Chapter 8: When Freemen Shall Stand

It was the same thicket he had spied from just a few days before, but now it was well past noon, and he did not worry about the sun reflecting off the optics of his rifle scope or his binoculars. Instead, he had to worry about his current and future lovers facing down a piece of shit. He kept his finger on the outside of the trigger guard as he watched the homestead through his scope.

Melissa’s wagon appeared at the end of the long lane leading to herbs place. Tommy swallowed at the sight of Annie standing behind her and Carmine. Carmine had a shotgun in his lap. He hopped Annie had her hand on the AR-15 she had taken from the boat. If Herbert was planning to shoot first, Tommy was ready to return fire from an unexpected flanking position. If the man came out to talk, he was prepared to shoot at the first sign of trouble. He was not going to lose either of the women in the wagon.

Almost as if to plan, there was motion on the front porch. One of the younger kids started walking slowly toward the gate marking the edge of the property. Tommy saw the dim silhouette of a man leaning against one of the posts supporting the porch roof. At least the figure did not appear to be aiming a gun toward the gate.

Tommy checked his sight-picture, adjusted the sandbag supporting his barrel, and then settled into his role as oversight protection.

“Father says for you to go away,” the young boy called out as the wagon approached the gate. “Go away or he will shoot you dead.”

“Alan,” Melissa said as she stopped the wagon. “You know me. I was friends with your mother. I promised her I would check up on you and Sandy and Elaine when I passed by. I need to keep my word for her sake.”

Annie wanted to cry when she saw the state of the boy. His clothes were too big on his thin frame, and he was dirty and barefoot. A glance at the large garden told her they should have plenty of food to eat. She was angry at the evil man for his poor treatment of his children, more so than at the thought of him shooting at them on the river. She tightened her grasp on the grip of her rifle and bent her knees a little to lower herself. No need to stick her head to far above Melissa and Carmine, she thought.

The boy shook his head, glanced over his shoulder at the house and then looked back at the wagon. “Elaine ran off. Father is not happy. He will shoot you if you come over that gate. If you liked my mother, please leave. It’s for the best.”

The pleading resignation in his voice was a sound no seven-year-old should make.

“Where’s Sandy? I need to see her before I go,” Melissa said.

The boy shook his head. “She’s with Father. Please, just go,” he added in a softer voice, as if hoping his words could not be heard from the porch.

“Herbert Paulson!” Melissa called out. “Show yourself and your daughter or I’m coming in there to see what you’ve done.”

Tommy heard Melissa’s challenge and saw movement on the porch. A rifle barrel was raised over the railing of the porch, catching some sunlight. It was not being aimed, but it was a threat. He moved his finger to the trigger, taking up some of the slack and getting ready.

“Go to hell!” a man’s voice called out. “You poisoned Candace against me. You’re the reason she’s dead. You stole Elaine. Get away from my land or I’ll shoot you like a rabid dog!”

“Herb,” Carmine called out in a voice more sonorous than Tommy expected from the old man. “It’s Carmine from town. How about I come up and we talk this out? Melissa wants to keep her promise to your wife and make sure the kids are okay. That’s all.”

The rifle barrel raised higher. It wasn’t being aimed at the gate or wagon; it was pointing higher than that. Without pre-amble, it fired.

“Boom!”

It was the same sound Tommy had heard from the bluff on the river. It was a big gun.

“That’s the only warning you’ll get!” the man called out as the echo of the shot faded.

Motion at the back of the house caught Tommy’s attention. A small figure, the girl, slipped around the corner and ran toward the barn. Tommy made sure Herb’s attention was still on the gate. It was.

Without another thought, his finger tightened on the trigger. He was surprised when it broke, and the gun fired. That was always a good sign for an accurate shot.

The rifle on the porch tumbled forward into the yard as splinters from the post tore into the side of Herb’s face. Tommy might have wanted to kill him, but also knew dead was hard to undo. The shot at the post had been as much of a warning as he was willing to give.

Melissa and Annie were moving out of the wagon and over the gate. Carmine was waving at the boy and moving the protected side of the wagon. Tommy breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Herbert holding the side of his face and stumbling down the steps toward his rifle. A shot into the ground near the weapon made him stop and stare at Tommy’s hide.

By the time he recovered from seeing he was outflanked, Melissa had her pistol pointed at him and Annie had her rifle raised, taking aim. Tommy took a deep breath, wishing the adrenaline in his blood would bleed away quickly, but kept a close watch on the situation.

“We don’t have a jail, and we don’t want to build one,” Carmine said as they stood around Herbert with his wrists tied behind his back and his ankles hobbled for good measure.

“Give me a gun and I’ll take care of him,” Elaine said.

Looking at the girl’s bruised face, Tommy was willing to step in to do the deed.

“He’s not worth it, Elaine,” Melissa said.

“He can’t be around us or the kids,” the battered girl said. “Look at Alan’s back. Look at the fear in Sandy’s face. He’s a monster.”

They had captured Herbert and tied him to the back of the wagon to return to Bonnots Mill. Carmine had ridden in the back, facing the prisoner with his shotgun in hand for the whole journey. The two kids had ridden in front, next to Melissa. Annie and Tommy had walked a dozen yards behind, keeping a watchful eye on the party.

Now that they were on the porch in front of Carmine’s store with the towns folk gathered around, they realized they did not know what to do with the prisoner.

“You’ve got no right to do this to me,” Herbert whined. “What I do on my property with my kids is up to me. You’ve got no right!”

Elaine did not hesitate. Her foot swung up between his legs, connecting solidly and sending him to the ground retching in pain.

“You had no right to do what you did to me, you piece of shit. You had no right to do what you did to Candace, who only showed you mercy!” Her foot lashed out again, aiming for his balls once more, but only connecting with his ass.

“What did he do the Candace?” Melissa asked. Her voice was filled with dread and concern.

“She knew something was wrong. She begged him to take her to town. She pleaded for his baby. Instead of doing something, he forced his disgusting dick into her mouth and told her to shut up. I tried to stop him, but wasn’t strong enough,” she cried out in anguish, sobbing.

Melissa put a comforting arm around her.

Annie looked at Tommy. He nodded. He didn’t know what she planned but knew it would be a solution. She walked to the back the wagon, pulling out Melissa’s medical kit. She came back to the circle of people with a small bundle.

“Someone, hold him down,” she said.

When no one moved, Tommy stepped in. A swift stroke of the stock of his rifle knocked the man out.

Annie smiled a thank you. She squatted down next to them man and rolled him on his back. She set the bundle down, revealing a scalpel and syringe along with a wad of gauze. “Carmine, I thought I saw some indigo in your shop. May I have it please?”