Now I recognized the man in the backseat; he was one of the Yankee men Nolay had chased down the road. He had also been with the Reems brothers when Nolay and I saw them at the back of our land.
Nolay shook his head and laughed. “You quacking at the wrong duck, mister. You are right about one thing; I do have plenty of guns. Everyone in these parts does. But I don’t use ’em to shoot people. If I had wanted to kill someone, you surely would not have found a body. I wouldn’t have been stupid enough to drag a body up to the railroad tracks, especially someone as useless as old Peckerhead.”
This conversation made Sheriff LeRoy look even more uncomfortable; he leaned against the car, pulled his huge Stetson further over his eyes, and began to dig the heel of one of his colossal boots into the soft sand.
Nolay pointed to the man in the backseat. “As far as those two Yankees are concerned, they came on my property uninvited, and they insulted me and my family. If I had wanted to do ’em harm, both of ’em would be dead, not just one. Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I would appreciate it if you folks moved on, ’cause I got more important things to do.”
“Well, sir, you are a prime suspect for these two murders, and we will need you to come down to the station so we can further investigate this situation.” The bow-tie man turned to Sheriff LeRoy. “Sheriff LeRoy Hasket, it’s about time for you to do your duty and bring this man in.”
The two men turned around and walked back to their car. One of them mumbled, just loud enough for us to hear, “Dumb Florida crackers.”
Again, just hearing the way that man said cracker, it made me feel uncomfortable. Then I remembered Nolay’s words, took a deep breath, and made myself feel proud.
Sheriff LeRoy ambled away from his car and over to me and Nolay. He leaned his head down and very softly said, “Now, Nolay, you and me goes back a long ways. I gotta ask you to do me this one favor and just accompany me down to the station. If you don’t, I’m gonna look mighty bad in front of these here city fellas. Now, I need you to hep me out here. I’m just doing my job.”
Nolay looked up at the massive man in front of him and replied, “Blast it, LeRoy, if it was anyone else but you, I would tell ’em where to go.”
“Sorry ’bout all this, Nolay, I’m just doing my job.”
Mama walked out of the house, frowning. “What’s going on? What’s all this about?”
Nolay went over to her. “It’s just a misunderstandin’, ain’t nothing to worry about, Honey Girl. I’m going for a ride down to the station with LeRoy. He’ll bring me back home in a little while.”
Sheriff LeRoy tipped his huge Stetson in Mama’s direction. “Miss Lori, I’ll have ’im back as soon as possible.”
Nolay walked over to the car and opened the front door. He turned to the sheriff and said, “I ain’t getting in the back, I’m riding up front with you.”
After the other men got back in their car, I let the dogs go. They circled the car a couple of times, yapping and snapping their teeth.
Mama and I stood in the yard and watched as the two cars disappeared down our driveway. She still had a frown on her face. I said, “Mama, do you think Nolay is in trouble?”
“I hope not.” She turned and began walking back to the house. “Don’t worry, Bones. LeRoy won’t let anything happen to him.”
I followed behind Mama and said, “What’s a prime suspect?”
“It means they don’t have anyone else to be suspicious of.”
“Well, that don’t sound very good, does it?”
“Don’t worry, Bones. Sheriff LeRoy will get it all straightened out.”
For the rest of the day, me and Mama both tried to keep busy and not think about Nolay being up at Titusville. But I couldn’t stop from thinking about Nolay’s knife I’d found out in the swamps.
The sun had already dipped behind the flat horizon when the dogs started to bark. The smoky beams of two headlights cut into the darkness as a car made its way up our dirt road. We heard the beep of a horn. Me and Mama went outside to see Sheriff LeRoy alone in his car.
“Where’s Nolay, LeRoy?” Mama said.
Sheriff LeRoy’s massive head rolled to one side as he said, “Miss Lori, them two fellas done had Nolay arrested.”
“Arrested for what?”
“On suspicion of the murder of that Fowler man and old Peckerhead Willie. I shore am sorry, Miss Lori. I shore am sorry.”
“Sorry? My God, LeRoy, you were just going to take him in for questioning. You were supposed to bring him back home. Where is Nolay now?”
“They done booked him into the Titusville County jail. You can go up tomorrow and see if you can bail ’im out. I tried to tell them fellas Nolay could just come back home, wadn’t no way he was gonna run away, but they wouldn’t have it. Them city slickers wanted to take him down to Dade County, but I refused to let ’em. Them crimes were committed in my jurisdiction, so he’s gonna stay right here in Brevard County. Long as I can keep ’im.”
“LeRoy, how did you let him get arrested for murder?”
“Miss Lori, them city po-lease have evidence. I cain’t discuss it with you, but they have evidence.”
Mama pressed her lips together and let out a deep sigh. She looked at the huge man in the car and said, “It’s not your fault, LeRoy. Thanks for coming by. I’ll go up and see him tomorrow and we’ll get this straightened out.”
Sheriff LeRoy hung his massive head and said, “I shore am sorry. I’m just doin’ my job, but I promise you I’ll do everything I can to hep. I don’t want to see Nolay being sent down to Dade County, not with him being … you know … not with him being part …”
“Indian, LeRoy, is that what you’re trying to say? Not with him being part Indian.”
Sheriff LeRoy managed to mumble, “I shore am sorry.”
Next morning, right after Ikibob crowed, I padded into the kitchen to find Mama at the kitchen table, her coffee cup and a pack of Lucky Strikes in front of her. “Bones, hurry up and get ready, we’re going to visit your daddy.”
“Do I have to wear a dress?”
“No, you can wear your dungarees.”
Mama had the top up on the Champion. I opened the door and slid inside, onto the cold seat. Nothing about the Champion felt like it had on the days we’d gone for rides with Nolay. On the ride up, Mama told me over and over, “Now, don’t you worry, everything will be just fine. We’ll get this straightened out.”
I had always looked forward to a ride up to the Titusville Courthouse; we had retrieved Nolay from there on numerous occasions. But those times, it wasn’t anything as serious as this. Nolay had a knack for breaking what he called “stupid white law.” He had been known to pick up other people’s possessions when they were just laying around idle. He had also been known to drive off at a gas station without paying for gas. Of course that never happened at the Last Chance, because we had a running tab there and Mr. Ball knew Nolay would come in and pay when he got the money.
The Titusville Courthouse was the only building in the county that had an elevator; it was like a free carnival ride. Usually Nolay’s fines weren’t more that twenty dollars. We would pay at the front desk, get on that marvelous elevator, ride up to the second floor, retrieve Nolay, and ride back down.
Mama parked the Champion in front of a two-story gray building with bars across the top windows. “Bones, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to wear your cap pistols into the courthouse. Just leave them here in the car until we come back.”
She signed in at the front desk and told the officer who she was there to see. He looked over at me and said, “Sorry, but children aren’t allowed on the top floor.”
Now, that was news to me, because I had ridden that elevator up to the top floor on numerous other occasions. Must have been news to Mama, too, because she stepped back, looked directly at the officer, and said, in a voice with a little more Southern charm than usual, “Sir, we have just endured a long ride, and my little girl needs to g
o up and see her daddy. Now, if you will be so kind as to show us the way …”
The police officer blinked his eyes like a stunned rooster, then nodded and replied, “Being that you drove all the way up here, I reckon it will be all right for her to go see her daddy.” He escorted us to the elevator and pushed a button, and two doors slid open. We stepped inside the small room, he pushed another button, and the doors slid shut. We magically floated up to the second floor.
The visiting room wasn’t much bigger than a closet with a table in the middle. We sat down, and after a few minutes Nolay strolled in. He walked around the table and hugged me and Mama.
He sat down and flashed one of his smiles, but his eyes were dull and haunted. “Lori, did you bring me some fresh clothes? I been sleeping in these, and they’re pretty durn ripe.”
“No, I didn’t. I was in such a hurry to get up here. Anyway, you’ll be coming back home tomorrow, won’t you?”
“I don’t know, Honey Girl. The judge set my bail at three hundred dollars.”
“Three hundred dollars! My goodness, you live here, you’re not going to run away. Besides, you don’t have anything to run away from.”
“If I don’t come up with three hundred dollars, those big-city police are gonna take me down to Dade County. I don’t stand a chance for a fair trial there.”
“Trial? There’s going to be a trial?”
“Lori, I don’t know what all is gonna happen. Everything is just crazy mixed-up right now. All I know is I gotta get out of here, but I need three hundred dollars to do it.”
“Nolay, where are we going to get three hundred dollars? Maybe I could mortgage the land.”
“No, you don’t even think about that. We’ll get the money, but you don’t think about doing nothing with the land. That’s my family’s land. It ain’t for sale or mortgage.”
Before we left, Nolay reached across the table and held one of my hands and one of Mama’s. “Now, I don’t want y’all to worry about this. You hear me, we’ll work this out.”
Mama looked at Nolay. “I am worried. How am I going to get three hundred dollars? I don’t do what you do. I don’t go fishing. I don’t … I don’t do a lot of things that you do. How am I going to get this money?”
Nolay looked down at the table. “Honey Girl, I ain’t got no ideas at the moment, but something will come up. I just know I gotta get outta this place.”
I squeezed Nolay’s hand. “Don’t you worry, Nolay, I’ll take good care of all the animals and the land till you come home.”
I didn’t enjoy the elevator ride back down.
It was a long, quiet ride home. Mama’s eyes were riveted on the road; both her hands gripped the steering wheel. The Champion felt like an old empty refrigerator on wheels. It was like all the joy we had shared in it had been sucked out.
That night, as we sat at the kitchen table, I said, “Mama, can we just go to the bank and get some money?”
“No, Bones, the bank won’t just give us money.”
“Can we sell the Champion?”
“We don’t own the Champion. I have no idea what kind of wheeling and dealing your daddy did to get it. All I know is, it doesn’t have a title, so we can’t sell it.”
“Mama, you know what we need? We need a miracle.”
Mama looked at me and shook her head. “What is a miracle, Bones? You just tell me what a miracle is. We need money. Don’t you understand? We need three hundred dollars, and we don’t have it.” She cupped her face in both hands and leaned her elbows on the table.
“I was just trying to help, Mama.”
She lifted her head. “I’m sorry, Bones, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. It’s just …”
I watched as her eyes turned into green pools of sadness. Tears brimmed up and slid slowly down her face. “Three hundred dollars. How am I going to find that kind of money?”
I had no idea where she could find three hundred dollars. All I knew was, right about now, we needed three hundred miracles.
The next morning, breakfast was a silent event. I watched as Mama absentmindedly used her spoon to stir a figure eight in her bowl of grits. She let out a little sigh and said, “I’m going up to see your daddy this morning. I’m taking some clean clothes. Maybe the two of us together can come up with an idea to raise the bail money. I’ll drop you off at Little Man’s for the day.”
I looked over at her and said, “Mama, when you see Nolay, tell him hey for me and let him know everything is fine here with the animals and the land.”
“I will, Bones. I sure will.”
Me and Little Man spent most of the day doing chores around his house. We collected eggs and cleaned up inside the henhouse and went over to see the new batch of baby pigs. I wanted to hold one of the babies, but Little Man said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Bones. Them babies is pigs, not pets, so best you keep it that way.”
Mr. Cotton, Earl, and Ethan spent most of the day out in the sugarcane patch. When we went in for noon dinner, Miss Melba had made a special batch of biscuits, and there was a pitcher of fresh sorghum syrup sitting in the middle of the table. I knew she was trying to pick up my spirits because I felt lower than a doodlebug in the dirt.
When we sat down at the table, Mr. Cotton said a special grace asking the Lord to bring Nolay back home to us soon as he could. After he finished, Miss Melba looked over at me and said, “Now, Bones, don’t you worry yourself, your daddy will be back here with us real soon. The good Lord will see to it.”
Saturday, me and Mama went to visit Nolay. Mama kept the top up on the Champion. On the ride to Titusville, a thought kept popping up in my mind like a jack-in-the-box. I wanted Mama to slam on the brakes and turn that big car around and head back home. But it just kept rolling down the highway, heading to the Titusville Courthouse. I sure did want to see my daddy; I just didn’t want to see him where he was.
When we walked inside, the officer behind the counter leaned his head down and studied real hard on some papers. Me and Mama walked over, got in the elevator, and were swished away to the top floor.
When Nolay came out, he gave us both big, tight hugs. We sat down across from him at the wooden table and Nolay reached across and held one of Mama’s hands. Nolay’s blue eyes looked like gray storm clouds were passing over them, but he still flashed a bright smile. “How you two doing? Everything going all right?”
Mama let out a deep sigh, but I answered, “Well, it would be a lot better if you were back home with us.”
“I wish I was back home, too, Bones.”
“And we are having a hard time trying to figure out how to get that three hundred dollars. You got any ideas, Nolay?”
Nolay wagged his head back and forth. “Not right at the moment.”
Mama let out another deep sigh and I figured I better change the subject.
“Nolay, when I was out at Little Man’s yesterday their mama pig had six babies. They were the cutest things, but Little Man wouldn’t let me hold one because he thought I might want to take it home for a pet.”
Nolay looked at me and smiled. “I think Little Man is a bright boy. You don’t need any more pets right now, especially another pig.”
For the next hour we sat and acted like we were still back home. All too soon the guard came and told us our time was up. We hugged each other again. Mama said to Nolay, “I’ll be back tomorrow after church.”
“Honey Girl, you don’t have to come up here every day. That’s a long ride. And hopefully next time you come up I’ll be riding back home with you.”
When me and Mama walked out the door, I said to her, “Mama, why don’t we just take the stairs back down?”
“You don’t want to ride the elevator?”
“No, ma’am, I can do without riding in it for the rest of my life.”
“Maybe the stairs will be better. It is a long sit in that car going back home. Walking down the stairs might do us good.”
Nolay had been in jail for three long days. S
adness grew around Mama like the roots of a strangler fig. All I could do was watch as it slowly wrapped around her and choked out her happiness. The green of her eyes dimmed to a dull olive. Dark half-moons rose under them. Sometimes at night, I would wake up and see the flickering of a kerosene lantern spilling out from her bedroom. No matter how early I got up, she was already at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and an ashtray with crumpled Lucky Strikes spilling out over its edge.
Like particles of dust, the news about Nolay and the need for three hundred dollars drifted out and spread over our community. Of course no one spoke of it, that would have been uncivil; it was just a known fact.
Sunday morning me and Mama went to church where I prayed extra hard for Nolay and the Lord to be on good terms. There was nobody there to teach Sunday school, so I had to sit on that hard pew and listen to Preacher Jenkins give an extra-long-winded sermon about the lost son coming back home. Of course he didn’t mention any names, but I had a pretty good idea who he was talking about.
On our way home, Mama stared straight ahead and spoke to her reflection in the windshield. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t find a job and I can’t borrow money from the bank. And no one in our family has that kind of money. I need to get it soon, or they’re going to send him down to Dade County. Thank goodness Mr. Ball lets us keep a running tab at the Last Chance, or I wouldn’t even have gas for the car.”
I reached over and touched her arm. “Mama, do you remember the time Nolay took us up to St. Augustine to see the fort? And we went by that roadside zoo, and I thought it was a real zoo and I wanted to go see the live Florida panther. And you told me not to go in there, but I wanted to anyway?”
Precious Bones Page 12