by Taylor Lee
“Well, now, Mr. Jones. It seems as though it is just you and us.”
He glanced at the seven uniformed policemen stationed around the room in addition to Nate and the Chief.
If Jeb was concerned, he didn’t show it. Rather, his lip curled in an ugly sneer.
“It always was, asshole. Even a jungle monkey like you knows what side the cops are on in this town.”
His voice was rich with scorn as he glared at Sam.
“Feeling like a real cop now, boy? Now that your Massa is letting you lead the interrogation because he’s too upset to talk? Is that what you call this charade? An interrogation? Well, guess what, house boy? I ain’t interested in participating. Trust you and your goons will understand when I get up and leave.”
When he rattled the cuffs and started to stand, Sam motioned to the young cop behind him. Officer Dixon clamped his beefy hands on Jeb’s shoulders and shoved him down hard into the chair.
Jeb’s face turned purple with rage. He spit out the words, staccato shots of a Gatling gun.
“I’m warning you, nigger. In fact, I take that back. It ain’t a warning, it’s the God’s truth. You’re gonna die. Because me and my men are coming after you. First you, Sam-bo Carter, and then your boss.”
Sam studied him for a long moment. His distaste was clear. He looked at Jeb as though he were a foul substance that had unaccountably shown up at an afternoon tea.
He motioned to Sgt. Mulroney.
“Sergeant, please uncuff Mr. Jones… and then book him.”
Jeb’s gloating smile died. Confusion, then outrage replaced it.
“What the fuck? You… you’re arresting me? Me?”
When Sam nodded, Jeb barked, “On what charge?”
Sam shrugged and made a notation on a piece of paper and handed it to Officer Dixon.
“For speaking disrespectfully to a police officer.”
The Chief’s low chuckle filled the room. It was the first time he’d participated in the hour long drama. He winked at Nate.
“Apparently to the wrong officer.” He added, “That’s a new one to me but, hell, it’s as good a charge as any.”
As Mulroney and Dixon dragged a sputtering Jeb to the door, Nate turned to Sam and the Chief.
“Let’s hope we can keep him in long enough before the judge springs him to get him to St. Cloud. A few days in the general population at the state penitentiary will be elucidating to our frothing friend. Those animals view daughter-killers the same way they do pedophiles. They consider it a form of incest.”
He added as though as an afterthought, “Oh, and by all means, be sure and let the Cartel know where he is.”
Nate strode to the door then turned and faced his friend. The small smile tugging at his lips hurt, like the skin was too tight to stretch. It felt like years since he’d smiled.
“Thanks, Hollywood. Once again, a class act.”
He winked at the Chief with a disbelieving shrug.
“A limited furniture budget? I see you’re still sucking up to the brass, Sam.”
Nate’s smile didn’t wipe out the pain he felt, but it still felt good.
“Classy, Sam. Fucking classy.”
Chapter 24
Maggie held up her hand and shook her head when Sam entered.
“Wait, Sam.” Pointing to Sam’s private office, she lowered her voice. “Sarah Jones and her daughter, Francine, came to see Nate. I knew you said he wouldn’t be coming in, so I had them wait in your office. I hope that’s okay.”
Sam nodded. “Of course it is, Maggie. You did exactly right. Unless it’s an emergency Nate won’t be coming into the office today. Between the Chief and me, we managed to convince him to spend time with Erin and get some rest if he can.”
Maggie’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s such a tragedy, Sam. I don’t know if you knew it, but Nate was as close to a father as that poor girl ever had. To think that she….”
A deep sob kept Maggie from finishing her sentence. Sam draped his arm around her plump shoulders and hugged her close.
“I’ve heard from many others how close Nate and Melanie were. I also know that he and Tucker had a strong relationship. It’s a terrible tragedy. Nate is devastated, Maggie. I went with Erin and the Chief with Nate to Sarah’s yesterday morning. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve done. The grief in that room was overwhelming.”
Sam clenched his jaw remembering Jeb disowning his murdered daughter in the interrogation. The daughter he no doubt had killed. He closed his eyes for a moment to blot out the ugly scene with the contemptible man. Pressing his lips together, he squared his shoulders and prepared to meet with Sarah.
“Did you give them something to drink, Maggie?”
The teary woman raised her shoulders in a despairing shrug. “I offered it twice but I don’t think either one of them heard me.”
Sam nodded. “It’s okay. Give me a couple of bottles of water. I’ll see if I can get them to take something.”
Sarah glanced up at Sam’s entrance then peered down in her lap before reaching for Francine’s hand. Sam’s breath caught in his throat. Sarah looked like a ghost and Francine didn’t look much better. His heart went out to them both. He didn’t know how they’d made it to the station. Their fear was as palpable as their grief.
“Sarah, I’m glad to see you and Francine. Nate and all of us have been extremely worried about you both.”
Sam pulled up a chair next to Sarah. He reached out and took her hand.
“I know you are struggling to make sense of this tragedy, but please tell me how I can help. I will call Nate and let him know that you are here. He will be upset to have missed you. He’ll come immediately.”
To his surprise Sarah’s voice was surprisingly firm.
“No, Sam, absolutely not. If Jeb knew I was here, he’d be furious. I can’t take a chance of being seen with Nate. Jeb is already threatening to kill Nate.” She hesitated for a moment and bit her trembling lip. “He’s also… threatening to kill you, Sam. He… he hates you.”
“I know that, Sarah, but both Nate and I can take care of ourselves.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No, Sam, you have no idea what Jeb is like. When he says he will do something, he will.”
“Sarah, listen. You need to protect yourself. You and Francine. You can’t stay in your house. We arrested Jeb this morning but unless we can find credible evidence that ties him to the fires, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to make the charges stick. At the most, they’ll keep him until tomorrow. I heard Nate tell you how important it is that you and Francine leave your house. I hope that you will listen to him now.”
Sarah’s face paled. “I know. I know you’re right. That’s what I came to tell Nate. I didn’t dare call him. Jeb won’t let me have a cell phone and he monitors my calls on the house line. I’m leaving today. I… I need to pack some things and then I’m going to stay with a friend, someone Jeb doesn’t know. I don’t dare go to my family’s house. My mother is as afraid of Jeb as I am. I wanted to see if Nate could take care of Francine for me. His niece Norma is Francine’s best friend. Maybe Francine could stay there….”
Her voice trailed off as though she’d spoken as many words as her limited energy would allow.
Sam held one of her hands and spoke to Francine who was as pale as her mother.
“Of course, Sarah. Francine, I’ll take you over to Mama D’s myself. I’ll also arrange for a couple of men to take you home, Sarah, so that you can pack.”
“No!” Sarah shook her head fiercely. “No, Sam, you don’t understand. If any of Jeb’s men see me with you or other policemen they will tell him. He… knows everything I do.”
When Sam started to protest, Sarah grabbed for both of his hands.
“Please. Let me do this my way. I’m going to go home and pack some things of mine and some of Francine’s. I’ve already told Chuck, one of the men who watches me for Jeb, that I need to go to the funeral home this afternoon.
To… to make arrangements. I lied to him before I came here. I said I was going to the church to meet with the minister. I snuck down some back streets to bring Francine here to Nate.”
~~~
“Nate, I did my damndest! Sarah was adamant. She refused to let me send a couple of our men home with her. She said she was much safer if none of them guessed that she’d been here. I insisted that she take one of the throw away cell phones we give to our CI’s. She said Jeb won’t allow her to have a cell phone and he monitors her calls.”
Nate’s growl roared through the ether.
“Yeah, I know, Nate. It gets worse and worse. I do have some good news. I dropped Francine off at Mama D’s. Mama scooped her up like a mother bird bringing a fledgling bird back to the nest. It was the first time I’ve seen Francine smile. And that cute little Norma grabbed hold of her like she’d never let her go.”
Nate’s sigh was audible.
“Thanks, Sam. As frustrating as it is, Sarah is right. No telling what Jeb would do if he knew she was at the station or frankly that Francine is at Mama D’s. I’ve got six men assigned to Mama’s on rotating shifts. I may be giving him too much credit, but I don’t think Jeb will go after Francine. God help him if he does. Any word from the jailhouse?”
“No, nothing that you haven’t already heard. Jeb has three big time civil rights lawyers filing release orders with the judge. Damn these ACLU hotshots. I understand how important it is to protect civil liberties but wouldn’t you think for once they’d take a look at the perpetrator not the law?”
The fact that Nate didn’t respond with so much as an expletive underscored how deeply grieved he was.
Doing his best to change the subject, Sam added, “Hey, man, I heard from Annika that you assigned her to protect Erin. That is a ten-stroke, Nate. Annika and Erin are good friends and Erin is safer with Annika than with the toughest of our men.”
“I know that, Sam. Not that I won’t have men on the perimeter but at least both of our women will be inside the apartment. They can keep each other company.”
“I take it Erin didn’t object?”
Nate’s voice was weary. “No, Sam. Every one of us including Erin understands the extent of Jeb’s evil. And by God, we are not going to underestimate him again.”
~~~
Jeb stood outside the station, waiting for Tank. He’d already shooed away those asshole lawyers who sprung him. As if he would thank the liberal bastards for doing their job. He knew they despised him as much as he despised them. But they served each other’s purposes. He got out of jail and they got to tell all their followers how pure they were standing up for the civil rights of the evil White Alliance. Self-righteous bastards.
“What’s the matter, Tank, unhappy to see me? Did you think those sons of bitches would actually be able to keep me overnight?”
“It’s not that, boss. I knew you’d get out. It’s just that a lot’s going on. Nelson said you had three calls from the beaners wanting to know where you were. Fuck, Jeb, those fence fairies even wanted to know which jail you were in. I think we got you out of there just in time.”
Remembering Nate’s threat about the general population at St. Cloud, anger flooded Jeb’s chest, making it hard to breathe. He’d spent most of the day trying to figure out what to do next. Wasn’t much use in telling anyone that the fact that Melanie was at Cougar’s fishing cabin was a freak accident. And Cougar’s boy, Tucker? Fuck, he didn’t know the kid was on speaking terms with Cougar. At the thought of his daughter and that breed Injun shacking up together acid spilled in his gut. No, he hadn’t meant to kill them, but for damn sure once he’d found out they’d be as dead as they were now.
“Jeb, there’s sumthin’ else you need to know.”
Jeb frowned at his right hand man. Tank wasn’t easily riled but he looked damn nervous now.
“What? Spit it out!”
“Hell, I may as well. You know that Chuck was supposed to keep an eye on Sarah. Not sure how, but she fooled him. She told him that she had to meet with the minister and was taking Francine with her. Chuck waited for her for over an hour outside the church. Next thing he sees is the nigger driving down the road in that snazzy car of his with Francine in the front seat. Apparently he dropped your girl off at Mama D’s. Guess you know that Nate’s practically got the armory guarding that place.”
Jeb stared straight ahead trying to decide if the flashing lights he saw were real or just the sparks of his anger exploding. He waited until he was able to speak without screaming.
“Where’s Sarah?”
“She’s at home. Told Chuck she’d be going out later. Said she needed to pack some things of Melanie’s to take to the funeral home.”
~~~
Sarah heard his footsteps coming up the staircase. She recognized them. She knew every sound Jeb made. It was the only way she’d survived these last twenty years, how she’d been able to stay out of his way. Even though Melanie constantly told her she needed to stand up to Jeb, Sarah refused. Melanie didn’t understand what he was capable of. Sarah knew and did her best to keep both girls away from him.
She stood with her back facing the door, knowing it was useless to try to hide the suitcase spread open on the bed. Instead, she continued folding her clothes, placing them neatly in the case.
“What are you doing, Sarah?”
She should’ve been frightened. It was the tone he’d used for twenty years to terrify her. Even though he didn’t shout his voice vibrated with anger.
“I asked you a question. What are you doing? Answer me.”
She turned to face him. She saw the red splotches on his face and the sweat on his lip. She smelled the liquor on his breath. Apparently he’d stopped on the way home to drink or more likely emptied one of the flasks he kept in his van. She gave him a dismissive shrug.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving.”
Jeb snorted. “You fucking bitch. You think for one minute that I will let you out of this house?”
He grabbed her arm and twisted it up behind her back hard. Pain shot through her shoulder. His eyes gleamed with anger.
“Where do you think you are going, Sarah? Is Nate waiting for you? Or is it his darkie sidekick you have your eye on? Or maybe you and Melanie both had an Injun stashed somewhere. Did you, Sarah? Did you? “
He twisted her arm so hard, she heard a crack, blessedly the intense pain was so intense for a moment she blacked out.
When the fog cleared, she saw Jeb glaring at her, his face inches from hers. His eyes were black with malice. Spittle shot out of the corners of his mouth.
“You knew, didn’t you, Sarah? You knew that Melanie was a slut. Didn’t you?” His voice rose. “Not only that you ignorant bitch, you knew that she was fucking a goddamned Indian!”
Sarah stared at him, seeing the crazed look in his eyes. It was the look that used to terrify her. That she had spent her adult life trying to avoid. She was surprised that her voice was calm.
“Yes, I knew. They loved each other, Jeb. They were going to get married. They were leaving last night. Tucker needed to get some of his personal things from Cougar’s cabin.”
She saw his fist coming. For once she didn’t try to avoid it. His knuckles landed on her nose. She heard the crack but barely felt the pain. Likewise, his boot kicking her stomach, her chest and her hip made loud cracking sounds but she hardly felt the barrage. She wondered if this was what it was like to die. Your body could only take so much abuse and then it was beyond pain. She lay on the ground waiting for him to exhaust himself. She no longer cared. It was as though she was floating over the top of them watching Jeb beat her. She was too numb to care. He’d killed her daughter. And she hadn’t done anything to stop him. Let him kill her too. She was as much as dead as it was.
~~~
Nate rushed into the station and met Sam in the lobby.
“I heard. Where is he?”
“The best we know is that he’s home. Christ, Nate. The only
warning we had was that he was out. And then dammit he was gone.”
Sam started at the vibrating sound. He reached in his shirt pocket.
“Jesus God, Nate. It’s Sarah.” He handed the phone to Nate.
Nate heard her voice. It sounded like a wounded animal in a trap.
“Nate, help me….”
Chapter 25
Nate and Sam arrived as the ambulance its sirens screaming, pulled into the circular drive in front of the Jones mansion. Nate barged through the heavily paneled door shoving a startled Hispanic man against the wall.
“Where is she, Victor? Mrs. Jones? Sarah?”
The frightened man paled. He shook his head. Nate’s voice dropped several octaves.
“Victor, I’m asking you. Where is she?”
Victor’s voice shook as he pointed to the stairs.
“Her room. Top… right….”
Nate took the stairs three at a time. Sam and the EMT’s were hard on his heels.
Nate rushed to her side and steeled himself. At first glance she looked like a child, tiny, helpless laying on the floor. Her contorted position spoke to broken bones but it was her shattered face that told the story. Her eyes were swollen shut. A gash on her forehead was still oozing blood. Her lip was split and blood trickled grimly out of the corner of her mouth. Her nose was broken, distorted and bloody. Being careful not to move her, Nate noted the bruises on her arms and neck, knowing more existed beneath her clothes.
“Let me in, Nate.”
Charlie McElroy nudged his arm. Mac was the lead guy on the EMT team and a long-time friend of Nate’s. Nate moved back as Mac knelt at Sarah’s side.
“Jesus Christ, Nate. Did… did… that fucking….”
Mac’s voice trailed off as he and his partners began assessing the damage to the traumatized woman on the floor.
Nate stood to the side, choking at the bile in his throat. He didn’t trust his voice. He just nodded. Mac knew what happened without hearing it from Nate.
Sam came up behind him.
“No one is here Nate—except the servants. They’re scared shitless. Of course, they swear no one heard anything. I’ve called for backup. We’ll need a team of men to search the grounds.”