When the sheriff stood in the doorway, he gave Gil an intimidating look and said, “What you doing with my little cousin, Preacher?”
Jo jumped up to grab his arm and pull him into the room and over to Gil. “Floyd, I understand you’ve been a little too official with the pastor here.”
He gave her a stern look but she kept on going. “I want you to shake his hand right now and I want you to get along with him because we’re all going to be working together to stop all this harassment we’ve been getting.”
The sheriff grudgingly stretched his large hand out across the desk but as Gil was about to do the same, Jo added, “And I don’t want any of that macho squeezing going on either. Don’t think I didn’t see what you did to that poor teacher the other night.”
The sheriff snorted and Gil stuck out his hand again. The result was a very loose and very brief handshake.
“Now that wasn’t so bad was it Floyd?”
He ignored her and glared at Gil. “What you been telling my little cousin about me, Boy?”
She hit him. Little Mary Jo Early actually balled up her fist and hit that big sheriff, who had to be over a foot taller, as hard as she could on the shoulder.
“Ouch, what in tarnation you want to go and do that for Little Bit?”
She was steaming now and Gil had the idle thought that he didn’t think he ever wanted her that angry with him.
“You know good and well why, Floyd Ray McCracken. Don’t call him boy. He’s a grown man the same as you.”
McCracken snorted loudly. “Age don’t necessarily make a man, Jo.”
She stood now, which brought her up to where she was just slightly above him then she placed her hands on her hips and spoke through gritted teeth. “If you don’t behave and become a part of this, then I’ll be forced to do it all without you.”
Gil fought to keep from laughing. That brought the big bully down quicker than a baseball bat would have.
He turned to Gil and said, “Preacher, you’d better be real careful how you treat my little cousin here.”
“Floyd, does that mean you’ll cooperate with Gil and me on this?”
He looked at her still standing there glaring down at him. “Who’s Gil?”
“Him.” She threw her thumb toward Gil.
He looked around her at Gil. “Is that short for Gilbert?” he said it with emphasis on the last syllable.
Gil didn’t want to go through that. “Just Gil, please.”
McCracken continued to stare around Jo at Gil for a few more seconds then looked back at Jo and said, “Okay Little Bit, what you two planning that you got to have me involved in it.” Then he gave Gil a glare. “Don’t you even think about doing anything with Jo behind my back.”
Gil was surprised she didn’t hit him again. She just gave him another dirty look.
* * *
Jo was still steaming at Floyd but she had to control her temper or she’d never get anywhere with him. They couldn’t go on this way.
She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Floyd’s neck, almost placing her chin on his shoulder, and whispered, “Please? For me?”
When she sat back down, Floyd was looking at her with a shocked expression on his face. He looked at Gil, narrowed his eyes at him, and then back at her with questions all over his face. Then a knowing look came across his face and she didn’t think she liked the implication of that look. He seemed to have jumped to some kind of conclusion where she and Gil were concerned. She’d have to wipe that conclusion totally out of his mind as soon as she got him alone again.
Floyd sat his hat on the edge of Gil’s desk and looking at Jo said, “Okay, now Jo, you know I can’t give out any information that has anything to do with an ongoing investigation.”
Jo smiled more to herself than she let show on her face. She finally had Floyd right where she wanted him now. All she had to do was tell him exactly what she wanted him to do.
“We both know that Floyd, but I also know that you can talk to us about the investigations into the attacks on us.”
He looked like he was about to protest but finally nodded. “Okay, what do you want to talk about, Little Bit?”
Now she had him for sure. “I want to do something to draw these morons out into the open so you can catch them and put a stop to all this nonsense.”
Floyd got a little red in the face. “And just how do you expect to do this? I’m not letting you stick your neck out.” He motioned toward Gil with his thumb. “And he don’t look like he’s physically able to do much right now . . . if he ever was.”
Jo reached over and gently slapped Floyd’s leg. “Don’t start with the insults again Floyd or you know I’ll do it without you.”
He blushed. Her big bully of a macho cousin actually blushed. This was turning out to be fun after all.
She opened her mouth to continue, but Gil started talking before she could.
“I think I could manage to make myself available to entice our tormentors to show themselves if the proper situation presented itself.”
Floyd slapped his knee with his palm. “Speak English Preacher.” He stopped and glared at Gil again. “You volunteering to be a decoy Bo . . . ?” He ducked the look Jo gave him and grinned back at her.
Gil seemed to be a little surprised himself. “Yes, I do believe that is exactly what I am doing.”
Floyd grinned and Jo wasn’t sure if it was a friendly grin or more like that of a man-eating tiger grinning at its dinner.
“Well, fella, I just think we might be able to come up with something you could possibly do to help to get those critters out in the open.”
That was when they all three put their heads together and came up with a plan that Jo felt just might work. If they could only lure Earl and Clyde into their trap.
Floyd stood, slammed his hat on his head and said, “Well, I got some more patrolling to do before I go home for the day. I’m out of here.”
And he was gone without another word even to Jo. She smiled to herself again. He was upset with her for maneuvering him again, but he’d get over it by the time he came into The Early Bird this evening.
After Floyd was gone, she turned back to Gil and said, “You will be careful won’t you?”
He smiled, but he didn’t fool Jo. She knew he was more than a little nervous about his part in their plan.
“What’s to be careful about? All I have to do is go out tonight about midnight and drive around town until they start to follow me. If the sheriff is right there, they won’t be able to do anything to me.”
She noticed that he was still avoiding calling Floyd by his name. But, on the other hand, Floyd wasn’t calling Gil by his name either. Maybe the two men were more alike than she would have ever dreamed. Of course, that was the problem. They were men. All men were basically the same, even her cousin . . . and the preacher too.
All the way back home, Jo kept thinking about the meeting at the church. She couldn’t help but think about all the things that could go wrong with their plan.
As soon as she had turned on the neon “Open” sign, unlocked the door, and started walking back toward the bar, the door opened and Floyd stormed in.
She should have been expecting him but she had hoped, though, that he would at least wait until he was off duty and come in this evening when it would be noisy enough to cover whatever they might say. All she could do was get back behind the bar and wait for the explosion.
Floyd didn’t say anything while he took his seat on a stool, tossed his hat on the bar, and then glared at her across the bar.
“Okay, Little Bit, give.”
She chose not to act like she didn’t know what he was talking about. She knew that would only make him madder.
“First, Floyd, I am not now nor will I ever be involved in any way with Gil Turner.”
He laughed a booming laugh and now she was glad no one else was in the bar.
“You may be able to fool that preacher boy and you might even be able to foo
l yourself, but Little Bit you can’t fool me. I’ve known you all your life.”
She flung a bar towel at him in exasperation. He just caught it and laughed again. “I saw the way you looked at that guy. What I don’t understand is why, with all the guys there are around town who would love to be with you, you go and pick an outsider . . . and a wimpy little city boy to boot.”
Now she was mad and was just about to explode when the door opened and several customers came in. They were regulars and she knew they would want beers and a sandwich, so she moved away from Floyd so she could cool off if nothing else and maybe organize her thoughts.
Then she thought, how did she look at the preacher, at Gil? She didn’t think she looked at him any different than she did any other man.
As she walked over to the newcomers’ table, she looked at her watch and realized that her waitress was late. By the time she placed their beers on the table and had taken their sandwich orders, more customers came in and thankfully her waitress was with them.
She didn’t want to, but she knew she had to go back over to where Floyd was leaning both elbows on the bar.
“Okay Floyd, you can think whatever you want but the bottom line is that you had better keep a close watch on Gil tonight and make sure nothing bad happens to him.”
When he didn’t look up, she fisted her hands onto her hips and almost snarled at him. “Do you hear me Floyd?”
When he looked up, he was grinning now and that just made her madder.
He said, “Okay, Little Bit. I’ll take care of your little friend.” He put emphasis on the last word.
With that, he turned around, slid off the stool, and swaggered out the door leaving her with no outlet for her anger.
Jo was just relaxing from the noon rush when the door flew open and Sue Ann made her normal grand entrance. This was definitely not what she needed after another extremely busy lunchtime.
Sue Ann didn’t waste any time. She started right in. “Do you know what that rotten, good for nothing cousin of yours did now?”
Even though Jo had a lot of cousins living in the county, she knew which one Sue Ann was referring to.
“No, what did Floyd do this time?”
Sue Ann took a big gulp of the Coke Jo had just placed in front of her.
“He followed Mike and me everywhere we went last night . . . in his Tahoe. I’m surprised he didn’t pull us over.”
Jo didn’t know what to say even though she’d been pretty sure that Floyd would do just that.
“At least he didn’t go into the restaurant with us.” She took another drink. “And, I called Mike this morning just to make sure he wasn’t in jail or anything.”
Jo couldn’t help it. A giggle escaped around the hand she clapped over her mouth.
Sue Ann glared at her and said, “This isn’t funny Jo Jo. That man is a nuisance.”
Jo had to be careful. She couldn’t agree too much with Sue Ann for fear of antagonizing Floyd and she couldn’t make light of the situation either. Sue Ann would be hurt and upset if she did.
It took Jo another ten minutes to calm Sue Ann down and assure her that she would talk to Floyd.
* * *
Gil was beginning to have second thoughts about tonight’s little plan . . . at least his part in it. He didn’t know what he would do if someone did come after him tonight or actually this morning, since it was after midnight.
He pulled his Focus out onto the street, which was also the state highway that ran through Crowleyville. What in the world was he doing? He wasn’t a daredevil, never had been and he was quite certain that he never would be.
Then he thought of Mary Jo Early sitting in his office this morning. He didn’t know why her face kept popping up in his mind. He had been much more impressed with Daisy Thomas the other day. She was a social worker and she was the director of the group home, for what they called challenged adults. Her beautiful brown hair and almost green eyes had certainly captivated him. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she had been sending him signals that she would like to get to know him better.
Then there had been that doctor in the emergency room, Dr. Stella Martin. With her blond hair and blue eyes, she was really nice too. And the best thing about both women was that they were members of his church, not a bar owner.
But Jo Early? Why had she left such an impression on him? If anything, she was rather plain with her dark red hair, brown eyes, and pale complexion decorated with lots of freckles. But then he remembered when she had smiled at him. Wow! That was some smile. He’d felt it down to his toes.
Stop! He couldn’t think about any of those thoughts, at least not right now. He’d been daydreaming and not paying enough attention to his driving. The sheriff, he still couldn’t get himself to call the big bully by his first name, had said for him to just drive up and down the state highway. He’d said to go about two miles out of town on one end and then turn around and go back about two miles out of town the other way.
The sheriff had also said that he’d be parked out of sight on the north side of town and one of his deputies would be parked at the south end with another one somewhere in the middle of town. That had sounded relatively harmless this morning when they’d come up with the plan in the safety of his office. But now, with no traffic on the highway, Gil felt alone and forsaken. Would the sheriff really protect him? If you’d asked him that question even yesterday, he’d have said an emphatic no. But now he wasn’t so positive. Sure, Jo had forced her cousin to cooperate with them, but would the sheriff actually follow through if something did happen?
Gil was driving through town headed south and had just passed The Early Bird when he noticed headlights in his rearview mirror. He felt a little better when he went through the next intersection and saw a police car sitting down the block on the side street. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the police car move toward the intersection without its headlights on. Good!
In the streetlights of downtown, Gil was able to see that it was a dark pickup following him. The sheriff had told him that wherever he was when someone started following him, for him to drive slowly to the church, turn into the parking lot, and then drive on up to the parsonage.
McCracken had said for him to stay in his car and they’d take care from there.
When Gil turned into the parking lot and headed up the drive to the parsonage, the pickup drove on by. Seconds later, he saw two patrol cars go by in the same direction.
Five minutes later, Gil was standing just inside his front door when one of the patrol cars came up his drive and stopped in front of the garage. McCracken got out and came up to the steps and Gil stepped out onto the porch.
The big man took off his hat and wiped his forehead. “Well, it was Earl and Clyde all right, but they didn’t really do anything wrong that we could see. Where did they pull in behind you?”
Gil thought for a moment. I think I had just passed Jo’s bar when I noticed their headlights in my mirror.”
McCracken cursed and growled, “I don’t like the sound of that, not one little bit.”
Gil didn’t really want to but thought he should say, “Do we try again?”
McCracken set his hat back on his head and looked down the hill at the street. “Not anymore tonight at least. I’ll have to let you know about tomorrow night though.”
The radio in the sheriff’s patrol car broke the silence and he pressed his finger to his ear where he had an ear bud from his portable radio. Gil could just make out what the dispatcher was saying coming through the car radio.
“Open 911 from the apartment above The Early Bird.” Gil didn’t place it at first until McCracken seemed to get extremely agitated.
“Got to go. Something’s going on over at Jo’s.”
With that, he jumped in his car and took off down the hill, throwing gravel.
Gil was concerned about Jo but knew he couldn’t go over there for at least two reasons. He didn’t really know her well enough and most of all, he was sure that the s
heriff wouldn’t allow it. He’d probably arrest Gil for obstructing or some such thing.
He went back into the house and up the stairs to prepare for bed. Just as he entered his bedroom and turned on the light, something crashed through the window in front of his bed. He turned the light back off and dropped to the floor.
He crawled over to the window, which was about five feet from the bed. With the moonlight coming in through the windows, he was able to locate the rock that had come through the window. He could tell even in the dim lighting that a piece of paper was wrapped around the rock. He knew better than to touch it, so he pulled out his cell phone and called 911.
This time, the sheriff didn’t come. A deputy came who turned out to be one of the ones who had been watching him as he drove around earlier.
Gil told him what had happened and the deputy placed the rock in a plastic bag. He turned it over and over inside the bag until he could read all the writing on it.
He turned to Gil and said, “It said that they knew what we were doing earlier and they’ll still get you if you don’t leave town.”
The deputy looked at the window then went outside. Gil watched him as he seemed to check around the grounds then drive off.
Gil then tried to go to bed and get some sleep, which he knew would elude him for most of the rest of the night . . . or morning.
All he could think about was what if something had happened to Jo or even to her little sister. He knew he wouldn’t find out until the morning when Betty came in. Being married to the chief deputy, she always knew what was going on around the county.
Chapter Seven
Jo had been having trouble sleeping all night. She was worried about the preacher, Gil. What if something happened to him? It would be her fault for getting him involved.
She was wide awake now and realized she was very thirsty. She slid out of bed, pulled on her housecoat, and stepped into the kitchen. She didn’t turn on a light since the moon was pretty bright and it lit the kitchen well enough for her to see.
She had just filled a glass with water when she heard what sounded like gravel crunching in the parking lot. She looked out the window over the sink and saw a dark pickup moving slowly toward the rear of the parking lot with no lights on.
No Easy Solution (Crowley County Series Book 1) Page 10