The Brat

by Gil Brewer

  I looked at her lying there. My wife. It was something.

  “One more thing,” she said, “then I’ll shut up. I know you don’t understand me, Lee. You never tried hard enough. Sometimes it would get so I didn’t understand myself. But—if you would, I’d go back with you. If we ever could get back, I’d go through whatever we have to go through—with you. I want that. I’d be glad, and I guess you’d call it honored, to start all over again—if you’d have me. I know you won’t. I know it can’t be. But I want you to know I would.”

  She watched me steadily, not blinking now. Then she turned over again and lay very still.

  Outside by the fire, Hugo DeGreef lifted his gun into the air and fired three well-spaced shots. The explosions echoed very loud over the island.

  There was no answer to his signal.

  Chapter 17

  HUGO DEGREEF walked over to the tent and stood at the opening, staring in at us. His black shadow wavered across Evis’s body. He said nothing. He just stared, with the fire blazing back there in the middle of the clearing.

  “Sullivan,” he finally said. “Ask little Miss Explanation what this island is? I’ve noticed some things that look Indian over there in the woods. And what’s all that truck out in the water?”

  Evis didn’t answer him.

  “That is, if she can bring herself to talk at a time like this,” DeGreef said.

  “It’s an old Seminole camp,” Evis said, her voice flat and muffled in the blanket. “Very, very old—nothing much left of the shacks. But in the late thirties Hollywood sent a crew in here to film a swamp picture. Those are the piers and old buildings you saw out by the water.”

  “Fine place to film a picture,” DeGreef said.

  “This is only a small part of it,” Evis said. “There’s lots more over near the main highway. A good ways from here, to the east. Took over an entire area. The whole thing failed. The star got bitten by a rattler and died. Hurricane came up and smashed equipment—they lost a big pile of money. Finally abandoned it. Then another motion picture outfit bought rights and moved in for an attempt. That failed, too. If you don’t know the swamp, sometimes it kind of reaches out and grabs you by the throat.”

  “I see,” DeGreef said.

  “You’ll find signs lying around. They were bitter, but they kept on trying. They called the thing ‘Calamity Run.’ Finally gave it up as a lost cause.”

  “Calamity Run?” I said.

  “Uh-huh. They started filming here, on this island, see? Then when the rains came, the island flooded and they tried to move equipment over to the new location. They’d built over there. They lost everything in a storm. Three people drowned. I was a little girl then—we came out and watched them once. I remember. There was—” She stopped talking.

  “There was what?” DeGreef said.

  She didn’t answer.

  I hadn’t realized, but now I noticed the wind had come up, and I heard thunder. A slow white streak of lightning flashed far out above the trees.

  “God damn it!” DeGreef said. “We’re going to catch it.”

  “Maybe not,” Evis said.

  He stepped into the tent, moving quietly and walked between Evis and me. Suddenly he leaned down, grabbed her arm and whipped her to her feet. She came up snarling, ready to claw him. He rammed her back against the side of the tent, holding her there.

  “Don’t come near me, Sullivan!” he said. “That’s a threat!”

  I started for him. He came around with the gun in his fist, his face working in the shadows.

  “I’m not fooling with you,” he said gently.

  I waited, watching that gun. He turned to her again.

  “Where’d you hide that money, sister?” he said.

  “You fool!” she whispered.

  “No. Not fool. Where did you bury this guy, Kaylor?”

  That hadn’t occurred to me. You had to hand it to DeGreef. It was like putting a white light on her. She held both hands up to her face and for a moment I thought she was going to scream.

  Her voice was strained. “I didn’t. I told you I didn’t. He left me here—went away and left me here.”

  DeGreef whirled at her. “How come you were making coffee?”

  “Go to hell!”

  “How come you built a fire that didn’t smoke? Tell me that one thing and I’ll listen to you.” He leaned forward, and began yelling at her. “Why the hell did you build a fire that didn’t smoke!”

  She didn’t answer him. DeGreef turned savagely and went stomping back to the fire. He jammed the gun into his belt, scraped his fingers through his hair, and stood there with whatever it was eating the devil out of him.

  The wind was stronger now and the sides of the tent puffed a little off and on.

  I sat down beside her. She didn’t move.

  DeGreef stood by the fire. He was plenty worried, I could tell that. He knew there wasn’t gas enough to take us out of the swamp; there was every chance we’d be here for a long time. And he knew I’d do something about that. What he couldn’t know was, I had no idea what to do.

  “Sullivan? Come out here.”

  I started to get up. Evis’s hand reached out and touched my arm. Her fingers squeezed and she sat half up, looking at me. Then she came all the way up and her shoulder brushed mine.

  “He’s going to do something, Lee.”

  “What can he do?”

  “Don’t go out there. He’s planning something. I can tell.”

  “Sullivan?” DeGreef said. “Get out here. I want a word with you.”

  Her voice was hurried. “Lee, sooner or later they’ll come. Is that what you want? You want them to come and take us?”

  She looked closely at me and leaned nearer, her hand sliding down my arm to my hand, and her bare thigh laid over against my knee.

  “Lee?”

  “Sullivan!”

  “Lee—do you want to go through with that? Do you?”

  I reached for her and my palm touched the soft warm flesh.

  “Is that what you want?” she said. “Or do you still want me—what we could have together. Lee!” She spoke very quickly and softly.

  I stood up and left her there.

  • • •

  DeGreef was breathing heavily. He ran a hand across his face and took my arm, leading me over toward the fire.

  “Sullivan, that kid’s lying, you know.”

  “No. She’s not.”

  “Look—don’t be a fool. She’s got the money here some place. I mean that I know she has. She’ll never tell me unless I beat it out of her. I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

  “You’ll never get that far, DeGreef.”

  He tightened his lips, watching me. “No? That’s where you’re wrong. You figure you’ll stop me? I don’t think so. I put a slug in your knee, where’ll you be? I can do that, understand!” He glanced toward the tent. “I could beat it out of her. Only I want you to get it out of her—you, Sullivan. Either that, or I’ll fix you—the both of you. You’ll rot behind bars for a while, Sullivan. Then you’ll burn up there in Raiford.”

  “She’s telling the truth.”

  “Go see what you can do. A word from me could make things easier for you when this thing comes to trail.”

  “Maybe it never will, DeGreef.”

  He looked at me, blew air through his nose, and moved away. He had talked low enough so none of what we said would reach the tent. I felt heavy and tired.

  I went over to the tent and sat down beside Evis.

  “Lee?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did he want?”

  “Nothing. He says you’re lying.”

  “Lee—they’ll follow the air-boat trail, the same as you did. Cops must be down here by now. They’re bound to find us.”

  “This wind will wipe that out.”

  “No, there’s not enough wind for that.” She lowered her voice still more. “Lee, we’ve got to do something.”

  I looked at
her. She moved closer to me.

  “How much gas is there in that motor?” she said.

  “Not enough to get us a quarter of a mile.”

  “I’ve got gas.”

  “Sure.”

  “Yes. Don’t talk so loud, he’ll hear. I’m telling you. When Berk left, he threw the tent off the air boat, see? He was kind of mad at the time—we’d been fighting—and he threw two five-gallon gas cans off with the tent.”

  “Why the hell would he do that?”

  She squirmed close against me. “Lee—I love you—will you believe that?”

  I started to say something but she touched her fingers to my lips.

  “Lee, we could get away. All you’ve got to do is jump DeGreef, somehow. Can’t you do that?”

  It was as if we both held our breaths for a second or two, and I almost knew what was coming, when she said, “I’ve got the money, Lee—I’ve got it, honestly! I’ve hidden it. We could have it—all of it—just the way I planned.”

  She came to her knees beside me, her hair falling across her face, eyes excited. I don’t know, you keep getting it. I mean, I sat there and it was like being whacked across the head with a board. I hadn’t been thinking at all for quite a while, just absorbing things, not trying to understand anything. And then she dropped the bomb. Only it just lay there fizzling between us.

  “If you don’t do like I say,” she said. “I’ll never tell. You can kill me—but I’ll never tell.”

  “All right,” I said. “Fine. That’s great.” I thrust myself to my feet, staring at her without really seeing anything, then turned toward the opening of the tent.

  DeGreef stood by the fire. Across the clearing, Berk Kaylor walked slowly toward him, a rifle in his hands.

  • • •

  “Sullivan?” DeGreef called. “Sullivan—do something. Get out here and do something!”

  Kaylor laughed and spat across the barrel of the rifle. He still wore khaki shirt and trousers, the heavy combat boots. He stepped warily on across the clearing toward DeGreef.

  “Evis?” Kaylor said. “Evis, honey—you all right?”

  She came to her feet and ran past me out of the tent, over toward Kaylor. Her legs moved in a pale flashing through the firelight.

  “Careful, honey,” Kaylor said. “Don’t get between me and that fellow over there. Looks as if he’s kind of top heavy.”

  Evis began to laugh. She paused by the fire and laughed lightly and with sudden, sharp happiness.

  “Berk,” she said. “I thought for sure you’d never get here. Where in God’s name have you been?”

  DeGreef moved slowly backward and sat heavily on the stump of cabbage palm. His voice was sick.

  “Nobody’d believe me,” he said. “There’s nobody would believe me and all the time I knew it. I knew it all the time.”

  Chapter 18

  SHE TURNED and looked at me and laughed again. It was the happiest laughter I’d heard in a long time. Then she quit laughing. She must have seen how I looked.

  I started walking toward her. I felt dreamy, as if nobody could see me or know anything about the way I felt right then. I wanted to kill her—get my hands on her for just one minute and that was all. I kept walking toward her steadily, on past DeGreef sitting on his God-damned stump, and I could see only Evis. Nothing else. Nothing else mattered in the world but my getting my hands on her. She had lied and schemed and lied and schemed again, and I’d almost fallen for it—ready to go along with her straight to hell. Because I’d thought, She’s human, too. She’s a human being. You’ve got to remember she’s a human being.

  Only now it was done.

  “Evis?” I said softly, trying to make it sound kind.

  But she knew. She turned and ran for Kaylor.

  “Just stop it right there,” Kaylor said.

  I kept walking. I walked right over to them. Kaylor shoved her back out of the way. He was wet up to above his chest, black hair hanging down across one eye. He lifted the rifle toward me and I kept coming.

  “Berk! Don’t let him touch me!”

  “Yell all you want,” I said. “Scream your fool head off. But just don’t try to get away this time.”

  “Hold it,” Kaylor said.

  He worked the lever once, fast, on the rifle and pointed the muzzle at my chest.

  “One more step, Sullivan.”

  “No, Berk!” she said.

  I stopped and stared at her. “What?” I said. “You mean you don’t want him to kill me?”

  She didn’t speak, standing there behind Kaylor.

  She laughed nervously.

  “Know what she just did?” I said to Kaylor, looking at her and hating her like I’d never hate anything in this world. “She just told me she had the money here, Kaylor. Hidden some place. She said we could get away if I’d jump DeGreef. I want you to know this, Kaylor—I want you to know what you’re up against with her. You have no idea—none whatsoever.”

  She laughed that same nervous laugh, standing behind Kaylor. He looked quickly around at her, then toward me again.

  “Did you do that, for sure, honey?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, hell—you little witch, you.”

  She laughed again and put her arms around Kaylor’s middle.

  “Can’t trust you at all, can I?” he said.

  “I began to wonder if you were coming, Berk,” she said. “I got nervous. I figured if I could get Lee to do something about that pig over there, then I’d feel better.”

  “Sure,” Kaylor said. “I reckon I understand, honey.”

  I stared at the two of them. It was insane. And yet there they were; understanding each other as nice as you please.

  DeGreef swore softly from the stump of cabbage palm.

  “Yes,” Evis said. “Pig! I saw how you looked at me. Don’t think I didn’t see that!”

  Kaylor turned his head slowly and looked at DeGreef.

  “I don’t reckon I understand,” Kaylor said. “What do you mean, honey? How did he look at you?”

  I watched them, still unable to believe it. The instant Kaylor had come, Evis had changed. It seemed almost as if she regressed, her personality changed, and there was the sound of the backwoods, the swamp, the deep south in her voice. Everything she said, every move she made, even her eyes, showed strict sympathy with Kaylor and what he was. They were absolutely alike.

  “Tell me,” Kaylor repeated. “How did he look at you?”

  She came around from his side and glanced sharply at DeGreef. DeGreef returned her gaze steadily. She stamped her foot lightly on the ground and leaned forward, gripping Kaylor’s arm, her dark lips twisting.

  “It was like he wanted to tear my clothes off, Berk, honey. Like he couldn’t see enough of me. Like seeing wouldn’t ever be enough.”

  “He touch you?”

  She shook her head, straightening. “No. That pig! But I could tell what he wanted to do. He’s been nibbling at me for hours with those eyes.”

  “Well,” Kaylor said. “I’ll have to check into that.”

  “He’d of tried something,” Evis said.

  Kaylor frowned. Turning, he smacked Evis hard on the behind. “You run along and get the money, honey. We got to get out of here. Fast. The Law’s coming—I got all the news. We don’t want them to catch us down here.”

  “But where’ve you been, Berk?”

  “I been poling an’ dragging that damned air boat for miles. Ever since I heard some signal shots. Must of been Mister Pig, over yonder. Right?”

  She nodded, still clinging to him.

  DeGreef came up off the stump and stumbled toward Evis and Kaylor.

  “Steady, now,” Kaylor said, “Or I’ll plug you.”

  DeGreef stopped. He looked a little crazy. I began to think that maybe a lot more than I knew depended on DeGreef thoroughly finishing his job.

  “Kiss me, Berk,” Evis said, pressing against Kaylor. “Give me a great big kiss, will you?”

&nbs
p; He shoved her brutally with his hip, not even looking at her. She stepped away.

  “You get that moneybox, like I tol’ you, hear? Move out, woman. We ain’t got time for kissing. Not now. I said move!”

  “Yes—but, Berk—” She looked at him, caught something in his eyes, smiled and turned at a run over toward the tent. She didn’t even look at me as she ran past.

  “Now,” Kaylor said. “You two are going to have to stay right here. Ain’t that sad?”

  “You can’t do that,” DeGreef said.

  “I’ll get to you,” Kaylor said. “Got a thing to say, here.” He lounged now, and let the rifle sag in the crook of his arm. He reached up and scrubbed his face with his hand, looked off toward the tent, then at me. “You’re in the sack, Sullivan. Ain’t that a shame? You’re gonna get blamed for killing two men, and stealing that money—all by yourself. What I mean is, you’re the only one they’ll catch.”

  “We’ll see,” DeGreef said.

  “Told you I’d get to you,” Kaylor said sharply. “Don’t go getting me any more riled than I am, hear? I left Evis here so I could go check on things, see what the score is, and pick up enough gas so we could trip across the country and get going out of Miami. Did a little snooping around. They got posses out. Got cops down here from all over hell’s half-acre. They got boats. Everybody’s in on the hunt. It’s fun, you know? They ain’t too damned far away, right now.”

  Evis came running past me with a small pasteboard suitcase in her hand. It was the type you buy in dime stores. She went over to Kaylor, banged the side of the suitcase with her hand, grinning up at him. She was as changed as any woman could ever be. Every time I looked at her I went a little blind.

  “All right,” Kaylor said. “Rona come back to Hagar’s Point with that there corpse of the redhead. I talked with somebody who seen her come in. One of his deputies held her,” he said, motioning his head toward DeGreef. “He’s got her now. She tried to tell him you didn’t have anything to do with it, Sullivan—but luck has it, that there deputy’s from, this part of the country and he don’t take to strangers. Wouldn’t listen to Rona, anyways. Too much against you, Sullivan. They think you killed Fowler—and they think you killed the sheriff, here—Greefus.”