He pulled his head away and frowned at his attorney who shut up and looked at Patrick.

  There was nothing he could do, it was over. Everybody knew what his client had done. Raymer and Waldron had finally admitted to everything.

  Barlow shook his head from side to side, mumbling away to himself, then stopped and stared hard at the camera.

  He stood up straight, to his full height, towering over everyone.

  ‘So, I guess you win,’ he said. ‘Congratulations. But there will never be another like me.’

  Patrick also stood up, nowhere near as tall but still magnificent.

  ‘You’re wrong. There will never be another Elvis, that’s for damn sure. Lots of people have tried, so many big stars, but none like him. But you, well there will be another you tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. Because rich, greedy bigots are a fact of life, thousands, right across the globe. You are nothing special Mr Barlow, and nobody will remember you this time next year. Get used to prison, you won’t ever be getting out.’

  Chapter Thirty

  John left the next day. He had a long breakfast with Gilbey and Patrick, and then they said goodbye. They all promised to keep in touch, Patrick asking that next time maybe they could just go and have a beer or something. Just do something goddamn normal for Christ’s sakes. Carrie hugged him and emotionally told him that Gilbey had promised to take her to London. Then he flew to New York, where he stayed for over three weeks, enjoying time with his daughter. He even got on well with her mother for a change, no fights, no recriminations.

  The he was back at home, down on the south coast, repairing the leaking roof on his garage.

  Patrick sent several messages over the coming months.

  Carter never made it out it out of the hospital. The news of all the charges filtered down and he had a second, more serious heart attack, almost immediately followed by a third, which killed him.

  Another who would not face any charges.

  Anthony Collis miraculously survived, and John realised he was pleased about it. He would never walk normally again and had lost the use altogether of his left hand. He released a long and detailed statement and agreed to appear as a witness for the prosecution at the trial. Patrick was true to his word, he got Collis transferred to a low security detention centre in Kansas, which apparently was essentially nothing more than a rest home with locked gates, and he got a few years off his sentence for assisting the FBI.

  James Waldron attempted suicide while in the jail, the court date set for less than a month away. He survived, but it was close. Homeland Security revoked the Gray Rock plan and launched an internal investigation into how it was ever accepted without the proper authority.

  John had been called to give evidence, so flew into Austin. Patrick put him and Gilbey up in the Four Seasons again.

  The trial started, there was a huge media and public interest. Barlow was hit by an egg as he was led from the transport into the court for the first day (John laughed when Patrick told him all about it later). It went on for over three weeks in the end, but the judge clearly knew there was only one way to deal with everything. The fact that Raymer was one of his peers, had probably been someone that most judges in the state looked up to was not lost on him. He stated clearly that this was shameful and damaging to the state of Texas. He would ensure that justice was done. He looked directly at Raymer as he spoke.

  But ultimately there was no defence, none at all. All the men were guilty. The defence had attempted unsuccessfully to get John and Gilbey on the stand for the shootings but the testimony was too strong, Gibbs took the stand, as did Tilling and they gave a detailed account of everything that had happened on that night, plus they also described other hunts that they had worked on.

  Collis was able to disclose the real hatred that Barlow had of immigrants, who in his eyes was anybody not white.

 
In total thirteen bodies were recovered from Brown’s, ten men, two women and a sixteen year old male youth. Eleven were eventually identified, both of the women were mothers to several children. All were Mexican, there was a lot of anger, and the police presence at the courtroom was massive.

  There were no twists or turns, no last minute shocks or surprises. Only a lot of rhetoric and blame shifting from the defence. Philip Reed was impressive again, John had to admit he had been very wrong about him. Waldron was the only one to show any remorse, there was no doubt Barlow had coerced him into taking part in the hunt, control was power, and Waldron would have never been able to change anything regarding the Homeland Security project, in fact he would never be able to do anything without permission again, he just hadn’t realised it. The rewards in front of him were too great. The big house in Gray Rock. There was also the matter of the million and a half dollars sitting in an offshore account.

  Raymer tried a different tack. He had hired an expensive legal team who persistently claimed coercion, that Raymer was an upstanding citizen who had been tricked.

  Of course, it went nowhere. The evidence was too strong.

  Barlow barely spoke at all. Finally, the reality of the situation had sunk in and there was nothing he could say. BRP issued a statement that there were pursuing an action over the millions and millions of dollars that had been stolen from the company by their previous president.