Moon Underfoot

by Cole, Bobby

  “No, ma’am. That’s why I came by here. I was hopin’ to find her.”

  “When’s the last time you talked to her?” Sebastian asked.

  “Late Saturday night, or actually Sunday morning when I dropped her off here. Wait a minute—so y’all don’t know where she’s at either?” Levi asked.

  “No, we don’t. We thought you might.”

  Levi quickly stood, almost knocking over his chair. The expression on his face was one of anger mixed with concern. He yelled, “Woody!”

  Lucille quickly glanced at the old men, who shrugged, and then at Levi and said, “I doubt it. She hasn’t mentioned him in a few days.”

  “We have to find out. He ain’t no good, Miss Lucille.”

  Walter looked at Sebastian. They hadn’t considered Woody, since they assumed that they had scared him sufficiently enough to stay clear of Bailey. It was possible that she had reached out to him; if so, that would be enough encouragement for him to ignore Sebastian’s .357 Magnum warning. They now had to consider that Bailey, with or without help from Woody, had stolen the money and that they had run off together.

  Bernard noticed the silent exchange between Walter and Sebastian, and wanting to participate, he said, “Never trust a guy who has a monogrammed can of tobacco.”

  Sebastian and Walter looked nervously at each other. They did not want Bernard talking.

  Levi didn’t respond. Yes! That’s it. It was a W and not an M. Woody stole the money, he thought.

  Everyone noticed Levi’s eyes light up. Walter asked, “Levi? Levi? Levi, what’s wrong? What are you thinkin’?”

  Levi didn’t respond. He quickly pulled out his cell phone as he headed for the door. The third “Levi” finally broke through, and he said, “I gotta find Woody.”

  “I’m goin’ with ya,” Sebastian said as he began to rise from his chair.

  “No, sir! I gotta do this alone.”

  Levi was out the door and in his truck before Sebastian was fully standing.

  CHAPTER 94

  IT WAS 8:00 P.M. Morgan was in her bedroom pacing, worried about Jake. Since the Dummy Line incident, it was extremely unusual, even when he was hunting, for him not to respond to calls or texts. Jake never went anywhere—not even the toilet—without his BlackBerry. If he couldn’t take a call, he would at least text a reply. Morgan always received some type of response within a few minutes. She sensed that something was very wrong.

  Katy was sitting at the kitchen table, diagramming sentences for her English class, but she couldn’t concentrate. Plus, she could hear her mom on the telephone in the bedroom, calling people, looking for her dad. The more people Morgan talked to, the more upset Katy became.

  As she walked back into the kitchen, Morgan saw Katy quietly crying. She realized that Katy had heard her frantic conversations. “Katy, honey, don’t cry. Dad’s probably at a meeting and forgot to tell me about it, that’s all.”

  “Why won’t he answer his phone?”

  Morgan squatted in front of Katy and put her hands on her arms. “Maybe he forgot to charge the battery. You know how forgetful Dad is. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

  Katy wanted to believe what Morgan was saying. She took several deep breaths and began to calm. Morgan knew too well that the last several days had taken a toll on Katy and brought up all of the memories of the killings a year and a half earlier.

  “Momma, kids at school are saying that there’s a man tryin’ to kill us.”

  “Who’s saying that?”

  “Jenna said it, and so has Haley.”

  “Honey, that’s just talk. Ya know, sometimes people like to say things…even when they don’t know what they’re talkin’ about.”

  “Jenna said her uncle told her, Momma.”

  Morgan tried to think who that might be and didn’t know. In a small town like West Point, it was difficult, if not impossible, to keep anything secret. She wondered just how much to tell Katy. “Honey, there’s this one man from that gang that night in the woods who the police are watching. They promised that they would keep an eye on him.”

  “There was a policeman at school today, and Jenna said he was there to watch over me to make sure nobody got me.”

  Morgan had been to countless counseling sessions for her own issues, so the first thing that popped out of her mouth was the ambiguous “How does that make you feel?”

  “Safe. Someone, besides you and Dad, is concerned about me,” Katy replied.

  “Honey, we wanna make sure you’re safe…always. And having that policeman there—well, that’s good. Isn’t it?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Katy, honey, everything’s gonna be okay. Please finish your homework. I have to make a few more phone calls, okay?”

  “Okay, Mom. Thanks.”

  Morgan gave Katy a hug, kissed her forehead, and headed toward her bedroom.

  “Mom?”

  Morgan turned around and said, “Yes, dear?”

  “Where’s Scout?”

  “I don’t know, sweetheart. We’ll find her,” Morgan replied, trying to hide her own escalating emotions.

  Scout was part of the family. She had been Jake’s puppy when Morgan and Jake had gotten married. Now Morgan had to find their dog and her husband. She walked into their bedroom and pulled out the local phone book. She leafed through it until she found the chief of police’s home phone number. She knew his wife from Junior Auxiliary. She exhaled deeply and dialed. A tear dropped onto the open book.

  CHAPTER 95

  HAVING JAKE WALK into his trailer was a poorly timed but pleasant surprise for Moon Pie, and he planned to take full advantage of the situation. For a long moment, he watched Jake’s heavy breathing as he lay on the floor, blood from his head slowly soaking an old canvas decoy bag. He had decided to haul Jake into the woods and kill him slowly before heading to Alabama to hide from the cops and the Mexicans.

  With Jake still unconscious, Moon Pie quickly looked through drawers until he found a bag of large, thick, black zip ties. He bound Jake’s hands and tightly secured his ankles. Moon Pie was confident that the heavy-duty plastic ties would hold.

  Moon Pie found several white socks that he duct taped over his bullet wounds in hopes that the pressure would stop the bleeding. He then washed up and changed into clean clothes.

  He located his stun gun and did a battery test with a quick press of the trigger. The blue electrical arc between the metal posts reminded Moon Pie of a tiny, personal bolt of lightning. The first thing he had done after buying the device was to test it on a neighbor’s cat that always sat on the hood of his Bronco. He never saw the cat again. The thought brought a sinister smile to his face as he looked down at Jake. This oughta keep that son of a bitch in line.

  Moon Pie placed the stun gun in a coat pocket as he thought about what to do with Jake’s truck. It was much newer than the Bronco and would be significantly more comfortable to drive. And with thousands of Z-71 Chevy trucks in the South, he would be able to blend in, more so than in a restored old Bronco. Plus, it would only be a matter of time before the Mexicans learned that he owned the Bronco, and they would be looking for it. Moon Pie found Jake’s truck keys in his front left pocket and then went to look for the truck.

  Moon Pie quickly found it and backed the truck next to his Bronco. He then swapped everything from it to Jake’s truck. Jake was still unconscious when he finished loading everything, including the frozen head and cape of the big full-velvet whitetail he had told the taxidermist about. Moon Pie knew his buddy would pay top dollar for it.

  Moon Pie splashed cold water on Jake’s face, waking him abruptly. The outlaw squatted down next to Jake’s face and said in a menacing tone, “Hey, sunshine, you comfy?”

  Jake’s head pounded, and even as he struggled to free his arms and legs, he realized it was useless. His breathing was labored. Jake watched the wild eyes of his captor as he finally asked, “Are you Moon Pie?”

  Moon Pie laughed out loud and then said, “Yep.
That’s what they used to call me. But I go by Memphis now.” He watched Jake’s reaction. He liked that Jake had never known what he looked like. Now it didn’t really matter.

  “And you’re the guy who killed Johnny Lee and Reese,” he said, shaking his head disapprovingly. Then he added, “You musta caught ’em by surprise—too much of a chickenshit to take ’em on face-to-face, I guess.”

  Jake struggled to sit up but couldn’t. He asked, “So…is that why you been followin’ my family?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. Look, you broke into my house. Guess you ain’t ever heard of the Castle Doctrine. You stupid shit! I got every right to shoot and kill your ass right now in the name of self-defense. There ain’t a jury in the great state of Mississippi that’d convict me. Hell, I doubt that I’d even get arrested.”

  Jake realized he had been an idiot to come after Moon Pie. He had let his anger get the better of him. No one, not one soul, knew where he was. He wanted to keep Moon Pie talking, to buy some time to devise a plan to get out of this mess. He asked, “What about last night?”

  “What about it? I watched a football game, bro. Right here. Got two neighbors that’ll alibi me.”

  “You weren’t at the Rascal Flatts concert last night?”

  Moon Pie was enjoying Jake’s confusion. He said, “Hell no. Sat right here and watched a good ol’ slobber-knocker on TV and drank some beers.”

  Jake didn’t believe a word of what Moon Pie was saying. He’d been a stockbroker long enough to recognize a lie when he heard one. He looked around for his gun.

  Moon Pie knew what he was looking for and pulled it out of his waistband, waving it in front of Jake. “This what you’re looking for? Sweet piece. I always wanted a Ruger. Guess what? Now I got me one.” He aimed it at Jake’s forehead, closing one eye to look down the sights.

  Jake knew that he was toying with him, and from the look in Moon Pie’s eyes, it was clear that he was capable of anything and everything.

  “What now?” Jake asked.

  “You and I are gonna take a little ride to a very remote swamp, and we’ll see how long you can hold your breath,” Moon Pie said with an evil smile.

  “I’m not goin’.”

  Moon Pie pulled out the stun gun and squeezed the trigger, letting the electricity pulse for a long moment, and then calmly replied, “It don’t look to me like you gotta choice.” He chuckled as he brought the bright blue current so close to Jake’s eyes that for a moment Jake believed Moon Pie was going to blind him.

  Jake was angry with himself and furious at Moon Pie. In an attempt to mask his fear, he yelled, “I want you to leave my family alone or I’m gonna kill you!”

  “I want you to shut the hell up!” Moon Pie said and then touched the two metal probes into Jake’s neck and squeezed the trigger, instantly sending 4.5 million volts through him. Jake began flopping convulsively as Moon Pie counted to four.

  Jake lay still. His eyes rolled back in his head. The smell of burning flesh made Moon Pie laugh. He carried Jake to his truck and folded him into the backseat. Moon Pie went back inside to clean up the blood on the floor. When he finished, he picked up an old decoy bag, thinking it was perfect for hiding a dead bald eagle.

  CHAPTER 96

  LEVI PARKED IN front of Woody’s parents’ house. Woody still lived with his folks and bullied both. Levi had heard Bailey talk about how Woody’s mother cooked whatever he wanted to eat, made his bed every morning, did his laundry, and ironed his dark-blue pants and work shirts, with his name embroidered above the left chest pocket. Woody treated his mother like crap, and that was reason enough for Levi to despise him. Levi loved his momma.

  Twenty seconds after Levi knocked on the door, the porch light came on and a woman’s soft voice asked, “Who is it?”

  “My name’s Levi. I’m a friend of Woody’s.”

  “Who?”

  Levi smiled and then said, “My name’s Levi. I’m a friend of Woody’s. Is he home?”

  “No. He’s not here.”

  Levi expected that the couple were probably scared to open the door because of Woody’s lowlife friends.

  “Ma’am, do you know where he is?”

  “He’s at work.”

  Levi could confirm that easily with a drive-by of the steel mill’s parking lot. If Woody’s car was there, it would greatly reduce the likelihood that Woody had stolen the money. Levi knew that if Woody had come into a large sum of money, he would never weld again.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry to have bothered you. Have a good night,” Levi said and then walked off the porch to his car.

  When he got behind the wheel, he could see Woody’s parents looking through a window at him. As he backed out of the driveway, the porch light darkened. He thought about the old couple and was glad they had each other. That made him think of Bailey, and he wondered why she hadn’t called. He tried to think of reasons he hadn’t heard from her. She had had fun at the concert, he could tell. His thoughts quickly went to the far edge, and he wondered if the Tennessee Mexicans somehow knew about her and had kidnapped her for leverage.

  Levi grabbed his prepaid cell and dialed Moon Pie’s number. Moon Pie, out of breath, answered on the third ring.

  “Man, I’m glad you called,” Moon Pie said before Levi could say anything.

  Levi smiled knowingly. Moon Pie needed something. That’s why he answered the phone this time but not the fifteen other times Levi had called today.

  “I was just checkin’ on you to see if you made it.”

  “Nah, not yet. I got delayed. I’ll tell you about it later. Get me some big bandages and some hydrogen peroxide, and meet me at the Chevron station on 45, where you turn to go to Caledonia, in about an hour or so,” Moon Pie demanded.

  Levi could hear a different pitch and cadence in his half brother’s voice. He sensed excitement and stress. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I just gotta bad wound that won’t stop bleeding.”

  “You get cut?”

  “I got shot.”

  “Shot! What the hell happened?”

  “I ain’t got time to tell ya. I’m okay. Just meet me there,” Moon Pie said and then abruptly hung up.

  Levi couldn’t believe it. Moon Pie was deep into something bad, something that had gotten him shot. Levi was fairly sure that it wasn’t a jealous husband, since Moon Pie had mentioned on their return trip from picking up the Mexicans’ cash that he hadn’t been with a woman in several weeks. That’s it! It’s them damn Mexicans, he thought as he drove Military Road back into town.

  As Levi passed the Columbus Country Club, his phone rang. When he looked down and saw the number calling, he immediately hit the send button to answer, forgetting everything else. “Hey, babe, I’m glad you called.”

  “You are?”

  “Of course. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m…I’m…I’m just kinda bummed out. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  “Wanna talk?” Levi asked, turning onto the entrance ramp for Highway 82. He was going to check on Woody at work. He added, “I’m a great listener.”

  “I need to. I wanna ask you a question.”

  “Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

  “No. First, I need to ask you a few questions, and I’m scared I’ll run you off.”

  “Run me off?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Not really, so ask away,” he said.

  Bailey took a deep breath. “Okay, the last few weeks have been really fun, and I feel like we’ve got somethin’ special goin’. I need to know if you feel it too.”

  Levi smiled, thinking of her struggling to ask this question. “Yes, of course I feel it too, and I don’t like bein’ away from you or not knowin’ where you’re at.”

  Bailey beamed. “That’s good. I’m not sayin’ it’s goin’ anywhere serious, but I just know it feels different and that maybe it could.”

  “I agree. We’ve got potential.”

  “Exactly�
�and, well…I need to know if you’ll still be my friend and feel that way if you find out I did something really, really stupid.”

  “Stupid? Like dyed your hair orange or stupid like made a sex tape?”

  Bailey sighed deeply. “You’re gonna hate me.”

  “Bailey, try me.”

  “I helped steal something.”

  “Well, can you give it back?”

  “It’s not that simple. Others are involved, and I’m sure they’re pissed at me.”

  “Bailey, everybody makes mistakes.”

  “Yeah, I keep tellin’ myself that, but it’s not helpin’.”

  “Who are the others?”

  “My grandmomma and her friends.”

  Levi thought about the group at the table and how anxious the men were to find Bailey.

  “What did y’all do? Rob a bank?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “Kinda.”

  Levi was stunned and suddenly had an inkling of what may have occurred and why she might be feeling so remorseful. “Bailey, where are you?”

  “Are you mad? I’m not a bad person,” she said, starting to cry. “At least I didn’t use to be.”

  “No, I’m not mad. I wanna help. I don’t want you gettin’ hurt. Where are you? I need to see you.”

  “I’m at the Golden Moon Casino hotel in Philadelphia.”

  “Don’t leave, and don’t let anyone into your room. I’m comin’ down there right now, and I promise we’ll work all this out. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she said and felt some relief.

  “I’ll be there in an hour. Promise me you’ll be there.”

  “I will.”

  “And Bailey, I still feel the same way. Nothing’s changed.”

  Levi stomped on the gas pedal, and the old truck’s engine roared.

  CHAPTER 97

  MOON PIE’S GUNSHOT wound was beginning to burn white-hot. While straining to load Jake into the backseat, he caused the wound to open up. He could now feel blood running down his side from both the entrance and exit wounds, only six inches apart above his hip. With his right hand, he could apply pressure with his middle finger and his thumb, but the pain intensified as he did so. To combat the intense throbbing, he swigged straight Jack Daniels as he drove toward the massive swamp.