One of the men stepped forward, but I said, “If you want them, you’re going to have to go through me.” The man backed off.
“What the hell are you, some kind of nigger-lover?” the leader said. He yelled at his men, “Are you all a bunch of nigger-lovers?” There was a murmur in response, but no one moved.
“Damn it, I’ll show you.” He grabbed me by the wrist, and started dragging me away from the Pontiac. “I ain’t about to let this bitch get in my way,” he said.
“Get your hands off of me,” I said, trying to pry his grip loose, and kicking him as hard as my sandals would allow. He fended off my blows with his free hand and gripped me more tightly, still pulling me away from the car.
We were now far enough away that the other Klansmen started hitting the car again. I reached to snatch at his hood, but he pushed my hand away and backhanded me across the face. The blow brought tears to my eyes, and I tasted blood.
The other Klansman who had been holding back approached, and knowing that I could do nothing against two of them, I tried my damnedest to get loose.
“Let her go!” an oddly familiar voice said.
“Take care of them niggers,” the one holding me replied. “I’ve got her.”
The newcomer grabbed the other’s arm and pulled. “I said, let her go!”
My captor released me with a shove, and my rescuer put out his hand to steady me. I stared at him. “Thaddeous?” I whispered.
“You touch her again,” my cousin said, “and I’ll kill you!”
“What’s the matter with you?” the leader said. “You damn well better do what I say.”
“The hell I will!” Thaddeous said. He called to the other men, “This has gone far enough. Y’all go on.” A couple of the men started to comply.
“Get back here!” the leader screamed, but the rest of the men started to get back into the pickup truck. He grabbed the front of Thaddeous’s robe and hissed, “You listen to me, boy! You’re going to have to answer for this!”
Thaddeous shook the man off. “I expect I’ll have to answer for a lot of things some day, but I ain’t never going to have to answer for hitting a woman. Now get the hell out of here!”
The other Klansmen were all in the pickup truck, and the driver started the engine. The leader lingered a few seconds more and then climbed into the cab of the truck, muttering underneath his hood.
Chapter 12
As soon as the truck drove away, Thaddeous yanked off his hood and tossed it to the ground. “Are you all right?” he asked me.
“I guess so,” I answered shakily. The fear started to drain away, and I finally noticed that my mouth hurt.
“You’re bleeding.” Thaddeous pulled open his robe, reached inside his blue jeans pocket for a handkerchief, and with surprising gentleness touched it to my mouth. He inspected my face for a minute, then said, “I don’t think it’s going to bruise or anything. How’s your wrist?”
I flexed it. “A little sore. That fellow has one heck of a grip.”
“He should have. He’s a loader at the mill.”
The black men got out of their car, watching Thaddeous warily.
“Ma’am, are you hurt? Do you want us to get you to a doctor?” the driver asked.
I tried to smile, but ended up wincing at the twinge of pain it caused. “I’m fine, thanks.”
“No ma’am, thank you. There’s no telling what would have happened if you hadn’t stepped in like that. If there hadn’t been so many of them, I wouldn’t have minded showing them a thing or two, but you can’t fight when you’re outnumbered.”
“It shouldn’t have come to this,” Thaddeous said half-apologetically, half-defiantly. “We just got overexcited from the march.”
“That’s what those marches are for, aren’t they? To get things stirred up,” the older man said.
“That’s not why we were marching! It was supposed to be a protest march, that’s all.”
The younger black man snorted, and Thaddeous reddened.
“And what were you protesting?” the driver asked.
“About Melanie Wilson, that girl that got killed in Marley.”
“The way I heard it, she wasn’t killed in Marley, just left there. There’s no reason to think that someone there did it.”
“Then why didn’t anybody see anything?” Thaddeous asked heatedly. “Somebody knows something they’re not saying. You tell me how a carload of blacks drove a white woman into Marley without somebody seeing something!”
“Maybe no one saw anything because there wasn’t anything to see.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean that your friend is right. If a carload of blacks had come by with a white woman, it would have been seen all right. But if somebody drove into a dark alley and threw something into a dumpster, it probably wouldn’t have been.”
“So you don’t think anyone from Marley killed Melanie?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know one way or another, but I do know that if someone else killed that girl, it wouldn’t be the first time that white folks had dumped their garbage in Marley.”
I could tell Thaddeous didn’t like what the man was saying, but he couldn’t argue with it either. He stared at him as if he could tell by looking at him whether or not he was telling the truth. After a few seconds, he seemed to make a decision. He peeled off the white robe he was still wearing, handed it to me, and put out his hand. “Mister, if you would, I’d like to shake your hand.”
The man looked at Thaddeous’s proffered hand, shrugged, and shook it. Thaddeous then stuck his hand out at the younger man and shook with him as well.
“Thank you,” Thaddeous said. “I’m proud to have met you. Do y’all need any help with your car?”
“I think all it needs is a chance to cool down. We’ve got a jug of water in the trunk.”
“Then I guess we better be heading on.” Thaddeous took my arm and escorted me back to Paw’s station wagon.
“Do you want me to drive you back to the mill?” I asked.
“No, I could use the walk. I’ve got some thinking to do.”
“What about this?” I asked, holding the Klan robe out to him.
“I won’t be needing it anymore.” He took it from me and wadded it up. “I’ll throw it away the first chance I get. Laurie Anne, what you did took a lot of courage.”
“You, too.”
“That wasn’t courage—that was just me coming to my senses. You tried to tell me what the Klan was like, and I didn’t believe you.”
“Will there be trouble? Will the Klan try to get back at you?”
“I’d like to see them try! They aren’t as tough as they think they are.”
“You be careful.”
“You’re a fine one to talk,” he said grinning. “You walk out in front of half a dozen Klansmen and then tell me to be careful.”
“Didn’t Aunt Nora ever tell you that just because I stick my head in an oven, that’s no reason for you to?” Just for the heck of it I kissed his cheek before I got into the station wagon.
Chapter 13
I drove slowly the rest of the way to Paw’s house. Violence never seems real to me, and I felt like I had just come out of a deep sleep. Part of me wanted to laugh, and part wanted to cry. A third part was trying to decide how in the world I was going to tell Richard what I had done.
When I got to the house, I found him on the porch swing reading a journal article that was trying to decide just how many murderers there were in Macbeth. This was his way of telling me that he had been back so long that he had had to find something to read.
“What took you so long?” he asked with a grin, but then he looked at my face. “What’s the matter?”
“I need a hug,” I said. I grabbed onto him and stayed that way for I don’t know how long. I knew he had to be wondering what was wrong, but he didn’t ask. He just held me, and stroked my hair. Finally, I took a deep breath and started to tell him about it.
When I had finished, he said, “I don’t know what to say. Don’t you realize what could have happened? You could have been hurt!”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know why I did it. I just did. There wasn’t anyone else there and they were going to beat those men up at the very least. I didn’t think they’d hurt a woman.”
“If you had been thinking, you wouldn’t have done it at all.”
I looked down at my feet, feeling ridiculous.
Richard ran his hand through his hair, and said, “What am I saying?” He sat back down beside me, and sandwiched my hands between his.
“I’m sorry Laura. I was just being silly and macho, and I should know better. Please, may I start over?”
When I nodded, he said, “Laura, I cannot tell you how proud I am of you. That was an incredibly brave thing to do, and I love you for it. I just wish I had been there with you, that’s all.”
He leaned over and kissed me delicately, so as not to hurt my lip.
“It wasn’t that wonderful,” I said. “If Thaddeous hadn’t been there, what I did probably wouldn’t have made any difference.”
“You said he knows the man who hit you? Shouldn’t we call the police and bring charges?”
I was tempted, but I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be worth the trouble. A few years back, a group of Klansmen were harassing one of the local black leaders. The black man recognized one of them, but when he tried to take him to court, a dozen ‘respectable’ citizens swore that the Klansman was with them that night. Nothing ever came of it.”
“Still…. Maybe I should go see him myself.”
“And do what? Beat him up. That’s very chivalrous, but you don’t want to sink to his level.”
“Yes I do, but I suppose I shouldn’t,” he said grudgingly. “How’s your lip? Do you feel up to going to the hospital?”
“My lip is fine.” I reached up to touch it gingerly. “I don’t think it’s swelling or anything. Let me wash off my face and get something to drink, and I’ll be as good as new.”
Chapter 14
I was still shaky enough that I let Richard drive to the hospital. Aunt Ruby Lee was on duty in the waiting-room, and when she looked up and saw us, she smiled like she hadn’t seen us in years. I was gratified by such a joyous expression, albeit surprised, but then I saw who else was there. No wonder she was so glad to see us.
A large, curly-haired man holding a felt cowboy hat with a snakeskin hatband was in the chair next to Aunt Ruby Lee. On one wrist flashed a massive silver and bear claw bracelet that matched his belt buckle, ring, and tie-tack. Beside such massive ornamentation, his Wranglers and plaid cowboy shirt seemed superfluous.
“Hey there,” Aunt Ruby Lee said to us. Then to her companion, she said, “Roger, you remember Alice’s daughter Laurie Anne, don’t you?”
“Well I remember a skinny little thing with pig-tails, but I don’t know what I remember this pretty lady. Laurie Anne, I’ll be damned if you haven’t gone and grown up since I saw you last.” He stood up and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek.
“Roger, I’d like you to meet my husband Richard Fleming,” I said. “Richard, this is Roger Bailey. Ilene’s daddy.”
The two men exchanged handshakes.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Roger,” I said. Clearly, neither had Aunt Ruby Lee. I was pretty sure that she wasn’t too thrilled about her ex-husband hanging around.
“Ilene told me about Ellis and I came to pay my respects,” Roger said.
“Wasn’t that nice of Roger?” Aunt Ruby Lee said, her voice showing only a little strain. “Why don’t y’all have a seat? You and Richard are going to stay, aren’t you?”
Richard and I pulled up a couple of chairs and I asked, “Any news about Paw?”
Aunt Ruby Lee shook her head. “Not a word. Like Daphine says, no news is good news.”
Roger sighed heavily, “I’m awfully sorry Ellis is in such a bad way. Ruby Lee, you know I’ve always been fond of Ellis.”
“Thank you, Roger,” Aunt Ruby Lee said. “I’m sure Paw would appreciate your coming down like this.”
“I wanted to do it, Ruby Lee. It’s always good to see you.” He turned to Richard. “Now I know you must think your wife is the best thing around, but answer me this: isn’t Ruby Lee about the prettiest woman a man could ask for?”
“I guess it runs in the family,” Richard said.
Aunt Ruby Lee smiled, but the effort of being pleasant to her ex-husband was beginning to show. She looked at her watch, and then said brightly, “Look at the time. I have got to get going. You and Richard are going to be here, aren’t you Laurie Anne?”
“Absolutely,” I answered quickly. It would have taken a harder heart than mine to abandon her then.
“Then you don’t mind if I go on, do you? I’ve got some things at home I really need to take care of. I’ll see you tonight.” She gathered her pocketbook and started for the elevator.
“Let me walk you down,” Roger said.
“That’s all right, Roger. You go ahead and visit with Laurie Anne and Richard. Thank you so much for coming by.”
She was gone before he could answer, and he settled back in his chair, obviously unhappy with this turn of events.
Richard looked a little confused, but he wasn’t familiar with this piece of family history. Aunt Ruby Lee had been the one who asked for that divorce, and Roger had only agreed reluctantly.
Their marriage had been a stormy one, filled with furious arguments, tearful recriminations, touching reconciliations, and inevitable repeat performances. Most of the recriminations had been on the part of Roger, who, despite his feelings for Aunt Ruby Lee, could not give up performing country music at the county’s honky-tonks or the long nights of drinking and carousing that went along with it.
Aunt Ruby Lee had eventually kicked him out. Shortly after their divorce was final, she met Uncle Loman’s cousin Conrad and they were married not long after that. I remembered hearing that Roger had never quite given up hope for another chance with Aunt Ruby Lee, and was known to show up unannounced at her house under the pretext of visiting his daughter.
“Tell us what you’ve been up to, Roger. Roger’s a musician,” I explained to Richard.
“Well, I don’t know if you’d call it being a musician, but I do all right,” Roger said with a grin.
“Don’t listen to him,” I said. “He and his band have played just about every club in the county and they perform at all kinds of public functions. They’re real popular around here.”
Roger’s grin grew wider, his good humor restored by my compliments. “I’m right proud you think so,” he said. “Now since when do you call me by my Christian name? What happened to ‘Uncle Roger’?”
“You did divorce Aunt Ruby Lee a while ago.”
“Shoot, that don’t make no never mind. Family is family, I always say, and I still consider the Burnettes part of mine. Ellis has always been like a second father to me, even after Ruby Lee and I split up. I was over there visiting with him just the other day. Nothing I like better than to spend the day singing the old songs with Ellis.”
“Paw does have a nice voice,” I said, wishing I had recorded more of his songs.
“Well,” Roger said, “I better be getting on, too. You be sure and call if I can do anything to help out, hear?”
“I will, Roger. Thank you.”
After he left, I explained to Richard what he had just been in the middle of. Then I leaned back in my chair. “Sometimes I forget how much work it is keeping up with this family.”
Richard pulled my hand over to his lap and aske
d, “How are you holding out?”
“Not too good. Richard, Paw’s not going to get better, is he?”
“We don’t know that.”
I nodded, but still felt that I was right. We sat together quietly for the rest of the afternoon.
Chapter 15
Somewhere around seven, the Burnette clan started to gather once more. Richard and I relinquished our posts to Aunt Nellie and Uncle Ruben, the first arrivals, and went down to the snack bar to get something to eat. By the time we got back, all of the aunts and uncles and most of the cousins were present. Even Aunt Maggie was there.
Richard and I sat by a cluster of older cousins including Odelle, Idelle, Carlelle, Linwood, Vasti, and Thaddeous. The triplets and Vasti started talking about Melanie Wilson, but they stopped when they noticed the forlorn expression on Thaddeous’s face. Then Linwood asked me if I still knew how to drink out of a Dixie cup or if I had been up North too long. Otherwise, no one said much.
Doctor Mason came to see Paw at eight, and then asked Aunt Nora to come out into the hall for a moment. After he left, she came in and said in a flat voice, “The doctor says Paw’s getting worse. We can all go in to see him.”
What my aunt was telling us was that Paw was dying, and that this was our chance to say good-bye to him. The figure on the bed was noticeably shrunken since yesterday, and his eyes were closed. If he knew we were there, he gave no sign.
Slowly we all crowded into the hospital room, taking turns to make sure everyone had a chance to get close to Paw. No one said much, but there were plenty of tears.
When Richard and I approached him, I whispered, “Paw? Can you hear me?” He didn’t move.
Remembering that a nurse had once told me that a person could often still hear even when incapable of responding, I continued, “Richard’s with me, Paw. He came down to see you.” I stopped. I wanted to tell him so much, but my throat was too tight.
“Paw,” Richard said, “we just want to tell you we love you.”
I nodded, but could say nothing more. I stared at him, trying to reconcile this feeble shell with the vibrant man I had known all my life, but I couldn’t. Finally, Richard tugged on my shoulder and we left the room.
Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 01 - Down Home Murder Page 9