The Homecoming of Keith Boyd
Chapter 18

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) aka sonya
Mark Wilson sheriffs detective.
Lisa Preston mother of delinquent cook
Mike preston catfisherman and cook
Agent Rogers Doj
Marsha Edwards the girl who had a drug reaction in one of Keith’s cabin.
Debbie Schultz my first trailer rental not in danger.


“I want to buy the Catfish Shack,” Alice said.

I began to object but she shut me down by raising her hand.

“You promised to listen to me. Fred and I talked it over. We decided that I can make a go of the catering business if I own the shack. We will only be doing weddings and parties. We can go into venues without proper kitchens and still produce fresh home cooking. I want to do this and Fred even thinks it’s a good idea. You said you didn’t know if you would use it again. So sell it to me,” she demanded.

“It has appliances but they are home versions. Those things are too small to use in a catering business,” I said.

“Horse shit,” Alice replied. If the cook on site doesn’t have to make coleslaw that frees up an area to cook more hoe cakes. I already figured this out. Your deep fryer is big enough to cook all the catfish. We just have to keep them warm. We can get large serving pans and covers directly from the fryer and seal them. We can do this. The kids will help me at first.”

“What price were you thinking,” I asked.

“You complained about having a thousand dollars in the shack. I know you didn’t count your time, but I think the thousand is what it is worth,” she said. “And I’ll buy my catfish from you. I checked around and river caught Catfish are worth a dollar a piece.”

“Let me think about it. If we do this, I will insist that you not borrow the start up money. Either you have it, or you pay when and what you can,” I insisted.

“I have the money,” she said. “Fred wouldn’t have gone along if I didn’t.”

“Send John over for the trailer whenever you want it,” I said.

“Do you want the money now?” she asked.

“Hell no. I know where you live,” I said.

Since I had been stockpiling Catfish fillets, I had the big freezer almost full, so there was no rush to fish. However it was the spring of the year so I did check the hooks just a little more often.

The catering business was a moderate success. Alice with her wide net of friend was able to parlay it into an event almost every weekend. The business was successful enough to provide her son John with enough money from his weekend job with her to have all the spending money he needed during his stay at Old Miss.

Gabby helped as well. She turned out to be like her mom. When her friends started to get married it created even more business. During that time I continued to fish and to run the hunting camp.

After a year of easy living, I got a call from Marcy, Deacon’s lawyer daughter. “Have you forgiven me yet,” she asked.

“Are you calling to get me to babysit again?” I asked.

“Yes, but I promise you I did an in-depth look at her life. I went all the way back to her high school days. There will be no surprises.” Marcy said.

“There are always surprises,” I said.

“Aren’t bored yet?” she asked.

“You know I am, or you wouldn’t have called. You can stash your woman here, but I will not provide any services for her. I don’t give a crap if she invites whoever she is hiding from here for tea. I will only get involved if she bothers the other residents,” I explained.

“What other residents,” she asked.

My nephew John stays in one of the cabins most weekends. Also it’s Boar and Deer seasons, I book the cabins to hunters,” I explained.

“There is no need for you to do anything, but help if her ex comes there causing trouble. That has a zero chance of happening,” she said. Her kids are grown so there is no reason they will visit. Her ex will never know where she is,” Marcy said.

Alright forty bucks a night. I include utilities for that,” I said.

“I was hoping for two hundred per week,” Marcy said.

“One week in advance no refunds if she hates it here,” I demanded.

“Done, Ash will bring her down tomorrow. She will have a car, so she can go out for whatever she needs,” Marcy explained.

“Send them down. Marcy, if she so much as has her TV to loud, she will be the last one,” I explained.

“I get it, but she has been told not to cause a scene there. She promised she would be good,” Marcy said with a laugh.

“You had better be right,” I said.

That very night Ash introduced me to Jessica Rabbit. No it wasn’t her real name. That name I forgot as soon as I shook the forty something woman’s hand. The reason I renamed her was her shocking read hair. Which no real person was ever born with.

When I got Ash alone I asked, “Why is she important enough for Marcy to call with her hat in hand?”

“She is having an affair with Deacon,” Ash said.

“Oh shit, is he coming to visit her,” I asked.

“Just to drop in. He won’t be staying,” she explained.

“It’s hunting season. The cabins were booked by people before anyone could have known she was here. I won’t be taking any bookings until she leaves,” I promised. “MY nephew John and one of his girlfriends might be here Saturday night. It keeps him from being somewhere that isn’t as safe.”

“Your niece Gabby has to be old enough to be experimenting now,” Ash suggested.

“She hasn’t asked, and I haven’t volunteered anything,” I explained.

“Good, your brother wouldn’t like you running a family brothel,” she said.

“It’s none of his business, but you are right,” I said. “If I let his daughter screw around here, he would be pissed. I mean talk about your double standards, he suggested my place when John threatened to move out.”

“Yeah, I used to run into that kind of thing a lot,” Ash said with a laugh.

“Well you survived,” I said.

“Barely,” was her only reply.

“Well Deacon will be down to visit I’m sure,” She said a few minutes later.

“Well he is welcome,” I replied. “Just explain to him I do not want him harassing my clients.”

“Got ya,” she said.

I went back to my routine the next morning. Well I did after Ash left after breakfast. I admit I enjoyed Ash’s company. After she left, I sat on the front deck with my coffee thermos. The coffee was fresh, so not nearly as good as it would be in the afternoon.

Jessica Rabbit might have intentionally waited until Ash left before she showed up in front of my deck. I was more than half way finished with the coffee. It was a cool November morning of my fourth year back in the Gatehouse. I was dressed for the cool air Jessica wasn’t.

“Hi, I’m your new tenant,” she said smiling at me.

“Hello, what can I do for you?” I asked.

“Could you draw me a map to the grocery store you use,” she said.

“To be honest with you, I shop at a discount grocery they have very few national brands. Mostly they carry generic products,” I said.

“That would be just fine,” she said.

“Come on in an I’ll draw you a map,” I said standing. I saw her stare at the metal half leg. When she saw me look at her she averted her eyes.

“I didn’t mean to stare,” she said.

“Not to worry. I’m pretty used to it now,” I said.

Inside the house I drew her a good map. It wasn’t so detailed that she would get lost in the minutia. It also wasn’t so vague that she wouldn’t be able to find her way to the store.

When I handed it to her, she said, “Marcy said you were a superman, I think I agree.”

“God that is awful. I’m just an ordinary guy,” I said. “I sure as hell don’t want to be a superman type. I just want a nice quiet life.”

“Okay, could I ask you a question,” she said looking at my leg.

“It was a traffic accident,” I said.

“Okay,” she replied.

After she left the conversation triggered a flash back. I could feel the grit of sand everywhere and the heat of the air. The smell of different foods mixed with the smell of, by our standard poor sanitation. There was also the pain of a traumatic amputation via bomb blast.

It ended just as suddenly as it had come. I had to sit for an hour before my mind ended the lock-down. When it came back up to speed, I dressed in three layers, then went for a ride on my three wheel scooter.

I found myself at the Yazoo river without a kayak. I had no idea what I planned to do there. It was obviously the most radically different place imaginable from the Green zone of Baghdad. I just sat in the cool air and stared at the muddy water of the Yazoo.

I didn’t make it back to Gatehouse until after three. The battery was on it’s last leg when I slipped into the drive. I noticed Jessica’s Chevy in the drive behind the travel trailer. I also noticed one of Deacons cars parked beside it.

I passed the trailer and pulled into the Circus tent drive. I took the time to roll the scooter into the building. I needed to plug the charger in so that the scooter would be ready to go at a moment’s notice. I was walking back to Gatehouse when my not so smart phone rang.

“Hello,” I said to my nephew John. “What can I do for you?”

“Mom has a wedding reception booked for Saturday and needs me to help her Friday night. Could I stay in one of the cabins?” he asked.

“Of course, there is someone staying in the trailer. I will have to tell him since he might get the wrong idea,” I said. “I’ll call you back when I talk to him. Make sure you talk to me before you just show up.”

“Okay Uncle Keith,” John said.

I didn’t realize how much time I spent in Circus tent setting up the battery charger and checking the scooters overall condition. The point was it was almost 5PM when I approached the trailer.

“Hey Deacon,” I said as I knocked on the door.

“Hey Keith what can I do for you?” he asked.

I explained about my nephew.

“I promise I won’t shoot him by mistake,” he said.

“Well tell your friend, so she doesn’t freak out if she sees him in the yard,” I said.

“That’s not a problem I promise,” Deacon said.

“Thanks,” I said.

I called John immediately to tell him everything was fine. I told him to give the trailer a wide birth. I needn’t have worried Deacon returned to Grenada before the weekend. On Friday morning I gave Alice seventy five fillets for the Saturday afternoon wedding reception. That represented a weeks worth of fishing. Sure I spent less than five hours fishing, but it still was one of my less profitable ventures.

Jessica Rabbit came calling Friday evening. I didn’t want to be rude, but she was Deacon’s woman. He was a friend, so I didn’t want to have a problem with him. Not only that Jessica was placed by Deacon’s daughter, so it would have been really stupid to get involved.

Turns out Jessica just wanted to borrow some coffee grounds. All that aggravation for nothing, I thought. Later that night I was surprised by the sirens outside the gate at 3AM. I awoke then hopped out to the gate to open it. I kept them waiting for a few minutes. I was sorry but I couldn’t tell them there no lock from so far away. I got there using one leg and a crutch. The ambulance said the call was from someone in a cabin. Instantly I began thinking of John. I followed behind the ambulance. I was almost run down by a Sheriff’s car.

When the ambulance pulled into the campground, I saw John come out. He held the door while the paramedics ran into the cabin. Then the sheriff’s deputy rushed the door. They were turned back so they turned their attention to John.

The deputy asked, “What happened kid?”

John was crying. “John don’t say anything right now. You are upset and not thinking right,” I said.

“Why don’t you stay out of this,” the deputy said. “If he doesn’t answer, I’m going to take him to the substation.”

“You need to find out who the person the ambulance is here to pick up,” I said.

“Uncle Keith it’s Tasha. She had a convulsion or something,” John said.

“In that case I’m going to call the Deacon’s Daughter. You keep your mouth shut until she contacts you,” I said.

At the meantime the paramedics came out with a stretcher. There was a girl on the gurney. They had a IV in her arm and a tube down her throat. One of the paramedics was squeezing a rubber bag. They drove off with the siren screaming into the night.

I called Fred. “Fred you need to get to the hospital in Greenville. John is going to be in the ER. Don’t worry he is not a patient, but he is going to need you there. If not you can’t do it send Alice. I have something I need to do before I can head out there.”

I called Marcy on the phone and had a five minute conversation with her. I waited for Marcy and Ash to show up. Ash stayed with Jessica while Marcy and I drove to the hospital in Greenville.

 
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