Chapter 7

She said that Charles and two of his friends had headed to Stokey’s swimming pool. That was great as far as I was concerned. That pool was relatively new and not yet very popular. It was small and not on a regular bus route, and that combination caused a lot of kids to stay away. As an added enticement, Stokey had put in some large ponds to attract fishermen, but there was no shade, so nobody was around during the middle of the day.

I headed for Stokey’s without my swimming suit because I never intended to get in the pool. All I wanted was to “discuss” a few things with Charles Nickles, and I didn’t have to get wet for that. I was wearing my pistol and had my staff along, as I always did lately, so I was confident of surviving my meeting with Nickles, no matter how many of his gang were around.

I even had my walker along in the special rack that Dad had rigged for it. I didn’t know if I would need it, but it was comforting to have it nearby if I did.

The three boys were in the pool when I got there, and there were two younger girls also in the pool, as well as another boy. The boys had arrived in a car, but the girls had come on bicycles. I was surprised that their parents had allowed them to visit such a poorly attended pool. Maybe they had come here instead of going to Porter’s, which would have had many people there on a day like this, without their parents’ knowledge.

Anyway, just as I arrived, two of the boys were dragging one of the girls from the pool. She was crying and screaming “NO” at the boys while the other girl was cowering in a corner of the pool and the other two boys were laughing at the scene. One of the boys dragging the girl must have been the one with the car because he was the only one who looked like he was old enough.

By the time I had parked my scooter and pulled the walker from the rack, the boys had pulled the girl into the boys’ dressing room. I had my staff with me, shortened to baton-length, and I hurried after the trio as they disappeared through the door, which they did not bother to close. I’d bet that was deliberate so that their friends could hear how macho they were as they raped the young girl.

As I entered, one of the boys was pushing the girl onto her back on one of the benches, and the other boy was pulling down his swimsuit. He already had an erection, small as it was, and I wondered if he could even reach the girl’s vagina.

Well, I didn’t wait to find out. I extended my baton to three feet and hit the first rapist in the hip hard enough to break bones. He was never going to walk normally again. He fell across the girl, and they both fell to the floor. That was when the other boy noticed me, and he charged at me with his fists clenched.

I didn’t know exactly what he had in mind, but I didn’t wait to find out. Him I hit in the elbow hard enough to shatter it. He, too, screamed like a stuck pig, and tried to use his other hand to support his broken arm. He backed off when I threatened him with my staff. I helped the girl to her feet, and this time was smart enough to get her name in case I needed a favorable witness.

I helped the girl to walk to the pool, and that was when we saw a disgusting sight. Nickles and the other boy had the girl on her back at the side of the pool. They had pulled off her swimsuit and were preparing to rape her. There was a minor argument as to who was going first, and the other guy won. I told the girl with me to stay out of the way while I dealt with this rape.

She backed off, and I reached the rapist just as he was trying to penetrate the rape victim. Again, I did not hesitate. I hit the rapist on his left shoulder hard enough to break the bones surrounding the shoulder joint. He, too, screamed and fell back, just missing falling into the pool. Had he fallen in, I would probably have let him drown.

Now I turned to Charles Nickles, the reason for me being here at this pool. “Nickles, now I have you where I can get some honest answers from you. In case you don’t recognize me, I am Jack Harbinger, the one you shot twice with the shotgun loaded with #6 birdshot. I want to know why you did it.”

“Stay away from me. I ain’t telling you nothing.”

“Oh yes you are. I can render a lot of pain with my staff, and I owe it to you. So, answer my questions or feel a lot worse that all three of your friends combined. Why did you shoot me?”

“Go fuck yourself!”

That was enough to make me react, so I tapped Nickles in the ankle hard enough to cause a simple break. I let his scream of pain die down before I repeated my question.

Through his tears, Nickles blubbered, “Some guy offered Slim Malloy $100 to shoot you with buckshot. Slim argued him down to the birdshot because he did not want to face a murder rap. The guy agreed, and Slim gave me $50 to do the shooting. He said that I would not spend any time in jail because I was a minor. Hell, that was an easy fifty bucks, so I did it.”

“Okay, I believe you. Who was the guy who hired Slim Malloy?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that he was on crutches and could hardly walk. You’ll have to ask Slim for his name.”

A couple of more questions got me the information on where to find Slim Malloy. He frequented a pool parlor and could usually be found there. That was enough information from Charles Nickles, so I left him after breaking his remaining ankles, knees, hips, elbows, wrists, and shoulders. He was a basket case by the time I finished with him. I also warned him that he would not live through it if I came for him again.

I saw Stokley walking from the far end of his fish ponds, so that must have been why he did not hear all of the screams coming from the pool area. Well, I would let him call for the police and the ambulances. I wrote down the names of the two girls and their addresses so I would know who to call if I needed witnesses. They promised to wait for Stokley at the pool to report the attempted rape and to say that they did not know who had rescued them. I left the area before Stokley showed up.

Well, that was an interesting morning. I headed home for lunch before visiting the poolroom to talk to Slim Malloy. I was the only one home, so I had a couple of sandwiches and a Coke for lunch.

I waited until about 2:00 o’clock before I left for the poolroom. I parked my scooter in the reserved place and used my walker to walk to the poolroom. I take pride in being no fool and learning fast, so I had my baton and my pistol as I entered and asked for Slim Malloy. Alabama had a law against minors being in poolrooms, but it was never enforced that I know of, so I did not receive any hassle as I asked for Malloy.

He was playing snooker at the moment, so I waited until he won the game and collected his bet. I approached him and acted the part of a much older person. “Mr. Malloy, may I have a few minutes of your time for a few important questions? Your acquaintance, Charles Nickles, sent me to you.”

Ah, that was exactly the right thing to say. Malloy’s eyes lit up and he became quite courteous. It was obvious to me that he expected to be paid some more money for something nefarious that he could get another person to do.

We sat in chairs next to the wall at an unused section of the poolroom, and I said, “Mr. Malloy, I know that you run a gang of minors that you send on various jobs for which you take a percentage of the payoff. I am here tracking down one of those incidents. A few months ago, Nickles shot me with a shotgun at the behest of a man who paid you $100 for the job. I want to find that man.

“If you help me find that man, you will never see me again. If you cross me, see Nickles and his friends in the hospital to see what I will do to you. By the way, I also carry a gun and am a crack shot, so don’t push me too far.