They ate in silence, concentrating on tearing the rabbit apart. Lori Sue ate ravenously, happy to see that Billy was letting her eat more than her share. She could have put away two or three rabbits by herself.
When they were done, Lori asked, “Where you staying?”
“In the building where most of the militia are. I got my own little room there.”
“Not tonight,” she announced, standing up and wiping her face with her sleeve. She took his hand and led him back to her apartment.
She told him to take a bowlful of water from the buckets in the kitchen if he wanted to wash up. She went into the bedroom, stripped down to her panties, and took out a precious vial of perfume. She put a little behind her ears, between her breasts, and on her belly. She only had to wait a moment before Billy was standing in the doorway. His eyes went wide and he started to pull back, but she went up to him and kissed him hard on the lips.
She could feel him tense up, but she persisted until he relaxed and began to respond. “You ain’t been around girls much, have you?” He started to protest, but she shushed him and led him to the bed. “It’s okay. Has to be a first time for everyone. Besides, I like it.”
She helped Billy out of his shirt and sat him down on the edge of the bed, kneeling to unlace his boots and pull them off. His pants followed, but she was wise enough to leave his underpants on for the moment. She sat down next to him and they began to kiss, with Billy awkwardly exploring her body. His eyes were opened in wonder one moment and closed the next as they kissed. His hands explored her curves and forbidden places.
When she was ready she slipped off his underpants and her own. He wasn’t sure what to do, so she guided his hand to that most mysterious place. Billy was panting now. Lori Sue pulled him onto her.
It was over in a few short minutes. Billy lay back, breathing deeply, seemingly somewhere else. Lori Sue gently kissed him back to the moment. “You sure were in a hurry. We have to try that again.”
“Can we?”
“Of course, stupid. As much as you can handle.” She smiled at him. Billy was young. He smelled nice—woodsy, not dirty or unhealthy like so many of the men in town. And he could provide food, he was gentle, he was a bit innocent and yet energetic. Yes, she wanted more.
It turned out Billy could handle quite a lot; the night proved energetic for both of them.
Chapter 18
Charlie needed more information. He wrestled with the question of who to talk to for a whole day. Who could help him shed some light on what was going on without tipping off Frank Mason, or, worse, Joe Stansky? Finally he decided he had to go back to the water mill and talk to Bob Jackson, the superintendent, about Jim. He got on his bicycle and began to make his way through the streets out towards the river.
The head of the water project gave him a baleful look when he entered the mill. That palpable distrust was the one reason that Charlie felt he could talk with him…that and a hunch that the man might have some information
“Look,” Charlie told him. “I know Jim’s missing. His son’s over at the school. His wife dropped out of sight, and then she was recently spotted in the militia block. Now, I know something is wrong. I didn’t have anything to do with all of that, but I’m trying to find out what’s going on so I can help his family.”
“You’re telling me you don’t know what’s going on? That’s a laugh. You been in a coma for the past year?”
“What do you mean?”
The man shook his head. “I shouldn’t be talking to you. You’re part of the problem, along with Mason and Stansky.”
Charlie thought about that for a moment. “I know it looks that way. But I haven’t told anyone about my investigation. I don’t want anyone but me to know about it until I know what’s going on.”
“Then what’re you gonna do? Report to the authorities?”
“If there’s a problem, if something is wrong in the city—”
The man snorted and gave Charlie a disdainful look. “There’s plenty wrong in the city.”
“Okay,” Charlie said, “I admit it. We have martial law, we’re still only a couple of steps from starving, there’s limited freedom and everyone is under strict control. I know that, but think about the times we’re living in.”
“Easy for you to say. You get all the perks. You get to make up the rules. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a food center…got your own eating arrangements? I’ll bet you’re eating better than the rest of us.”
Charlie felt his expression betray him.
“I thought so,” Jackson said in a sharper voice. “Now why don’t you go back to your special arrangements and leave me alone.”
Charlie sucked in his breath. “”No,” he said quietly. He met the other’s gaze. “Because something’s wrong, something beyond martial law issues and it’s my job to find out what it is.” His voice was rising. “And you’re going to help me. Maybe I’ve had special privileges but I’ve helped keep order. Now if there’s something else going on, something worse, I’m not a part of it, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it.” He was almost shouting now.
“Shhh. Everyone can hear you. Let’s go outside.” The superintendent grabbed Charlie’s arm and led him out a side door. The man let go of his arm and they walked along the side of the building.
When Jackson spoke again, his voice had lost its contemptuous edge. “Maybe you are concerned…or maybe this is just an act. But you know something’s going on. Something that got Jim killed.”
Charlie nodded, waiting.
The man took a deep breath. “I may be doing a stupid thing, but if you come down here in one week I’ll take you to meet some people. You come after dark. You come alone, and you’ll get blindfolded. You won’t see who you’re talking to. You agree?”
Charlie nodded.
“If we see anyone following you, no one will be here. Got it?”
Charlie again nodded. His gut twisted. A week from now he was going to know more than he probably wanted to know.
When Jackson told the others, the table erupted with voices of concern and dissent.
“Have you gone nuts?” one of them shouted. “This could get us all killed.”
“It may help us,” he replied. “We’re not getting anywhere and we need some help. Chief Cook won’t know who he’s talking to. We’ll watch him with lookouts. If we see he’s being followed, we arrange a signal and we all just disappear. No one will know we were there. If he’s alone, we can talk to him and maybe get him on our side.”
“He’s not on our side. He’s part of the problem,” another said.
The group was not convinced. One of the men in particular, a stout welder with bulging forearms named Bud, was against the plan. “It’s too risky,” Bud insisted. “You’re just gonna confirm what he can only guess at now. He’s part of the problem. What the hell can he do for us except make our lives riskier?”.
“Look, I’m the one at risk. If he’s going to use a meeting against us but doesn’t know who anyone is, he’ll only know who I am and they’ll come for me. I’m the one putting his life on the line.”
Some nodded at his point.
“They’ll get to us through you,” someone said.
“No, they won’t. Because I’ll make them shoot me. I’m not going down without a fight.” Jackson knew the fate that would await him if they captured him. He was tired of living in fear. He glared at the others. “I’m not going to let them torture me. May as well take a few out, ‘cause I’ll be killed one way or the other.”
His sincerity was obvious. It swayed the group, and they agreed to the meeting.
Chapter 19
The old pickup truck rocked and bumped its way carefully along the country road. Leo was driving. Frank was squeezed in next to him, with Charlie on the other side. Behind them, the four militia guards bounced around in the back, holding their M16s close. Leo glanced back at them now and then. They looked tired and battered from the journey, but he could see they were sti
ll on high alert, scanning the fields and woods as they rounded blind turns, aware of possible places where they could be ambushed. Good.
At the abandoned town of Clifton Forge, Leo turned left to follow the Pickering River. Twenty minutes down the road, he saw the girders of the bridge. He pulled up and stopped the truck about ten feet short of the turn onto the bridge. He got out. “Stay in the truck,” he said over his shoulder to the guards.
He walked towards the bridge, examining it. It was a truss bridge, with the iron beams rising on each side, crossing over the top and laced with a triangular pattern of supports bolted to them. The murmuring river below was perhaps three car lengths wide; the bridge itself was about five car lengths from end to end and single lane. The valley’s farm wagons must have been a tight fit. He heard the others climbing out of the cab.
“So this is the site of the famous battle?” Frank said.
Leo walked onto the edge of the bridge and looked across it. There were only a few signs left to suggest a battle had occurred. On the roadside beyond the bridge one could see a few bones half-embedded in the earth, that you might not have recognized for human if not for the skull barely visible in the grass. The bloodstains were long gone, the full skeletons had been torn apart by animals, and any personal items had been scavenged.
“The gang really drove into a trap,” Leo said.
“How’s that?” Frank asked.
“See the ridges on either side of the road?” Leo pointed beyond the bridge. The land rose up cliff-like with rocks studding the face. A creek draining the valley had cut a narrow gorge through the low ridge to join the river. To make a road, the builders had widened this cut just enough to put the road through. “If the farmers were up there on the ridge tops, the gang was in a shooting gallery. See how narrow it is after the bridge? They’d be sitting ducks trying to get up that road. Even the bridge wouldn’t give much protection.”
“Let’s get going,” Charlie said behind him. There was nervous irritation in Charlie’s voice. “We’re wasting time hanging out here.”
Leo turned and looked at Charlie with some disdain. He didn’t think much of this old cop. He didn’t much like cops, even ones on the take. “Not a waste of time if there’s something to learn,” he said mildly.
“What’s to learn?” Charlie asked.
“How they fight. How smart they are about tactics. From what I see, they knew how to pick their spot. Can’t let them repeat that.”
“What do you mean by that?” Charlie asked.
“Nothing.” Leo walked back to the truck.
Frank was already standing by the passenger door. “You know where to go from here?” Frank said with a slight edge.
“I checked the directions,” Leo said. “Piece of cake.”
Ten minutes later they pulled into the yard of what Leo thought should be the right farm. It was late afternoon.
“What the hell is that?” Frank said beside him. Frank was looking at the front wall of the farmhouse, above the porch. It was covered with dead branches that seemed to grow out from the wood siding, like a forest wall. Only the windows were uncovered.
“Beats me,” Leo replied. “Someone’s strung branches along the side of the house.”
“That’s awfully strange,” Frank said. The three men piled out of the pickup. Leo gestured to the guards to stay put.
“Got to be a good reason for it. People out here don’t waste that much energy on decorations.” Leo turned to Charlie with a smirk, “Whatcha think, Chief?”
Charlie didn’t answer.
Just then the front door of the house opened and Anne and Catherine Richards stepped out onto the porch. Anne’s face had a polite and welcoming smile on it, but Catherine’s face looked stern and her right hand rested on the butt of a pistol on her hip.
“What brings you all the way out here?” Anne asked. Leo watched Catherine’s eyes flick over them all and settle back on him. He looked back coolly, feeling the tension of a challenge.
Frank smiled and stepped forward past him, his right hand raised in a greeting as he approached the porch. His politician’s voice was rich and pleasant. “Good day, ladies. We want to talk with Jason about the upcoming trades,” he said warmly. “Figured it made sense to work out the kinks beforehand. We don’t want a repeat of the last time. That was a mistake on our part.” He extended his hand. Anne took it, as did Catherine, reluctantly.
“Jason’s not here right now,” Anne said.
“What’s with the armed men?” Catherine asked.
Frank glanced at her briefly. “Just to make sure we got here safely, I assure you.” He turned back to Anne. “Do you mind if we wait for him?” he asked.
“He’s going to be out till dark,” Catherine said. “There’s lots of work to do.”
“That’s okay. Since we came so far, we’ll just wait. Do you mind if we look around?”
“Yes we do,” Anne said. “You can wait, but stay here, in the yard.”
Frank’s displeasure was obvious in his voice. “Maybe we’ll drive up the valley and visit the other farms while we’re waiting.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Catherine said. “The others might shoot on sight, seeing a pickup with armed men in the back. It could be dangerous.”
“You didn’t shoot us,” Leo said. He felt his anger growing.
Catherine met his gaze again. “I recognized Mr. Mason and Chief Cook, otherwise I might have. Right now my sister has you in her sights, just in case there’s trouble.”
Leo glanced up at the house. The first-floor windows were empty, as were those on the second floor. With the upper siding covered in brush, there was nothing to see. Is she up there? he wondered.
“You’d never see it coming.” Catherine said.
Frank shrugged. “We don’t want to cause any trouble. I guess we’ll just have to wait here in the yard.” He turned back to the pickup.
Anne Richards turned and went back into the house. Catherine followed, with a polite nod and a last look at Leo before she was through the door.
I like her, Leo thought, smiling faintly. She’s got some spark. Shame I’ll probably have to kill her.
Catherine moved quickly back to the kitchen, picking up her rifle on the way. “Mom, you and Sarah keep an eye on them. I’ll sneak out the back and get Jason. He’s up at the Turner farm.”
Sarah appeared halfway down the stairs, rifle in hand, eyes wide with excitement. “What do we do if they try to snoop around?” she whispered to Catherine.
“Give them a warning shot,” Catherine replied. “They’re not prepared to attack us.”
“I’ll give them a warning shout,” Anne said. “We don’t want to start a shooting incident.”
“What do you think they want?” Sarah asked.
“It’s not just to have some casual conversation about the next trade. I don’t believe that for a minute,” Anne replied. “They’re here to snoop around. For what, I don’t know.” Sarah dashed back up the stairs.
Catherine slipped out the back door. She kept the house between her and the men in the front as she headed north across the fields towards the Turner farm. She hoped she could get to Jason before the visitors did anything foolish. A shooting incident would be bad with just Anne and Sarah there. But over the last two years they had all learned never to underestimate a danger. They had seen too much.
Jason had been about ready to quit working on the broken plow when he saw Catherine approaching. Now he and Catherine hurried back over the fields to their house. They kept out of view of the front yard as they approached, and quietly entered the back door. Jason was tired, dusty and hungry. He was not looking forward to this visit. With Frank a part of the conversation, he knew it would involve verbal sparring and deception. And there was the man named Leo. Jason had barely noticed him at the negotiations, but Catherine had filled him in on her impressions of the man, which were disturbing. The presence of someone like that did nothing to ease his concern.
/> “I’ll go out with you,” Catherine said. Jason nodded. Frank and the others needed to realize that she was someone they were going to have to deal with.
“We should offer them some food. It’s past dinner time and they don’t seem to be equipped for cooking,” Anne said.
Jason scowled, but she was right. “I guess we need to show some hospitality, even if we’re suspicious of them.”
“Have them eat outside,” Sarah suggested. “I don’t think I want them in the house, especially the men in the back of the truck.”
”If you can manage it politely,” Anne said.
“We’ve got enough chairs out there,” Jason said. Anne nodded, and she and Sarah began to rummage in the kitchen cupboards. Jason and Catherine stepped out onto the front porch.
The four guards were still sitting in the bed of the pickup, eating what looked like Army MREs. One of them reached over and tapped on the cab window. Frank was sitting on the passenger side; he looked over at the porch and said something to Leo and Charlie. They got out and walked towards the house.
“Hello, Jason,” Frank called out as he came forward. Jason stepped off the porch and shook Frank’s hand. Leo and Charlie joined them and they all went up onto the broad porch. Jason politely indicated the chairs around the table.
“What brings you way out here?” Jason said as the five of them sat down.
Frank did not immediately answer. He was looking out over the valley. It was now evening. The sun was close to slipping behind the west ridge. Long shadows from the house and the nearby trees draped themselves across the yard. Jason could feel the air flowing down the slope as it cooled, carrying the mountain fragrances that were always in the background during the heat of the day. Where it met the warmer, moist air of the creek that drained the valley floor, a curving line of mist was beginning to form. The house had been built to provide a good view. “You sure do live in a beautiful place,” Frank said.
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Jason replied. There was not much to add to the picture being painted before their eyes.
After the Fall (Book 2): Catherine's Tale (Part 1) Page 14