by Jay Morris
“You bastard! You fucking bastard!” Darnell screamed “You murderer!”
OMT was losing consciousness and couldn’t protect himself, Darnell stood up and taking the board again he tried to bash OMT’s head in but OMT managed to roll just enough so that it hit his left shoulder instead. That’s when Lucy came out onto the porch and screamed at what was going on; Lucy prompted Lt. Klein to step in.
“Enough! Livingston! Stand down!” she ordered.
“Not yet! Not until he is dead!” he yelled back.
Darnell kicked Tucker repeatedly, when his face was visible Darnell’s fist continued to smash at it. When Tucker’s face was barely recognizable as one, Darnell stood up, straddling the nearly unconscious old man, he raised it over his head in both hands, preparing to split Tuckers head like a grape.
The Lieutenant stepped forward and grabbed the 2x4 with one hand stopping Darnell from using it again, at least not unless he was willing to fight Klein first. For just a moment it looked as if Darnell was indeed willing to do just that but just as Deputy Weir started to head towards the conflict, it was Darnell’s mother who intervened.
“Darnell that is enough.”
She stepped down off the porch and headed towards her son, she placed a settling hand on his shoulder and the change was nearly instantaneous. She looked down at OMT who lay bleeding in the dirt but said nothing to him. She twined an arm with Darnell’s and led him towards the lodge. Deputy Weir knelt next to OMT,
“You okay Tucker?” he asked.
OMT just moaned in response. Weir then took a pair of handcuffs from his duty belt and pulled OMT’s arms behind him and snapped the cuffs on.
“Sorry about this Tucker.”
Weir said in a barely audible voice as he took the Colts from his belt and the fighting knife from its sheath on his right thigh.
Rico and Weir brought OMT in and set him on the floor, leaning against the stairs going to the 2nd floor, they released one cuff and pulled his arms so that his wrists went between two of the balustrades each and then cuffed him in that position. Emotions were high and everyone seemed upset except for Deputy Weir who just seemed sad. It was dark when the debate began, at first everyone was involved but Darnell got upset that Lucy was there and he demanded that all the kids be banished from the room.
I said “That’s not fair! We are involved as much as anyone else!”
Darnell laughed “You see? Look I don’t care how Tucker ran things; it’s time for the big kids to take over.”
Mrs. Driscol came over to me and said “Johnny, why don’t you and Karen take Lucy upstairs? Okay?”
Darnell quickly added “Kyle you and Elaine go too.”
Kyle started to comply but Elaine stood her ground “
Screw you Darnell, who are you to decide who stays and who goes? We have fought just as hard, lost just as much as anyone and probably more than most, I say we stay.”
Elaine gave the death stare that she apparently had inherited from Mom but this just made Darnell even angrier.
“Shut the fuck up bitch, now do as I say!”
It looked like he was going to slap Elaine, Mrs. Driscol stepped between them
“Darnell! Stop it!”
Darnell’s’ father agreed,
“Darnell, calm down son, we have serious things to discuss and you trying to bully that young lady isn’t going to help at all.”
Mrs. Driscol put her hand on his arm but he jerked it away, his face was clouded with anger and he stomped away to stand near the fireplace.
I spoke to Karen, “will you please go ahead and take Lucy upstairs? I’ll come get you if anything is being decided. I promise.”
She nodded then took Lucy by the hand that was not clutching Ronald Bear tightly to her face, Karen’s brother Kyle came to stand next to me as Karen and Lucy left the room. As Lucy and Karen passed by OMT, Lucy knelt next to him and gently touched his face; there was blood covering half of his face from the cut over one eye and the other was swollen so badly it was completely shut. Lucy whispered to him.
“Mr. Tucker, please don’t cry, it will be okay. I don’t believe you did what they said you did.”
Tucker was awake and he heard what Lucy had said but his answer was gravelly and hoarse, barely audible.
“Lucy, please, no matter what, I want you to stay in your room okay? You and Ronald Bear, promise me?”
Lucy looked confused because he didn’t deny the murders he was accused of; it was Karen who leaned over and said
“Don’t worry Mr. Tucker, we will, won’t we Luce?”
Karen took Lucy’s hand once more and together they went up the stairs to Lucy’s room.
In the great room, Darnell was pacing about,
“I don’t understand what we are doing here? I say I just drag the son-of-a-bitch out in the hard and put one between his eyes!”
Lt. Klein said “Not gonna happen before we know the whole story Corporal.”
She crossed her arms across her chest. Darnell stared at the older woman and said
“You saw the bodies, you saw what he did to my sister!” then after a moment he added “And where is Staff Sergeant Barnes? And Janey? Did you happen to not notice that Tucker returned alone? Shit, he probably killed them too!”
He waved his arms in frustration.
“I don’t know where they are Corporal and neither do you since you decided to so vigorously apprehend Tucker!” Lt. Klein said.
Her voice revealed that she had doubts as well.
“What do you say Mom?”
Darnell asked his mother who was sitting with her head in her hands. She looked up at her son, tall and handsome, but filled with fury and hate and after a moment she said
“I say my daughter is dead and nothing is going to bring her back.”
Mr. Livingston gently patted his wife’s shoulder before he had his say
“Darnell, you know as well as I that Janae was running with a rough crowd, maybe ...”
Darnell cut him off “Maybe what Dad? Maybe he had a reason to strangle her with her hands tied behind her back with a piece of clothes line?”
Mrs. Driscol spoke softly but firmly,
“We didn’t know she was your daughter, all I know is that the group she was with had beaten and abused Mr. and Mrs. Franks and killed a relative of theirs.”
Darnell looked aghast, “Says who? Who saw all this happen, huh? This alleged abuse you are accusing my sister of?”
Mrs. Driscol responded “Mrs. Franks told me, and the things she said were...”
“Were what?” Darnell yelled back. “Where are they now? Why did they only tell you?”
It was Elaine who surprised everyone.
“Because they are dead Darnell, dead. When we got here Mr. Franks never spoke a word after they were rescued and I saw the bruises and the cuts on Mrs. Franks.”
“Bullshit! Rescued my ass! You have already accepted that the black folks were the aggressors here or you wouldn’t have stated it like that!”
His words had cut Mrs. Driscol deeply and I could see that, but she didn’t back down.
“Mr. Franks committed suicide the same day you arrived, don’t you find that suspicious? I knew him for over 8 years and I can tell you he was broken, devastated. I don’t know what happened exactly but yes, I believe Mrs. Frank’s story. Those people, and your sister was one of them, had done terrible things here before Tucker stopped them!”
Darnell started across the room towards her, his fists tight, he was so angry that it took Rico and Weir to keep him from attacking Mrs. Driscol. Lt. Klein stood in the middle of the room and said
“Alright, alright. I don’t think we should do anything tonight. Let’s all try and get some rest and maybe we can come to some intelligent decisions in the morning?”
No one objected, not even Darnell but that may have been because he was so furious.
“Okay then, I have watch on the roof at 10, after me Rico, and Deputy Weir I know you had it earlier
today but would you please take another shift till morning?”
The quiet police officer nodded.
“Great.” Klein said “We will move Tucker to the roof so whoever is on watch can keep an eye on him too, is that acceptable?”
She was looking around the room but was clearly speaking to the Livingstons. Mr. Livingston seemed to answer for his family with just a sad nod.
Lt. Klein checked her side arm then with Deputy Weir took their prisoner up to the rooftop where he was handcuffed once more, this time to the huge wooden housing that I had hidden in so long ago. Klein got some water from the kitchen and tried to clean up OMT, as she knelt by him, gently daubing the damp cloth on his face she asked.
“Tucker, where is Barnes?”
“Dead.” Tucker answered in a voice that sounded like he was trying to swallow a mouth full of minnows, he turned away and spat out a large glob of bloody mucus. He was pressing on his own teeth with his tongue, he had already found one broken and another quite loose.
“What about Janey? Is she dead too?” Klein asked.
“No, well, she wasn’t when I left her. She is with a band of survivors about 25 miles from here. They were under attack and we intervened, we took out two quads but Barnes was killed and Janey was hurt pretty badly. Luckily the group has a Doctor and he stitched her up.”
Klein was upset at the loss of her fellow marine, one she had known for quite some time, but she controlled her emotions and she said
“Tucker, listen to me. The Livingstons want you dead, well Darnell does and probably his parents too. Did you do what they said? Did you strangle that girl?”
Tucker turned away his silence was his answer. Klein waited a full minute before she gave him some water to drink then she stood and walked to the wooden wall on the edge of the roof top garden. She began her guard duty in silence.
Day 20
I didn’t sleep much that night; I couldn’t decide what I was feeling if anything at all. When I heard someone in the hall I got up too. I slung my rifle and opened the door and saw Mrs. Driscol coming out of the bathroom. She smiled at me sadly then walked over to me and took me by the hand; she spoke quietly since it was still dark outside,
“Shall we go get some food and then maybe take some up to Mr. Tucker?”
I nodded and allowed her to lead me down stairs, when we got to the landing I saw the blood stains where OMT had been handcuffed to the stair rails last night. I remembered what it was like to watch Darnell kick his ass, the old man was just that, an old man. He wasn’t fierce or invincible he was just as broken as the rest of us, maybe more so.
In the kitchen Mrs. Driscol lit the gas stove and started putting together something, she was getting some left overs together with a can of bacon flavored SPAM, I guess that was more breakfast-y than regular SPAM. She set some warmed up tea for me and coffee for herself then dished up the peas, boiled potatoes from a can, and the SPAM. “Breakfast of Champions” she whispered to me and nudged me conspiratorially, I smiled at her. I really did like Mrs. Driscol; if I couldn’t have my Mom then she was easily the 2nd best thing. We ate in silence but as I finished mine I said,
“That girl was alive when Janey and I left to get you guys.”
She nodded and swallowed then set her fork down, her appetite having disappeared.
“What about the others?” I shook my head,
“They were all dead by then.”
She seemed as sad as could be imagined.
I asked her “why do you think he did it?”
She sat back and put her hands in her lap,
“I don’t know Johnny, I just don’t know.”
I thought about it,
“The only people here were the Franks, OMT and the Livingston girl.” I said.
She looked at me, “Well, maybe we should go up and ask him?”
I nodded in agreement and drank down the last of my tea. She gathered up some food on a plate and a cup of tea; at the last moment she asked me to bring a bottle of water so I did.
The sky was that pale pinkish orange that says the sun is just about to appear when we stepped out onto the roof top garden. Deputy Weir was standing with his back to us and was scanning the horizon with binoculars. He stopped and turned to look at us when he heard the door open; he didn’t say anything to us, he just went back to his searching. Mrs. Driscol leaned over and whispered to me
“That guy is one odd duck, huh?”
I smiled in spite of myself. Old Man Tucker was handcuffed to the huge wooden storage bin, he was sitting on the ground and his arms were above him, his face was swollen terribly but it looked like someone had at least wiped the blood away. Both eyes were black and purple and I doubted he could see out of them. I stood by his feet and Mrs. Driscol set the plate next to him; she reached out and gently touched his shoulder,
“Mr. Tucker?” she said.
The old man reacted with a spasm and a moan, I guess he had been dreaming and she had startled him.
“Who is it? Who’s there?” he asked with just a bit of panic in his voice.
“It’s me Mr. Tucker, Amy and Johnny is here too.” he visibly seemed to relax a bit.
“What are you two doing up here?” he asked.
I noticed that someone had given him a beach towel to use as a blanket and there was the faintest hint of blood on it as it lay on his shoulders.
“We’ve brought you some food and some water.” she said.
She picked up the plate and using a fork she scooped some of the peas and held them to his lips,
“Here, eat something.” she said.
He did but started coughing and spat up more blood onto the deck.
“Oh my, Mr. Tucker I think you must have internal injuries.” she said with concern.
“I think so too Mrs. Driscol” he added, “cracked ribs for sure and I hope nothing is punctured in there.”
She tried to give him some SPAM but he shook his head no,
“Can I have some water please?” he asked.
He sounded as pathetic as he looked and Mrs. Driscol looked at me with despair then she opened the bottle water and let him sip it slowly. After he had nearly half of the bottle she set it away and got right to the point of our visit,
“Mr. Tucker, can you tell me why you killed that girl?”
I could see him set his jaw, his brow furrowed and he snarled back at us
“What difference does it make? I’m a dead man anyway.”
Mrs. Driscol put a hand on his shoulder,
“No, no, not necessarily, we are going to talk about it today and we...”, she paused “I need to know Mr. Tucker, why?”
The old man looked away as if it hurt him to think we were looking at him, he told her what he had seen, what he had done about it. Everything was as I knew it until Janey and I left and then I could hear something odd in his voice? Grief?
“It was Mrs. Franks” he said, “she was beaten and bloody, she had been raped and terrorized, her husband too, she said she couldn’t rest if she knew the girl was out there, wondering when the girl would be bringing friends back to kill us all. We couldn’t keep her prisoner and we couldn’t let her go, so I did what I did.”
He started to cough again and I could tell his ribs were causing him a great amount of pain. Mrs. Driscol helped him drink the rest of the water and he got control of himself,
“Listen,” he said, “I feel the sun on my face, it won’t be long now, John I want you to promise me that you won’t let Lucy watch whatever it is they are going to do to me. Okay? I want you to take her far away, out of sight, out of sound. Please John, just this one thing, that’s all I ask.”
I nodded then I realized that he couldn’t see me so I said “I promise Mr. Tucker.”
I looked over at Mrs. Driscol and I thought she was going to cry. As if on cue the door opened and Darnell stepped onto the deck,
“Amy, J-boy, come on, don’t waste anything else on that cracker trash.”
I don’t know if
Darnell knew it but Mrs. Driscol did not like the way he was speaking to her and as a matter of fact I didn’t like the way he spoke to me either, but we both stood up and started towards the door, “see ya”, I said quietly.
For a moment Tucker was smiling and he said “Hang in there kid, it will be over soon.”
When we got to the main lobby everyone was there except for Weir and Tucker, they were all arguing about if we should have a trial or not, should there be an investigation. It was crazy; finally Lt. Klein banged the grip of her pistol on a table to get everyone’s attention.
“Alright! Alright.”
Everyone eventually quieted down to hear what she had to say.
“First off, I need to know exactly what happened…” she began.
Darnell cut her off “I’ll damn well tell you what happened! That scum, that pitiful excuse for a human being up there murdered my sister and several others, probably Sgt. Barnes and Janey as well!”
People started talking again and all I could think was ‘how on Earth do grown-ups ever do anything?’
“Quiet!” the Lt. yelled and then she called on Mrs. Driscol who was standing there quietly with her hand raised. “Amy, what do you want to say?” she asked.
Mrs. Driscol walked over to stand with her back to the fireplace and faced everyone, she proceeded to re-tell everything that Mr. Tucker had said, and she left nothing out.