Chapter 36

The girls jumped up and grabbed their clothes. They were still dressing as I ran out the door.

“Did he say what this is about? It’s got to be bad, Rondo ... Hank lives nearly a quarter of a mile from Granny’s house.”

“He told me your granny told him that you needed to gather up Hank and his boys, and be sure you bring Tommy and his brother.”

By the time I got to the phone, my heart was about to beat its way out of my chest. I just knew some of the gang from Jackson - or either the ones who had ransacked the Garcia’s house were here looking for me.

“Charlie?” I yelled as I picked up the phone.

“Josey – Granny told me to slip out the back way and come to Hank’s. There are three men outside with guns, and one inside the house with a gun. He’s threatening Granny and all the others, if they don’t tell them where their money is.”

“Charlie, let me talk to Hank. You stay with Hank until I get there - do you hear me?”

“I will, Josey, but hurry.“

“Josey?” I could tell Hank was upset and I knew the big man was ready to go kill every damn last one of them.

“Hank, get your men together. We’ll come in the back way - around the levee road and be there in fifteen minutes.”

“We’re all here now waiting for you, Josey.”

I hung up and turned to Rondo.

“Rondo get the two Tommy Guns, with two extra drums.

“Naomi - you, Emmylou, and Lougenia stay here with the girls. There’s likely to be some killing and I don’t want any more of my family in the way when the shooting starts,” I told them as I grabbed the double holster shoulder rig, as Rondo held out to me. When I had the two .45s strapped on, I pulled my leather jacket on and grabbed my Cardinal’s baseball cap, to keep my hair out of my face.

There’s a gravel, tree-lined farm road that runs behind Granny’s house, past Hank’s, and on past the tenant houses to the Mississippi River Levee. There’s a gravel road atop the levee both ways, north and south, as far as I have ever driven. Granny has some farmland behind the levee, inside the flood zone, and so do I - now that I own the Donavan Place.

When I topped the levee, headed south, the pickup slid sideways until I could get it under control. When we reached the road to Granny’s farm headquarters, I hit the down ramp and floored the gas pedal as we raced toward Hank’s house. I parked behind his house under the tractor shed, where he and his men were gathered and waiting for us.

“Josey, there are four of them and they’re Mexicans,” Charlie told me as he ran to me.

I knew right away, this bunch is connected with the Garcia’s, and not with Vinny and Johan.

“Where were they when you left, Charlie?”

“One has been sitting on the front steps of Granny’s house since they came here. There’s one at each front corner of her house, hidden back in the shrubs. Granny and I looked out of the upstairs windows and saw each of them. Then she and Miss Laura got the other man to walk into her living room so they could talk, and I slipped out the kitchen door, through the garage and out the back door to run over here and tell Hank.”

“Josey, how do you want to handle this? We can’t wait much longer or they’ll start on the women, and younger girls in order to make Miss Early talk,” Hank told me and I knew he was right.

“Hank, I want you and your men to meet Rondo Billy Parker. He’s working for me now, and he’s been trained by his daddy not just to fight, but fight to kill.

“Rondo, this is Hank - his sons Joe, and Buddy – and his nephew Cal.”

“It’s good to meet all y’all, but we don’t have time to get properly acquainted right now. We need to get over to that big house as soon as we can, like Hank said. We’ll stand a better chance if just three of us go first, and not the whole bunch - until we get the outsiders on the ground. Don’t you agree?” Rondo asked, looking around at all of us.

“I agree, Rondo. How do you plan to take them out without the others hearing you?” Hank asked.

“You ever use one of these?” He asked, flipping out a pearl handled straight-razor.

“In my younger days, I carried a blade all the time. I reckon I could still cut a man in half with one. You got an extra blade?” Hank asked.

“Here, take this one.

“Josey, I already know you’re going - here’s one for you. I still have my favorite here in my coat pocket. I’m not fully dressed without it.”

I told them, “Let’s don’t kill them unless we have to.”

Each of us have a rag to tie across their mouths as a gag, and a sack to put over their head. Hank cut three-foot strips of baling-wire, and each of us took four pieces of wire looped through our belt loops and twisted - to keep from losing them.

“Papa, what do you want us to do?” Hank’s son, Joe asked.

“I’ll wave to you men as soon as we put the outsiders on the ground. You men hightail it over there in case we need to go in all the doors at once. Be sure and bring both pickups when you come.”

“Let’s go. Time’s a wasting,” I told them and started out. Charlie started out too and I made him stay back until we had the first three men taken care of.

“Rondo, I want you to go in through the back door of the garage. You’ll see a door on your right. That’s the entrance to the kitchen. Hank and I will take-out the men on each front corner. Charlie said they were hiding in the shrubs. Once we take those two out, I’ll holler for the one standing on the front steps. I know enough Spanish to make him step out away from the front door. Once I put his ass down, I’ll knock on the front door and call for the one inside to come let me in. When you and Hank hear me call out, you slip inside through the kitchen. I’m hoping the one in there will come to the front door to see what’s up. No matter what happens, be damn careful if you have to use your guns inside the house - There are a lot of women and girls in there.”

Rondo told me, “We got you covered, Josey. If there’s any way you can, let me get my hands on the one inside the house - alive - so I can make him talk...”

When we reached the house, I told Hank to take a slow count to fifteen, going up the south side of the house.

“I’ll start now, counting to fifteen and go up the north side. That way we’ll be on the two men in the bushes about the same time - or within seconds of each other.”

I was at the front corner in ten seconds and I was pretty sure Hank was too. I kept counting as I took a peek around the corner, from behind the shrubs. My man was asleep, sitting on the ground, leaning back against the house. He didn’t move when I put the razor to his throat.

“I’ll kill you if you make a sound. Now, hold still.” I put the gag on him, then put the sack over his head before wrapping his hands and feet together with bailing wire.

I was hoping Hank had taken care of his man by now - and slipped along the front of the house between the shrubs and the house. When I came to the front steps, I peeked through the bare limbs of the shrubs to see this one man sitting on the top step. He was facing down, with his elbows on his knees. When I saw his head nodding, I stepped up behind him on the steps and jerked his head back. Before he could yell, I held the razor at his throat.

“You make one sound, and you’re a dead motherfucker.”

I gagged him, pulled the sack over his head and tied it, then pulled him off the steps into the bushes before wrapping his hands and feet with bailing wire.

That leaves one more, according to what Charlie told us.

I put that man’s hat on my head, then looked to my left when I saw something move. There was Hank - and he was smiling as he gave me the OK sign.

With the man’s hat on my head, I rapped on the door and yelled out, ‘Hola amigo, abre la puerta’

Granny has one of those peep-holes in her front door, and I kept my face down so he could only see my hat, if he even looked out. While I waited, I pulled the screen door open and stood between the two doors, with a .45 in my left hand.

I could hear the lock being thrown and held my head down, watching as the wooden door slowly opened. I saw the toe of his leather boot and shoved the door inward, making a dive for him as he stumbled backwards.

He fired one shot before I rolled him over with my razor at his throat. With my knee against his neck, I kicked his gun out of his hand with my other foot. That was when I saw Rondo and Hank standing over me.

“Is he shot, Josey?” Hank asked.

“No, he fired a shot when I grabbed him as soon as he opened the door.”

“Let me have him, Josey. Hank and I will take him outside while you check on your womenfolk,” Rondo told me.

I looked up to see Aunt Rita and Momma standing in front of me naked. Then there was Granny, with the other women and girls.

I barely had time to put my gun and razor away before they rushed me, crying and laughing at the same time.

Aunt Rita hugged me first, “Josey, we knew you would come. We watched Charlie run through the treeline toward Hank’s and we knew you would be here soon. Did you see the others outside?”

“Yes, and we have them on the ground. Is everyone alright? Please tell me that no one got hurt or even touched by those bastards.”

Momma told me, “That one - did grope Granny’s titties, but she slapped his face, and he laughed at her,” she pointed to the one Rondo was taking out the door with his right hand pulled up between his shoulder blades.

I turned toward the front door, “Rondo, don’t kill him ... His ass is mine!”

Hank stopped at the door told me, “Josey, I’m going to wave for the others to bring the trucks over. I know Charlie and the rest of them will want to know that all the womenfolk are OK.”

“Momma, y’all get your naked butts covered. We’re here now, and we’re all OK.”

Before they went up to dress, each of the women and girls came to hug me and tell me they love me. I was crying too, by the time they had all gone upstairs.

I pulled Aunt Rita back and held her close as I told her, “Keep everyone upstairs until I tell you it’s alright to come down. We’re going to make them talk and it’s not going to be pretty.”

“Josey, did you kill the rest of them?”

“No, but we’ll make sure this never happens again - now get your sexy ass upstairs, before I bend you over that chair and tear that pussy up for you.”

“Damn, Josey. I would love for you to fuck me right now, but I’ll wait until you’ve taken care of those men. The one who came in the house was a foul-mouth bastard and talked nasty to all of us and the girls too.”

“He won’t talk that way very much longer, after we find out who sent them. Go get your naked butt covered, you look too damn good to stand here in front of me naked.”

“I love you, Baby.”

“I love you too, Baby.”

“Rondo, what have you found out about this bunch?”

“This hombre doesn’t want to talk, Josey. I say we cut his nuts out first, then throw him in the river.”

“Cut his pants off. I’ll use this straight-razor on his nuts, then cut his dick off - if he refuses to tell us who sent him, and how he knew to come here.”

“Did you understand what he said?” Rondo asked.

“No entiendo.”

“Then maybe you’ll understand this,” I told him.

“Hank, you and your boys help Rondo hold his legs apart while I cut his pants off, then cut nuts out.”

“No - no, por favor - no.”

“So - you do understand? Listen to me, you sonofabitch. We have already killed all your amigos, and we’re going to kill you - slow and painfully, unless you tell me who’s behind this and how you knew to come here.”

“Will you let me go, if I tell you?”

“You have my word on it. Now, tell me who sent you here and how they knew to come here.”

“Juez Skelley, hijo.”

“Judge Skelley’s son?”

“Si - capo de la droga masculino, here en América.”

“Here? You mean right here? Or Here in America?”

“Si, capo de la droga masculino, en América.“

“What’s that he said, Josey?” Hank asked.