The Homecoming of Keith Boyd
Chapter 16: Road to Recovery

Copyright© 2017 by MysteryWriter

Keith Boyd-
Fred Boyd his brother.
Alice Boyd his sister in law.
Nephew John 15
Niece Gabby 13
Jo Anne Wall old girl friend
Windy Wall her ex husband.
Lewis and Ellie Keith’s in laws.
Sarah Marsh retro hippie
General Briggs rd
Doris owner of the consignment shop.
Jo Anne Joyner Wall : Keith’s first girlfriend. Three girls 16 13 10
oldest daughter ginger
Mr Jessup buyer of Keith’s scooter.
Rebecca Avondale deacon and keith’s client.
Marsha stylist to Rebecca
Gulfcrest hotel/casino
Elanor, Mark and Simon family being stalked
Sylvia Amos sheriff’s detective.
Willow goth chick. Computer nerd
Abdi arab family victim of arson.
Ginger Moss Willow’s mother
Mr Serpico client in motel.
Liam Amos hunter.
Jasper Amos Liam’s son
Jerry Geyser first separated man to stay in cabin/tent.
Lou Anne Mason justice dept
Jill one of the federal cops.
Ashley Marcy’s friend.
Nurse Jane at hospital in grenada
Rodney Markham and Marcus Wilbert Deacon’s attackers
Sylvia Simmons (Marcy’s client)
Mark Wilson sheriffs detective.
Lisa Preston mother of delinquent cook


I heard my phone ring but there was nothing I could do about it. I knew something was wrong, but I had no idea what it was. I had been in this state before, but I couldn’t quite remember why or what caused it, so I went back to sleep.

“For the record this is the tape recording of the interview with Alice Boyd. Mrs Boyd is the sister in law of Keith Boyd. This interview is being conducted at the Sheriff’s office in Greenville Mississippi on June 15th 2017.

Alice, if you would tell us about Wednesday June eleventh 2017 and what prompted you to go to Keith Boyd’s shop?” Detective Mark Wilson asked.

“Keith and I were planning to cater a wedding reception. I wanted to ask him how the catfish procurement was coming along. There is only a week till the wedding.

When I called Keith on that Wednesday morning his phone went to voice mail. It was unusual for that to happen, but not unheard off.

I should have gone right over. If I had things might have been different.” She said then began crying.

“You couldn’t have done anything differently,” Detective Wilson said.

“I know, but I should have done something to get him to the hospital sooner. I waited two hours and made four more calls to his phone before I rode over to the Gatehouse. It’s what Keith called the cabin he built.

When I got there, it looked as though he had just gone to the store or something. Then I realized I didn’t see or hear his dog Hondo. I got out of my car and went to his door. I got no answer to door bell. Since no one seemed to be home, something told me to check the shop. When I pushed the tent flap open I saw him laying on the cold concrete floor. There was a small pool of blood under his head.

I touched him and he was warm and I heard him breathing. It wasn’t how a normal person sounds. I was freaked out. I called 911. The operator took the call and ordered me to stay on to the line, so that I could help the ambulance and Sheriff’s cars find the house.

You guys got here first, then the ambulance. I rode with Keith to the hospital. I think your deputies thought I had done it.” Alice Boyd said.

“So how is Mr. Boyd?” Wilson asked.

“He is still in the medically induced coma,” Alice said. “I heard from one of the deputies at the hospital that Hondo his dog was found?”

“Yes unfortunately the dog is dead. Shot twice probably with Keith’s pistol,” Wilson explained.

“Keith will be heart broken,” Alice replied.

“If it is any consolation the dog had blood in his mouth, and the lab said it’s human. If we get whoever beat Keith, we can convict them even in the worst case scenario.”

“Why would you say a thing like that,” Alice said angrily. She stood and walked from the room.

From the Sheriffs substation she drove home to take a shower. She also needed a nap. She had been at the hospital almost continually since she found Keith’s body. A few hours sleep at a time was all she had managed. Her husband and kids suffered, but she couldn’t stand to think of not being there when Keith woke up. Damn it no matter what the doctors and cops said he would wake up.

“Listen Alice, I know about the catfish fry Keith had promised to cater. It is my intention to see that it happens just like he planned,” Deacon said. Deacon had dropped everything and driven his raggedy ass pickup truck from Grenada to the hospital in Greenville. It was where the ambulance had taken Keith.

“You know what needs to be done, so tell me and I will make it happen. It is what he would do for me.”

“We will work together to make it happen. You are right Keith would insist that he not let anyone down,” Alice agreed.

The doctors woke me after six days in a coma. Even with all the drugs, I felt like shit. I didn’t have a headache, I just felt disconnected. Like I didn’t care about anything. That lasted half a day I began to reenter the land of the living.

During that first post coma day, I pieced together what happened mostly from my friends and family. Sonya, the euro-slut, played me like a video game.

Like I had said about the Grenada bar, the seated man is at a disadvantage. She knew enough to take advantage of me being seated on a mechanics rolling stool. She struck as I looked up at her. I remember nothing but that first blow. It had to be her, if it had been anyone else Hondo would have been barking furiously. She obviously took the colt and shot Hondo with it.

Hondo’s death was on me. That dog had died while attacking the Euro-slut. When I had the chance, I asked deacon. “Who was that bitch?”

“Marcy tells me she thought she was an abused wife filing for divorce. We still don’t know her real motives,” he said.

“No abused wife beats the crap out of me. That woman was willing to kill a man with a pipe. That takes a special kind of woman. I sure am glad Hondo took a chunk out of her ass. I wish he had learned how to hide, but since it wasn’t in him, I’m glad he marked her.”

“Well it sure as hell wasn’t a love bite. She left a trail of blood to your scooter,” Deacon informed me.

“She couldn’t have gotten far,” I said.

“They found your scooter abandoned in the parking lot of the senior center ten miles from your place. The batteries were pretty much still charged. She dumped it the first place she could find an empty car,” Deacon said.

“Not the actions of a house wife. With a car, there is no telling where she is now,” I said.

“Well the agents of homeland security are after her. My guess is they will find her,” Deacon said.

“She killed my dog, I hope they aren’t the ones who find her. I hope is it whoever she was running from,” I said.

“You are a truly evil man,” Deacon said. “That’s what I like most about you.”

“So how is the reception coming?” I asked.

“Any chance you will be out of here within the next six days?” he asked.

“I have no idea. I have nothing to go home to, so there is no hurry,” I replied.

“I’m sure you would rather be home than here,” Deacon suggested,.

“Not really,” I said. “I have nurses to talk to and someone else is cooking for me. What’s not to love about it?”

“So seriously what do you want to do when you leave here?” he asked.

I actually enjoyed being on the run after I left Grenada last month. I might just decide to build a scooter and take off. Just see how far I can go before it completely dies on me,” I suggested.

“What a load of crap. You were almost hospitalized last time you were on it for a week,” Deacon said.

“Well maybe I’ll hire a car and driver and chase a Euro-slut named Sonya,” I suggested.

“Don’t bother. By the way we knew her as Sylvia Simmons. If she told you her name was Sonya, it should have been a clue she planned to kill your ass,” Deacon said.

“If you knew she was dangerous, somebody should have warned me?” I asked.

“I didn’t know until she tried to off you. Why would anybody want you dead,” he asked.

“She didn’t try to kill me, she had plenty of time to murder me. The questions should be why would she want to half kill me,” I suggested.

“Maybe she wanted to kill Hondo. So people really don’t like pit bulls,” Deacon said.

I fell asleep talking to Deacon.

I awoke the next morning and Deacon was excited when he said, “I have some good news for a change. When Alice first called me and explained why happened, I called your contact at the DOJ. Mrs Mason was really quite upset about you being left at death’s door. I told her all I knew including the fact she was from Albania. I told her she might be headed out of the country on a false ID. To made a long story short, she sent her information to the TSA who spotted her last night. She was trying to board a flight to London. A search of her luggage turned up a colt detective .38 special. The serial number was traced back to you,” Deacon said.

“That is good news. I would like a chance to talk to her,” I said.

“That is never going to happen. Mason said to tell you that you two are even now,” he said. “She says to look for a UPS package.”

I expected the package to contain my pistol. “Won’t they need the Colt for evidence or something?” I asked.

“Seems she is involved in all kinds of things. She is a true Mafia boss lady,” Deacon said.

“Why the hell didn’t Marcy know that?” I asked angrily.

“She came in with a story and clean identity papers. Marcy thought she wanted to hide while she divorced her husband. You must have spooked her.” Deacon said.

“The sad story she told about her husband just didn’t fly. However I never confronted her about it. I had other things on my mind. Catching fifty catfish for one thing. So you are helping Alice with the catfish fry?” I asked.

“Yes I am, She introduced me to a real fish monger. He is some ken to a guy named Jasper, your hunt club buddy. Alice explained the problems you were having and he supplied the last 70 fillets at a dollar a pair. We will made a few bucks, so I planned to give your niece and nephew the money. Actually I’m going to funnel it though Alice. All except for the twenty dollars worth of donuts I plan to place in the nurses lounge here at the hospital. Nothing says love like Granny’s donuts, I’m told.”

“Make a hundred bucks worth of donuts and bring me a couple,” I said.

“So the Air Police really are Policemen,” Deacon said.

“Not really,” I declared. “We just pretended that we were.”

“You could have fooled me. Cops could use a little of your discipline and loyalty,” Deacon said.

Blind loyalty is alright, if you know people. Sometimes you discover that loyalty can be misplaced. It’s always good to mix loyalty with wide open eyes.” I explained.

“Spoke like a true patriot and a damn good friend to have,” Deacon said.

“You do know Ash is that kind of friend to Marcy, but don’t think that automatically means she has it for you as well,” I said.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Are you suggesting that I can’t trust her?” he asked.

“I’m suggesting that she will always put Marcy’s interest first,” I said.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Deacon said.

The next day was Saturday and also the wedding day. Even though I knew it was happening, I wasn’t involved with it at all. I got an update from Alice on the phone, but I took no part in the planning.

My big plan for the week ahead was to start walking again. I had what could only be called a mini stroke. Not only was a chunk of my left leg gone, I had very little felling in right leg. It certainly was not doing what I told it to do. Thank god my arms were working.

I managed to get out of bed using my arms to lift my right let over the edge. The movement I created with my stump helped me move my body. It looked as though my right leg was the only thing effected. I discovered that it was massively inconvenient, but not life threatening.

Thank god the feeling in that leg returned by the next Sunday. Movement of the leg was at least 80% by Monday when I awoke. I worked all day Monday and Tuesday to learn to walk. With the new level of muscle control and the missing left leg, it was lurch from place to place. Still with the crutches it was doable.

Wednesday I left the hospital for Fred and Alice’s house. I lurched around his well landscaped yard fairly easily with the crutches. Alice did everything possible to make my life easier. She even brought my computer from the Gatehouse.

It was another week before I ditched the crutches for most of the day. I was more than ready to return to my beloved Gatehouse plantation. I booked some folks into the place since I had nothing to do with the operation of the camp grounds and cabins.

Willow was able to take care of the place. Well she and Gabby, Each working part time managed to take care of the place. My freezer had been stripped clean of Catfish fillets, so I decided after a month it was time I returned to the Yazoo river. I wouldn’t be any more dangerous than it had ever been.

Slowly life returned to normal. At least as normal as it had been before the beat down. I had learned yet again an old lesson from my Military days. ‘TRUST NO ONE’ well not until they proved themselves over time. Even those who proved themselves would never get my complete trust. It was a serious thought and I meant it completely. I also knew I couldn’t maintain it, the human psyche was designed to trust. Stupid humans, I thought.

I spent a lot of time thinking of Hondo, but I didn’t want another dog. I sure as hell wasn’t ready for one, but I did need something. For sure, I looked like someone you didn’t want to get near. Walking around the plantation in combat brown fatigues and a shoulder holster. Never far from the Mossburg, pump action, trench length 12 gauge. It was a wicked weapon used by men with wicked intent.

 
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