Hazel leaned across the counter to give him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, Elmer. I just have one more question. Do you have a horse trailer anywhere, or do I need to get one from the farm supply store?”
“There’s one on my property too. I haven’t kept horses in ages. It should hook up to that truck. Go on and take it. It’s yours.”
“How much do I owe you?”
“Get Carolyn away from that bastard and we’ll call it even.”
“Thank you. You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever known.”
“You’re welcome, Hazel. You’re quite a woman to know. Now, hurry yourself up. Light will be fading soon.”
Hazel took off. Elmer’s property was set far back from the store. As he said, it was a distance, but she could handle it. Now that they had a horse trailer, Hazel knew that they could escape the moment she reached the farm. It would be cutting it very close, yet it wasn’t impossible.
*-*-*-*
Despite their lack of telephones, word spread quickly in Debarr. Richard told his workers and Randy. Randy told his workers. Ronnie met up with the churchwomen. The workers and the churchwomen spread the news from there. “Carolyn Jennings and Hazel Mayer—they’re lovers. Go to the Jennings’ farm by nightfall.”
Ronnie was with Mrs. Bean and Mrs. Gable in his vehicle. The three of them were the judge and jury when it came to Carolyn and Hazel. They wouldn’t be the executioners. They wanted to wait for the entire town before anything so dramatic occurred.
“Do you think that Hazel Mayer will be there yet?” Mrs. Bean asked.
“No way. She was walking real slow when I passed her. You think the husband will be home?” Ronnie wondered.
“I doubt it. He has to come from the city after work. But, he’ll be along soon,” Mrs. Gable answered.
Carolyn’s farm grew larger in the distance. Inside the house, Carolyn was preoccupied with making dinner for Thompson. She didn’t hear the car approach over the sound of her boiling pots. She didn’t hear footsteps on her porch over the sound of the sizzling meat either.
“What are you doing with that?” Mrs. Bean whispered to Ronnie.
He finished pushing bullets into his father’s revolver. It fit loosely into the holster. “I brought it just in case things get nasty. An angry mob can get out of control real quick, I hear.”
Mrs. Bean paused for a moment. “Ronnie, you’re absolutely positive about this?”
“Yes. One of my workers told me that he saw them laughing together in church. If that’s not the sign of a sinner, I don’t know what is. We have to do the right thing,” Ronnie insisted.
Carolyn heard the powerful knocks on her door. She took the time to turn off the burners before she opened it. She was surprised to see them all. Based on their expressions and the gun on Ronnie’s hip, she knew it wasn’t a social visit.
“Can we come in?” Ronnie asked.
“Actually, I’m in the middle of making dinner for my husband. I could see you all tomorrow sometime, if you’d like,” Carolyn nervously replied.
“I think that we need to come in now. We’re concerned about you,” Mrs. Gable told her.
“It’d be just a minute,” Mrs. Bean said.
Carolyn knew false words when she heard them. She attempted to close the door, but Ronnie pushed it open. Carolyn fell to the floor as they entered. Ronnie went upstairs while Mrs. Bean went to the kitchen. Mrs. Gable began to search the living area. When Carolyn tried to run, Mrs. Gable slammed the door shut.
“You stay put,” Mrs. Gable growled.
Mrs. Gable ripped cushions off the couch. Carolyn suspected that they knew her secret, but she had to be sure. “What are you all doing to my house?”
“Looking for evidence,” Mrs. Gable barked.
“Of what?” Carolyn asked.
“That you and Hazel Mayer are lovers. Are sinners. We don’t tolerate that in this town,” Mrs. Gable spat.
Ronnie bounded down the stairs. “I didn’t see anything. You?”
“In here!” Mrs. Bean shouted.
“Get up,” Ronnie hissed while he grabbed Carolyn’s elbow.
Ronnie dragged Carolyn into the kitchen. Violently, he threw her against the refrigerator. Mrs. Gable followed them into the room. Mrs. Bean stood by the cupboard with Pride and Prejudice tucked under her arm. She had the letter open in her hands. Terror shot through Carolyn.
“It’s all here, Ronnie. Hazel wrote her a love letter,” Mrs. Bean muttered.
Ronnie took the letter from Mrs. Bean. He scanned it with his eyes. His voice was filled with disgust. “You two are filth.”
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Mrs. Gable snarled.
“Do what you want to me. My husband has for years,” Carolyn spoke.
Ronnie stepped forward and grabbed her by the shirt. “You’re not even going to say you’re sorry for what you are? Not even try to make yourself look good to us?”
“I won’t say sorry for who I love,” she retorted.
“That just makes this easier,” Ronnie sighed. He leaned in closely. “Let’s hope your lover tries to sweet talk her way out. I’d hate to be tough on a pretty gal like that.”
“What?” Carolyn asked.
“You didn’t know? Hazel came back today. I’d bet she’s coming here,” Ronnie sneered.
Carolyn used all her strength to push Ronnie off her. She skidded through her house towards the front door. There was no way that she was going to allow anybody to hurt Hazel.
However, she didn’t get past the front porch. Ronnie caught her by the shoulder and dragged her back inside. He threw her down and held her against the floor by placing his foot on her abdomen.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Forty-six
Rodger heard the news about Carolyn and Hazel from the farmhands. They told Rodger exactly what they were planning. Unlike the rest of the Richardson clan, Rodger was not sickened by the thought of Carolyn and Hazel being together. Lovers or not, they were both wonderful people, and he did not see how kind women like them should be condemned.
He did the only thing that he could think to do. He went to Elmer’s store.
“Elmer! Elmer!” he cried as he flew through the door.
“What is it, Rodger?” Elmer calmly asked.
“It’s Mrs. Jennings and Ms. Mayer,” Rodger replied.
Elmer dropped the papers that were in his hands. “They know.”
“You know?” Rodger asked.
“That they’re together? Yeah. I know. Everybody else does?”
“Yeah. The whole town knows. Ronnie figured it out,” Rodger confirmed.
“Dammit!” Elmer bellowed. “You’ve got your car?”
“I sure do. Parked out front. What’re we going to do, Elmer? They’re planning to get to Mrs. Jennings’ farm by nightfall. I don’t know what they’re up to, but somebody said something about punishing them for their sins. What’s that mean, Elmer? Are they going to hurt them?”
He didn’t have the heart to tell the boy. “Let’s not worry about what they’re up to, all right? We need to worry about us. Have you seen Hazel at all? She’d be in an old truck with a horse trailer by now.”
“I haven’t seen her since earlier. I haven’t seen Ronnie in a long time either. He’s got to be at the farm already. He said he wouldn’t be alone either. Something about churchwomen,” Rodger mentioned.
Elmer grumbled. “Just swell. Mrs. Gable and Mrs. Bean, I’d reckon. Won’t be long before Mr. Jennings joins them too. We need help, but I don’t know how to get it.”
“There’s that county sheriff out past the train station. I see him sitting in that police car all the time. Maybe we could go get him,” Rodger suggested.
“There’s no time. Even if we did, we don’t know how he thinks. If he’s like everybody else, he might light the match himself. We got to think of something, Rodger. We’re alone. It’s just you and me against all of them…”
The door to Elmer’s s
tore swung open. Mrs. Deanwood anxiously stepped inside. “Elmer, I have to ask you something. You know everything about this town, don’t you? Is it true? About Mrs. Jennings and Hazel? I heard Mrs. Mare and Mrs. Sadey telling the other churchwomen. They’re talking about doing unspeakable things to them. I need to know the truth. You must have it. I know you must.”
“It’s true,” Elmer verified.
“Oh my Lord,” Mrs. Deanwood gasped. She straightened her spine with resolve. “Are you going to help the town hurt those women, or are you going to help me?”
“Help you?” Rodger asked.
“I have to stop this,” Mrs. Deanwood replied.
Elmer was pleasantly surprised. “You want to save them?”
“Of course. Hazel is my friend, and Mrs. Jennings is a decent woman. We shouldn’t judge them, Elmer. Who are we to play God?”
Elmer held a quiet smile. “You’re just the woman we need, Mrs. Deanwood. Get to Rodger’s truck. Maybe we aren’t too late.”
*-*-*-*
Elmer’s old truck and the horse trailer were prattling along the road. Carolyn’s farm was not far. Hazel’s heart raced with anticipation and worry. She imagined flying into Carolyn’s grasp and kissing her lips once again. It made her fears drift away from her chest. They could escape, she believed. She’d move heaven and earth to start a life with Carolyn in anywhere but Debarr.
As she grew near, she noticed that something was very wrong. Townspeople were walking along the road towards the house. She wasn’t sure why a group of men carried pitchforks and rakes with them. There was a collection of women whispering together while they walked. From what Hazel could tell, it was a prayer.
The answer came to her when she saw Carolyn’s farm. People gathered on the driveway and the lawn outside of the house. She realized that the townsfolk were there as a mob. “They handle their own justice,” Elmer had warned her. Hazel wasn’t sure how Carolyn’s sexuality and possibly their affair was made public, though it didn’t matter.
Hazel doubled her speed. She swerved dangerously off the road to avoid the slow-moving mob. The truck loudly bumped across the open field. It jolted the rusted horse trailer from the truck. That drew attention to her panicked movements. The crowd began to piece together that it was Hazel.
“That’s got to be Ms. Mayer!” a townsman howled.
“Stop her!” another shouted.
She stomped on the gas and almost ran over several people. The truck broke through Carolyn’s fence. She drove directly into Carolyn’s porch to avoid the people on the lawn. She didn’t bother with the door. She crawled through the window and darted to the front door. However, she found that the door wouldn’t open. They had barricaded it.
“You need to stop trying to escape, Mrs. Jennings,” Ronnie warned as Carolyn tried to rip his foot off her chest. “We’ll get to Hazel long before she’s got the chance to save you.”
Dramatically, the chair that held the doorknob in place splintered. Hazel awkwardly crashed into the house. She had used her shoulder to ram powerfully into the door. Ronnie was too stunned to move. He could never have expected a woman to have such strength. While Ronnie gawked, Carolyn yanked his ankle to the side. His leg flew out from beneath him, which gave Hazel a chance to stand.
Carolyn rushed to Hazel. Hazel put her arms around Carolyn’s waist. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Are you?” Carolyn gently asked.
“More or less. We should get out of here. Right now,” Hazel said.
They turned to the front door, but the mob was closing in on the porch. Mrs. Gable and Mrs. Bean were blocking the path to the backdoor, and Ronnie was ready to tackle them both. Carolyn pulled Hazel by the wrist to the stairs. They fled to the second level where Carolyn locked them in the bedroom.
“You came back,” Carolyn whispered.
Despite the sound of Ronnie climbing the steps, Hazel kissed Carolyn several times. She murmured against Carolyn’s cheek. “I’m not marrying Eugene. I’m going away with you.”
“We best start moving. It’s not far to the ground from up here. I’ll break through the window and jump first. You jump out and I’ll catch you. We got to get as far from the house as we can.”
“You can take the drop? You’re sure?” Hazel asked.
Ronnie pounded on the door. “You can’t escape! Face your sins and we’ll be nice to you. If you don’t, we won’t be nice. You hear me? You don’t want us to get mad!”
“I don’t know for sure if I can take that drop, darlin. But, I need to do it anyway.”
Carolyn pressed her lips to Hazel’s forehead, and then she picked up a lamp. She threw it through the window, shattering the glass completely. She stuck her head out of the window to check their surroundings. No one had made their way to the back of the house yet. The drop was farther than she thought, yet she had to do it.
“I’m going to break through this door in just a few seconds! I gave you a chance to do this the easy way, but looks like I’ll have to drag you out!” Ronnie wildly roared.
Quickly, Carolyn leapt. Although she didn’t hit the ground well, she only twisted an ankle. She used the siding of the house to stand up. Her arms extended to catch Hazel. Hazel was about to jump when Ronnie burst into the room. Ronnie reached out and snagged her shirt.
“You could have been with me instead of being like you are,” Ronnie growled.
“I’d have thrown myself in the path of angry bulls over being with you,” Hazel replied.
Hazel spat in his eye. He let go of her as a reflex. She punched him in the nose for good measure, and then she jumped from the window. Carolyn caught her with ease.
“I hurt my ankle,” Carolyn grumbled.
“Lean on me. We’ll get moving. I don’t see anybody here yet,” Hazel told her.
“Carolyn,” a voice called from behind them.
She didn’t have to turn around. It was Thompson.
Forty-seven
“I wouldn’t run,” Thompson called. “This boy’s got a gun.”
Carolyn and Hazel stopped in their tracks. Gradually, they turned around to face Thompson and Ronnie. Ronnie had leapt from the window as well. Although he didn’t stick the landing either, his arm remained steady. He held a still revolver in his hand. So far, he wasn’t pointing it at anybody. Taking it out of his holster was threatening enough.
“It wasn’t good coming home to people in my yard and in my house, telling me what my wife is. If I ever wanted to speak up for you, that letter changed my mind. And the paper that said you wrote back? You bastard,” Thompson hissed.
“How about I tell them what you do?” Carolyn spat.
Carolyn pulled back the collar of her shirt. The most recent bruise was swollen and black, and several of the townspeople who’d made their way to the back of the house began to urgently whisper. This included Mrs. Gable and Mrs. Bean. Mrs. Gable was not moved by the sight before her. Carolyn’s wounds were well deserved, Mrs. Gable believed.
“You’re the one we’re here for,” Mrs. Gable called to Carolyn.
“Sinners! Sinners!” Ronnie started to chant.
The townspeople followed his lead with furious enthusiasm. “Sinners! Sinners!”
While they continued to shout, Thompson took a few steps towards Hazel and Carolyn. “You’ve disgraced me. You’ve made me look like a fool. I ought to ring your neck right now.”
“Try anything and I’ll bite your hand off,” Hazel threatened.
“So, this is the little girl you’ve been fornicating with? She’s got a mouth on her. Awful pretty too. You love her, Carolyn? That’s bad. You were supposed to love me,” Thompson snarled.
“I never loved you. I don’t know how anybody ever could,” Carolyn hissed.
“You’ve always made it so easy for me to hurt you,” Thompson muttered as his mustache curled into a wicked smirk. “Everybody is here for justice tonight, Carolyn. Not just me. Justice in this town is never pretty. You know that. I’ll be glad to see it.
Real glad.”
“If this town had any brains, you would be the one they want to hang. You’re nothing more than an abusive coward,” Hazel retorted.
“You’re going to regret you said that, pervert…” Thompson returned.
“If you talk to her like that again, you’ll be the one with regrets,” Carolyn bravely replied.
“The only regret I have is being married to something vile,” Thompson shot back.
Thompson left the women standing there. He approached Ronnie instead. Ronnie was still leading their chant. He called it off when Thompson tapped on his shoulder.
“Ronnie, isn’t it?” Thompson asked.
“Yeah. That’s me,” Ronnie confirmed.
“I can’t help noticing that you’ve got a real nice gun in your hand. What’s got you upset enough to bring that revolver along? You have personal stakes in this like I do?” Thompson hummed with curiosity.
“Hazel rejected me like I was nothing. Hurt my pride in front of everybody. Women can’t do that to men, can they?”
“No, they sure can’t, Ronnie. What’re you planning on doing with those bullets?” Thompson casually asked.
“I don’t want to shoot anybody, Mr. Jennings. I’ve just brought it to keep this under control,” Ronnie replied. Then, he shouted at Hazel and Carolyn. “Now, you two women are coming with us. Pastor Gable has a nice little shack to put you in. He’s going to make sure that you pray away your sins when you get there. Let’s get going or else.”
Carolyn shook her head. “You’re not putting us in there to pray. I know that.”
“Don’t make me point this gun at you. I’ll shoot out your legs and drag you, if I have to,” Ronnie warned.
“You will not!” a young voice cried.
Rodger ran towards his brother. Ronnie rolled his eyes. “Dammit, brat. This isn’t a place for kids. Get going.”
“You’re not hurting them,” Rodger said with resolve.
Boldly, Rodger tried to grab Ronnie’s arm. Ronnie shoved him off, and then he gestured to Mrs. Gable and Mrs. Bean. They stepped forward and snagged Rodger by the arms. However, they didn’t get far. Elmer arrived. He reached out and yanked Rodger away from the women. Further down, Mrs. Deanwood was making her entrance.
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