Dark Places

by Reavis Z. Wortham

  “Shut that off and stay in the house!” The light immediately went out and Cody was about to order Top inside, too, but he wasn’t on the porch.

  The boy’s voice made him jump. “I know it was you, Freddy.”

  “Top, go in the house.” Cody spoke automatically.

  Anna opened her door and joined them. “Top, hon, you shouldn’t be out here.”

  “I recognized his voice.”

  Top was determined to make them listen. He planted his feet, squared his shoulders, and lifted his chin. He was just as much a part of this as anyone else in the yard, and he figured that if he could get Cody to listen to him, as he’d done earlier that evening, they might see that he was standing up like a man.

  Anyone else would have glared daggers at the youngster, but thoroughly humiliated by his arrest at the hands of a female deputy, and identified by a kid, Freddy simply stared at his feet. It was one more in a long line of embarrassments. “I didn’t do nothing.”

  “Then why do you think you’re here?”

  “I’m here becauthe thith woman picked me up, in front of my frienth.”

  “Any idea who his friends were?”

  Anna dug a notepad out of her back pocket. “He was in front of the skating rink in town, talking to some girls about half his age. I didn’t get their names, but three young men that were about his age were there too.” She tilted the pad to read by the dome light. “Kenneth Lee Williams, Eliott George Hestor, and Peter Dale Heslink. They volunteered to follow John to the courthouse for questioning. We didn’t put them under arrest.”

  “They didn’t do nothing, neither.”

  “Good. That takes a load off my mind.” Cody gave Freddy a smile. “Now, tell me what you know about the bodies we dug up in the lake bottom.”

  “We don’t know nothing about them, nor any other bodieth you find.”

  “What other bodies?”

  Freddy was confused. “Theriff, any other bodieth, I reckon.”

  “I didn’t say anything about anyone else.”

  “I know, what I’m trying to thay ith that I didn’t thoot nobody.”

  “I didn’t say you did.”

  “Then let me go.”

  “I will when I’m sure I can. Did you make any calls to Judge Rains about knowing where some people were buried?”

  “No.”

  “You know something you aren’t telling.”

  “I honesthly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Anna stepped in. “Who would know, then?”

  Freddy hung his head. “I’m completely innothent. I didn’t thoot nobody.”

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “Huh?”

  “I’m asking what you do for a living.”

  “Whatever. I got out of thchool and hauled hay all the thummer long. Plow thome. I’m pretty good with my handth, tho I work on carth.”

  “You ever work on the lake? You know, run some of that big machinery to push over trees, like draglines or bulldozers?”

  Freddy narrowed his eyes. “No.”

  “Anybody you know who does?”

  He shrugged.

  “Could you?”

  “Prob’ly, but I didn’t.”

  “Didn’t what?”

  “I didn’t bur-ry nobody with no bulldozer.”

  “Know who could have?”

  Freddy shrugged. “Bunch of people been working down there. You bedder ask thombody else.”

  “Uncle Cody. He told Mr. O.C.” The boy was determined to tell Cody what he knew. No more hanging back.

  “Top, if you have something to say, stand right here and speak up.” Cody noted the change in the boy, and decided to listen.

  “He said burry.”

  “Huh?”

  “He said burry, instead of bury, and he says bedder for better. I heard him say it on the phone. I know good and well it’s him, even though he was trying to disguise his lisp.”

  Uncle Cody raised an eyebrow at Freddy. “Well?”

  “I ain’t been talking to that boy.”

  “Didn’t say you was.”

  “Well, he’th thaying like I did.”

  “Did what?”

  “Talk to him on the phone about burrying them men down there.”

  “Where?”

  He jerked his head toward the lake. “You know, where you found ’em.”

  “How much money did y’all get out of this?”

  “Money? What-choo talking about, money?”

  Cody caught Anna’s eye. “Bet they split it three ways.”

  “There wathn’t no money.”

  The yard was suddenly silent as thunder rumbled in the distance.

  Cody smiled. “You devil, you. They didn’t know about the money, did they? You kept it all.”

  “They….” He stopped like he was trying to organize his thoughts.

  Anna and Cody didn’t say a word. Top glared at Freddy, sure that Cody had him in a box. A drop of rain landed with a splat on the roof of her car. Another splatted on the gravel between them. One hit the tin roof of the chicken house, then the hay barn. More fell, scattered, but landing with force.

  “They’ll kill you when they find out.”

  Freddy stared at his shoes.

  “I think I’m gonna let you go. Then I’ll tell the papers about the money that’s missing.” Cody crossed his arms. “They haven’t released that information, yet. I’m gonna tell them down to the dollar how much those men had in their briefcase. After I tell the Chisum News, I’ll call Channel 12. Before you know it, everybody in Lamar County’ll know there’d been a buttload of money in the empty briefcase that we found in the car. Your buddies don’t have it, and they’ll sure start thinking.”

  Freddy started to shake.

  “We’re gonna release the bodies to their families here in a couple of days, and they’ll come get them to bury those men back home, thanks to you. You wanted them to get a decent burial, and they will. But now you need to fess up. If I don’t decide to let you go so your friends can find you, I’m going to charge you with murder, and if you keep quiet to save your friends, you’ll go to the chair.”

  Cody knew full well that the state didn’t electrocute prisoners any longer, not since 1964, but most folks still remembered Ol’ Sparky, and he figured that Freddy wasn’t one hundred percent sure that the electric chair wasn’t still in use.

  “Freddy, you’re between a rock and a hard place. I have enough on you right now to serve as a full confession. You’ve slipped up half a dozen times. You aren’t that quick, son. Tell me who was with you, or I might let you go and wait until it all comes out in the news. They’ll do the dirty work for me.”

  Freddy licked his lips, studying Anna, then Cody, and settled on Top there at the edge of the darkness, ten feet away. “Would I be thafe in jail?”

  “Safer’n you’ll be once word gets out.”

  He licked his lips again, like the sun was blazing overhead. His shoulders drooped and the lisp became even more pronounced, if that was possible. “It wathn’t me. I didn’t thoot them, but I wath there. I couldn’t thop them.”

  Anna put her hand on Freddy’s arm, and that light contact was all he needed. “Who are they, hon?”

  “Marty Thmallwood and John. T. Wetht.”

  There it was. The confirmation she needed.

  Now all they had to do was find them.

  Chapter Fifty-three

  It was nearly dark as they drove between the one-story buildings lining the busy Flagstaff street. Neon lights flickered in a blizzard of color, shapes, and sizes.

  “This is kidnapping.”

  James heard Ned tell Cale to get to talking, but he thought the statement was directed toward Crow. At the sound of Cale’s voice, James twisted over t
he backseat. “How the hell???”

  Crow checked the rearview mirror. “Where have y’all been?”

  “We had a little trouble in the courthouse.”

  “For two hours?”

  “We’re lucky that was all.”

  James re-learned how to get his jaws moving again. “How’d this happen?”

  Crow checked the speedometer, slowing until he was satisfied with their speed. “Y’all went in, and about a minute later this little shit came boiling out the door, running like the devil himself was on his tail.”

  Ned studied the boy at his feet. “What’d you do, run him down with the car?”

  “Naw. I opened the door and hollered at him to get in. I guess he thought I was one of them hippie friends of his, so he came charging over, but then when he jumped in and saw your handcuffs in the backseat, he must have put two and two together. He tried to jump out, but I convinced him to stay.”

  “With what?”

  Crow held up his fist, flexing his fingers. “He has a hard head.”

  Ned nudged Cale again. “It ain’t kidnapping, you little fool, because I’m putting you under arrest. Start talking. Where’s Pepper?”

  “He hit me. That’s against the law.”

  “I didn’t see it, and I’d have probably done the same thing when you resisted arrest, and I’m sure I would have thought you were trying to get away.”

  The air went out of Cale. Still curled up in the floorboard, he rested his head on the seat. “I don’t know.”

  He yelped when James reached over the seat and grabbed a handful of hair, yanking Cale’s head up. “Don’t dick with us, boy! Where’s my daughter?”

  Tears filled his eyes, either with pain or recollection. “I really don’t know.” He yelped again when James gave his head a shake. “Mr. Parker, we hitched with some kids and they let us out about a mile away from here. We were going to walk, but then some guys on bikes stopped while we were talking to some other kids in a Love Machine…”

  “What’s that?”

  Cale realized he was treading on dangerous ground. “It’s a Volkswagen van, all painted up with ‘love’ and ‘peace’ written on it.”

  “Go on, then.”

  “We got into a mess with the bikers and they beat me up. When I came to, Pepper was gone and there was a crowd of people around me.”

  Ned tried to understand what Cale was saying. “Kids on bicycles beat you up?”

  “No, motorcycles. It was a motorcycle gang. I tried to fight, but they all joined in. They’re grown men and I didn’t have a chance. While they had me down, she kicked one guy in the nose. Then someone hit me in the head and lights flashed. My money was gone when I woke up and I went to the courthouse to make a report and that’s when y’all came in.”

  The cords in James’ arm stood out over the seatback as he gripped Cale’s hair even tighter. “You let them take my daughter?”

  Cale’s mouth opened at the pain and he pushed up with his legs. Hands cuffed behind his back, he could do nothing to relieve the pressure. “Mr. Parker, I really tried to stop them. Really. Those guys are tough.” He started crying. Broken, with all the false bravado and arrogance beaten out of him, Cale realized most of the world was a lot tougher than he ever imagined. “I did what I could.”

  Crow made a left, driving aimlessly. “What colors were they flying?”

  “I didn’t see no flags.”

  “No, stupid.” Crow sighed. “What did they have on the backs of their jackets?”

  “I didn’t get a good look. Seems like the one I saw had a rattlesnake on it.”

  “Did the snake have horns?”

  Cale sniffled. “Yeah.”

  “Who’re they?” James released his oily hair in disgust.

  Crow frowned. “Demon Rattlers. They’re out of California.”

  “How do you know that?”

  He paused for a beat, thinking. “I saw ’em clear out a little dive in Scottsdale one night, the first time I came out this way.”

  Numb, James scanned the buildings around them, as if the answers were posted on the brick walls. “She was right here. Right here!”

  “Son.” Ned understood his fear and frustration. “Why don’t you go on to the station and get them to put an APB on Pepper. Tell ’em she was kidnapped by some motorcycle gangsters and that Demon name.”

  “You’ll have to go without me.” Crow slowed for a light, thinking. “It’ll be you guys and them, then.”

  “Nope. Me and tough boy here are going with you. Splittin’ up will double our chances of finding her.”

  “Give me a minute.” Crow pulled to the curb in front of a nondescript entrance with a blue neon sign with the simple word “Bar” over the door. Half a dozen Harleys were parked on the sidewalk. “Wait right here and talk it over while I go inside and you better thank your lucky spirits their jackets didn’t say Hell’s Angels.”

  Ned and James waited at the curb, like they did outside the house in Amarillo. James stared through the windshield. “What’s hell’s angels?”

  Ned shrugged and rubbed his belly. He needed to lay down.

  Half an hour later, Crow returned to the car to talk through the window.

  Frustrated because he’d been gone so long, James snapped a question. “What’d you find out?”

  “The Demon Rattlers hang out in Barstow. That’ll be where they’re headed.”

  Ned laid his head back on the seat and held his stomach. “Shit.”

  Chapter Fifty-four

  It was twilight when the Love Machine pulled into the gravel parking lot of a Mexican restaurant with a pulsating red and yellow neon sombrero. The door slid back and Pepper boiled out, fighting and cussing.

  She landed on her feet and aimed a forefinger back toward the shocked hippie kids. “If any of you sons a bitches want to get out and try again, then have at it!”

  She didn’t know where she was, or how long she’d been in the van. While she regained her senses, they’d driven around for an eternity in a fog of paranoia, thinking the bikers were after them. Kevin drove down so many side streets that he was lost for nearly half an hour before finding his way back to Route 66. All the while, Pepper raged at the others, demanding that they go back and find Cale.

  None of the flower children in the van had any interest in getting near the bikers again and unanimously decided to head straight for San Francisco.

  Here was her ride, but she couldn’t leave Cale.

  Over Pepper’s demands and tears, they argued all the way to the next town before pulling into the restaurant’s parking lot. They were as glad to get shed of her as she was of them.

  One of the girls slid the door closed. “Sister, you are uncool!” She flashed a peace sign. “Go home and peace out.”

  “I didn’t ask for any of you to save me!” She kicked at the rocks. “Cowards!”

  The van pulled away in a wash of dust, leaving Pepper in the parking lot. She didn’t need their saving. Their “make love, not war” interference caused her to lose the only friend she had on the road. Regaining control, she studied the restaurant’s sign against the purple sky, wondering how to find Cale. She figured the police had already picked him up.

  A quick check of her pockets revealed nothing but lint. Her purse contained only a few items, her eagle feather, and a handkerchief. She didn’t have a dime to make a call. Hupping deep in her chest in an effort not to cry, she crossed the highway, stood on the eastbound side leading back to Flagstaff, and stuck out her thumb.

  Chapter Fifty-five

  The motel room smelled like stale cigarettes, Pine-Sol, and old hamburgers. The same smell of every room on Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Outside, the sun rose on the dusty desert town of Barstow, California.

  James had driven all night, arriving at the Stardust Inn while the stars t
winkled overhead. It was almost a carbon copy of the Western Skies in Winslow. The annoyed manager hadn’t yet taken his first cup of coffee, and after some negotiations regarding the time they were checking in, took an extra three dollars for the following night.

  Despite their location, the Mojave Desert had cooled from the summertime temperatures of over a hundred, to a pleasant fifty-five dry degrees when the sand and rocks glowed orange with sunrise. The dry wash of the Mojave River defined the town’s north and eastern borders. Low scrub bushes and creosote seemed to be the only plants that flourished in the harsh environment.

  Ned lay on a threadbare bedspread covering one of the two full-size beds. The now-constant pain in his stomach rendered him virtually helpless. Cale lay on the other with a washrag full of ice over his black eyes.

  Crow and James were arguing about who would go to the bar where the Demon Rattlers hung out. Standing beside the window, James fumed. “It’s my daughter in that saloon!”

  Expressionless, Crow nodded. “I completely understand. But for one thing, we don’t know for sure she’s in there, and I kinda doubt it. What do you do for a living?”

  “What? I run a hardware store.”

  “Ever been in a fight, other than the one in the courthouse?”

  James squared his shoulders. “Yeah. More than one, too.”

  “Um hum. I meant after you got out of school.”

  “No.”

  “Any experience in law work, like your daddy there?”

  “No.”

  Crow tapped the dresser with a fingertip. “Come here.”

  “What?”

  Softly. “Come here.”

  James stood and joined him. Crow pointed at the mirror opposite the beds. “Tell me what you see.”

  “Us.”

  “Right. Tell me what you really see. Truthfully. Describe…us. Start with you.”

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “It’ll explain what I’m trying to tell you, James. What do you see? Describe your head.”

  James Parker considered the mirror. “A head.”

  Crow nudged him with his shoulder.