Rachel
tells the women, who McCleary is, and why Big Earl contacted him. The men
arrive at the meeting place, only to find that it's an ambush.
"That's
far enough," Sheriff Squires said from behind them. "Reckon
I'll take them pretty guns off ya."
Lucius
and Willem raised their hands slowly. Two men came up to them,
snatching the guns from their belts. One of them sported a bruised
face, the other held his arm as if it hurt.
"You
met my friends, Hoop and Turner," Squires said with a grin.
"You
gave me twenty-six stitches," Hoop said, glaring at Will. "Cut
me to the bone, you bastard."
Will
smirked. "Only twenty-six? Count yourself lucky I didn't gut
you."
"Now,
boys. Ain't no reason to fight. We're gonna sit down civil like and
have us a chat."
"Nothing
to chat about," Lucius replied.
"I
beg to differ. We got us a lot to talk about. Life, death and coal.
Sound about right?" He cast about to his men for confirmation.
Nodding,
the men chuckled nastily.
"You
caused me no end of bother," Squires said. "Just like your
daddy. He was one stubborn hillbilly. I'm hopin' you boys can see
reason."
"That
ain't a Henry strong suit," Will replied. "Now, pure
cussedness, that's a Henry through and through."
Squires
threw his head back, a barking laugh coming from his mouth. "That's
the god's truth," he declared.
"How'd
you know where we'd be?" Lucius asked.
"Why,
my good buddy, Tim McCleary, told me."
The
Henry boys frowned. McCleary hadn't sounded like a turncoat over the
phone.
"Course,
it took some persuading, but he finally told me everything." He
gestured to something that looked like a pile of rags.
The
object moved feebly, groaning. With a sickening lurch, the men
realized it was Tim McCleary.
"You
didn't think your little game of cat and mouse was gonna throw me off
your scent, did you? I got eyes and ears everywhere, boys. Me and
God, like this." He crossed his fingers. "Gotta give you
points for style, heading up to Cumberland that way. Why, that was
pure genius. Must have been Lucius' idea."
"Actually,
it was mine," Will said.
"Well,
sir, that's a shocker. Goes to show every man can have himself a real
good day, from time to time. Tie 'em up, fellers, and put 'em in the
truck. We got to have a chat with the Widder Henry. Reckon she'll
sign anything we wave at her if we got her two oldest boys in
custody. We got enough to arrest you. Seeing how you assaulted two
deputies in pursuit of their duty and damn near beat that old boy to
death." He nodded at Timothy McCleary. "Hit's a shame. I
always liked you boys. Your daddy was one mean, old son of a
bitch...."
"'Preciate
it if you didn't insult my grandmother like that," Lucius said
calmly. "She's a fine, godfearing lady. You got no call—"
Sheriff
Squires slapped Luke's cheek with the back of his hand. Luke's head
snapped to the side and he felt a burst of blood in his mouth.
Squires shook his hand, wincing.
"Boy,
you got a hard head."
Lucius
spit blood on the sheriff's shoe. His glare was enough to make the
other men step back. Squires looked at the blood, grinning nastily.
He rubbed it on the grass.
"That
wasn't nice." He hauled back to smack Lucius again, then thought
better of it. "Bring them," he growled.
Hoop
and Turner grabbed Luke and Will, dragging them to Will's truck. They
tied their hands and loaded the Henry men into the bed, climbing in
with them. Squires got behind the wheel with a fourth man beside him.
Hoop and Turner went back for Tim McCleary's limp body and
unceremoniously threw it into the bed of the truck. A low moan rose
from his crumpled form, but nothing more.
The
truck bumped down the mountain, drawing ever nearer to the Henry
house. Willem and Lucius grew more worried the closer they got. Their
mother, siblings and the women they loved were in that house. They'd
tried so hard to keep trouble away, now they were bringing it right
to their front door. Lucius had never been so happy for a dark night.
Though the moon was on the wane, heavy clouds covered it. Wind picked
up, howling through the trees.
Hoop
shuddered, whispering about ghosts. Luke smiled as he wiggled his
hands. In their rush to tie up the brothers, Hoop and Turner hadn't
done a very good job. Had Luke been the one doing the trussing, he'd
have passed rope between the hands. It hadn't occurred to the
sheriff's henchmen. Luke could feel Will's arm moving as he tried to
get some slack in the biting hemp.
The
truck's motor strained on the last slope descending toward the Henry
property. The sheriff cursed, down shifting to a lower gear. Will
winced when he heard the gears grind. His truck was precious to him.
Having someone other than family drive it, irked. It didn't keep him
from working at his bonds. He, too, was grateful for a dark night.
The fact that their captors weren't watching them carefully, was
decidedly a plus. If Squires and his flunkies thought that the Henry
boys were subdued by mere lengths of rope, they had another think
coming.
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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